King's Business - 1914-07

THE KING’S BUSINESS

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find me out sooner or later and now as I look back I regret my life, the part that was wasted. I was always conscious of the fact that a man of my caliber could not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Trusting this simple testimony finds you as strong ,fo,r. Christ as when I saw you last, I am your friend,”— E. M. H. O ne of the hard things in this work is to meet the foreign sailors coming to our shores and not be drawn by the powerful call of the still larger fields beyond. It was our privilege to administer the Word to about 1600 men and officers on board the Japanese warships on their visit to San Pedro, the first American port-entered on their cruise from the Orient. It was on the return trip on a little launch that a mis­ sionary sermon was preached by heathen lips that is a challenge to the Church and which will never be forgotten by the work­ ers. It was only a sentence, but it struck / ' \ N Saturday, June 20th, the Stimson ^ Sunday school had its. annual outing and picnic. • The boys voted for the beach in general and Venice in particular and-so we went there. Nearly two hundred happy, even if tired, lads bade us good-bye when the cars pulled back into the ;Los Angeles station, The boys did lead, us a . “merry chase” but we considered it a day well spent. How sad the statement, “Not tonight. I'll be back again tomorrow night.” We hear it so often down here. Perhaps you were, at the door and have plead with a man until he finally enters the hall, and when you least expected it he went out again. You grasped his hand and pressed upon him the claims of Christ, “Not tonight,” he says, “I don’t want to be a hypocrite,” or “I’ll be around tomorrow night, when T am sober.” Possible it is, “I don’t feel like it tonight,” or “I wouldn’t mean it if I’d go

home to their hearts. The man was a young officer who asked the workers many ques­ tions about th.eir work and who was given Ù Gospel of John in English. When asked if he were a Christian, he said with deep pathos in his voice, “I don’t know Gospel until I read this; then maybe I know if I can be Christian." “How shall they hear without a preacher” always- spells, oppor­ tunity to the workers. “I don’t know.Gos­ pel—if I can be Christian”^from the. mouth of a heathen spelled condemnation. -It was humiliating to the workers. Hooking back to the gray outlines of the ships our hearts went out to God to bless His Word as we thought of the 1600 men there, and still farther, back to the millions beyond the seas .who “don’t know Gospel,” whose heathen mouths will condemn us, accusing us before His throne because we did not let them know the Gospel. Prayer is asked for the salvation of many-.of these men. Will you not pray and go? up tonight, and I would he doing the same things tomorrow.” And so, in, spite, of your pleadings he goes' reeling down:the walk, still under the wrath of God, still dead in trespasses and sihs. That man may yet be redeemed, if we are faithful in seeking and praying. Will, you not more definitely re­ member this work in your prayers? God the Holy Spirit; alone-can break'down these men who enter. the dopfs“ of Yokefellows’ Hall. Ir is surely inspiring to look into, a man’s face and see that determination! which lights it up, when he.-.reaches forth his hand and fsays, “I do take Jesus j Christ to be my Saviour, or in some other way confesses the Lord and turns his back upon the old paths. Such is often our experience. Mr. — was in the Hall not long ago—a backslider—but when he said, “I’m going, to make a new start and trust God to carry me through,” we believed him. We told him

The Work of the Yokefellows William Mullen, Superintendent.

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