The journal., May 28, 1959, Image 12

About The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
w*-
Rev. Charles Carter delivered the following message to his con
gregation at Latonia, Ky., in 1938 and a few hours later was instant
ly killed in an auto accident enroutc to Caldwell to visit his parents,
Mrs. Etta Carter of North street and the late Miley Carter.
At the last minute in his home church, Rev. Carter changed his
sermon to this one, printed
below. It seemed to come as
almost a premonition from on
high, for only about nine hours
after this sermon was delivered
with strength and power which
far excelled past messages, Mr.
Carter met with instant death
while starting on his vacation
with his family to the home of
his parents in Caldwell, Ohio.
The message is still a very
fitting one for Memorial Day,
1959, and it will be used next
Sunday morning by Ira J. Bran
don, pastor of the First Church
of Christ, in observance of Me
morial Day Sunday.
We are indebted to Mrs. Don
ald Hamilton, of Coolidge, Ariz
ona, for this final fitting Me
morial Day sermon delivered by
a Caldwell pastor back in 1938:
ft
THE GOOD FIGIIT
"The gods do so unto me, and
more also if the dust, oi Samaria
shall suffice for handfuls for all
the people that follows me." Such
insolent message did Ben-hadad
send to the king of Israel. Ahab's
reply was as spirited as it was
wise, and one that, from such,
a man as the husband of Jezebel,
and the cowardly murderer of
Naboth, was like the first that
flashes, when it is struck from
a cold black flint: "Tell him,"
said the king roused by the
insult, "Let not him that girdeth
on his harness boast himself as
he that putteth it off." Ere four
and twenty hours, the Syrian
host was scattered by the arms
or rather by the God of Israel,
like autumn leaves before the
wind and this proud boasting
foremost of a band of horsemen,
was galloping away for life."
When the Apostle used such
words, from which I intend to
speak he did lie upon to any
such taunts as Aham's. He was
no young- soldier on his way to
battle, with unsoil»d armour,
and unwearied arms. Nor like
many a Christian man who now
in the thick of it, now giving,
now receiving blows now with
sword flashing, and voice shout
ing, pressing forward and now
alas! borne back now brought
to his knees, and again rescued
by his captain and revived by
prayer, rising to his feet to once
more persuing hie em-mies and
renew the1 combat. Paul had been
throuch all this. He had reached
the close of a long hard struggle.
In him we see a veteran of a
thousand battles. On his arm a
battered shield: his hands cal
loused from gripping the sword
that had conquered over sin in
many a hard fought fight on
his head was the helmet of
salvation dented by the blows
of the enemy in many a struggle.
He stands before us with his
body scarred and bruised, yet
droned about with the laurels of
a hundred victories. His suffer
ings, toils, trials, travels, preach
ing, prayers are nearly over:
with foot planted on the thres
hold of glory, he is about 1o
enter on his reward. The battle
fought, the victorv won. nothing
remained but to die, and that lie
counted as nothing. The dark
valley of fear, of which so manv
have dreaded throuehout the
long years' struggle in life, was
no enemy of his: he had no fear
of death, no quarrel with it.
"I have finished my course, I
have fought a good fight." It is
done and over: he now looks
forward to that silent couch
much like a wearied soldier,
coming in from battles welcomes
his bunk. Paul was ready to go
thus he savs, "I am alreadv
bcine offered: the time of my
departure is come. have fought,
a good fight. I have finished mv
course. I have kept the faith,
henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous
iudee, shall uive to me at that
day: and not to me only, but also
to all those that have loved His
appearing
What a wonderful message has
Paul delivered to us in these few
words. A message that should
interest us all and strenthen us
for the great battle that is before
ues. So many feel that if they
•have been baptized into Christ
and are now looked upon as
Christians, that they will be
saved. Oh what a sad mistake
When we have repented of our
sins, confessed our faith in
Christ, and have been buried
with Him in baptism, then and
only then, has the Christian life
begun. You are not a soldier of
the cross until you have compiled
with the terms of admittance
The battle does not begin until
you have fallen into the ranks
So taking this lesson of Paul'
as a background, let us first of
all look upon the Christian life
as .a great fight.
In a sense we mieht say that
all life is a fight. Look at the
world! What a scene of dismiiet
and disorder: what a succession
of great battles which begin at
the cradle and do not end until
we have crossed the bar. Some
have greater struggles than
others poverty, yes, and riches
trials, misfortunes, sickness
they rise up early and lie down
late, and eat the bread of sor
row. What a struggle on the part
of the majority trying to get
riches. What a struggle amone
the different members of society
to get uppermost
Young people get the idea that
they have to be up to society to
nd
Only A Few Hours Before He Was Killed In
Accident, Rev. Charles Carter Delivered This
Message Which Is Appropriate For Memorial Day
be recognized and sorry to say,
parents urge them on in these
visions. They do not stop to
realize that more strife, jealousy
and sin rage in society so called,
than anywhere else. We might
compare this world to a rock at
sea, on which eager to escape
the jaws of death, more drowin
ng men seek standing room than
it offers and when they whose
gain has been others' loss, when
the few that have risen on the
shoulders of the many that sink,
have possessed themselves in
wealth, or power, or pleasure, of
the objects of their ambition,
they have only reached a bare,
black, unsheltered rock, on which
it some future day, a giant wave
ises roaring to sweep them from
their slippery footing. Let no
man be deceived, even this world
is not to be gotten without fight
ng: and compared with the good
fight of faith, though its reward
be golden crown, presents a
scene of no more real dignity
than a nursery quarrel—children
lighting for some guilded toy
streets where a few ragged boys
oil over each other for a few
copper coins. I admit that it has
pleasures, but its sweet enjoy
ments perish in the using. I
admit that it has roses but oh,
the countless thousand of thorns
that are found there, and the
hand that plucks these roses
must bleed. Nor are any of these
to be obtained without a vtruBgle.
The few prizes which this world
offers are not be won without
much toil and hard labor. To
have your picture on the front
page of the Who's Who reouires
sacrifice. Thi^ world's pearls are
not to be picked up among the
pebbles of the shore he who
would possess, must seek them
in a sea where sharks are swim
miner and storms rage. Indeed
dare say that, so far as the
followers of the world bein«
exempt from foil and hardshin,
would not take a man half the
care, and time, and trouble, to
get to heaven, which it takes
anv man to get rich and manv
man to get to hell. The Quest
ing therefore, is not Tvhether we
hall fifht, for a battle is before
is no matter which side we take:
but the question foremost in our
mind, on what side '--hall I .fiphf
On the side of Jesus, whose
ward is life, or on that of sin.
bo",c wages is death?
Now realizing that the Chris
tian life is a fight let us trv
ind enumerate a few of the
nemies. and thevp are many,
which ovorv Christian has to
fight against.
He has to finrht against the
world. Jesus tells us, "Tt haled
me, before it hated vou." It had
no
crown for TTim but a crown
of thorns: it found no wav to
evnlt Him but on a bloodv crosc*
Wbnn He came to earth to
dwell
ith us and the angels annonnnpd
His coming with shouts of .Tnv.
i-efuseH Him a nicht's lodcint*.
"The fox^s have holes, and the
Ivrds of the air have their nests,
but the Son of M-n hnth
reipct the \vorlr|
vant
no
"'here to lav Hi* headM "The
Servant is no bettor than hi*
master." I feel friends that if
we are going to be true to
Ood
wo
of
,,n
along less smeothlv along the
nath of life. Jesus said,
"woe
unto you. when all men shall
sneak well of vou." Tt is nice to
be called a good fellow, a zoori
snort, but the nav in the end
i' poor. Not less true, than
shrewd, was the remark of a
Seotch woman, respecting one
who had iust settled in the min
istrv. and had been horrfe to his
nulpit amid the nlauds
the T.ord
Jesus
Christ
he will havp all the black Puards
in the parish on his head before
a month is gone."
I am not saying that the
world is alwavs wrong in its
iudgment or that it is alwavs
right to go aeninst its customs
Alas! the "children of this world
are sometimes wiser in their gen
eration than the children of
lifht." But as a living fish is
often found cleaving its wav
against the stream, and that fish
is certainly dead that floats on
the top, is alwavs moving with
it. so we might make a compar
ison to the Christian by savine
he is no living Christian whom
vou ever find walking according
to the course of this world. Thev
who wear a crown in heaven
must don the Christian uniform
shoulder the cross of Christ
carrv always the sword of the
spirit for a defense and fieht the
rood fieht of faith without flin
ching overv day of their lives
Paul says, "Be no conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed
bv the renewing of your mind."
This is not an easy job. We need
but look about us to see the
multitude of Christians following
with the great procession to do
evil yielding to the customs of
the world, fearful of beine
laughed at and called an old
focrv then would rather fail in
their duties as a good soldier of
the cross than to offend some
friend. My good people, if your
friends laugh you to scorn be
cause vou have become a follow
er of Christ, thev are not worthy
of your friendship. You are the
one to feel proud because you
are a part of the salt of the earth
if you yield to their remarks
vou have lost your savbV, and
"if the salt have lost its savor,
where with shall it be salted? It
is henceforth good for nothing
but to be trodden under foot of
man." It takes a real man or
woman to be bold for Christ, and
not be ashamed of the cross.
Bad men glory in their shame,
and it would seem as it good
men were shamed of their glory.
In the strength of God, then
stand up for the good, the holy,
the true: seeking not the praise
of men pitying the world, though
your reward here should be none
less than his who finding a ser
prent frozen, warmed it in his
bosom, to have it sting him for
his pains. "The servant is 'no
better than his master, nor the
disciple than his Lord." So we
see that the world is one great
enemy against which we have
to fight.
Next, the Christian has to fight
against Satan.
When Napoleon Bonaparte,
watching the course of the battle,
saw the charge of the enemy at
Waterloo: boldly they dashed
like a thunderbolt into the thick
of them, crushing and bearing
down all before them he ex
claimed, "How terrible are these
Greys!" But what mortal foe so
terrible as him we have to
fight? So restless, so relentless,
ever walking about seeking who
he may devour. No serpent so
cunning, no roaring lion so cun
ning. You cannot escape his
presence, but you can prevent
from entertaining him. He may
come to the banquet, and he is
most always present, but you
can refuse him a seat. Martin
Luther once said, "You can't
orevent the bii'ds from flying
through the air, but you can
prevent them building nests in
vour hair." You can't prevent
the temptations which the devil
places before you. but you can
keep from yielding to those
temptations. You cannot avoid
him. Therp is but one refuge that
is the hollow of God's hand, the
shadow of His wings.
Thp Snhhnth was instituted as
a day of rest. A day in which
we are to withdraw from our
regular routinp of work to com
mune with God. But Satan has
no rest dav, the dav on whiefc
men are to rest is usually the
rav when he is most active in
^iminp men -md women f»*om the
ehurp'h. Telling them that a"
^nomobilp vi^e, or a wa'V
hrniirrh the fields and thp fnrneto
onld bp much more erunvaKI"
VPS, he is more oersnasivp thr)r'
thp most olnnnpnt nrpachers. an^
morp wakeful than most anvionc
bparers. "Rpeaiisp of the hardpn-
T\a of their hearts, not to t'-e
nlparling of men. b"t to the
n1p idin* of the TTolv Sn'rit. men
rirl women march fvni the door-:
the rhnrch arm in arm W'tk
down the lonr broad rnn^
•hat loadpth to destruction.
Mer1
ike nn arms aminst the pres
et odds and fiph' on their own
harn lots to be with the maioritv
to have the respect of their
fellow-men. Can you visualize
force that can make himself
invisiblp, able *o pass in a
moment ovpr a lea^nr. of coun
try: able to livp without sleerr
to march without wearving to
work without food: one who
vegardeth neither sex, nor in
nocence, nor age. Such an enemv
has no paop in thp annals of
war: nor did man ever find such
a fop in man. B"t vp havp such
a foe in Satan. That vou do no*
*ee him is nothing* no man ever
saw thp ^ippicp which it is death
to brpnthe. He can conform him
self to anv shane. si^p. or asnpet
HP works in mvsterious ways his
evils to perform.
Two weeks a*o when preach
ed mv wife had to take our
little bov from thp buildino: to
keen him ouiet. While she sat
in the ear a group of girls, out
for
of
all thp
neoole.—"if he is a faithful
ser­
a little hike were passing by.
The foremost four, seeing that
ehui-ch was going on, thought it
«'ould be nice to
f"''
PO
in
us
fov
Church. Thev had made no thei
minds to that effect, hut as there
worp two more of their groun
^rinrdng up the rear thev waited
them to get their decision
whpn
thpv came
Un
thev were
amiroachod with the snbiect
Those two onlv lan»hed and con
sidered it a ioke. The result was
•hat none came in to church. The
devil was present standing iust
outside the door urging people
not
to go to church. Thev were
H'ft
iust outside the door. TIIP
Bible tells
that m-»nv are coin"
to be in that position on the
iudcrment dav, iust outside the
door. It is hard to imagine vic
tory over such an enemy as this
but Oh for these precious
nromises. "Thou sholt tread upon
the lion and the adder: the young
lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under feet." "Fear thou
not, for I am with thee, be not
dismayed, for I am Thy God
will strengthen thee with the
right hand of mv righteousness
Courage! mv friends: a little
child with God at his back is
mightier than the devil and all
his angels. He that is with us is
greater than al! that be against
us.
The third great enemy against
which the Christian has to fight
is the flesh which is merely one
of the devil's agents. "The
Prince of this world cometh,'
saith the Lord, "and hath nothing
in me." Can we say so? Assuredly
not. Hence the disadvantages
under which we carry on tht
combat. Called with such a
nature, to contend both against
the influences of a world that
lieth in wickedness and the
temptation of the Evil One, we
sail, as it were, in a poor cra?ry
damaged, leaking boat which has
both wind and tide against her
It is not so remarkable after
all, that many make shipwrecks
of the faith. The wonder is, is
THE JOURNAL, CALD' VELLs OHIO
not that many never reach the
harbor, but that any do Oh.
friend, if I can just stir yum
heart to a realization that this
is a hard battle and it takes real
fighting to conquer. "If the
righteous scarcely be saved,
where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear?" Our corrupt
nature is food for temptation, as
fat is food for flame. We nv
ready to be set on by the fires
of hell. Under such condition^ it
takes every ounce of Christian
virtue to conquer in this great
fight.
How often.have good men been
fighting on the bad side. H"W
often has the trumpet summoned
from its distant home and peace
ful occupation, those who had no
quarrel to settle, nor wrong of
which to complain, to the work
of blood slaughter to destroy
each others lives and to mangle
each others bodies, until they
would be in such a horrible
condition that a dear mother
would not know her son. In v.-.'u
both sides cannot be right. Some
one is wrong, someone is go ng
to be judged as a murderer, the
guild being laid at the right door.
No war is justified, that is waged
between man and man. But as
soldiers of the cross, we have
an immense advantage, that our
cause is just, and noble, and holy
and good. The Christian battle is
a "good fight." Our enemies ore
not our kindred, bone of our
bone, and flesh of our flesh
they are enemies of God and
Christ and light and peace
tyrants that would bind us in
chains worse than iron, and burn
not our houses but our souls in
hell forever. His men are wait
ing to be addressed ere the fight
began. Erect in his saddle -with
his gray hair streaming in Un
wind, he stretched out his arm
and pointed to the foe in front
and said, "There are the enemv:
if vou do not kill them, they will
kill you." So with us. if we do
not destroy sin, it will destroy
us.
This fight is not only a goorl
fieht. but here victory is inter
mingled with ioy. It is not so in
other fielits. The laurels that a e
worn, are steeoed in tears: win n
the cannons roar, and bells rut"
out a victory, and shout in
crowds throng the stress:
Ruminations turn nifht into d-,v
^ark is manv a home whn
broken hearted parents jm.i
onely ones weep for the bv
"•ho shall never return.
are thorns in victory's proudest
crown.
Thank God. our iov over in
slain, had passion subdued. S-.i
an defeated has to suffer ,i'
such abatements. Heaven, th i
can
fancy,
hiding its pves fi in
•her batles watches the fortu",
of this with keenest interest
angels reioice in our
RUCCPSC N.N
are anv tears shed hem but such
s poured from the father's evev.
"'hen kissing thp returned ivr,.
digal.
and folding him in h
hapnv embrace, he cried. Let
"s eat and be merrv: for the snn
*hat was dead and is alive again*
he was lost and is found."
My kind friend, vou that are
not a soldier in the ranks- of
battle. would like to enl'st vou
as a soldier of the cross. This is
a »rood fight: one thnt is con
tained hv Jesus. w th arms in
the wholo armor of God and as
thev shine in the beams of tho
Of rifh+pousness. thev mako
^atan troinblp what a helmet
fov the henrl what a shield in
faith, what breast nlnte in right
eousness that nrotects the believ
er's he:*rt whrt sword is that
^nirit, thp word of God: what
Girdle for the hodv in truth*
what shoes for thp fpot: and last
of all what a crown for the vic
tor! "Fpar not him who is abln
•o dostrov +hp bodv. but r»ihnv
foar him who is ahlo to dnslrov
hoth bnrK' anrt soul in boll Tlvc
•s a J"iffht for vour soul* it is a
hattlp for heaven. Break awav
f,*om
vour sins, iust ranks of
tho flrmv of God, throw your
self into fhic battle.
No douht it is a hard fieht:
do not disguise that. How can it
hp easy for a man to ovprmmo
•his worlH and rrucifv bis own
*1pch: hn* *f that is h.nrd it
harder still to suffer the pains
of a lost soul to lie down in pypr
lasting burnings. Oh. surelv. mv
friend it is b*»ttpr to loso a hanrl
than have the whole bodv hum
hottpv to part with some darlnr
sin than, nart with Jesus. Von
have no choice. The crowns ar
for the saints, not sinners. How
'•an you conquier unless vou
fi^ht
IJsten to the words of him who
said, "Take un vour cross and
follow me." "To him that over
cometh will e-ive to eat of tho
tree of life, which is in tho midst
of the paradise of God." "He that
overcometh shall not be hurt of
thp second death." He that
ovcr-
cometh the --ame shall he clothed
in white raiment: and 1 win
blot out his name in the Book of
life but I will confess his nome
before mv Father and before his
angels." And still higher honors
"To him that overcometh, will
erant to sit with me on my
throne."
Oh my brother can He say of
vou and of me, as He said of
Paul "I have fought a good fight,
I have finished Ilis course,
henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness and
not for me only but for all of
those who have loved His ap
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