A PARALLEL BETWEEN PHYSICAL DIGESTION AND SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION BY FAITH
Faith has been termed the great digestive agent of the soul. Each of the digestive juices is connected with a special digestive organ. In carrying out the comparison, let us seek to learn from what place faith exercises its marvelous transforming influence upon the spiritual food of the soul. Rom. 10:10 probably answers our question: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Man believes with the heart, and not merely with the head. Just as the proteid food element can never be digested in the mouth, so man will never be able to lay hold of truth, and prepare it for entering into his character, if it gets no further into his experience than his head—the reason. It must go to the heart, there to be acted upon by faith, before it will in reality become a part of his own experience.
FAITH THE MORAL TRANSFORMING AGENT
“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Heb. 4:2. Faith is to the soul what all the digestive fluids are to the body. The heart is to the moral nature what all the organs of digestion are to the physical man. The persons to whom the word of God was of no profit were those who failed to have faith mixed with it. Their hearts were not right, therefore their faith was either inferior in quality or decreased in quantity, and, as a result of this derangement, the word of God—their moral food—did not profit them. Notwithstanding the fact that they ate, yet they experienced “leanness of soul”—they had moral indigestion. “The just shall live by faith;” and when faith is absent, heaven’s most glorious truths and its mightiest providences prove only stumbling stones and rocks of offense.
So powerful is the action of some of the digestive fluids that a very small amount is able to transform almost an unlimited quantity of the particular food element which it acts upon; and so a finite amount of faith—as it were but the size of a mustard seed—is able to transform mountains of difficulties and obstacles into triumph and victory. God himself supplies us with faith. “For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Eph. 2:8. The overcoming faith of the Christian is the faith of Jesus. It is the faith that goes hand in hand with the keeping of the commandments of God. Divine faith in the human heart transforms the character after the divine similitude.
HOW FAITH IS STIMULATED
1. By the Flavor of Truth.—Just as the Creator has arranged characteristic flavors for every food substance, so He has put a flavor into every divine truth; and just as these food substances stimulate the flow of the digestive juices, so the flavor of truth—the spirit of truth—is that which, above everything else, calls out the exercise of faith and the activities of the soul.
2. By the Word of God.—“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17. Here we learn that hearing the word stimulates the faith by which the word is to be accepted, transformed, and made a part of our moral nature. What a beautiful parallel is here observed between the spiritual and physical world! The saliva, gastric juice, and other of the digestive fluids are especially stimulated by the presence of those food elements which it is their special work to act upon; and so faith is stimulated and strengthened by the presence of that which it must believe and accept—the word of God. The very thing that faith must accept is the very thing that exercises, stimulates, and strengthens it.
3. By Prayer.—“But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Luke 22:32. Christ, speaking to Peter, says that He prayed for him, that his faith fail not. Constant communion with Heaven is one of the greatest secrets of a strong and active faith.
HOW FAITH IS HINDERED
1. By Failure to Walk in the Light.—“Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” 1 Tim 3:9. The conscience must be kept pure, or else faith will be greatly hindered in its work of laying hold of spiritual nourishment and transforming it into moral character. Failure to walk in the light is sure, sooner or later, to give rise to symptoms of unbelief, which are sure indications of moral indigestion; that is, a state of spiritual experience in which light and truth are not properly woven into the character, and hence have become matters of profession rather than possession.
2. By a Bad Conscience.—“Holding faith, and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” 1 Tim. 1:19. Faith must be held in a good conscience, or else it will become so weakened as to lead to its own shipwreck.
A SPIRITUAL LESSON FROM PEPSIN
We have learned that a small quantity of pepsin is able to digest almost an infinite amount of proteids, provided the pepsin is in an acid medium; that is, provided hydrochloric acid is present. And so faith requires a particular medium in which to act, and this we find in James 2:26: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Faith, although but the size of a grain of mustard, is able to move mountains when there is present with it the disposition to obey—the commandment-keeping disposition. But when this medium of living works is removed, then faith is dead, it is powerless; and, like the pepsin without the acid medium, it is shorn of its transforming possibilities. A man will never be justified by a faith that is not strong enough to enable him to live up to what he professes. Works do not save us. “The just shall live by faith;” but without works faith is dead. Of those who are about to be translated it is not written, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God,” or, “Here are they which have the faith of Jesus,” but, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Many are endeavoring to have themselves justified by presumption. Nevertheless it sometimes follows that faith may be true, and healthy, and strong, and yet its possessor be unable to put his finger on many of the corresponding works he would expect to see. Digestion, when in a normal condition, is an unconscious process; we never know that we are digesting food unless something goes wrong. We are unconscious of our digestion until it becomes indigestion; and so the soul that is living by faith, humbly trusting in God moment by moment, may not be aware of any great transformation going on within its experience. The process, if normal, is unconscious, but nevertheless genuine.
ELEMENTS OF FAITH
There are three great things that faith must grasp: (1) God’s work for us; (2) God’s promises to us; (3) God’s attitude toward us.
1. Confidence.—“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Heb. 3:6. Let faith lose its confidence, and it loses its power. Confidence accepts God’s work for us. It believes that He who has begun the work is able to finish it. It is because our faith is confiding that it is possible for us to believe that “all things work together for good,” according to the promise in Rom. 8:28. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6. The strength of our confidence depends upon our keeping the eye of faith fixed upon Jesus. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Heb. 12:2, 3. We shall not become faint and weary if we continue to look at Him. Then, too, if we have confidence in Him, we shall be free to ask of Him the things we need. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:21. Our confidence in God is hindered just to the extent that we have confidence in the flesh. “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Phil. 3:3. To just the extent that we distrust ourselves, we shall have confidence in God; and just to the extent that we doubt Jesus, we shall have confidence in the flesh.
2. Hope.—Hope is another of the elements or accompaniments of faith. “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” Col. 1:23. If we would continue in the faith, we must not be moved away from our hope. Hope has especially to do with having faith in the veracity of God, in accepting His promises, and believing they are for us. “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Heb. 6:19. Hope is the anchor of the soul. How is our hope strengthened? Read Rom. 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Hope is built up through patience and comfort of the Scriptures; in other words, patience and Bible study, or patient Bible study. On the other hand, our hope is greatly weakened and hindered by a desire to walk by sight. “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him.” Luke 23:8. He did not hope in5the promises of God, but hoped to see some miracle. His hope was not linked with faith, but rather was associated with sight. Let us believe, as did Abraham, and hope even against hope, rather than fall into the error of seeking for signs and wonders.
3. Trust.—Trust has to do with God’s attitude toward us. “He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.” Prov. 28:25. The trusting soul is the one that has fed itself to fatness upon the things of God. Distrust is one of the sure means of producing leanness of soul. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.” Heb. 10:35. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17. If you know God trusts you, it will be a simple matter for you to trust Him. The only way to be sure that you can trust God is constantly to keep yourself in that attitude where God can trust you.
Trust is greatly hindered by fear, and fear is always the offspring of wrongdoing. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.” Isa. 12:2. Fear of duty, fear of persecution, fear of answering the call of God, is sure death to trust. The truest trust is born of the greatest fearlessness.
Copyrighted, 1900, by David Paulson and W. S. Sadler.
ORGANIZATION
By EARNEST A. RAYMOND
The Science of Life's Development
EARNEST A. RAYMOND
HEAVEN throbbed with earth's pain, and the entire universe sorrowed with sorely afflicted man in his sadness. In the heart of love divine, the great life-center of this vast system of perfect sympathy, was found the healing balm—its own vital force—to strengthen, sustain, and save this stricken member. And then it was that the angels of heaven found a welcome task assigned them; for, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
The great work was worthy of Him who undertook it; for sin has benumbing power, and swiftly following in its wake is the lethargy of death. As when a limb, becoming cramped, distorted, causing its life-current to be hindered, deflected, turned back upon itself, becomes benumbed, paralyzed, and finally dead, so the human life in all its manifestations—physical, mental, and moral—is benumbed, as it turns aside and wrongfully uses the current of its life-power.
In the one case the only hope and cure is in restoring the limb to its normal state, by exercise, by giving the life-current the fullest, freest opportunity to do its work; so in the other, the only chance of life, of salvation, lies in God's human member being raised, opened up, energized by the inflowing and outworking of the stream of His own life's current. The one great law of God's life, of His love, is constant outflowing, constant working. Only by outflowing is more room made for the influx, and the channel ever enlarged. Thus life's current is always warm, constantly expanding to life's greater exercise. As the traveler caught in the freezing storm found warmth and life by rousing and helping his fellow, so must all men, by working for men.
Such was the work of God for men; such the example Christ came to give; such was the rescue work of His inauguration; and as its great Demonstrator, He became its head.
Such a system as this Christ calls His Church, living by life inflowing, growing to greater life by working together with Him in outflowing, increasing with “the increase of God” as new elements are constantly being reorganized and gathered in; and so the whole grows to “an holy temple in the Lord.”
“God hath tempered [blended] the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism [or division] in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.”
“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. . . .”
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.”
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
As the members of the human body are united for mutual sympathy and help, so are the human members of “the body of Christ,” the Church. As in the one there is a “schism,” a division, a sloughing off, when nature's perfect plan of organization is not in operation, so is there in the Church, for the same reason.
Will there be “schisms”—poor, weak, tried members of Christ's body for whom He died, falling behind on the long heavenward march, lying down to die spiritually,—yes, and physically, many a time—if all the members “have the same care one for another?”—By no means; for then would all be perfectly “knit together,” bearing common burdens, sharing common joys; they would fall or stand together, saying each to each, as God to Ephraim, “How shall I give thee up?” And would they fall together? Then great indeed the fall; for heaven itself is indissolubly bound by its Spirit, its very life, in such a brotherhood.
Know we of suffering members, any wounded in spirit, perchance by us? Are there any sick from bodily infirmities, for lack of the knowledge of nature's laws which we might give? And, O members of Christ, are there not many slowly failing, gradually sinking into untimely graves, for lack of health-restoring food, the price of which we hold beyond their reach? Shall not professed Christians cease forever to thus tantalize poor, sick, suffering sinners? Has He who “giveth us richly all things to enjoy,” condemned the monopolies of the world that the saints might enjoy an unbroken “corner” on His healthful, healing bounties?
Who taught us this knowledge? Who gave us this power over nature's store and treasure-house? “Every good gift and every perfect gift . . . cometh down from the Father of lights.” And for what purpose?
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal: literally, bearing together, helping to bear it; mutual profit.”
And shall we murmur to ourselves, The cause, the cause; it is for the cause; and then go on oppressing the hireling in his wages, seeking to bind down, in the iron mold and treadmill activity of institutions, the God-given individuality of thought, of strength, of time and means, belonging to those who should be “workers together with God” instead of men-pleasers?
Shall our institutions become indeed mere forms from which the life has fled; little better than empty shells, filled with the roar, the murmur and complaint, of the restless sea, “whose waters cast up mire and dirt”?
Could not Christians reflect with profit on Christ's denunciation of the iniquitous Jewish custom of saying “Corban,” meaning that it is a gift for the support of the temple (the cause), over the means, a large part of which rightfully belongs to others? Is this the cause of Christ? Are we wholly sure that the cause of “the loaves and fishes” is not really paramount? May God forgive; man knows not what he does.
The only hope lies in each man rousing to activity. Let no one say, I have no gift; there is nothing that I can do. The Scripture says: “Every man hath his proper [his own, particular, special, different from all others, and which He alone can exercise] gift from God, one man after this manner, another after that.”
Are the sacred duties and obligations, the inalienable rights, the glorious possibilities and privileges of harmoniously developed individuality, recognized and taught and lived in any adequate sense among us? IT IS THE BASIS OF ORGANIZATION. It is the perfect flower of the human plant. Together they will reflect, like rainbow tints unnumbered, the infinitely varied glory of the great I AM. Without it life has lost its meaning, eternity its charm.
Where are the educators among us? Are they indeed banished, or have they fled into unknown solitude?
Shall we, with sphinx-like, immovable gaze, have eyes only for the lead, the iron, the brass, in life, and pass by its true gold and precious stones? Does God's great mine yield naught but flint, that we pass by the diamond, the emerald, the ruby, and the turquoise?
For what do schools exist? What is it to educate? Is it not for this very thing,—to be used of God to recognize, to bring to light, to train, develop, the “proper gifts” of the matchless Giver to His children? Shall Ichabod, that mournful epitaph of glory flown, look down from the portals of all our schools and colleges? God forbid. It is time for the relief of the schools. Even now, in trumpet tones the Spirit calls, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
“And the eye can not say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.”
Let not the body forget its trust, the treasure for which it lives, the soul. How often has this bit of history repeated itself, and will perchance be repeated, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.”
“Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men . . . for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Then the Church of God on earth will never outgrow God's natural plan of organization, not indeed till we all stand on time's almost deserted strand, clad in robes of perfect righteousness, waiting for Him who shall bear us to yonder eternal shore.
“There are diversities of gifts, . . . there are differences of administrations, . . . and there are diversities of operations, . . . but all these WORKETH that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.”
Here lies the motive power omnipotent; here the energizing force of the boundless universe; and yet its operations are all in the most perfect harmony. It is the unity of the Spirit. Dividing to every man severally as He will, God's Spirit touches the keynote, the basis of all organization, the individual. Thus, and only because of this, can the Spirit alone use, and work to the fullness of their powers, every gift of every man.
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, . . . and have been all made to DRINK into one Spirit.”
Then each man, and woman, and child has only to drink that Spirit in, only to receive Him as He comes so freely from God, to find their powers, and place, and work, and go on their heavenward way rejoicing. Praise the Lord!
“LET US keep fresh in our memories all the tender mercies God has shown us.”
Narcotics as Quieting Medicines
By Kate Lindsay
KATE LINDSAY, M. D.
There is not a drug more baleful, dangerous, and deadly in its effects on the life and health of infancy, than opium and its preparations; and no other has been so commonly used. In the days of our grandmothers it was a common thing to have in the nursery medicine chest the laudanum and paregoric bottles. When the little one had the colic, or was fretful because of improper food, heat, skin irritation, or any other cause, the paregoric bottle was easy of access; and so the most irresponsible persons were trusted to drop out the one, two, five, or more drops of the stronger opiate; or the quarter, half, or whole spoonful of the paregoric,—no attention being paid to the size of the spoon, or the consistency of the preparation. Often the bottle had been purchased months before at the druggist’s, and prepared of a known strength. In the months it has stood on the shelf, a third, or maybe a half, of the volatile fluid used to hold it in solution has evaporated. What if a drop be equal now in strength to four or five of the drops at first! Nobody thinks of danger, until it is found that the baby will not arouse out of its stupor. The physician is sent for, and finds the little one dying from opium poisoning, and is told by the nurse or mother that it had only one or two drops of laudanum. She had often given such a dose to her other children without any bad effects. The little one may die, or it may live, with a damaged brain and nervous system; but, generally, the mother will not believe that she has poisoned her baby, and often goes on with the same reckless use of the narcotics.
There are numerous special opiate preparations known as “soothing sirups,” for use among infants. In all of them the special soothing drug is opium, or some of its products. The amount of these drugs used may be imagined by looking over the advertising columns of any popular paper or magazine. No one takes notes, and there are no statistics, whereby we may learn the number of little ones who have thus been crippled in mental capacity, or soothed to their eternal sleep.
The use of tea and coffee, and the habit of compelling the infant or small child to sleep with his father who is a user of tobacco, or to breathe the air filled with the fumes of the filthy weed, has often a very baneful effect upon the health of the little one. Many parents begin to feed the baby tea and coffee even before it is three months old: not because the little one needs anything more than nature’s food, but because the baby seems to enjoy taking the stimulating drink. At this time the child’s nervous system is developing very rapidly. In the first six months the head gains three inches in circumference, and the greater part of the brain growth takes place in the first seven years of life. Damage done to the cell structure of this system at this period can never be repaired in after life.
The paregoric, laudanum, tea, coffee, and tobacco, one and all, create a demand for their continued use; for they damage the delicate organs; and when the stimulus of the drug is gone, one is conscious of a lack of energy, and seeks the enemy again, to silence the outcry made by abused nature. Truly, when pledging against narcotics, one should study to know the many forms under which these drugs abound at the present time.
The child is the father of the man, and should be kept from being injured and debased by these drugs, by having the care of an intelligent mother who knows what will hurt him, and will firmly withhold the dangerous article.
Faith, Hope, and Love
By Frances Ridley Havergal
FAITH that increaseth, walking in light;
Hope that aboundeth, happy and bright;
Love that is perfect, casting out fear,—
These shall insure you a happy new year.
— Frances Ridley Havergal.
EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE
By Mrs. G. A. Irwin
In this department week before last there was noted a request for prayer from a widowed sister, in behalf of her son, who was sadly afflicted, and was not a Christian. We have recently received the following word from her:—
I have glad tidings to send in this letter. My dear afflicted boy has given his heart to the Saviour. He is no better in health, but I trust all to the loving Father, who knows what is best. Sometimes I pray earnestly that his sufferings may not be prolonged. He is quite helpless, and can not see nor hear much, but he is very patient. I pray for wisdom to know how to soothe and comfort him. Pray for my son that he may have courage to endure what is to come, and also for me that I may ever see and know my duty, and be faithful in performing it.
The following from a brother calls for our prayerful interest, and more tangible help if possible:—
I read the Woman’s page with much interest, and as I find many cases something like my own, I feel impressed to write to you. My wife has been dead five years. About a year after her death I began, by the help of God, to keep the commandments. I had not made any profession of religion before. I have four children, who are very dear to me. It has been hard all these five years to care for them and keep them from the snares of Satan, and at the same time attend to my daily work. I have to send them to public school, and sometimes my heart almost sinks within me at the thought of the help they need, but the Lord is my hope and stay. Please remember my case to the Lord, that I may never doubt His love to me.
A sister suggests the idea of having texts of Scripture perforated in the window shades, so that at night, when the rooms are lighted, the texts will attract the attention of passers-by. We think this might be a good idea for mission rooms, and possibly would reach discouraged or troubled hearts from any window. It would certainly indicate the homes of the children of God, and if the lives of those in the homes were not a denial of this fact, each home might be a sort of rescue station. If any desire further particulars in regard to this, we shall be glad to put them in correspondence with the sister who presented it to us.
I have lately received written word from one source that reading-racks and everything of that nature would not be permitted in the waiting rooms of railroad depots. This set me to work in another direction, and, to shield the reading-matter from the weather, I have prepared a box, with suitable remarks and Scripture texts outside, to place at the watering-trough near us, where many stop each day.
I know that sometimes objection is made to putting up reading-racks in depots, especially if they are not of pleasing appearance. Your suggestion about placing reading-matter at the watering troughs meets my mind. I think it is appropriate to have the Living Water to quench the spiritual thirst beside the provision for temporal thirst. I hope that our sisters will follow out your suggestion. My mind has traveled on to different places where we might use these reading-racks,—in street-car depots, parks, etc.
MRS. G. A. IRWIN.
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER
“Will the sisters earnestly pray for a young lady who is not expected to live, that she may accept Christ as her Saviour?”
“My husband opposes the truth, and refuses to let my dear little boy go to church with me. I request prayer for him, that he may see the error of his ways, and be saved.”
“Will you please pray that my husband may return to his family? I do not know where he is; I have not heard a word from him since he left. Please make this a subject of prayer immediately.”
“I request prayer for a dear woman who is very sick; we believe it to be cancer of the stomach. She has five children, the oldest only sixteen, is a devoted Christian, and requests prayers in her own behalf.”
“I am all alone in my efforts to keep the Sabbath, for my husband has given it up, and has yielded to his appetite for tobacco. I ask you to earnestly pray that he may return to the Lord, that my children may receive the truth, and that I may be faithful.”
“I request prayer for my son’s wife, whom we fear has consumption, that she may give herself to the Lord, and that He may restore her. Pray also for my husband, and for my son and his two children, that they may see their need of a Saviour. I have prayed for them for a long time, but they do not come to Christ. I fear I do not ask aright, or am not earnest enough.”
A sister requests prayer for her husband, from whom she is separated. Pray that he may be converted, and the family be reunited. She also requests prayer for a daughter, who seemingly has become unmindful and negligent concerning her mother. Circumstances placed this daughter in a wealthy family when quite young, where she has had a beautiful home; and now she does not care to correspond or associate with her own mother, who is in less fortunate circumstances in life. The mother requests prayer that her heart may be touched, and that the truth may reach her.
NOTICE!
By Mrs. Geo. A. Irwin
We would like to come into correspondence with every sister who is not a subscriber to the REVIEW AND HERALD. We wish that each sister who takes the paper would make an effort to find those who do not have it, and persuade them to subscribe for it if possible, and if they are unable financially to do so, would send us their names and addresses, and then a way will be provided for them to have it. We do not wish any sister to be without it, for it is largely through this paper that we communicate concerning the Woman’s Gospel Work; and no one can keep pace with the Third Angel’s Message who does not read this paper week by week.
MRS. GEO. A. IRWIN.
God Is Ready to Help
“As you call upon God for help, He says: Here am I, close beside you, ready to help you if you are ready to be helped.”
JANUARY STUDY OF THE FIELD
Articles for Study in the January Missionary Magazine: The Ethnology of Malaysia; Among the Russians; Buenos Ayres and Our Churches in Argentine
(January 6-12)
1. NAME the peninsula and islands in which the Malays are found. How numerous is this race?
2. What relation does it sustain to the other great divisions of the human family? Into what peoples is it subdivided, and what part of Malaysia does each occupy?
3. Give evidence that this race was once much more widely diffused than at the present time.
4. Describe the Malays. The Javanese. The Bugis. The Filipinos. The Tagalogs.
5. What alphabet is used by the different tribes? To what religious belief does each adhere?
6. What traces of the intermixture of the Hindoo are found among the Javanese and the Malays? Tell something of the Dyaks of Borneo.
7. Describe the system of civil government which the Russian peasants have been under since 1861.
8. Why have the peasant classes emigrated into the more sparsely settled parts of the Russian Empire? How has this been encouraged by the government?
9. What opportunity does it afford for the advance of the Third Angel's Message?
10. Name the nationalities represented in the capital of Argentina.
11. Tell something of the rich and of the poor of Buenos Ayres. Relate briefly the progress of the Third Angel's Message in that city.
12. Locate the other churches of the Argentine Republic, and tell what you can of each.
13. How many nationalities are represented among our brethren? What can you say of the openings for work and of the importance of improving the present?
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS
14. Through what medium has the Third Angel's Message been introduced into a number of places in Jamaica? Give two illustrations of the power of the printed page.
15. Tell something of the progress of the message in St. Andrews Island, Colombia. Of the famine in India and the need of laborers. Of the Utilla school.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
By Estella Houser
ESTELLA HOUSER
The Third Angel’s Message is the greatest trust ever committed to one generation of men. The vastness of this work, the countries yet unentered, and the meager efforts put forth in some of the most extensive fields where a beginning has been made, are being brought out from month to month in our studies. To him who has not faith, the task seems overwhelming, but with our Father “all things are possible.” “What He had promised, He was able also to perform.” Rom. 4:21.
Noah, clothed with power from on high, warned the people of his generation, so that they were without excuse, and not one perished in the flood because he had had no opportunity to be saved. In one day Jonah warned Nineveh, that “exceeding great city of three-days’ journey.” When Jonah really gave himself to that work, God wrought through him, and placed his message upon the lips of others, so that before three days had passed, the city was in sackcloth, repenting of their sins and accepting the proffered pardon and salvation.
After the baptism of the Spirit, for which the disciples had been told to tarry at Jerusalem, five thousand were converted in a day. The early church had “all things common,” with one absorbing ambition—to preach Christ. Wealth was laid at the apostles’ feet, laymen as well as their leaders labored to carry out the Master’s last commission, and numbers were daily added to the church—such as were being saved. True, it required persecution to scatter them into the regions beyond; but the marvelous success that crowned their efforts demonstrated that even this was permitted of the Lord. Before Paul’s work was completed, the gospel had been so extensively preached that he wrote to the Romans, “Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
Look at the power that marked the Reformation; and the world-wide progress of the first angel’s message, which was almost simultaneously proclaimed in every country and mission station on the globe. All these things inspire courage. If the Lord could do such remarkable works with one man, or a few at most, with limited facilities, what may we not expect Him to accomplish now with the body of Seventh-day Adventists, if every man, woman, and child is imbued with the missionary spirit? We have the word of our King that the message of His return will be proclaimed to the uttermost part of the earth. We have His promise, pledged by His life, that the worker shall not go forth alone: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” And we already see evidences of the fulfillment of these promises in the results of the labors of the many who, whole-heartedly, have labored at home, or have gone to the more distant and more needy regions beyond. Interests are arising, until we sometimes are almost amazed, and wonder how so many have heard the truth. The message is spreading: The living preacher is called for in far more places than he is able to fill, in the foreign field even more than at home. But this is only the beginning of the great work God would have us do. Time is fast hastening. Our opportunities are decreasing, and yet the work must be finished.
What does it mean? Discouragement?—No! Rather the consecration, at the beginning of this new year, of every power to the Lord’s work. It should be the first in the home, in our business, yea, the all-absorbing passion of our lives.
We can not afford to withhold one mite of our strength, or of our time, or of our intellect from this all-important work now. Never will we have a better opportunity. Soon the work will close. Whether we share in its final triumph depends upon our relation to it to-day.
