Omaha daily bee., 1915-09-23

ding at very fashionable church. The
bride. a beautiful girl Of about twenty
one. came down the aisle smiling. She
was marrying a banker who was very
rich.
As they reached the front a woman
heavily v:eiled lifted her veil and the
bridegroom cried out:
My God. is that your
The woman said: Yes, here is your
child. / have kept him for four years
Now you take him for a while"
The bridegroom was gaspinR for breath
and the bride-to-be tainted and was car
ried out. The audience fled in terror
and soon there was nobody left in the
church but the groom and his 4-year-old
boy crying for his mother.
That was not repentance because the
banker was sorry for what he had done.
Repentance isn't promising or resolv-
ing to do better. Why. the devil will let
you do that every day in the week. II you
are willing to let II go at that
/ / don't believe there has ever been a
wicked man in Omaha who was not con-
tinually promising himself that he was
going TO turn over a new leaf. Why. bless
you, knew when had done wrong as
well as any Christian in this house.
No man can take advantage Of another
In a trade and feel like a saint about II
afterwards even II he never saw a Bible
or heard a sermon preached.
No man can ruin a trusting woman
! without despising himself for II. The
woman who has deceived her husband
knows that che has sinned whether she
ever goes to church or not
] There Is something that keeps you from
the arms Of Jesus. / don't know what
It Is, It Is none OF my business, but you
will have to give II up or you will lose
your soul.
For the prodigai sons repentance IL
meant leaving the hog pen and going
back TO his fathers house and saying;
Father. 1 have sinned." For Simon
Peter It meant leaving the sea 70 follow
Jeusu, and for you It will mean to do
whatever is needed to mako you right
with God
| When John the Baptist said TO King
Herod. Repent, for the kingdom OF
heaven Is at hand" he meant get right
with God at once, for now Is your chance.
No FRvOr1tisna with God.
Some OF you here may never hear an
other sermon. Herod was king and had
In this 1t may be that you are like him.
You say be high UP in life. high up in
society. high up In the rating OF Dun and
Brad dstreet's: II is hard for you to get
down on your knees and say. God, be
merctful TO me, a sinner" But that
don't make any difference with God.
You may live on Farnam or in the
! red light district You may live in a
palace of twenty-five rooms or a hovel
of one room. You will die and so to
hell IL you don't repent. The Lord
makes no comparison. There is no
favorltism with God.
There are no favorites with God God
! commands the millionaire to repent and
II he don't he will go to hell the same
as the bootblack who is shining his
shoes in the barber shop The society
woman will lose her soul Just as quick
as the maid who waits on her, II she
don't repent. The things that God is
against are the things you have to
give up.
Repentance means doing what God
commands you. There can be no COM
promise with Cod
Soon after Gypsy Smith was converted
a well-meaning old brother said to him:
II suppose you have time every night
when you fix UP with God for whatever
you have done wrong during the day"
Gypsy was horror-struck and replied
mo, ! would never do that. God shows |
me that I have done wrong the very
minute that do II and fix It up with |
Him then"
The trouble with most OF you folks Is
that you try to do business on the pass |
book plan with God and you don't fix |
up with Him any oftener than you do |
with the man who sells your groceries, |
and that's why you don't weigh any more |
for Him than you do.
/ tell you I believe we should bring ,
our repentance down to a spot cash basis |
II we want to have power in prayer and |
testimony. You must make II q rule to |
get right with God the very minute He |
tells you that you are wrong.
Let the wicked forsake his way, no |
matter how profitable It may be. II you !
are in a business that God Is not in, |
then for Gods sake get out OF the busi- |
ness.
When John Vassar was in the brewery |
business he knew he could not brew beer
and so to heaven. and was up against the |
question OF whether he would keep the 1
brewery and so TO hell. or whether he |
would give It up and go TO heaven.
He gave II up ana became one OF the /
greatest soui-winners Of the nineteenth /
century.
Now men and women Of omahs. you