Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

good."ceived,"minister."written"ple."ministry."times the command was repeated, "Feed my sheep,feed mylambs." 'Kip,'if golf clubs cause thee tooffend, break them up and cast them from thee orgive them to thy caddy. If thy fishing tackle keepsyou from fishing for men, tie a millstone about itand cast it into the midst of the sea. If thy musicalinstruments or thy television or any other thingkeep thee from the work of the Lord, get rid of themby one means or another. It is better for thee toenter into life without any of the memoryof thesethings than having all of them, find yourself in thehell of remorse. It is better that you should be remembered as having converted one lost sinner thanyou should have the championship of the whole statein any sport whatever.Short change does not buy long tons.Ponder those words of the Apostle again, "Andsay to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry whichthou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfil it!"Ponder those words one by one : "the ministry whichthou hast received in the Lord." The word 'ministry'reminds us of Him who came not to be ministeredunto but to minister and to give His life a ransomfor many. This man of whom it was said that "ifbooks were written concerning all His deeds duringHis short life were written, the world itself wouldnot contain the books that should be andyet they who loved Him much condensed His biography into these few words that "He went about doingHis highest charge was : "Let him that will begreatest among you be your There is nolimit to things great or small included in that word'ministry.'How solemn are the words, "the ministry thouhast received from the Lord." You have not chosenyour profession ; you have been chosen for it by theone who wrote your name in the Lamb's Book ofLife before He laid the foundation of the world."That thou fulfil the ministry that thou hast reand then there is that word 'fulfil' whichmeans to fill full. The vessel is no pint-sized vessel.If the Pacific Ocean could be cleared of all its waterand you had the job of filling it full there would besome parallel between tha+ ^nd fulfilling the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord.Secondly, one cannot fullfill a rich ministrywith any other thing unrelated to the ministrycrowding out his life whether it be recreation or ameans of livelihood. You be saying that theApostle Paul made tents for his livelihood and thatis true but he did it for the glory of God and that hemight not be chargeable to any church. He did notreceive two salaries for the same time but only oneand the time he spent was not for anyeight-hourday or sixteen-hour day.Fulfilling the ministry means first of all doingthe very best you can in your pulpit work, then doingthe very best you can in your door-to-door work andfinally doing the very best you know how in work onyour knees. Read Paul's prayers for his convertsand see how much his prayer life meant.You may be saying the Laodiceans are not spiritual people, and that is evidently true. But it is yourChristian duty to make them so and to stand at theirdoors and knock and come in unto them and supwith them and sell them gold tried in the fire, whiteraiment, and eye salve that they may see, lest theLaodicean candlestick be taken out of its place ; andyou may be the person who has brought this about.Now, Kip, the most important word in Paul'sinjunction is fulfil, which means 'fill full.' "Fill fullfull'theWhen the Lord says 'fill hemeans, "Give and it shall be given unto you. Goodmeasure, pressed down and shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom. For withthe same measure that ye meet withal it shall bemeasured to you again. I remember Cleoud Georgeof blessed memory using an illustration like this. Itis like a boy buying apples from his grandfather.Grandfather fills the half bushel measure up fulland shakes it down, heaps it up, presses it together,pours it into a bag and then throws in an extra peckfor good measure, filled full. The boy gives grandfather a dollar bill and grandfather gives back ahalf, two quarters, four dimes and a nickel. That isthe way God gives to those who fill full. But if wegive short measure it will be measured to us again.Are you filling full your ministry ?There is a text in Ezekiel "like priest, like peoThe Laodiceans will be the measure of you, andof the fullness of your ministry. The disciple will notrise above his master. Their spirituality is low;perhaps it is because your spirituality is low. Butraise your spirituality and theirs will rise accordingly. It was to the angel of the church of Laodiceathat the letter is addressed. Do you realize that thecontinuation of the Gospel in Laodicea is all dependent on you ? Every soul in Laodicea is dependentdirectly or indirectly upon your spiritual temperature. And it is not what you have in this world butwhat you have to give an account for in the Day ofJudgment that should determine your daily duties.A minister was lamenting to a fellow minister thesmallness of his congregation. The older minister'sreply was, "You will probably find it large enoughin the day of Judgment." Lukewarmness is a terriblecharge to make and a terrible responsibility to answer for.Now Archippus, remember me to your FatherPhilemon and to your Mother Apphia, to the Churchin their house and remember that they have dedicated you to this work and are praying for you as isalso the Apostle Paul and many others. Pray foryour people and ask them earnestly to pray for youand see if we cannot strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die.Yours most earnestly,THE YOUNG ROBIN"In a soft, warm nest in a shady tree,With bright little eyes and wings,Sat a fine old bird with his children three,Such tiny, good-tempered things,And the old bird said to the dear little birds,T want you to learn to fly.'And the little ones merrily chirped the words,try.''Dear father we'll try, we'llNow a little boy had a sum to-day,And was told to go quickly through it;But he pouted his lip and was heard to sayHe was sure he could not do it.Do you think this boy was half as goodAs the birdies who learned to fly ?He would wiser have been don't you think hewould ?Had he said 'I'll try, I'll try.' " 309November 17, 1954