THREE KINDS OF CHURCH SERVICES.
There ought to be three kinds of services in all churches: one for worship—to offer praise, and to wait on the Lord in prayer; another for teaching; and at these services there needn’t be a word to the unconverted, (although some men never close any meeting without presenting the Gospel), but let them be for the church people; and a third for preaching the Gospel. Sunday morning is the best time for teaching, but Sunday night is the best night in the whole week, of the regular church services, to preach the simple Gospel of the Son of God. When you have preached that, and have felt the power of the unseen world, and there are souls trembling in the balance, don’t say, as I have heard good ministers say: “If there are any in this, place concerned—at all concerned—about their souls, I will be in the pastor’s study on Friday night, and will be glad to see them.” By that time the chances are the impression will be all wiped out. Deal with them that night before the devil snatches away the good seed. Wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, there should be an expectation of immediate results, and if this were the case the Church of Christ would be in a constant state of grace.
“Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” How much would Paul and Barnabas have accomplished if they had pronounced the benediction and sent these people home? It is a thing to weep over that we have got thousands and thousands of church members who are good for nothing towards extending the Kingdom of God. They understand bazaars, and fairs, and sewing-circles; but when you ask them to sit down and show a man or woman the way into God’s kingdom, they say: “Oh, I am not able to do that. Let the deacons do it, or some one else.” It is all wrong. The Church ought to be educated on this very point. There are a great many church-members who are just hobbling about on crutches. They can just make out that they are saved, and imagine that is all that constitutes a Christian in this nineteenth century. As far as helping others is concerned, that never enters their heads. They think if they can get along themselves, they are doing amazingly well. They have no idea what the Holy Ghost wants to do through them.
No matter how weak you are, God can use you; and you cannot say what a stream of salvation you may set in motion. John the Baptist was a young man when he died; but he led Andrew to Christ, and Andrew led Peter, and so the river flowed on.
In the closing pages of this book I want to give some hints in regard to passing on the good to others, and thus profiting them by your knowledge of the Bible. Every believer, whether minister or layman, is in duty bound to spread the gospel. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” was the wide command of our parting Savior to His disciples.
There are many Bible students, however, who utterly neglect the command. They are like sponges, always sucking in the Water of Life, but never imparting it to thirsty souls around.
A clergyman used to go hunting, and when his bishop reproved him, he said he never went hunting when he was on duty.
“When is a clergyman off duty?” asked the bishop.
And so with every Christian: when is he off duty?
To be ready with a promise for the dying, a word of hope for the bereaved and afflicted, of encouragement for the downhearted, of advice for the anxious, is a great accomplishment. The opportunities to be useful in these ways are numerous. Not only in inquiry-meetings and church work, but in our everyday contact with others the opening constantly occurs. A word, a look, a hand-clasp, a prayer, may have an unending influence for good.
“Is your father at home?” asked a gentleman of a doctor’s child.
“No,” he said, “he’s away.”
“Where can I find him?”
“Well,” he said, “you’ve got to look for him in some place where people are sick or hurt, or something like that. I don’t know where he is, but he’s helping somewhere.”
That ought to be the spirit animating every follower of Him who went about doing good.