October 1928
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
596
mutual self-committal, and that is the initial act o f a per manent, continuous activity; so that friendship is a gift, but it is also an adjustment. So Christ in the story be comes Christ in the heart, and He will say to some of us here, ‘Do this,’ ‘Sell that,’' ' ‘Leave that,’ ‘Embrace that’ ; and we say to Him, ‘Yes, Lord,’ and we do it, and He will come in.”
faith, the faith that brings Christ from the story into the heart, is not believing something passively but believing Someone actively, and that One Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord. “ It is all'very much like the beginnings of friendship. It begins with a dawning recognition and a growing desire and an increasing confidence, and then the moment is not marked in any special way, but it comes when there is
'Me.
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The Withheld Portion B y P astor W . M allis
their possessions. Like Israel, how few Christians today realize that God has claims upon their money, and that the withholding of same is dishonest! I feel that here at least you have one of the causes of the unspirituality of the Church— lack of honesty with God. W e often speak of unspirituality as the cause of the withheld portion, but do we sufficiently think of the withheld portion as the cause of the unspirituality ?. God’s portion withheld, with its consequent lack o f joy and power among the people of God, is a tragedy. C hallenge to the C hurches I have no hesitation in saying that the challenge facing the Church today is the challenge that faced Israel in the days of Malachb—a challenge to prove the faithfulness o f God, by bringing in the whole tithe. This is a bigger tithe than the tenth part of your income. It lays claim to your time, talents, influence— to yourself. No amount of hymn singing or prayer-meeting going will make up for dishonesty in regard to the withheld portion. The empty mission fields of the world are a standing testimony to a dishonest church. Our retrenchment pro grams, our overworked and underpaid staffs are all the result of the withheld portion. God in His wonderful grace has places sufficient, and more than sufficient, in the hands of the church to insure that every land may have the great redeeming story. What are the facts today ? The portion that ought to have insured the evangelization of the world has not only been withheld, but used for pleasure and self-enrichment, with disastrous consequences in the church, and still more fatal result among the great unreached multitudes of the world, and with eternal loss to Him who died to save the lost. Bring in the whole tithe. Restore the withheld portion, overhaul your giving, face your dishonesty in using a divine entrustment for your own pleasure. You wonder why there is no victory in your life, and no power in your testimony. You read your Bible, and believe it from cover to cover. You pray frequently—and still there is no blessing. What about your giving ? The brightest souls I know are those who have learned the joy of giving. While on this subject o f giving, I would strike this note of warning. Be careful where you place your gifts. A steward should not only be faithful in giving, but care ful of his investments for his Master. Pray over your giving, and inquire where you are giving.
“ l perceived that the portion o f the Levites hod not been given them.” —Neh. 13:10. S S we study this subject of giving in the Old Tes tament Scriptures, we get some idea of the fatal results of neglected stewardship. In the light i of such a study, one feels that it is not so much a J question of can we afford to give, but rather can we afford to withhold? A lawyer once asked this question: “ How can one get rid of so many appeals for help?” “ That is easy enough,” was the answer; “ just stop giving altogether, and in a little while the pub lic will find it out, and will leave you severely alone, as they do many others.” “ Yes,” said the lawyer, “ I suppose that is so; but what would be the effect upon me if I should stop giving?” “ Why, your soul would probably grow small just in proportion as your bank account in creased.” Who wants to pay such a price for the priv ilege of withholding ? In Neh. 13:10 we have an .illustration of the result of the withheld portion: “ I perceived that the portion of the Levites had not been given them.” The effect of this was to produce a generation of unspiritual leaders. The men who ought to have been occupied entirely with the spirit ual side of the life of the nation were forced to become occupied with the material side of things, with the result that the nation lost the spiritual contribution that should have flowed through the lives of men specially set apart to the service of God. Again, in chapter 13 :15-31, we have a description of the effect upon the nation of the withheld portion. The spiritual vision had been lost, and the people became materialists, and so intense was their love of wealth that even the Sabbath was devoted to this end (v. 15). Another evil effect is seen in their mingling with the people of the land (vs. 16, 23, 24). There was no separa tion. How far is unfaithful stewardship responsible for the God-dishonoring methods adopted by both missions and churches to raise money for the carrying on of their work? It is easy to criticize those methods, but I feel cer tain we shall never .get rid of them until the spiritual life of the church is quickened and stewardship recognized as a divine privilege. When I read of those unscriptural methods, and deplore them, I still need to search my own heart, and overhaul my giving, lest in this indirect way I have become responsible for them. In Malachi 3 :8 we see the withheld portion in a fearful light. There such people are charged with direct robbery o f God. They had lost the sense of the divine claim upon
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