dship of God. You cannot walk with Him and at the same time be in
rebellion against Him. God has no possible way of entering into
fellowship with the soul that is disobedient to His will. Believe me,
it is absolutely useless, it is mere mockery, to say "Lord, Lord" and
then refuse to do the things that He commands you to do.

Now, when Jonah saw the spaces of water growing wider between him and
the shore a kind of deadly calm came upon him. A man with his mind
made up to do wrong is far more at rest than the man whose mind is not
made up at all. So when Jonah had fully decided that he would rebel
against God and give up all claim to God, a dreadful restfulness came
to his troubled spirit. He went down into the sides of the ship and
went fast asleep. The days before had been troubled days. The nights
had been restless nights. But the battle was over now, even though it
had been lost, and he was able at last to sleep.

This period marks, I am sure, the period of greatest danger in the life
of Jonah. Jonah had been a rebel before, but he had been a restless
rebel. He had been disobedient before, but his disobedience had
tortured him. It had put strands of gray into his hair and wrinkles
upon his brow. But now he is not only in rebellion, but he is content
to be so. He is not only without God, but he is, in a measure,
satisfied to be without Him. No greater danger can come to any man
than that. As long as your sin breaks your heart, as long as your
disobedience makes you lie awake nights and wet your pillow in tears
there is hope for you. But when you become contented with your
wickedness, when you come to believe that it is the best possible for
you, then you are in danger indeed.

Now, I am fully convinced that Jonah's danger is the danger of a great
many, both in the Church and out. You who are listening to me at this
moment are kindly and cultured men and women. You are full of good
will toward the Church. You love it and desire its prosperity. Yet
many of you are doing practically nothing to make its desired
prosperity a reality. One of the most discouraging features about the
Church to-day is the large number of utterly useless people within its
fold. And these are not only useless, but saddest of all, they are
content with their uselessness. They seem to feel that it is God's
best for them; that it is all that God expects or has a right to expect.

Did you ever make out your religious progr