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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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By P. W. Philpott, D. D.
As Reported by Mildred M. Cook
F OR NINE YEARS, I worked with the Salvation Army, and I shall always be grateful for those during that period, and thousands were swept into the kingdom. Through public address and personal dealing, men and women were won for Jesus Christ. I pray that a similar spiritual awakening may come again, not only to North America, but also to the whole world. At about the turn of the century, three great men came into my life, one right after another: D. L. Moody, A. T. Pierson, and A. J. Gordon. All of them influenced me profoundly. I saw that every one of them was mighty as a soul-winner, though each was totally different from the others both in per sonality and in method. I heard Moody preach in Toronto shortly’before his death. He had huge audiences, so large that policemen were needed to control the crowds and many persons had to be turned away for lack of room. How he pleaded with his hearers to accept Christ and to make confession of their faith! I observed this: Moody kept the Bible foremost. He loved it, he quoted from it, he depended upon the truth of it; it was the biggest thing in his life. I decided then that this was the source of his power and determined that I too would have a Bible-centered ministry. I f any blessing has attended my serv ice for the Lord in the past sixty years, I believe it is traceable to that decision of long ago to believe and preach the whole Word of God with out fear and without compromise. This is the concluding installment of a message delivered by Dr. Philpott in the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles, March 3, 19^6; the first in stallment appeared in the August issue of The King’s Business. Published in booklet form, it may be obtained for twenty cents from the Bible House of Los Angeles, 927 South Westmoreland Ave., Los Augeles 6, by whose permis sion this article is printed. , •
From among hundreds of incidents in my own experience that might be cited to show that God is “ able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,” I will men tion just two. One concerns a man who did not like Christians or the church, and the other relates to a young girl who had gone astray. Be cause of the fact that in age, oppor tunity, and background, these two individuals were totally different, they may represent the extreme bounds of h um a n need. And be cause they each were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, they offer illustrations of the glorious truth that “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The first story has its setting in a city in Canada in which it was my privilege to minister for twenty-seven years. Our home was a short distance from the church, on a plot of ground that yielded berries and larger fruit as well as vegetables. With thirteen children in our family, that garden spot was a necessity! In every avail able moment I used to-work out there, cultivating berries and peach trees. In the course of time, neighbors moved into a house near by. It was reported that the father was ill and that he hoped to regain his health by outdoor exercise. Word got around also that he v i o l e n t l y disliked all preachers. There were two grown sons. We used to see them go down the hill each morning to their respec tive businesses. One day while I was working in my berry patch, the sick man came over to talk to me. "You know,” he said, “I had hoped that working in the earth a little bit would benefit my health. But I can’t get anybody to plow the ground for me. I ’ve asked several people.” The comment did not seem to call for reply, so I waited silently. “Could you do it for me?” he asked. He seemed so distressed when I told him I was quite busy that I agreed to do the plowing anyway. What a job it was! The ground was covered with bushes and vines, and the horse I
had to use was high-spirited. All the time I was working my neighbor stayed close by, talking to me as I went round and round the garden. When the task was completed, the old gentleman asked how much he owed. “You owe me nothing but a good neighborly spirit,” I told him. He seemed embarrassed. As I- was leaving, his wife, who had been watch ing us from the house, called to ask, “Father, who was that man?” I heard their conversation. “Oh, he’s a fruit farmer that lives on the hillside,” the husband ex plained. “ ‘Fruit farmer’ nothing!” she re torted. “Why, he’s a preacher!” The man seemed shocked. Then a happier thought must have come to his mind, for he replied, “Mother, he couldn’t be. He had on overalls.” I could not help smiling at that. As the days passed, the father’s health failed steadily. By fall his con dition was extremely serious. One day the younger son came running to our home to say, “Mother and Dad both want you to come.” I went, of course, but not knowing what kind of reception I would receive from one who so strongly disliked p r e a c h e r s . The man was failing rapidly. He told me how, through a long lifetime, he had nourished a hatred of the church and of every thing about it, and had taught his family to share his views. As we talked together, his sorrow for his sin became very deep and real, and he asked me to show him the way to be saved. How glad I was that I could point him to the Word of God and lead him to the throne of grace where we o b t a i n mercy and find grace to help in time of need! The whole family came to Christ. In fulfillment of the father’s dying re quest, on the Sunday following his funeral, the two sons sang a duet in my church, accompanied by their mother at the organ. The selection which the father had chosen was that old favorite of Moody and Sankey days:
years. Mighty revival came to Canada
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