King's Business - 1942-01

January, 1942

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NES S

6

“When my weakness leaneth on His might, All seems light’’ In a characteristic letter, William R. Newell, the well-known Bible teacher, requested the writer to pray that grace and strength would be his for some Chicago meetings. Much physical weakness was his portion at the time he wrote, and this was his comment: “I remember one day in the Coliseum meetings in St. Louis in 1901, when after speaking on 2 Corinthians 12:9, ‘My strength is made perfect in weakness,’ I called for a time .of prayer. One brother prayed, ‘Lord, we’ll furnish the weakness if You’ll fumiSh the strength.’ Now all I can provide'at this time is weak­ ness, but,‘through your supplications’ I shall, l hope, find strength.” May each* of us prove the Lord to be the strength of our Christian life! There is the "1 will" of sympathy. In His promise of help, God offers to take the heaviest end of our load and assist us in carrying it. As we are moved with sympathy if we see a child struggling beneath a burden , too heavy for its little arms to cariy, so the Lord offers Himself as our Helper. And the help we will need and receive will not be something but Someone. With boldness we will declare,1“The Lord is my Helper.” We' can, therefore, greet the New Year with courage, “for no matter' what loads may be ours, the heaviest among them will be light indeed to Him for whom nothing is too hard.” Finally, there is the *T will" of support. Precious indeed is the three­ fold cord that holds us: “I will strengthen thee . . .1 will help thee . . . I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Strength—help—righteousness! What more could we ask? If this promise does not produce a happy New Year, then nothing will. Think of it! To be upheld by the hand that formed, and upholds the world in its grasp—the hand that is full of righteousness in Its dispensing of rewards and punish­ ments! Why, here is power beyond our utmost thought, and yet at our disposal. “You know the trysting place,” James GilmoUr said to his.comrade, “the right-hand side.” In ancient courts, the pleader stood oh the right hand. The Bible presents the right hand as the place of power and the position of highest honor. Thus the promise that the right hand will up­ hold us suggests the support of omni­ potence. Furthermore, “The Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Isa. 41:13). Hand in hand with God! May this be our constant attitude in the New Year, as its days run their course]

us, He will be in the darknesj say­ ing, “O heart I made, a Heart beats here,” and the assurance of His in­ effable tenderness and abiding com­ panionship will inspire confidence and impart comfort. God’s Power With our hand on the latch of the door of the New Year, we, can enter its days with boldness, knowing that God’s infinite resources will be at the disposal Of the weakest of His saints, “I am thy God”—yes, your God! He is the God of Mary Smith or Tom Jones, just as He was the God of Jacob. .“God,” the primary name of Deity, is made up of ”E1," meaning the Strong One, and "Alah," meaning to, bind oneself by an oath* so implying faithfulness: Therefore, the' God who declares that He will be with us is the Strong One, who will carry out every- promise on our behalf. God’s Provision It will be noticed^ that our New Year’s promise» contains three “I will’s.” , There is the "I will" of strength. We shall not travel far into the New Year without learning that the secret of strength; is the consciousness of weakness. When we are weak, then are we strong. Our greatest victories will be won as -the power of Christ covers our impotence, for:

trust in Him, then let them stay there. To look within is likewise harmful to our faith. Introspection is very apt to .become morbid. Tpo much self- examination is likely to create unwar­ ranted remorse in a child of God. It is true, as Plato has reminded us, that “the unexamined life is not worth having.” But the only safe and profitable investigation is the divine examination of self. No, the only way is to look UP. Not around, nor behind, nor within, but up to Him who is omnipotent! Look up •—God reigns, and over unaccus­ tomed paths He will lead us into deeper experiences o f . His love and power. Look up—for amid any storm that may rage He will be at hand to sustain with His peace. Look up—for our salvation is nearer than when w e .believed. We must look up and thus be ready to go up. God’s Presence For the two “nots” there are two “I am’s.” ”1 am with thee" —the con­ sciousness of God’s presence means a life without fear. "I am thy God" —the realization of God’s p o w e r means a life without dismay. Many precious friendships are ours as we commence another year, but as time rolls on, one here and there will drop out of. the procession. But here is One who promises never to leave us. In the dark hours that may befall

S-eventh Annual TORREY MEMORIAL BIBLE CONFERENCE ' of the

Bible Institute of Los Angeles . nuary 25 to February 1, 1942 '

Planning to come from a distance, to speak at this seventh annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference, are H. A. Ironside, pastor of the Moody Memorial Church, Chicago, 111., and Harry McCormick Lintz, evangelist and Bible teacher. They are to speak daily, emphasizing the need today for Bible exposition and evangelism, A number of speakers from the Southern California area also will be heard. Other Speakers ^ Paul R. Bauman P a stor, S econd B rethren C hurch - L os A n geles, C alif. R oy L, Brown B ib le T ea ch er W . W . C ath erw ood ^ |/ - Past or, F irst B ap tist C hurch ■' R iv ersid e, C alif. L. David Cowie P a sto r V erm on t A venu e Pres. C hurch - .. L os A n geles, C alif. W eek-D ay Sessions 8.39 A. M. „ 9:3 0 A .M . . 10:30 A .M . 2:00 P. M. 3:00 P. M. ,7:00 P .M . 7:40 P .M . 1 3 S ervices on the Sundays