July-August, 1934
255
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
and that morning he did not smoke opium. Ever since the death o f his wife and the sep aration from his own family, he had been smoking opium, until he had been reduced to poverty and was unable to do any work without first smok ing this terrible drug. That morning, he seemed to have new strength. He went out into his field without having smoked and was able to work with ease and comfort. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “ I f you ad vance a foot, the devil will ad vance ten feet.” About noon that day, there appeared a Mr. Liu, an old friend o f Mr. C h ia n g ’s, w h o had o ft e n smoked opium with him, as is the Chinese social practice. Mr. Liu asked1Mr. Chiang how it was that he was not smoking opium that day. Mr. Chiang replied that he had stopped smoking and would never smoke again. Mr. Liu did not believe him; he said that he was sure Mr. Chiang had bought some crude opium and had prepared it for smoking in his own home. He declared that he was going to spend the afternoon with Mr. Chiang in his home in order to see whether or not his words were true; The two men went to Mr. Chiang’s home, and Mr. Liu
in white, a man who clearly said to him that he should go to the gospel hall at Ta-Fou- Tou, ten miles away, that there he should worship God, and that he would be given strength to break away from his opium. From that time, Mr. Chiang believed and obeyed. He went to the gospel hall, heard the Word, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. He repeatedly walked the more than ten miles to Ta-Fou-Tou to a ttend church and worship God. God not only saved his soul, but also delivered him from his opium bondage, and enabled him to make steady progress in his Christian life and experience. Before many m on th s had passed, Mr. Chiang had led his father, his mother, his brother, his brother’s wife, and other relatives—more than ten in all — to a real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus God in His grace and wisdom prepared this place for the coming o f the Biola evangelistic band. When the men reached Sha-Tzu-P’ing, they received a hearty welcome from Mr. Chiang and his fam ily and from other villagers who had learned o f Mr. Chiang’s ■remarkable experi ence. The hearts o f the peo ple had been prepared by the Holy Spirit for a glad recep tion o f the message o f the gos
T HE Lord sometimes works in strange and striking ways to open doors in heathendom. He works in new territory in a manner that He does not in gospel-hardened countries. Dr. Keller's account of Mr. Chiang's experience, startling though it may appear, is not unlike the reports given by numerous other missionaries. Like the vision of Cornelius, such remarkable instances of the Lord's dealing in unevangelized districts always fall short of the revelation necessary for sal vation. In His mercy, the Lord sometimes uses unusual means to bring hungry hearts within hearing of the preached Word. But the work of grace was completed only as faithful witnesses were ready to give forth the gospel— the "words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" (Acts 11:14). The work of the Hunan Bible Institute has eight major branches: evangelism, boat work, Biola bands, day school, summer school, newspaper evangelism, correspondence courses, and poster and tract distribution. The Biola evangelistic bands are perhaps the best-known feature of the work. These groups of about seven members locate in some center, often at the invitation of a mission society, and go out two by two in every direction for about five miles, aiming to give the gospel in every home. Bible classes for further teaching are often organ ized. Dr. Keller writes: "W e have urgent invitations from various missions for nineteen student evangelistic bands for the summer vacation. . . . Humanly speaking, we will not be able to send out more than eight or ten of the nineteen bands requested." Let us remember prayerfully this China depart ment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.' "Pray ye."
soon began to smoke some opium that he had already pre pared. He then urged Mr. Chiang to join him. When Mr. Chiang refused, Mr. Liu continued to coax him until at last Mr. Chiang yielded and smoked with him. At once all the joy left his heart, and his body trembled as i f he were drunk. Soon he realized that the disease which had troubled him so long had returned. His son then said to him, “ You should not have disobeyed the voice o f that spirit.” Mr. Chiang’s own conscience also upbraided him, and he real ized that he had sinned. He therefore quickly bought some incense and colored candles to burn in sacrifice to the gods. T o use the words o f the writer o f the report, “ The Lord Jesus does not care for the burning o f incense and colored candles, and strange to say, no sooner had Mr. Chiang lighted the in cense and the candles, than-the flames went out. He tried over and over again with no success.” But although Mr. Chiang had yielded to temptation and had disobeyed the voice, God was still merciful to him and had compassion on his ignorance and on his darkened heart. God gra ciously relieved Mr. Chiang o f his illness, al though the man did not yet have the strength to resist the devil’s temptation to smoke opium. O bedience and B lessing Some time later, a voice again spoke to Mr. Chiang, this time in a dream. He saw, clothed
pel which the evangelists eagerly and hopefully preached to them. In a short time, nearly forty others had accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. And before the evangelists left that place, a church had been established with over fifty charter members. That new little church needs prayer.
W itnessing with G ospel P osters
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