A Goodly Heritage

I.  WE OUGHT TO BE THE ACTIVE SERVANTS OF OUR GOD. It is necessary for us to pray, and if we pray aright, it will make us active in going about doing good. Do not let us enter into the business of life solely an our own account; let us be servants in all we do on God's account. How earnestly most business men seek opportunities of doing anything and everything to increase their trade and make it prosperous. Why do not we as Christians be equally earnest in attracting people to our churches and chapels? We may be co-workers with God. Your holy, charitable life and manners may melt the opposition of men who hate goodness and truth. II.  Then let us further be CONSISTENT servants of our God. The world watches us, waiting to see whether we are true or not. Don't be pious in singing hymns, and impious in something else. Be consistent. If you have faults, don't rest until you get rid of them. Grow daily in grace, piety, and religion, like healthy plants, which grow in beauty d...

Our text brings to our view the soul of man, and, whilst preaching therefrom, I also will try to show some of the causes of the apparent failure of Christianity. It is not Christianity which is at fault, but Christians who are not Christlike. I.  WHY IS IT THAT MEN DO SO NEGLECT RELIGION? 1.  A large portion of the community is deceived by riches. They think all their happiness lies in what riches can give. Hence they toil early and late; they think about nothing else. But when they get rich they are never satisfied. I do not ask for an equal distribution of wealth, but I call upon the rich to be trustees for the world, and to say, "Lord, all that I have is Thine; how shall I use it for Thy glory, and for the good of my fellow-men?" Another cause of the apparent failure of Christianity is — 2.  The errors of many teachers and ministers. 3.  A third cause is the unreasonableness of scepticism. Christianity has blessed the lives of all who believed in it. It h...

Mirth comes from external things which tickle the senses and please the appetite; but joy comes from the happy spirit within us. If this be so, a poor sickly man may not be full of mirth, but he may be full of joy; while a rich man may be sinful and mirthful, and yet have no joy. Mirth comes from outward things, and it therefore lasts only for a short time; but joy springs from an inward eternal force of blessedness. The other day, in London, a kind friend called at my hotel and left me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I had them put in water, and I said, “I will take these flowers home with me”; but they faded, and the sweet perfume was gone; they were beautiful and fragrant only for a time. So mirth is pleasant while it lasts, but very soon it is gone like a dream; but the joy that comes from trusting God and doing His will has no end; it is an increasing eternal delight. What is more beautiful than a balloon rising in the sky? but what is more unsightly than the beautiful thing e...