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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
September 1926
The Hunan Bible institute (the China Department o f the Bible .Institute o f Los Angeles)i Is. organized along J 1"** in the home Institute,— training native Chinese young men and women fo r Christian work, and at the same time carrying on an active evangelistic w ork among the unsaved. The w ork (which Is recognised by the different evangelical m issions as one o f the best In China) has three departments* (1) A Bible Institute at Changsha (the capital city o f Hunan P rovin ce). . (2) Thirteen E van gelistic Bands with thirteen men in each band, devoting the mornings to Bible study, and the after noons to giving the Gospel in the native homes. (3 ) The Autumn Bible School and Conference at Naiiyoh (one o f China’s five sacred mountains). Hundreds o f conversions have resulted from the work done among the thousands o f pilgrims.
great sin. Thank you so much for coming here and telling us of Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross to bear the penalty of our sins, and to give to us eternal life.” A Mrs. Fan said: “ For many years I have been an enthu siastic worshipper of Buddha and of the Goddess of Mercy. I have spent much time in reading the heathen classics. Now I realize that it was all in vain; and not only so, but a great sin. I now realize, from what you have told me, that apart from Jesus there is no way of salvation, therefore I am determined to put my trust in Him and daily worship Him. When they first went to Yen Tang two of the men called on a Mr. Tan Jui Yun. After listening to their story of how Jesus had poured out His blood and had given His life upon the cross to save the men of this world from their sins, Mr. Tan said: “ To offer one’s body in sacrifice: this truly is benevolence; to give up one’s life for others: this truly is righteousness. Confucius gave us splendid teachings, but he did not give himself a sacrifice for men’s sins. There fore the doctrine of Confucius cannot compare with the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which also includes the promise of a resurrection and of eternal life. Personally I truly be lieve, and I earnestly wish that there could be a church in this place.” , In another home they met a widow 75 years of age. With her in the room were ten children and grandchildren. They all listened to the Gospel with interest and gave evidence of being moved by it. After listening for a time the aged woman said: “ My husband died thirty years ago. During my life I have met with much sorrow and trouble-,, and have committed many sins, and never until now have I heard of Jesus, who came to the earth to save men from their sins and from hell.” When she had finished speaking she burst into tears and evidently repented deeply and truly, and she said: “ Can Jesus really save me? I shall treasure what you have told me in my heart, and I truly put my trust in Jesus to save me.” Then she gathered her little family about her. Our evangelists taught them a little prayer, and right there in that home, where the name of Christ had never before been heard, this now happy family offered up prayer to God in His precious name. A daughter-in-law who was present also took a deep interest in the message, asked many intel ligent questions about the Gospel, and when they left escorted them with true oriental courtesy to the door. Oh what a joy_to be engaged in such a work! Just think of all that visit meant to that aged woman so near to eter nity, with her heart all ready to believe, but having never heard. How we need to pray for those young men aB they go out from house to house. It Is not enough to provide a year’s support for them; it is not enough to equip and send them out; we need to pray for them with all faith and earnest-
IWENTY-EIGHT years ago, after a year of language study, God granted to me the great privilege of entering this province of Hunan and of beginning work in the city of Chaling, the official center of the rich and populous county of the same name. Once I vas driven out by rioters who destroyed all the earthly possessions of my associates and myself, and a second time I was forced to leave on account of the Boxer uprising of 1900. After the Boxer troubles were settled and the interior was again open to the missionaries, Mr. Hoste, General Director of the China Inland Mission, advised me in returning to Hunan not to go back to Chaling but to try to get a footing in Changsha, the capital of the province. In a most wonderful .way God made it possible to carry out Mr. Hoste’s suggestion, and work developed so rapidly in this strategic center that it was not possible to return to Chaling. For some years no 'work of evangelism was doné In that county. Finally, however, the Evangelical Church Mission took up work there, and soon sent to us an earnest applica tion for the help of a Biola Evangelistic Band. A couple of years passed before we could respond to this invitation. Perhaps the reader can Imagine with what Joy we sent a Band to this place, where once it was Impossible to present the Gospel story. And now as the reports of God’s rich blessing on the work come in from month to month my heart is just filled with wonder, gratitude and praise. I want to share a portion of one of these reports with you. At a place by the name of K’en Kou, where the Band had been at work, they had the great Joy before leaving of nee- ing a church organized and established. The meeting place of this newly founded church is in a large room on the second floor of the home of one of the converts, “ The church in the house” of brother Lo;— how like the New Testament days this work is! Please see Colossians 4:15. The next placé they went to was Yen Tang. There they met with great difficulties; opium smoking and gambling were very common, and were carried on openly. Then too there were frequent raids by bandits, so that the hearts of the people were in a constant state of fear and unrest. Not very favorable conditions for the attentive hearing of the Gospel. However, God blessed greatly, and manifested His power in their midst. In that wicked place thirty converts were enrolled in classes for daily Bible study and prayer. Some of the details of their work of personal evangelism in the homes are most interesting. Two of the young men were out visiting in the homes of the people, and in one home met a Mr. Wu Hu Teh. He with his two sons were deeply stirred by the message brought to them. Mr. Wu. who is a man 74 years of age, responded: "While on this earth we have been receiving great mercies from God, and have turned around and worshipped idols. Surely this is a
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