The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-30

for you" Then do your best foi
Jesus, whether the best you do Is the
best you'd like to do or not
And so the girls came on in with
him and Jesus said: where have
you laid him1"
Did they say: "You so out through
the kitchen. Jesus then through the
garden. and be careful, because we
have rot an asapargus bed just com
tree, then across that little bridge
sy6 th~n 4a-g,>ee 4hA sjehf and Xon
WITH ana foGr sepulcsk4es. BfsNs eSss
brother In IN the last one"
Did they talk like that7 No! Jesus
said: Where have you laid him
Where II he 2"
They said: Come and see. We
will show YOU"
DO IL Yourself.
All right, you lock arms with Jesus
Christ and go home and say to your
husband, Husband. you ought TO ta
a Christian. Let's go down to the
tabernacle with our children and all
give our hearts to God"
Go ahead. Don't ask somebody
else to do your work. DO it yourself
and sec what God will do. / believe
the Lord Ia saying: II am going 10
raise tho people that are In trespasses
and sin, but / am not going to DO II
with the churches sitting still and
doing nothing" No, SIR.
And now when they arrived at the
sepulchre. here Is what Jesus said:
Take ye away the stone" What
does that meant 1t means that he
wanted them to still do their part
They couldn't raise the dead. but they
could roll the stone away.
So God won't do what we can do.
can preach. Rody can sing, You
can sing. We must do our part.
And so what feelings OF cxpecta-
ton must have filed the hearts OF
those girls, Martha and Mary. They
had been over that road twice. They
went down when they buried Laza.
rus, to the funeral. and then they had
gone back home after the funeral.
Now they are going down with Jesus,
and / can imagine the feelings that
must have been in their hearts,
And Martha said when they reach
ed the sepulchre: Jesus, he has been
dead four days"
Well, the Lord knew sll about that
You can't put God in possession of
some information that he hasn't al
ready got. You don't need to tell
he knows that
All he asks Of you and me is to get
right and do our part It Is his bust
ness to save people.
He didn't ask anything. In raising
him from the dead. whether he'd been
dead four days or forty. That didn't
make any difference.
Take ye away the stone" What
stone! Oh. the stone OF worldliness.
the stone OF indifference. the stone
of half-heartedness. the stone of a
nn14 viii ~ ctr ~
cism, the stone OF want OF love for
the souls of men, the stone Of Bit
terness, the stone Of an unforgiving
spirit. the stone OF a gossiping pro-
clivity, the stone OF a prayerless life,
the stone of formalisms, the stone OF
dignity. the stone Of austere manner
isms and bloodless platitudes---what-
ever they are. take we away the stone.
a preacher, friend OF mine, was
preaching in New Jersey and an aged
minister got up and said:
Il have been praying that God
would make this the best day l have
ever had. have been preaching for
twenty years. I have preached not
because I had 4 sense of burden for
souls, but because had sense enough
to make words into sentences; and
have been content II there were chill
dren enough born OF members OF this
church to keep the Sunday school
even with those who grow to man
hood and womanhood and die and
move away or leave the church." He
said: II have been praying God to
make this the best day have ever
known. and he In answering my
prayer; and he sat down.
And presently a man arose and
said: The idea Of my minister max
ing a confession like that. 1t is
that ought to make It I have been
more immersed in my business In one
thoughts and plans to my business in
a week than have to the Church in
twelve months"
He said: pray for me, not that I
may have less interest In my business,
but that may give more concern and
plan1 10 tho work Of tina Lord, and
he sat down.
/. Presently . woman arose. She said !:
X am a member Of the Doctors
church, bnt nobody would ever have
known It by the company l kept and
the things I did. nor by the things I
didn't do. You would have had to go
to church record to ever ind it out ="
She said: II have two daughters
They recently made their debut into
society. and I spent more money on
their coming out gowns and recep-
ton than l have given to the church
in twelve yearA was Grassy to in
troduce them to society, but l have
never introduced either Of them to
Jesus Christ. They don't know Him -
She sat down weeping
Ny friend said: zig there anybody
here that would like to have us pray
for them? II 30. wish you'd stand
up"
Back yonder two girls arose with
the tears trickling down their cheeks
The minister rolled away the stone;
then the business man. immersed In
his business, rolled away the stone;
then the society mother. q member OF
the church. rolled away the stone. and
her two dead girls walked ont Of the
sepulchre OF the sinful life and said
pray for US that We may be Chris
ttans."
That's what I mean. When the
church Of God gets right, youth see
thousands and thousan1s OF people
In this world converted.
Just this and l am done: when
they rolled back the stone. then they
could SEQ the dead body Of their bro
Their; then when they did. they be-
gan to weep. Jesus wept. Martha
wept. Mary wept They just wept,
and they had a weeping time.
They that SOW in tears shall reap
in joy"' Did you ever cry over ANY,