Some one has said that there are three cla.s.ses of people: the "wills,"
the "won"ts," and the "can"ts"; the first accomplish everything, the second oppose everything, and the third fail in everything.
Sunday Work
A Christian man was once urged by his employer to work on Sunday.
"Does not your Bible say that if your a.s.s falls into a pit on the Sabbath, you may pull him out?"
"Yes," replied the other; "but if the a.s.s had the habit of falling into the same pit every Sabbath, I would either fill up the pit or sell the a.s.s."
There Must Be Roots
Suppose I hire two men to set out trees, and after a day or two I go out to see how they are getting along. I find that one man has set out a hundred trees, and the other only ten. I say:
"Look here; what does this mean? That man has set out a hundred trees, and you have set out only ten. What does it mean?"
"Yes, but he has cut off all the roots, and, just stuck the tops into the ground."
I go to the other man, and say: "What does this mean? Why have you planted all of these trees without roots?"
"I don"t believe in roots; they are of no account. My trees look just as well as his."
But when the sun blazes upon the trees, they all wither and die.
There are a lot of people running around who haven"t got any roots. A good many live on negations. They are always telling what they _don"t_ believe. I want a man to tell me what he _does_ believe, not what he does not believe. And I like to meet a positive man. We just want to know what men do believe. We don"t want trees that haven"t any roots, for they will dry up when the sun blazes on them. There are a good many persons that are going on without any foundation; they have no faith.
The Path of Obedience
Whatsoever He tells you to do, do. But be sure He says it. Don"t take your ideas. Go and live right at home, go and treat your wife and children right, pay your debts, and do some things of that kind.
A colored man said he had seen a sign; he said it read, "G. P. C," and he understood it to mean, "Go preach Christ."
Another man got up, and said. "No, that ain"t it; it is "Go pick cotton.""
If it is preach the gospel, go preach the gospel; and if it is pick cotton, then pick cotton.
Calling a Man a Liar
You cannot offer a man a greater insult than to tell him he is a liar.
Unbelief is telling G.o.d He is a liar.
Suppose a man said, "Mr. Moody, I have no faith in you whatever."
Don"t you think it would grieve me? There is not anything that would wound a man much more than to be told that you do not have any faith in him.
A great many men say, "Oh, I have profound reverence and respect for G.o.d."
Yes, profound respect, but not faith. Why, it is a downright insult!
Suppose a man says, "Mr. Moody, I have profound respect for you, profound admiration for you, but I do not believe a word you say."
I wouldn"t give much for his respect or admiration; I wouldn"t give much for his friendship. G.o.d wants us to put our faith in Him. How it would wound a mother"s feelings to hear her children say, "I do love mamma so much, but I don"t believe what she says." How it would grieve that mother. And that is about the way a great many of G.o.d"s professed children talk. Some men seem to think it is a great misfortune that they do not have faith. Bear in mind it is not a misfortune, but it is the d.a.m.ning sin of the world.
Bending His Will
A mother told me up in Minnesota that she had a little child who took a book and threw it out of the window. She told him to go and pick it up. The little boy said, "I won"t."
She said, "What?"
He said again, "I won"t."
She said: "You must. Go and pick up that book."
He said he couldn"t do it. She took him out, and she held him right to it. Dinner-time came, and he hadn"t picked up the book. She took him to dinner, and after it was over she took him out again. They sat there until tea-time. When tea-time came she took him in and gave him his supper, and then took him out and kept him there until bed-time.
The next morning she went out again and kept him there until dinner-time. He found he was in for a life job, and he picked the book up.
She said she never had any trouble with the child afterward. Mothers, if you don"t make your boy obey when he is young, he will break your heart.
How To Find the Thirsty
When preaching in Chicago, Dr. Monro Gibson once asked in the inquiry meeting, "Now, how can we find out who is thirsty? I was just thinking how we could find out. If a boy should come down the aisle, bringing a good pail full of clear water and a dipper, we would soon find out who was thirsty. The thirsty men and women would reach out for water; but if he should walk down the aisle with an empty bucket, we wouldn"t find out. People would look in and see that there was no water, and say nothing. So," said he, "I think that is the reason we are not more blessed in our ministry; we are carrying around empty buckets, and the people see that we have not anything in them, and they don"t come forward."
Making Parables
Stewart Robertson met Marshall, the great politician, and Marshall said:
"Why don"t you preach in parables like your Master?"
Robertson said: "I would if I knew enough. I wish you would make me a few."
He never could get to see him from that day until one day he met him on a corner, and he said:
"Marshall, where are those parables?"
"I knew you would be after me, but I give it up. I tried, but I couldn"t make them. I didn"t know it was so hard."
People say, "Oh, any one can make up a sermon." But if you think so, just try it!
A Father"s Mistake
The story is told that a man once said he would not talk to his son about religion; the boy should make his own choice when he grew up, unprejudiced by him.