King's Business - 1935-06

205

T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

June, 1935

<_Around the King’s Tables By Louis T . T albot

the starry universe above, the throne o f God in the center o f the universe stands forever and cannot be shaken. What­ ever a man’s capabilities or lack o f abilities may be, the one who acknowledges that throne and yields allegiance to it will be, even in this day, “ as Mount Zion,” which cannot be moved. But the man who refuses to reckon j with that throne, however learned and polished he may be, will be a spiritual weakling today and an “ unprofitable servant” forever. What is the trouble with our nation and with the world today? We have turned away from God. All our national problems and our local problems are but the inevitable re­ sult o f our departure from the government o f the living God. I submit to you that, apart from the one fact o f the realization on the part o f men and women that they are un­ der personal control of the living God and that they must give a personal account for every word and every deed to Him, each o f us would in our natural state inevitably gravi­ tate to the law of the jungle which says, “ Do just as you please; satisfy the desires of the flesh.without any regard for anybody. Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomor­ row we die.” That is the philosophy o f life when God is forgotten. And in the fact o f a forgotten God there stands also the explanation o f the crime wave and kindred ills that are sweeping our nation today. This departure from God has had a specific source. Thirty years or more ago, there began to be gradually intro­ duced into the universities and colleges and pulpits o f our land the teaching that man was under no divine compul­ sion whatever. Young people were taught that man was a law unto himself, that he lyas struggling upon this planet without God and without hope. This teaching prepared the minds of the growing generation for the reception of So­ cialism and Communism. Nearly every one o f our universi­ ties has founded its courses upon the hypothesis that man has ascended from lower forms o f life. This generation has been taught to believe that there is no personal God and that all the morality o f the past was but a form o f slavery. The result is confusion and distrust on every hand, for when men lose faith in a living God, they also lose faith in one another. W e need to get back to God, or we will perish. The present crisis is a call to men to turn their faces toward God. Other crises within our nation in the years gone by have brought people to their knees and have caused the peo­ ple o f God to cry out for divine help. But today we seem to think that we are going to wriggle out of the present dilemma and find a solution in ourselves for the present problem. But the escape from this predicament is not in men; it is in God alone. The Christian may say with the prophet: “ Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power . . . there is nothing too hard for thee.” In this critical hour we need the Creator o f the world. We need Christ; we need God. The only hope of America is Jesus Christ, the Son o f God. In fact, we must choose between Christ and chaos. God is looking for men— real men— to show to others the way, and I call upon you to dedicate your lives and your all to the living God, that He may use you as a channel o f blessing.— L. T . T.

[On May 23, the President o f the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles was the C om m en cem en t speaker at the John- Brown University, Siloam Springs, Ark. [Followvng the graduation exer­ cises, he addressed g Bible conference in Arkansas, remaining for a period o f ten days. A t Wheaton College, Wheaton, III., Mr. Talbot is scheduled to deliver the Commencement Day address on June 10, M e -expècts to .return to Los Angeles in time to partici­ pate. in Commencement activities at the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles, on June 13 -— E ditor .] Where Is Stability? h e r e is no other word that describes conditions every- , where in this present day as does the word “ shaken.” 'Everything has been shaken to its very foundations. This statement is true no matter where you turn or what realm you ente v l Tt is true in the financial world. I have people in my congregation who a few years ago computed their wealth in six figures, and who today have no fortune and barely the necessities of life. In the financial crises which are about us everywhere, more than one individual, lacking abiding foundations, has come to feel that the only way out of his dilemma is the unhappy way of self-destruction. The financial world has been shaken, and the end is not yet. A survey o f the political world will reveal the same con­ ditions. Nothing is more unstable than present-day govern­ ment. Since 1914 the map o f Europe has changed many times, and dynasties that were founded hundreds o f years ago have passed away, while in more recent years the Com­ munist has been shaking his fist in the face o f stability and has been threatening the integrity of nations. In our own country the possibility o f a dictator seems less unlikely every hour. Likewise in the religious world there is uncertainty and wavering. Many are at a loss to know what to believe in re­ gard to the great doctrines o f our faith. Few o f the great verities for which multitudes have shed their blood are con­ sidered worth contending for today. The world o f religion is a place, o f confusion, and, like the realms of finance and politics, is like a ship at sea without a rudder. To those of us who know God,'these conditions present an unparalleled opportunity to hold forth thé gospel o f the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be a tragedy for us to pass through this day of privilege and out o f this life to stand before God without having put forth an honest effort to point men and women to “ the Lamb o f God, which taketh away the sin o f the world.” , We need not be perturbed as we face the world s tur­ moil. There are some things that are unshakable— as un­ wavering today as they ever were, and I would urge you to be certain that your life is linked with these verities, so that you may be as the rock o f Gibraltar—unmoved in your own faith and a way-shower to others. - Unshakable in its eternal existence, the throne o f God cannot be ignored with impugnity. “ Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” We have seen.other thrones topple and fall. Those earthly thrones that remain are becoming more and more insecure, and in regard to them we know not what a day may bring forth. But there is a throne that is as unshakable as ever, and that throne is the throne of God. No matter what may take place in this world or in

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