November, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
397
NOTES on Christian Sndeavor B y M a r y G. G o o d n e r
DECEMBER 2, 1934 What Is the Purpose of Missions? M atth ew 28:16-20 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“ From Greenland’s Icy Moun tains.” Hymn—“ Speed Away.” Scripture—Matthew 28:16-20. Prayer. Hymn— “Go, Labor On; Spend and Be Spent.” Quartet—“W e’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations.” Leader’s Message. Meditation on the Lesson These stirring words have been called “the marching orders o f the church,” or “ the Great Commission.” Our Lord and Saviour gave them to His disciples in one o f His very last meetings with them, and the message is therefore doubly impres sive. One part o f this commission is a com mand, and the other is a promise. And it is impossible to separate the two, for the promise can only be claimed as the com mand is obeyed. Many Christians quote with complacency, “Lo, I am with you alway,” and expect fulfillment o f the Lord’s declaration, even when they them selves have not obeyed the “ Go ye.” “ Go” means “go,” not “stay”—not “send,” but “ go.” “ Ye” is a personal singular pronoun. How dare we disobey? Charles Scott, that statesman-mission ary o f China, made this statement in a stirring address on “The Missionary Call” : “ A call is a need, a need made known, and the power to meet that need.” He went on to say that each Christian in the homeland should be able to explain satisfactorily why he had not gone in obedience to this command. The obeying o f this command brings to the Christian the joy o f knowing he is where Christ wants him to be. And with that obedience comes also the privilege of claiming the promise of Christ’s presence. “ I hear the voice O f One who calleth, Calleth sweet and clear, For men to reap for Him A harvest white. O soul o f mine, rise up and answer Him Before the night, The long night, faileth, And the day be gone, thy day be gone.” David Livingstone, that magnificent mis sionary hero o f the nineteenth century, found great solace in the verses of our lesson. On one occasion, as he journeyed toward the east coast of Africa, he came into a region where the Loangwa and Zam bezi Rivers join—a district that was inhab ited by very hostile natives. The chief re fused to permit Livingstone to continue his Testimonies. Quiet Hour. Hymn—“All Hail the Power.” Benediction—Mark 16:15.
journey, and yet it was absolutely neces sary that he should go on. He feared that all his plans to help that region might be ended by these savages. Then he turned to the Lord in prayer and read Matthew 28:18 to 20. Resting confidently upon that pledge, Livingstone wrote in his journal: “ It is the word o f a gentleman o f the most sacred and strictest honor, and there’s an end out.” The next day, he and his caravan were allowed to proceed. The word o f Christ is forever true: “All power . . . Go ye . . . I am with you.” Leader’s Helps I. T h e M issionary A im The church’s missionary aim is not the expansion of commerce and civilization, though these with their mingled good and evil follow the trail blazed by the mission ary. Neither does it seek to denationalize. Its one aim is to disciple, to bring every realm and relationship o f human life un der the sway of Jesus Christ. As one has wisely said, “ I had rather plant one seed o f the gospel o f the Lord Jesus Christ under the crust of heathen life than cover that whole crust over with the veneer o f our social habits or vestiture of Western civilization.” The church’s missionary work has been broadly defined, therefore, as seeking first to present Christ to men so intelligently and effectively that they will accept Him as their Lord and Saviour, conform their lives to His teachings, and aid in extend ing His kingdom; and second, to organ ize these believers into churches and train them to self-propagation, self-support, so cial service, and self-government. — E gbert W . S m it h . II. T h e M issionary T a sk “The field is the world.” It is almost impossible to realize the vastness o f earth’s Christless millions. No arithmetic can make the picture. Let them march past us in four lines o f moving men, two of Chinese, one of African, and one o f Hindu. It would take a generation for this column four deep to pass.— A rnold . III. T h e M issionary M otive Why foreign missions? Some say that Christian foreign missions are an imperti nence. I f the people o f Canada or Great Britain or of the United States believe in Christianity as a desirable religion, let them so believe, but what right have they to go to India, China, or Africa and urge those people to accept Christianity as their religion? It is not an impertinence to offer to save a drowning man. It is not an imper tinence to tell a desperately sick man o f a cure that one knows by personal expe rience can make him well. Nor is it an impertinence to carry a pardon from the government to a condemned criminal. These acts o f unselfish interest in the wel fare o f a fellow man are faint illustra tions o f the Christian foreign missionary
enterprise. Christians know from the Scriptures that all men—whether in India, China, Africa, Britain, or North America —are lost souls, lost eternally, without the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are drown ing men; they are desperately, incurably diseased; they are justly convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and death; and there is only one thing that will save them from drowning, heal their disease, release them from prison, and deliver them from the death sentence. All other religions are impotent to help men. This is the declara tion o f God Himself, as made in His Word. Because this is true, what manner o f man would the Christian be if, knowing that he possessed this Good News intended o f God for all men, and knowing that those in foreign lands had no knowledge o f this Good News, he stayed complacently at home, kept the knowledge to himself, and let the rest o f the dying world perish? —Toronto Globe. IV. T h e M issionary ’ s V iew point 1. “Why do you wish to return?” said Dr. Jowett to a missionary who had been in valided home. “ Because I can’t sleep for thinking o f them.” — P ickering . 2. A missionary in Africa writes: “ I have dwelt four years alone in Africa, have been thirty times stricken with fever, have been attacked by rhinoceri and lions, have been ambushed by natives, have eaten everything from ants to rhinoceri, but I would gladly go through the same expe rience again for the joy o f teaching these people to know the Saviour who gave His life a ransom for them.”— P ickering . DECEMBER 9, 1934 Problems Faced on Mission Fields A cts 19:23-41 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“ Christ for the World W e Sing.” Hymn—“Jesus Shall Reign.” Hymn—“ The Morning Light Is Break ing.” Prayer. Hymn—“ To the Work.” Scripture—Acts 19:23-41. Duet—“ Somebody Else Needs Him, Too.” Leader’s Message. Discussion of the following questions: 1. What are some specific problems arising out o f the missionary’s spir itual life, his material environment, and his adjustment to those among whom he labors? 2. What difficulties do other white men often cause for missionaries? 3. What solution does God offer for these problems (Matt. 28:20; John 14:13, 14; Phil. 4 :19)?
Hymn—“O Zion, Haste.” Benediction—Psalm 19:14.
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs