Зображення сторінки
PDF
ePub

God's people, to have them there, they will be brought in. What a blessed revival we will have, if the fathers and mothers will only wake up and see that they are brought in! If we want to shine forever in the kingdom of God, then we must bring them in. But the trouble is, we want to shine down here in this fleeting world. How ambitious the fathers and the mothers are that their children shall just shine here for a little while; and the best and final interest of their soul is overlooked and forgotten.

I heard of a man that was dying some time ago, a man of great wealth; and when the doctor told him he could not live, the lawyer was sent for to make out his will. And the dying man's little girl, only about four years old, did not understand what death meant; and when the mother told her that her papa was going away, the little child went to the bedside and looked into her father's eyes and asked; "Papa, have you got a home in that land that you are going to?" And the question sunk down deep into his soul. He had spent all his time and all his energy in the accumulation of great wealth.. He had a grand home, and had now got to leave it; and how that question came home to him.

Dear friends, let me ask you the question to-day, have you got a home beyond the grave? Can you say your name is written in the Lamb's book of life? Can you rejoice as only Christ's disciples rejoice, because your name is there? If you cannot, then don't let the sun go down until the great question of eternity is settled. Let the news flash over the wires of heaven, up to the throne of God, that you want your name there: "Oh, let my name be written in the Book of Life!" And then when your name is called, and there is a voice heard, "Come up hither!" you will go with joy and gladness to meet your Lord and Savior. You remember how it was with that dying soldier-you have undoubtedly seen it, it has been in print so oftenwho, lying on his cot, was heard to say, "Here! here! here!" and they went to him and asked him what he wanted. "Oh," said he, "they are calling the roll of heaven, and I am answering to my name;" and in a few minutes he faintly whispered it again, and was gone. That great roll is being called; and it will be a very important thing, more important than anything else when the hour comes, that our names be written in the book of life; for God says, except it is written in the book of life, we shall not enter that city. The gates will be closed against us; no one will enter the kingdom of God except those whose names are written in the book of life. So, my friends, let us be wise. Let us see that our names are there; and then let us go to work, and see if we cannot bring our children to Christ. I know a mother in this audience, to-day, who has got a family of children; and a few days ago she got stirred up, and thought she would go to her children and talk to them personally about Christ. She commenced only ten days ago, and what is the

result? A son and two daughters-all that she has got-have been brought to Christ; and perhaps there is not a happier woman in New York to-day, because she has got the names of her family all written in the book of life. She knows that they are to be an unbroken circle in eternal life. Fathers and mothers, let us be wise unto eternity, and bring our children into the kingdom with us. But you may say, What has this to do with heaven? You cannot talk about heaven, but the children must be spoke of, "For of such is the kingdom of heaven." They have been going up there for these 6000 years. Their little spirits are up yonder with the Shepherd; and he will take better care of them than we can. It seems as if it ought to make heaven very dear to us.

I never talk about children and heaven, but what the story of two fathers comes right home to me. One lived out in the Western country, on the banks of the Mississippi river. The world calls him rich; but how poor he is, or, how poor he was! Thank God! he is rich now. One day his oldest son was brought home to him unconscious; a terrible accident had happened, and the family physician was hurriedly called in. As he came in, the father said: "Doctor, do you think my son will recover?" "No," said the doctor; he is dying, and cannot recover." "Well," says the father, "only bring him to, can't you, that we may tell him? I don't want him to die without knowing that he is dying." The doctor said he would try, but that the boy was fast dying. After awhile the boy did become conscious for a moment, and the father cried: "My boy, the doctor tells me you are dying, and cannot live. I could not let you die without letting you know it." The young man looked up to his father, and said: "Father, do you tell me I am going to die right away?" "Yes, my boy," said the agonized father; "you will be gone in a little while." Oh, father, won't you pray for my lost soul?" Said the speechless father, "I cannot pray, my son." The boy grew unconscious, and after a little while was gone; and the father said when he buried that boy, that if he could have called him back by prayer, he would have given all he was worth. He had been with that boy all those years, and had never prayed once for him. Am I talking to a prayerless father and mother, to-day? Gather your children around you and show them the way to the kingdon of God. Train them to go where Christ reigns in triumph, that they may be with you.

66

The other father was a contrast. I don't know but he may be in this audience this evening. His son had been dangerously ill, and when he came home one day he found his wife greatly troubled. She told him there had been a great change since morning, and she thought their boy was dying. "I wish," said she, "that you would go in and tell him of his condition, for I cannot bear to; and he ought to know it if he is dying." The father went in, went up to

his son's bedside, placed his hand on the boy's pale forehead, and saw the cold, damp sweat of night was gathering, and he saw in a little while the boy would be gone; and he said, "My son, do you know you are dying?" And the young man said, "No; am I dying?" "Yes, my son." "Will I die to-day?" "Yes, my boy; you cannot live until night." And the boy looked surprised, and yet seemed to be glad, and said: "Well, father, I will be with Jesus, to-night, won't I?" "Yes, my boy; you will stand to-night with the Savior," and the father turned away to conceal his tears. And the boy saw the tears, and said: "Father, don't you weep for me; when I go to heaven, I will go right straight to Jesus, and tell him that ever since I can remember, you have tried to lead me to him." God has given me two little children; and if I know my heart today, I would rather have such testimony as this go home to my Father, through my children, than to have the world rolled at my feet. I would rather have them come to my grave and drop a tear over it, and say: "When my father lived, he was more anxious for my eternal salvation than he was for my temporal good," than I would to have all the power this world can bestow. A few weeks ago, when my boy was sick, and I didn't know but that it would result fatally, I took my place by the side of his bed, and placed my hand on his forehead, and said: "Willie, suppose you should be really sick" -I didn't want to have him think he was likely to die-" and you should be taken away, do you think you would be afraid of death?" and a tear trickled down his cheek, as he said: "No, papa. summer I was awful afraid of death; but Jesus has taken it all away now. If I die, I should go to him; and he would give me everything I wanted." Ah! how sweet it was to think the little fellow was not afraid of death. It seems to me, we ought to teach our children so that they will hail with joy the time that they can go to meet Jesus, their blessed Savior. Oh, may the Spirit of the Lord God come upon this assembly to-night, and may we know that our names are written in the kingdom of heaven, and then see that the children whom God has given us are written in the book of life.

Last

HEAVENLY TREASURES.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." MATTHEW 6: 19, 20.

Last night, you remember, our subject was heaven, and we were trying to find out who were there; and I want to take the subject right up where I left off. And I call your attention to the 6th chapter of Matthew and 19th verse, where you will find these words: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Now, if we are living as the Lord would have us live, our treasures are laid up in heaven, and not laid up on the earth; and I think we would be saved from a great many painful hours, and a great deal of trouble, if we would just obey that portion of scripture, and lay up our treasures in heaven, and not upon the earth. It is just as much a command that we lay up our treasures in heaven, and not upon the earth, as it is that we shall not steal. God tells us plainly: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." It is a command.

Now, it don't take long to tell where a man's treasure is; it don't take long to find out where a man's heart is. You talk with a man five minutes, and if he has got his heart upon any one object, you can find it out, if that is your aim. And now, if you want to find out where a man's treasure is, it won't take you long to find that out either; For you know that the Bible tells us: "Where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also." And the reason we have so many earthly-minded people, and so few people of heavenly minds is, because the many have their whole hearts set upon earthly pleasures and objects, and the few have their treasures laid up in heaven. If your treasure is here, you will all the time be disappointed and in trouble and trial, when the Lord has told you plainly to lay up your treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. Now, you talk with a man a few minutes, and you soon find out where his heart is. Talk about money; and if he loves money, and is making money and longing for more, how

his eye will light up; and if he is fond of politics, and you refer to that, his whole face kindles up, for you have touched his heart and the subject dearest to him. If it is pleasure, or if it is passion, speak about it and he is interested at once. But the child of God, who has got his treasures up yonder, when you talk about heaven you will see his heart is there; and if a man's heart is in heaven, it is not an effort for him to talk about it at all. He cannot help it. And if our affections are set on things above and not on this earth, it will be easy for us to live for God. Now here is the command: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up your treasures in heaven."

Now, my friends, ask yourselves the question, Where is your treasure? Or, in other words, Where is your heart? When you find out that, then you will find out where your treasure is. In the 10th chapter of Hebrews, 13th verse, are these words: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded to them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country." Then in the 10th verse of that same chapter, speaking of Abraham, it says: "For he looked for a city which hath foundations; whose builder and maker is God." The moment Abraham caught sight of that city, he proclaimed himself a pilgrim and a stranger. The well-watered plains of Sodom had no temptation for him. He declared plainly that he saw another country-a better country. He had turned his heart from this fleeting world, and Sodom with all its temptations didn't tempt him. He had got something better. He had his eye fixed upon a city that should endure when Sodom should have been swept away, and he had got his eye fixed upon that city to lay up treasure there. How poor a man is, no matter how much he has got laid up in this world, if he has not got his treasure laid up in heaven! A couple of friends of mine in the war called upon one of our great Illinois farmers to get him to give some money for the soldiers, and during their stay there he took them upon the cupola, of his house, and told them to look over yonder, just as far as their eye could reach, over that beautiful rolling prairie, and they said, "That is very nice;" and it was all his. Then he took them up another cupola and said: "Look at that farm, and that, and that;" and these were farms all stocked, aud improved and fenced; and they said, "That is very nice," and then he showed them horses, cattle, and sheep-yards, and told them, "That is all mine." He showed them the town where he lived, which had been named for him, a great hall and building lots, and those were all his; and, said he, "I came out West a poor boy, without a farthing, and I am worth all this." But when he got through my friend said: "How much have you got up yonder?" and the old man's countenance fell,

« НазадПродовжити »