Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-15
WHAT SHALL | Do
TO Be SAVED?
BILLY SUNDAY WAS NEAR VIC.
TIM OF SATAN-EATS
AN APPLE,
IBY GORDON LATHROP. |

Sunday, with the magnanimity of a
victor, has always credited Mr.. Devil
with being most resourceful fiend ;
"a persistent. convincing whisperer OF
alluring sin and a master conjuror in
putting hindrances in the way of those
who would be good, but the widest
flight of the imagination could not
conceive that Billy himself would be
even near-victim of the Vaccinations
of the prince Of evil.
That Bill was only near-victim
justifies the telling of the circum-
stance. If Mr.. Devil had succeeded in
his foul plot
! The preacher was leading up to the
climax of his sermon. He was land
ing with both hands on the person who
says: 81 won't be Christian because
there are some things l don't under
stand" Bill had Numbered in reply
do you refuse to eat fruit because
you do not understand what makes
the trel grow and bear the fruit?'
! He reached behind the platform and
had given him that night, and brought
forth luscious looking sample.
Look here He held it up. ANY
{
in the fruit and bit out huge chunk.
II don't know how it grew but do |
refuse to eat it because | don't know
how it grew?' He bit it again, twice,
three times. "Noddun y'r life" he
mumbled as he attempted to stow
away enough of the fruit to allow his
| speaking organs to functionate.
THAT kind of a man hasn't as much
sense as gnat," he managed to artic.
ulate and then he stopped He open
ed his mouth to speak but all that
came forth was a husky cough. He
tried again and his face became red
but that little segment of fruit that
old Mr.. Devil had diverted down his
wind pipe Ito say his Sunday throat
would be confusing), stopped his
speech as effectively as if he had been
garroted.
Did Bill Sunday concede ten strike
to old Nick? mot on your life" he
! might have said as he did about the
apple. He hesitated just a fraction Of
moment, then Strengthened up with
a jerk and assumed military atti-
, tude. He marched across the stage,
his hand stiffly at salute.
Hep, hep, hep" he husked, hep,
hep, hep he clicked his heels togeth-
err and turned about face, hep, hep,
hep" Hooray, his throat was cleared
Of that devilish hindrance and Mr..
Devil was foiled again. If Bills voice
| had been put out of business at that
critical instant. Good night All the
imps of the inferno would have been
given a two weeks vacation at full
pay and Mr.. Devil would have set 'em
up to all the infidels and sinners in the
establishment.
Hep, hep, hep" he said and then
plunged into the best illustration he
had given that night. He depicted
tioningly obeys his superior. The
"hep, hep, hep created just the right
atmosphere for the driving home Of
the lesson and it most effectively clear
ed that highly important throat.
Two hundred and fifty converts
came forward at the close of the SER
mon, What Must l Do To Be Saved"
Among them were eight uniformed
members of drill team of the Loyal
Order of Moose. Sunday tried par
ticularly hard to influence this delega-
ton. There were several in the dele
cation who were not In uniform who
came forward but these did not create
as much interest as the squad OF young
men in their natty, gold braided
regalia.
Two of these young fellows had evil
IDENTIFY accepted Christ, through Billy
Sundays evangelism on some previous
night and these two stood before their
brother members, one at each end OF
the row and pleaded with them to
come forward Sunday stepped to the
press box nearer the delegation and
cried: Come on Moose, come boys,
come Moose" and several ladies If the
personal workers staff added their
voice in the invitation. For quite a
while the men remained obdurate but
suddenly, at a signal from their Of
ficer. eight of them lined up under tie
altar to give their hand to Bill sun
day and to take their seats with the
other penitents.
The sermon abounded in striking
passages.
whenever religion cuts Off mans
revenue, he's already a moral pauper,
whether he's MILL pnaire stock brok-
er or a cellar crap shooter. When re.
ness" he said in opening.
1t was the Philippian jailer, as told
in the sixteenth chapter of Acts who
cried: What must do to be saved?"
and Sunday answered that it was then
as now, by only one means.
as it to corner the wheat market?
Is it to be elected congress? Is it to
discover gold mine, graduate from
college or join literary society,""
NO" he cried. "believe in the Lord,
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Sunday convulsed the audience with
another reference in this sermon to
emotional displays INDUCED in by some
who get religion. ,....
He told of a meeting in Elgin, ILL.,,
at which man who came forward
threw himself down in the sawdust
and shavings before the pulpit, wept
and cried and rolled about in his
ecstacy of religious experience. Sun
day at that time turned to Methodist
minister standing near and asked:
whats the matter with that fellow p
why, he's getting religion, Bill
answered the minister.
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