Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-29
Last Nights Sermon
I STAND AT THE DOOR
AND KNoCKt

"'o'h' IL any man hear My voice and
open the door, I will come In to him. and
Will sup with him, and he with Me
Revelations, III, 20.
"Ihat is n part OF a message from
Jesus Christ, delivered through John on
the Island of Patmos, and It was meant
for the Christians Of that day. Some
OF those to whom It was addressed had
heard the matchless precepts of Jesus
as they fell from His own Inns. and
some OF those who had enjoyed that
privilege had become apathetic and were
deserving of rebuke.
1 can see many splendid signs on the
horizon of your day and mine. I see
the churches growing in equipment. l
see church membership increasing. The
wave OF religious zeal aroused in the
latter part of the seventeenth century by
Wesley and Whitfield has not lost its
force. although it seems now to have
many things in opposition to it. The
force is there, but there seems to be
something lacking that was In the early
church when Jesus spoke to John on
Patmos and said, Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. When Jesus said that
lie said, Take your pen and write that
down, John. I want them to know it
what is 1t that is lacking in our church
today? Not the means and not the num-
bers. We want to learn that beautiful
rituals and fine churches are of little
worth In themselves. They weight not at
all with God. If we only knew how little
God cares for that sort of thingl They
are all right, but they are not the i'm
portant thing, and they are not enough.
We have m~usic-that's all right. We have
society-the social side OF the church.
and that's all right; but we make Jesus
Christ stand outside. How sharper than
a serpent's tooth is it to nave a thank
less child| 1t Is true that Mans inhu-
mainly to man makes countless thousands
MOURN but think how worse 1t is to be
cold to Jesus. We allow Jesus Christ to
wait outside.
RELIGION YOUR WILL.
You religion is in your will, not In
your handkerchief. 1t is your attitude
toward God that determines your re-
ligion. A sinner has no standing with
God-absolutely no standing whatever;
religion is q matter of obedience to the
commandments OF God, sin is disobedi-
ence. II your will is not In conformity
with the will of God you are not re-
ligious.
"a man said to me, It's SO hard to get
acquainted with Cod 1 said: No. it's
the easiest thing in the world. II God
Is not in your life it's because you don't
want Him In
How do you know God will accept
you? Well, I'll be a Yankee in this case
and answer your question by asking you
another: What is that something within
you which reaches out for something you
have not; that makes you respect that
which is noble and long for that which
is good; that which made some of you
come here tonight; What is it?' You
know what 1t is-the hunger of the hui
man heart for God. God put that hunger
there, and 1t Is His proof that He will
accept you If you come. How are you
to know? Let me ask If you would let
God come in IL you did know.
What Jesus said centuries ago is still
true-it still has power to save, 1t is just
as much for us as it was for the people
of His day. In Egypt they dug up from
the long-forgotten tomb a mummy that
had been placed there $500 years ago,
and when they unwrapped the clothes
about 1t there fell out a few grains OF
wheat. They planted these shriveled
grains in the fertile valley OF the Nile,
and they sprouted and grew, and when
they were ripened they saved the seed,
and today there are thousands OF bushels
OF wheat from that seed that had lain
In the mummy's tomb during the centu-
ries. These words of Jesus apply as
much today as when Jesus uttered them.
They have power to make the drunkard
sober, they have power to save every
sinner in Pittsburgh.
MUST HAVE CHRIST.
THE religion of Jesus is something
more than a system OF morals. There
Is not Christianity where Jesus Is left
out. l can preach Mohammedanism with
out Mohammed L can preach Buddhism
without Budda. I can preach Zoroas-
terism without Zoroaster, In each of
these there is a line of doctrine without
any especial need of it's founder. but
without Christ there can be no Christian
ity. 1t is not only a code for livlng-it
is a personality, a living link between
man and the Father. l cannot preach
Jesus unless l accept Jesus Christ.
Jesus says: II you will open the door
I viii conn in and prove my power
through your life A man says to me,
Well, / serve God / ask hin how.
I go to church. he says. I say: 50
does the devil and he beats you TO it,
at that. The church bell never rings that
he isn't on the job But the man says:
I give / say: 80 does the saloon
keeper and the brewer; so does the
woman of the red light-she always
throws something into the collection
plate. inc man shy5s 1 pray i say |
so does everybody when they're up
against IT, There isn't a person who
doesn't pray some time. You prayed
when you were sick and you thought that
the undertaken was coming to measure
you and tell them how long TO dig the
grave. You pray TO God to stop the flood
and when He stops 1t you say: 'Goodby,
God
you work? Some Of you are like the
man who was hired by a farmer, He
sat at the table and ate and ate, and
by n by the farmer came IN and asked
when h was going to work. Why the
fellow said, don't I always come 10
meals when I am called? Don't I always
eat a LOTT Don't l praise your wife's
cooking? Don't I sleep in the bed you
told me to sleep int What more would
you havs7' The farmer said: Yes, you
are always on hand when meals are
ready, and you eat till I sometimes think
I'll have to praise my wlfe's cooking and
you sleep where you we're told. but I
want you 10 90 70 work, I am paying
you so much a day 10 go out into the
field and repay me with work.
LIKE HIRED MAN.
some OF you are like that hired man.
You eat two meals on Sunday and take
a cold lunch on Wednesday night, and