The greatest and in some ways the hardest lesson to learn is the lesson of simple faith. Yet the remnant church needs, above all else, that never-wavering confidence and perfect patience, in order that, having done the will of God, it may receive the blessed promise. Surely in a little while Christ will come, and will not tarry; but of this very time it is said, “Now the just shall live by faith.” Heb. 10:37, 38. In this same epistle to the Hebrews, Paul presents that mighty Son of God, who is not only appointed heir of all things, and by whom God made the worlds, but who upholds all things by the word of his power, and sits by the right hand of God, all power in heaven and in earth being committed unto him. There he pleads for his remnant church as the most merciful High Priest, and comforts them with the Holy Spirit.
Christ indeed has upheld all things from the beginning, and has always been with his church, and has never questioned its final triumph. When the only two beings on earth had succumbed to Satan’s devices, right then there came, direct from the throne of God, the good tidings of salvation through the promised seed. When the first martyr’s blood was spilt by the hand of his own brother, God gave to Adam another son, Seth (which means compensation); and under Seth’s son, Enos, men began to “call upon the name of the Lord.” Enoch, the seventh from Adam, who was a typical Adventist, walked so closely with God in that wicked generation that he was translated.
After the flood, when the world had sunken in idolatry, God called the attention of Abraham, the only God-fearing descendant of Shem, to the starry heavens, assuring him, “So shall thy seed be.” The father of the faithful, having full confidence in God, went to Canaan, a strange land with a strange tongue, and began to erect altars and preach the name of the Lord, in spite of the giants and walled cities to be found there. His faith was so real that, instead of building a town, he dwelt in tents, looking forward to the city of God and to the heavenly Canaan, as his eternal possession. Later, Jacob saw in a dream that wonderful ladder connecting heaven with the earth, upon which angels of God were ascending and descending. Just before he died, when his eyes had grown dim with age, by faith he saw, coming forth out of Judah, that Shiloh to whom the gathering of the people should be.
When Abraham’s seed were to go to Egypt, God prepared the way before them in a remarkable manner. A little shepherd boy had strange dreams. He saw the sheaves of the harvest-field bow down before his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and stars make obeisance to him. In his simplicity he related the dreams. This aroused the envy of his brethren, and they decided to kill him, that they might see what would “become of his dreams.” But Christ, who upholds all things, turned their wickedness not only into a providence for Joseph, but even into a blessing for themselves. Joseph himself came from prison to the throne of Egypt, and when he saw his brethren before him, he remembered the dreams, and told them, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” And the psalmist says that God “sent a man before them, even Joseph.”
Equally remarkable was the experience of Moses. A king had arisen, who knew not Joseph. He wanted to deal “wisely,” in guiding the affairs of the Egyptian kingdom; so he decided to try to stop the increase of Israel, and prevent their leaving the country. But every means which Pharaoh devised against Israel, God caused to work for their growth. When Moses was set out in the bulrushes, lo, the daughter of this very king was led there. Seeing the helpless babe, she took him up and15
adopted him as her own son; so that the future deliverer of Israel was educated and trained at royal expense. Not less did Christ reveal his upholding power to the prophets. When Isaiah was to prophesy, he saw the throne of God and heard the cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” As the youth Jeremiah was called to his trying test of witnessing against kingdoms and kings, God assured him that he would be with him to deliver him. The Lord let him see the growing branch of an almond tree. By the rapid and miraculous budding of the almond tree, God significantly assured him, “I will hasten my word to perform it.”
A number of stiff-necked Jews were carried captive into Babylon eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. As they would not believe in the final destruction of the city, God sent Ezekiel to them, telling him not to be afraid, though he should dwell among scorpions; for God would make his forehead as an adamant. At this very time the Lord revealed to him that wonderful vision of the chariot of the Almighty, borne by the four living creatures, and by the four wheels moving in all directions without ever turning about, ascending, descending, and full of eyes,—the providence of God,—all moving in the most perfect harmony because the Spirit of God pervaded the whole.
Zechariah was chosen to encourage the people of God concerning the rebuilding of the temple. God gave him that wonderful view of the oil flowing freely from the olive trees to keep the lamps burning brightly, which sets forth how God’s Spirit is to be given to the church, that it may be a light unto the world. Zechariah also heard that promise of the coming Branch, Jesus, and saw that stone with seven eyes—the fulness of God’s providence.
When Christ came in the flesh, all the prophecies pointing toward his first coming were wonderfully fulfilled. Moreover, he confirmed anew the ancient prophecies concerning his second coming in glory, and acquainted his people by parables with the victory of his kingdom, assuring them of the Comforter, through whom he is ever among them, even unto the end of the world. As he sat down at the right hand of the Father, he confirmed his promise, pouring out the Holy Spirit, and giving such power to his followers that thousands were converted by their fearless testimony. And in the dark hour of persecution, which scattered the church, just then and there, to the surprise of all, the most zealous persecutor, Saul, was turned into the great apostle Paul, to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. Going forth again and again, he testified how God’s providence went before him. Thus when he came to Troas to preach the gospel, the Lord not only gave him a church there, but revealed to him in a vision the open door into Macedonia and the rest of Europe. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” As God opens the doors, Satan will raise up adversaries; but if God be for us,—and he is,—who can be against the church of God, as it goes forth in divine strength?
The risen Saviour, giving the closing revelation to his people, appears to them as the Son of man standing among the seven golden candlesticks, his churches, and in his right hand are the seven stars representing his ministers. All are called to behold the Lamb, clothed in the fulness of power and wisdom, as he opens the book that was sealed with the seven seals, and which sets forth the triumphs of the church until the 144,000 are sealed at the very end of time, and God’s people, an innumerable multitude, are gathered around his throne. And that the remnant may not waver in the last days, there appears that mighty angel, with one foot upon the land and the other upon the sea, swearing that time shall be no longer, and that under the sounding of the voice of the seventh angel the mystery of God shall be finished, as foretold by the prophets. Everything has been done to assure the Lord’s waiting children that he surely is with them, that he will carry the work to completion, and that he will soon receive them into glory.
OUR NEW MISSION HOME IN NEW GUINEA
But how has this providence worked out among the remnant? It is some thirty-three years since the writer joined this movement. There were then only about thirteen thousand believers, and of them only a few hundred were outside of the United States. We then had but one school, one sanitarium, and two publishing houses in all the world, and the truth was only being circulated, even in the most meager way, in four languages. There was no canvassing work. When the writer came to Europe, a quarter of a century ago, he found a few hundred believers in Switzerland, a few in France, Germany, and England, and a few hundred in Scandinavia. Europe had scarcely been touched; we had publishing houses, but no canvassers. Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America had never yet seen a Seventh-day Adventist minister.
However, God’s people believed, confidently believed, that the Lord was coming soon. God’s providence pointed to Russia, in eastern Europe, where we had not a member at that time. The writer went, found some interested souls, and in a few weeks the first church was organized. But at the same time we were locked up behind prison bars. There was an open door, but there were many adversaries, just as Paul found in Macedonia, at Philippi. Twenty-five years have passed. After many struggles and trials, there are not only four thousand believers in the European portion of Russia, but we can go to-day over six thousand miles on through Asiatic Russia to the Pacific Coast, and find hundreds of faithful witnesses, throughout Northern Asia, right up to Vladivostock. This autumn a good church of twenty-five members has been raised up in Harbin, Manchuria. From there, we can visit our own people in the very heart of Asia, at Tashkend, north of India, and on the very border of Persia, as some of our brethren have their farms on Persian soil. Nearly one hundred believers are there. Again we turn. We travel over the great Caucasian range to the very foot of Mount Ararat, where we find not only an Armenian church, but we are in the Caucasian Conference, with one thousand believers. That is the way God works. We see these things, and still sometimes our faith wavers.
About thirty years ago, when I wanted to go out to labor among the Germans, one of our old pioneers warned me it was a hard task, and predicted, “Erelong you will come back to this printing-office.” To-day there are thousands of Germans in the United States, and thousands of Sabbath-keepers of all nationalities to be found there; and yet the work is only beginning. Coming to Europe, we found that during a decade nothing had been done for the German nation, because this field16seemed so hard. To-day in Germany proper there are about nine thousand believers, and her sons and daughters have gone forth to bear this message to the millions in Hungary, Austria, the Balkan States, Turkey, Syria, South America, yea, even to the very heart of the heathen world in central Africa.
We well remember when we first tried the canvassing work. Leading book dealers told us it was an impossibility to do such things here. To-day five hundred canvassers all over Europe are carrying the seed of truth among all nationalities and all sorts of believers, and the Lord is giving an abundant increase. God guided our steps to Hamburg; we knew not why, but he knew. The free cities of Germany, of which Hamburg is one, were the only cities where it would be possible for us as a denomination to secure property with which successfully to develop the publishing work. To-day light emanates from our Hamburg Publishing House in twenty tongues. Recently the first gospel of Matthew was issued in the African Chasu. Though the International Tract Society of Hamburg has given its entire time to missionary work, it stands here without any debt, and has started branches in Russia and Constantinople, as a monument of God’s providence.
Scandinavia has seen dark days, and has had to learn lessons of sound faith. To-day over three thousand believers are there, and her sons are pushing forth side by side with other nationalities even into Africa and other parts of the world. The same is true of Great Britain, with her two thousand believers, and her own publishing and school work. When we come to the Latin peoples, hard though that field may be, we see God’s providences there also. Paris has become the headquarters of a union conference. In southern France there is a conference; while in the north, churches are springing up. In Spain the closed doors are being opened, canvassers can go forth, and the membership is steadily growing. The same holds true in Portugal and Italy, and our work is already increasing in Algeria.
Bright omens are also appearing in the Levant field, where the work has gone so hard. For years our workers were hindered by restrictive laws; but to-day doors are opened,—Brother E. E. Frauchiger has lately extended his journeys clear down to Tarsus, the ancient city of Paul. Within the last few months, several scores have been baptized. Brother Z. G. Baharian has made a trip to the eastern part of Asia Minor, and he finds open doors everywhere.
In Africa some of our faithful missionaries have established a beacon-light on the border of Abyssinia. Some of our workers have even entered that closed country on a “scientific research.” Let us pray that as our workers are getting hold of the different languages, God will also open ways before them. Farther down the coast, in German East Africa, there are a thousand young people in our schools, while over fifty natives have been baptized, some of whom act as teachers and helpers. On the eastern shore of the Victoria Nyanza, almost in the heart of the Dark Continent, we have another thousand young people in our schools, and five mission stations have been opened. About a dozen more workers will be on their way by the time this is read, and we expect to double the number of stations in this field during the present year.
While there were but eight thousand believers in Europe eight years ago, and we had to depend upon help from America, we have been bringing in, by baptism and vote, at the rate of one thousand new members a year, then two thousand, then three thousand, and now nearly four thousand. To-day there are over twenty-one thousand believers. Already we can join hands with our brethren in China; our workers are close to the northern border of India; and the stations of the European division and the South African Union will soon meet. Thus, on the eastern hemisphere, the truth is extending over six thousand miles—from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Iceland to the very heart of Africa, and from Northern Siberia to the heart of Asia.
Countries closed for centuries are being opened. To-day we are a young and developing denomination of one hundred thousand members; thousands of our young men and women are in training; institutions of all sorts are springing up everywhere. Even the very Gentiles are moved by the overruling providence of God that this truth may go forth according to his promise. Therefore, let us believe that the Desire of all nations will quickly come. The last stones are being placed in his living temple, and he will soon finish his work on the earth. Then let us, as we behold the providences of God, move on, be coworkers with him, place our means fully upon God’s altar, take hold of the work with new zeal, have full faith and confidence; and soon we shall triumph forever.
Sunshine and Rain
Children's Lesson — No. 4
Sunshine and Rain
We all love the sunshine. Draw picture of sun with rays on blackboard or paper, and let the children briefly tell what it does for the earth.
But if all days were sunshiny, plants and flowers would die, springs and streams would dry up, there would be no food for man or beast. Let the children tell what rain does for us, while the picture of a falling shower is drawn on the blackboard.
God tells us to “ask for rain.” Zech. 10:1. In Palestine there were two rainy seasons, which were called the “former rain,” and the “latter rain.” But this “latter rain” is different. Read Eze. 34:26, last part. It is this blessed rain for which we meet to pray.
On the day of Pentecost the “former rain” fell. Tell what was done because the Holy Spirit came. The “latter rain” will fall just before Jesus comes. It is for this refreshing of the Holy Spirit that we are to ask.
We are living in the time of the “latter rain,” the last that will fall. We need it. God wants to give it. This week of prayer we should earnestly ask for it.
The Blessedness of Giving
By William T. Knox
W. T. KNOX
(Reading for Thursday, December 15)
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. In speaking these words to the elders of Ephesus, the apostle Paul attributes them to Christ, saying, “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” While we search in vain the four Gospels for this quotation, yet we recognize that its sentiment pervades all our Saviour’s teachings, and is made so prominent by him that to ignore it would be to miss the very central feature of his gospel. Doubtless the quoted statement is among the “many other things” which Jesus did and said, which are not recorded by the four evangelists.
That the blessedness of giving is a divine idea, is evident from the fact that it stands in such strong contrast to the ideas and practises of man, who too often seeks to increase and retain his belongings, instead of using them for the good of mankind, and to augment his power over his fellow men, rather than to himself serve them; this, too, notwithstanding the fact that the whole plan of man’s existence should teach us that life is established on giving, even to the extent of complete consumption. The acorn must perish that the oak may exist. The mother must pass through the valley of the shadow of death that the child may be born, and thereafter her whole existence is given that the new life may be reared to maturity. And so through all the realm of life is manifested the great truth and principle that the highest form of existence is founded upon giving, that the most perfect phase of possession is in the ability to dispense with discretion those things entrusted to us. The degree of our success in so doing is the measure of our real happiness.17
Day after day, life is ministered to us that we may live, and every organism in nature has been ordained by the Creator to minister to other organisms.
ELDER E. H. WILBUR AND FAMILY, MISSIONARIES IN CHINA
Now in this, as in other things, the natural man is found working at cross-purposes with the Lord. He seeks to make all minister to himself, imparting as little in return as possible, ignoring in his selfishness and blindness the truth so evidently set forth in nature and revelation,—that to receive and not impart can result in only stagnation and death. The flowing stream may lose its waters in the dry soil through which it flows, may even give them up and lose its identity in the great canals that lead its waters out into thirsty valleys other than its own; but everywhere it will in so doing impart the gracious blessings of abundant life. In contrast, the lake that ever receives, without giving, becomes but a dead body of water in a weary desert land, or at best its benefits are circumscribed to a very narrow sphere. So in the realm of man.
“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35.
It can readily be seen that this truth is not only applicable to man in his spiritual existence but also in his human sphere. He who lives only for self, ignoring his fellow man and his needs, closing his eyes and ears to the ever-present opportunities to minister to the necessities of others, is but as the dead seas of the world.
This principle is not confined to the earth, but is universal in its application; for it emanates from God himself. Of the angels who ever stand in his presence it is said, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Heb. 1:14. Our Saviour came to earth to reveal the Father to us. Of him it is said, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God.” Ps. 40:7, 8. “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” John 6:38. The coming of Christ to earth reveals, therefore, the character and disposition of the Creator.
In 2 Cor. 8:9 we read, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” God’s grace, extended to us through Christ, was at a sacrifice that involved the universe; for he who possessed all things, far beyond the possibility of our comprehension, willingly gave all heaven, with its riches of beauty and grandeur, its innumerable company of holy beings ever delighting to do his pleasure, its wealth of perfect companionship and the honor and glory pertaining to the Godhead, and took upon himself a poverty so absolute that none who read this, or hear it read, can by actual experience appreciate it. “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” The great Life-giver, “being originally in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God; but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:6-8, R. V., margin.
Relinquishing the glory and riches of heaven, his sacrifice brought him not only to earth as a man, but brought him as a bond-servant to men, a servant to the poorest slave as well as the richest ruler. He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
Now the strange feature of all this, the godlike part, is that the actuating motive in this manifestation of the abundant18grace of God to man, was not that it was something that must be done, something from which there was no escape, a transaction into which God was reluctantly forced; but rather this scene, which has filled the universe with wonder, and which will be the theme of the angelic hosts and of the redeemed through all eternity, was enacted because it was the natural fruit of the disposition of our God and his Son, Jesus Christ, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” Heb. 12:3.
The sufferings of Jesus were endured that he, thereby becoming a perfect captain of our salvation, might be able to bring many sons into glory. He saw and comprehended the blessedness and eternal joyful fruit of giving. His sacrifice was to result in the complete transformation of many, changing their dispositions, causing them to partake of his character and glory. And “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” John 1:12.
Now it is evident that, as we are transformed into the sonship of God, we shall “be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” We shall do the things Christ does. We shall find joy in those things in which he rejoices; and those things that are purely earthy will lose their attraction for us.
Those who among the children of God are truly great, will, like Christ, be noticeable for their service and sacrifice for mankind; and in so doing will find their chief pleasure.
How manifestly this is set forth in some of the Bible characters, as in Moses, who relinquished the throne of Egypt that he might serve the Israelites, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Heb. 11:25, 26. And Paul, who had within his grasp all that his people had at that time to bestow, gladly relinquished all as nothing, and as less than nothing, in comparison with the companionship of Christ and the fellowship of his sacrifices, sufferings, and service to the human family.
The same hope and sustaining experience were common to both Moses and Paul. Paul’s declaration to Timothy toward the close of his life gives the secret of the power that upheld him in his long life of ministry and suffering. “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.” 2 Tim. 4:6-8.
Christ exhorts us, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay19up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Matt. 6:19, 20. In another scripture, Christ shows the real principle of possession: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it,” showing that true possession is not to be had in the endeavor to retain, but is found in giving. He who gives is the one who possesses, while he who strives to retain is the one who loses. This appears to be paradoxical, but is nevertheless true; for “except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24.
The rapidly developing conditions the world over are calling for men and means that this gospel of the kingdom with its saving power may be carried to those who are ready to perish. Great returns are promised to those who will now enter this greatest of all enterprises, and will invest in it their energies and substance. Not the least of the promised returns will be the joy and blessedness accompanying the giving. This is shown in the parable of the talents, where to the faithful steward the Lord promises what he will at the end say to his faithful ones, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” 2 Cor. 6:1. “Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” Everything we look upon as ours,—whether of intellect, physical power, ability, or possessions,—is ours only by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, coming to us from the great storehouse of his treasures; not to be consumed in selfishness upon ourselves, but to be so invested in the kingdom of heaven that large returns may be realized therefrom by our Lord and by ourselves; not to be hoarded on earth in the delusion that thus we are accumulating, but to be laid up in heaven, where it can really endure. And thus, as the supply-pipe, ever discharging its cooling and life-giving stream, makes continual demand upon the fountain-head, so we, in dispensing the gifts of his grace so freely bestowed upon us, are unconsciously making demands upon him who is able to “supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19.
There has never been a time in the history of this denomination when the cause of God has stood in greater need of devoted men and women—those whose lives have been purified by the live coal from off the altar. From every mission field come urgent appeals for additional help, appeals that, when understood, partake of the nature of demands that should not be ignored. Men are needed who will give heed to these calls, not from the standpoint of personal convenience or personal loss or gain, but rather from the standpoint from which Paul viewed the world when he acknowledged himself a “debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians: both to the wise, and to the unwise.” Rom. 1:14. To such the Lord promises a return of a hundredfold on the investments, and the inheritance of life eternal.
There has never been a time when the promulgation of this message has called for a greater outlay of money than at present, on account of the ever-expanding field both at home and abroad. Nor has there perhaps ever been a time when the withholding of the necessary funds by the people of God would result more disastrously than just now. With an empty mission treasury, and fields whose ever-increasing necessities are daily being made known to us, we have a situation that can not be ignored.
On the other hand, all information coming from the world-wide field gives evidence that now, just now, greater results than ever before may be looked for in return for all effort put forth by the people of God in their endeavor to carry to all peoples God’s gracious gift of the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ.
The “Game of Life”
Children’s Lesson — No. 5
The “Game of Life”
Speak of games. Thousands sometimes gather to see who will gain the mastery, as in baseball, etc.
Much time and money are wasted in foolish games, but there is one in which all should be interested. All have a part to act in it, whether they wish to or not. It is the “game of life.” Many watch its progress. 1 Cor. 4:9. Angels and the people of other worlds are interested in this game and in those who win.
Show pictures in last pages of “Bible Readings.” Satan is playing for man’s soul. It means life or death to win or to lose. There is no other game on which so much depends.
Good angels watch as man’s helpers. Satan can not send them away. Only the one playing can bid them depart.
Unkindness, complaining, and anger cause them to flee.
Satan seeks to make man choose pleasure , anger, pride, and unbelief. If man overcomes, he must choose duty before pleasure, peace instead of anger, humility in place of pride, truth for falsehood, faith for unbelief.
Are we gaining or losing? Tell what it means to lose. What to win. Place the following on the blackboard, writing in names of children present. The marks indicate losses and gains.
In games usually but one wins. In this game, either Christ or Satan will get the victory.
