The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-05-05

Speaking on Behold l stand at the
Door" Rev. w. A. Sunday on Thurs
day night said:
In other words, 1t is up to you.
"Behond, stand at the door and
knock" That is a part of the mes
sage of Jesus, through the Holy
Spirit and the Apostle John to the
back-slidden church.
Ihere are many who enjoy the
exalted privileges that are not ours.
They had seen Jesus face to face
and heard him speak and caught the
influence which came from associat-
ing with him.
They had heard him speak the
words, and disease would flee away
and the storm would STILL He
showed his power over disease, death
and devils, and notwithstanding all
that, they had drifted into a coma
tose the necessity for the present
book, of which my text is a part
Notwithstanding there are many
things that are discouraging today,
see many signs that are encour-
aging, splendid signs. The mission
airy zeal which is sweeping through
out the length and breadth of the
land. The minds and hearts in men
and women in nations wherever they
have been immune to appeals are now
open, and with outstretched arms
they are looking across the mountains
and the seas for us to come with the
glad tidings of the message of saliva
ton through Jesus Christ.
Church Membership
Is Growing.
Churches are arising and mem
berships are increasing. and the re-
ligious wave that started at the close
OF the seventeenth century under the
preaching of Wesley and Whitfield
has not yet lost its force. Yet there
seems to be something lacking.
We are increased in goodness, in
culture and wealth, and we seem to
be despised and forsaken. And
believe that Jesus Christ stands at
the door of the church life, and there
is no music and there is no ritual
There is no progress in material
matters that has a feathers weight
with God. We admit philosophy
and God would not rebuke We adj
nit ethics and God would not say
nay. We admit education, society
and these things which are literal
part of our nature and which God
does not deny US. He wants US to
enjoy them TO the fullest, but we
compel Jesus Christ to stay without
If you'd let him ccs2e in. out would
go suspicion, back-biting, wrath, NAL
ice, lies, vilification, SANDER and all
that turns night into a troubled insom-
MIA and the day into mirage. Your
hopes are assassinated and your ambi-
tons for noble things are electrocut
ed, and there you stand. my friends
a grinning skeleton, bearing upon you
an epitah of what you might have
been if you had only yielded to God
or his influence surrounding you to
help you do his will.
Christ Pleads
For Souls.
1t applies to every soul as we'll as
those who are shutting Jesus Christ
cut of their lives. There he stands
pleading. There you are, careless
inhabitant, boiling the door of your
Will and refusing Jesus Christ per
mission to enter
Religion is in your will, not in your
handkerchief, not in the achrymaI
glands. You have got to do some
thing more than snuff and blow your
nose and say "Come to Jesus"
Religion isn't in your handkerchief,
religion is in your will. If your will
is not in conformity to the revealed
will of God. you are not religious.
| don't give a picayune who you
are, where you are, whether you are
hobo. counting the ties over a di-t
vision, or a multi-millionaire, hitting
the town with limousine, if your
will is not the will of God, you are
headed for the pit.
Religion comes from the Latin
word "reIigio", Christ's way of get,
TING back to God. A sinner forfeits
his standing with God, the same as
traitor forfeits his standing with
the government. Therefore, God will
never kneel in mercy with a sinner,
unless he comes in through faith i'm,
Jesus. Therefore, Christ is getting
the sinners back to God.
So, if he wants to get back to God,
he has to come through faith in
Christ, not philanthropy. not culture,
which are in themselves all right,
commendable. but they will never
bring you back to God. Christ is the
sinners only way of returning to the
Lord.
II Is Easy To
Find God.
Some say it is hard to get ac-
quainted with God. Wrong! Wrong!
1t is easy! 1t is the easiest thing in
the world! If God has never come
into your life, it is because you don't
want him to come into your life.
He says. Behold. | stand at the
door and knock. and if you will let
me come in, | will change the foun- |
tains of your life. Where it is bit
ter, | will make it sweet. Where it |
is dark, | will make it light. And |!
through you, l will reveal to the world |
what real true religion is"
The service that God wants, NY
friends, is service to humanity in /
the name of Jesus Christ That's i
what God wants. Oh, but a fellow I
says, 81 serve God" What do you
do? 81 go to church" so does the \
devil and he beats you there every
day too, They never opened the
door nor rang the bell that the devil /
wasn't Johnny -on-the-spot.
You say, 81 pray" so does every
body pray. Every man = If you
have not prayed, you will pray, un- I
less God knocks you down so quick /
you haven't time to draw your breath. I
When the Titanic went down there /
was a raft scheduled to carry two