THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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the promise-keeping God has stamped with Success, and will do it while the world stands. Try it and see. The Pastoral Visit. One day in seven is not enough for such a minister.. He proclaims boldly, yet lovingly, God’s glorious message from his pulpit, and then follows it up through the week. A sermon th a t will not bear to be followed up Is not worth preaching. In his pastoral visits a m inister can come to close quarters with individual souls, and preach eye to eye. No one can dodge such preaching or go to sleep under it. As many souls are won to Christ out side th e church as within it. Eloquence or fine music may a ttra c t a crowd; but a mass meeting is not a church. No thing but thorough pastoral work (in its widest sense) can organize, train, and develop a compact, praying, money-giv ing, mission-working, society-permeating, and soul-saving church. No earthly throne, comes within ten leagues of such a pul pit; no monarch’s crown compares in splendour w ith th e diadem which the glorified Jesus will place on the brow of every successful m inister—whose suc cess was only won by burying self out of sight and exalting, like Paul—“Christ and Him crucified.” What th is old sinning and suffering world needs most is more such m inisters a t home and in foreign fields. Shall it not have them? FOtfp. FATAL “IFS” OF UNBELIEF 1. If thou wilt. Lk. 5:12. Doubt of willingness. 2. If thou canst. Mk. 9:22. Doubt of power. 3. If I may. Mat. 9:21, 22. Doubt of fitness. 4. If it be thou. Mat. 14 :28 .' Doubt of presence.— C. E. Paxson. ate ate Work Without Worry—See Center Pages
to the service of Christ. His vital pur pose is to form character—to make bad people good, and good people b etter; this means heart-work; this means regenera tion; this means salvation for this world and another. My brother, do you fail right there? Then there must, be something wrong in your aims or your methods, or your spirit; for the Christian njinistry th a t yields no fruits of Christian lives is about equivalent to medical practice that heals no sick folk; or a legal practice th at wins no verdicts. To search honest ly for thé causes of failure is often the first step to success. The Divine Commission. The m inister who intensely loves his Master, and with singleness of heart labours for the salvation of his fellow- men, works at an immense advantage. He is not obliged to manufacture his weapons, or invent his arguments, or construct his own motive power. “Preach My W ord!” is his Divine commission; “Lo! I am witli you alway” is his prom ise of divine support. My observation has been th a t those m inisters who have had the most spiritual success (for that is th e point I am discussing) have been men who had an implicit faith in the supernatural inspiration and the Divine authority of their Bible, and who have kept a t the front the great central themes of revelation. They have wasted no time or breath in defending God’s Book, which they hold to be self-evidenc ing; . they have planted themselves on the adamant of God’s unshakable truth, and preached w ith the light of eternity flashing in the faces of their auditors. They have not frittered away their sermons on secondary topics, or blinked human depravity, or concealed hell, or beclouded the Atonement, or dwarfed God’s infinite love, His Christ’s infinite claims, or the indispensable need of the Holy Spirit a t every step. They have aimed te make sin horrible, and Christ lovable, and a life of fruitful service the. only life worth living. Such preaching
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