July, 1942
THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S
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cess” Is the key: word; In Christian living and labors, “ fruitfulness” Is the prize of faithfulness. If we could get the Impact of the Scriptural meaning of faithfulness—yea, faithful steward ship—in that it invariably produces ' fruitfulness, the Christian ministry and church would be saved from a complacency which has led all too many into a self-satisfied, unproduc tive Christian service. Every child of God possesses the possibilities of success if he has pre pared and surrendered his life, and has been endued with power from on high. You will not all: be alike—some ' will be fruitful in preaching, some will be fruitful in personal soul-win ning, some will be fruitful in Bible exposition, some will, be fruitful in teaching — all can" be successful in trusting Him, in prayer and interces sion, in love and obedience, following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, following Him with a holy passion and devotion. “Wanting the crown, one does not weary of the cross.” Unconditional Surrender and the Enduement ol Power Sad indeed is the fact that there are. so few people who are totally1 yielded to« Jesus Christ, 'the Lover of our souls in the true Biblical sense, who have'in truth been reconciled to the way of the cross—the way of the-Lamb of God. Our present-day C h r i s t i a n expe rience has-become stale and shallow, lifeless and'superficial, so quiet that it is motionless, so unapostolic that it is modern, so like the world that it lacks the glory of heaven, so re fined that ■even the highbrbw need not apologize, so gilded that one must reach for a probing instrument to dis- , cover its true character, so passion less that it is frigid, so unheavenly that it is sad. Some are indifferent to the com- - mand of the Lord Jesus and move through life unaffected by the great' heart-cry of the Saviour and the over whelming need of a withering church and sinful lost humanity. Others have gone forth with great hopes and soon have found themselves inadequately prepared for the great task, often not knowing what to do—relaxing into the • ordinary, killing time i n s t e a d o f killing sin, working, for Christ in
place of allowing the Holy Spirit to work the works of Christ in and through them mightily. If any one of you still has a bur dened heart, oh! cease trying this and that—lay down self, your life, unreservedly! Let the Lordship of your life indeed be transferred to the Captain of your soul, Christ Jesus, and you, too, shall find yourself in God’s hallowed presence, satisfied and rest- •ed at last, vitalized by the resurrec tion power of Jesus Christ. Friend, you need not'wait till the morrow to enter these blessed portals —enter now, with a. thirst that can nowhere else be quenched, a heart- hunger that can nowhere else be fed, produced by the Holy Spirit in answer to availing prayer, and with an un-, conditional surrender to the Lord of your life. Then God the Son will endue you with the wonder-working power of the Holy Ghost; . yea, He will inundate your entire •being in such a fashion that the separation from the world and self will be com plete. You will be set apart unto God so that in truth you shall be “ a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use,, and pre pared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2 : 21 ). Devotional Life: Prayer There isj no time wasted when we truly pray. When man prays, God listens; when man calls, God answers. If -you will learn the art of prayer from the prayer warriors of the Bible and the saints of the gospel'age, you too shall score answer upon answer, and your voice shall become familiar in the corridors and courts of heaven. Pray until you have your prayers answered; then put that answer on the credit side of the register, dated and described. Turn to Its records from time to time, and you will be inspired to ever;enlarge your prayer ministry,. There are times when our prayers must reach the desperate ac tion of knocking. Knock as men knock to get out of hell—knock as men knock to enter heaven after the door is shut. It stands to reason that we shall not get that for which we have not diligently sought, and may we be challenged to explore the possibil ities of resolute, believing prayer! It has been said that prttyer is might
ier than the sword, slaying.the ene mies of the' soul. Prayer is brighter than the rays of the sun, revealing the hidden depths of the human spirit. It is the power that sets in motion the almighty arm of God as He moves upon the midnight sea to help and to protect, to save and to sanctify. Devotional Life: Faith Faith honors God and God honors faith. Faith is the divine shield that Satan -cannot penetrate. It is the wall of holy fire that surrounds you, sep-; arating you unto God and insulating you, from the world. To believe is to be happy—to doubt is to be wretched. Unbelief has eaten into: the church and paralyzed it. The church is trying to survive on a mix? ture of faith and unbelief. Let us challenge her to try anew the living, vital apostolic faith. Faith is still the key to the heart of God which sets in motion His m i g h t y a rm a n d stretches it so far that it reaches you, your need, the church’s pulse, and the world’s heartache. Faith put aside for a rainy day will perish like a rolled-up umbrella.' Faith can change any situation, no matter how dark it is. No matter what the trouble may be, it is faith in the face of stormy skies, approach ing enemies or insurmountable ob stacles, which says Amen to all the will of God for us. It is faith through love which makes us sure that all things are working together for good, and this perfect love casts out all fear of tragic re sults. Faith is the confident assur ance of that for which we hope. It is a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see. Right and Godly Thinking The mind and heart are not pure when the tongue is not clean. Paul charges us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we “may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). This transforming process wrought by the power of the Hply Spirit is overwhelmingly essential to right [ Continued on Page 251]
COMMENCEMENT AT BIOLA
Baccalaureate services on the evening of June 7 opened commencement week at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, with the sermon by Dr. Huebert, which appears on these two pages, as the message of the evening. Dr. Huebert is pastor of the largest Mennonite Brethren Church in America, at Reedley, Calif. A t the service on graduation night, Robert P. Shuler, pastor of
Trinity Methodist Church, Los Angeles, was the speaker. (Dr. Shuler’s message is scheduled for a later issue of THE KING’S BUSINESS.) The degree of Doctor of Di* vinity was granted by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles to William W . Orr of Placentia, Calirf^o George Palm er of Philadelphia, Pa., and to George B. Huebert at the commencement exercises.
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