DEDICA T ED

T O T HE MEMO RY OF

M Y P A R E N T s, WH O RA I S ED C HIL DREN N OT FOR T H IS ,

WORLD B UT FOR HE AVE N ;

,

T H E REV A RL F ! UNE RT W H O BA P TI
. ! .
,
z ED ME
ACCORDI NG T o G OD S C O MMAND ; ’

T HE LATE RE V J D ORN BIRER WH OSE I MPRE SSIVE

. .
,

C ON FIRMATIO N SE RM O N I C O U LD RE P E A T TO DA Y ; -

AM OS H O MAN THE CH RISTIAN S H OEMA ! ER WH O TAU G HT

, ,

M E H OW TO MA! E S H O E S B U T H E LD M Y M I N D TO ,

T HE B I B LE O N H IS B E NC H TILL I LE FT IT
TO PE RSUADE A DY I NG WORLD TO
WEAR G OSPEL S H OE S ;
PROF J C SAMPLE OF G REENTOWN ACADE MY W HO
. . .
, ,

HAD THE FACU LTY OF TEACH ING EVE N A

B OY T HAT H E D I D N OT ! N OW M UC H ;

T HE F A QUL T I E SOF CAPITAL UNIVE RSIT A ND PHILA Y

DELPH IA SE M INA R U T FOR W H OSE TEA C H

Y, B

I NG S AND E NCOU RA G E ME NT T H IS LITTLE

M E SSAG E P REPARED I N E I G HTE E N
,

H O U RS WO U LD NEVE R HAVE
, ‘

BEE N P UBLISH E D .
By S . P . L ON G

I . P r ep a r e to M eet Thy G od
h
C l ot , 3 5 C en ts , Po stp ai d

2 . T he Way M a d e P la in
C l oth , Po stp a id

3 . Th e Wo un d ed Wo r d
C l oth , 3 5 C en ts , Po stpa id

Th e G r ea t G osp el ,

H lf le
a -
at r
he , E xp r
ess a ge P r ep a id

Th e E ter n a l Ep istle
H alf l eath er
-
, Exp ressage Prep ai d

M A N S FIE L D O HIO O R A N Y , ,

L U T HE RA N BO O ! S T O RE
 CON TEN TS .

S E RM ON I .

T hr
e e Is a

S E RM ON II .

God Is Y ur God
o

S E RM O N II I .

Go d Find s Y ou Lost

S E RM O N IV .

God Ha s S al vation Fo r Y ou

S E RM ON V .

Go d Reasons With

S E RM ON VI .

God Warns Y ou
 PREFA CE

T w said O f B ax t er th at h e c ould set th e w orld on fir e

as

wh il e Orto n w as lightin g a mat ch If Dr Luth er . .

w er e living to d ay h e w oul d set th e w orld on fi re

,

mo r e th an many O f h is f ollo w ers It w oul d p ain h im to kno w

.

h o w f ew souls s o m e l o ng est a b lis h ed Lut h era n c o n gr egations

-

ha d wo n for Ch rist fr o m th e h ighw ays an d h edges I lov e .

M y ch ur ch my d ear O ld ch ur ch a n d G o d lov es h er ; an d
“ ”
, ,

w ith h er truth sh e c a n w in mor e soul s t han any oth er ;

,

b ut sh e cannot d o it by ex p ecting th e sp iritually d ea d to

run a fter h er ; by havi g minist ers wh o w ill p l eas e th e
n .

d evil by n ot ent eri n g or not l eaving th eir stu dy ; by bap

,

ti in g an d c onfirmi n g o n l y h er o wn ch il d r en ; b y t h inking
z

th at th e wh ol e missio n p ro b l em w o u l d be solv ed i f only w e ,

h a d mo r e mon ey ; by h avi n g f ew family altars ; by h aving

c ongr egations wh i ch ex p ect th eir p astors to do all th e wor k
in God s vin eyar d ! T h e Luth eran Ch urch w it h h er p ure
’
,

d o ctrin e c ould set th e w orld on fir e i f ev ery Luth eran

,

w ould Ob ey Christ s c ommand : Go — Work — T oday — In

’ “

M y Vin eyar d ! ”

Hannah w ep t b ec aus e sh e w as ch il dl ess Oh that every .

Luth eran wh o h as not tri ed to w in a sp iritual ch ild for

h eav en w ould c ry : Oh my Go d I am ash am ed an d b l u sh
p

“
, ,

to li ft u p my fa c e to T h ee my God ! E zr a 9 6 ,
”
.
, .

He th at b eli ev eth s h all not be damn ed

“
says you r ,

Lord and S avior J esus Ch rist Y ou b el i eve th i s P ray . .

t ell m e h o w c an you let your r elativ e f ri end n eighb or or , , ,

en emy ignorantly liv e i n his sins and be damn ed ! If h e

,
12 PREFA CE .

wanted th e t ruth h e c o uld fin d it i n God s Wor d an d man y

,
’

good books taken from that Word ; but h e does not go to .

th e ho u s o f God a d do es not read God s Wo rd an d does ’

e n

not c are ab o ut th e futu re S hall you let hi m p eri sh ! N ot

.

so long as ther is l i f e and h Op

e W mu st not get angry e
. e

at th e d ead b ec au s e th ey do not mov e nor mu st we let ,

thos e w ho ar e ignorant o f God s Word p eri sh in th eir s i ns ’

.

T o aid you in h elp ing your p astor to gath er i n sou ls f rom

a p rishing w orld to tak e instr u ctions i n th saving do ct rines
e e

o f God s Word this littl e m essage has made its app ear an ce
’
,
: .
.

It has no ap ology to Off er for its x i st en c e Davi d s b roth rs e .

’
e

said h could not battl w ith Goli ath : h di d not d i sput

e e e e

w ith th m but sho w d th em that h c ould by h olding

e , e e

Goliat h s h a d in h is hand Criti c s may find m any faults

’
e .
‘

w ith this littl m ssag ; my only r pl y i s that I hav j ust

e e e e e

c onfirm d thirt n adults wh om God by it bro ught to His

e ee

altar on its first mission and th finan cial aid Of a Ch r i sti an

,
e

w o m an has tak n it f ro m th e p ress GO forth th en littl e

e .
, ,

c hild O f p ray r ; and by th h elp Of God Op n th e eyes

e , e , e

o f th e bl i nd till th y c an find p ea c e i n th e eyes o f th ei r c u

e r

cified Lord ! S P L ON G . . .

1 238 Wesl ey avenu e C ol umb u s Oh i o ,

M ar c h 2oth 1 894 ,
.
,
.
 Prefac e to th e Sec on d Edition

HE truthd o s not ch ange A ft r a f our m onths e . e

’

v isit to a th ousand h om s at tim es in th c omp any

e , e

o f su c h no bl c riti c s as D Loy an d th Christian

e r . e

P r ss th is l ittl child h as p ut on a w garm ent and

e , e ne

add d ew w ords to its vo c abulary ; biIt it is th e same

e n

child It h as b n nurtured at th br ast o f God s Word

. ee e e
’
.

It is p ro u d o f its moth r an d no w starts out a s c on d ti m

e e e

in God s nam to intro du c h into many more h om es o f a

’
e e er

blind p eris h ing w orl d T h is chil d w as not b orn to sl eep

, .
,

nor to let sl p ; wh n it has sp oken to you introd uc it

ee e , e .

to th e igt ne It w ill not h arm th e sav d ; i t wi ll help

rs
. e
'

th e lost ! S P LON G . . .

J uly 20th , 1 894 .

Prefac e to th e Fourth Edition

Th e third edition o f th is b ook w as publ i shed by th e

Lut heran ( B ook Con c er b for th a uth or kn ew it A n y o
n
,
e e e . ne

rea ding t h is b ook s h ould imm d iat ly read Th Way M ade e ~

“
e e

Plai n by th sam e au th or Our only aim is to l ead many

”
e .

to Chri st . S P LON G . . .

M an sfield, Ohio, 1 9 08 .
12 PREFA CE .

wanted th e truth h e c o uld fin d it in God s Wor d a d man y

,
’
n

good books taken f rom th at Word ; but h e do es not go to .

th e ho u s O f God and do es not r ead God s Wo rd and do s

’
e e

not c ar ab o ut th e future S hall you let h im p eri sh ! N ot

e .

so long as th r i s li fe and hop e W mu st not get angry

e e . e

at th e d ad b ec au s e th ey do not mov e nor mu st we let

e ,

thos e wh o ar ignorant o f God s Word p eri sh in th eir si ns

e
’
.

T O a i d yo u in h elp ing y ur p astor to gath er i n so u ls f rom

o

a p rishing w orld to take instru ctions i n th e saving do ctri nes

e

o f God s Word this littl e m essage has made its app ear an ce
’
,
: .
.

It has no ap ology to Off er for its x i st en c Davi d s b roth rs e e .

’
e

said h could not battl with Gol i ath : h d i d not disput

e e e e

w ith th m but sho wed th m that h e c o uld by h olding

e , e

Goliat h s h ad in h is h and Criti c s may find many faults

’
e .
“

w ith this littl m ssag ; my only r pl y is that I hav j ust

e e e e e

c O fi m d thirt n adults wh om God by it b ro u ght to Hi

n r e ee s

altar on its first mission and th finan cial aid Of a Ch ri sti an

, e

w o man has taken it f ro m th e p ress Go fort h th en littl e .

, ,

child o f p ray r ; and by th h elp Of God op en th e eyes

“

e , e ,

o f th e bl i nd till th y c an find p ea c e in th e eyes o f th ei r c ru

e

c ified Lord !
1 238 Wesl ey av enu e C ol u mb u s , , Oh i o . M ar c h 20th , 1 894 .
 Prefac e to th e Sec on d Edition

HE truthd o s not c hang A ft r a f our m onths

e e . e
’

visit to a thousand h om s at tim es i n th c omp any

.

e , e

f s uch no b l c riti c s as D Loy an d th Christian

’

O e r . e

P r ss th is littl chil d h as p ut on a w gar m ent an d

e , e ne

add d
e w w ords to its voc a b ulary ; b ut it is th e sam e
ne

ch ild It h as b n nurtured at th br east o f God s Word

. ee e
’
.

It i s p ro u d o f its moth r an d no w starts out a s c ond tim

e e e

in God s nam to intro d u ce h into many mor hom es o f a

’
e er e

b lin d p r is h ing w orl d T his ch il d w as not b orn to sl eep

, e .
,

nor to let sl p ; wh n it has sp ok n to you introdu c it

ee e e , e

to th e n ighb ors It w ill not harm th sav ed ; it w ill h lp

e . e
'
e

th e lost ! S P L ON G . . .

J uly 20th , 1 89 4 .

Prefac e to th e Fourth Edition

T h e third t h is b ook w as publish ed by th e

e dition Of

Lut heran Book Con c er n bef or e th e auth or kn ew it A n y on e

/
.

rea d ing t h is b ook s h ould imm ediat ely r ead Th e Way M ade f‘

Plain by th e same au t hor Our only a im is to l ead many

”
.

to Christ . S P L ON G . . .

M ansfield Oh i o 1 9 08, , .
 Prep are to M eet T h y God
A M OS 4, 1 2

I
. T HERE IS A G OD
T H AT H AT H E AR S T o H E AR L E T H I M
H E AR ”
Matt 1 1 , 1 5
. God gave you
. .

ear s to hea r and He gave you hearing

to listen to H i m He now says to you .
“
Pre
”
pare to meet thy God Many will be saved
. .

”
Many are call ed but f ew are chosen Matt .

“ ”
22 1 4
,
. He that believeth not shall be damned .

“
Mark 1 6 , 1 6 A nd the smoke Of their torment
.

”
asc endeth up forever and ever R ev 1 4 , 1 1 . . .

W h yI s I t that men W ill be lost ! C ou ld any man

be such a fool a s to run into the eternal flames
Of h i s own accord ! L et us see Is Satan the .

Satan can t empt u s but we need not

“

cause ! (
,

yield . Is God the cause ! It cannot be He .

“ ”
say s : Prepare to meet thy God Oh man , .

you may argue yourself into hell , but you c an

not find a n argument in hell , nor on earth , nor
in heaven to prove that God wanted you to be
,

eternally lost N O m an will b e lost be c ause he

.

wants to be lost but all the lost will be lost b e

2 17
1 8 P REPARE To M EET THY G OD .

cause they W1 1 1 not listen to their G od and p re

pare to meet Him .

There are m any reasons why you should pre

pare to meet your God Satan does not want you
.

to prepare ; the world does not want you to pre

pare ; your own sinful flesh has no desire to pre
“ ’
pare ; all the powers Of hell say : Don t make
’
a fool Of yourself ; don t b elieve the preachers ;
!

’
don t b elieve the Bib le ; you are too b usy no w
to think of religious things ; enj oy the world ;
”
be a man , and let the future take care o f itself !
Oh man, the very fact that the pow ers Of hell are
Opp osed to your pr eparing to meet your God ,

s h ou ld m a k e you tr em ble for n o t a lr ea d y h a/v m g

p p
r e a r ed !
This moment you are sta n d i n g between hea
‘

ven and hell A trum p et from hell b lasts into

.
i

one ear “
Don t p repare to meet thy G od
’ '”

and a trumpet from heav en b lasts into the other

“ ”
ear Prepare to meet thy God ! Your duty
is c lear either trum p et should drive you to
’
God God s shor t message of five w ord s gives si x
.

s trong reaso n s Wh y you should prep are to m eet

your God ; and the first i s this :

T H ER E IS A GOD .

O God Father, S on and Holy Ghos t, Or e

ator o f the universe, S avior of the w orld, S p irit
 T HERE Is A G OD . 1 9

Of the new birth , this is Th y message, an d I am

“

only Thy messenger The w ork is Thine Op en . .

the eyes of the b lind ! Awaken the s p iritually

dead ! Wield the sword of the S p irit ! Take the
hamm er Of the law and strike ! Immortal God ,
speak to the immortal souls Of dying men , and
show them eternal death and the great deliverer .

The harvest i s ripe ; the laborers are few ; Lord

Of the harvest , se nd forth laborers , and hel p us
'

to gather in the sheaves It is not Thy will that .

we should p erish ; drive this truth home to the

hearts Of a perishi n g world Bless this message ; .

and now in Thy name 0 Jesu s, I cast out t

, ,
he
net for souls Gather Thou them in Amen
. . .

If there were n o God, you would not need

to prepare to meet Him ; but there I s a God ; you
k n ow i t; you k n ow th a t He k n ows you ; yo u
k n ow th a t on ly He k n ows Hi m s elf ; a n d you
k n ow th a t He k n ows b est h ow to m a k e Hi m self
k n own to you .

1 I say k n ow th er e i s G od I should
“

.
yo u a .

think it just as necessary to prove to you that

th ere is a su n and a moon as to prove that there
is a God E very n a ti on c r ea ti on and Rev ela
.
,

ti on tells you that there is a God .

E very n a ti on on earth worshi p s the true

God or false gods The false gods Of E gy pt of
,
.
,

Asia of E urope Of Am erica Of Australia of all

, , , ,
20 PRE PARE TO M EE T T HY G OD .

the islan ds Of the seas though they have eyes an d

see not, ears and h ear not, tongues and speak
.

not a r e loud speaking monuments in har mony

,
-

with the living voice O f Ch r istianity : There is

a God ! HOW could there b e a f a lse god , if there
were no tr u e On e ! E very people acknowledge
that there i s a God though by reason Of the
,

blindness which si n has wrought, not all know

the true God .

All c r ea ti on says there is a God The Old

,
.

clock at the wall cannot ta lk and yet it speaks .

It tells you what time i t is It tells you when to .

go to bed , wh en to rise wh en to eat when to go

, ,

to church It tells you that there was a clock

.

maker in this world and that he was no i gn o

,

ramus Sit down 0 man , and think where you

.
,

are You are s i tting on a wheel so large that

.

the R ocky Mountains and the Alps are but cogs

and you are ri di ng through s pace at the rate of
over seventeen miles per minute The sun and the .

’
moon and the stars are but wheels Of God s grea t
”
clock “
.He that hath ears to hear let him hear !
Shall the little clock on the wall talk to you and ,

will you not listen to the great clock Of the uni

verse ! I f you r mind cannot hear the voice of
those gol den wheels in space, or Of the earth on
w hich you stand , then lift up your foot and
“

examine that little blade O f grass On which you

 T H ERE IS A G OD . 21

j ust step ped and listen to i ts little tender fibers

a s it tells you : God h as woven me Nay sit .
,

down and feel your own pulse and the beating

Of your heart and let them tell you there i s a

God .

You know it best from the Rev ela ti on given

i n Holy Scriptures It i s true that God h a s
.

“
spoken in creation The heavens declare the
.

glory Of God ; and the fi r m am en t sh oweth Hi s

handiwork Day unto day uttereth s p eech and
.

”
night unto h ight sh oweth kno w ledge Ps 1 9, . .

1 2
. .But God tells u s this and more in His
R evelation God takes no p lea sure in our i gn o
.

rance He wants u s to know that He i s the

.

Father Son and Holy Ghost ; the same G od who

,

in the b egin ning created the heavens and the

“
earth ; the same God who said : Let us make
man in Our i mage the same God whom the
“
an gels praised by saying : Holy, holy, holy, the
Lord Of h osts ; the whole earth is full of Hi s
‘

glory the same God who wants us to b e b ap

ti z ed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost .

You may travel through every nation, s c an

all creation and search the entire R evelati on and
you wi ll fin d nothi ng and no one who wil l say
there is no God b ut that one ly i ng being — the
fool P s 1 4 1 E ven the father of lies , that Old
. .
,
.
22 P R E PA R E T O M EE T THY G OD .

serp ent in E den was too c unning to deny the

,

existence Of God The only creature w hom h e

“
.

ever found on earth that would stand u p and say

there is no G od, w as the fool .

2. There is a God , and you k n ow th at He

“
k n ows you . R evelation calls Him the only wise
God .
”
That G od 1 s Wi se you kno w But ho w .

“
shall ignorant man desc r i b e the wisdom o f the !

only w ise God ! ”

This much is c er tai n i He
knows the u n i v er s e God might have formed the
.

entire mass of matter into one vast w orld Who .

should hav e hindered Hi m ! Then th ere w ould

hav e b een no sun, moon , nor stars, nothing to
delight the eye and excite our admiration G od .

in His Wi sdom divided matter into innumerab le

w orlds and we know that He kno w s them all .

But j ust as w e kno w that God kno w s all a b out

‘

yon der heavens and the univers e, so w e know

that He k n ows th i s ea r th Th e same G od who
.

created the worlds know s every world I ta ke .

two instruments into my hand : with the tele

s c o p e I look in to the heavens and the v ast worl d s
’

tell me that I am standing on a grain o f s a n d in

“

this great univ erse ; with the micros c o pe I look

at a grain Of sand and b ehold a univ erse in i t .

The one tells me ho w I nsignifi c ant this w orl d is ;

the other tells me ho w immense it is : b oth tell
me that the w i sdom o f G od i s in all things I t .
24 P RE PAR E To M E ET THY G OD .

we do not know your sins b ut you know that

,

God does ; you may not know them yourself ,

but God does God now stand s before you fac e

“

“ ”
to face and s ays : Prepare to meet thy God .

3 . This leads me to a third thought : You

k n ow th a t Go d on ly k n ows Hi m s elf A learned
.

J eW I sh rabbi in London relates a death bed scen e -

O f a very aged Israelit e He gathered h i s sons

.

around him and told them O f a fearful dream he

had the night before He dreamed that he wa s
.

dying A n angel a ppear ed holding a garment

.
,

“
saying : Without this garment you cannot enter
”
heaven . Th en he took th e garment and tried to
Open the fi rst fa s tening and could not , but found
“ ”
the words written , ! now God , he tried the sec
“ ”
ond and found , Who c a n know God ! the third
“ ”
and found Non e can know God b u t God and
, ,

without ever finding out how to Open the gar

“
ment he passed into eternity Behold , God i s
.

” “
great and we know Him not Job 3 6 , 26
. . Thy .

”
j udgments are a great deep David P s 3 6 ,
. . .

6 .If that dying Israelite had believed God i n

stead Of tryi n g to know Him , the garment Of
Christ s righteou sness w ould hav e opened and
’

with it he could have gone hom e to the Father .

HOW should you who do not know yourself

, ,

know your God ! You sa y you cannot under

stand the Trinity Nor can any other man It
. .
 T H E RE IS A GOD
. 25

wa s not nec essary for God to reveal unto u s

W hat we knew Be sati sfied if God understa nds
.

the Trinity Only He knows Himself

. You .

think you und erstand Hi s a ttr i bu tes but you do ,

not Y ou know that God i s good holy loving,

.
, ,

m ercifu l j ust and righteous ; but how can you

,

compr eh end how good how holy, how loving , ,

how merciful how jus t, and how righteo us God

,

is !

You sa y you understand His c r ea ti on You .

do not understand any more a b out this little

’
earth alon e than a gnat on an elephant s b ack
understands his structure and the beating Of h i s
heart The human ra ce has never seen half Of
.

the living creatur es on this earth There are .

over eight thousand species Of the beetle alone .

It i s probable that the greatest telesco p e has no t

yet r each ed the gr ea t stars Of th e universe Only .

God knows Hi s creation .

You say you think you understand Hi s

P r ov i d en c e You may po ssibly understand why
.

a wagon whe el rattles and how some p eople can

sleep on an A tlantic express , but if you can u n
d er sta n d how God keeps all bodies in per petual
motion and hurls you through space at the rate
Of ov er a quart er Of a mil e ev ery second and all

this w ith le ss nois e than you would make in roll

ing a marble, I wish you would begin to ex p lain .
26 PREP ARE To M EET THY s on .

The truth Of it is b y your tryin g to under

stand a nd know God , you tried to make a god of
“
yourself . For vain man w ould b e wise ; though
'

’ ”
he b e born like a wild ass s colt Jo b 1 1 1 2
. .

Aw ay w ith gods made by man ! A way with your

foolish questions and listen ! There is a G od
who only knows Himself and He asks you to
pre p are to meet Him .

4
. But there is one thing more that you
know : You k n ow th a t God k n ew best h ow to
m a k e Hi m s elf k n own to you . While Only God
can know Himself, He does not keep all kno w l
edge to Himself . He w an ts us to kno w of Him ,
even i f w e c an not kno w Him .

Foolish questions are sometim es asked .

” “
Why did not God do this and that ! Why d i d
He not make Himsel f kno w n in thi s way and
”
that w ay ! Dear soul , w here w ere you when
He planned the universe ! Why di d you not tell
Him the b etter way ! Worm Of this ear th , sin c e
when did God need your counsel ! I s there no
room for shame in you r hardened heart ! God
who knows b etter than you do how to make Him
self known to you sa w fit to give you Hi s Wor d
“
by i n sp i r a ti on
. Holy men o f God spake as they
were mov ed b y the Holy Ghost ”
I shall sho w
.

you hereafter that God s p eaks to you and tells

you to prep are to meet Him N OW I w ant to
.
 T HERE Is A GOD
. 27

impress upo n you that fac t that G od know s b est

how to b ring that message to you You may not .

u n derstand it ; there ar e some more things you

do n bt understand, b ut you need not understand
Wh y G od did not make Himself kno w n in some .

other way DO you tell the worms why you

.

plo w ! DO you ask your infant how you shall

provide for it ! You know that God knows b est
how He wants you to hear o f Hi m .

God made Himself known to us in a s p ecial

“ ”
manner b y His i n c a r n a ti on God was in Christ
. .

“
2 Cor 5 , 1 9
. In the b eginning was the Word
.

an d the Word as with God an d the Word w as

God A nd the Word was mad e flesh and d welt

.

”
among us John 1 , 1 , 1 4 God b e c ame man
. . .

He put on a garm ent Of human flesh and b one

and laid On e hand into the hand Of the human
race and with the other pointed to the Father
and said : “
I and My Father are One ”
John .

1 0, 3 0 The Father looked at Jesus human

.
’

nature in the Jordan and at His di v ine nature

“
on the Mount Of Transfiguration and said : This
is My b eloved S on in w hom I am w ell p leased :

”
hear ye Him Search the S c ri ptures and the
.

li fe of Christ and you will find ho w the all wi se -

G od was plea sed to make Himsel f kn ow n to

you .

Tak e this thou ght home w ith you thi s ev en

28 P RE PARE TO M EE T THY G OD .

“
ing There is a God I kno w there is a God
. .

I know that He knows me ; O my sinful Soul ,

God knows me ! O ye liars and enemies, ye hav e
tried to ruin my character, but God knows me .

Only God knows Himself I do not know myself .

very w ell , nor God God knows Himself and

.

me, too He knows that I have no excuse before

.

”
Him not to prepare to meet Him .

'

D ear s0 u l, you never will l earn to think

rightly, till you constantly stand on this solid
foundation stone : There is a God I am never .

alone : there is a God I cannot hide my sins

.

there is a God I cannot b ea r my sins : there is

.

a God I cannot save myself : there is a God

. .

The hypocrites in the church can neither sa ve

nor damn me : there is a God I c annot al w ays .

live ; this night my soul may be required Of me

there i s a God and I must pre pare to meet Him !
“
He that believeth and is b aptized shall be
saved , and he that b elieveth not shall be
”
damned A men
. .
 H . GOD I S YOUR GOD

OU
’
may not b e God s child b ut God is
A

your God God Ofi er s Hi s grac e to you

. .

He has given Hi s only Son to die for your

sins He a sks you to b elieve in Him and b e
.

b a ptiz ed and ac cept Him a s your covenant G o d ;

but W hether you acc ept Him or not He will b e ,

your Jud ge and God .

When you si n you si n against your God B e .

you ever so rich , if you have not your God on

Hi s terms , you are very poor now ; and unles s ,

you accept Him yet , will b e miserably , u n

speakably aw f ully poor in hell ! B e you ever
,

so poor if you have accepted Christ in the F a

,
~

ther b y the Holy Spirit you a r e so ri ch that

,

v o u possess God and He p ossesses you May .

God the Holy Spirit drive this truth dee p into

, ,

your souls n ow :

GOD I S Y OUR GOD

.

If you know there i s a God and that He i s

your G od you certainly will b egin to take an
,

interest in Hi s loving command Pr epare to

”
meet thy God !
I sh al l now call your attention to this i m
29
30 P R EPA RE To M EET THY GOD .

p or tant f a c t: God h as al ways been God f

o a ll;

c on sequ en tly your Go d .

1 .He was you r God bef or e He c r ea ted th e

wor ld Some of you will never forget your r e
.

’
cent visit to the A rt Gallery in the World s Fair .

What grand scenes ! Ho w valuable ! But did

you stop to think that the last touch of the ar
’
ti sts brush on the canvas was the first touch on
his mind ! The p ictur ewas p ainted on his mind
before it was p ainted on c anvas The purchasing .

of the canvas , p aint , and b rushes and much of the

la b or was but a preparation for the last c entral
figure w hich was the first on the artist s mind ’
.

N OW look a tthis w orld w ith its rivers, seas , lakes ,

oceans , valleys , hills , p lains , mountai ns , clouds ,

skies, and heavenly lights What a grand s c ene !
.

But is this the picture that God first had in

Mind ! Watch the Hand Divine as it finishe s the
picture “
L etus make man in Our im age ” “
A nd .

the L ord G od p lanted a garden eastward in

E den and there He put the man whom He had
” “
formed Gen 2, 1 0
. . A ccording as He hath
.

chosen us in Him before the foundation o f the

”
w orld . Ep h 1 , 4 G od p lan ted the garden in
. .

the midst Of creation and p laced man into that

garden A nd now the p icture was finished a n d
.
,

m a n, first in God s mind , was the last to app ear

’
.

A ll the rest of creation w as b ut a prep aration

32 P RE PARE M EE T THY G OD
!

TO .

What must His patience be ! He w as God Of all ,

but only one family was His children What a .

family ! The wor ld th i n k s they ar e c r azy for

w
,
'

they are building a large boat on dry ground I .

“
see t h e multitude Of skeptics and sco ffers Good .

m orning, says one when d oyou expect to fi n

” “
,

i sh that boat ! Captain Noa h , if you think you

can s teer u s safely across these fi elds we would ,

lik e to take an excursion n ext week up t o the top

” “
of Mou n t Ararat Who is the biggest fool
‘

“ ’
living to day says a j ester A ll answer : God s
-
.

” “ ”
fool Noah
,
Why i s N oah a wise lunatic ! says
.

“
a nother None can guess
. Because he is b uild .

ing h i s o wn asylum Thus I can see and h ear

them ridicule righte ous Noah Time passes on . .
.

N O laughing a n d sneering n ow I t ra 1 ns it .
,

pours ! The floods , th e floods ! T O the ark to ,

the ark ! It is closed T O th e mountains and to .

the hills ! They cry , they climb they rave , they ,

’
fall , they sink, they die ! God s family i s safe
and God is the God Of the d ead : for He is still
their Judge a n d they live bef or e Hi m th ough they l

p erish in the waters He is Judge and they can

.

not escape Hl s j udgments .

4 Let us pass on to A br a h a m s ti m e; and

.
’

God is still God o rfa ll Abraham s father wor

’
.

’
shipped idols Twic e God s people had forg otten
.

Him .They all knew Him w hen He created

 GOD I s Y OU R GOD . 33

them ; they all knew Him wh en they st epp ed out

Of Noah s ark and Of f ered s a crific e
’
G en 8 20 . .
,
.

Twice He dealt with the whol e world , and they

would not r emain faithful Now He selected a .

rep res entati ve Abraham the father Of natio n s ,

, ,

and gav e him the promise that in h i s seed all

the nations of th e earth should b e blest The .

“ ”
question wa s not at all : I s God the God Of all !

“
but rather :

How shall a ll know that God i s

”
their God ! and th e all wise God sa w fit to -

choose a peculiar people to r em i nd the world

that He wa s th eir God .

He says v erse el even

,
“
I have ov erthrown
some Of you a s God overthrew Sodom and G O
,

”
morrah . You r em ember how A braham asked
G o d to spar e thos e cities but he did not know ,

a s w ell a s God did how wick ed th ey w ere Thos e .

cities would be standing to day yet if God had -

not been th eir God any more than they w ere Hi s

!
children They would not believe their God nor
.
,

Hi s s ervant , Lot ; so He made th em feel Wh en .

Lot escaped to th e mountain and h i s disobedient ,

wife turned to salt fire and brimston e mad e th e

!
,

wicked feel that God i s their God to W hom th ey

must give account though they refused to recog
,

niz e Him as God a n d He w o uld not acc ept them

,

a s Hi s children .

3
 P RE PA RE TO M EET T HY GOD .

Let us p ass on to C h r i s ts ti m e; an d God

5 .
’

is still God of all When H e was born the b eav.

“
en ly ho s t sang : Glory to God in the highest
”
and on earth peace, good w ill to w ard men Let .

“ ’
us analyze that angeli c s ong Thi s is all God s .

doings N ei ther men nor angels would ever

.

hav e thought of this This thought did not or .

i gi n a te on earth We did not learn our song her e

. .

We learned it in heaven Glory to G od in the .

highest E arth has n ot b een p ea c eful since God

.

hurled that reb elliou s angel out Of heaven There .

has b een no pea c e betw een nation and nation b e ,

tw een man and man , nor b etw een God and man .

The Prin c e of Peace is now b orn He wants to .

save every man I t is His w ill that none should

.
.

w
b e lost God is God of all Good will towa rd
. .

”
h en .Though God is angry w ith the wicke d
ev ry day , He still des n es l Il Christ to save them
e
-

all an d be their covenant God through faith

‘
.

Here let me call your attention to the divine

law wh ich God wrote on the heart of A dam , gave
to Mo ses on Mount Sinai , and which C h r i st ful
filled Do es not God begin His law by saying
.

“ ”
I am the Lord th y God ! Does He not say
Thou shalt n ot take the name of th e Lord th y
” !
Go d in vain
,
Does He not say of all th e com
m a n dmen ts : I the Lord th y G od a m a j ealous
“
, , ,

”
God ! Does not God sum u p a ll the comma n d
 GOD IS Y OU R GOD . 35

ments of the first tab le of th e law by saying

“
Thou shalt love the Lord, th y God wi th all thy ,

heart, with all thy soul , with a ll thy mind and all
”9 ’
thy strength Do n t you hear G od sayi n g in
His law to all nations and every man : “
I am thy
God, th y God , THY G od ’
A nd w hen Christ wa s
f

hanging on the cross fulfilling that law for every

sinner ; when afterwards He conquered death ;
when then He c ommanded His disci p les to p reach
the G ospel in all the w orld to every creature, did
He not c learly show that He w as God of all !

He w ants all to b e saved and has made p rov ision

for all I f you rej e c t Him you do not dethrone
.

Him He still reigns as God and calls you to

.

’
account But Christ s time is forever ; ther efore
.

I come do w n,
6 .To the p r esen t ti m e : and God is still
your God .

He never had so many m essages There was .

a time w hen only the very ri c h could p ossess a

Bi b le To day God sends His Word in nearly
.
-

4 00 languages to all the w orld The Bible wa s

.

th e first book that ever existed , the first to b e

printed , and is the only book that has b een upset
every day, in par t or whole, for nearly years
and yet stands always right side up There are .

ten reasons wh yyou should go bare footed where -

there is one w hy you should not p ossess a Bi b le .

36 P REP ARE TO M EE T THY GOD .

’
You c an b uy God s Word now for 3 0 cents ; and ,
if you c a n not raise that amount , you can get one
for nothing of your Bible Society God sends .

you His message to day in your o w n language

-

“ ”
and says : Prepare to meet thy God .

About 26 8 1 years ago A mos was one of the

few of God s m essen ger s To day G od has
’
“

-
.

Lutheran p a stors in this world and

Lutherans have p r ep a r ed to meet their God In
'

the U nited States alone God has pastors

“
in our church , preaching in 1 5 languages : Pre
”
pare to meet thy God ; and the Luthera n pastors
of the world preach this in 9 0 languages If ever .

there w as a time th a t God showed that He w as

your God, it is n bw The Bible is a picture gal
‘

lery and time is hel p ing us to see the pictures .

The Old Testament contained over one hundred

p r Op h eti c pictures of Chri st b efore He w as b orn .

Isaiah drew a picture of thi s earth as round as

a b all and held it up nearly years b efore
this w orld saw it Isaiah 4 0, 22 Nahum drew
. .

“
a picture of the lightning express and held it
up over years b efore any one saw it Chap . .

2, 3 4. .From the isle of Patmos John saw

Benj am i n Fr ank lin discover electricity R ev 1 3 , . .

13. A nd there ar e two pictures on nearly every

page of the Bible and the mo re you lo ok into
th at Book the b etter you w ill see them : the one
 GOD IS Y OU R GOD . 37

is God and the other i s yourself Could you

.

write th e biography of a man to b e b orn

!

years hence ! God wrote yours over years

ago He tells you who and what you are b etter
.

than you could yourself If I sho w ed you an

.

album with my picture and another by my side

you would naturally infer that there is a close
relation between u s God has your picture in
.

th e Bible b eside Hi s and below is written by the

,

“ ”
Holy Spirit : Prepare to meet thy God Aga in
.

“
I conclude : He that believeth and is bap tized
shall b e saved , but he that believeth not shall
”
b e damned . Amen .
 III . GOD FI N D S YOU LOST

OU
w ould not think me unkind , dear hear er ,

if I , seeing your house burning and you

as leep in it, should run and ring y our
door bell ; or , if necessary brea k down the door
-
,

and run to your b ed and p ull you out and sav e

your life ! Then why would you b lame me for
running and rap ping at the door of your sleepy
“
conscience and crying Prepare to meet thy
”
God ! when

GOD F I N DS Y OU LOS T .

The mo st important messages of this w orld

are sent by the wire and made as sh ort as pos
sible The message I have to deliv er to you now
.

is so important that I do not kno w how to p re

pare it gui c kly enough , and ho w to make it short
enough that you can receive it in time to p repar e
to meet your God .

We are b ound to the laws o f the government

as long as welive A murderer is either acquit
.

ted, hanged , elec tro c uted , or imprisoned for life

though the murder was committed in a second ,

and though the murderer sh ould live to b e a hun

dred years old A single sin , un forgiven will
.

38
40 P RE PA RE To M EE T THY GOD
.

unrav el th e mysteries of the unsearchab le God .

Neverthel ess r ea son can give us a few marks

,

of th e lost .

A lost sheep will wan d er a r ou n d f ar th er a n d

fa r th er a n d n ev er fin d i ts wa y b a c k i tself This .

is a mark of th e lost They hav e no straight line

.

to follow They circle from this opinion to that

.

opinion A s the years roll by they wander o ff

.

farther and farth er from th eir God .

A lost dog will s om eti m es li e d o wn a n d r e

fu s e to sta r t i n a n y d i r ec ti on ; h e does not
know which way to start This i s another mark
.

of the lost You have no obj ect in life You

. .

stay at home and eat and w ork and grum b le .

You do not care for anybody You do not st a nd .

up for your r ights You let everything go as it

.

will You do not want to go to the house of

.

God You do not want to go to th e Bible You

. .

do not want to go to the altar of ba ptism You .

’
do not want to go to the Lord s Supper You do .

not want to go to prayer Like a dog a lost .

—
—
dog you would rath er lie down in your sins and
take a whip p ing than move Some lost animals .

will run wi th ou t k n owi n g wh er e th ey a r e goi n g .

Do you not know why you are in this world !

Do you kn ow what you are living for ! Do you
not know where you are going after death Have !

you no a i m at all in life ! Is eternity all d a rk

 GOD FI N DS Y OU LOS T . 41

to you ! You n eed n ot go any further ; you hav e

got th e mark in your own head you a r elost
— .

If a man , o n a new road , wer e c er tai n h e w a s

i i th e r i gh t d i r ec ti on a n d wer e n o t th e
go ng n ,

o ld settler s c ou ld tell h i m th a t ,
h e i s los t You .

may b e certain in yo ur mind that your un b iblical

road will lead you to the eternal city ab ove, b ut
God and His angels and His saints and the
damned know that you a r e lo st and your reason
must ad m i t it if you obs erve the marks .

R eason tells you that gu i d es of a ll k i n d s a r e

th e r esu lt of bei n g lost Men have been lost in
.

—
the w ild er ness guides are th ere Men have been .

—
lost on new roads guide posts are there Men .

have been lost in cities and have not b een abl e

—
to find c ertain house s streets are nam ed and
houses a r e numbered to guide the lost In every .

land there are temples confessions, towers , ,

creeds servants of God t elling the world how to

, ,

b e sav e Pray tell me could any sane man i m

‘

d
'

, ,
.

agine tru e or false guides for th e soul , if souls

were not lost !

But let m e give you some better mark s of

th e lost th e m a r k s o f Rev ela ti on th e m ar k s

wh i c h God r ev ea ls u n to u s On every lost soul

.

God finds the mark , Un r egen er a ti on It has b een .

well said by S criver that every person s hould b e

b orn three times : once into this w orld, then b orn
“
42 P REP ARE To M EET T HY GOD .

—
again regenerated -
and finally out o f this
w orld into heaven . Our g ov ernment demands
that the President of the United S tates must b e
a born A merican Do foreigners ever think of
.

occupying our p residential chair ! Never ! Well ,

God demands of every one b orn in this sinful ,

world , that he b e b orn again b efore he shall even

s ee the kingdom of heaven John 3 3 5 Have
.
,
-
.

you never been born from ab ove ! Have you

never been baptized ! Are you still in your sins !

Has grace effected n o change i n your soul !

t

Have you no love to God in your hea rt ! Hav e

you made no change at all since you were b orn !
’
Have you no desire to work in God s vineyard !
A re you still trusting in your own righteousnes s !
Then , as sure as God cannot lie, you have the
—
mark of the lost on you u n r egen er a ted God .

“
tak es an oath to this efi ec t: Verily , verily , I
h
sa y unto thee except a man ( Greek ,
e
; Latin
q u i s ; Ge r man , j eman b ; a p erson ,
large or small ,

an hour Or a century old ) b e b orn agai n , he c an

”
not see the kingdom of God John 3 , 3 We
. .

are all b orn in si n ; and therefore mu st all b e ,

born again in righteousness , or w e cannot enter

heaven . A gain He tells us how he can be
“
born again . E xcept a man be born of wa ter a n d
th e S p i r i t he cannot enter the kingd om of God
,
.

J o hn 3 , 5 . The question is not at all wheth er

 GOD FI N DS Y ou LOS T . 43

little children without b aptism would b e damned ,

but the fact is they cannot enter heaven without

regeneration and we have not done our duty to
,

th e m even if God does save them in some ex

,

tr a o r d i n a r y way if we do not present them to

“

“ ”
Him to be b orn again b y water a n d S p irit, as
He wants us to do
There is anoth er mark that God finds on
ev ery lost soul : Un beli ef “
He that b elieveth n ot
.

”
shall be damned . Mark 1 6 1 6 You think you
,
.

a r e a good man because you treat your family and

neighbors well but how b lind you are ! I f you

,

treat me well and I know you ab use your mother ,

!
can I call you a good man And if you treat y our
mother well and you slap her God and Savior in
th e face by not believing in Him are you a good ,

man ! A reb el against heaven ! a good man !

Calling God a liar by denying His Word ! 3 good .

man R idi c uling the only Savior of the world ! a

good man ! Teaching your c hildren to b e damned
“
forever ! a good man You say , There is a G od
!
,

so doe s the devil ! a good man ! You must either

accept the only S avior of man , Jesus Christ, a s
your Savior, or you b ear the mark of the lost,
Un b eli ef and all your nonsense about being a
,

good man will avail you nothing .

But un b elief is a c an c er thatw ill b reak out i n

other sores and the result will b e that God w ill
44 PREP ARE TO M EE T THY GOD .

fi n d a n oth er —
b ig mark on the lost Un c lea n Some .

of you may possi b ly live in adulter y or f ornica

tion if so , you are lost Some of you may wear
.

fine cloth es and make a fi n e ap p earance ; b ut

!

if your heart is unclean and full of lascivious

ness , you are lost S ome of you are fine Chris
.

tians on Sunday , b ut during the week you wor

ship anoth e r God with skeptics and sco ff ers
you are lost Some of you believe more in p o w
.

wows than you do in prayer you are l o st -

.

’
Some of you hate God s children and never go
to bed without wrath in your h ea r ts som e m or n
“
J —

ing you will wak e up i n hell Some of you have .

murdered and th e world don t know it b ut G od

’
,

does and you ar e l ost S ome of you have never

.

’
b een in the drunkard s ditch , b ut you h ave b een
in h i s shoes and you are lost A ll of you God
.
.

wraps u p into one b undle and l ab els it : Un c lea n '

.

“
N ow the w orks of the flesh are manifest which
are these : A dultery, fornicati on , uncleanness ,

lasciviousness idolatry, w it c hcraft, hatred ,

,

variance, emulat i ons, wrath , strife, seditions

heresies envyings , murder s, drunkenness, revel
,

lings , and such like of the w hich I tell you b efore ,

as I have told you in time past, that they whi c h

do such things sh a ll n ot i n h er i t th e k i n gd om of
”
Go d . Gal 5 , 1 9 21
. Unregeneration , Un b elief
-
.

and Un c lean are God s three mark s of the lo st

’
.
 GOD F I N DS YOU LOS T . 45

2 No w, let me b riefly tell you of the

.

m i ser i es of the lost No , I cannot tell you , and

w
. -

I am glad I cannot I hope you never ill know

. .

But some th i ngs I can tell you of the p r esen t and

fu t u r e miseries of the lo st May th i s alarm in
.

th e name of God aw aken you r c on sc i en c e v

.

Your p r esen t misery !

You are a gai n st you r self It i s bad enough .

to have enemies , but w or se to be your o w n

“ ”
enemy O Israel thou hast destroyed thyself !
.
,

Hos 1 3 , 9 I beg of you : heed the call of God !

. .

Do not stub b or nly refuse to prepare to m eet your

God . Do not cast yourself into the burning
“
flames ! Do not let y our eternal moan be : I
might have been saved but w ould not ”
Do not .

tell me you are happy in your sins ; you cannot

be !
“
A ll c r ea ti on is against you Paul says : T h e .

”
whol e creation groaneth and travaileth in pain .

Rom 8 , 22
. Why does it groan !
. Sinful , lost
men are not making the right u se of creation .

Sinful men a r e looking down on the animal s and

abusing them a s their gods while their groans
are reaching h eaven C reation i s again st you.
,

lost m a n ! Look up to y our M aster in heaven

and your horse will have a better master on earth .

E verything i s in disorder through sin that brings

misery every where .
46 P RE PARE To M EE T THY GOD .

God i s a gai n st you What Shall I say ! God

.

is not only God , n ot only your G od , b ut He fi nds

you lost and condemned already Do not say.

—
that God w ill condemn you you are condemned .

“
He that believeth on Him is not c ondemned , b ut
he that b elieveth not is c ondemned already ,

because he has not believed in the name of the

only b egotten S on of God ”
John 3 , 1 8 I n your
. .

l ost c ondition you are p ositively against the A l

mighty God ; and He must b e aga inst you E zek . .

5, 8 . His holy law is against you His Gos p el , .

given to sav e you , must b e against you if you

resist His gra c e and de c line the call to a c cep t
’
your God Mark 1 6 , 1 6 Heaven s door must b e
. .

c losed against you There might b e some reason

.

yet for one man to fight an ar my, bu t f or you ,

“

poor sinner, lost sinner, condemned S inner, worm

.

o f the earth ; f or you to lift u p your hand against

A lmighty God what shall I say ! T hi s : I t is
“

a fearful thin g to fall into the hands of the living

” ’
God .God s b ow is no w stretc hed an d aimed at
you in your sins He nev er fails to hit th e mark !
.

He may let Hi s arr ow fly at any moment What .

if it w ould fly no w !
The devil seem s n otto be agai n styou He is .

in p er fe c t harmony wi th your sinful nature He .

tells you that you are a noble man He h a s you .

to make a c hain and then p raises you He hold s .

48 PRE PA RE To M EE T THY GOD .

steed of pain begins his eternal gallop over your

nervous roads you will not sl eep then
, .

To this misery will b e added th e m i sery of

others I should not want to be in hell one hour
.

free of puni shment the mis ery of the damned

“
would make me miserable . God says : There
”
shall b e weeping and gnashing of teeth Many.

a woman will gnash her teeth at her hu sband and

say “
Wh y did you laugh at my faith and
ridicule my Church and my God till I forsook
”
Him ! Many a husband will gnash his teeth at
“
his wife and childr en and sa y : Why did you
cling together and oppose me and drive us all
! ”
into this torment ‘

Many children w ill gnash

“
their teeth at their parents and say Why did
you not have us i nstructed in God s Word and
’
‘

confirmed ! A nd why did you lead such ungodly

lives as to m a ke us believe that Christianity wa s
”
a fraud ! Thousands upon thousands will gnash
“
their teeth at the preachers and sa y : Why did
you not warn us of this place and tell u s that
Jesus died to sav e u s ! Why di d you n ot tell u s
to turn or burn ! You miserab le wretches , if we
could add anything to your torments we would ,
“

”
grind you with our gnashing teeth !
To this anot h er misery will be add ed th e
’
r em em br a n c e o f G o d s lov e . God tells us that
every knee shall bo w before Him R om 1 4 , 1 1
. . .
 GOD F I N DS Y OU L OST . 49

We shall all see Jesus on the Judgment Day If .

.

men could go to hell without kno w ing that Jesus

wa s their Savior, it would b e a comfort in all
their miseries to know that they could not help
it But it S hall not be so The h ell of hells will
. .

“
be this : I might have been saved , but would not .

The last I sa w before I came in to this torment

wa s my rej ected Savior I bowed my knees to
.

”
Him and left Him forever Then your own con
.

science will start u p an everlasting cry of r e

morse .

Now, i mmortal soul you have h eard of the

,

marks and miseries of the lost Would you not .

rather hear of h ell than feel it ! Can you b lame

me for telling you and warning you in time !

’
Don t you understand now that it must b e a lov
“
ing God who cries to you : Prepare to meet thy
”
God ! Do you not s ee now that you cannot for
the whole w orld put o fi any longer your p repara
tion to meet God ! Before I leave you , I must
tell you that Jesus Christ the God man , died to ,

“
save you and now says : The Son of man i s
,

co me to seek and to save that which was lost ”

.

Luke 1 9 1 0
,
“
He that bel i eveth and is ba p tized
.

S hall be saved , but he that believeth not Shall be

”
damned . Mark 1 6 1 6 God wants lo st souls to
,
.

prepar e to meet Him Am en . .

IV . GOD HA S S ALVA T ION FOR Y OU

HERE i s a G od and that God is your God ,

and your God find s you lost In my last .

discourse I showed you the marks and the

miseries of the lost This evening I have good
.

new s for the lost God has salvation for you , or

.

He would not a sk you to pre pare to meet Him .

Let me impress on you this hour that God h a s a

b ea u ti f u l h om e i n h ea v en ; th a t He h a s a Wa y
lea d i n g to th a t h om e; a n d th a t He h a s a wa y
lea di n g to th a t Wa y .

“
Thy Word i s a lamp unto my feet and a
light unto my path Father , Son and Holy
.

Ghost help me now to hold up Thy lam p and

,

S how l ost souls Thy salvati on A men . .

“
1 . Go d h a sf a h om e or you i n h ea v en . A ll
S c ripture i s given by inspiration of God and i s
pro fi ta b le for doctrin e, for reproof, for corree
tion , for in struction in righteousness : that the
man o f God may b e perfect, thoroughly fur
n i sh ed unto all g
”
ood works 2 Tim 3 1 5 1 7 . .
,
-

Some seem to think that prea c hing of heaven is

useless Our reply i s b rief : The Bi b le s p eak s of
.

heaven about seven hundred times , and all S c ri p

ture is given by inspiration and i s profitab le .

50
 GOD HA S S ALVA T ION FOR Y OU . 51

If we knew more of heaven , a s God wants us to ,

it would be profitable to u s If we ex p ect to go
.

to some distant city or land , how we try to learn

all we can about that land before we start ! Y ea ,

do we not hear much of foreign lands even before

we can d esire to visit them We c a nnot hea r
!

too much of heaven and hell in this Short life of

ours A f ew thoughts now on heaven
.
.

It i s a p la c e f or you to lay u p tr eas u r es .

“
Christ says z Lay not up for yourselves treas
'

ures on earth where moth and rust doth cor

,

rupt and where thieves break through and steal ;

,

but lay up for yours elves tr easures in hea

v en,
where n eith er moth nor rust doth cor
rupt a n d wher e thi eves do not break through
, ,

nor steal : f or where your tr easure i s there will ,

”
your heart b e also Matt 6 , 1 9 2 1
. . Are you.

laying up any treasures in heaven ! I fear not .

Let u s see Wh ere your h eart i s there i s your

.

treasure I S your h eart on tobacco or truth

.
!

r
rum o r est fashions or faith silv er or saints
! ! !

acres or angel s ! j ew els or Jesu s ! earth or eternal

!
life gold or God ! Wher e your heart i s th ere
y our treasure i s: Could any one but a fool
choose the earthly tr ea su r es i n preference to the
heavenly ! We say of a very wealthy man when
“ ”
he dies : He wa s a million aire Y es he wa s
.
, ,

but what i s h e now ! What i s a man with all

 P REPARE TO M EET T HY GOD .

his earthly treasures in the hour of death when

he h a s no trea sures in heaven ! You are here
to lay up treasures in heaven , and not on earth .

Ten times God says in His Word that the

names of Hi s children are written in the Book of
Life Some of you , before you started to the
.

’
great World s Fair , had your names written
there and your rooms secured .
Is your name
.

written in heaven ! Have you made no prepara

tions for your j ourney into eternity ! S ee to it
at once that your name is treasured u p in heaven -

See to it also that your f a m i ly i s treasured

up in heaven It is not your calling to lay up
.

treasures here on earth for your c hildren but I , ,

fear that i s what you have b een doin g You

,
.

h a ve been so kind to your family that you have

depriv ed yourself of the c omforts of life i n order
to han d each son and daughter a b eautiful
earthly treasure ; and now you feel that you have
done your duty You have mistaken the treas
.

ure God gave you your family not to lay up

.

“
for them but to lay them up for heaven
,
The .

”
promise is unt o you and to your children A cts .

2 39
,
E arthly tr easures should b e given to chil
.

dren who are the mselves heavenly treasures ,

that b oth may b e laid up for heaven .

This leads me to anoth er thought : Ou r

w ea lth sh o u ld b e lai d u p i n h ea v en Mon ey is .
 GOD HA S S A LVA T I ON FOR Y OU . 53

a gift of God and only love of it i s the root of all

evil Gold and silver are creatures of God a s
.

well as man It is no sin to be wealthy, but it is

.

a si n not to consecrate our w ealth to God This .

is a gr eat lesson for the Christian Chur c h to

learn today We must sto p giving our w ealth
.

to the devil It may b e all right to wear a ring,

.

but it does not look right for fingers c overed

with gold and di amonds to give cop p ers for
mission s It do es not look right for a man to
.

boast of hi s w ea lth when it is not used to s p read

’ ’
God s kingdom A man s name, family and
.

wealth should be treasured u p in heaven There .

it can remain forever There w ill b e no moth .

nor rust, nor thieves .

Heav en is a p la c e for you Ho w do I know . .

God says so “
I n my Father s house are many
.
’

mansions : if it were not so , I w ould have told

you I go to p repare a pla c e f or you
.
”
John 1 4 , .

“
!

2. God is there He tells us to pray : . Our

”
Father who art in heaven God the Father i s .

there ; God the Son is there God the Holy Ghost

is there Angels are there Saints ar e there ;
. .

and still there is room There are many man .

sions, b ut only one house The gate o f heaven .

“
is wide enough for all th e world God so loved .

th e world that He gave His only begotten Son

that wh osoev er b elieveth in Him should not p er
54 P RE PARE To M EET THY GOD .

ish , b u thave everlast i ng life John 3 , 1 6 But

.
”
.

do not i magine that because the gate of heav en

is wide enough for the world that, therefore, the
“
unregenerated c an easily enter E xce pt a m an .

be born again he cannot see the kingdom of

”
God . There is room in heaven for all the r e
generated There is not room in heaven for one
.

unregenerated p erson A nd even if ther e were,

n one would be found there When the u n r egen .

er a ted must be pulled into divine services on

earth because they feel uneasy where a service

is holy, ho w w ould they feel in h eaven ! E ven
if it were p ossib le for an unregenerated sou l to
enter heaven , his eternity would nev ertheless
b e a hell E very man can b e regenerated a n d
.

'

then there i s r o om for him in heaven .

“
Heaven is a lso a p la c e of r est Th er e r em a i n .

eth therefore a rest to the p eo p le of G od ”

Heb . .

4, 9 . This is no pla c e to rest Here w e are to .

earn our b read by the sweat of our face Here .

there is so much to do that we m ust w ork while

it is day , for the ni ght cometh when no man can
w ork John 9 , 4 The harvest is ri p e and the
. .

laborers are few Here we sigh and moan ; here

.

we tremble and fall ; here we are tired In hea .

“
ven there is rest There w e S hall S i t down with
.

”
Abr aham , Isaac and Jaco b, and knowing them ,
we shall know our own ; and w hether w e sh a ll
 '

56 P RE PARE To M EE T T HY GOD .

great j oy which S hall be to all people For unto

, .

you i s born thi s day in the c ity of David a

Savior which i s Christ , th e Lord ; and then th e
“
heav enly host sang Glory to God in the high
”
est,
and on earth peace good will toward,
men .

Luke 2 Jesus Christ the Son of God was now

.
, ,

man Satan hounded Him till he sa w the Son

.

of God nailed to th e cursed tree on C

Little did Sa tan know that th e death of
would crush his own head But so it was . .

paid our deb t and rose again and now when e

have Him by faith we have the old Way the on ly ,

Way and the sa f e Wa/y Jesus said : I am t

,
“
. he
Way, the Truth , and the Life : no man cometh to
the Father but b y Me ”
By H i m all in heav en
.
t
h ave been saved The patri ar chs and pro p hets
.

were saved by the promised Savi or and we

through the crucified Savior His promised r e .

demption was as powerful a s His past r ed em p

tion .

A n d He is the on ly Wa y “
No n e can c ome .

”
to the Father but by Me Neither is there .

salvation in any other ; for there i s none other

name under heaven given among men whereby
we must be saved ”
A cts 4 , 1 2 Th ere were
. .

many religions repres ented in the R eligious Con

gress of Chicago but only one th at told a poor
,

sinner how to reach heaven A n old man was .

 GOD HA S S A LVAT ION FOR Y OU .

walking over a riv er today on an only log and

a man took an a x a n d stepp ed between him and
the further shor e and tri ed to cut the log in two
to drop him into the river Did he succeed No ! ! .

The log w a s harder t h an the ax but it di d S how ,

how mean the rascal wa s D O you want to know .

h i s name ! It i s the infid el who would try and

br eak down your only way to reach heav en .

J esus i s a sa fe Wa y A few year s ago I .

Visited the Yellowsto n e National Park, about

s i xty miles long I hired a pony and rode to the
.

Falls and b ack When I started I a sked the way

.

“
an d this w a s the reply I received : There i s
only one way ; stay on it and you cannot miss
”
it
. Off I sta rted over hills thr ough valleys ,
, ,

along the c li f fs past geysers , to the Falls

,

alone, but safe, for there wa s only one way Pil .

gri ms are you alone

,
! Do you not know the
way ! You can mak e no mistake Jesus says .

“
I am th e Way the Truth an d the Life : no man
, ,

”
cometh to the Fat h er but by Me This Way i s
,
.

safe E v ery one in h eaven has gone by this Way

. .

I have stood by the bedside of many who had

been on this Way and now were near the end ,

and they would not leave it N 0 man ever r e .

p en ted for having be en a Chr istian .

3 . N oti c e, fi n a lly, th a t G o d h a s a wa y to
lea d to th a t Wa y . What good would heaven do
 PRE P ARE TO M EET T HY GOD .

us and a way to heaven , if we did not know how

to reach that Way ! But w e do know God has .

appointed th e means of grac e, the Word and

Ho ly S acram ents , as the Way .

We must h ear of th e Way For ho w shal l“

.

they believe in Him of whom they have n ot

h ard
e ! R om 1 0, 1 4 M ar k w hat I sa y : If you
. .

are not willing to go to the house of God and

hear His preaching ; if you have not time to read
or hear His Word at hom e ; if you are not w illing
’
to study your catechisms gl eaned from God s
Word ; if you are So reckless and careless a s to
prefer darkness to light an d ignorance to knowl
edge then you cannot find the w ay But you .

have heard of the way already ; you hear it Il ow '

Jesus is the Way .

Next, you m u st leav e you r o ld wa y if you ,

want to get on the new way You cannot walk

.

on two streets at one time, nor can you w alk

with Jesus and keep hold o f the devil Oh , ho w .

willing some of you would be to follow Christ

if He were going to hell ! If you want to get on
th e way that reaches hea ven you must say to
“
your sinful comrades : Come with me now or ,

”
fare w ell f or ev ef ! 2 Cor 6 , 1 4 1 8
’

. .

You must get on th e wa y to h ea v en But .

do n otthink for a moment that you r good works

will take you there, for you have non e until grace
 GOD HA S L
S A VA T ION FOR Y OU . 59

renews your hea rt , and then you will think only

of grace and not of works To get on the w ay .

you must let the Holy Spirit do His work You .

mus t repent You must b e sorry for your S ins

.

an d beli eve in J esus Chri st “

By grace are ye .

saved through faith ; an d that not of yourselves

it i s the gi ft of God not of works lest any man
, ,

”
S hould boast . E ph 2, 8 9 Washed in the
. . .

ba ptismal w ave S ing :

In m y h an d s no pr i c e I b ring
S imp ly to T h y c r o ss I c ling
”
.

You have now heard that God h a s salvation

for you Now you will see b etter w hat Jesus
.

“
means when He says Prep are to meet th y
”
God !
A few years ago there was a murderer in
th e Pennsylvania pri son His fr iends tried hard
.

to have him pardoned , for he had b een found

guilty of death The .Governor was a Christian
and said the law must take its course One .

morning a stranger appear ed at the door o f his

cell w ith the sheri ff He told the prisoner to
.

prepare to meet his God and left A fterwar d s .

he asked the sheri ff who that s tranger wa s .

”
That was Governor Pollock T h e prisoner .

wrung his hands and w ep t b itterly and said :

60 P RE PARE To M EET TH Y GOD
.

’
Why didn t you tell me ! ”
O prisoners of S i n ,
I now tell you : The ! ing is here ! Pre pare
to meet Him ! Ai n en .
 V . GOD REA SON S WIT H YOU
CH R I ST IA N , strong in the faith , is one to
whom you can go at any time and tell
him face to fa c e w hat you think of him
and he will thank you for your good intent and ,

the stronger he gro w s in h i s faith , the less he

will think of backbiting I stand here week after
.

week and tell you what I think God wants me to

sa y and I S hall be thankful if during the week, ,

you tell me what you think God wants you to

sa y to me Our best fri ends ar e those who will
.

b efriend u s in our absence and tell u s of our

faults in our presence Let u s learn this lesson
.

now from our God He gave Israel many reasons

.

why they S ho uld have returned to Him , but they

would not Finally He went to them face to
.

fa c e and reasoned with them and told them ,

what He would do if they w ould not prepare to

m eet their God Therefore thus will I do unto
.
‘

th ee O Israel : and because I will do this unto

,

”
thee prepare to m eet thy God O Israel !
,
Be
,

hold the controversy ! The omniscient God rea

sons with ignorant man ! He com es and sits
“
down with us and says Com e now and let u s ,

”
reason together Isaiah 1 , 1 8
. .

61
62 PR EPARE To M E ET THY GOD .

I have listened to the reasons of men f or n ot

’
pre p aring, and I have noticed a few of God s
reasons w hy they should prepare to meet their
God . No w let the controversy go on betw een
man and h i s God ; and , whil e it proceeds let ,

Christians learn ho w to deal with their brothers

face to face and others learn to prepare to
meet their god .

T h e fir s t c on tr ov er sy What has man to

.

sa y ! This : I love my children and I could not

“

for a moment think of giving one over to death

”

how then could a loving God give His only Son

to die for u s ! If Christ was the Son of God
then His Father must have had little love in Hi s
”
heart to give Him to be nailed to the c ross This .

is an argument I have often heard advanced by

sinners in th eir blindne ss Now let God reply :
.

“ ”
I and My Father are One John 1 0, 3 0 There
. .

are not tw o Gods but only One When Jesus .

died , God manifest in the flesh died The Father .

did not drive His Son to the cross agai nst Hi s

“
will , but God was in Christ reconciling the
”
world unto Himself 2 Cor 5 1 9 Many of ou r
. .
,
.

sons died in the last w ar They fought to save

.

their country Di d their parents not love them

.
!

Then why do you think God did not l ove C hrist

when He gave Him to save a perishing world !

Herein i s love, not that w e loved God , but that

64 PRE PAR E To M EET THY GOD .

Many chur c h members ar e hypocri tes and I do

not See that the b est Christians are much better
than I am What great wrong have I done that
.

”
I should prepare to meet my God !

A nd no w Lord arise and speak There i s

none righteous no not one There is none that
, ,
.

u n d er stan d eth th ere i s none that seeketh after

,

G od . They are all gone out of the way , they a r e

together become u n p r Ofi ta b le ; there is none that
” “
doeth good no , not one R om 3 1 0 1 2 Ther e
,
. .
,
-
.

fore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh

be j ustified in His s ight : for b y the law is the
”
knowledge of sin R om 3 20 Without Christ
. .
,
.

no ma n can b e s a ved I am trying to serve my . .

God and lead a Christian life b ut i f I were a

‘

, ,

thousand times better than I am I w ould still ,

be lost without Christ Christians are not saved .

“
by their goodness Christ saves the lost . But .

now the r i ghteousness of God with out the law i s

manifested , b eing witnessed by the law and th e
prophets ; even the righteousness of God which
is b y faith of Jesus Chri st unto all and upon all
them th at believe ”
R om 3 21 22 The Victory
. .
,
. .

belongs to G od .

F ou r th C on tr ov er sy What next , 0 man ! .

“
This I hear it prea c hed that w h osoever will ,

may come to God and that He will not reject

anyone I hear it preached that Thou canst save
.
 GOD R EA SON S WITH Y OU . 65

the worst of sinners Now thi s , I mainta in , i s

.

a b ad doctrine : it will make the world worse

and worse We do not want a Savior for the
.

worst peo ple .

“
Stop 0 man and let God s p eak
, ,
Come .

now, and let u s reason together saith the Lord : ,

though your sins be a s scarlet th ev shall be a s ,

white a s snow ; though they be red like crimson ,

”
they S hall be a s wool Isaiah 1 1 8 If I S hould
.
,
.

not sa ve the worst of Sinners , how could I save

you ! I f I could save only th e saved I would be
.

no savi or But you know that the saved sinners

.

ar e today the salt of the earth Men do not si n“

because th ey have a great Savior but because ,

they have Him n ot Do men have to become sick

.

because th ey know of a good physician ! Much

less would one delivered of hi s si n S ickness love
,
-

to si n again b ecause God can forgive The .

vi ctory belongs to God .

F i fth C on tr o v er sy What have you to sa v

.

next O m a n
,
! T hi s : “
I wish God and Hi s
servants would let me alone I know when I .

want to go to church and when I wan t to pre

!

pare to m eet my God I am tired o f having

.

others bothering their hea ds ab out me The .

’
truth of it i s, I am angry and I don t care to ,

”
ta lk any longer .
66 PR EPAR E To M E ET THY GOD .

“
God speaks : You are angry R om 3 , 21 . . .

I love you John 3 , 1 6 Your mouth is full of

. .

cursing and bitterness R om 3 , 1 4 My ser

. . .

vants pray for you You are going to d estr u c

.

tion R om 3 , 1 6 I have come to S ho wyou the

. . .

w ay to heaven Matt 7 , 1 3 1 4
. You do not
. . .

kno w the way of peace R om 3 , 1 7 I am the . . .

Prin c e of Peace Isaiah 9 , 6 You have n o fear

. .

of me R om 9 , 1 8 I fear you d o not kno w that

. . .

you are angry at your best friends What greater .

proof c ou ld you a sk for your unreasona b leness

than to become angry at your friends ! Have
you forgotten that th e vanquish ed b ecome
angry ! Do you not see that your dis p osition is
proving the great necessity of preparing to meet
”
your God ! The Victory belongs to God .

S i x th C on tr ov er sy Speak again , 0 man !.

I am ready to speak I believe in a hell , too .

,

but this life is hell enough When I do a wrong .

I su ff er for it If my lab oring and sweating a n d

.

’
su fferi n g is not hell I do not know of any, .

No w what sh al l God say ! He tells us that

He scourges every son whom He re c eiveth an d ,

that we mus t through much tri b ulation enter

th e kin gdom of heaven If God s c ourges His sons
.

and leads us into His kingdom through tr i b u la

tion , then there can be no hell in this life, for
then Hi s childr en would be in hell Besides .
,
 GOD RE ASON S W ITH Y OU . 67

many who lead lives of sin are prospering in this

world while saints a r e su fi er i n g very much
,
.

This i s not the exc eption but the rule ,

The .

pun ishment s of th is life are a str ong proof that

there must be a bett er lif e for the righteous, and
a great er punishment for the unbeliever after
death Do you m ea n to sa y that that su ff ering
.

Christian moth er i s n o w in hell and that healthy

scoundr el i s in heaven ! T h e victory belo n gs to
the Lord .

“
S ev en th C on tr ov er sy The Sinner says : I
.

a m doing the b est I can I am giving my child

.

ren a good education I am a sober man I p a y

. .

my debts I give to th e poor I never refus e to

. .

give mon ey to the Church when asked for it I .

am no Christian but I am trying to do the best

,

”
I can .

What h a s God to sa y This ! What shall

it profit a man if he S hall gain the whole w orld
!

! ’
and lose his own soul You are not doing th e
b est you can but th e very worst you can
, I .

gave you children to bring them to Me and you

n ever told th em who I a m I cr eated you r e .

de emed you a n d s ent my Holy Spirit to call

, ,

gather enlight en sanctify and to k eep you but

, , ,

you do not w a nt to know Me You giv e to th e .

Church and despise th e Word of God and th e

holy Sacram ents You have built a house and a
.
 68 PRE PARE To M EE T THY GOD
.

b a rn , b ut you are laying up no treasures in

heaven You have strong faith in you rself, b u t
.

none in Me You are doing the very w orst you

.

”
can rejecting your only Savior The Victory.

belongs to God .

E i gh th C on tr ov er sy Mr Wi sen ei gh b or
. .

“
speaks : I am a Spiri tualist You laugh at me
.

and say that I have been deceived, b ut I tell you

I have ta lked with mem b ers of my own family
who have pas sed over into the spirit world , and
you may say what you p lease, I kno w that voice
when I h ear it .

“
And f Or this cause God S hall send them
strong delusions that they sh ould believe a lie ;
that they all might be damned wh ob elieved not
th e truth , but had pleasure in unrighteousness ”
.

2 Thess 2, 1 1 1 2 Of course ther e is such a thing

. . .

as spiritu alism , and I am not at all surprised .

that that old S pirit that made E ve believe that

he was a serpent , can now so imitate your
mother s voice that you think you hear her Ha s
’
.

s p iritualism raised Lazaru s, or fed five thousand

with five l o aves ! Let me see : who are the
mediums in yo ur city ! Would you like to have
such characters for m others and sisters ! Did
you not think of that before !

N i n th C on tr ov er sy Let th e aged father

.

“
speak : .
I am old a n d gray I wish I h ad
.
 GOD RE A S ON S W ITH Y OU . 69

’
entered God s Vineyard when young I see now .

that if I had serv ed my God better , my children

would have s erved me better I sowed in S in
.

and now I am reaping the harvest I like to see .

children go to church and serve God , but I am

”
too old too old .

“
Let God S peak Thou fool , this night thy
°

”
soul shall be required of thee Luke 1 2, 20 If
. .

it is necessary for children to p repare to meet

their God when at the b eginning of life, how
much more is it necessar y for you at the gates
“
of eternity to do so ! Sto p now and say : God
”
be merciful to me, a S inner ! Trust now in the
blood of Jesus ! Oh aged father, there is only
one thing for you to do in this life ; a c t b efore
it i s too late p rep are to meet thy God .

Th e las t c on tr ov er sy Have you anything

.

more to say to your God , 0 man ! Sum up

the whole matter in a few words .

“
I notice, Lord , that many Lutherans a d
vocate parochial schools , op p ose secret societies
a n d do not invi t e all professed Christians to the
’ ”
Lord s Su pp er ; is this Thy w ill !
“
Lord speak
, With regard to s c hools ,
‘
The fear of the Lord i s the b eginning of wisdom
and the kno wledge of the holy is understanding
v
.

Prov 9 1 0 A n d ye fathers provoke not your

.
,
‘
.

children to wrath ; b ut b ring them u p in the

70 PR E P AR E To M EE T T HY GOD .

’
nurture and admonition of the Lord E ph 6 , 4 . . .

’
‘
F eed My lambs John 21 1 5 This is what th e
.
,
.

Lutherans want to do with their paroch i al

”
schools .

“
A S to secret s o ciet i es In secret hav e I said ,
‘

’
nothing John 1 8 20 For everyone that doeth
.
,
.
‘

evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light

, ,

lest h i s deeds should be reproved But h e that .

doeth truth c ometh to the light that h i s deeds ,

may be made manifest that they are wrought in

.
’
God John 3 , 20 21 Men j o i n i ng secret orders
. .

are asked to b elieve in a Supreme B eing but not

in th e Father , S on and Holy Ghost They take .

an oath whi c h I have forbidden Matt 5 , 3 4 . . .

They promise p oor condemned soul s help w it h

out a Savi or Their p rayers are mockery , for
.

My name is not in them It is a religion without .

‘ ’
Christ cr ucified that pleases the devil A ny .

religion that will not save souls will help damn

them Christians must come out of all Christ
.

less religions Paul preached t he same as the

.

”
Lutherans 2 Cor 6 , 1 4 1 8
. . .

“
A s to My Supper : Lutherans must invite
w hom I w ant, n ot w hom others want Those .

who have n oth i fi g but b read and wine have a

su p per of their o w n and can invite whom they
p lease, but the Lutherans have My Sup per a n d
they let me invite w hom I w ant I do not w ant .
 VI. GOD WA RN S Y OU
ND n ow my mes sage to you is nearly done .

God asks me once more to awaken your

soul to listen to the Inspired Bell a s it
“
tolls with warning tones : Prepare to meet thy
”
God . E very warning God gives you is through
His Word : through it He warns you wi th Hi s
v i si tati on s, wi th th e eter n a l mi sta k es f
o o th er s,

wi th yo ur own n a r r ow es c a p es, wi th Hi s c om

m a n d , on c e m or e .

1 .God warns you fir st with Hi s v i si ta ti o n s .

’
In verses S i x to ten God calls I srael s attention
to the fa c t that He had warned them w ith fa m
i n es d r ou th s i n s ec ts p es ti len c e and wa r s and
, , , ,

yet they had no t returned to Him Today He .

must say the same to us I knew a physician .

w ho , when he would see a thunderstorm a p

p r o a c h i n g,
would go to bed and draw the covers
over his head that he might not see the light
ming s flash nor hear the crash , b u t at last he
’

dropped dead on the highway w hen the earth

was covered with the white blanket of snow .

Thus , when God s Vi sitations approach us we

’
,

try our b est not to see the b rightness of His face,

nor to hear the thunder of Hi s warning, but now
72
 GOD WARN S Y OU . 73

He finds us at this very spot and makes us hear .

“
An d I a lso h a v e gi v en you c lea n n es s o f teeth i n
a ll
y o ur citi es, an d wa n t o f br ea d i n a ll yo u r

p la c es ; yet h a v e ye n o t r etu r n ed u n to M e, s a i th
”
th e L o r d .

Does this not ring lik e a warning bell in our

!
c i ty a n d in t
,
h e cities of th e world this ev ening ,

Wh en there i s no brea d to ea t no crumbs need

to b e picked from th e t eeth I tell you on good .

authority , for I can take you to such homes in

fi v e minutes that th er e are famili es in this city
,

that have not a bit e of bread in th e house While .

I am speaking the poor a r e groan i ng in every

,

large city in the world What does this mean .

!

Blind politicians tell u s that the other party i s

the cause Our homes are forgetting God Fa
. .

th er s and mothers have l eft the altar of God

and have run to clubs lodges saloons and balls
, , , ,

and h ave left their children to go to the dev il ,

and the good Lord cannot bear it any longer to

see families go to hell with full stomachs and no

k no wledge of Him So He now pulls the h ell of

.

“
famine and rings into our ears : Prepare to
”
meet thy God ! Oh , what an unthankful world !
You unthankful souls , I am surprised that God
h a s not starved y ou long ago !
“ hen it do es not rain for awhile an d your
T

crops yield no harvest you think you had bad ,

74 PREPARE To M EE T THY GOD .

luck and that it just ha pp ened so You p osi .

tively know that God h a s nothing to do with

th e ra i n and you know j ust as p ositiv ely that you
d o not serve you r God an d He knows it and He
will make you feel it You plant again and no .

h arvest What shall you do !

. Move ! Yes !
“
Move to p rep a re to meet your God ! A n d a ls o
I h a v e wi th h o ld en th e r a i n fr om you wh en th er e ,

wer e yet th r ee m on th s to th e h a r v est an d I

c a us ed i t to r ain u p on on e c i ty, an d c a u sed it
n ot to r ai n u p on a n o th er c ity : on e p i ec e w a s

r a i n ed u p on , a n d th e p i ec e wh er eu p on i t r a i n ed
n o t wi th er ed . S o two or th r ee citi es wa n d er ed
i n to on e c i ty, to d r i n k wa ter ; bu t th ey wer e n ot

sa tisfi y e
ed ;
t h av e ye n o tr etu r n ed u n to M e s a i th ,

th e L or d
”
VS 7 and 8
. . .

Y o u plant p otatoes and th e b ugs ea t th em .

You so w clo v er a n d grasshop p ers eat it You .

plant gra p es and the inse c ts sting them You

.
.

plant trees and the w orms d estr oy th em E very .

th ing seems to b e against you Whatis the mat .

ter The w orld is against God Pros p erity h a s

. .

m a de the w orld deaf I f th ey w ill not listen to

.

His S har p Word they must feel th e s ting o f the

h orn et A you n g man w as running as fa st as
.

he could A hornet stung him in the eye and

.

stop p ed him If he had r u n ten step s further h e

.

w ould have step p ed on a b oa c onstri c tor God n ow -

.
 GoD WARN S You . 75

warns you to prepare to meet your God before

you s tep into the presence of that old serpent of
“
hell . I h a v e s m i tten you wi th b la s ti n g a n d
m i ld ew; wh en you r ga r d en s an d you r v i n eya r d s

an d you r fig tr ees d you r o li v e tr ees i n c r ea sed

an

th e p a lm w-
or m d ev o u r ed th em ; y e t h a v e y e n o t
”
r etu r n ed u n to M e, sai th th e L or d
Death . V 9. .

i s r eaping a great harvest again Cholera i s .

coming ; consumption i s riding th e swift steed of

la grippe from city to city and from home to
!

home Miasma is softly creeping over the side

.

hills and into our houses and bodies Pesti .

lence, with his coat of many colors, is tak ing

a tour around the world S words are now fl ash .

ing and ready to flash That generation never .

liv ed that did not know of present wars Men .

of great minds tell u s that these little wars of

smaller governments today are but sparks of the
greatest battles , soon to be fought , in the history
of the world When death and wars sweep
.

thousands upon thousands into eternity, should

y ou not prepare to meet your God ! He says so :
“
I h av e s en t a m on g you th e p es ti len c e a f ter th e
m a n n er o f E gyp t; you r you n g m en h ome I s la i n

wi th th e swor d an d h a v e ta k en a way you r h or ses;

an d I h a v e m a d e th e sti n k o f you r c a mp s to c om e

up i n to your n ostr i ls : yet h a v e ye n ot r etu r n ed

”
u n to M e, s ai th th e L or d V 10 . . .
76 P REPARE To M EE T T HY GOD .

2 . G od a lsowa n ts you wi th th e mi s ta k es
o f oth er s, u n k n own a n d k nown He calls our
.

attention to Sodom and Gomorrah With the .

exception o f a f ew we do not know who lived

there but one thing is certain : they w ere a
,

’
wicked p eople and would not li sten to God s
Word ; and , When th ebr imstone fell and burned
those cities and the inhab itants, th ey su ffered no
more than they do tonight in hell They made .

an eternal mistake Many a man whom you do

.

not kno w has made a n etern a l mistake b y wai t

ing to p rep are to meet his God But not o n ly .

the unkno w n have made su c h a mistake G od .

“
says : I h av e ov er th r own some of yOu a s Go d
ov er th r ew S od om a n d Gom or r a h ”
You hav e no.

f ault to find w ith me w hen I tell you that Judas

Iscariot w as lo st, b ut when I tell you tha t on e
o f your o w n f a m i ly m a d e the eternal mi stake of
not preparing to meet his God you do not like it .

“
But whether you like it or not I fea r that some
,

”
of you have already made the eternal mis take .

Shall you b e am ong their num b er ! Do you not

kn ow that Dives i n hell did not want his fi v e
bro thers t o come in t
“
o that p lace of torment ! ”

S h ould not the fearful eternal mistakes of the

, ,

damned be a warning to you to pre pare to meet

your God ! 0 Sinner w ill nothing w aken you
,
 GOD W ARNS Y OU . 77

up b ut the wail of the lost Is there nothing to

!

melt your cold heart but the flames o f hell !

3 . But G od give s you a third warning

you r o wn n a r r ow esc ap es
“
a n d yew er e a s a

fir ebr a n d p lu c k ed ou t o f th e bur n i n g : yet h a v e

ye n o t r etu r n ed u n to M e, sa i th th e L or d .
”
V 11
. .

IS
it not a w onder that you are living now !

Do you not remember that hour when you b e

came conscious of what you had just p assed
through and you thought to yourself : How did
I escape dea th A nd ye were as a fireb rand
.

”
plucked out of the burning or you would be ,

dead now If you never thanked God before

.
,

stop now and thank Him th a t you are not in

hell Once twice three times many times , Hi s
.
, , ,

gua rdian angel snatched you from the j aws of

death and held you up as a burning b rand to
gi ve you a little more time to prepare to meet
your G od You shall not always escape You
. .

possibly dreamed one night that you had d i ed

in your sins and Oh ! ho w happy you were in the
morning to find that it was but a dream Time .

has passed and you are still in your sins Your .

narrow escapes are a loud warning to you to

prepare to meet your God , for soo n your dream
may be a reality .

4 A nd now I take my text a s the command

.

of God and by the help of the Holy S pirit pres s

78 PR EP ARE To M EET THY GOD .

it closely to your soul and warn you on c e m or e ,

lou d ly, p la i n ly, p er s on a ll

y, d ec i si v ely, i n telli
“
g en Prepare to meet thy God
tly : God can .
”

not warn you forev er Th e la st warning must .

.

c ome : This may be the last This much i s true .

God warns you once more !

’ “
Next to Christ s E li E li lama , sabach , ,

thani ! on the cross I know of no passage i n th e

”
,

Bible that rings louder in my ears than this text .

If every star wer e a trumpet and th e sun and

moon were golden and Silver bells and the angels
of h eaven shou ld b low and ring th e i mpression ,
“

should not b e as lou d on your ears a s when God

“ ”
thunders : Prepare to meet thy G o d !
How p la i n th e m essage ! Fiv e littl e words
' ”

“ ”
that any child could understand Prepare .

“
do something ; to m eet ”
God i s c omin g; thy
“

” —
God you and your God will soon stand face
to fa c e .

The message m eans you p er son a lly If I .

“ ”
said : Meet me h er e tomorrow you would know ,

th at I did n otm ean some one, but the ones I

“
address When G od sp oke to Israel He said : O
.
,

”
Israel , an d wh en He gav e Israel the Gospel He
gave I t for th e world Mark 1 6 1 5 God means.
,
.

you , littl e child young man young wom a n

, , ,

young parents aged dying grandfath ers and

, ,
80 PREPAR E To M E ET THY GOD .

with an ignorant p rofession of religion God .

w ants you to prep are Go to His ser v ants and .

learn If I wanted to know law , I should go to

.

a lawyer If I wanted to k now ho w to b ecome

.

a doctor of medicine, I S hould go to a good

p hy si c i an A nd if you want to prepare to meet
.

’
your God , buy Luther s catechism and a Bi b le
and go to a Luth eran pastor, or have him come
'

to you , and let him sho w you in a few months

what he has found in many y ears Strange , .

indeed , that you shou ld be willing to spend years

to pr epare to work at a tr a d e a S hort time, an d .

then think , to prepare for eternity — i t can be

done in a few m i nutes The three tho usand who .

w ere converted in one day , the day of Penteco st ,

’
forgot more of God s Word befor e that day than
many so called Christian s kno w today
-
“
Sear c h .

*
the S criptures says J esu s ,
.

Let me lay down a few plain rules for p re

paring intelligently to meet God .

1 R emember God c an sp ea k
.
You can .

speak and your God can do what His crea tur e

can You could not think of God as not being
.

ab le to speak .

2 God is your
.
Father and a father w ou ld

* Re ad Th e Way M ad e P l ain j ust p u blis h ed by th e

a uth o r .
 GOD WARNS Y OU . 81

sp ea k to his c hildren . God is ! ing, b ut a king

lets his su bj e c ts kno w who he is .

3 God h a s sp ok en
. E very b ook h a s an .

a uthor Over fo rty ins pired men w ho w rote th e

.

“
Bi b le den y that they are the au thors Holy .

men of God s p ake as th ey w ere mov ed by th e

”
Holy Gho st 2 P et 1 , 21
. The Bi ble has but
. .

one A uthor, yet i ts w ri tin gs o c cu py nearly 1 5 00

years of time Th at A u th or i s you r God
. .

4 . Y our God you that you r soul i s

tells
“
wor th m or e th an a ll th e wor ld For wh at sh a ll .

it pro fit a man i f he shall gain th e whole w orld,

”
and lose his soul ! Mark 8, 3 6 Think mu c h o f .

’
your soul s value G od c a lls it a j ew el Mal 3 , 1 7
. . .

Do not let your valuab le soul b e lo st in S i n , for

,

o
y ,u from God .

5 I f you are not pre pared to meet your

.

G od n ow ev en though you c ould gain th e w hole

,

w orld in on e h ou r , you w ould n ot have th e ti me .

“
But seek ye fir st the k ingd om o f G od , a n d Hi s
righteousnes s ; a n d all these things S h al l be
”
a dded unto you Matt 6 , 33 Only su c h a de
. . .

c ei v er as S a tan c ould make you b elieve that

there is p lenty of time t o p rep are to meet you r
G od .

6 . S eekth e better a c qu a in ta n c e with your

God an d you r sel f God k n ows Hi m self an d u
.
yo .

t
a
82 PR EPAR E To M EET THY GOD

You may think a great deal of yoursel f a n d

—
others may think you are great God kno w s you
are a poor S inner Do not rest till you have
.

’
God s answer to this question : “
How c an I be
recon c iled and united with Thee O God ! ”
,

7 A good citizen must know the laws o f

his c o untry He who wants to p repare to m eet
.

’
his God must learn God s law, the ten command
“ ”
ments I had not known sin , b ut by the law
. .

R om 7 7 When man thinks he is conver ted

.
,
.

and does not know the law , he is misera bly per

verted Learn th e comman dments a n d then y ou
.

will have learned two valua b le lessons ; namely

you are a si n n er and you know now th e works
that are pleasing to God .

8 But you cannot please God without

.

“ ”
faith . Wh a tso ever is not of faith , is S i n .

“
R om 1 4 , 23
. Believe on the Lord Jesus Chri st,
.

”
a n d thou shal t be saved , and thy hou se Ac ts .

1 6, 31 You say that you know there is a God

.

so does the d evil You say you know that God

.

c a n s a ve u s
— so does the devil C an you say .

th at God is your Savior 4 the devil cannot say

that L earn th e Apo stolic Creed
. Do not b e .

afr a id of creeds Satan has made some p eo p le

.

believe w e should have no creed and b y doing so

got them to b elieve his creed Wh a tev er a ma n .

believes that is his creed , and a Ch r i stian must

,
 GOD W ARNS Y OU .

believe the Christi a n cre ed ! now what you .

believe conc ern ing Father Son and Holy Ghos t , ,

and confes s it a n d defend your faith .

9 . Through Hi s Word the Holy Spirit

com es to you He com es through Hi s Word
.

a lone through Hi s Word connected with water

,

in baptism and th r o u gh Hi s Word connected

'

with brea d and wine in th e Lord s Supper Use

’
.

thes e means of grace without which you cannot

be brought to Christ and cannot be prepared to
meet your God But you must also go to Him
.

i n p r a yer M a k e pray er a study

. Practice .

prayer Do not think for a moment that all b a b

.

bling i s p rayin g I cannot dr a w your money out

.

of the bank without your name nor can you ,

’
pray for gifts from heav en with out Christ s
“
name . Verily v erily I sa y unto you Whatso
, , ,

ever ye sh a ll a sk the Father in My name He ,

will give it to you John 1 6 23 God h a s only .

,
.

one Son — ’
Christ and that Son s children are
,

“
th e ones who were ta ught to say : Our Father,
”
who art in h eaven AS a sinner , discovered by
.

the law , forgiven b y faith i n Chri st pray to your -

F a ther in heaven to strengthen your faith .

10 A fte r God can sa y of you a s He said

.

“ ”
of Saul Behold he prayeth ! then remember
, ,

that He accept s you a s His c hild by Holy Bap

ti em “
He th a t believeth a n d i s b a ptized Shall
84 PRE PARE TO M EET THY GOD .

”
b e saved Some sa y that you must b e immersed
.

Go d does not say so Some say th a t you .

must b e sprinkle d God d oes not say so John

.
.

“ ” “
baptized with water Christ said : E xc e pt
.

am a n be b orn o f wa ter and the Spirit, he can

”
not enter the kingdom o f God John 3 , .

’
Study Luther s C a techism carefully and yo u
’
w ill find that God s Word teaches that w ater
mu c h or little in the name of God , the Father,
S on and Holy Ghost , applied to b elieving adults ,
,

“
or infants is baptism The p r oml se 1 s unto
,

” “
you and to your children A cts 2 3 9 But ,
.

whoso sh a ll offend one of these little ones wh i c h

beli ev e i n M e it were better for h im th a t a mill
‘

stone were hanged ab o ut his neck, a n d tha t h e

”
were drowned in the dep th o f th e sea M att
“

. .

18 6 ,
L ittl e infants can b elieve , or they c an
.

“
not God says :
. He that b elieveth not shall be
”
damned Which horn of the dilemma w ill you
.

take ! You must admit that God can k indl e

’
faith in an infant s hea rt , or that i t must b e
damned Y ouwill not take the latter, b ut agr ee
.

with God when He says : “

B a p tize all nations ”
.

If you were b a ptized in in fancy , thank God ; if

“
not ar ise and b e b ap tized and w ash aw ay th y
,

”
sins calling on the name o f the Lord
,
A cts 22, .

16 .
 GOD WARN S Y OU . 85

11 . The L ord w an ts you to c ome toHi s

S u pper . This will be a ha ppy meeting Three .

invi tations are extended to you b y d i ff erent de

nomination s .

“
I n v i ta ti on n um ber on e : We, th e R eformed
c hur c h es, h er eb y inv i te all Chri stians in good
st an d ing to c ome t o t
’
h e L ord s tab le We are
.

a ll a iming for one p la c e , and inasmu c h a s the

b read and w ine merely rep resen t the b o d y a n d

b lood of Christ, w e promise you in the Lor d s ’

S u pp er on ly b r ea d a n d wi n e .

I n v i ta ti on n u m ber two : “
The On e H oly
Catholi c Chur c h , having authority, in falli b ility,
and in d efe c ti b ility , hereby announces that the
L ord in Hi s su pp er gives on ly bod y a n d blood
— th e b ody for the c ommuni c an ts an d th e b lood
”
f or th e p riest .

“
I n v i ta ti on n u m ber th r ee The Luther an
’
Chur c h inv i tes only those to the L ord s S u pp er
Whom th e L ord inv ites Th e L ord say s He giv es
.

us br ea d an d wi n e an d bod y an d blood , a n d
further de c lares that th ose w ho think they r e
c ei v e only b re a d a n d wine, ea t and drin k dam

nation to themselves 1 Cor 1 1 , 29 A s our r e

. . .

li gi on is not li b eral en ough to inv ite ignorant

Chris tians to ea t and drink d amnation to them
selv es ; t herefore w e ask only those to c o me to
the Lord s S u pp er w ho b eliev e Him when He
’
86 PR EP ARE TO M EET THY eon .

“ “
s ays : Take , ea t; this is my b ody and T a k e;
d rink ; this is my blood ”
S ee Matthe w, M a rk ,
-
.

Lu k e and St P a ul on Lord s Sup p er

.
’
.

The three invitations are b efore you Two .

’
m u st b e wrong Search God s Word and see
.

’
w hat He says To eat and drink at the L ord s
.

tab le is a h eav en ly f ea st on earth No w onder

'

He w ants u s to prepare to meet Him ! The L n

“
th erans b eli eve as Christ and Paul did The '

C up of b l essing which w e b less , is i t not the com

munion of the blood of Christ ! The bread w hi c h

w e b reak , i s it not the communion of the b ody
”
of Chr i st ! 1 Cor 1 0, 1 6 .

You say you cannot understand this

12 .This leads me to the last rule, whi c h
sh ould b e first and last i n your mind : B eli ev e
Go d . God do es not a sk you to understa n d Him ,
He w ants you to believe Him What you see .

w ith your own eyes requir es no faith We hav e .

n o more right to sa y that bread rep re sent s

‘

’
Christ s body than we have to say that the Bi b le
’
rep resents God s Word Believe God when He
.

speaks Believe God , if all the w orld forsa k e

.

Him You hav e n u right to add to or ta ke aw ay

.

fr om Go d s Word Rev 22, 1 8, 1 9

’
. . .

A d , no w w hat more shall I say

n ! If you
a r e rea dy to p re p are to meet your God and any
,

thing I have said in my w ea kn ess has urged you