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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
August 1926
2. Spiritism supersedes God’s Word by a new revelation— a new gospel (Gal. 1 :8 ), and substitutes for the in fallible Word of God, the word of de parted spirits (Luke 16:31). 3. It denie^the personality of God. Their god is the prince of this world, who is the prince of the powers of darkness (Eph. 6 :12 ). 4. It denies the Deity of Jesus Christ, making Him to be only a medium through whom miracles were worked. 6. It dishonors the Holy Spirit. For the believer, communion can only be had with the unseen world through the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, for the only definite revelation of eter nal things is in the eternal Word (1 Cor. 2:10 ). 6. It denies the necessity of the Atonement. 7. It denies that there is any future Judgment or punishment for 8. It denies the second advent of Christ in glory. 9. Spiritism has contributed noth ing to the improvement of mankind, but on the contrary has helped to fill the insane asylums with its victims, and has brought disastrous conse quences to the health and morality of its followers. The suggestions given above are taken from a Correspondence Course on “Personal and Practical Christian Work, by T. C. Horton, one of the many courses offered by the Correspondence School or the Bible Institute of Los Further Information concerning these courses will be cheerfully given by the Secretary, Keith L. Brooks, 636 S. Hope st T,ns Anareles. Calif.) ^ No, rather, God has designed us to have the natural, restful, trustful ex pectancy of a child. Towards One who is infinitely loving, infinitely powerful, and infinitely anxious to pour out upon each one of us, every possible good gift and grace, to enrich us, and to en able us to Join with Him in "bringing many sons unto Glory.’’ Thus, however searching may be the travail of soul, however exalted the heart experience; whether it be Mount Moriah, or the Mount of Transfigura tion, the fundamental relationship must ever remain that of a child with a parent. This basic fact may never be outgrown or repudiated without disaster. Therefore as children to a Father, let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace, in this time of our greatest need. “ For Christ’s blest wounds have riven A rift right through, So men may reach to Heaven Far away and blue.’’ (By Dr. Northcote Deck, Mission Ship “ Evangel,” Solomon Islands). ji*. M 9 Your copy of “ Scriptural Inspiration vs. Scientific Imagination” is waiting for yon. See inside front cover.
sought to turn away Sergius Paulus from the faith, whom Paul rebuked (Acts 13:7-12); and in Acts 16:16, 18, the case of the damsel possessing the spirit of diVination. (e) Paul tells us that the last days will witness special manifestations of evil spirits, and urges the teachers of the Word to bring these things to the remembrance of the saints (1 Tim. 4: 1 , 2 , 6 ) : "N ow the Spirit apeaketh expressly that la the latter times some shall de part from the faith, giving heed to se ducing spirits and doctrines o f devllsi "Speaking lies In hypocrisy i having their eoaselenee seared w ith a hot Iron. * • • " I f thou put the brethren In remem brance o f these things, thou shalt be a good m inister o f Jesus Christ, nourished np In the w ords o f faith and o f good doetrlne, wherennto thou hast attained.” With these should go the words of the Lord Jesus where He says (Luke 17 :26 ): "And as It was In the days o f Noah, so shall It be also In the days o f the Son o f Man.” the special sin of the days of Noah be ing the intercourse with evil spirits. We must, therefore, expect that as we approach the end of the age there will be greater evidences of Satan’s power manifested in these devil doctrines. IN CONCLUSION, it may be stated: 1. Spiritism substitutes faith in the devil for faith in God (Isa. 8:19, 20 ) : "And when they shall say on to yon, Seek nnto them that have fam iliar spirits, and nnto w izards that peep and mutteri should not a people seek unto their God? * • • T o the law and to the testimony| If they speak not according to this word. It Is because tbere Is no ligh t In them.” In studying the lives of the men who have obtained the most from God, men who have left behind them living monuments to God’s faithfulness, what strikes one most is that the dominant note in their lives is not one of in tense conflict, of trust at breaking point. Far otherwise! A quiet, rest ful though persistent attitude of faith and prayer, has certainly been the normal in their lives. It may be, it should be so with us today in spite of the rush of the modern world. For, being called of God to stand for Him, to turn like precious promises into present blessed facts, at once I feel that I cannot compass the majes tic faith of Elijah. At least the feel ing that I should need to do so, in order to obtain answers to my prayers, would have an Infinitely discouraging effect. But I Believe that Each One of us can Learn to be a Child. (Few are the prophets, plentiful the chil dren), and I know that, coming as a child to a loving Heavenly Father, whose barns are bursting with bless ings, I shall not be denied my simple and needful requests. It Is This That Would Allure One To Give Time, And Yet More Time To Prayer, in that it need not, should not always be a time of stress and strain.
(k o i S ob o f God? A rt thov come hither to torment bo b efore the time?* (3 ) Christ rebuked them (Matt. 17 :18 ): « A id Jesus rebaked the devil I and he departed out o f hlm i and the child f f u eared front that v ery hoar.” and also answered their prayer (Mark 6 :13 ). (4 ) We are warned against them (1 John 4 :1 ): "Beloved, believe not every spirit, bat try the spirits whether they be o f God i because many false prophets are pone ou t Into the world.” (5 ) The Scriptures absolutely for bid communication with evil spirits (Deut. 18:9-12): "W hen thoa are come Into the land which the Lord thy God plveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do a fter the abom ina tions o f those nations. "There shall not be found an ion s you any one that maketh his son or his dauphter to pass thronph the Src, or that useth divination, or an observer o f times, or an enchanter, o r a wlteh. "O r a charmer, o r a consnlter w ith fam iliar spirits, o r a wlaard, or a necro mancer. “ F or all that do these things are an abom ination unto the Lord I and because o f these abom inations the Lord thy God doth drive them ou t from before thee.” (Lev. 20:27; Jer. 27:9,10; Isa 8: 19 20). It is interesting to note the develop ment of devil-worship and successive steps in ltd manifestation, as the Scrip ture records them: (a) Attention has already been called to the fact that the first mate rialization of which we have knowl edge, was on that occasion when the devil appeared to Eve, in the form of the serpent, and said to her, “ Ye shall not surely die" (Oen. 3 :4 ). (b ) In the 7th and 8th chapters of Exodus we find the account of 'the efforts made by Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers to imitate the miracles of Moses, and it should be noted that they were successful in this up to the point of turning the dust into lice ( Ex. 8:18, 19), but here they failed. They were powerless to create. (c ) In the 28th chapter of 1 Sam uel we read of the sin of Saul In con sulting one having a familiar spirit, and in 1 Chron. 10:13, of the punish ment which Ood visited upon him be cause of it: "S o Saul died fo r bia tranasreaalon which b e comm itted asolnat th e Lord, even a ga ln at the w ord o f the Lord, which he kept not and alao fo r aaklng eounael o f one that had a fam iliar aplrlt, to Inquire o f It.” In connection with this Incident, there has been an effort on the part of some writers to deny that there was here a real manifestation of Samuel, but no one who reads the entire pas sage can doubt that God, in His righteous Indignation against Saul, permitted Samuel to appear and re buke him for forsaking the Lord. Samuel gave a direct prophecy con cerning the rending of the kingdom and the giving of it to David, the de livery of Israel into the hands of the Philistines and the slaying of Saul and his sons, which prophecy was literally fulfilled. This one incident should be sufficient as a warning against this sin, which God so continually rebukes in His Word. (d ) In the New Testament we find a still further development. Take the case of Elymas, the sorcerer, who
s a t I f IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE SHALL BE YOUR STRENGTH
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