T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Another illu stration is where in six years on th e Hawaiian Islands a com plete change took place. Seventeen m issionaries had landed on March 31st, 1820,' among a people w here infant- murder, even by th e hands of mothers, was common; where modesty was un known and traffic in female v irtu e be came a tra d e and every foreign vessel, a floating Sodom. No m arriage laws were known, and th e nation was rapidly coming to extinction by its own vices. Yet, even here, in 1826, 10,000 natives m et a t Kawaihae to hear th e gospel. At Hilo and Kailua, places of worship were bu ilt holding 5000, and a t th e dedication of th e church a t th e la tte r place, th e ru lers of th e nation pledged it to the C hristian’s God. In every dis tric t of th e islands, Christian schools were founded, w ith a to tal of 400 teach ers and 25,000 pupils. In th ree and a h alf years John G. P aton on Aniwa saw a gigantic up heaval of the whole conditions of so ciety. The sto ry is a e th rilling as any w ritten in th e new chapters of th e Acts. No n arrativ e of m issionary toils and trium phs is eith er more readable or more , romantic, more graphic or pa thetic, or more abund an t in proofs of sup ern atu ral power. A religion th a t in so sho rt a tim e can transform a can nibal island into a civilized community, w ith Christian home life, Sabbath sanc tities and unselfish m inistries; th a t can develop ignorant, heartless, b ru tal sav ages into intelligent, affectionate, de voted Christians, m ust be more than human. Golden Text Illu stration .— A P itts burg preacher said, a t th e Centennial Convention of churches of Christ in 1909, “ I heard one say recently: ‘You can sing, “W ill th ere be any, sta rs in my crown?” un til you are black in th e face, and you can ring your church bells un til doomsday, b u t you will never save our d istrict un til you personally touch our people, and make them believe in
588 Subject Illu stration .— Seven years were allotted to Johnson in Sierra Leone among th e , chaotic mass of hum an be ings, the refuse from the holds of slave ships, who could LESSON hold no converse ILLUSTRATIONS wii^h one another, W. H. P ik e except th rough a b astard English dia lect. They lived a life of unbridled lust, h ab itu al lying, thieving and quar reling. They bad no honest trad es to occupy th e ir tim e or earn th e ir living, bu t were fed like paupers and crim inals on government rations. Yet, out of such w orthless m aterial, by God’s help, he organized a Church, as out of the filth of earth. God, th rough th e Gos pel, crystallized gems, tu rn ing m iry clay into sapphires, and sand into opals, even th e soot of degraded hum anity into Christian diamonds. B ible Illu stration .—Acts 2, Pentecost influenced Jerusalem greatly, when 3000 and 5000 were converted in a sho rt time. The Revival in Samaria und er.P h ilip in Acts 8, and th e Revival in A thens, Acts 17:15-34, prove the power of th e gospel among a people th a t have a false and co rrup t culture. How Long Does I t T ake?—Robert W. McAll’s sixteen years in F rance, from 1872 to 1888, finds no parallel in any papal community. In 1872 he opened one little salle am id th e lawless com munists of Belleville; sixteen years later, he had 112 salles; and in one year held 14,000 religious meetings, whereby probably a m illion of hearers had been reached. And even th e gov ernm ent held out to him every encour-. agem ent in his work, declaring th a t police force became unnecessary in pro portion as McAll's meetings prevailed. And all th is amazing success was reached w ithout any outw ard attraction of art. A free gospel for everybody, an open Bible, h earty singing, plain, simple talks, self-denying toil for souls, .—these were all th e machinery.
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