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Helen Frazee-Bower Freedom to worship God. Our pilgrim fathers came Bearing aloft this torch, A high and holy flame. Freedom to worship God. With this they lit the world; Beneath this burning brand A bright new flgg unfurled. Freedom to worship God. And now, on speeding wheels, Their children crowd the earth' Today, who bows, who kneels?
Freedom to worship God. This was their battle cry. And now that we are free— Have we forgotten why?
l l i e T < T t n p ; ^ A publication of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancellor S. H. Sutherland, President • Ray A. Myers, Chairman of the Board JULY, in the year of our Saviour Vol. 51, No. 7 Nineteen Hundred and Sixty Established 1910 Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home k k k BLUE SKIES— BRILLIANT STARS— THE PRESENCE OF GOD Glenn E. Miller ......................................................... 8 FORETASTE OF GLORY — Vance Havner ................................ 10 BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD — Walter L. Wilson ............. 11 THE VOICE OF THE TRUMPET — William Samarin ................ 12 M Y COUNTRY, 'T IS OF THEE — David J. Fant ..................... 14 TEENAGERS NEED A HOME — Charles W, Conn .................... 15 THE THOUSAND YEARS' REIGN OF CHRIST OVER THE EARTH — Louis T. Talbot ............................................... ........ 19 IS M A R T IN 'S BOOK REALLY "TH E T RU TH " ABOUT SEVENTH-DAY ADV ENT ISM ? — Mary Lyons ............ 27 AN OPEN LETTER TO M Y PARENTS — Don Hillis ................. 30 THE STORY OF THE ASCENSION — Anna M. Dennis .............. 40 A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR — Samuel H. Sutherland ........ 6 DR. TALBOT'S QUESTION BOX — Louis T. Talbot ................. 16 PERSONAL EVANGELISM — Benjamin Weiss .......................... 18 H YM N S YOU LOVE — Phil Kerr .............................................. 31 TALKING IT OVER — Clyde M. Narramore .............................. 32 WORLD NEW SGRAMS — J. O. Henry ..................................... 34 SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE — Bolton Davidheiser ........................ 35 THE CHR IST IAN HOME — Paul Bayles ................................... 36 UNDER THE PARSONAGE ROOF — Althea S. Miller ............... 37 BOOK REVIEWS — Arnold Ehlert ........................................... 38 TALKS W ITH TEENAGERS — Betty Bruechert .......................... 43 A LUM N I NEWS — Inez McGahey ............................. ......... 45 Oeimwu READER REACTION ................................................................ 5 HOM ILETICAL HELPS ............................................................. 17 OBJECT LESSON .................................................................... 42 TOWN A N D CAMPUS NEWS .................................................. 44 PEOPLE IN THE NEWS ........................................................... 46 — A ll Rights Reserved —
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ADVERTISING— For information address the Advertising Manoaer, The King's Business, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, California. MANUSCRIPTS — "The King's Business" connot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Second-class postage paid at Los An geles, California. Printed In U.S.A. by Church Press, Glendale, California. ADDRESS: The K in g's Business, 558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, Californio.
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Even PART-TIME Representatives can earn $1 00 .0 0 a week! Literally hundreds of Christians from all walks of life have joined this program already! They tell us that never before have they found a calling that enables them to grow spiritually, personally and financially like this one does! W e are looking for Christian men like yourself. Men who want and expect more from their jobs than just an income. You can be a part o f this Program that is helping families all over the nation and in Canada provide themselves with the great est influence for good ever offered the American home. Once you realize the power and the influence this program provides, you will be able to completely embrace your work without reservation. Never has there been such an opportunity to perform a vital, necessary ministry and to satisfy your finan cial requirements at the same time. Here’s an Opportunity for Christian Men to COM B IN E a wonderful Ministry with fine Earnings! THIS CHRISTIAN PROGRAM ANO CAN EARN $ 12,000 A Y E A R ! * *
Reader Reaction VANCE HAVNER APPRECIATED Each month THE KING’S BUSINESS is a special blessing and it seems to get bet ter and better. Dr. Vance Havner is a welcome addition to your paper and his writings have filled a real need in my life. Mrs. William Davies, Bakersfield, Calif. WORD FROM FRANCE This is to thank you for the great privi lege that has been mine all these years to read THE KING’S BUSINESS and to follow you in praise and prayers. It has kept me in touch with the school that I love and from which I was graduated. From there I was sent out to Poland to take Miss Muts’ place. I am leaving for Denmark, my home, where I shall under go an operation for a broken hip. I would appreciate your prayers. Toidis Christoffersen, Nice. A.M. France. DO YOU NEED USED MAGAZINE S? I am writing to ask for information re garding good used Christian magazines. I believe that some time ago I noticed in a copy of THE KING’S BUSINESS the name and address of someone in the San Joaquin Valley who was working among the migrants and was in need of Christian literature. I am sorry I did not copy the address and am wondering if you know of anyone who could use these magazines. Our missionary group has quite a few magazines and we would be glad to send them to someone who could use them and enjoy the splendid articles in each copy. Any suggestions you can give us we will appreciate. Miss Florence M. James, 18'/, Clorinda Avenue, San Rafael, California. ED: W e would suggest that any of our readers who knows of anyone needing used Christian magazines contact reader James at the above address. ENJOYS QUESTION BOX I want to say that the KB is getting better and better with so many fine arti cles on prophecy and all the rest of the contents. They are wonderful and timely. Wish your question box could be put in book form. God bless you. Mrs. Anna Taborsky, Kent, Washington. HONG KONG READER Enclosed please find check to cover my subscription to THE KING’S BUSINESS for another year. I enjoy this magazine very much and appreciate the high spirit ual standard of the articles contained in it. May the Lord continue to bless the ministry through its pages to many peo ple in many places. Miss Florence Todhunter, Hong Kong, British Colony. IMPROVEMENT APPRECIATED I must say how much THE KING’S BUSINESS has improved recently. I was almost ready not to renew my subscrip tion, but now am so glad that I did. May God richly bless you all. Mrs. H. A. Gregson, Lebanon, Oregon (Reader Reaction continued on next page)
**This figure falls far short of the top earnings in the Program. Some men earn as much as $25,000 to $60,000 a year.
IF YOU ARE TRAPPED IN ONE OF THESE SITUATIONS, THEN THIS PROGRAM CAN BRING YOU M A RV E LO U S RELIEF FROM DOUBT AND WORRY! • Do you represent a product, company or serv ice that you can’t honestly and completely believe in? • Are you convinced that you could serve Christ and your fellow man in some other capacity much better? • Have you reached a "plateau” in your present job? • Has the high cost of living forced you into a lesser profession after you prepared yourself for fulltime Christian endeavor? 9 0% OF THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MEN OF OUR PROGRAM FIT INTO ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES PRIOR TO JOINING US!
Read What Some of These Men Have To Say About This Program! "I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be a part of an organization of such fine Christian integrity.” E. E ugene C am pbell , Age 33 "This truly is the greatest business in the world! It has completely changed and transformed my D ick S eaton , Age 23 "Other than my family and my conversion, 110 other force has so changed my life as has this tre mendous Program. It has made itself felt in every phase of my life — spiritually, socially, personally and financially.” W ayne P h ilpott , Age 31
"In the few months we have been a part of the Program, my wife and I have been blessed spirit ually and financially to a degree we previously had imagined was years away.” C harles B isbee , Age 25 THERE’ S A PLACE FOR YOU IN THIS MARVELOUS PROG RAM ! But YOU must m a k e the first m o v e ! Do it TODAY! FILL O U T TH IS CO U PO N A N D MA IL IT R IG H T A W A Y . ALL REPLIES W ILL BE KEPT STR ICTLY CO N F ID EN T IAL . 9 LIMITED NUMBER OF
I------------------------------------------------------------------------ PAUL J. MEYER, National Sales Director AUD IO LIBRARY PROGRAM KB-7 P. O. 1790, Waco, Texas Dear Mr. Meyer: You have given me reason to stop and think about my life and my work. I believe that I would like to know more about a true Christian field where I can be of service to mankind and at the same time provide handsomely for myself and my family. Please send me full information on this Program you call “ The Greatest Business in the World.” NAME__________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS—___________________________________________________ CITY______________________________STATE__________________ I would be more interested in Q Full Time Work Q Part Time Work (Please check one).
DISTRIBUTORSHIPS AVAILABLE Aside from the golden opportuni ties outlined for representation of this Program, there are a few Dis tributorships available for those qualifying. A distributor must know how or have the willingness to learn to train and manage a sales force. He must be capable of sound business practices. For further in formation, write to Paul J. Meyer, National Sales D irector, Audio Library Program, Post Office Box 1790, Waco, Texas.
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JU LY, 1960
READER REACTION (cont.) KB HELPS IN M A N Y AREAS Enclosed is a check for $10 which I’d like to pay for one more year’s subscrip tion to your wonderful magazine. All the change from this $10 check can be used for your magazine. Since I am a Sunday School Superin tendent, as well as Youth Leader on Tues day nights, and a Sunday School Teacher for a group of teenage boys and girls, I find your magazine of utmost importance. For instance, in the March 1960 issue, I cut out three coupons advertising V.B.S. materials so that we’ll have plenty of time to select the proper materials for our com ing Vacation Bible School. Secondly, I particularly enjoy articles by Merv Rosell. One particular issue that carried an article by him I bought ten extra copies of THE KING’S BUSINESS and gave them away to my friends. I am a firm believer that Jesus Christ is return ing to earth soon, and it seems that Merv Rosell’s articles help to convince skeptics that this is so; so I use his articles to help win souls for Christ. Last, but not the least important, I read every Junior KING’S BUSINESS because wherever I go in Christian groups I am called upon to tell a story. Also, there’s not an issue of THE KING’S BUSINESS that comes off the press but what I find a book advertised for my library. I am not a collector of books, but I enjoy Christian literature, so I keep many Christian volumes around for ready reference. Most of the books I send for, are found in “BOOK RE VIEWS.” Two books I am sending for this week are entitled, “My Cup Runneth Over,” and “The' Speaker’s Source-Book” by Eleanor Doan. Both these books were listed cm your pages. W e pass our KING’S BUSINESS around our Christian circle of friends, so nearly ten people see most issues. God bless you. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon K. Chappel, Kotzebue, Alaska. ED.: W e thought that some of the uses to which the Chappels have put the KB would be helpful to our other readers. They have certainly made every page count. Magazines for Missionaries Through the years The King’s Business has endeavored to enlist support of its readers in establishing a fund which is used to send complimentary subscriptions to missionaries. The KB “Free Fund,” as it is known in our Subscription Department, is now de pleted and we are unable to meet the many missionary requests which are re ceived. Every gift sent to The King’s Business for this purpose is used in its entirety for the “Free Fund.” All contributions are tax deductible. E ditor ’ s note : Last month’s article “ DVBS l Can Be Fun,” was incorrectly listed as \ being authored by Mrs. Chester McCall. Mrs. Clarence McCall wrote the helpful | material.
A MESSAGE from the editor Recently the editors of
The King's Business receiv ed a news item for immediate release from Christ's Mis sion of 250 W. 57th Street, New York City. It contained a report of the findings of a "Protestant Council on R o m a n Catholicism." The Council leaders and parti cipants included Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, Dr. Geof frey Bromiley, Dr. Frank Gaebelein, Dr. Harold Ockenga, Dr. Bernard Ramm, as well as other nationally and internationally-known theologians. Advance word had come to the effect that the Council was to meet and
its results were looked forward to with anticipation. We were hardly prepared, however, for the official re port of the findings of this Council. The very first para graph of the statement which was released to newspapers and magazines throughout the country disclosed where the emphasis was placed. It read as follows: "Fourteen leaders of American Protestantism agreed here that the time is ripe for conversations with the Roman Catholic Church based on 'mutual Christian respect.' Mo tive for seeking the conversations, they declared, was the 'shared danger posed by growing secularism and revived paganism.' The goal to be sought is 'that unity in truth which is demanded by the Word of God.' " The full release contains a brief summary of historic Protestant doctrine, but alas, it comes as something of an anticlimax to that which opens the document itself. It is readily granted that there is indeed throughout the world definite "danger posed by growing secularism and revived paganism." However, at the same time there is a grave question whether the Roman Catholic Church is in any position to do much about this "revived paganism" which is to be found in our society today. Certainly Rome is not about to change her doctrine, program or method that have characterized her over the centuries. History repeatedly reveals the fact that any co-operation with the Roman Catholic Church always must be on its terms, and when the results are in, invariably it is Romanism that has gained the advantage. In connection with this Council, it is significant that the Roman Catholic Church is not talking about co-opera tion with Protestantism. Instead, there are on its part periodic invitations to Protestants to "forsake their schismatic and heretical ways" and to return to the "Mother Church." It is true that the above-mentioned release does in clude some worth-while statements. But it is the emphasis
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on the goal they seek that is most strenuously objected to. It would be of great interest to check how many newspapers printed the entire release, but one may quite safely con clude that they likely did not get beyond the first para graph. This could only lead to a conclusion on the part of the average reader that these Protestant leaders were urg ing a closer co-operation with the Roman Catholic Church. This is most deplorable, especially in view of the politi cal overtones which doubtless will be heard in increasing volume in the months that lie ahead. Let it be understood that we believe in complete re ligious freedom in our beloved country. Because of that basic principle of American government, we believe the Roman Catholic Church has a perfect right to exist here. We would fight to the last ditch for the preservation of this principle. However, we certainly do not believe that the "shared danger" referred to here is any greater than the danger there is in toleration of and indifference to the monumental differences which exist between Catholic and Protestant faiths. This "deep cleavage at certain most vital points" is referred to in the next to the last paragraph of this release, but it is minimized by such phrases as "shared respect for the Scriptures and the ancient creeds, " "shared danger," etc., so that one must read between the lines to discover the truth. It is our earnest conviction that the time is ripe in deed— but not for "conversations" with Roman Catholicism, or any linking up with her in any respect, but instead for a reaffirmation of the great Scriptural, Protestant truths that inspired the leaders of the'Reformation, and are re sponsible for the religious liberty which even the Cath olics enjoy in our country today. I refer to such truths as salvation by faith alone, the infallibility of the Word of God, the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, His glorious resurrection, and the fact that His death was entirely sufficient to save to the uttermost and that He is the only Mediator between God and men. If our Roman Catholic friends are desirous of co-operation with us. let them first embrace these truths, and forsake the extra teachings which they have attached to the doc trines which were held by the early church— such ideas as image worship, Mariolatry, the infallibility of the Pope, penances, indulgences, confession, purgatory, and the bloodless re-enactment of Calvary called the Mass where, according to one of the leading Catholic theologians, "Christ is offered up on the altar as truly as He was on Cal vary's cross."* When Rome has done this, then there will be time for "conversations" to begin, "based on mutual Christian respect." Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Huss, John Wycliffe and all of you wonderful martyrs of the Reformation who paid with your very lives for your faith, and all other Christian martyrs of the ages— please forgive us. It would appear that we know not what we do !
»IS . W IL L IA M CU LBER TSON President, M ood y Bible Institute speaks on the fundamentals of the faith. Redem ption “Because God offers salvation full and free, some men have the idea that it is cheap. It seems to be a truism that men do not appreciate that which costs them nothing. So there are undoubtedly those who pass by the gracious offer of God, for they think that unless they earn a thing, it must be worthless. “But the salvation of God cannot be earned. It is not of works (Ephesians 2:9; Titus 3:5). It is to him that worketh not, but believeth (Romans 4:5). So there must be the leveling of human pride, if men are to know redemption. “Yet let us be emphatic that, even so, salvation is not cheap. It cost our Lord greatly. Who can penetrate the depths of His agony, His suffering, His grief? We must stand baffled and perplexed so far as the price of our redemption is con cerned. It is true that '. • • none of the ransomed ever knew How deep w ere the waters crossed; N or how dark was the night that the Lord passed through Ere He found His sheep that was lost.' “It is for this reason that the child of God finds strength, humility, comfort and help as he meditates on the cross. Here he learns to be truly thankful. “But is there no cost to us? As believers we have nothing to pay for salvation; as disciples God demands our all.” Every Christian should have a copy of Dr. Culbertson’s book God’s Provision for H oly Living, a happy blending of Bible study and practical exhortation. 112 pages, paper bound. For your free copy, write Moody Bible Institute, Dept. K-0-866, 820 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago 10, Illinois.
*Dr. John O'Brien, "The Faith of Millions."
JULY, 1960
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hoods to sleep in, and lots of fishing gear. Some carried cooking gear. The men carried cameras. These ten were headed for “ blue skies, brilliant stars,” and to be in “ the presence of God.” “ Blue Skies” . . . Kodachrome blue, shined on us from early morning till the stars took over at night. Blue skies spoke of the love of God shining upon the world through the gift of the Saviour, God’s Son, the Lord Jesus. How great was love that would reach down and save a sinner. How wonderful His ways that can transform a vile person into a born again child of His. How infinite His planning that this new born child would one day be like Him, and be with Him through eternity. Day after day we headed for higher elevations in pursuit of California’s native golden trout. Jumping from one granite mass to another, trudging up steep slopes, we traveled to Lost Lake. It was at Lost Lake, I met a lost man—apart from God, and bearing his own sin. He was fishing from a rock. I, too, was fishing. Fishing for fish was slow; here was my opportunity to fish for a man. How like fishing for fish is fishing for men! To catch fish, you must fish where the fish are. To win men, you must fish where the men are. They’re where you live, where you work, where you play— even on the shores of Lost Lake. In fishing, where it is legal, fishermen use chum to draw the fish. Perhaps it’s a half dozen salmon eggs, or a few mosquitos tossed on the surface. To a lost man on Lost Lake, I started chumming. We talked of fishing, then about boys, about cooking, men who cook for boys and for men’s groups at a church, then about churches. I chummed until I could say, “ It’s not the
(This is a true account of a trip taken by advanced rank boys of Christian Service Brigade Battalion, 1063, Community Brethren Church, Whittier, California. The leaders of the group w ere M r. Bob Lancaster and Mr. Glenn M iller of Whittier. Names, places, and incidents are actual and tru e.) P i u t e P ass , 11,423 feet elevation, in the heart of the High Sierra country of California, was the goal of two men and eight boys. The trail had been rocky and steep, the thirty to forty pound back packs were heavy, the altitude high, and the air thin; boys and men were tired, but they were in God’s country—the land of “ blue skies” by day and “ brilliant stars” by night. This is High Sierra country, the mountains of the John Muir trails, beautiful pines and firs, crystal blue lakes, rushing streams. Here is the land of rugged, towering granite peaks with their perpetual snow banks and their frozen lake shores in September. The pass had been conquered, the divide crossed; desti nation was Muriel Lake—-to spend a week in “ the pres ence of God.” These ten were a varied group. Eight boys with differ ent backgrounds, but all with a love for God, and each in the advanced rank of Christian Service Brigade. Two men, rugged out-of-doors men, both with a love for boys, were the leaders. Unbuckling the “ Trapper Nelson Indian Pack Boards and Sacks,” they unfolded a varied assortment of equip ment and food. There was a rolled sleeping bag, a water proof “ Poncho,” and half of a pup tent, and six pounds of food packed in plastic bags, most in concentrated or dehy drated form. Pan fried trout would supplement the diet. There were extra wool socks, sweat pants and shirts with
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church that saves you, but it’s Jesus Christ dwelling in the heart, appropriated as personal Saviour.” To catch beautiful, brilliant, jumping golden trout, you must use a bait. Perhaps it’s salmon eggs, worms, a spin ner, or a brown hackle fly. To draw a man to Christ, I used Romans 3:23, “ all have sinned;” Romans 6:23, “ the wages of sin is death;” .Ephesians 2:8,9, “ by grace are ye saved;” John 1:12, “ as many as receive Him.” To effectively use the bait, you must make the cast. The important thing—the fisherman must be hidden. To fish for men or boys, you must be hidden behind the “ Rock.” Only in that way can you present Jesus Christ as the Saviour of men. To have golden trout frying brown on a griddle over an open camp fire, the fisherman must set the hook when r the fish nibbles. For men to become new bom creatures, they must make a decision. This is the work of the Spirit of God. You can assist by prayer and a tactful “ dipping of the net.” “ Brilliant Stars” . . . so close at night one could almost reach up and pluck them; a Milky Way that looked like a highly traveled freeway at night; shooting stars racing across the heavens—this was the sight as we lay on our backs in a warm sleeping bag. This scene spoke of Heaven with God; of space and planets, which men strive i to conquer; of mansions in glory being prepared for those who love Him. How foolish to build mansions on earth, to accumulate wealth, to build empires when Heaven is our home, and r earth . . . “ we’re just a passing through." Those stars caused us to think, “What are we really doing for Christ, and how are we building for eternity?” The lost man on a rock at Lost Lake—he is typical of men and boys all around us. As he suddenly had a strike and had to move along the shore to net his fish, he hollered back, “ Don’t go away; I appreciate what you y are telling me; I’ll be back.” The world is waiting for us to tell “ The Story.” The “ Presence of God” was manifest around the camp fire each night. It was difficult to secure wood at the high altitude, but young men formed search parties and brought it in—huge loads of it. The nights were cold, but we donned sweat pants and hooded shirts. Around a blazing, roaring fire young men and older men glorified the Saviour with their testimonies. God’s presence there on the mountainside spoke to our hearts; we asked His help for our problems; asked Him to make us real men; told Him and each other what we would like to be in the future. When the fire had burned low and the heat was almost gone, we crowded close and talked to God who was there. This was a new kind of praying—just conversing with Him. One prayed, then another, still another; perhaps the first one talked with God again. This was a family of ten in “ the Presence of God” talking with Him. Is there a roaring fire on your hearth each evening as the family gathers around the Bible and reads it together? The wood may be scarce, the night cold, the day may have been rough, and you are tired; but what a blessing to share His Word together, before you retire. When the fire bums low, have you Dad, Mom, Son, Daughter, tried talking to God as a family and listening to Him as He talks to you? The story.you have just read was bom at a time like this. There are eight boys and two men who long for sum mer and another trip to the majestic Sierras again. Meanwhile the spiritual truths of “ BLUE SKIES, BRIL LIANT STARS, and THE PRESENCE OF GOD” will linger on, kindling a blaze to make us torch bearers for the lovely Christ, until another summer with its trip rolls around.
Along the trail in the High Sierras
He learns to fish and to “fish for men” Sights like this are worth the long miles of hiking.
JULY, 1960
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foretaste of glory VANCE HAVNER
T n a l l the controversy over the Sixth Chapter of Hebrews we have overlooked a little phrase tucked away in verse 5 which speaks of those who “ have tasted . . . the powers of the world to come.” Contrary to the evolutionists and our science textbooks, the Scriptures teach that man started out in a Paradise with all creation at peace. The animals did not prey upon each other and the reign of tooth and claw had not begun. But sin entered, man fell and then the trouble began. Paradise was lost, creation was ruined and the earth was spoiled of its original glory. It is still lovely in spots but on the most gorgeous day we are reminded of a better day long past. The snake glides in the grass, the birds watch nervously for hidden enemies, bloodshed an4 death abound. The human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Man’s inhumanity to man fills the papers with lurid crime. The whole creation suffers in the bondage of corruption, it groans and travails in pain—all because we sinned. We are to blame for it. We have tried to make this world look like the original Garden of Eden but we always end up admitting that “ change and decay in all around we see.” We make minor improvements. Burbank may develop a wild rose into a thing of beauty and make a crab-apple edible but that does not prove upward evolution, it proves downward degeneration. Burbank only pulled roses and apples up a little toward what they were when God first made them. If we try to grow a garden we must contend with bugs and weeds and weather. The course of ruined nature is against us. We ourselves are wrecks. We begin to die the day we are born. An eight-year-old was “ peeling off” after too much sunshine. “ Look at that,” he said, “ I’m only eight years old and wearing out already.” Our bodies degenerate as our bifocals and dentures, our aches and pains, remind us. We groan in this tabernacle. “The way I know my youth is spent, My ‘get up and go’ has got up and went!” Mentally we are not “ all there.” Our judgments are faulty, we make mistakes. Our spiritual natures are warped and twisted. We take to evil like a duck to water. Civilization is a wreck, not going to the dogs but to the vultures as our Lord declared in His figure of the decaying carcass (Lk. 17:37). Of course thing«! are not as bad as they could be nor are they as bad as they will be.
On the other hand, they are not as good as they once were nor as they will be. But we will never regain Paradise Lost under our own power. We have tried it for centuries and look where we are! “ For further information read your newspaper” ! Creation groans. Humanity groans. Civilization groans. But we are not to the end of the story. Only the Creator can recreate His own creation. That is exactly what He is doing. The first Adam was a failure. He made a wreck of himself and of all creation. Almost twenty centuries ago God started over. He sent His Son, both God and man, to be the Adam of a new race. The first Adam failed because of sin but the last Adam took all sin upon Him, died and rose again, becoming the first-born from among the dead as well as the first-born of every creature and the first-born among many brethren. Jesus Christ is the Number One Man of a new race and as many as receive Him are given power to become sons of God, born-again members of the new race. Here is the biggest race ques tion today: do you belong to the new race of the children of God? But even we who are members of the new creation groan within ourselves waiting for the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection. We still have our bifocals and our rheumatism and our minds make mistakes. The job is not finished yet. God is still working on us. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. A look in the mirror estab lishes that! We still live in this ruined old world but we belong to another world, our citizenship is in heaven. This age is drawing to a close and we are waiting for a new age to begin when Jesus comes. The resurrection will mean for us brand-new bodies and, beyond that, new heavens and new earth, a redeemed creation. Our redemp tion draws nigh, now is our salvation nearer, the night is far spent, the day is at hand. In the meantime, to return to our text, we who are bom again have already tasted the powers of that new age, we have had a sample of what will be our regular fare through all eternity. We get our first taste at regeneration. The Spirit comes to dwell and His Presence is an earnest, a pledge, a first installment of more to follow. Fanny Crosby wrote: “ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a FORETASTE OF GLORY Divine!” We taste of the powers of the age to come when we
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THE K IN G 'S BU SINESS
Behold the Lamb of God / by Walter L. Wilson B y t h e s e five words, found in John 1:36, your attention is called to this on ly sacrifice for sins that God w ill accept. There is much competition in this matter, for the world and its m any religions offer many other substitutes for the salvation of the soul. John the Baptist was sent to save every soul from look ing to the wrong source of salvation for forgiveness. The Devil knew that men would need some kind of sacrifice for their sins and therefore he has devised many schemes and plans with which to deceive hungry and hunting hearts. Another religion will call to you, saying, “ I offer you laws and ordinances, rules and regulations, pre scribed b y the founders o f our church. If you will obey these carefully and seek to carry out all the instructions which we give you, then you have a chance of obtaining peace with God.” The answer from God’s servant is, “ Behold the Lamb of God.” Still another religion will say to you, “ In order, to gain God’s favor you must sacrifice. Sacrifice your time and your talents. Sacrifice your money. Sacrifice your energies, your gifts and abilities. Give all these to us and we shall see that you receive forgiveness.” God’s answer is, “ Behold the Lamb o f God.”
One religion will say to you, “ Behold the wonderful scheme which I offer you in m y church. I f you will just believe what I teach, follow m y doctrines, practice m y ceremonies, you will obtain the salvation o f God.” The answer of the Scripture is, “ Behold the Lamb of God.” feed on God’s Word. Indeed our text speaks also of those who “have tasted the good word of God.” When we feed on the written Word we feed on the living Word and we thus eat His flesh and drink His blood as He taught. We are to desire the sincere milk of the Word “ if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” We taste the powers of the next world in prayer, in the fellowship of God’s people and when we are filled with the Spirit. In all these ways we begin to enjoy the next world before we reach it and experience a foretaste of glory while still in this ruined creation and in our dying bodies. How few Christians avail themselves of what is made available to them here and now! Some seem to think we must wait to get to heaven before we begin to enjoy the powers of the age to come. We shall enter into the fulness of that joy then but we can get a good start now. We can begin at least to taste here what shall be an eternal feast there. We said at the outset that the natural world is under a curse. Many Christians do not know that God plans to restore that ruined world. We have foregleams of it in Isaiah 11 with its glorious picture of the lion and lamb lying down together, the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child leading them. We believe that will be fulfilled literally. Our day is coming, the restitu tion of all things, when the sons of God shall come into their own and even nature shall be restored. Paul writes of the earnest expectation of the creature waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Dr. Phillips has the whole creation “ ON TIPTOE” awaiting that new day. I would not let fancy run wild here but I am a lover- of the woods and many a time out in the sylvan solitudes, I have felt in the song of a bird, the whisper of a breeze, the loveliness of earth and sky, something that speaks of a time to come when even the woods and waters will be redeemed from the bondage of corruption. Who has not been aware, sometimes at sunset, of a wistfulness as though nature were longing for a better day? We stand between two worlds, a Paradise that was lost and a Para dise to come and we sense what poets have tried to utter, the earnest expectation of all creation waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. At all such times we taste of the age to come. Three times I read in my Bible of a finished work of God. The Creator looked over a completed creation and rested (Gen. 2 :1 ,2 ). But that creation was wrecked by sin and God sent His Son to make a way of redemption. On the cross He cried, “ It is finished” (John 19:30). At the very end of the New Testament God looks over the new heaven and earth and says, “ It is done” (Rev. 21:6).
Beloved, let me urge you to look on ly to Christ Jesus who died at Calvary and lives in glory. His person and His work alone can save your soul. A ll that was lost in the first creation I win in the last creation and more besides, because of the finished work on Calvary. We are but shells of what we once were and we are only shadows of what we shall become. “ I am not now what once I was, I have tasted of the powers of the age to come. And I am convinced that there is far more available for us here and now than most of us ever dream. True, we are still living in a wrecked world and tabernacling in these dying bodies but the Spirit Who raised our Lord from the dead will not only quicken our mortal bodies then but can empower these bodies and minds we now possess. It is amazing how much we can do when spiritually well oiled and free from the friction of fear and worry. The medical world is recognizing more and more the power of faith. The church lags here when she ought to lead. Sometimes God heals in miraculous ways and always He gives grace to live by His resources instead of by our reserves. Just because some go to extremes on these matters is no reason why the rest of us should not taste the powers of the age to come in the physical and mental and spiritual equipment we now have. He Who is able to make all grace to abound so that we always having all-sufficiency in all things may abound unto every good work, . . . He is able to empower us in body, mind and spirit to do all He wants us to do as long as He wants us to do it. And that is a lot more of grace than most of us ever dare to claim. All the powers of the age to come are in Jesus Christ. By Him all things consist. As we taste and see that the Lord is good and as we find Him precious, let us do more than taste! Let us make Him our bread, our meat, our drink. Let us feed on Him and partake of all His benefits. He is our Sustenance as well as our Saviour. I have read of a poor little tenement child in a hospital. She had never known what it was like to have enough food. When the nurse brought her a tall glass of rich milk she looked at it wonderingly and asked, “ How deep may I drink?” Some of us seem afraid to take deep draughts of what God has provided for us in Christ. Let us not fear to feed on the powers of the age to come as fully as faith will allow. Better than all earth’s wonder drugs, its stimulants and its tranquilizers, is to experience daily a “ foretaste of glory.” Nor am I what I want to be; But what I am I am by grace And when I see Him face to face, I shall be like Him perfectly.”
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JULY, I9 6 0
T he weary hunter studied the un familiar bush. Hours of search had not revealed the dusty trail that would lead him back to his village. No small, life-giving stream of water relieved the miles of burnt African savanna. The proud hunter leaned wearily on his spear and admitted defeat: he was lost. Exhausted as he was, he was not yet desperate. He lifted a perforated animal horn that hung around his neck, and with tight ened lips he blew several long, clear notes. Then he waited. The shimmer ing heat was punctured with the whistle of a hawk, but there was no answering trumpet call. Again he blew. “ Lost, lost,” called the trumpet. Again he strained to hear the answer. Far away, yet distinct, came the answering notes of another trumpet. “We hear, we hear.” The hunter was safe. Three years ago, Bill Samarin held an African trumpet in his hand and exclaimed, “We’ll call our magazine the Evangelical Trumpet! It’s going to call to the lost, and it’s going to rally Christians together like the old- time battle-trumpets the people here talk about.” And so a name was chosen for the first monthly paper in the heart of Africa. It, too, was to raise its voice like other recent and successful mission-sponsored m a g a z in e s , to spread the Gospel and to edify Chris
tians. The African Challenge is meet ing the need for English-speaking West Africans, Envoi for French- speaking Africans of West and Cen tral Africa, and Neno la Imani for the Swahili-speaking people of East Africa. But there had been nothing for the 1,300,000 people of Central Africa where scores of dialects were spoken, but one trade language— Sango—is used. The country did not have even a newspaper, except a daily news-sheet published for propaganda purposes by the leading political party. The Republic of Central Africa (formerly the territory of Ubangi- Shari) lies in the heart of the former colony of French Equatorial Africa. Lying partly in the jungly Congo Basin and partly in the grassy savan na, it has been open to the Gospel for almost forty years. Although this is a short time in the history of missions in Africa, the Lord has blessed the activities of several mission boards (such as the Foreign Missionary Soci ety of the Brethren Church, Baptist Mid-Missions, Swedish Baptist Mis sion, and American Lutheran Mis sion) with a large and active church. Among the members of this new born church there is an amazingly high standard of literacy. (The Sam- arins contributed to the literacy pro grams by preparing a set of scienti-
fically arranged primers in the Sango language of which, since 1953, forty- five thousand have been sold.) Out of this need and challenge for evangelism through the printed word, was bom the idea for the Evangelical Trumpet. The first issue went to press in January of 1957. Its format was simple, its editor inexperienced, and its readers as primitive as any in the world. The Samarins had other duties; but spurred on by the pressing need and buoyed up by the proven success of Christian magazines in other parts of Africa, they gave themselves enthu siastically to the work. The first office of the Trumpet was a little mud-block, grass-roofed build ing. Bill wrote the copy, and cut the mimeographing stencils; Ruth did the art work; together they ran off, assem bled, and mailed the first twelve issues of 1000 copies. (In 1958 the mission’s offset press was installed and has since then been printing the Trumpet.) A pressure lamp and unscreened window guaranteed that Bill would have night visitors. A praying mantis was a common companion on the steadily moving typewriter carriage. From the beginning there were problems: How does one create an interest in something so completely new? Who would spread the news of this new thing to thousands of Afri can villages scattered over hundreds
MISSIONS FEATURE:
The Voice o f the Trumpet
/ b y W illiam Samarin
The author shows copies of The Evangelical Trumpet to some of the new converts.
of miles? Once the interest was cre ated, there was the problem of insur ing regular and prompt delivery to villages where no postoffice existed (usually one for every 60,000 people). In 1958 an elephant almost interfered with the production of the Trumpet when it near-fatally injured the editor and laid him up for a month. Promotion is needed for success even in Africa, and Ruth and Bill p u s h e d th e Trumpet with every means they had. Christians coming to buy literature at the mission sta- tion were urged to buy subscriptions. Announcements were made in the churches. Addresses of local people who had moved were solicited and sample Trumpets were sent to them. Hundreds of storekeepers and truck- drivers were not overlooked in the mail. Every one of these means brought in subscribers, but it was the Trumpet which really sold itself. The thousand subscribers appreciated getting their monthly “mail” and “news,” person ally addressed. It gave them some im portance in the village, set them apart, gave them something to talk to others about. So others began to ask how they too could get the Trumpet. Thus was bom the “ fan-mail.” By 1959 it was amazing. Crumpled en velopes, stamped with a costly 15- franc stamp (equivalent to a work man’s pay for two hours) began to arrive in the Samarins’ mailbox with every mail. One African Christian wrote, “The Trumpet is like the sweetness of honey to me.” A soldier wrote from an army post in Moslem and pagan Chad, “Up here (at the base) there are many children of God, but there is no church. We look to the Trumpet to help us.” With the letters began to come con tributions. At first they were just let ters of appreciation. Then there were attempts at trying to imitate the arti cles written by missionaries. And now writing to and for the Trumpet is a regular practice which makes it their paper. Three years after the Trumpet was launched, three years of patient, faith ful effort with a circulation of only 1.000 and then 1,300, the subscriptions finally exploded in 1960 to 5,000. The ceiling has not yet been reached. The years to come should see it climb to 10.000 with its present format. But once enlarged and improved along the line of the African Challenge, it should have a circulation of 25,000 a month. Mr. and Mrs. Samarin are gradu ates of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
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Attractive bulletin board literature display interests passer-by. Mrs. Samarin shows a copy of The Trumpet to native women.
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13
JU LY, 1960
MY COUNTRY
by David J. Fant, Lift. D. O v e r a century and a quarter ago our national hymn “ America” was born. Written by Samuel Francis Smith, a Baptist clergyman, it was first publicly sung in Boston at a Fourth of July celebra tion.* It has since sung itself deep into the hearts of free men everywhere. No one was ever great who did not possess a degree of inspiration. This was inspiration at white heat, for at the time of writing, the author was on ly twenty-four years of age. When the fire fell, he seized a scrap of paper and within a half hour placed upon it the verses substantially as they stand today. Not every author lives to see his work approved, but this one did. “ I have heard it sung in many languages,” he said, “ more than halfway round the world, the last in Hebrew.” Oliver W endell Holmes, Harvard classmate of Smith, attributes the genius in “ America” to its very first word “ M y ,” a personal possessive which instantly strikes a silver chord in every patriot’s heart. “ M Y country, ’tis o f thee.” “ That little pronoun did it all, and will forever do it,” said Holmes, brilliant poet and keenest w it of his generation. “ W h y couldn’t any of the rest of us have thought of that? That puts “ America” in the hearts of the people, and because of it Sam Smith will live when Longfellow and Whittier and all the rest o f us have gone into oblivion.” Holmes was close to a great truth. God is like that. There are many people who know H im on ly in a remote, objective, impersonal sense. They acknowledge Him as Creator, and admit that the world offers abun dant p roof’ of a Master Workman. But they have never acquainted themselves with H im so they can say, “ M Y God.” Such relationship is by no means unusual. There was doubting Thomas.1He had sat at the feet of Jesus, listened to His marvelous words, witnessed His mirac ulous works. Yet he did not really know Him. For when the Saviour was raised from the dead, he said, “ E xcept I shall see in his hands the print o f the nails . . . I w ill not b elieve .” “ Reach hither th y finger,” Jesus urged, “ behold m y hands . . . be not faithless, but believing.” Convinced, the doubter exclaimed, “ M Y Lord and M Y God.” What does it matter though the world be filled with gold, if none of it belongs to you? What though all your friends en joy abounding health if yours is gone? What though God fills all the world with His Spirit, if you possess H im not? The glorious truth is, you can make Christ yours — 14
a personal, priceless, eternal possession. The promise is, “ A s m any as received him , to them gave he pow er to becom e the Son o f God.” 2 Focus the telescope of faith, and the distant God will be brought near.
W H E N I T H IN K OF TH E FLAG I see a ship with its shadow moving over the sea, Not for gold or a nation's conquest, but to be free; I can hear the roar on that rugged shore Of the new-found haven And I feel the place on the great Rock's face Where their prints are graven. I can hear the tramp of the patriots marching over the hill, I can catch a gleam in the old north belfry signalling still; And I see the brave, and the blood they gave As it writes the story In the bars of red, to the unknown dead For a nation's glory. I can hear the hum of the mill wheels turning, grinding the grain, And I see the line of the wagons creeping over the plain . . . Refugees from across the seas Where their cries have drifted To the one who waits at the harbor gates With her light uplifted. I feel the throb of a deep thanksgiving moving my hea rt, That in the work of a mighty nation I am a part . . . God save the land that the Pilgrims planned And the flag we cherish, That our freedom here which we hold so dear Shall never perish. — Ruth Gibbs Zwall “ M y Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine.” *W ritten in February 1832, it was sung that same year by Sunday school children in the Park Street Church, Boston, Mass. iSt. John 20:25-28 2St. John 1:12 Printed by permission of the American Tract Society, 5/3 West 166th Street, New York 32, New York. THE K IN G 'S BUSINESS Believe, accept, obey. Then you can sing from your heart,
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