Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-04
AMERICA NEEDS
TIDAL WAVE OF
TRUE RELIGION
Billy Sunday Says She Needs to be
Taken Down and Given Bath
in Gods House.
BY ELIZABETH BRYAN.


green earth" why people today are
not being Christians, and those are
because they are either afraid of
what Jesus Christ will put out of
their lives when He does come into
their hearts, or what he will bring
into their lives when He does come.
Along these lines was his message
of last night at the tabernacle,
when he delivered one of his most
powerful sermons of the week.
The subject for the sermon was
= The Heavenly Visitor" and it was
taken from the text in the third
chapter in Revelations, the goth
verse: Behold. l stand at the door
and knock: if any man hear my
voice and open the door, I will
come in to him and will sup with
him and he with Me"
Religion is in your will And
your will is the bolt that is keep
ing Him out" Rev. Mr.. Sunday ex-
planned God cant come in when
the bolt is drawn. You've got to
let Him in because you want to
do so. God has declared the free
dom of your will. If you won't let
Him in. that is another thing
IF you would let Him in, out
would go suspicion, backbiting,
wrath, malice, lies. villification,
Islander. and all that turns night
into troubled insomnia and the day
into a mirage. Your hopes are as
sassinated and your ambitions for
noble things electrocuted; and
there you stand, my friends, a grin
ming skeleton, bearing upon you an
NF
been had you yielded to God or His
influence surrounding you to help
you do His will.
This verse applies to every soul
as well as those who are stubborn
ly shutting Jesus out of their lives.
There He stands, pleading. There
you are. a careless inhabitant, bolt
ing the door of your will and refus-
ing Jesus permission to enter.
America Needs Tidal Wave.
America needs a tidal wave of
the old-time religion. She needs to
be taken down to God S bathhouse
and the hose turned on her. She
needs God. She needs Jesus Christ.
How ungrateful it is to refuse Him.
1t is a wonder that God has kept
down His hand of punishment"
Mr. Sundays illustrations last
evening were unusually effective
and pertinent In illustrating the
ends of two lives. he used two rail
road lines. one terminating on the
western coast and the other on the
eastern. just 5000 miles away.
These brought out the destination
of the two kinds of lives. one which
leads to heaven and the other to
hell The road of life defects at
Calvary. Some climb the hill and
attain the cross.
Another apt illustration was the
story of the man who was dying in
a hospital because of starved love,
and how he recovered when he
vas assured Of the love of the girl
with whom he had quarreled years
before through her gift of flowers.
He said that this old world is a
great deal like a hospital after all.
Two thousand years ago God
took pity on us and leaned over
the battlements of glory. Looking
down upon US. He saw US strug-
Cling under the weight of sin. He
walked out into the garden and
plucked the ily-of-the-valley and
the rose of Sharon. He entwined
with them the smile and forget-me-
nots of His love, and dropped it
down into the manger at Bethle-
hem. 1t was Jesus Christ And
this is the same Jesus you are re
fusing to let into your lives. Why |
did He send Jesus? It's too deep. !
l cannot begin to understand
Some have heard and have re-
fused Him entrance Listen. | be /
lfeve there are men here just as
truly damned as if they were in |
hell tonight Why? Because they !
have heard and have refused. /
Some of you came here determined |
to keep Him out, with the bolt Sc
curely fastened. Some have let /
Him in, but not far. not far enough.
Some have shut Him out in the /
spare room and you have about !
chilled Him out. If you are will |
ing to pay the price, l have moth |
ing to say. If you ever go to hell /
you have got to climb over the /
church. the bible. the cross, every !
seruCa you have ever heard |
preached, every church ever built.
every Sunday school ever organ
fzed. and every song you have sVsr
heard sung.
Invite Jesus ~. r
Suppose I rot around to your
house the day after you have ask
ed me = dine. Suppose 1 do not
knock. but just open the door and
walk in and 81. down and make
myself at home reading the paper
And you come into the room and
find me there. and you will say. 1
am delighted to see you. Now you
lie. You are not. You could not
help but say: He is a queer man
I didn't ask him to come today.
and he didn't tell me he was com
ing. He just butted in. You
couldn't help but say that All
right: for Jesus to be welcome in
your heart. you've got TO do the in
viting He will have to come in in
to your invitation. and if
you don't invite Him He will never
darken your threshold. Behold, I Il
stand at the door and knock
Make Jesus stand outside? You
are refusing the best friend and
influence that ever asked en-
trance"
Mr.. Sunday was more optimistic 1
in his sermon last night over con-
ditions in the world than in any of
his others. He said that there
we're many encouraging signs in
the world today One of them is
the missionary movement which is
sweeping throughout the land He I
smoke again of the great wealth of