MINISTRY
“Do you know what the formula is for blessing in ministry?” Lehman Strauss asked Warren Wiersbe many years ago. “It is to simply preach, pray, and plug away!”
A friend of Leighton Ford said to him, “Ministry is what we leave in our tracks as we follow the Lord.”
Someone asked Robert G. Lee, “What is your secret in the ministry?” He answered, “Love the people and preach the Word.”
Ministry without emotion is like motherhood without the tenderness of affection.
—Chuck Swindoll
When evangelist D. L. Moody was preaching in Birmingham, England, in 1875, the noted Congregational theologian and preacher R. W. Dale cooperated in the campaign. After listening to Moody preach and seeing the blessings, Dale wrote in his denomination’s magazine, “I told Mr. Moody that the work was most plainly of God, for I could see no real relation between him and what he had done. He laughed cheerily, and said he would be very sorry if it were otherwise.”
—A. W. W. Dale
An old minister in Scotland was nearing the end of a long ministry in an obscure parish. He felt disappointment about the results of his work because he could point to no seemingly clear-cut conversions. He was telling his disappointment to a distinguished minister whose work had appeared so fruitful.
The famous preacher listened till the old man had finished. Then he said, “Do you remember a young woman who used to worship in your church some twenty years ago?” When he had described her, the minister said, “Yes, I remember her. She came for quite a while, but she never joined the church.” “Well,” replied the great man, “that young woman had a younger brother who was rapidly becoming a drunkard. She would come home from church and talk to him about your sermons until he finally changed his habits. That young man was myself.”
—Ralph W. Sockman
MIRACLES
Voltaire said that if he and one thousand men in Paris saw a miracle before their very eyes he would rather disbelieve his eyes and the eyes of the one thousand than to believe in the miracles.
A pastor was once talking to an agnostic and was trying to convince him and convert him to Christ. “Speaking of miracles,” the pastor said, “if a man jumped out of a ten-story building and did not die, would that not be a miracle?” “No,” said the agnostic, “it would only be an accident.”
“Then what if he jumped out the second time and he didn’t die. Wouldn’t you say that would be a miracle?”
“No, that would be a coincidence.”
“Then what if the third time? Wouldn’t that be one?”
“No, that’s just a habit!”
MISERY
The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to think about whether you are happy or not.
—George Bernard Shaw
How to Be Perfectly Miserable
1. Think about yourself.
2. Talk about yourself.
3. Use “I” as much as possible.
4. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.
5. Listen greedily to what people say about you.
6. Expect to be appreciated.
7. Be suspicious.
8. Be jealous and envious.
9. Be sensitive to slights.
10. Never forgive a criticism.
11. Trust nobody but yourself.
12. Insist on consideration and respect.
13. Demand agreement with your own views of everything.
14. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.
15. Never forget a service you may have rendered.
16. Be on the lookout for a good time for yourself.
17. Shirk your duties if you can.
18. Do as little as possible for others.
19. Love yourself supremely.
20. Be selfish.
The recipe is guaranteed to be infallible.
—Gospel Herald
MISSIONS
In World War II, Winston Churchill pleaded with the American people over the radio for help. “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”
The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we must become.
—Henry Martyn
Recently a cannibal complained that since the ecumenical movement had taken over, all missionaries taste the same.
—Farmers’ Almanac
“But I have never felt any compelling call to give my life for missionary service,” the young man told the conference speaker. “Are you sure you are within calling distance?” was the disquieting reply.
John Warr, an eighteenth-century apprentice shoemaker, was determined to be a faithful witness for Christ. Another apprentice was hired, and John repeatedly talked to him about spiritual things. That new worker, however, didn’t want to be bothered. Then one day he was caught exchanging a counterfeit shilling for a good one. In his guilty humiliation he asked John for help and prayer. Through the faithful witness of John Warr, that man put his faith in Christ and developed into a committed disciple.
The young apprentice was William Carey, who later became a remarkably fruitful missionary to India. Carey’s life and ministry had a tremendous influence on the cause of outreach in modern times.
I Was Not Called
“I cannot go,” I hear you say. “It’s not my work;
I was not called. Too bad so many die that way,
Without a hope, without a God,
But here at home I have to stay.”
But then I hear my Savior say, “It was my work to die for you.
In Heav’n I did not please to stay.
I came to earth not for a few,
But all should know I am the Way.”
“I cannot go,” I hear you say. “My child is small
And he needs all the world can give him today.
It would not do to be so cruel
To one who cannot choose his way.”
And then I hear my Father say, “I gave My Son,
My only One, to give the world the only Way.
He suffered all upon the cross.
Can you do less for Me today?”
“I cannot go,” I hear you say. “It takes so much
Of strength and grace. I have no talents to display,
My faith is weak; right here I’ll stay.
The smart and strong go far away.”
I hear my Lord and Master say, “Have you not read
Within My Word, ‘Ye are vessels made of clay?’
I choose the weak to give My strength.
Let all who will serve Me today.”
A certain rich man did not approve of foreign missions. One Sunday at church, when the offering was being received, the usher approached the millionaire and held out his plate. The millionaire shook his head. “I never give to missions,” he whispered.
“Then take something out of the plate, Sir,” said the usher softly. “The money is for the heathen.”
It is reported that a missionary lady was telling the story of her work in China. When she finished, a little girl came forward and gave her twelve pennies. “Please,” she said, “I have been saving these pennies and now I want them to be missionaries in China.” How happy the missionary was to receive the offering from its wholehearted giver. Months went by and finally a letter came for the little girl which read, “With your twelve pennies I bought twelve Gospels of John. I gave one to each of my class of Chinese girls. They read the wonderful story in their own little books, and today all twelve gave their hearts to Christ. What a splendid investment you made.”
In encouraging young men to come out as missionaries, do use the greatest caution. One strongheaded, conscientiously obstinate man would ruin us. Humble, quiet, persevering men; men of decent accomplishments and some natural aptitude to acquire a language; men of amiable yielding temper, willing to take the lowest place, to be least of all, and the servant of all; men who enjoy closet religion and live near to God and are willing to suffer all things for Christ’s sake without being proud of it.
—Ann Judson
When asked, “What equipment does one need in order to be a missionary?” J. Hudson Taylor answered as follows: “A life yielded to God, a restful trust in Him to supply your needs, a willingness to take a lowly place, adaptability toward circumstances, steadfastness in discouragement, love for prayer and the study of God’s Word, some experience and blessing in the Lord’s work at home.”
T. S. McCullough, father of Jim McCullough, martyred by the Auca Indians, prayed, “Lord, let me live long enough to see these Auca Indians saved so I can see them in heaven and wrap my arms around them for they love my Savior.”
It was a Jew who brought the Gospel to Rome; a Roman who took it to France; a Frenchman who took it to Scandinavia; a Scotsman who evangelized Ireland; and an Irishman who in turn made the missionary conquest of Scotland.
In the Great Commission:
Matthew emphasizes authority.
Mark emphasizes universality.
Luke emphasizes order of procedure.
John emphasizes spiritual qualifications and demands.
What is 750,000 miles long, reaches around the earth thirty times, and grows twenty miles longer each day? Answer: The line of people who are without Christ.
C. T. Studd, England’s most famed athlete and member of the fabled Cambridge Seven a century ago, who forsook fortune and notoriety to toil for Christ on several continents of missionary service, had an overpowering vision. He said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”
—Edward Kuhlman
The missionary statesman Woodward, when asked about the past of missions and the future and what should be done, said, “Hats off to yesterday and coats off to tomorrow.”
Today nine of every ten people in the world are lost.
Of these nine, six of ten have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.
Of these six, three of ten have no one near them to tell them about Christ.
Consider the world as if it were shrunk down to a community of 1,000 persons:
In our town of 1,000—
180 of us live high on a hill called the developed world.
820 of us live in the rocky bottom called the rest of the world.
The fortunate 180 on the hill have 80 percent of the wealth of the whole town, over half of all the rooms in town with over two rooms per person, 85 percent of all the automobiles, 80 percent of all the TV sets, 93 percent of all the telephones, and an average income of $5,000 per person per year.
The not-so-fortunate 820 people on the bottom get by on only $700 per person per year, many of them on less than $75. They average five persons to a room.
How does the fortunate group of hill-dwellers use its incredible wealth? Well, as a group they spend less than 1 percent of their income to aid the lower land. In the United States, for example, of every $100 earned:
$18.30 goes for food.
$6.60 is spent on recreation and amusement.
$5.80 buys clothes.
$2.40 buys alcohol.
$1.50 buys tobacco.
$1.30 is given for religious and charitable uses, and only a small part of that goes outside the U.S.
I wonder how the villagers on the crowded plain—a third of whose people are suffering from malnutrition—feel about the folks on the hill?
—Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
The first message at the birth of Christ was a missionary message (Luke 2:10).
The first prayer Christ taught was a missionary prayer (Matt. 6:10).
The first disciple, Andrew, was a missionary (John 1:41).
The first message of the risen Lord was a missionary message (John 20:17).
The first command of the risen Lord to His disciples was a missionary command (John 21:21).
The first apostolic sermon was a missionary sermon (Acts 2:17–39).
The greatest reason for Christian love was a missionary reason (John 13:35).
The first coming of Christ was a missionary work (Luke 6:18–21).
The second coming of Christ is to be hastened by missionary work (Matt. 24:14).
Our Savior’s last wish on earth was a missionary wish (Matt. 28:19).
And the last wish of the departing Savior should be the first wish of His waiting people.
—Christian Beacon
In the early part of the nineteenth century the elders of a small church in Scotland met with their aged pastor and urged him to retire. They complained that there had not been a single conversion in the church in a year. “There was one,” he told them, “The wee lad Bobbie.”
They remembered, then. Not only had the boy confessed Christ as his Lord and Savior but a few months later, at a missionary meeting, had done an outstanding thing. When the offering plate was passed, Bobbie asked the usher to place the plate on the floor. The, removing his shoes, the lad stepped on it and said, “I give myself to missionary service. It is all I have.”
Wee Bobbie became known and revered the world over by those who love the Lord as the gifted missionary to Africa, Robert Moffat. If any brighter light ever shone in the dark continent, it would be Moffatt’s son-in-law, David Livingstone.
—E. Schuyler English
Whose I am is more important than who I am.
Who I am is more important than what I do.
What I do is more important than where I do it.
—Don Hillis
There’s no greater joy than giving out of gratitude rather than out of hope for return favors.
In Paris a woman who was poor and blind was seen placing twenty-seven francs in the offering plate.
“But you cannot afford so much,” observed a friend.
“Oh, yes I can,” she said, “I asked my fellow straw workers how much they spend for oil in their lamps each year. ‘Twenty-seven francs,’ they told me. So that is how much I save by being blind. I need no lamp, so I give it to shed light in the darkness of heathen lands.”
There were two boys in the Taylor family. The older said he must make a name for the family, and so he turned his face toward Parliament and fame. The younger decided to give his life to the service of Christ, and so he turned his face toward China and duty. J. Hudson Taylor, the missionary, died, beloved and known on every continent. “But when I looked in the encyclopedia to see what the other son had done,” one person said, “I found these words, ‘The brother of Hudson Taylor.’ ”
Tertullian, arrested for his faith, stood before the judge and said, “Sir, the majority in every village [in North Africa] are followers of Jesus Christ.”
A missionary in Africa was once asked if he really liked what he was doing. His response was shocking. “Do I like this work?” he said. “No, my wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonably refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse … But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? God pity him, if not. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to ‘go’ and we go. Love constrains us.”
Each year 30 million people die in the world.
Each day 82,000.
Each hour 3,400.
Each minute 57.
That’s almost one every time the clock ticks!
The least promising lad in a lady’s class was a raggedly dressed boy named Bob. The superintendent secured a new suit of clothes for him. After three Sundays Bob was missing. The teacher visited him to discover that his new clothes were torn and dirty. The superintendent gave him a second new suit. He returned to Sunday school. After attending twice, his place was empty again. Once more the teacher learned that the second suit had gone the same way as the first. Discouraged, she told the superintendent she must give him up. “Please don’t do that,” urged the superintendent. “I’ll give him a third suit if he promises to attend regularly.” Bob did promise. He did attend regularly. He became an earnest Christian, joined the church, became a teacher, studied for the ministry. He became Robert Morrison, honored missionary to China, who translated the Bible into the Chinese language and opened the gate to millions in that country.
A very hospitable Christian family very often entertained missionaries on furlough. The small boy in the family noticed how well the missionaries were treated, and what luxuries they had when they came.
One day someone asked Johnny what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he quickly replied, “I want to be a missionary home on furlough!”
If the Lord is coming soon, is this not a very practical motive for greater missionary effort? I know of no other motive that has been so stimulating to myself.
—J. Hudson Taylor
At an international gathering of young people in New York City, a young American asked a girl from Burma what was the religious belief of the majority of the Burmese. The young woman informed him that it was Buddhism. The American said quite casually, “Oh well, that doesn’t matter; all religions are the same anyway.”
The Burmese girl looked directly at the young man and said, “If you had lived in my country you would not say that. I have seen what centuries of superstition, fear, and indifference to social problems have done for my people. We need the truth and uplift of Christianity. When I became a Christian, it cost me something. If your religion had cost you more, you might be more aware of its superiority. My country needs Christ.”
If ten men are carrying a log—nine of them on the little end and one of them on the heavy end—and you want to help, on which end will you lift?
—Borden of Yale
A young artist painted the picture of a forlorn woman and a child out in a storm. The picture had such an effect on him personally that he put aside his palette and brush and said, “I must go to the lost instead of painting them.” He prepared for the ministry and for some time worked in the city’s slums. At length he said, “I must go to that part of the world where people seem to be helplessly lost.”
That young artist became the famous missionary Bishop Tucker of Uganda, Africa.
One billion seconds have passed since Jesus was born, and in the next ten years one and a half billion people will be born.
When David Livingstone’s body was taken back to England, crowds thronged the streets to pay tribute to the noble missionary. An elderly man among them was heard to sob aloud, and people wondered at his deep grief. It was revealed that he and Livingstone had been friends in their youth, and, as an ambitious young man he had scorned Livingstone’s choice to give his life for Christ in Africa. With a life of selfish interest behind him, the man saw with regret who had made the wiser choice, and he cried out, “I put the emphasis on the wrong word.”
—Christian Digest
The vitality of a church may be measured by its interest in the evangelization of the world.
—A. T. Pierson
The message of Robert Moffat which turned the steps of David Livingstone to missionary service in Africa still holds true in many parts of the world today. “Many a morning from my porch in Africa, I have seen the smoke of a thousand villages, whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.”