Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

cometh."onel"saved."say."you,"Special Grace Is AvailableIn the parable, the foolish virgins hadthe same incentive and opportunity toget the special, high-test oil,as thewise. It was their own careless neglectthat left them on the outside of thatshut door.In the Kingdom :"Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation"(II Cor. 6:2). Only those whoaccept Christ's offered grace now, are"wise"and are "ready." And only the"wise"and"ready"can sleep with safety. It matters little to them whether theLord comes when they are asleep, in thefield, at the mill, in the kitchen, in theoffice, on the highway, at their devotions; at work or play; they have received of His grace, have made theirpeace with God, and are honestly tryingto do His will, wherever they are, whatever they are doing. TheyAre you? "Watch. . . forare"ready."ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Sonof ManHOW TO GET RID OF YOURPREACHER1. Look him straight in the eye whilehe is preaching and say "Amen" once ina while. He'll preach himself to death ina few weeks.2. Pat him on the back and brag onhis good points. He'll soon work himselfto death.3. Start paying him a living wage.Perhaps he is one of those preacherswho have gone on starvation wages forso long he'd eat enough to kill him ifhe ever got the chance.4. Rededicate your own life to Christ,and ask the preacher for a job to do,(preferably some lost person you wouldwin to Christ). He'll die of heart failure.5. Get the church to unite in prayerfor the preacher,so effective, some .take him off your hands.and he'll soon becomelarger church willKiamichi Mission News"Education in Cyprus"by W. W. WierCyprus is now in the newspolitically. Why is the movement for unionwith Greece being led by the church?A good time to become informedabout the Island generally geography, history, present development,with emphasis on education including the impact of the schools of theCovenanter Church.You may secure your copy of "Education in Cyprus" by writing to R. B.Weir, 74 Rossmore Ave. Bronxville 8,New York.Price now $2.50.September 28, 1955Compassion for "The ColonelSamuel H. Hadley, successor to JerryMcAuley of far-famed Water StreetMission in New York, contacted manyministers and mission workers in hisday who, sad to say, did not meet withmuch success when it came to winningsouls. Sermons, services, and variousmeans and methods were used in plentybut they did not have the effect ofdrawing men and women into the Kingdom. Hadley realized what was wrong,and remarked to a friend that if moreChristians would experience the love ofChrist as portrayed in the thirteenthchapter of First Corinthians, a revivalwould follow such as the world had never known.Hadley himself had known the disappointment and failure of trying to winthe lost without this love for the oneshe sought to win. His success lastedonly as long as his patience held out.His biographer tells of the time whenhe became sadly aware of his lack.The revelation came one Monday evening. The night before (Sabbath) a character known as "The Colonel" in theBowery district had come to the penitent-form and claimed conversion. Hehad belonged to one of the most wealthyfamilies in Ohio and was actually acolonel in the U.S.A True Story by Elizabeth GatesArmy, but drinkproved his ruin, and for twenty-fiveyears now he had been a confirmeddrunkard and common beggar. His condition was repulsive. He was blear-eyed.He wore a ragged old overcoat, probablypicked out of some ashbin, and fastened with a nail at the front. He hadneither shirt nor undershirt. His trousers were a puzzle of holes tied togetherwith stringand some pieces of cloth.His feet were tied with pieces of carpet.After saying he was saved, "The Colgave Hadleyno peace until hesecured sufficient money to get a bedand a meal. However, he turned up atthe penitent-form again the next night,Monday, with a show of contrition. Hegot down, prayed very unctuously,jumped up and assured Mr. Hadley thathe was "saved for sure this time!" Themission worker had had a tiring day andthe meanness of the man's motivesproved the last straw to his patience.Repellingwith disgust the old tramp'sattempted embrace, he pointed to thedoor. Seeing by Hadley's mood that appeal was useless, the old man obeyed;but as the poor, friendless, miserablefigure passed out into the night theSpirit of God smote Hadley. He sawhimselfa professed soul winner but astranger to that love of Christ whichwould have wept and struggled for thesalvation of just such a soul as he hadsent so coldly and impatiently away.That night was a sleepless one forSam Hadley. One thing only possessedhis thoughtsthe poor old colonel. Theburden weighed upon his heart until twoweeks later when he had to attend themonthly meeting of mission workers.The speaker for the afternoon failed toappear and someone suggested askingMr. Hadley. The latter replied, "Yes, Ihave something toWalking up to the platform withshame and tears, he confessed his treatment of the old beggar. There in thepresence of his fellow workers, he whohad so often called others to the penitent-form became the penitent himself.The effect was powerful. No one suggested prayer, but one and all fell totheir knees and commenced to pray for"The Coloneland for Hadley. Andas prayer arose on his behalf, Hadley, melted in self-abasement, met theSaviour.He immediately hastened to WaterStreet Mission where he found "TheColonel"sitting in his rags and miseryon the back seat. Throwing his armsaround the derelict's neck he wept. Thebewildered old man was then taken fora good meal, after which hot water,soap, towels and clean clothes were produced. With his own hands Hadleywashed and dressed the poor outcast.The old colonel stayed for the meeting.By this time he was shaking with emotion and his tears fell on the floor as hecried, "O Lord, if it ain't too late, savethis poor sinner!"This continued forsix nights, and Hadley wisely left himto the Holy Spirit. On the Saturdaynight, "The Colonel" rose with heaven inhis face, and said, "Mr. Hadley, I am"And I believesaid Hadley, throwing his arms around his friend.The Colonel was transformed fromthat moment into a true child of God.God restored to him his intellect; hisyouth appeared to return and the tall,dignified Christian gentleman testifiedin the most convincing manner to howChrist had reached down and saved him.Hadley said of his later life that theColonel was one of the most noble specimens of humanityhe had ever known.A wonderful conversion, yes ! But whydid it happen? It happened becausesomeone was willing to humble himselfbefore God; willing to appear as nothingin the eyes of his fellow workers;will-205