pay the price of discipleship nor join that desper ate band at Adullam. Some would wed the church and the world and make our Lord a popular teacher o f brotherhood. They would put Him on a level with prophets and religious leaders of this world. They are indeed out to crown a king but when he comes he will be Antichrist, the last of the Caesars, the very op posite of all our Lord is and all that He stands for. His kingdom will never be merged with the kingdoms of this world. The very day the wise men came looking for the King, they struck terror to the heart of another king, Herod. Our Lord’s birth precipitated the slaughter o f the innocents and throughout His life on earth He was in con stant conflict with enemies who plotted against Him and finally crucified Him. The early church arranged no truce with the age. Later the Chris tians had to choose between Christ or Caesar and to this day the choice remains the same. The world is being readied for the last o f the Caesars who will come as a peacemaker. There will be a clever appeal to tolerance and brotherhood and any man who claims another king will be in for trouble. Our King, like David, is still in exile and will not return until He comes to destroy Antichrist. To line up with Him in the last days will be to join a desper ate band at Adullam and His comrades will be a laughingstock to their generation. Only those who understand the times to know what Israel ought to do can intelligently face such a day. Some of us feel that the day is already here. It was said also of David’s men that “ they were not o f double heart,” that they came “with a per fect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also o f Israel were o f one heart to make David king” (I Chron. 12:33, 38). They were not double-minded men unstable in all their ways. No man is fit for this business who tries to serve two masters, who fears the Lord and serves his own gods. A true Christian is not a man of divided heart, he lives for one purpose, to make Christ Lord of all. Like Paul he says, “ This one thing I do.” To live is Christ, not Christ AND . . . He has set his face like a flint. He does not say, as one would-be disciple said, “Lord, I will follow Thee but. . . .” Our churches are filled with disci ples of a double heart. They are the heartache as well as headache of pastors and all who try to get God’s work done. I used to hear the old preachers talk about “ an eye single to God’s glory.” It takes the single eye and one heart to crown a king. Furthermore, it was said o f these men that they could keep rank (I Chron. 12:33, 38). How impor tant that God’s Remnant keep in step, not in mere unanimity and external uniformity but in step with God in spirit and in practice. Evangelical Chris tianity is troubled with extremists o f two sorts, those who carry tolerance to the point of compro
mise and those who grow bitter in their orthodoxy and imagine that everybody else is out of step. Untold harm is done the cause o f Christ by soldiers who refuse to keep rank with each other because they are out of step with the King. A piano tuner does not tune pianos to each other but to one pitch by the tuning fork. When they are all tuned to that, they are in tune with each other. There is too much energy wasted today trying to tune the saints to each other. Our main business is to get in step and keep in step with the King. David’s band was not a grim and gloomy outfit. We read o f one festive occasion where “ there was joy in Israel.” The kingdom of God is “ righteous ness, peace and JOY in the Holy Ghost.” We who are out to crown Christ King have a right to be happy. This is glad business and although our King is still in exile, we know that He “ shall reign where’er the sun doth His successive journeys run.” We endure hardness now as we make our way through a world that is under another king but Satan’s time is short. We see Israel back in the land today although still in unbelief and we know that one day they shall acknowledge that title that fluttered over the head o f our dying Saviour, “ Jesus of Nazareth, KING OF THE JEWS.” We know that He shall reign over a redeemed earth. We do not look to peace conferences, United Nations, confederacies o f earth. True peace awaits the ad vent of the Prince of Peace but before He comes, a weary world will believe a lie, The Lie, and turn to an impostor, the Antichrist. The stage is being set and after the last sad chapter in man’s effort to build a world kingdom, our King shall return to take over. Why should there not be “joy in Israel” over such a prospect? Making Christ King begins by crowning Him in our hearts. “King of my life, I crown Thee now; Thine shall the glory be.” The first throne He must occupy is within us. That throne He can occupy today. When we sing, “Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way, Hold o’er my being absolute sway.” We are inviting Him to occupy that throne. Salvation comes when we confess Jesus as Lord. His kingdom at present is in the hearts of His followers. We would recruit in these last days a band of Adullamites out to crown a King. The patriots at Concord were called Minute Men. We would rally Last-minute Men as the age draws to its close, willing to pay the price of all-out devotion,. a desperate company who understand the times and know what to do, o f one heart and able to keep step. Will you crown Him in your heart and join us who live for that coming Coronation Day? HE
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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