October 1929
497
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
at last, waking to the feeling that he was going back in divine things through his habits,' he took due time for devotion, and he asserts in his diary that he did more in his studies in a single week after he had spent time with God in prayer, than he had accomplished in twelve months before. God can multiply our ability to make use of time. If we give the Lord His due, we shall have enough for all necessary purposes. All our other en gagements and duties will run smoothly if we do not forget our engagement with the Lord .—Our Hope. October 20, 1929 Taking Part in the Meeting—Why And How Col. 3:12-17 D aily R eadings Oct. 14. Using our Gifts. Rom. 12:6-13. Oct. IS. The Origin of Gifts. 1 Cor. 12: i-l 1 . Oct. 16. Speak in Love. 1 Cor. 13 :l-3. Oct. 17. Speak to Help Others. 1 Cor. 14: 1-4. Oct. 18. Study, then Speak. 1 Tim. 4:13- 16. Oct. 19. Preach the Word. 2 Tim. 4:1-5. “In hearing orations,” says Cicero, “the people admire my intellect and my art, and interrupt me with applause” ; and Demosthenes replies: “True indeed! You employ the audience for yourself; I oc cupy it only with the things of which I speak. Your hearers admire you. My hearers forget me, attentive to my pur pose. They praise you, they are too ab sorbed in what I say to praise me. You are ornate, but there is little ornament in my speeches. They are composed of pre cise, strong, clear reasons which are ir resistible. You make the audience cry out, ‘Ah, how eloquently he speaks.’ I make my audience exclaim, ‘Come on and let us march against Philip!’ ” Hints to Young Speakers The late W. T. Stead, a brilliant speaker as well as journalist, wrote these wise words for the guidance of those de siring to become public speakers: II Never speak without having some thing to say. 2. Always sit down when you have said it. 3. Remember speech is dumb show when it is not audible. 4. Think definitely, pronounce clearly, stand naturally, and do not speak too fast. 5. Welcome articulate interruptions, no matter how hostile. C hoice N uggets It takes a little courage And a little self-control, And some grim determination, If you want to reach a goal. It takes a deal of striving, And a firm and stern-set chin, No matter what the battle, If you’re really out to Win.
If a speaker really wants souls con verted under his message, he will con struct it with that end in view, and then in his public utterance he will speak as though he expected God to honor the message in the rock-rooted conviction and sound conversion of the man who sits before him to hear the Word of life while he speaks. The Christian worker should respect any pulpit in which he stands. It is where he stands to speak for God, where God authenticates His servant. It is the place where heaven and earth meet. It should be entered reverently, but not with osten tatious devotion. It is no place for a mountebank, an actor, or even an enter tainer. It is at home only to an ambas sador of the Most High God. Sarcasm aids little in winning adher ents to a cause, no matter how worthy the cause may be. Those who agree with a sarcastic writer or speaker may enjoy his thrusts, but such thrusts only irritate his opponents, and even those who were inclined to listen to his plea often be come estranged thereby. The reader has doubtless noted that a sarcastic lawyer’s ability to win his case before a jury is not commensurate with his reputation for brilliancy. Disagreeable epithets carry with them the same danger that sarcasm does. Epithet is a branding-iron that burns, and those scorched by its touch are inclined, like cattle on the plains, to run away from it. It is said that John Clifford, soon after he began preaching, delivered a sermon in denunciation of the faults and foibles of Christian people. The next day his teacher said to him : “I would advise you, Mr. Clifford, to throw away your pepper box and take a pot of honey around with you.” This is sound advice to preachers until today. A limited amount of humor of a fitting kind is good in some messages. It serves to quicken interest and brighten up one’s hearers. The excessive use of humorous anecdotes, however, has a bad effect and spoils the spiritual message. Never use humor that borders on the vulgar, or that in any way is suggestive. Wholesome wit and clean stories that make toward a point are effective. —o— October 27, 1929 What Is Worship? Psa. 95:1-6; John 4:20-24 D aily R eadings Oct. 21. Worship is Adoration. Matt. 2: 1 1 . Oct. 22. Worship is Praise. Psa. 67 :l-7. Oct. 23. Worship is Meditation. Psa. 8 : 1-9. Oct. 24. Worship is Prayer. Psa. 91:1-16. Oct. 25. Worship is Internal. John 4:24. Oct. 26. Worship is Reverence'. Heb. 2 :20. —o—- C hoice N uggets Lord, let us to Thy gates repair To hear the gladdening sound, That we may find salvation there, While yet it may be found. There let us joy and comfort reap; There teach us how to pray For grace to choose, and strength to keep The straight, the narrow way,
Our Missionary Free Fund Have you considered the mis sionaries who are depending up on the friends at home to send T he K ing ’ s B usiness to them? We have over 200 on our wait ing list. Mark your contribution Missionary Free Fund and send it in now so that they will not be kept waiting. “We thank you very much in deed for kindly supplying us with T he K ing ’ s B usiness and would be very' grateful if you could continue to send it to us free as usual. We enjoy it very much, and look forward to its coming. It is a joy in these days to get a magazine that is thor oughly loyal to the fundamental truths of Holy Scripture. There is such a variety of matter in it too, that one can always depend upon getting something that will apply to their particular condi tion at the time. The notices of evangelical books are always in teresting. Shut off from the out side world as we are we are al ways interested in knowing what is being turned out by the evan gelical press. May the blessing of the Lord rest upon editors, contributors and helpers in every form connected with it.” A Missionary from China expresses his appreciation:
6 . Two things should never be' lost— your temper and the thread of your dis course. 7. Remember that the eyes are as eloquent as the tongue. 8 . Never hesitate to let yourself go, at the right time. 9. Never read your speech, but always have heads of discourse handy. 10. And never forget Cardinal Man ning’s words of wisdom: “Be full of your subject and forget yourself.” Public Delivery “I don’t mind your preaching from a paper,” said John McNeill, “if you can put it across. But many a preacher is like the young preacher I heard of who sup plied a certain pulpit and preached from a paper. “At the conclusion of the sermon, he was_ talking with an old lady. He was fishing for a compliment, and he caught the fish. ‘How did you like my sermon?’ said he. ‘I didn’t like it at all,’ she re plied. ‘In the first place ye read. i t ; in the second place ye didn’t read it well, and in the third place, it wasn’t worth reading.” ’ TELL IT PLAINLY. Robert Hall says: “If I were on trial for my life, and my advocate should amuse the jury with his trope's and figures', burying his arguments beneath a profusion of flowers of rhetoric, I would say to him, ‘Man, put yourself in my place, speak in view of the gallows, and you will tell your story plainly and earnestly.’ ”
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs