February 1927
85
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
can accomplish nothing (1 Cor. 13:1), but ‘'love never faileth.” Does the church still have men and women who have the heart-throb of dead earnestness to win the lost— who are willing to go any length, to make any sacrifice in order to get them to Jesus? “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psa. 126:6). I t is “Mr. Love” who must be first on hand, if any soul is to be won for Christ. “I love to preach," said a minister to an evangelist. “That is good,” was the reply, “but do you love those to whom you preach?” There is preaching enough every Lord’s Day to convert thousands, if knowledge alone could do it. Our knowledge must be kindled from above, and our hearts so set on fire that we will go out of our way to seek the lost. We must speak to them heart to heart, as only God can speak to men through men. It means that we ourselves have first had a real vision of the love manifested at Calvary. It means that our lives are fully yielded to Him, so that we can be the channel of the Holy Spirit. M r F a ith C o - operates Returning to our cottage, we find that Mr. Love’s reading has been interrupted by a knock at the door. He opens the door, to find himself face to face with an old friend—“Mr. Faith.” “How came you here?” asks Faith in great astonishment. “I stopped to see if there wasn’t some way to get Mr. Helpless into the city today,” Mr. Faith continued, “for I positively know this Jesus would cure him, if only he could be gotten to Him. Yet I scarcely know how it can be done. Perhaps I could get Jesus to come here.” Mr. Love explains his presence in the home, and tells his friend of the heartache he already has for this afflicted man. “I ’ll tell you, Love, what we will do,” says Faith, “we’ll join our forces and carry this man, bed and all, to the city. I have seen Jesus instantly cure several seem ingly hopeless cases. I know, what He can and will do for this man.” Sometimes our love seems wasted and powerless. Faith (the look of expectation to God that He m il do the work) must then give us the helping hand. Without faith we can do nothing. Oh, for that obstinate faith that lays hold of God on behalf of the unsaved, and lets God lay hold o f us! Let “the work of faith” and the “labor of love” be joined (1 Thess. 1:3) and we shall then make real progress in winning men. M r . P erseverance A rrives Love and faith have started on the way with their heavy burden; Love carrying the front end of the cot, Faith the rear end, in order that he may occasionally impart a shove to Mr. Love, who is inclined to get weary. But it is a sultry day, and the burden seems too heavy. Love is suddenly reminded of a tendency to heart trouble. Faith himself is limping along on one foot and about ready to give up, when Love rests the front end of the cot upon the ground and,, sinking down by the roadside, declares he cannot go another step. What a plight! It is as far back to the cottage as it is to the city. They are pondering the course to take when along the road comes one of cheerful countenance, well known to them both. It is their optimistic friend, “Bill Perseverance.” “What means this ?” he calls out. “Why stop here ? Want to kill this man? Why not stiffen up your back bones and go ahead?” But he sees for himself that they are fagged out and good-naturedly offers to carry the rear
end of the cot alone, if Love and Faith will carry the front end. So off they go. Perseverance will not permit any stops. The hour is getting late. When Love and Faith begin to lag, they are given a sharp prod from behind, and they do not come to a stop until they are halted at the edge of a crowd gathered about the house where Jesus is preaching. Oh Christian worker, how we need that ever lasting stick-to-it-iveness that will not stop at little obs tacles! How often we complain because our efforts have been rebuffed, and cease to pray and labor for the sinner. Did not some one stick to us through thick and thin? To be so easily stopped is to set limits upon God. Let us be “instant in season and out of season,” until God makes it plain that we have done all He expects of us (2 Tim. 4 :2). M r . I ngenu ity S aves the D a y There is no getting through this jam about the door. The courteous requests of the three yoke-fellows that the crowd kindly break away, and make a- path to the door, are only met with sneers and retorts—“Get here on time if ■you want to get in.” Love, Faith and Perseverance are at the end of them selves. “We must get him to Jesus,” says Love. “He will go home on his own feet if we can get him through,” says Faith. “He will weigh a ton if we have to carry him back up the hill,” says Perseverance. There is nothing to do but have a prayer-meeting then and there, and call upon God to send reinforcements. A bystander is taking in the-situation. As he hears the earnest prayers, his head begins to work. When the “Amens” have been said, he approaches, introducing him self as “Mr. Ingenuity,” and proposes a little scheme which has. occurred to him, whereby Mr. Helpless, now suffering much from the heat, can be gotten in to the house. Mr. Ingenuity has a friend on the Capernaum police force whose help is. enlisted in making a pathway to one side of the house. He gets word to the owner of the house concerning this desperate case, and assures him any damage to the house will be made good. Ropes are bor rowed.' Love, Faith and Perseverance are set to work pulling up the roof, while Ingenuity directs many willing hands in hoisting the cot above. The rest of the story lies clearly upon the pages of Scripture. How often has a bit of God-given tact saved the day! Some are prone to be over-cautious, excusing themselves from all soul-winning efforts on the ground that they are not possessed of tact. Their real trouble is lack of love. Our heads work well when our hearts are full of love. The Holy Spirit has tact. God gives wis dom to those who ask it (Jas. 1 :5), and often overrules what we consider our blunders, to the saving of souls. H appiness I n I t F or Y ou The result of the co-operation of Love, Faith, Persev erance and Ingenuity was that a helpless soul was not only released from a terrible affliction, but sent on the way home with the joy of salvation in his heart. Let us remember that the four who brought this man to Jesus were not clergymen, but simply four earnest lay men, who got lifted out of themselves, who got tired of making speeches about “the good of humanity,” and of singing “Rescue the Perishing.” They decided to test their religion on a man within reach. It will be the happiest day of your life when you have been instrumental in turning some man or woman over to Jesus, and have had the privilege of seeing them get on their feet and start in the road to heaven.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker