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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1935
PERSDNflLsj^BDX c u n d S t e a l S a f e t y F i l e
In their jealousy toward Daniel, they held a secret meeting. This is the ordinary way o f trouble-breeders. Whenever a secret session is held with the object o f opposing some servant o f God, you may be fairly sure that the people holding it are in the wrong. Right delights in the day and in the open session. Wrong takes cover under darkness and behind closed doors. At the end o f the secret session, they brought back a lie. They told the king that all were agreed on the subject o f the writing, and thereby secured his signature. It is a rare thing that holders o f secret meetings will tell the truth when the meet ing is over. The fact was that the only man who had a right to call the meeting was not even apprised o f its assembly, and by that falsehood they secured the king’s signature to the decree. The decree demanded o f Daniel one o f two things—either disobedience to the earthly ruler, or disloyalty to the heavenly King; and Daniel elected the former—dis obedience to Darius rather than disloy-| alty to God. Every prophet o f God who does not so elect is unworthy o f his office. Mark the method of Daniel in meeting this diabolical endeavor. He did not call an opposition meeting. He did not say, “Now these fellows have had their turn. I will get my friends together, and we will hold a counter secret session.” That is the way it commonly occurs in the church. The moment the faction has held its meeting and the report o f it leaks, as it always does, the pastor is tempted to call a few o f his personal friends to his house for a counter session. It then re mains to be seen who can muster the most friends in the final show-down. Daniel met the situation in another way. He went down on his knees three times a day, his window open toward Jerusalem. God heard his petition and answered. First, He kept Daniel while he was in the lions’ den. The true prophet of God has a promise that no weapon formed against him shall prosper. God answered further by bringing the king under convic tion; and, for the entire night, sleep went from his eyes, and even music could not induce rest. God can do marvelous things in over ruling and even overturning the machina tions of men. Put your trust in Him rather than in councils, secret sessions, or even intimate friends. The preacher who performs his duties well and conscientiously, who treats criti cisms and every strife with patience and intelligence, and who takes to God, in prayer, the difficult problems of his office, who meets in open session and before his own church fairly and squarely, the issues that opposition may force upon him, will commonly come out unscathed, as Daniel did, the divine approval upon him, and he will witness the confusion and overthrow o f his enemies. "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. “ Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. “And he shall bring forth thy righteous ness as the light, and, thy judgment as the noonday. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him : fret not thyself because o f him who prospereth in his way, because o f the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. “ Cease from anger, and forsake, wrath : fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. "For evildoers shall be cut o ff: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall in herit the earth” (Psa, 37:3, 5-9).
MANAGING CHURCH TROUBLES [Continued from page 91]
there come times when the best thing that could happen to a church is the exclusion of chronic trouble-breeders. The wise surgeon does not take out his knife every time you have a pain in your side. But when he is convinced that the appendix is festering, to hesitate is to lose his patient and his own reputation at the same time. The principle applies in church life. I was called a little while ago to counsel in two instances. In the first instance, a woman had created church troubles for years, evidently desiring to be thé whole thing herself in the church of which she was a member. She had made it difficult for pastor after pastor. She had a little fol lowing of half a dozen people. I advised her exclusion. It was accomplished, and the church is prospering in consequence. Only a few days ago, I was called to counsel in another instance where a man and his wife had, for forty years, horned out pastor after pastor. I took the record and looked it over and could not find that any man remained longer than three years in that pulpit, and I found, on the field, two men who had been deeply gored by this deacon and his wife. I advised their exclusion, and it was accomplished. Time will tell whether this also was wise! Let me repeat : Exclusion is a desperate act, and should be the last resort. But when it becomes clear that people have done nothing but breed discontent, write unsigned letters, anonymous letters (the lowest conceivable piece o f conduct), get up petitions, and, under false pretenses and by foul arguments, persuade others to sign them, and, year after year, pastorate after pastorate, have proved themselves ill-con tents, critics, slanderers o f competence and character, the best thing that could pos sibly happen to the church is to remove them; and when the time comes for such action, and it is started, go through with it. D on ’ t F ail to P ray The average church trouble exists be cause there has not been enough prayèr. The adjustment of the average church trouble is difficult because too often its settlement is attempted apart from prayer. In fact, oftentimes the parties to church trouble are afraid to pray about it. They do not want the guidance o f the Holy Ghost; they want their own way. They cannot say, "Thy will be done.” Their will stands first, and they are not ready to have it set aside by even the Lord Him self; and, sad to say, sometimes the preacher finds himself in that position where he thinks his way is so unquestion ably the right way that he does not need to consult God on the subject Here we might learn from Abraham Lincoln, who when somebody suggested to him during the days of the Civil War that he call the people to pray, that God might be on the side of the Northern armies, an swered, “God is already on the right side. I f I call them to prayer, it will be that we may get on God’s side, instead of having God come to our side.” That is exactly the spirit that should prompt prayer when troubles arise, that we may discover which side God is on, and stand with Him. Experience has proved the power o f prayer in connection with opposition. The book o f Daniel contains the finest illustration o f this fact There were more than a hundred presidents and princes at the time of the reign o f Darius the Mede.
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