July 1926
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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grace. They are wondering why there is no voice, no touch of sympathy. . _ „ .. We know the story. We heard it. We felt it. Others brought it to us. Why does not the pastor plead with his people—why does not the Sunday School teacher urge the members of his class—to “ go and JT*ve ? Why so indifferent? Why so cold? Why? Why?? Why??? , . . i Our Lord’s last command and commission to Jlis disciples is very definite. Matthew records it in telling n-f flip m oun ta in scene after His resurrection (.Matt. 28:19, 20): “ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing tbem In the name of the Father, and o f the Son, and o f the Holy Ghost; ■ _ . _ .____ “ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Mark records it (Mark 16:15, 16): “ And he said unto them, Go ye Into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. “ He that belleveth and Is baptized shall be saved; but “ And said unto them, Thus It Is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: , . “ And that repentance and remission of sins should do preached in his name among' all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." John records it (John 21:22): “ Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” Every Christian is under obligation and command to “ go and give” the Gospel. It is our business. It is our privilege. It is our joyful privilege. The joy of winning souls is beyond compare. But not to be a soul- winner is to miss the mark of obedience; to give sor row to Christ and to the unsaved; to fail of hearing the “ Well done, good and faithful servant” from His lips, and have fellowship through eternity with those who might have been saved through our testimony. When you read this, ask yourself the question: “ Have I been making soul-winning by my own per sonal effort the main business of my life?” I f the answer is “ no,” then resolve to enlist at once with the chosen band of loving, obedient followers o f our Lord who said: “ Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 111 ite NEW EVERY MORNING Yea, “ new every morning,” though we may awake Our hearts with old sorrow beginning to ache; With old work unfinished when night stayed our hand, With new duties waiting, unknown and unplanned; With old care still pressing, to fret and to vex, With new problems rising our minds to perplex, In ways long familiar, in paths yet untrod. Oh, new every morning the mercies of God! His faithfulness fails not, it meets each new day With guidance for every new step of the way. New grace for new trials, new trust for old fears, New patience for bearing the wrongs of the years; New strength for new burdens, new courage for old, New faith for whatever the day may unfold; As fresh for each need as the dew on. the sod, Oh, new every morning the mercies of God! he that belleveth not shall be damned." Luke records it (Luke 24:46, 47):
of rebels against God and call them “ brethren” when they know that their breath is foul with denial of the Virgin-born Son of God. These Christless “ Christians” break down the bar riers which God's Word has built and whisper soft words of peace, while with the knife of infidelity they cut from God’s Word the words of warning against their profane practice. There has never been any real peace in this world since Satan whispered his perfidious falsehood into the ear of Eve, and there never will be any permanent peace until the Peace-maker takes possession and cre ates a new dynasty which shall be Divine. “ Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.” THE TREND OF THE WORLD AND THE TENDENCY OF THE CHURCH We know that this poor old world is doomed to doom. We have the Book. We have the history of the ages. Sin, suffering and sorrow is the age-abiding story. We cannot save the world, but we who have had our eyes opened to see the vision of the lost world, as p o r trayed in God’s prophetic Word, know that He who bore our sin gave us the commission to “ go into all the world” and save out of it such as are willing to be saved. The command is definite. Judgment awaits the sin- stricken, sin-suffering world. Its only hope is in Jesus Christ, but “ how can they hear without a preachert” and the saddest picture possible to depict is that of an indifferent Christian and an indifferent church. We get some conception of the grief which this indif ference brings to the heart of our Lord as we listen to Him, when,' looking out upon Jerusalem, with tears in His eyes and a sob in His soul, He said: “ 0 , Jerusalem, Jerusalem * * * how often would I have gathered you * * * and ye would not!” He loved them and longed for their salvation, but “ they would not!” He did His best to save them, but today we—who profess to be His followers—are not weeping over lost souls. We are eating and drinking, swinging in our hammocks, taking things easy. We are saved and safe. We sing our songs of praise. We shout our hallelujahs. We have our homes, our churches, our joys, our Heavenly expectations, but how many of us ever have a sigh, or a tear or a prayer, for the world which, swifter and swifter, is rushing on to eternity, helpless and hopeless t We are glad for ourselves, but we are not sad for others. * But—when God was here in the flesh He ministered to them. He went where the people were. He plead with them. Even a poor harlot woman claimed His sympathy and He went to her with the message of sal vation. A hopeless, helpless man, whose sobbing cry was “ I have no man!” found in our Lord a man to help him. Why are we so unlike Him? Why is the Church so blind to the need? Why are our ears so dead to the cry and sob of sinners? They are waiting for a message. They are waiting for the appeal. They are waiting for the truth. They are Waiting for the old love-story of the God of all
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— Annie Johnson Flint
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