1998_08

SEPTEMBER 1998

Impact Toronto Grand Forks at the Crossroad

THE TREE

E DI TO R I A L

THE TREE

It took the blow for me his past week I was visiting in the Iron Range of the Minnesota northwoods at Storybook Lodge Christian Camp. Each day at mealtime, in an effort to shrink the growing evidence of my lack of exercise, I took a four-mile walk along the highway towards the little town of Biwabik.

At the junction of the camp road and the highway is the ball field. And looming over the third baseline is a majestic white pine, topping out at over one hundred feet.

Uncle Ben Tuininga estimates its age at approximately 150 years. It was a sapling at the time of the Civil War. Thursday evening, in lieu of supper, I decided to take a shorter walk than usual. Storms had been forecast for the area and, as I headed down the gravel road toward the highway, I could already hear rumblings just across the lake. I quickened my pace.

I had just cleared the backstop and the white pine beyond it when I looked straight over my head. Still blue sky.

Maybe I wouldn’t get wet after all.

Then it happened. An ear-deafening roar was followed by a mighty rending of wood. The majestic white pine, thirty yards from where I stood, had taken a direct hit. I found myself flat on the ground.

In the dining hall, a moment before the explosion (so loud that one of the staff thought a plane had crashed), several observed a fireball hurtling through the trees.

One woman thought, “We’re being fired on!”

Later, a member of the camp board scaled the tree to its midpoint where he found a hole, badly charred, blown right through the trunk. The trunk is split almost the whole length from root to crown. It’s unlikely the behemoth will survive. More’s the pity.

It is not the first tree, however, that took a death-serving blow for me. Half a world away, and two millennia ago, outside old Salem’s gate, another tree stood upright, awaiting the blow. Already stripped of its bark, its branches sheared off, severed from its life-giving roots, its ultimate indignity—this symbol of life—was to be

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pressed into service by heartless men and made an instrument of the goriest of deaths.

If only that were all. Other trees had been so abused before; untold thousands of them standing as a grisly memorial, a veritable forest to the ruthless inhumanity of humanity. But there was more, infinitely more.

It was true that a Man was destined to die outstretched and spiked to this particular tree. But what a Man! This was the Man who made the tree, who sustained its life, who set the hydrologic cycle in motion that watered it, who hung in space the planet on which it grew, who spread the thin, blue mantle of air around its bosom.

But more. This Man gave life to the men who nailed Him thereon. He gave them the intelligence to smelt the iron for the ax and the adze, the nails and the hammer. He gave them the ability to speak, to speak the blasphemies they hurled in His face with their spittle. As they tried to extinguish His life, He sustained theirs. All their attempts to stop that mighty heart from beating out life—and love—failed.

What men did not, could not see in the awful shroud of darkness was the blow The wound taken by the tree. It is true that the Man upon the tree took more blows there than we could ever know. Enough blows to satisfy the claims of divine justice. Enough to set believing prisoners free.

Enough to open heaven and vanquish hell. But the tree also received a blow which we must never forget.

In spite of the nails in His own hands, the Man who was Nazareth’s carpenter and earth’s architect wielded a hammer of His own: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15).

That was the tree that took the blow for me. Ý

J. B . N I C H O L S O N , J R .

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

UPLOOK

CONTE N T S

(USPS 620-640) Founded in 1927 as Look on the Fields, UPLOOK is published eleven times a year by Uplook Ministries, 813 North Ave., N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

UPLOOK Volume 65

September 1998

US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UPLOOK, P. O. Box 2041, Grand Rapids, MI 49501-2041

Number 8

FEATURES IS IT WORTH PRAYING FOR THE LOST? Joyce Jordan

4

GRAND FORKS AT THE CROSS ROAD Gary Clark

5

IMPACT TORONTO Shawn Cuthill

9

FAILURE SHOULD BREED COMPASSION Donald L. Norbie

13

LOVE BY ASSOCIATION Chart

14

RIZPAH C. H. Waller

17

LOVE IS… B. Allen Rae

21

DOCTRINAL PREACHING David Dunlap

24

DEPARTMENTS EDITORIAL

2

FRONT LINES

6

WHAT’S GOING ON?

11

BOUQUET OF BLESSING

16

LIVING ASSEMBLIES

20

HEROES

22

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UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

3

GRACE AT

WO R K

Is it worth praying for the lost?

The neediest person in Harmony I JOYCE JORDAN

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his spring when I heard a message on the topic of praying for unbelievers, I couldn’t help remembering when I was the subject of someone’s prayers. When I came to the University of Kansas campus in the fall of 1974, there were two things that I promised myself: 1) that I would never ever live in a dull small town like Lawrence, and 2) that I would make a big effort to stay out of the way of the Bible belt “Jesus is the Way” type of people that I was sure were heavily populating this part of the country. I was an average liberal Catholic teen from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and I hoped that I could pursue my degrees in Music Therapy and Music Education and get out of Lawrence as quickly as possible!

Little did I realize at that point what was in store for me.

As a lonely freshman, 800 miles from home, I tried gravitating toward different groups in the dormitory or in my classes—hoping to find my niche. God reached out to me through Christian girls in the dormitory and in the music department, but I was irritated by the gospel message and the implication that I wasn’t “right with God.” Pride was beginning its battle against conviction, and holding tightly. I became very uncomfortable in serious discussions, and decided that in order to “prove myself ” against all of these Bible thumpers, I would need to be familiar with the verses that would prove my theology, 4

and demonstrate that all roads lead to the same heaven.

I was amazed as I started reading through the Gospels—nothing was falling into place. I began to have doubts about whether God was really residing at the Catholic church, and started attending other churches with girls from my floor, figuring that I just needed to find the “right address” for everything to be OK. I felt increasingly burdened by the conviction of sin, but remained convinced that there was something that I could do to take care of the situation myself.

During my sophomore year, I began to settle in with a group of friends—nice kids to be around, if I could just put up with their crazy Bible beliefs. I kept trying new ways to “clean up my act” and take care of my burden, but nothing was successful. One fellow finally got fed up with my life of straddling a spiritual fence. He encouraged me to read through the Gospel of John that weekend and make one of two decisions: Either get saved and live a spirit-filled life, or reject Christ and start running around like a genuine unbeliever. (In retrospect, that seems like a pretty crazy thing to tell a person!) I accepted the challenge, and knew before I got to the end of John what my decision would be.

I received Christ as my Saviour on March 9, 1976, and I was amazed at the peace, joy, and understanding that were suddenly mine!

Several weeks later, I was sitting in the music building talking UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

with a Christian friend. We had our Bibles out and were doing some type of study together. A girl walked up to us that I recalled having seen in a class my first semester—someone that I never knew. In fact, I can’t even remember her name. I had known that she was a “Bible type person,” and so had done my best to avoid her.

She inquired about what we were doing, and I took the opportunity to tell her about my recent salvation.

Tears came to her eyes as she listened, and then she spoke.

“You’re never going to believe this,” she began. “When I came to KU that first semester, I felt burdened to pick one person from each class that I was in, to start praying for. I didn’t have any special criteria—I just asked the Lord to show me the neediest person in each class.

Well, the person that I picked out of Harmony I class was you, and I’ve been praying for you for a year-anda-half. About three weeks ago, I felt a terrific peace about you, and knew that I could stop praying for your sal-

IS IT WORTH PRAYING FOR THE LOST? vation. I’ve been looking for you since then, hoping to find you and hear what happened.”

I was astonished! Someone who never had said two words to me previously had been praying for me during that time of searching and unrest? I must admit that pride got in the way as I wondered what made me appear to be the neediest person in the class—I could think of some others from the group who would have appeared on the outside to be in worse shape than I. However, I knew that

God sees hearts, and had put my name on her list. She was dropping out of school to take a job, and was so relieved to know that something eternal had come of her prayer list.

Is anyone beyond salvation? Never! So much for my second promise to myself. As for the first, God took care of that ultimatum as well. Aside from a year in Chicago, my address has been Lawrence, Kansas ever since I gradÝ uated.

GRAND FOR S at the

A fork in the road (or the river) means a choice of direction. The people of Grand Forks are being called to such a choice.

K

At press time, we received the following e-mail from the group involved in the gospel outreach in Grand Forks, ND. This has been a burden of the believers at Meadow Ridge Bible Chapel in West Fargo, an hourÕs drive away. We have had news items in Uplook before regarding the exercise there. Please pray earnestly in the coming weeks for the LordÕs rich blessing on this area so recently ravaged by flood and fire.

Dear Prayer Partners: Thanks for your continued prayers. The Teen Challenge young people met with adults at the chapel this morning for a time in the Word.

They were very busy with helping to get the literature together and began the door-to-door work this afternoon in Grand Forks. Approximately 50 young people and adults gave out several thousand pieces of literature (no accurate count at this time). Your prayers were answered concerning the print news media. The group was a little later than planned in arriving at Grand Forks this afternoon because of last minute instructions, etc. As a result John Bjorlie didnÕt visit the Grand Forks Herald newspaper office. However, Shirley Ueland, one of the women in our assembly who is helping with the effort, including the door-to-door work, knocked on the door of the religion editor of the Herald (which she didn't know until they got into a conversation). This lady is ready to write an article for the paper, so John Bjorlie will visit with her tomorrow, Lord willing. Pray that she will indeed write an article, and that it will UPLOOK

Crossroad

draw more interest in the gospel meetings and the effort to establish an assembly.

We had a small turnout of outsiders at the gospel meeting tonight, but a good number of people were there with the Teen Challenge young people and people from our assembly who traveled there. Pray that the numbers will grow as the literature and the word gets out. Four outsiders who attended were: ¥ Marvin L., a young man that came to the civic center to see a custodian and was encouraged by Myron Martinson to stay for the meeting.

He stayed and plans on coming back.

He is apparently unsaved. ¥ Scott, an older man who came in response to the newspaper ad. WeÕre not sure of his spiritual condition. He plans on coming back. ¥ Bob and Erma, a married couple who attend a Baptist church and who have been saved for about 8 years. They plan on returning. ¥ Also Bob and Pauline Hewitt, believers who had previously had an assembly in their home here for several years, were in attendance.

Much work was done; even the young people were tired tonight! Pray for renewed strength. Thanks for your continued prayers (1 Thess. 5:25).

Love in Christ, Gary Clark for the saints at Meadow Ridge Bible Chapel and Story Book Lodge Christian Camp Teen Challenge You may contact Gary at: gfntchurch@juno.com

• SEPTEMBER 1998

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FRONT L I N E S

CALIFORNIA MISSIONARY CONFERENCE CANCELLED The Fall Missionary Conference which was scheduled to be held Oct. 23, 24, and 25 at Grace Bible Chapel in Fullerton, CA has been cancelled.

WORKERS’ & ELDERS’ CONFERENCE The annual Workers’ and Elders’ Conference is scheduled for October 6, 7, and 8 at Westside Bible Chapel in Wichita, KS (119th St. and W. Central Ave.) with a theme: “The Great Need for Godly Leaders.”

Expected speakers are Jean Gibson, Jack Spender, Steve Price, Jack Fish, Steve Hulshizer, George Farber, Robert Clark, Larry Pile, and Tom Wilson, as well as several seminar leaders. Registrations directed to: Arnold Burkle (316) 721-3354 MOMS & DAUGHTERS Time for a get-away weekend in the Endless Mountains of PA at Camp Iroquoina. It is to be held Oct. 2-4, 1998. The originally scheduled speaker, Sara Sanchez, will be unable to attend because of an operation on her vocal cords. In her place, Lord willing, Ramona Nunez will speak on the topic, “Let’s Get the Balance in Our Lives Back!” Please call T. Freeman at (609) 585-1835 or J. McPherson at (717) 967-2577 to register for the retreat.

ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE Keystone Bible Chapel announce their upcoming Annual Fall Conference Oct. 9, 10, and 11, 1998.

The expected speakers will be Donald Norbie (CO), J. B. Nicholson, Jr. (MI), and Larry Price (FL). You may contact: Jeff Petterson (402) 238-2878 jkpne@aol.com 6

WESTBROOK IN THE EAST The assembly at Spring Hill Gospel Hall (225 Spring St., Westbrook, ME) will host a conference, in the will of the Lord, Oct. 1011 with speakers Randy Amos (NY) and Brian Gunning (ON). For information or accommodations, contact: Daniel Chick (207) 854-4968 SOUTH CAROLINA LADIES’ MISSIONARY CONFERENCE The seventh annual SC Ladies Missionary Conference will be held, DV at the Myrtle Beach Bible Chapel (2903 Church St., Myrtle Beach, SC) The tentative speakers are Dr. Ruth Schwertfeger (WI) and Mrs. Cathy Ruff (Other Areas). Contact: Mrs. Carol Parks (843) 238-4844 carol_parks@juno.com WOMEN’S ADVANCE The ninth annual Women’s Advance will convene, Lord willing, Oct. 16 and 17 at the Harley Hotel in St. Louis, MO. Enjoy Christ-exalting ministry by Betty McGehee, fellowship, and relaxation. Should out-oftown guests need accommodations for Saturday night, these will be provided by area assemblies. Contact: Mary Walter (314) 434-8055 LAND OF THE SKY BIBLE CONFERENCE The saints of the Asheville Gospel Chapel and Waynesville Christian Fellowship are pleased to announce the annual Land of the Sky Bible Conference on Oct. 17, 1998 from 10:00 to 3:30. In the will of the Lord, J. Philip Morgan (NC) will minister the Word of God. A light lunch will be served in the Asheville Gospel Chapel (350 Old Haw Creek Rd., Asheville, NC).

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

OCTOBER CONFERENCE Warrenville Bible Chapel (Curtis and Woodland Aves.) in Warrenville, IL will be hosting a fall conference Oct. 17-18, 1998. Saturday and Sunday sessions with J. B. Nicholson (MI) speaking on the topic: “Survey of the Old Testament” The subject of worship will also be included.

Contact: Erwin Kittner (815) 436-6615 ekittner@hotmail.com METRO MISSIONARY CONFERENCE The believers in the New York Metropolitan area extend an invitation to their annual conference, scheduled to be held on Saturday Nov. 7 from 10:30 AM-4:30 PM. All meetings will be held at: Good Tidings Gospel Hall 345 Malcolm X Blvd.

Brooklyn, NY The expected speakers are Curtis Jenkins (GA) and James Cochrane (Dominican Republic). Contact: Jim McCall Phone (718) 994-1318 AUTUMN CONFERENCE Southside Bible Chapel, located in Lafayette, LA, will host an Autumn Bible Conference on November 7 and 8, 1998. The invited speaker is William MacDonald (CA). For more information, contact: Jeff Bloom (318) 232-7798 DIGGING DEEP IN SLIDELL Slidell Bible Chapel (Slidell, LA) will hold their Fall Bible Conference on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Nov. 13-15, 1998. Lord willing, Tom Taylor (PA) will minister God’s Word, and music ministry will be provided by ABBAS. We make you welcome to come and enjoy this

FRONT LINES refreshing time! For further details, contact Bob Brown: (504) 641-4028 or call the chapel: (504) 649-1960.

TAVISTOCK CONFERENCE The Christians meeting at the Tavistock Bible Chapel, corner of William & Oxford Streets, Tavistock, ON, welcome the saints to their conference on November 14, 1998, DV. Speakers expected: Willie Burnett (ON) on the subject of the Believer’s General Deportment, and J.B. Nicholson, Jr., on Worship. Contact: Herman Martin (519) 669-3745 TEMPLE FELLOWSHIP There is a New Testament assembly meeting at Temple, TX. Temple is located near Fort Hood, a US Army base with over 50,000 soldiers. The assembly in Temple has enjoyed fellowship with many of those stationed at Fort Hood over the years, but currently is not in contact with any believers from Fort Hood.

They would like to get in touch with any saints in the Temple/Fort Hood area, or any who have friends or relatives stationed at Fort Hood.

If you have unbelieving family or friends in the area who need to be contacted with the gospel, please contact Bryan Hughes, who will get them in touch with believers there.

Bryan Hughes (903) 663-5394 (home) (903) 938-4395 (office) dbryanhughes@juno.com LOOKING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS Joe and Kim Wallace and their family are praying that the Lord will raise up an assembly in the town of Carroll, IA. The closest assembly is 55 miles away. Carroll has a population of 10,000 people with 20,000 in the surrounding areas. 90% of them are Roman Catholic and Lutheran.

Over the past six months, some evan-

gelistic work and church scouting has been done, with some curiosity in New Testament gathering principles.

There has been a lot of encouragement from folks outside the area and the possibility of a group of students from Emmaus Bible College visiting this fall to blitz the neighborhoods with literature and possibly plan a music concert. Please pray that: 1. The Lord raises up men to help with this ministry.

2. Home Bible studies can begin for families interested in studying biblical gathering principles.

3. The Fall outreach planned with Emmaus students.

FELLOWSHIP IN SE TEXAS A young family living in Beaumont, TX, is eager to meet with other people in southeast Texas who are interested and fellowshipping according to the New Testament model. If you or someone you know lives in the area, contact: Pete Cleveland 2404 Hazel Beaumont, TX 77702 pcleveland@interjetnet.net SAFE HAVEN North Shore Bible Chapel in Zion, IL, is the closest English-speaking assembly to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. We welcome anyone from the base who is interested in Christian fellowship and spiritual growth. If interested, call: Heinz Habel at (847) 244-7549 or David Herman (847) 662-8796 dherm@earthlink.net COMMENDATIONS Alan and Dolly Christensen The Christians gathered in the Name of the Lord at University Bible Fellowship (Cedar Falls, IA) are pleased to commend Alan and Dolly to the grace and keeping of God at Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp (MO). They have faithfully served UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

the saints for many years. We commend Alan to camp construction and maintenance work and Dolly to sharing responsibility as camp nurse.

Becky Hulshizer The saints at North-Ridge Bible Chapel concur with Becky about her desire to serve the Lord in Ica, Peru.

Becky has visited Peru three times in the past few years and has been in touch with other missionaries there.

Becky feels she is being led to work with children and young people. She is committed to stay as long as the Lord wants her there. Scott and Marsha Blair have been wonderful examples to Becky and have promised to mentor her through her first few years. The Blairs are helping with housing and immigration.

The saints commit Becky to the loving care and guidance of the saints in Peru with whom she will be working.

Larry and Phyllis Deeds The saints meeting in the name of the Lord at Bethany Bible Chapel in Conway, SC, wish to join in commending Larry and Phyllis Deeds to the work of the Lord. Having been commended by Riverview Chapel (Hinton, WV) in 1996, the Deeds moved to Conway to minister in the assembly there. Larry co-labors in teaching, preaching, pastoral ministry, and also does children’s ministries (VBS and camps).

Phil and Marilyn Barnes The believers meeting in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ at Bethel Gospel Chapel, New Liskeard, ON, have commended Phil and Marilyn Barnes, along with their daughters Melissa and Heather, to the grace of God for His work in Zimbabwe.

They have been in the Lord’s work in Northern Ontario since 1985 and have recently been led of the Lord to assist those laboring in 7

FRONT LINES Harare for a period of four months.

There are opportunities there for preaching, youth work, teaching in schools, camp work, and helping with a missionary guest house. They will be relieving Arthur and Christine Hallett, who will use the time to return to the UK. Gary and Claudette Weeks The saints at Markham Bible Chapel, Markham, ON, have informed us of their commendation of Gary and Claudette Weeks who have previously served the Lord in the Republic of Ireland. They returned to Canada in 1995 for the education of their children. The brethren write: “We appreciate their involvement in the assembly at Markham and their desire to be accountable to those in the assembly to which they belong.

We recognize that the Lord has gifted both of them in evangelism and our brother Gary also in exhortation….

We are happy, therefore, to commend our brother and sister to the Lord for the work and affirm our desire to encourage and support them as they continue to serve.”

Karla Ernst Miss Karla Ernst, who was commended by Malvern Bible Chapel in 1982 to the Lord’s work in Zambia, has asked that her commendation be withdrawn effective Sept. 1, 1998, pending resolution of her future ministry. She has recently completed advanced critical care nursing studies at the University of Pennsylvania and will be getting married early in Sept., 1998. During her additional training she has worked in several hospitals in PA, and will continue this employment for the immediate future.

AT HOME Howard A. Kohrmann, Sr. Howard Arthur Kohrmann, 78, of Waco, TX went to be with the Lord 8

on June 27, 1998. He was a full-time commended worker through Waco Bible Chapel and Colonial Hills Bible Chapel (Houston, TX). He was the chaplain of the North Waco Association at the time of his death.

He had also served on the Board of Cedar Hills/Sandy Creek Bible Camp for more than 50 years. Howard and Mollie Marie, his wife of 55 years, were active at Waco Bible Chapel and with gospel literature distribution.

Howard had a prison ministry and also enjoyed visitation.

Born in 1919 in Hufsmith, TX, Howard married in 1942. His ministry began in 1948 in his home and that group became Melrose Bible Chapel in Houston. Howard is survived by his wife, two daughters, three sons and sixteen grandchildren.

Evelyn W. Varner Mrs. Evelyn Varner was called home to be with her Lord on June 30, 1998, after a long illness. She is survived by her loving husband, Albert, three daughters, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Evelyn was pointed to Christ by Leonard Lindsted in 1948. Albert and Evelyn have been faithful in the local assembly for more than 40 years.

LIFEHOUSE Christian Missions Press (CMP), which was founded in 1962 by William McCartney, has recently relocated to Oklahoma City. CMP has over 200 titles of tracts, booklets, and books by such authors as W. E. Vine, A. P. Gibbs, Leonard Lindsted, August Van Ryn, T. B. Gilbert, William MacDonald, Donald Norbie, and others. Catalogs are available on request and our website can be found at www.LifeHouse.org CMP is now operating out of a former coffee processing plant which was built in 1918. In the future, Lord willing, LifeHouse will house a Creation Science Museum, Crisis UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

Pregnancy Center, and apartments for missionaries.

Volunteers from the USA and Canada have helped with the renovations thus far. Presently, we are looking for those with building skills that can help complete the renovation. To bring this 50,000 square-foot building up to code, we are about to replace the elevator and install fire sprinklers. Contact: Stan Engle at (405) 236-5433 OPENINGS IN PITTSBORO Pittsboro Christian Village, located in central North Carolina, currently is in need of nurses and assistants who want to serve the Lord in a Christian environment. Assistants may be trained and certified locally.

There is also space for residents in the assisted living and rest home areas. Contact Dave Dewhurst at: (919) 542-3151 wddew@juno.com FOR SALE A completely furnished condo in Boca Raton, FL, a building 99% owned by Christians, is for sale. It contains a living room, dining room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, balcony and carport. Call: (717) 352-3407 before October (717) 709-0099 after October REAL ESTATE NOTICES Uplook magazine will advertise property for sale as a service to those living in Christian communities who are seeking to sell such properties.

MISSING E-MAIL LIST Joel Clark, missionary in Peru, has been sending out his prayer updates via e-mail to a list of interested believers. While installing a new program, he lost all of the email addresses. If you were on the Joel Clark’s prayer list, please send your e-mail address to: jlclark@computextos.com.pe Ý

SPECIAL REPORT

Impact Toronto Be a missionary in your own backyard!

SHAWN CUTHILL

O

ne day while attending a session on evangelism at the 1998 Missionary Orientation Program (MOP), I heard the familiar echo of a statement that is spoken by many in assemblies throughout North America: “How do we encourage more interest in missions?” Many ideas were raised during that session, including better communications between missionaries and assemblies, more frequent missionary visits, more mission trips—and the list goes on. The reason I say this was a “familiar echo” is because I have heard the same ideas thrown around at missions committee meetings at my own chapel! It seems, to me at least, that this is a growing concern among assemblies from one side of the continent to the other.

Why are more people not interested in missions?

The purpose of this article is to offer a solution to this important

question, and give a case study of a project launched in Toronto. Hopefully this article will spark brain cells from East to West, and many will be encouraged to take an interest in their own personal mission field.

Let’s start at Acts 1:8. The great commission as recorded by Luke instructs us to BE WITNESSES. Period. We are to witness to the lost. Why, then, is this not characteristic of many of our assemblies? Why do many believers long to GO into all the world, but hold back?

Why do many assemblies hold back from sending teams even on short term mission trips?

I would propose the simple thought that we, as North American Christians, are generally not exercised or prepared for battle. We look at the missionaries in Africa and say,

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

“I could never do that,” because we never have at home.

The key, I believe, is further in Acts 1:8. There the Lord Jesus gives us the solution when He instructs the disciples to stay where they are and

preach in Jerusalem. They were missionaries in their own backyard.

That simple idea was the catalyst for a summer-long outreach on the streets of Toronto. A lady named Anna Ng along with others from Greenwood Gospel Chapel and Markham Bible Chapel came together to organize “Impact Toronto...a crash course in missions.”

Other than our primary purpose, which was to reach the lost, this outreach was put on to encourage more evangelism among the assemblies in Ontario (2 Tim. 4:5). Each week a group of believers gathered at different locations all over Toronto to sing, preach, hand out tracts, and dramatize the gospel.

It was a chance to experience “the field” without leaving our own backyard. It also provided an opportunity for local churches in the Toronto area to send individuals or teams to a live mission field (Toronto) for one single day, for a fraction of the cost of an “overseas” mission trip!

That, I believe, is the answer.

Start seeing your own community as 9

IMPACT TORONTO

VITAL STATS ON TORONTO the mission field. This summer we have had the privilege ¥ Founded in the early 1700s; incorporated as a of preaching to atheists, Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, town in 1793; as a city in 1834. First recorded Protestants, Jews—all the cultural backgrounds anyone assembly meetings held in the city in 1862. could want in a foreign mission field! ¥ Area: City properÑ43 sq. mi.; Municipality of Each week we would scan the local newspapers for some big event in town, buy a stack of tracts and head Metropolitan Toronto areaÑ241 sq. mi.; down to talk to people. We met every Saturday for prayer Toronto Census Metro AreaÑ1,401 sq. mi. at the chapel, then headed out to proclaim the gospel ¥ Pop. of Canada (1996 census): 28,902,000 with a sketch-board or megaphone. Anna also printed up a schedule and we distributed it around the churches in ¥ Pop. of City properÑ635,395; Metro TorontoÑ town. Over the summer we have set up on beaches, street 2,275,771; Toronto Census Metro AreaÑ corners, parks, curbs, fair grounds, in front of a volley3,893,046 ball tournament, a Jazz Festival, a fireworks display…basically where the people are. ¥ Number of assemblies listed in all of North Each week a simple 10-minute gospel message was AmericaÑ1280 (851 U.S; 429 Canada) given by a preacher in the open air and people would ¥ Number of assemblies listed within 100-mile gather round to hear. When the message was done, we radius of TorontoÑ126 had the opportunity to talk to people, hand out tracts, offer Bibles, receive phone numbers of interested people, ¥ Percentage of North American assemblies and pray with some. within 100 miles of TorontoÑ10% One time a brother was preaching and the entire Canadian High School Senior Football Championship ¥ Percentage of Canadian assemblies team crowded around the sketch-board! Did that ever within 100 miles of TorontoÑ30% gather a crowd! Another week we were preaching by the ¥ Number of assembly believers from southern boardwalk and there was such a crowd watching that Ontario who attended the Little Rock and/or people were actually bumping into each other! At one Grand Forks outreachÑ0 festival alone we handed out 10,000 tracts in 10 different languages! ¥ Number of assembly believers from southern Throughout the summer, believers have come from Ontario who prayed for the Little Rock and/or Guelph, Listowel, Peterborough, Whitby, Iroquois Falls, Grand Forks outreachÑ? and across Toronto to help in the work. Many had their eyes opened to the need for evangelism in Canada, and had their “flame fanned” for the mission field abroad. Some preached in the open air and handed out tracts for the first time.

Here’s what some people are saying: “The acceptance of literature was amazing!”

“I spoke to a gentleman, Tony, who used to attend a Catholic Church, and was upset because the priest wouldn’t baptize his daughter. We were able to show him that ‘without the shedding of blood is no Let’s mobilize our young people, giving them a vision of the need of the hour forgiveness.’ He is going to be attending a one is willing to go up some Saturday. How does that sort meeting with me next week!” of thing work? I assume you could use anyone who would “It’s exciting to see what the Lord is doing right here just be willing to help?” in our mission field.”

“I hope that someday there will be more people in “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; Bermuda with the desire to be more active in spreading pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will the gospel.” send forth laborers into His harvest” (Mt. 9:37-38). Ý “I’ll talk to some people at my chapel and see if any10

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

WHAT’S

GOING

ON?

Swept away in a moment Imagine, if you can, a 30-foot wall of water roaring towards you—and nowhere to go.

P

Jayapura

New Hanover

Manus I.

Bisma rck Wewak

P A P U A

A K E

Kavieng

Arc hip el ag o

BISMARCK SEA

Sepik

N E W

Rabaul

BI S M

Madang

A C

K

R

Tanahmerah Mendi

Mt. Wilhelm AN

G

E

P

L. Murray

G U I N E A

New Ireland

Karkar I.

Mt. Hagen Mount Hagen

ur

Long I. Umboi

Kimbe N ew B r i t a i n

Huon Peninsula Lae

ar i

y Fl

Wau

Kikori Kerema G u l f o f Pa p u a

aba

SOLOMON SEA

O

W

Merauke

E N S

Daru

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ENCOURAGEMENT AT NORTHFIELD The annual Northfield Weeks (midJuly) were greatly blessed by the Lord this year. The 1000-seat tent was filled almost every night in spite of rainy weather. Perhaps 60% of the attendees were unknown to the conveners. Eight or ten professed salvation and many received assurance.

One highlight was the baptism of 19 in the Irish Sea at the promenade in Newcastle. Eight hundred observers stretched for half a mile along the front. One family of five, Roman Catholics saved since last year’s Northfield, were baptized together.

The father had frequented every pub along the main street. When his

Mussau I. ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

R

ray for the people of Papua New Guinea where three great tidal waves followed an off-shore earthquake of great magnitude.

Waves of over 50 feet in height swept over the northern coast near Aitape. Over 3,000 perished and thousands are missing. There are no assembly missionaries in the immediate vicinity but there are over 40 assemblies of believers in the area. Many of the Papuan children from the villages further inland were attending school near the coast when the tidal waves struck and they were trapped. Many parents have lost all their children. Pray for strength for the believers as they seek to carry on and be a witness to those who have not yet trusted the Lord.

Relief efforts were launched immediately from Australia. Missionary Service Groups in other lands (CMML, MSC, ECHOES, etc., are coordinating assistance from their Disaster Funds through Australian Missionary Tidings. Ý

Port Moresby

N

LE

Tor res Stra it C. York

Popondetta Woodlark I. Goodenough I. Fergusson I. Y RA D’ENTRECASTEAUX NG ISLANDS E Normanby I. Alotau Misima I.

Tagula I. C a p e Yo r k Pe n i n s u l a

youngest son, about seven, was asked why he wanted to be baptized, he replied, “To stand up for Jesus.”

KUMBHA MELA The “Kumbha Mela” festival in India ran from January 14 and finished May 2. This only takes place every twelve years and draws crowds of Hindu pilgrims to the city Hariddewar (meaning door to heaven). Hindus come seeking peace, truth, remission of sin, and the gateway to heaven. R. Emmanuel Raj, Emmaus Director in Dahradun, North India, and his associates have used this opportunity to spread the gospel. Over six hundred people have requested a free Emmaus course. Both Savior of UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

C O R A L

S E A

the World and Greatest Man Alive are being distributed.—The Emmaus Road BELGIUM WATCHES EVANGELICAL “SECTS” One of Belgium’s Legislative bodies has authorized the formation of an organization to “scrutinize” 189 “sects.” On the list are churches and agencies that claim about half of the country’s Protestants, including Youth With A Mission, OM, and the YWCA. The measure must still pass the Senate before it becomes law.

—Pulse RUSSIAN LAW ON RELIGION The Religious Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Yaroslavl has filed a complaint with the 11

WHATÕS GOING ON?

CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE USE IN THE UNITED STATES:

Charismatics

Mainline Denominations

Evangelicals

Have visited a Christian store in the past 3 months

61.6%

32.5%

22.4%

Have bought multiple Christian books in the past year

60.9%

20.2%

19.9%

Read the Bible either daily or 2-3 times per week

81.3%

37.2%

60.9%

Source:The National Christian Publishers Research Report, prepared by the Gallup Org.

Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation against certain provisions of the federal law “On the Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations” that it believes violate the Russian constitution.

The grounds for the complaint is the demand of the Yaroslavl District prosecutor’s office that a local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses prove that they have existed in Yaroslavl for at least 15 years, without which it threatens to impose restrictions on the community’s work.

The applicants claim that the prosecutor’s demands violate the constitution.

Thus, the new law on religion, which had invoked a wave of criticism both in Russia and abroad, will once again be subject to scrutiny, but this time in court as to its constitutionality.

Artur Leontyev and Lubomir Muller, lawyers with the St. Petersburg International Bar Association, are representing the applicant. They say the law violates constitutional principles of equal rights, as well as standards of international law, which are officially recognized by the constitution as having priority in Russia.

—H.R.W.F. DEATH BY COMPUTER The world is waking up to the millennium bug. Among major American corporations, those making contin12

gency plans for 2,000 troubles jumped from 3% to 72% in three months.

Health care, transportation, and public utilities are the industries in critical condition. High-tech and financial companies are in better shape. Right now billions of dollars are being poured into fixing the problem which affects computers that recognize only the last two digits of a year. Those computers will be confused by the year 2,000, meaning their software must be tediously reprogrammed or replaced.

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) is especially worried about the 2-5% of micro-chips that are susceptible to the Y2K glitch. You don’t know which 25% they are, or where they are. A clearinghouse of information specific to medical equipment is being made available.

—World TEMPORAL GLORY “The Crown Jewels,” a 1200-page, limited edition catalogs the jewels of England’s Royal Family. It costs $1600. There are four scepters, two orbs, three rings, bracelets, spurs, a rod, a staff, an ampulla, six swords, 11 crowns and diadems. The Imperial State Crown alone contains 2,785 diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and five rubies. Not included in the collection—a crown of thorns.

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

HEART OF AFRICA Angola was a Portuguese colony for more than 500 years. Missionary work was commenced there by Fred Stanley Arnot in 1884. Assembly missionaries laid a solid groundwork including almost all the major Bible translation work, before being forced out of the country at the time of national independence in 1975.

This, however, did not slow the work; it brought about rapid expansion. Today there are between 1,5002,000 assemblies there. Some missionaries are now back in the country, although it is very difficult to travel into the interior since the land has one of the largest number of deployed land mines in the world. Also the prevailing economic crisis forces the workers there to spend much of their time in distributing supplies to the needy.

A PARTING SHOT

A brother in Powell, WY, sent this photo of the marquee above a local cinema.

THE HEART

B E AT

Failure should breed compassion Only those who will never need mercy themselves can dare to be merciless with others.

DONALD L. NORBIE

T

he high priest in ancient times needed to have compassion for the people with whom he worked. The Scripture states, “He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also beset by weakness” (Heb. 5:2, NKJV). He must have compassion; the margin states “deal gently.”

The Greek verb metriopatheo has the thought of holding one’s passions in check. It is very easy to lose patience when people make the same stupid mistakes over and over. But when one is prone to judge and condemn, he needs to remember his personal failure and weakness.

Aaron could remember his own failure. There was that fearful time when he and Miriam rebelled against Moses’ leadership and criticized his marriage (Num. 12:1-2). Miriam was struck with leprosy and Moses had to cry out to God for her healing.

Earlier the people had become restless while Moses was on the mountain with God, and asked for an idol like they had seen in Egypt.

Aaron yielded to their desire and made a casting of a golden bull. The people worshiped the idol and rejoiced. It was a terrible departure from the truth of God, and God judged Israel severely for their sin (Ex. 32). Yes, Aaron had lived long enough to remember his own personal failures.

Aaron had known failure on the part of his family. Two of his sons,

Nadab and Abihu, were struck dead when they offered “profane fire” with their incense in the tabernacle (Lev. 10:1-3). Two sons were lost in a moment of time because of disobedience to God. The fire for the incense was to be taken only from the altar of sacrifice (Lev. 16:12). It was a fearful loss. Yes, Aaron had known tragedy and loss in his family.

These failures made Aaron a compassionate and patient high priest when dealing with the sins and failures of God’s people. The experiences of life with its joys, its sorrows, its failures, conditions one to be more patient with others.

Paul exhorts us, “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:2-3). We should be patient with unbelievers in their folly; we were also once foolish. We should be patient with God’s people; we too have made our share of mistakes.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect High Priest. He has not needed to know personal failure to be compassionate. “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Heb. 7:26). God is love; His very nature is compassionate. And Christ is perfectly understanding, having lived here on earth and gone through the varied experiences of life. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

IS THERE GRACE FOR THE GUILTY?

as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Thank God! It seems as if marriages and families are under attack as never before in this country. Marriage is no longer held sacred and divorce is common.

Children from godly homes go astray, deceived by the lies of this godless culture. Drinking, drugs, sexual promiscuity and perversion abound. The sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s is now a permanent part of our culture. It is a fearful age for God’s people.

The Word of God needs to be proclaimed fearlessly. God’s standards need to be held high as His will for His people. Elders in an assembly, the shepherds of the flock, need great wisdom and compassion when dealing with sinners and with the saints of their local assembly. The erring child of God must be disciplined, but with love and compassion. The shepherd must remember his own failures and weep over the failures of others. May God give us compassionate shepherds. Ý 13

LOVE BY ASSOCIATION Love always keeps very good friends “…And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” EPHESIANS 3:19

LOVE AS THE FIRST FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

LOVE AS THE SUMMUM BONUM OF LIFE

LOVE AS THE PRIME COMMANDMENT

LOVE AS A WORTHY GOAL TO SEEK AFTER

LOVE AS EQUIPMENT FOR THE LORDÕS SERVANT

LOVE AS AN INGREDIENT IN UNITY

LOVE AS A FINAL BENCHMARK OF PROGRESS

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

GALATIANS 5:22-23

ÒLOVE beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

LOVE never faileth…

And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.Ó 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-13

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

MATTHEW 22:36-37

“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life….”

1 TIMOTHY 6:11-12

“…As the ministers of God… by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost,

by LOVE unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.”

2 CORINTHIANS 6:4-7

“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of LOVE, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind.”

PHILIPPIANS 2:1-2

“Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness LOVE.Ó 2 PETER 1:5-7

LOVE AS ARMOR FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE

LOVE AS AN ELEMENT IN CHRISTIAN COURAGE

LOVE AS AN ONGOING GRACE FOR LIVING

LOVE AS 1 OF 7 SPECIAL ATTRIBUTE-TITLES

LOVE AS EXEMPLARY OF VIGOROUS CHRISTIANITY

LOVE IN THE 3-FOLD BENEDICTION OF GOD

LOVE AS AN EVIDENCE OF TRUE LIFE IN CHRIST

“Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and LOVE; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 THESSALONIANS 5:8-9

“God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, …but partaker of the afflictions of the gospel.”

2 TIMOTHY 1:7-8

“…To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: mercy unto you, and peace, and LOVE, be multiplied.”

JUDE 1:1-2

He is the: “God of glory” ACTS 7:2; “God of patience” ROMANS 15:5; “God of hope” ROMANS 15:13; “God of peace” ROMANS 15:33; “God of all comfort” 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3; “God of LOVE & peace” 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11; “God of all grace” 1 PETER 5:10.

“…Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in LOVE, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

1 TIMOTHY 4:12-13

“All the saints salute you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the LOVE of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.

Amen. ” 2 CORINTHIANS 13:13-14

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of LOVE, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ….”

1 THESSALONIANS 1:2-3

O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n t h e S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 8 I S S U E O F UPLOOK M A G A Z I N E

A v a i l a b l e f r o m G o s p e l F o l i o P r e s s , P. O. B o x 2 0 4 1 , G r a n d R a p i d s , M I 4 9 5 0 1 - 2 0 4 1

This issue of UPLOOK magazine included the chart shown above in a double-page format.

This full-color printed chart as well as the various topics listed below are available from Uplook Ministries by calling toll-free 1-800-952-2382 (new charts are added periodically). The wealth of info in these charts is perfect for Bible studies, intermediate and advanced Sunday school classes and for reference. Printed on quality paper and shipped in durable mailers.

• History is His Story (The Dispensations) • The Feasts of Jehovah • Key Events in the Life of Peter (map) • The Seven Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 • Stir up your Gift • The Habitation of God on Earth • The Levitical Offerings • The Seven Parables of the Kingdom • Key Locations from the days of the Early Church (map) • The Conspiracy of Love: God’s Tactics in Evangelism • Psalms: Heaven’s Poetry • The Long Walk: Israel’s Wilderness Journey (map) • Compound Names of Jehovah • Unlocking the Treasure Chest: the Sources of Truth • Multiple Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus

L-CHA L-FCH L- CPE L-SCR L-GCH L-TCH L-OCH L-PCH L-CKL L-CLL L-CPS L-CLO L-CNA L-CUT L-MNT

• Real Snake Handling:The Devil’s Devices • Love By Association • Isaiah:The Old Testament Evangelist • A Brief Church History at a Glance • Unfolding of the Doctrine of Dispensations • Ten Test Questions to Discern Biblical Orthodoxy • So Great Salvation (definitions, examples, references) • Revelation:The Book of Opened Things (Some of these charts are pictured on the next

L-RSH L-LBA L-OTE L-CHG L-UDD L-TTQ L-SGS L-BOT page)

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M

O R E

T

O P I C A L

Ý A Brief Church History

at a Glance

Ý The Seven Churches of

Revelation 2 & 3

Ý Outline of the Dispensations

C

H A R T

S

A M P L E S

Ý The Feasts of Jehovah

and Jewish Calendar Months

Ý The Key Locations

of the Early Church

Ý The Multiple Names and Titles

showing the purpose of the ages

of the Lord Jesus Christ

Ý Stir Up Your Gift with defintions

Ý 7 Parables of the Kingdom

& examples of gifts in Scripture

BOUQUET OF BLESSING

LOVE

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11 The Bible is unique in its complexity and its simplicity. It touches every century, speaks of every subject, and contains advice and guidance on every problem. Yet all its commands may be narrowed down to two, and those two may be summarized in one word, love. Henry Drummond rightly called love “the greatest thing in the world.”

A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.

—Thomas a Kempis

Is not Thy name melodious still To my attentive ear?

Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound My Saviour’s voice to hear?

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Jude 1:21

Hast Thou a lamb in all Thy flock I would disdain to feed?

Hast Thou a foe before whose face I fear Thy cause to plead?

Could not my heart pour forth its blood In honor of Thy name?

And challenge the cold hand of death To damp th’ immortal flame?

Surrounded by unnumbered foes, Against my soul the battle goes!

Yet, though I’m weary, sore distrest, I know that I shall reach my rest.

I lift my tearful eyes above; His banner over me is love.

—Donald H. Strong

Do not I love thee, O my Lord?

Behold my heart and see; And cast each worthless idol out, That dares to rival Thee.

Do I not love Thee from my soul?

Then let me nothing love: Dead be my heart to every joy, When Jesus cannot move.

HIS BANNER OVER ME

If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all we wanted to say, every phone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.

—Christopher Morley

Its sword my spirit will not yield, Though flesh may faint upon the field; He waves before my fading sight The branch of palm—the crown of light; I lift my brightening eyes above, His banner over me is love.

My cloud of battle-dust may dim, His veil of splendor curtain Him And in the midnight of my fear I may not feel Him standing near; But, as I lift mine eyes above, His banner over me is love.

—Gerald Massey

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall, but in love there is no excess—neither can angel or man come in danger by it.

—Francis Bacon

Thou knowest I love Thee, dearest Lord, But oh! I long to soar Far from the sphere of mortal joys, And learn to love Thee more.

—Phillip Doddridge

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 31:3

16

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

DON’T

MISS THIS!

Rizpah

According to the law of Moses it was the right of the injured party in some cases to fix the penalty that should And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of be paid. And this the Gibeonites Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 2 SAMUEL 21:11 were permitted to do. They seem to have considered stern justice and retfamine, David called the Gibeonites ribution, rather than any recompense C. H. WALLER against whom the injury had been to themselves. Silver and gold they done, and asked, “What shall I do for refused, but seven lives of the chilhere shall we find you? and wherewith shall I make the dren from Saul’s family they another whom we atonement, that ye may bless the indemanded. can compare with heritance of the Lord?” The The king complied with their Rizpah, the daughGibeonites answered, “We will have request. He spared Mephibosheth the ter of Aiah, in the no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, love that she bore to her dead chilhouse; neither for us shalt thou kill because of the Lord’s oath that was dren, and the dead children of her between him and Jonathan. “But the king took the two sons of lord? Of all the mothers that were Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom ever in Israel, she has obtained first she bare unto Saul, Armoni, and place in the book of life for con(another) Mephibosheth; and the stant and enduring love. five sons of Michal the daughter of We read that “there was a famine Saul, whom she brought up for in the days of David three years, Adriel the son of Barzillai the year after year” (2 Sam. 21:1). In Meholathite: and he delivered them that land the rain fell chiefly at two into the hands of the Gibeonites, seasons, the former rain after the and they hanged them in the hill Feast of Tabernacles, about the before the Lord: and they fell all eighth month, to prepare for the seven together, and were put to sowing of the seed; and the latter rain in the first month, just before death in the days of harvest, in the the beginning of barley harvest. For first days, in the beginning of barthree years this rain seems to have ley harvest” (2 Sam. 21:8-9). been wholly or partially withheld, Rizpah’s Kindness to the Dead by Gustave Doré The revenge demanded by these and David inquired of the Lord.

Gibeonites was barbarous; and not The Lord said, “The famine is for any man in Israel. And he said, What even right according to the law of Saul, and for his bloody house, ye shall say, that will I do for you.

Moses. They hanged these seven because he slew the Gibeonites.”

And they answered the king, The man men before the Lord as an atonement Here we observe that the sentence that consumed us, and that devised and satisfaction for the sin of Saul against an evil work is not always against us that we should be which defiled the land and brought executed speedily. At some period of destroyed from remaining in any of blood guiltiness upon it. The law said Saul’s reign, when we do not know, the coasts of Israel, let seven men of truly that “blood defileth the land, he had been guilty of this crime; and his sons be delivered unto us, and we and the land cannot be cleansed of now when Saul had been long dead will hang them up unto the Lord in the blood that is shed therein, but by and David’s reign of forty years was Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did the blood of him that shed it.” But the drawing to a close, the iniquity of choose. And the king said, I will give same law also said that “If a man Saul was remembered, and judgment them” (2 Sam. 21:3-6). have committed a sin worthy of came. According to the law given by Upon the manner of this atonedeath, and he be to be put to death, Moses, “Blood defileth the land,” and ment, the nature of the satisfaction and thou hang him on a tree: his so one of the “four sore judgments” demanded, the sacred historian body shall not remain all night upon was sent upon the inhabitants. makes no comment. He tells us the the tree; but thou shalt in any wise On learning the reason of the fact, and adds nothing to it. bury him that day; (for he that is

W

UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

17

RIZPAH hanged is accursed of God:) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance” (Deut. 21:22-23).

We see here how the natural man does not understand the things of God. These poor Gibeonites who were a remnant of the Hivites, one of the seven nations doomed to be destroyed, knew no more of justice than would enable them to mend one evil with another. They wanted to purify the land from the defilement of bloodshed, but they stained it a second time by leaving the bones of their victims to whiten where they hung. And how long did this defilement last? “From the beginning of barley harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven.”

This we may suppose to have been somewhere near the usual season, for we read that “God was entreated for the land,” that is, He sent the rain in answer to prayer, and He would scarcely have sent it at an unseasonable time.

We may reasonably conclude therefore that those seven bodies remained where the Gibeonites hanged them until the proper season for rain came, i.e., from the first month until seed-time was drawing near.

During all this time we behold this matchless wonder of Rizpah’s love. “The men fell all seven together, and were put to death in the beginning of barley harvest…And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.”

Surely if this had been a heathen tale, its memory would have been immortal. Picture to yourself the seven men hanged on the shameful tree; the bare hill with the drought of three years upon it, no shelter from the heat striking downwards from the sun, and upwards from the burning rock, day by day during the last and driest days of that long drought.

But on that burning rock, carpeted only with a rough covering of sackcloth, with no shelter but the gallows, Rizpah the daughter of Aiah sat beneath the dead, and for months together she watched those decaying bodies, those whitening bones.

No rest by day, no sleep by night! Not a vulture could stoop from the cloudless sky, not a beast approach under cover of the darkness; for Rizpah the daughter of Aiah was fiercer than the beasts or the birds of prey in her defense of the dead.

Doubtless there were men who brought her food; doubtless many a mother in Israel came and sat beside her to comfort her, or strove to tear her away, or offered to relieve her painful watch. But Rizpah the daughter of Aiah could not leave her post. No mention is made of those that supported, or comforted, or offered to relieve 18

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her. She it was, and she only who suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

Before Easter (according to our own calendar) her watch began, in a land where the ripe barley may be gathered in before Easter Day. From Easter, through seven long weeks to the end of wheat harvest, and we know not how much longer, while the grapes ripened, and the olives were gathered, and at last the ingathering, the joy of the harvest of all the fruits of the earth is come; all this while Rizpah the daughter of Aiah remained with her sackcloth under the gallows on the naked rock.

At last David and all Israel were shamed out of their neglect, for their ears rang with the fame of that which Rizpah the concubine of Saul had done. Then they sought for the bones of Saul and Jonathan which had been buried under a tree in Jabesh-gilead. They put the law of God in force against the law of the barbarous Gibeonites; and at length they “gathered the bones,” when naught else was left to gather, “of them that were hanged.” They buried the royal dead in the sepulcher of their father, “and after that God was entreated for the land.” And where was Rizpah the daughter of Aiah? We have told all that has been said of her, and we know no more. But what more need we know when her name is in the book of the Lord forever? It shall be told throughout eternity what this woman has done.

Indeed, what Solomon said was true, that “love is as strong as death,” that “many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.”

But one thing more we must notice. The love of Rizpah was unrewarded; it was hopeless and despairing, yet unconquerable to the end. There was no hope that either of her own sons, or any one of the others, would return to life and bless her for all her care. When all was done that love could do, she earned them nothing but a grave. For herself she won unfading glory, but who could suppose that her own glory was ever for a moment in her mind? It was desperate, unreasoning, overpowering love, love that she gave for nothing, pure, disinterested, unrequited love. There could be no voice, no answer, nor any that regarded. Love, and love only seems to have been the motive of that which Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, hath done.

And now where shall we find another whom we can compare with her? Not another among women, even of the women of the Bible. Of all the millions of Israelitish mothers, there was but one Rizpah. But what if we should tell of one who has taken the place of mother to millions upon millions, and not once only but always has surpassed even this mother’s love? It is no fable. It is the

• SEPTEMBER 1998

RIZPAH sober truth. To us it is spoken, if we had but the ears to hear it through this more than touching tale. “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion upon the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget (though there had been such a one as Rizpah, they may forget), yet will I not forget thee” (Isa. 49:15).

Here, I am persuaded, lies the real counterpart of this story of a mother’s love for the dead. It is love for the dead, for the accursed, for the children of him who defiled not one land only, but the whole earth, and brought the curse of God upon it by his sin. It is the love of Christ our Lord that is set forth in one of a thousand images in this story of Rizpah.

It is not His love in dying so much as His love for the dead, and O how many dead there are over whom He has watched night and day as she did, who, after all, can only exchange the curse for the grave! Hearts hard as the rock that neither dew nor rain can ever penetrate, whom our Saviour watches and will yet watch from the beginning of harvest until the feast of ingathering, and yet no living water will drop upon them, no rain or dew from heaven will fertilize their souls. The cross of Christ is before them. Easter Day passes over them. His sufferings in glory leave them where they were. The weeks roll on.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, but none for them. They slave themselves for gold that perishes, or they yield their members servants to uncleanness, or else to the merest uselessness, as though they had not so

much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. Christ hath ascended up on high. He has led captivity captive, has “received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also,” but they pay no more heed to it than the bones of a dead man bleaching on the gallows do. The feast of weeks is over, but they are unchangeable, the letter and the spirit of the law of Christ are nothing to them. And now a later and a longer interval is speeding to its end.

The vine puts forth branches laden with clusters of the first ripe grapes. The good olive tree is yielding its fatness which brings honor both to God and man. The disciples of Christ are multiplying upon earth, their increase is filling the unseen paradise. The feast of ingathering approaches, “the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and [they] are not saved.”

Yet where is the love that watched them at the beginning? It is watching still. That love shall avail to remove the curse of God from the earth; it shall not avail to bring to life again all them that are dead. Even the weeping of our Lord over Jerusalem did not save her, “Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

Before the great feast of ingathering, before all the bones are gathered from the prison-house where the curse has placed them, shall we not open our hearts to the love of Christ that passes knowledge; and if we here learn more of the great love wherewith He loved us, it will not have been told in vain what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, has done. Ý

THE PRECEDING ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM A BOOK JUST PUBLISHED BY GOSPEL FOLIO PRESS (SEE INFORMATION BELOW). IT IS A COMPANION TO A VOLUME PUBLISHED LAST YEAR, THE NAMES ON THE GATES OF PEARL.

PART 2 FOR YOU! THE PATH TO THE CITY OF GOLD

by C. H. WALLER

FEATURE

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But this time the vigorous pen portraits will stimulate your mind and motivate your heart at the same time.

Regular Price: FEATURE PRICE:

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SEE ADDITIONAL ORDERING INFORMATION ON PAGE 31 UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

19

LIVING ASSEMBLIES

Love and the local church Love makes poor poetry without practicality

ove is an essential ingredient to assembly life.

The great love chapter of the Bible (1 Cor. 13) was not included in the poetic psalms but in the ever practical first letter to the Corinthians. The chapter is part of the section of Paul’s epistle dealing with order in the meetings of the local assembly, a section beginning at chapter 11 and concluding at chapter 14. The dreamy poet may write or sing about love, but it is in a company of redeemed sinners that love has the opportunity to show what it is made of.

Love is an evangelist for the local church. The new commandment of John 13 puts it this way, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:34-35). Up until that time, God’s people were marked by their nationality. In the church, God’s people are to be marked by their love. In a world that talks about all kinds of love, but knows little of the real thing, loving Christians speak volumes to the unbeliever. A person may try to arrange logical arguments against the Bible in their minds, but such logic crumbles in the face of genuine love. “…whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Cor. 13:8).

Love is Christlike. “Christ…loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). Remembering this keeps my attitude in check. I must not allow the imperfections of my brothers and sisters in Christ to justify unkind words or deeds. The church is loved by the Lord Himself. I must be careful how I treat what He loves.

Those who love in the local church expose their love for God. Notice God’s simple and irrefutable logic in 1 John 4:20-21, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.” These are plain statements.

But true love means not loving certain things. We are commanded, for instance, to “Love not the world, neither

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the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 Jn. 2:15-16). Loving the world has plagued God’s people since the days of Adam. It makes no sense to love the world. It brings no spiritual power or joy to love the world. It impedes our progress and service, and yet how often we still love the world. It defies logic. Perhaps we love the world because its hatred towards God is cleverly concealed from us. Or maybe we find the world attractive because we spend little time thinking about the loveliness of Christ.

True love hates error but loves truth. Love in the local church means always wanting the truth of God to prevail. “Love rejoiceth in the truth…” (1 Cor. 13:6) This explains Paul’s ability to declare his love for the believers he wrote to, and yet at the same time root out evil and evil men with forceful determination. Love will move to restore my brother or sister who stumbles (Gal. 6:1). Love will firstly seek to cover a multitude of sins‚ not expose them. But when believers persist stubbornly in error or ungodly living, then love for the whole body must prevail and love for the offender may mean separating them from the fellowship (Titus 3:10-11; 1 Thess.

3:14-15). This kind of love takes great discernment and prayer.

Love. Only modern English would allow one word to describe something understood so differently by so many.

Maybe the translators of the Authorized Version had a good idea using “charity.” Read again the apostle’s words to the Corinthian assembly. This is good advice for your assembly too: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth. Ý

BRIAN GUNNING UPLOOK

• SEPTEMBER 1998

Love Is…

(Practical Manifestations of LOVE from the Epistle to PHILEMON)

RESPECTFUL

“Timothy, our brother”; “Philemon, our dearly beloved”

v. 1

HUMBLE

“Archippus...fellow soldier; Mark, Demas, Luke...fellow workers”

v. 2, 24

APPRECIATIVE

“I thank my God...”

v. 4a

CONSTANT

“making mention of you always in my prayers”

v. 4b

RESPONSIVE

“hearing of your love and faith...toward the Lord and the saints”

v. 5

BENEVOLENT

“the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you...”

v. 6b

FULFILLING

“we have great joy and consolation in your love”

v. 7a

RECIPROCAL

“the hearts of the saints are refreshed by you, brother”

v. 7b

GENTLE

“I might be bold...yet for love’s sake I beseech you”

v. 8, 9

RESPONSIVE

“I beseech you for my son, Onesimus...”

v. 10a

ADVENTUROUS

“whom I have begotten in my bonds...”

v. 10b

PERCEPTIVE

“who was...unprofitable, but now profitable to you and to me”

v. 11

TENDER

“whom I have sent again...receive him as my own heart”

v. 12

COMPLIANT

“whom I would have retained with me, that in your stead...”

v. 13

RIGHTEOUS

“but without your mind would I do nothing; that your benefit...”

v. 14

TACTFUL

“for perhaps therefore he departed for a season...”

v. 15a

SENSIBLE

“that you should receive him forever...as a brother beloved”

v. 15b, 16

GRACIOUS

“If you count me a partner, receive him as myself ”

v. 17

GENEROUS

“If he has wronged you, owes anything, put that to my account”

v. 18

HUMOROUS

“I will repay...albeit you owe unto me even your own self ”

v. 19

UPLIFTING

“having confidence in your obedience...”

v. 21a

EXPECTANT

“knowing that you will also do more than I say”

v. 21b

HOSPITABLE

“prepare me a lodging...”

v. 22a

SUPPORTIVE

“for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to you”

v. 22b

by B. ALLEN RAE, North Vancouver, BC UPLOOK

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21

H ERO ES

C. F. HOGG

By…the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience. harles Frederick Hogg (1859-1943) used his outstanding gifts to raise the standards among the Lord’s servants and the church in general.

Born into a godly family in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the year that revival swept the country, he was converted at the age of nineteen. Soon he was preaching on the streets of that city.

Ever a cautious Bible student, he disparaged a sloppy, nonchalant approach to holy things. How obvious it was to him that cajoling people into a lukewarm profession of Christianity did harm and not good. Preaching the gospel was more than saying, “Come to Jesus or you’ll go to hell.” He labored to present the scope of the true gospel in its glory and grace.

At the age of 25, he went as a missionary to China under the China Inland Mission to pioneer in various provinces, as far as the borders of Tibet. The severe climate and conditions wore out many strong men. He married a Miss Sarah Muir in 1887. Of their six children, three are buried in China.

In 1893, he moved his family to Shihtao, in Shantung province where he labored in the gospel. That year he also left the China Inland Mission to begin laboring with seven other couples who worked outside any formal mission organization, but had simply been commended by their home assemblies to the work of God. On the shore of the Yellow Sea, Shihtao is at the foot of one of the province’s highest peaks, almost 6,000 feet, making it look like scenic Norway. But the picturesque setting had not immediately transferred to the hearts of the locals.

The city was to the missionaries “like Ephesus before the gospel came.” There were some 80 opium shops in the community. Charles bemoaned how void of sincerity the citizens were. “Deceit was the rule without exception, both in theory and in practice.”

The missionaries’ medical help was welcomed by the people, but their spiritual assistance was often ignored or ridiculed. In time they discovered that certain vile,

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immoral practices leavened the whole city and surrounding villages. It was a hard eight years spent there, but Hogg determined to “go on preaching the gospel of love, in love, to a very unlovely people.”

The Boxer Rebellion occurred in the summer of 1900.

Most of the martyrdoms of missionaries occurred in Shansi province. In Peking the most brutal mass slaughter of Chinese believers occurred. There are only estimates of how many Chinese were murdered. Of foreigners, 135 missionaries and 53 children died. The word “slaughter” is not used loosely. Severed heads hung in wooden cages from city walls to warn sympathizers of the “foreign devils.” As the Christians died, there are numerous reports that their hearts were torn out and examined to discover the secret of the martyr’s courage.

How this news affected the missionaries in neighboring provinces. Co-workers, friends and converts, swept away! When Charles and Sarah returned to England in 1901 for health reasons, they must have done so with exhaustion, remorse, and considerable disappointment. It was at such a time that they discovered how real is the saint’s undergirding. We in fact do have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

For the work in Shantung province, the reaping would be left to national believers, such as the gifted Hsia Ch’en Mu commonly known as “Summertime.” Charles called him the “most intelligent preacher of the gospel as well as the most natural” that he had met in China.

Summertime became a hugely successful evangelist across the whole province of Shantung till his homecall in 1923. One sowed and another watered, and after all our

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C. F. HOGG work is done, it is God who gives the increase. By 1930, an awakening and gospel harvest time swept the province.

Charles had done what he could. He authored several Chinese tracts and contributed articles to magazines, and in collaboration with others, brought out a catechism as well as writing a book, The Golden Compass, written in Chinese.

Back in England he was received as a veteran, an acquaintance of legends such as C. T. Studd, the British athlete-turned-missionary, and D. E. Hoste, the successor to Hudson Taylor. From their home at Weston-superMare, Bristol, he worked diligently among assemblies, preaching and teaching.

C. F. Hogg’s writings are being widely circulated today, thanks to the coattails of a certain schoolmaster named William Edwy Vine (1873-1949). Around the year 1905, Hogg teamed up with Vine to conduct The Exeter Correspondence School of Bible Study. These studies between 1908-1911 were later published in commentaries on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Galatians. F. F. Bruce calls these two volumes, “The two outstanding commentaries in which Mr. Vine had a hand.” According to Bruce, “These two teachers made an ideal combination. They were basically agreed in their interpretation of the great biblical doctrines, and when Mr. Hogg’s theological penetration and command of felicitous and forceful English were united with Mr. Vine’s special gifts, the result was hard to match, let alone to surpass. For the student of the English New Testament these two commentaries will long remain standard works.”

Several pieces of C. F. Hogg’s written ministry are tucked into Vine’s collected writings. Of course W. E. Vine’s great contribution to the Church of God is his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Englishspeaking Bible students are in his debt, and Hogg was there, as a peer, confidant, and encourager for much of Vine’s ministry.

Besides work in the United Kingdom, Hogg travelled to New Zealand, Australia, and made several visits to the U.S. and Canada. He also went to India and Central Africa.

Sarah Hogg passed into the presence of the Lord in 1935 at their home in Highgate, London. In early 1936, he married a Miss Amy Burwick of London. The last seven years of his life were in South Africa. He went there to visit, but war conditions detained him there, and the assemblies in the Capetown area then received the blessing. His ministry was fresh and in the Spirit: it was clear cut and definite. He once told a young missionary named T. Ernest Wilson that the three rules of good Bible teaching were, “accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.” In 1939, UPLOOK

he toured Central Africa and wrote a book, What We Saw in Africa which was laced with valuable counsel on missionary principles. One of the missionaries there said, “Few visitors have helped us as Mr. Hogg has done.”

As a Bible student and teacher, he shone. His zeal for careful statements and his firm grasp of Bible doctrine came out in conversational Bible readings. Privately he was a fatherly counselor that missionaries, elders, and preachers sought out. What he knew about mission work caused him to strenuously advocate a rigorous inspection of candidates for commendation to the work of evangelism here and abroad. “Possibly there would be fewer workers, but possibly compensation in power, and those who are called and fitted would be better furnished.”

Four days before his sudden homecall, he wrote, “Friends in New Zealand urge another visit to them and a week ago a letter from U.S.A. suggested our returning there with the hope of going to China! It is no small mercy from God to have so many loyal friends in many parts.”

On November 14, 1943, he was taken suddenly ill.

Despite his wife’s loving attention, he was soon “absent from the body and present with the Lord.” His ministry spanned 60 years and was fresh to the finish line.

MATERIAL FOR THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN FROM: P. O. Ruoff, W. E. Vine: His Life and Ministry, 1951, Oliphants R. Rendall, J. B. Watson: A Memoir and Selected Writings, 1957, Pickering & Inglis W. E. Vine, The Collected Writings, 5 vol., Thomas Nelson James G. Hutchinson, editor, Sowers, Reapers, Builders: A Record of Over Ninety Irish Evangelists, 1984, Gospel Tracts Publ.

SOME BOOKS BY C. F. HOGG: C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and Expository, 1914, Pickering & Inglis C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, with Notes Exegetical and Expository, 1922, Pickering & Inglis C. F. Hogg, J. B. Watson, On The Sermon on the Mount, 1933 Pickering & Inglis C. F. Hogg, J. B. Watson, The Promise of the Coming, Pickering & Inglis C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, W. R. Lewis, The Ministry of Women, Pickering & Inglis C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, Touching the Coming of the Lord, 1919, Oliphants C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, The Church and the Tribulation, 1937 C. F. Hogg , What We Saw In Africa, 1939 Ý

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DA R E TO TH I N K

DOCTRINAL PREACHING How can we stear a safe course without compass or chart? he doctrinal preaching of the Word of God is a vital necessity. The proclamation of the Scriptures with clarity and precision is God’s method of transforming the lives of men and women. It is the authoritative link between the heart of God and the souls of men. The modern world has had enough of theories, conjecture and rationale—it hungers for the truth of God plainly spoken. It longs for the “thus saith the Lord.” It is waiting for men of God, like Jonah to whom God spoke: “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

Unfortunately, the preaching of the Word has fallen out of favor with many evangelical church leaders. Today there is a growing opposition toward doctrinal preaching of the Scriptures. Social action is more appealing to many Christian leaders. They question the use of mere words, when the lost of this world are looking for deeds.

In addition, Church growth experts contend that biblical preaching is oldfashioned; videos, panel forums, discussions, music, and multimedia presentations are now filling the place once occupied by preaching. Evangelical leaders defend their views by stating that the churches are filled, para-church ministries are in demand, and Christians are busier than ever. But what is the spiritual condition of the church? Are these new methods in agreement with the Word of God? Let us examine these issues more closely.

Evangelical leaders are calling for radical changes in traditional methods. A growing number of church leaders throughout North America maintain that the faithful preaching of the Word of God is no longer an effective means of reaching the lost and developing mature believers. The cry now is for preaching that addresses “relevancy” and the “felt-needs” of the audience.

This technique is now being espoused by many church growth institutes and ministries throughout the U.S. and Canada. However, under closer investigation one discovers that this technique was examined and rejected by Bible-based Christians 70 years ago, when the modernist

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preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick urged its use in Christian churches. In 1928, he scolded godly men of the Book, writing, “Preachers who pick out texts from the Bible and then proceed to give their historic settings, their logical meaning in the context, their place in the theology of the writer, are grossly misusing the Bible. Let them not end but start with thinking of the audience’s vital needs, and then let the whole sermon be organized around their endeavor to meet those needs. This is all good sense and good psychology.’’1 In his book on reaching out to “Baby Boomers,” Doug Murren, the pastor of a large charismatic congregation in the Pacific northwest, provides readers with the following seven suggestions for preparing relevant messages: 1. Visit the “how-to” sections in your local bookstores 2. Regularly have a small group submit a list of their greatest challenges at home and on the job. 3.

Similarly, acquire inventories of needs from several secular (unsaved) people in your community. 4. Periodically, examine issues of Time, Newsweek, and USA Today, as these publications are on the cutting edge of the felt needs and fears people are facing. 5. Apply practical aims to every study, message or program in your church. 6. Practice composing practical, catchy titles for your messages. 7. Limit your time to 20 minutes. And don’t forget to keep your messages light and informal, liberally sprinkling them with humor and personal anecdotes.2 It is remarkable that all of these suggestions are adapted to meet man’s social, emotional, and material needs; furthermore, not one refers to the Word of God or to meeting man’s most important need—spiritual separation from God. These new methods are not resting on the bedrock of the Scriptures, but on the shifting sand of psychological and humanistic principles.

This raises several questions: What consequences will these new methods bring? Is this new preaching method harmless? Is it merely an evangelistic fad and nothing more? Furthermore, should Bible-believing Christians

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DOCTRINAL PREACHING embrace it as an effective evangelistic tool?

Professor James Davidson Hunter, a researcher from the University of Virginia, has studied the views of evangelicals at 16 leading seminaries and Bible colleges and reported his findings in his 1987 book, “Evangelicalism: the Coming Generation.” Hunter argues convincingly that seminaries are moving away from doctrinal orthodoxy. Among the students he interviewed, over 50% said that the Bible should not be taken literally in matters of science and history. There were 33% who disagreed with the statement, “The only hope for heaven is through personal faith in Jesus Christ”: 46% felt preaching to unbelievers “about hell” is in poor taste.3 Jay Kesler, president of Taylor University, a Christian college in the Midwest, stated, “I agree with Hunter’s observations of the changes taking place not only at Christian colleges and seminaries, but in evangelical culture generally.” In 1994, Josh McDowell Ministries conducted an extensive study on the Christian character of evangelical young people in the U.S. In the study, 3,795 young people between the ages of 11-18 were asked 193 questions concerning their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Although 86% stated that they had trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, the results of the survey uncovered an array of troubling statistics. The study revealed that 45% watched MTV at least once a week: 57% said that the Bible was not a reliable standard of truth. The study also revealed that many young people are cheating, smoking, gambling, watching X-rated movies and engaging in premarital sex.4 Research has shown that many Christians do not possess a satisfactory understanding of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Why are evangelical young people engaging in such harmful activities? Why is there so little understanding of biblical doctrine? One reason must be the failure of the evangelical churches to preach and teach the great doctrines of the faith. When the Holy Scriptures are taught with conviction, lives and lifestyles will be transformed to the glory of God (Isa. 66:2).

The New Testament models this practice of doctrinal preaching and demonstrates the blessing that will follow.

The preaching of doctrine characterized the ministry of the Lord Jesus and the Apostles. As Christ was teaching His disciples, it was said of Him, “He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine” (Mk. 4:2). As others heard His teaching, it was said, “the people were astonished at His doctrine” (Mt. 7:24). The early New Testament Church “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42), and they were exhorted to “Preach the word...exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). They were entreated to refute the false teachers with doctrine, “Holding fast the faithUPLOOK

ful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers” (Titus 1:9). Doctrinal preaching was the charge, challenge, and resource to all who sought to serve and honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, doctrinal preaching, by divine design, shields the church from the unrelenting assault of false teachers. Doctrinal preaching by definition involves reproof, correction and instruction (2 Tim. 3:16). This powerful corrective, therefore should address doctrinal error and the false teachers who are bringing the error.

Paul charges: “Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Rom. 16:17). The failure to do so will open the door to false teachers, causing many sincere believers to be spiritually imperiled.

A sad account given by Henry Theissen, a former professor of theology at Wheaton College, points out that in the absence of passionate doctrinal preaching, error found fertile soil: “Oratorical preaching may bind the congregation to the preacher; but when the preacher leaves, the people leave also. It has been often demonstrated that only when people are thoroughly taught the Word of God do they become strong Christians and effective workers for Christ. There is a definite connection between doctrinal preaching and mature spiritual growth.

T. DeWitt Talmage may be cited as a man of great oratorical powers who built up a large congregation by his ability. However, soon after Talmage’s death, the Brooklyn Tabernacle fell into the hands of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (known to us today as the Jehovah’s Witnesses).” 5 Today, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide is estimated at 11.5 million.

May this illustration serve as a clarion call to all serious believers. New Testament churches must put aside the current popular fads, the glitter and sparkle of the newest trends, and return to the rock-solid foundation of doctrinal preaching and the unchanging power of the Word. Then the church will be strong, believers vigorous for Christ, and the world attentive to the life-changing power of the gospel.

ENDNOTES: 1 Harry Emerson Fosdick, What is the Matter with Preaching? Harpers Magazine, July, 1928, p. 135 2 Doug Murren, The Baby Boomerang, Regal Books, Glendale, CA, 1990, pp. 227-228 3 James Davidson Hunter, Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1987, p. 198 4 Josh McDowell, Help Your Teen Make The Right Choice, Focus on the Family Magazine, Nov. 1994, p. 4 5 Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1949, p. 30

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UPLOOK (USPS 620-640) P. O. Box 2041 Grand Rapids, MI 49501-2041

Kill your foes Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21).

AT PRESS TIME: As Watutsi and Ugandan rebel forces pushed Congolese President Laurent KabilaÕs government troops before them, hundreds of soldiers in groups of twenties and thirties arrived at the assembly mission station of Tchabi. The ladies of the mission decided to disarm themÑwith love. The men had been in the jungle for daysÑfoot sore, hungry, bone tired.

Pearl Winterburn writes (by e-mail): ÒThey arrived disgruntled, angry, and full of fear as the invading armies have been chasing them. But receiving a cup of tea and a plate of food, they have passed through without any trouble. Praise the Lord, because beyond us, where they met with angry responses, they retaliated with force.Ó Later she adds, ÒPray with us that the response of the love shown to the soldiers as they passed Tchabi and the Scriptures they received may bear fruit.Ó Evil for good is wickedness; evil for evil is law; good for good is civility; good for evil is love.

with kindness