The Clio messenger., 1921-09-29

u osSM2 ATA from the hho"
edge of himself.
When the man in the San Francisco
horror walked about the street saying
that he had saved million dollars
from the fire In the little satchei ne
carried, the policeman bade him open
the satchel. There was only nre-
shovelful of ashes. That was all. The
poor man had become delirious, and
that was the reason he stated that
shOvelful OF ashes was q million dol
lars.
And the lost man In sin has failed
to find his actual moral assets. One
look at Jesus Christ and what 1t cost
to redeem him will do more to ac-
quaint man with himself than years
Of argument about his own orderly be-
havior. AS the cheeks may bear the
flush Of health when the heart Is real
ly slowing down to death. so one may
be cheated about his souls standing
before God. He Is "being deceived"
Saul ''verily thought" he ought to do
what amounted to prosecuting Jesus
until he came where he knew himself
to be the "chief of sinners"
2. The lost man Is lost from the
knowledge of God.
knowledge ABOUT God may be his,
like the knowledge about home COM
forts to man starving and freezing
In a painless forest. He may know
about God but he does not know God.
But the saved man has found a new
friend, he is swathed In a new love,
he has consciously met God. 'This Is
life eternal that they might know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom Thou has sent" The lost man
Is lost from acquaintance with the
only absolutely reliable Friend.
Sinner Lacks Assurance.
3. The lost man Is lost to the knowl-
edge Of pardon Of sin.
However much he may desire and
dreamily hope that God would not
condemn him, he cannot pass beyond
the line of uncertainty about it. The
very best he could dare say would be
based upon his self-asserted-perha
But the saved man knows. AS Mel
Trotter says: II know that Jesus
saved me for l was there when II hap
pened." The saved soul has the "of-
fering" of Jesus Christ between him
and all guilt. He can meet all ac-
cusers with the challenge. II know
whom / have believed"
Have you heard his song? Have
you seen the light In his eyes? Have
you gotten close enough to him to
observe that he has full assurance
of faith?
In one of our state prisons, at chapel
service on Sunday morning, heard
a prisoner call out, 20, I'm free, I'm
free, all my sins are pardoned. / may
have TO stay In this prison twenty
years yet, but l say I'm free" o,
soul, surely there is something worth
knowing.
a. The lost man is lost to the knowl-
edge of answered prayer.
Now the privilege of getting things
from God is not worked out by man.
Prayer is privilege presented to man
by God. He has arranged that 1t can
not sink down to the grade of our
whims and fancies, but He has also
arranged TO bring the trusting soul
up TO where "the fervent effectual
prayer of righteous man availeth
much; :" and as God answers prayer
after prayer, the Christian life becomes
n succession of miracle after miracle.
HeII-Ward or GIory-Ward7
n IL, n.
the secrets of "the household Of faith"
The lost soul never knows that Al
the very best he may look off on II
with astonishment, as II has been ex-
hibited In godly mother or some other
person of faith. Or he may not do so
well he may deny 1t ALL Either way,
he Is lost to It. To say, II called, he
answered" is not his. Never has there
come to him from the silence anything
but an echo.
8. The lost man Is lost to the knowl-
edge of Christian hope.
The Christians hope Is not an out
growth Of interesting probabilities. No.
II is the legitimate product of security
and certainty. 1t means. saved today
| shall be saved forever. II opens Its
eyes wide to the enemies, the dangers
and the storms. and II sees clear by
them all. 1t is that better-on- before
knowledge. The tug of the place OF
the GLORIOUS reward" Is felt by the
man who has II. tell you that the
uncertainty is drained out Of the
future for such.
But the lost mani All, the pull and
tug on him Is from the very opposite
region. Let him be truly willing 10
break with that fatal pull, and by the
grace of God he will be caught by
the other. The one is heIl-ward, the
other Is glory-ward.
Calculate. II you can, the assets of
the man who has God and who has
hope In the world. "Now the God OF
hope all you with all Joy and peace
In believing"