THE WORKER MORE THAN THE WORK the apparent work which He sets before us may be accomplished. It is, rather, that in the accomplishment of this work we may be prepared for our highest and ultimate service in the age to come. Too often men, by judging simply from the narrow view of the present time, suppose that the conquest of evil and the immediate establishment of righteousness in the earth are the main objects God now has in calling us into His service. This they conceive is the task He has given us to do. But if this work were the chief thing in view, He could more easily accomplish it by other and better agents. He could set His own hand to it more vigorously,'and call in more supernatural agents than He now does. All power is His, and He has but to use it to bring about the desired result. There is a time coming when He will arise in His might and make short work in the earth. If the immediate rooting out of sin -and the establishment of righteousness were the foremost objec tive now, He might thus arise at once and speedily perform this short and rad ical work. Evidently, then, this is not His chief aim at present. Unless we discern clearly what the real end is which He has in view, we wonder as we behold the long and dreary reign of sin, and survey the vast extent of the misery and sorrow that abound in the earth. We are ready to cry, “How long, O Lord?” We wonder why He who has the keys of death and hell does not turn them in the lock, why He who has the residue of the Spirit does not pour it out upon the earth. Or, looking at our great Example, the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask: If work were the chief thing, why did He spend the greater part of His life on earth with out working? Why did He give only about three of His thirty-three years to work? Why did He allow Himself to be cut off at so early an age when appar ently He was best fitted to minister? Or, following the history of the church, why was Stephen, when full of faith By F: L. Chapell G OD’S purpose in calling us to be laborers together with Him during this present age is not simply that
people, and point out to them the ad vantages of the ministry and say, “Why not choose this field of endeavor?” Jesus said, “ Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth la borers into his harvest.” God selects His servants and sends them forth with His message for a needy world. That mes sage burns as a fire in the soul of the God-called person; he must speak or die. The God-called servant is moved of God for he who would move the world must first be moved of God himself. Some time ago one of my friends told of an urgent telephone message coming over the wire. The voice at the other end of the line said, “ I am Larry Dahl- berg. I am speaking for my father.” Likewise I as a God-called servant can say, “ I am Kearnie Keegan. I am speak ing for my Heavenly Father.” If you are not certain that you can thus speak for Him, search your heart before you go into the ministry! The world’s great heart is aching, Aching fiercely in the night; And God alone can heal it And God alone gives light; And the men to bear the message And to spread the living Word Are you and I, my brother, And the millions who have heard. Can we close our eyes to duty, Can we fold our hands at ease, While the gates of light stand open To the pathway of the seas? Can we shut up our compassions, Can we leave our prayers unsaid, Till the lands which sin has blasted Have been quickened from the dead? We grovel among the trifles And our spirits fret and toss, While above us burns the vision Of the Christ upon the Cross; And the blood of Christ is streaming From His broken hands and side; And the eyes of Christ are saying, “ Tell your brothers I have' died.” The God-Sent Are God-Empowered Jesus said, “ Without me ye can do nothing.” “ All power is given unto me.” Christ gives power to overcome tempta tion. The higher one climbs spiritually, the easier target he becomes for Satan. Beware of over-confidence. Paul said, “ Have no confidence in the flesh.” Christ gives power to overcome ob stacles. So long as we live in this world there will be obstacles to overcome. But mountains of defeat become stepping- stones to success for the God-empowered. When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, the waters parted as the soles of their sandals came down toward the surface. Not one drop touched their shoes! Queen Esther said, “ If I perish, I perish.” God gave her the desire of her heart. Peter said to the Sanhedrin, “We must obey God rather than men,” and God delivered him. Christ gives power to work miracles. He promised, “ Greater works than these (Continued on Page Zl) Page Eight
and the Holy Ghost, and doing wonder ful works, cut off so soon? And why have many others of the rarest workers been cut down prematurely? Why are all these things as they are? Learning Discipleship We do not presume to give all the rea sons for God’s administration when He Himself does 'not give account of His matters. But one evident reason we can see: In God’s sight the worker is more than the work; character is more than mere deeds; the doer is more than the things done. Further, it is the character more than the deeds of the church that God now contem plates, since the church’s main sphere of service is to be in the ages to come. The present age, therefore, is disciplinary rather than executive. We are disciples, that is, learners, more than workers at present. Is it not modern self-importance that has set the name “ workers” above that of “ dis ciples” ? To be sure we are laborers, but this is largely because the work may be necessary to our learning, since there are some lessons that can be mastered best in work. We are workers in order that we may be learners, in order that we may be fully equipped for the age to come. When our character is perfected, our present-age work is largely done, even though we may seem to have ac complished little in the way of pulling down the strongholds of Satan or in building up the cause of God. The Sav iour could say, “ I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do,” even when His whole nation was rejecting Him and His own chosen apostles were forsaking and denying Him. He was One in whom the Father was well pleased, notwith standing the world was not won to God. Thus also Paul could rejoice when near ly all his fellow-laborers had forsaken him, and when apostasy was creeping into all the churches he had founded, for he had kept the faith. His boast was not what he had achieved in the way of work, but of what he had come to be in the way of character. Manifesting Godliness If, now, we inquire what are the ele ments that God is seeking in the worker, we may say that the first is godliness, that is, a proper appreciation of God— such a vivid apprehension of Him as will keep one constantly thoughtful of Him and reverent toward Him. Ungod liness—that is, inappreciation of God— is the marked manifestation of the wicked, especially in the last days. Of the wicked, the psalmist said, “ God is not in all their thoughts.” The true disciple learns to realize and recognize God in all things and at all times. He prays without ceasing because God is a constant reality to him. The prayerfulness of Jesus is a marked wit ness to this fact. His prayer at the tomb of Lazarus is eloquent in this regard, showing not only His own constant com munion with the Father, but also His (Continued on Page H ) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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