T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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It is true of the Lord Jesus in the first instance. He will come again, bringing His sheaves with Him. But no true sower of the seed can fail of his reward. “ At the close of the day ’Twill be sweet to say, I have brought some lost one home.” And when it comes to the end of the day, as it must come, a Christian may have many regrets over time wasted on things of little account, or worse; but no man ever was or will be sorry on ac count of the time and strength he gave to preaching the Gospel to dying sin ners. The Responsibility of Sowing Our Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He has gone out of the world, and He has entrusted the Gos pel to all who believe, that they may set it forth. It is with them a matter of receiving and delivering. The elements of Christian .ministry are there. The preacher has two great concerns— one is to see to it that he receives the Word from God, and the other is not to fail to deliver what he receives. If we at tempt to deliver what we have not re ceived, it is presumption; if we receive and do not deliver, it is betrayal of the trust with which God has entrusted us. The Solemnity of Sowing We are “ put in trust with the Gospel” (1 Thess. 2 :4). What is a trustee? A man who has a fund committed to him, not one penny of which belongs to him, and concerning which he has two duties — one to protect it from those to whom it does not belong, and the other to see that those to whom it is due do not fail to get it. The faith has been delivered to the saints, Jude tells us. Not, ob serve, to the believers, or the brethren, or any other of the names by which the people of God are spoken of in the Scriptures, but to the “ saints.” The ark of testimony was committed to' holy hands. The faith has been “ delivered to the saints,” first to be defended, and next to be propagated to the ends of the
earth. Our Lord said, “ I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I strait ened till it be accomplished!” (Luke 12: 50). That baptism is now behind Him, and He is not straitened any more. He has not only given the Gospel. He has also given the Holy Ghost, to make that Gospel effectual, and what is wanted is faith and believing enterprise on the part of God’s children to carry that Gos pel to the very ends of the earth. There are difficulties and temptations at home and abroad, but there is one invincible thing, and that is faith in God. This is the victory that overcometh the world and all enemies. There is no possibility of defeat so long as faith is maintained. Therefore, let the sowers be encour aged and go on in the Name of the Lord, and let them remember that the reward is sure. The seed is but a little thing, and might be despised, but in it is the promise, yes, and the assurance, of har vest. The seed will be sheaves at the end of the day. WIA NOW OR LOSE FOREVER The great majority of those who are saved are saved in _youth—many of them indeed in early childhood. Dr. Spencer once examined a thousand per sons who were professed Christians, united to various churches in the United States, with the following results: Of the 1,000 persons conversed with, he found that the number converted under 20 years of age was 548, or more than one-half. The number converted between 20 and 30 was 337; 30 and 40, 86; 40 and 50, 15; 50 and 60, 3; 60 and 70, 1; over 70, NOT ONE! The Rev. H. Bonar once made a simi lar examination of 283 converts, under his own labors, with the following re sults: The number under 20 years was 138; between 20 and 30, 85; between 30 and 40, 22; 40 and 50, 4; 50 and 60, 3; 60 and 70, 1; over 70, NOT ONE!
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