August 1929
370
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
II. HIS PRIVILEGE. If he does this, God will “speak to him-” He shall have no need to ask, “How shall I know when God speaks—how distinguish His voice?” If once you have heard it—if you keep close to Him— you can never mistake it! It has àccents as peculiar as those of your most intimate friend whose tones you recog nize even after years of separation. In ways he may not be able to describe but which will be unmistakable, “the word o f Jehovah will come.” The Holy Spirit, using the written Word, “will put words in his mouth and teach him what he shall say.” He shall have his “message.” Not in the general sense that all may be considered ambassadors for Christ, repre senting Him ; but in thé particular sense in which an “orderly” receives a specific order. He is always “an orderly,” but when he attends his superior he receives orders for a specific body of men for a specific emergency. So shall you, each time you are called upon to stand be fore men, have your message for that particular group and occasion (Ezekiel 3:4, 17). I ll: HIS DUTY. This message he must deliver! Sometimes it will be pleasant to do so. Sometimes it will coincide with his own preconceived notions. Sometimes it may minister to his self importance—exalt him before men. Sometimes (and oftener) it will be the opposite of all these. It will be hard, painful, humbling, directly opposed to his theories or preferences, bringing only the bitter antagonism of those to whom he is sent (Ezekiel 2 : 6 , 10 ) . The “Word of Jehovah,” faithfully delivered, drove Elijah into the desert, put Jeremiah in a dungeon, Michaiah in prison, cost John the Baptist his head, cast out even God’s own Son from the synagogue at Nazareth, and led the way to the edge of the precipice- But he must deliver the message ! He must say what God bids him. He must “teach them from ME,” or forfeit the prophet’s office—justly, because he “speaks for” some other than God (Jer. 1:17; 1 Cor. 9:16, 17). But with the delivery of the message as entrusted to him his responsibility ceases and that of those to whom he speaks begins, “that they may DO them.” And note that they must answer to God, not to the preacher, for this obedience. If the prophet was held responsible up to this point (Ezekiel 3 :18), beyond this his hearers are (Ezekiel 33 :4, 5, 6, 8). They may not recognize his authority; they may repudiate it and reject him (Luke 10:16) ; they may not believe the message (Jer. 43:2) ; they may go on in their own way; but it is at their own peril. They cannot lightly or with impunity set aside words spoken by “a man of God” (1 Sam. 8:7). Search the Scriptures and see if these things are not so. “He zvhom God hath sent speaketh the zvords of God.” “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that rejecteth you rejecteth not me but Him that sent me.” “The words which I speak unto you are not my words, but the Father’s zvhich sent me.” “Go, speak zvith my words unto them.” “Behold, I have put my words into thy mouth.” “They will not hearken unto thee, for they will not hearken unto me.” M Three Kinds of Christians 1. Rowboat Christians—have to be propelled wherever they go. 2. Sailboat Christians—always go with the wind. 3. Steamboat Christians—make up their minds where they ought to go, and go there regardless of wind and weather. Which kind are you?
“God So Loved the World” B y M. S. N.
I am that vine which, twisted, formed A shameful crown for Him to wear! A tender plant, I grew, and praised Him for the sun and light and air. I worshiped Him, and envied man Because I knew God loved him best. I am a tree, but fashioned to A clumsy cross by hand of man. I grew within a wood, and praised The Lord o f hosts, and envied man Because I knew God loved him best. I am the spear which pierced His side, But ’tzrns the hand o f man which sped My shining steel, and found His heart! Oh, I remembered as He bled How once I lay in the dark earth, And though I could not see His light, I worshiped Him, and envied man Because I knew God loved him best. Alas, we cannot understand Such love as this made manifest, That though man slew Bum on the cross, Yet still, ah, still,'He loves man best! Great iron spikes bound Him to me TUI we were one. A shudder ran My quivering length . . . . I thought how once
that burned but was not consumed, and heard God say “Come now, and I will send thee,” “Son o f man, go,” etc. ? Then let him GO in God’s name, nothing daunted, for God is with him and will “put words into his mouth” and “teach him what he shall say.” But he must be care fully jealous of “the Prophet’s Place and Duty” as set forth in Deut. 5 :31: I. His PLACE. “Stand thou here B Y ME.” He must keep close to God and receive his message, not from men or books or newspapers or human systems of philoso phy or ethics, but FROM GOD ! He must hearken and hear what God the Lord will say unto his servants, and teach the people what GOD says, ALL other voices, sys tems, creeds, theories, “prophets” to the contrary not withstanding (Ezekiel 3:10; 1 Kings 22:13; 13:11-26; Acts 4:19; 5:29). Observing one day a drill of volunteers, I noticed that the bugler kept close to the side of his colonel, where he could hear every word and instantly communicate the order to the men. So indispensable is the place and atti tude of the prophet. “Stand thou here!” Where? Here— BY ME. Close to God in personal communion. No amount of study or rules or system or diligence or native talent and gifts will conpensate for that. Close to God where he can hear His voice— “the sound o f hushed stillness”^— inaudible at a greater distance or amid the clangor and clamor of other pursuits. Often ALONE with God: withdrawn, it may be, for periods prolonged—on the mount, in the solitude of Cherith, at the far side of the desert, in the wilds of Arabia—that he may learn God’s mind, .freed from all distractions.
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