Norwich bulletin., 1919-11-26

ing towards the voice. That's the first l Amen I have heard since I've been i preaching in Norwich. You don't know how refreshing that is"
 Evangelist Smith had an audience of 1 over 800 for the eighth of his sermons | words made a strong appeal to. his hearers as he spoke upon the subject of the evening, which he had an nouneed he especially desired the members of the Norwich churches to hear He is also extending special invitation to the church members to hear his sermon this (Wednesday) evening uson Repentance.
 Speaking from the text John 3-7, >"Ye must be born again" Mr. Smith said that in the beginning God ere ated man; in the image of God ere ated He him.. Therefore man was made in the image. of God with a mind to understand the things of God; with heart that loved the things that God loved; and with a will that wanted to do the things that God wanted him to do. Then, you remember, temptation came. and man fell, and the temple of God was de bauched by sin, and the image of God went out of the heart of man. Then; you remember, Adam pegot 8 son. Not, IUW, III lHe ilLldSG OL NTOUy DuL III lliC image of Adam. That's what the Bible means when it says we were born in sin and silapen in iniquity, and God says therefore that we are spiritually dead, andN we never can understand spiritual things, only as l the imagK of God if restored in our 1 lives by the incoming of the spirit of Jesus Christ
 The text can read "Ye must be born anew" or "Ye must be born from above" or "Ye must be born anew" i In any way. it means tht old things must pass away and there must be a new man in Christ Jesus with new desires and new capacities and new 1 ideals. The first birth is earthly, the second is heavenly. The first is of | the flesh, the second is of the spirit. | The first is of the will of man, the second is of the will of God. And l please don't think that you are too advaneed and too cultured in this age of the twentieth century for this dec- Urine of the new birth, because this is not the pet theme of some wild hair Drained, sensational trafnp even gelist This isn't the theory of some faddist from God knows where: it was the Son of God who gave us this mes
 sage and whispered 1t into the heart
 of a sinful world. because we must
 be born again, and please put the emphasis. in the proper place on these
 two words-must and again.
 And if you will notice He did not
 speak to some man outside of the
 church, not to some man who robbed
 widows and orphans. not to some fel-
 low who was ostracised from society
 but it was to a church member that
 he first gave this message not only
 a church member, but leader in the
 church, an official in the church.
 Prof Henry Drummond, of Scotland
 writing to his friend. Dr. Saber, ot
 Edinhure, after he had heard Wwighi
 L. Moody; who was then conducting
 mission services in Scotland. and aft CT studying his work and dealing witf some of the anxious souls in those
 meetings said, Barber. the majority
 of our church members know the let
 ter of the law as well ts they know
 their own names, but they are as ig-
 norai1t of free grace as hottentots.
 And I am certain that if Prof Drum. : mond could visit our churches ana
 know something of the life. of ous wht are followers of Christ he could writ, it now, and it would be just as true a! , it was then. How is it that we cal
 work up enthusiasm for bazaars ant fairs and socials. how is it we can ge l so busy over lifting a debt from tn church, and yet when our pastors ar anxious that we should unite witt : them for the salvation of men ant women, how is it that we are not jus as busy over that. and try to mak ' all the excuses in the world? It is be l. cause. I think, that we have a nam to live, but are dead.
 7 Nicodetntis said, Can a man b 1 born when he is old?" And ask yol
 that question. It is a well know, s fact that the majority of people to . day on our church rolls are men an
 women who have made this deeisio before they were twenty years ole v There was a time in my ministr ;. when I was not much concerned whe $ a boy or girl took their stand fo
 Jesus Christ. I was far more ar1xiou t about same leading banker, or doetol ]. or lawyer. or business man, but Go
 has opened by eyes to see and to talk
 the right view of things. am ol
 fashioned enough now in believe tha a fence around a precipice is muc better than hospital at the foot, an 5 while it is true that the majority ( v, men and women make their decision 7 for Christ before they were twent . years old, it is possible for @ man z he born when he is old. for whe - Christ says il must be. it may b r Then this church member did exact q ly what some of you are doihgJt e started to ask fool questions. and sai ,+ How can it be?" It is remarkable ths 70 you begin to press a man to mal 70 his decision for Jesus Christ he bt ,e gins to talk a lot of nonsense.
 n you talk to him about business, or DO i itics, or the war, or social things, 10 fraternal things, he can talk sens "a and you enjoy his conversation
 but just as soon as you begin to pl your finger on the cancer spot in h
 life he begins to. try and question yc
 by asking foolish questions-'how ca
 it be?'" Do you think it possible tn
 if God were to explain it all to yo - you could grasp it? Jesus said n this man, you feel the wind, you S
 the results of the wind, but you cal
 not see it, and you don't know whe
 it came from. and you can't tell whe
 1t is going to, yet you believe it. I
 the same argument. I say to you
 see mems lives transformed. I s
 them form new ideals, new loves, ne
 habits. I don't know how, I dol es and the pole it was necessary to kno th off the pickets on the fence to get o