King's Business - 1916-10

THE KING’S BUSINESS

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ens and various kinds o f clubs for helping the needy, but it does not save. I do not mean merely that it does not save from hell hereafter, it does not save from ' sin here and now. It is the gospel o f the Son o f God that does-this. Unitarianism never begets a missionary spirit. With all its members and wealth by a mighty effort it induced one man to go as a foreign mis­ sionary for a little while, but even that poor lone missionary soon returned. Faith in Jesus as Divine makes missionaries and martyrs and produces men o f prayer and faith, it produces consecrated living. The denial o f the Deity o f Christ , tends to prayerlessness, religious carelessness, unbe­ lief, worldliness, selfishness, and easy-going living. There is a power in the prayers o f those who approach God in the name o f Christ that there is not in the prayers o f those who reject His Deity. While Mr. Moody was still in business, before he had taken up Christian work as his exclusive occupation, he often went out holding meetings. One time he was holding meet­ ings in one o f the smaller towns in Illinois. The wife o f the district judge came to Mr. Moody and asked him to speak to her hus­ band. He replied, “I cannot speak to your husband. Your husband is a book infidel and I am nothing but an uneducated boot clerk from Chicago.” But the wife was so insistent that Mr. Moody finally called upon the judge. As he'passed through the outer office the law clerks tittered to them­ selves as they thought o f how the learned judge would make mince meat o f the uned­ ucated boot clerk from Chicago. Mr. Moody said to the judge in the inner office, “Judge, I cannot talk with you, you are an educated man; I am nothing but an uned­ ucated boot clerk, but I just want to ask you one thing. When you are converted, will you let me know?” “ Yes,” the Judge replied banteringly, “ when I am converted, I will let you know.” And then he raised his voice louder and said, “Yes, young man, when I am converted I will let you know. Good morning.” As Mr. Moody passed into the outer office the judge raised his voice

still louder so all the law clerks could hear, “ Yes, young man, when I am converted I will let you know.” And the law clerks; tittered louder than ever. But the judge was converted within a year. Mr. Moody revisited the town and .called upon the judge. He said, “Judge, will you tell me how you were converted?” “Yes,” the judge replied, “one night my wife went to prayer meeting as usual, but I as usual staid at home reading the evening paper. ,1 began to get very uneasy and miserable, and before my wife returned from the prayer meeting I was so miserable I was afraid to face her and retired for the night. 'On her return, finding me in bed she came to the door and asked if I were sick. 'No, I replied, I am not sick, only I was not feeling very well. Good night.’ I had a miserable night and was so miserable, in the morning that I dared not face my wife at the breakfast table, and I simply looked in the door and said, ‘Wife, I am not feeling very well this morning, I will not eat any breakfast.’ I went to my office and told' the clerks that they could take a holiday. I locked the out­ side door and1then went into my inner office and locked the door to that. I sat down, getting more and more miserable all the time. At last, in my misery and in my overwhelming sense o f sin, I knelt down and cried, ‘O, God, forgive my sins.’ But there was no answer. Again I cried, ‘Oh, God, forgive my sins.’ But still there was no answer. I would not say, ‘Oh, God, fo r Christ?s sake forgive my sins,’ because I was a Unitarian and did not believe in the Divinity o f Christ. Again I cried, ‘Oh, God, forgive my sins,’ but still there was no answer. At last, in desperation I cried, ‘Oh God, fo r Jesus Chrisfs sake forgive my sins / and instantly I found peace." By their fruits ye shall know them. There is a Divine power in a faith that accepts Jesus Christ as the Son o f God that there is not in a faith that denies His Deity. Jesus Christ is the Son o f God. He is Divine, He is God in human form. His own claims substantiated by His character, by His miracles, by His influence upon the

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