down, and then measured you again to-day, I would find that during these
twelve months each of you had grown. You are taller to-day than you were
a year ago. Now, God has given us a standard of moral character, right
and wrong, and I want you all to study it very carefully, so that you
may see how tall you are, how far you come short of the character of
Jesus Christ. And as you grow taller in body, so you should grow in
moral character, and if you will study God's word carefully, you will be
able to discover what progress you are making in becoming more like
Christ, in becoming better boys and better girls, and afterward better
men and better women, from year to year, than you were each preceding
year.
May God bless you abundantly, and may you grow daily "unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph.
iv: 13.)
QUESTIONS.--How many kinds of measures can you
name? Are the standards of weights and measures
the same in all countries? How many standards of
measure does God have? Where can God's standard of
measure be found? Are God's standards the same for
all persons in all countries, in all parts of the
world? Is there any place in the world where it
would be right to lie or steal, or murder? Who was
the only perfect man? Does God's standard ever
change? Should we constantly strive to become like
Christ? How can we tell what progress we are
making in becoming more like Christ?
[Illustration]
THE MAGNET.
JESUS THE GREAT DRAWING POWER.
SUGGESTION:--A small magnet can be purchased in
almost any hardware store at trifling cost. With
this, also have some little tacks, nails both
small and large, together with some old rusted and
crooked nails, and a pocket knife.
Do not omit "driving to church" and the other play
features suggested in previous sermons.
I AM sure that there is not a boy or girl here, who has not at some time
felt a desire to be good and do right. When you have felt this way, it
has been due to the fact that the Holy Spirit has come to you and has
put these good thoughts and good desires into your heart.
There is not a person living who has not at some time felt this same
drawing and desire to do right and to be good. The results, however,
have been very different with different people.
I shall seek to illustrate this drawing power to you to-day, and to do
so have brought this magnet. I have also brought these tacks and nails
of different sizes; and here are also some old, rusted, crooked nails.
Let these several kinds represent the different kinds of people.
[Illustration: Magnet and Tacks.]
When I take this magnet, and move it around among these small tacks, and
then hold it up, you will see that very many of these tacks cling to the
magnet. They hold on by some unseen power. Sometimes the tacks are even
not able to touch the magnet, but are drawn through the influence which
extends through other tacks, and so large clusters hang on to the
magnet. If I shake the magnet you will see that some fall off. These
small tacks represent the youngest children. In the early years of our
lives we are more easily drawn to the Lord Jesus. It is then more easy
for us to come to Christ and give ourselves fully to Him. It is much
easier to be Christians when we are young. Yet many put it off till they
are older, when it is much more difficult and they are less likely to be
successful in living a Christian life.
[Illustration: Magnet and Small Nails.]
Now, if I remove these small tacks, and place the magnet among these
small nails, you will see that several of the small nails cling to the
magnet, and I can lift them up. There are not as many, however, as there
were of the tacks clinging to it. In like manner, as boys and girls grow
older, they find it more difficult to come to Christ.
[Illustration: Magnet and Larger Nails.]
Here are some larger nails. When I place the magnet among them, but very
few are attracted to it. And when I attempt to lift the magnet, most all
of these large nails tall off. Only one, sometimes two, hold on
successfully.
Here are some nails that are still larger. Now, when I attempt to lift
one of them with this magnet, you see that I can only lift one end of
the nail. That is due to the fact that while the magnet draws these
nails, the earth also draws them. That is the reason why these smaller
nails, when they fall from the magnet, fall to the earth; because the
earth draws them. The earth draws with so much greater force and power
upon these large nails than the magnet draws that I cannot raise them by
the magnet. It is on this account that they continue to hold fast to the
earth rather than to the magnet.
[Illustration: Magnet and Large Nails.]
This represents the people who have grown old; who have large cares and
responsibilities; who have become worldly-minded; who are drawn away by
the "deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things," and who,
although they feel a desire to do right, yet have a stronger desire to
do that which is not well-pleasing in the sight of God.
Now, here are some old crooked, rusty nails. Let us see what effect the
presence of the magnet will have upon them. Just as we might have
expected. These rusty nails do not seem to feel the power or the
influence of the magnet's presence. If I place the magnet up against the
nail, and attempt to lift it, it does not seem to be drawn at all. It
simply lies still, unmoved. These old, crooked, rusty nails represent
people who have grown very old and very wicked, and who have become
greatly hardened in sin. Jesus Christ and His love seem to make no
impression any longer upon them. They are joined to their idols. God's
Spirit has taken His departure, and they are left alone. Let me warn
you, both young and old, that if you feel the drawing of God's Spirit,
you should yield to Him, so as not to become more corroded and rusted,
and coated over by every sinful influence, so that at last the love of
God shall fail to have any effect upon you.
If now we take these different classes of nails and mix them together,
and then stir the magnet among them, you will see how the smaller nails,
in larger numbers, cling to the magnet. These bright nails are also
affected by it. Oftentimes the influence of the magnet is seen, as it is
communicated from one nail to the other; but these rusty nails, not only
do not themselves yield to the influence of the magnet, but they also
fail to communicate that magnetic influence to any of the other nails
around them. In like manner, wicked people seem to come between Christ
and others who would be drawn to Him. Let me say to you, keep out of bad
company. Avoid wicked companions--those who swear, or lie, or do
anything that is wrong, for their influence over you will be bad, and
they will prevent the good influences of holy things from acting upon
you.
Suppose now that I take my knife blade and move it among these nails,
you will see that it does not attract them like the magnet did. It has
no magnetic power. If I draw the knife blade across the magnet a few
times, it receives this magnetic power from the magnet. Now, when I move
it among the nails you will see how these little tacks and some of the
larger nails are drawn toward it.
Just so it is with each of us as individuals. Without coming in contact
with Christ and receiving His Spirit, His drawing power, we will never
influence others to do that which is right and good and holy. If we
desire to have an influence for good in this world we must, first of
all, come to Christ ourselves, and receive this drawing power from Him.
You have doubtless seen those who have become Christians, and after they
have given their hearts to Christ they have immediately begun to draw
others. They go out and invite others to come to church, they invite
others to go with them to the prayer-meeting, to come with them to the
Sunday-school, and so in every way they seek to influence others that
they may draw them to Christ.
When Jesus was upon the earth vast multitudes attended Him. Where He
went they followed. But now when Jesus is no longer bodily present upon
the earth, when we cannot see Him with our natural eyes, we speak of
walking by faith, and you may be curious to know what is meant by
walking by faith. I think that I can illustrate it in this way: Here is
a sheet of writing paper. Now above the writing paper I will place this
magnet, and then below it I will place this small bit of iron. The
attracting power of the magnet holds the iron up against the paper. Now,
when I move this magnet on the upper side of the sheet from place to
place, you will observe that this little piece of iron on the lower side
of the sheet goes in the same direction. It follows the magnet very
closely. The paper is between them. Now, if this paper were enlarged so
as to be as long and as broad as the ceiling of this room, of course you
would not be able to see the magnet. It would be hidden from your view.
But as you would move the magnet from place to place, the little iron
below would continue to follow it.
So Jesus Christ is no longer visible; we cannot see Him with our natural
eyes, but He draws the Christian who is in this world, and so the
Christian follows Him. He walks in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. And
it is on that account that we say that the Christian walks by faith, and
not by sight.
Just before Jesus was crucified He said: "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto Me." (John xii: 32.) So He draws you
and He draws me. And so also by His love He would draw every person in
all the world to Him. Let us not resist the drawings of the Holy
Spirit, but come to the Lord Jesus Christ and love Him with our whole
heart.
QUESTIONS.--What can the magnet do? Can the power
of the magnet be seen? Can the magnet lift as many
nails as tacks? Are old rusty nails drawn by the
magnet? Who are like the little tacks? Who are
like the small nails? Who are like the rusty
nails? Does everybody desire at times to be good?
What draws them in the right direction? Can we see
the power that causes us to desire to be good?
What is the name of the power or force that causes
the nails to fall from the magnet? What power
draws people from doing right? Should we always
yield to the power that draws us in the right
direction? Does Christ have to be seen in order to
accept His influence?
[Illustration: Daniel in the Lion's Den.]
KEYS.
HOW TO UNLOCK THE HUMAN HEART.
SUGGESTION:--Objects used: Locks and keys of any
form or size. If possible open the lock and show
how the key fits into the different wards of the
lock. Explain how other keys would not fit.
MY DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS: I have here to-day quite a variety of locks.
Here are also quite a variety of keys. You will notice that there are
several more keys than there are locks. Now, I suppose that we would
have no very great difficulty in selecting the keys that would be most
likely to turn backward and forward the bolts in these different locks.
We would naturally expect that these larger keys would fit these larger
locks and the smaller keys would be adapted to lock and unlock the
smaller ones.
[Illustration: Lock and Key.]
Here is this large lock; I suppose it is very possible this large key
may be suited to lock and unlock it. Yes, it just fits. You see how it
turns the bolt in and out as I turn the key.
Now, here is another lock; let us see if we can find a key that will fit
it. This key seems about the size, but after passing it into the lock
it seems to strike something that prevents it from turning, and
consequently is of no service. Let us try another. That seems to work
much better, and turns the bolt backward and forward.
[Illustration: Lock and Key.]
Here is still another lock; let us try this key with this lock. That
seems to work very well. Possibly we might be able to lock and unlock
this other also. Let us try it. Yes, this key fits both these locks.
This key is what the locksmith calls a skeleton key. It is so made that
it avoids the obstacles which are placed in the different locks to
prevent them from being opened by all varieties of keys. Here is a still
smaller lock. This lock has a very peculiar keyhole, and I know at once
that there is no need of trying to unlock it with most of the keys which
I have spread out here. I recognize it at once as what is called a "Yale
lock." The key is thin, is bent in various ways, and along the edge has
several notches. Let us try a couple of these keys. This one seems to
fit very well to the grooves. It passes into the lock, but I cannot turn
the bolt. Let us try another. Yes, this seems to be the one that was
made by the locksmith to fasten and unfasten this lock.
[Illustration: Yale Lock and Key.]
A key then is simply something which unlocks the door or the gate, so
you may open it and pass inside. Now, there are a great many kinds of
keys. Sometimes a book is called a key to business. Perhaps another book
is called a key to the study of medicine; another the key to the study
of law. And so there may be a great many kinds of books which are called
keys. When properly used or studied they open the way for a clear
understanding of how to transact business, how to study medicine and how
to study law. And so there are various books that are keys to the
understanding of very, very many subjects. When you indicate to me the
kind of difficulty that you have to overcome, it would be reasonably
easy to indicate the kind of book you need in order successfully to meet
that difficulty.
When I find a book that teaches a boy good business habits and helps him
to become a good business man, I know that book was written with that
object in view. When I find a book that teaches one how to understand
the human system, the nature of disease and the character of the
remedies which are to be used when people are sick, I know that book was
written with a view to help people to understand the nature of disease
and the character of medicine. Just so it is with every other book. Each
is like the lock and the key, for the locks have inside a peculiar sort
of winding way, and when I find a key that exactly fits into this
winding passage I know immediately that the locksmith designed that the
key should fit into that particular lock and turn back the bolt.
Now, God wants to get into the human heart, and I find that God has a
key with which to unlock it. I do not think you would be long in
guessing what book God has made the key with which to unlock the human
heart. I think that every boy and girl would at once say that it is the
Bible. Yes; it is the Bible. It fits exactly into all the wards and
chambers, and winding passages which characterize each and every need of
the human heart. The moment I bring this wonderful key of divine truth
to the human heart, I find that the lock and the key were both made by
the same infinite Creator. Some locks are very complicated and
intricate, and the keys are also very peculiar. They are made especially
for that particular lock, and no other key in all the world will unlock
it. The moment I get that particular key and turn it around in the lock
I know at once that both the lock and the key were made by the same
person, and that the lock was made to be opened by no other key. So God
has created the human heart and made it very difficult to be opened, and
there is no key in all the world that can open it except the Bible.
As a robber or a burglar may try to get into a house by the use of a
skeleton key, or by "picking the lock," so men have often tried to gain
admission into the human heart by the use of various substitutes for the
genuine and the real key. They have tried amusement, and wealth, and
sinful pleasure, and very, very many things; but they never succeed in
getting into the inner sacredness of the human heart. Unless the heart
is opened by God's Word, and the Holy Spirit is admitted so that God can
take possession, there is always a sense of loneliness, a sense of
dissatisfaction, a desire for something that the person does not
possess; he is at unrest, he is restless and dissatisfied, like a boy or
girl who is away from home, and has a homesick longing to return to that
home.
You never will be able to understand the hidden mystery of your own
spiritual life and spiritual being until you use the Word of God to help
you to solve the mystery. The Word of God is not only designed to unlock
the human heart, so that God and the Holy Spirit may gain admission, but
this key is also designed to lock the door against Satan and sin and
keep them out of our hearts. Unless we daily use our Bibles to lock our
hearts against evil thoughts, and wicked purposes, and sinful desires,
we will find that they will steal into our hearts; and like the evil
spirit that had been driven out and afterward returned and brought seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, so sin and Satan will again take
possession of our hearts and lock them against God and all that is good.
QUESTIONS.--Are there many kinds of locks? Must
there be as many kinds of keys as there are kinds
of locks? Is the human heart like a lock? Does God
desire to get into the human heart? With what key
does He unlock it? Are the lock and its key made
by the same man? Who made the human heart? Who
made the key to unlock it? Can the Bible be used
to lock the human heart against the entrance of
sin? What are skeleton keys? Do men try false keys
with which to open the human heart? What are some
of the things with which they try? Is the human
heart ever satisfied until unlocked by the Bible
and possessed by God?
[Illustration]
TRAPS.
UNSUSPECTING MICE AND MEN.
SUGGESTION:--An ordinary mouse trap will be
serviceable. The trap can be set and instead of a
mouse, a child can spring the trap with his
finger. The parent had better try his own finger
first, to see that the trap is not too strong. A
rat trap should never be tried in this way.
MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS: You may think that possibly there was a time when
wicked men did not desire to destroy others, as is so often the case in
this day. Hundreds of years ago, God said, "Among my people are found
wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap,
they catch men." (Jeremiah v: 26.)
[Illustration: Mouse Trap.]
I suppose you have all seen traps. There are a great many different
kinds. Some are very dangerous, and yet you cannot see the danger until
you are caught, or until you see some other person who has been caught
in the trap. Now here is a trap. I suppose that you have all seen such
traps as this, and possibly have them in your own homes, to catch the
little mice which destroy your food, and oftentimes do much injury.
Now, this trap does not look dangerous to the unsuspecting mouse. The
little wire, which is to be drawn up by a strong spring to choke the
mouse to death, is concealed, and he does not know that there is a wire
there at all. He simply smells the piece of cheese. This tempts his
appetite, and, as he is fond of cheese, he desires to obtain it, and so
he attempts to crawl in through this small hole to get the cheese; but
the moment he nibbles at the cheese, it disturbs the little catch which
holds the spring, and when it is too late to escape, the little mouse
finds that he has been caught. Then he does not think of the cheese, but
struggles to get loose and escape out of the trap. But all of his
struggles are in vain, and after a few moments he is choked to death.
Then the man, or the housewife comes, takes the little mouse out of the
trap, and with the same piece of cheese the trap is again set for
another unsuspecting mouse. So people go on, day after day, catching one
mouse after another, with the same trap and with the same bait.
[Illustration: Mice and Trap.]
Now, there are traps which men set for boys and girls, and men and
women, such as story papers, bad books and pictures, that might be
called pest papers, printed poison, moral leprosy. To the innocent, the
unthinking and the unsuspecting these things may not appear very
dangerous, but they are very deadly in their effects, and they result in
the temporal and eternal ruin of thousands upon thousands of people
every year.
Then there are also the saloons, with gilded signs, frosted windows, and
showy looking glasses. Rooms which are made attractive only to catch
men, to rob them of their money, and of their self-control, and of their
reason, and of their homes, and of all temporal good, and of all hope of
heaven--destroying men's souls and bodies, both for a time and for all
eternity.
Then there is the theatre, with its glittering lights, with its tinseled
show, with its corrupting play, with its scenes upon which no
pure-minded man or woman can look without blushing; scenes which deaden
the moral sense, pollute the mind, such as are calculated to rob the
individual of virtue, and of integrity, and of faith in God, and of hope
of heaven.
Then there are other dangerous traps which are set for young men and for
older men--tobacco, cigarettes and cigars, and beer. These traps which
are set for our money, which so often rob of health and strength, for no
boy who uses tobacco in any form can be strong like the boy who does not
use tobacco. Boys begin with the deadly cigarette, and then go on to the
cigar, and then follow with drinking beer, and so, step by step, they go
on down to ruin.
If you have ever gone fishing on a calm, beautiful summer day, and have
looked down through the water, you have often seen the fish as they
gathered around the hook, and then watched them as they nibbled at the
bait. First they come up very shyly, and barely touch the bait with
their nose. Then they come again, and possibly just bite a small
trifle--barely taste of it. Then, again and again they nibble at the
hook, until finally they undertake to get a large bite, when they
discover that they have swallowed the hook. Then it matters not how much
they flounder about, and struggle to get away, it is too late, it is
impossible for them to escape. They are pulled into the boat or upon the
bank, and a few hours later they are on the stove, being cooked for some
hungry fisherman. Just so Satan comes to those whom he wishes to catch.
He comes with money, and with pleasure, and with the thought of having
a good time. He tempts people by presenting to their thought something
which they desire. He leads them on step by step, and when they see
others all about them who are being destroyed in the effort to obtain
the same pleasure which they are seeking, Satan makes them think that in
their own case the result will be very different.
[Illustration: Fish Doing a Dangerous Thing.]
You will notice that this mouse trap has four different places where
mice can be caught, and is it not strange that when one mouse enters on
this side, and is caught, and is lying there dead, that another live
mouse should come along, and see the same trap and desire the same
thing, and walk right in to the same danger, and the same sure death?
You would think that when he saw the other mouse had been caught, and
had lost his life, that he would turn away. But instead of that, he
smells the cheese, walks right into the trap, and is caught, and in a
few moments is as dead as his neighbor. So boys see others who have been
ruined by smoking cigarettes, who have paved the way for their
destruction by smoking cigars, by keeping bad company, by drinking beer,
and by going on step by step. They see drunkards all about them who have
squandered all their money and lost all their friends, and been forsaken
by their own parents, their wives, and their children; who have become
outcasts, and for whom no one longer has any respect. Men see these
things daily, and yet they go on in the same way, beginning with beer
and going, step by step, from social drinking, until they themselves
become drunkards and outcasts, and go down to fill a drunkard's grave.
The Bible says that no drunkard can inherit the kingdom of heaven.
I trust that none of you who listen to me to-day will be so foolish as
to permit Satan to deceive you. Look about you and see the results of
worthless story-papers, of card-playing, of theatre going, of social
drinking, of round dancing, lying, swearing, cheating, and all forms of
wickedness, and then remember that these same influences, if wrought
into your life, will also produce the same result. Do not be like the
foolish mouse, which sees its dead companion in the trap, and then walks
up unthinkingly and pokes his head into the same inevitable death and
destruction; but remember that Satan waits to destroy you, just the same
as he has destroyed others.
In the book of Job (xviii: 10) it says, "The snare is laid for him in
the ground and a trap for him in the way;" and in the 8th verse of the
same book and chapter it says, "He is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walketh upon a snare." Satan has laid traps and snares all along
your path through life, and you will need to be very, very cautious,
lest you are ruined for time and destroyed for eternity. Remember the
text for to-day, which says, "Among my people are found wicked men; they
lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men."