East St. Louis Daily Journal

REV DOW TALKS AT
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH

Great Interest in Revival at Lansdowne--
Large Crowd Hears
Evangelistic Plea.

By A. Sinner.

The Rev. E. R. Dow has been holding a series of meetings at the St.
Paul's Methodist church in Lansdowne, of which the Rev. J. B. Johnson is the pastor. These services
have been favored with a large and
growing attendance, and have resulted in a number of accessions to
the church. Superintendent Harding of the Sunday school has increased the number of scholars who
meet each Sunday morning until the
capacity of the building is taxed to
accommodate all who attend. At the
meeting yesterday morning Professor Echols, who has charge of the
choir during the revival, sang two
solos in a touching manner, and the
members of the choir lent added interest by their rendition of appropriate songs, accompanied by an orchestra, whose playing on the various instruments gave evidence of
careful preparation. It is expected
that the near future will see this
congregation housed in more commodious quarters, as both pastor and
church have been giving much time
and effort to that end. A special collection was taken at both the morning and evening services for the
benefit of the evangelists, and there
is no doubt that the full quota
will be raised, as collecting needful
funds at this progressive church is
only a matter of writing down names
and amounts, but little solicitation
being necessary.

Where Is Heaven?

The Rev. Dow read from the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of St.
John, as a basis for his remarks, the
following verses: "Let not your
heart be troubled; ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were
not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you
unto Myself: that where I am, there
ye may be also." The preacher said,
in part:

"In considering this subject of the
location of heaven, we are apt to lose sight of the reality of its existence.
When Jesus or any of the inspired
writers spoke about heaven, they
were as definite as regards its actuality as they were regarding Jerusalem, Joppa or Jericho. They knew
of its existence: Jesus knew, because it was His home: His followers knew because Jesus had come from
there to establish His kingdom on
earth: and they all looked forward
to heaven as the place prepared for
His children. When you take away
the reality of heaven, you really have nothing left. A learned professor, a
member of the faculty of one of our
famous universities, after hearing
me speak on this subject of heaven,
was inclined to take issue with my
assertion by a cultured scoffing of
the idea that such a place could be
spoken of as being in existence, with
no scientific data to bear out the contention. Said this learned professor to me: What do you know about
heaven? What can you tell us about
heaven, when you have never been
there?' This question from a man
accredited with the possession of
education, culture and knowledge
sounded more like the foolish and
vapid interrogation of some half-witted person than a question propounded by a person occupying the
position held by the questioner. My
reply seemed to satisfy, if not convince him, for after I had done he was
no more to be seen.

None So Blind as Those Who Will
Not See.

"I explained to the professor and
those who were present at the time
that I had never been to China: that
it had never been my good fortune
to explore the ancient tombs of
Egypt: that Japan had never been
included in any itinerary I had followed: that neither Rome nor Berlin
had been honored with my presence;
and that Norway, Sweden and Denmark had ever been beyond the confines of any journey I had attempted: but that in spite of the
fact that these famous places had
never been visited personally, I was
satisfied that I could give him or
anyone else considerable information and statistics respecting each
of them, without having any one to
successfully deny my statements or
prove their falsity. True, I had
never been to heaven: but I had received the knowledge of its existence from my Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ: that I believed Him, and that
I expected, when I was done serving
Him here, to be received by Him in
my heavenly home, there to dwell
through all eternity Christ had
been to heaven, and His mission
here on earth was to tell us about
it. While agnostics, skeptics, and
numerous other 'stics' continue to
bombard us with the question as to
the exact position and location of
heaven, I am here this morning to
say to you that geographical or topo-
graphical position of heaven does not
concern us nearly as much as the
question as to what position it holds
with reference to our own lives. The kingdom of heaven is within you, and
the location of heaven itself is somewhere far above the clouds that float
above our heads, and beyond the constellations that deck the dome of
the sky, for we are told that when
His disciples stood gazing up at the
heavens after the ascension of our
Lord, they were addressed by
heavenly messengers who stood by,
in these words: 'Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken
from you up into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven.' I do not
care whether its location is up, down
or sideways, it matters not the location; but it does matter, and does
make a big difference as to what
relation it has to our daily life.

The End of the Road.

"I knew a man who had become
converted, and who was so impressed with this relation of heaven
to his daily life that he made it his
business to use all his spare time in
talking about it to all with whom he
came in contact. So earnest was
he, that after he had toiled all day
he would go out on the street corners at night, and mount a soap box to
preach what he knew about heaven and what it
meant to him. I came upon him
one night as he was preaching to a
crowd of rough men who had been
attracted to the corner where he
stood, by the novelty of a preacher
daring to invade such a locality. One
of the number, which had increased
by this time to some 700 or 800
vicious looking people, had taken
upon himself the task of calling
down the speaker. He was a tall,
raw-boned man with about as vicious a looking face as I had ever seen,
and he had worked himself into
such a state of anger and hatred by
the time he elbowed his way to the
front that he inspired a feeling of
fear even in the minds of those who
knew him. Closing his hand, he
shook his clenched fist in the very
face of the earnest speaker and
thundered forth: Say, you! I want
you to tell me, and tell me now-
where is this hell you have been
trying to scare us with?' The
preacher had just concluded a description of what the Scriptures had
to say about the future of the ungodly, and the truth did not set well
with his hearers, especially the big
ruffian who now confronted him
with clenched fist and angry eye, I
knew that this man who had been
talking was not an educated man; I
knew that he had but recently been
converted, and certainly could not
be expected to be well enough
versed in the Bible to be able to
combat an argument so suddenly
placed before him, and I trembled
for the result should he not be able
to appease the excited people who
were closing about him with threats
and mutterings. There are times
when a man must think quickly, and
this was one of them. The preacher
thrust out his arm, and with index
finger pointing directly in the face
of his questioner, flashed back this
answer: 'Hell, my friend, is right at
the end of the road you are traveling!' So unexpected was the answer that it dumfounded the big
man, who stepped back and slunk
away followed by hoots and cries of
derision from the crowd, which turned with new respect to hear the man
who was not afraid to tell the truth.

The Other Road That Leads Up.

"If you love Jesus and keep His
commandments your way will lie
along the paths of righteousness
and heaven will be found at the end
thereof. Though you walk down
into the very valley and shadow of
death, and darkness begins to envelope you, and the water to close
over you, yet you will never lose
your way. The hand of Jesus will
clasp yours: the Light of the World
will shine around you, and your feet
shall be placed upon the Rock of
Ages, and you will be welcomed into
that heavenly home that Jesus has
prepared for those who love Him.
Some are there now. Angels inhabit the heavenly home. Those
who have been saved are there, for
are we not told: Absent from the
body, to be present with the Lord'.
Our loved ones are there--fathers,
mothers, brothers, and sisters--all
together with Jesus. I do not know
that many of you would look to the
Old Testament for one very precious promise that brings great joy to me
when I read it. It is to be found in
the eighth chapter of the book of
Zachariah, and reads as follows:

'And the streets of the city shall be
full of boys and girls playing in the
streets thereof'. How definite, explicit and plain are these words. It
does not say children': neither
does it speak of either sex to the
exclusion of the other, but specifically 'boys and girls'. God is particular and definite in all His statements. He does not speak of them
crying, quarreling, wandering, or
begging: but we are told that boys
and girls are playing together, and
to those who have looked at the
flushed and happy faces of their own
loved ones who have been playing
together at some innocent game
there is no need to dwell with added
emphasis on their occupation, for
the very fact that they are 'playing together' is evidence that they are
happy. It is hard to lose a little one:
it is sad to give up the sunshine
that has gladdened the life of
father, mother, brother, and sister:
but it is happiness to know that
they are safe for evermore: that
somewhere above the clouds, far
away from the sin and sorrow of
this old world with its toil and labor,
its heart aches and troubles, our
little ones are 'playing together on
the streets of the city of God'.

How Awful Must Be Eternal
Separation.

"While the Christian can look forward to the most intense, and highest type of joy in the blessed reunion in heaven, how terrible must
be that feeling that exists in the
hearts and minds of those who
know that they may never gaze
upon the face of their loved one
again because they have chosen the
path that leads them further and
further away from them each step
they take. What a terrible thing
to have to say to some parent:
This joy is not to be yours: you
have forfeited the right to be with
your loved ones in heaven by the
course you took here on earth.'
And as long as you walk as you
now are walking, you will be increasing the distance between yourself and those you love, and who
love you. I can best illustrate this
by the relation of an incident in my
own experience, In a certain community where I had been holding
meetings, I was approached by a
band of Christian women who informed me that they had a mission
for me that they had set their
hearts on, and for which they were
praying every day, and would continue to pray until it was successfully accomplished, or that they
were satisfied that it could not be
performed. On asking the nature
of the mission, I was told that there
lived in the community a man and
his wife who had a great hatred of
God and of God's people in their
hearts; that every means that
could be thought of had been tried
to bring about a change in their
attitude, but without success. One
reason for the interest felt in the
matter was in the fact that they
were the parents of a little girl
who had early given her heart to
God. These women had known and
loved this little girl, and it was
partly because of that love that
they so strongly desired to win the
parents to Christ. The parents had
at first objected to their child attending church or Sunday school,
but because they both loved her so,
and could deny her no wish of her
heart they had finally consented to
her going. This parental love had
also been the means of obtaining
their consent to her being allowed
to say a little prayer before taking of her meals, and at night
and in the morning of each day.
They had expressed themselves as
having no interest in these devotions and only tolerated them because it seemed to be the desire of
their little girl. They said that
they looked upon such things as being foolish, and laughed away all
idea of ever joining in with them.

God Called the Loved One Home.

"There came a time when the
spread of an epidemic throughout
that vicinity laid this child low,
and her life was despaired of. All
that skill could accomplish was
done to save her life, but to no
avail. The little one had been an
exceptional child, and possessed of
much natural talent, especially in
musical circles, so that her death
was the cause of much sorrow even
outside the family circle. When
the parents came to fully realize
the affliction that had been placed
upon them they became, if possible
more harsh and bitter in their complaints against God for depriving them of their treasure. They called God a brute for robbing them of the life of their child, and refused to be comforted or to listen to any consolation outside the family circle.

When the souls' welfare at heart. 'Now,' said this band of praying women to me, you are acquainted with the conditions as they exist, and the favor we ask, is that-you go and visit these parents and try to get them to see the truth, and we will continue in earnest prayer all the time you are gone.' I went to the house, hardly expecting to be admitted, and when I was ushered into their presence, I at once informed them that I had not come to argue with them, nor to make any explanations of the reasons for their loss, but simply to tell them some things that I thought they should know. This appeared to surprise them, and they expressed a desire to know what it was I had to tell. I then said: 'I am not here to say that God took your loved one for any particular judgment on you, for I do not know. We all know that the disease was raging in many families and others besides yourselves lost those they loved.

Let that be as it may; what I am here to tell you is that it seems doubly sad to me, because neither of you will ever see your little daughter again. Your little girl has indeed gone to heaven; but both of you are going the other way, and you never will meet again as long as you continue in the path you seem to have chosen.'

When the full significance of my words went home to their hearts, they were deeply affected. The mother fell to the floor as if felled by a blow, and the man in fearful agony lifted her to her knees, while I continued to tell them that all of their love for their child could avail them nothing, but only Jesus Christ was able to bring them together, a happy united family.

Hard Hearts Melted by Holy Spirit.

"While I continued to urge the parents of the dead child to look at the matter in the light of heavenly love, the Holy Spirit worked the will of the Father upon their darkened hearts, and borne on the prayers of the faithful band of women who had asked me to go to this home, came the light of the great overpowering love of God to humble the proud spirits and lead them to the foot of the cross. I then advanced two reasons that I gave for the affliction which they had been called upon to bear. One of these had to do with the fact, that had the child continued to live in the atmosphere of doubt and unbelief with which she was surrounded, who could say but that in time it would have caused her to be led astray from the path she had chosen and the sacredness of home caused her to become antagonistic to the belief that had once been hers. Another reason I gave was that the child had been taken in order to save the parents. For fifteen minutes we prayed together and they were finally convicted of their sin, and began to supplicate at the mercy seat for forgiveness, wondering how it would be possible for God to receive the burden of their sorrow and give them that peace of mind they now so ardently desired. All of the time my mind dwelt on the thought of the salvation of these two sinners, and I was not surprised when the light of understanding broke through the clouds of doubt, and they smiled through their tears, and accepted Jesus as their Savior. What a happy day for those parents. What a happy and glorious day for all who so live in love and complete trust that they know and believe that they shall once again be united with the loved ones gone before, to dwell forever together in that heaven that gave that precious blood as a ransom,' because He loved us so."

through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.

Oh! matchless love
Davis cleans furs clean.