VOLUME 4 MARCH, 1954 NUMBER 3. Zhe ginishing ihe Tort By A. F. TARR, President Talk given at the 1953 Fall Council During the Sabbath Afternoon Symposium. In a time of crisis in ancient Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah calls for a return to the "old paths." E THANK God this afternoon for the message from the Lord's servant: "The evening are stretched out." Verses 1, 4. W mighty witness of the Advent light of truth is to go to all the dark places We, too, are living in a time when "the message in the far-flung divisions of the of the earth in a much shorter time than day goeth away, and the shadows of the world. With you we who work in those many think possible." — General Confer- evening are stretched out"; and if we are foreign fields have dedicated our hearts ence "Bulletin, 1893, page 298. to finish our work and to attain to the rest and labours unreservedly to the colossal We in the Northern European Division that comes at the end of our road, there task that confronts us. We are deeply con- believe that we are living in that "shorter must be a treading again of the old paths scious of the rapid passing of time, and of time" of which the servant of the Lord —the patriarchal paths, the early Christian the stupendous task that remains to be wrote. We believe also that it imposes up- paths, the paths of the reformers, the early done. But we rejoice that the work in all on our world-wide work a responsibility Advent paths, yes, and the paths of our of our fields is onward. that each division organization must seek own early fervour. Only four months ago a country that humbly yet mightily to discharge. The treading of these paths will bring throughout our history has been barred to When, in ancient Jerusalem, God's pro- us back to that old-time confidence in God, all mission endeavour except that of its fessed people were confronted with a whch proved such a mighty bulwark in state church was, we are glad to report, crisis, this message was delivered by the the lives of godly men of old. Such con- entered by one of our missionaries. Andreas prophet Jeremiah: "Thus saith the Lord, fidence as Noah manifested when on dry Nielsen, a Dane working in the Faeroe Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask land he built an ark, and as Abraham Islands, entered Greenland on June 27, for the old paths, where is the good way, showed when he raised the knife to slay his 1953. For three months Brother Nielsen and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for son. It was this confidence that moved laboured intensively, visiting hundreds of your souls." Jer. 6: 16. Constituting a Moses to renounce a throne, "choosing homes with Icelandic and Danish literature background to this message we read : rather to suffer affliction with the people and conducting public meetings wherever "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa: ... for evil of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin permitted. When the time came for him to cometh out of the north, and great des- for a season." Heb. 11 : 25. And coming leave, Brother Nielsen, reporting encourag- truction.. .. Woe unto us ! for the day down to our own movement 3,000 years ingly on his visit, concluded with this goeth away, for the shadows of the later, it caused a man like Joseph Bates, NORTHERN LIGHT though himself nearly penniless, to embark triumph the work that they began. It must chosen people. Did not the disciples sense on a publishing programme that astonishes be a fervour like Elijah's when he boldly this acutely when, despite the magnitude the world today. condemned the wickedness of kings, or of their task and the forces arrayed against Dominating the lives of these men was like the disciples whose valiant witness was them, they were constrained to exciaim: an expectation of God's miracle-working adjudged by their enemies to have "turned "We cannot but speak the things we have power that transcended all of the combined the world upside down." Such fervour seen and heard"? forces that were pitted against them. It was alone can combat the last-day forces It is in such a spirit that it behoves this power that Elijah claimed when for arrayed against us and cause a witness to workers in our division organizations to three and a half years he shut the heavens be borne that will belt the globe. labour today. They are called to bear upon against dew and rain, and when he called Accompanying this experience must be their hearts the needs and interests or so for fire from God to devour a water-logged an old-time devotion to the Word of God many different nationalities and countries. sacrifice. What mighty power Moses anti- and to prayer, which will cause us with They must be void of all national bias. cipated when he struck the sea with his rod Jeremiah to testify : "Thy words were They must be alert to foster all lines of to make a crossing for the hosts of Israel, found, and I did eat them," and with service with equal interest; literature must, or when later he called for water from the David to say: "Evening and morning and be published in every major language rock to assuage their thirst ! In New Test- at noon will I pray and cry aloud." It was within their territory. Schools and medical ament days Peter and John laid claim to institutions must be operated wherever the same power when they commanded the required; evangelism maintained at the cripple at the temple gate,. "In the name of Mil.W..4110,M,IM a Mk IMP'011.0MisMN,Mk.M.MNIM,IMR,M1102•1,11101•1,.. highest level. The entire working forces Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and must be distributed fairly and according walk." It was in anticipation of a similar MIRACLE to changing conditions, always with the power that 2,000 years ago God featured dominating objective of proclaiming this I ask for neither name nor niche His remnant church as mighty angels In corridor of fame, closing message in the remotest corners of flying "in the midst of heaven" and Nor thrill of sense, nor touch of gold, their fields. Dangers, both to work and lightening the earth with their glory. Nor laurels in earth's game. workers, must be detected by eyes con- Inseparably associated with the old paths stantly anointed with the heavenly eyesalve, I only trust my Lord all-wise, was an old-time economy, when material By miracle of grace, and in all relationships a spirit or mutual th'ngs were relegated to the background Will grant a faith enriched by love, confidence, courage, and good cheer must and spiritual values were transcendent. It And then—to see His face ! constantly inspire to greater achievements. was an economy under which men were An old-time resourcefulness is indicated "more precious than gold," and two coats Alfonso N. Anderson by these old paths to which we are called. too much for the disciples; when their Do you remember the men who removed marching orders were to "provide neither a roof to bring a friend to Jesus? We need gold nor silver, nor brass nor script" but to a resourcefulness like that today, adapted "seek ... first the kingdom of God and His when our pioneers devoted whole nights to our modern age when the accumulated righteousness," believing that all material to prayer and a searching of the Word ingenuity of the evil one is let loose like things would be provided them. that they were enabled to discover some of a flood upon a helpless world. We need to In our denominational history there was the essential doctrines that we preach to devise new ways and means of attaining a time when sacrifice was the accepted lot the world today. And what of the prayers our objective and of accelerating our own of every Seventh-day Adventist, when the of the disciples who "when they had programme so as to outdistance his. But expression "to spend and be spent" was prayed, the place was shaken wherein they it requires a determination no less marked almost daily on the lips of the workers. were assembled together," or of Daniel than that characterizing any previous How vivid still are the memories of our and Isaiah? Sometimes one wonders how epoch of man's service for God. childhood days in South Africa when the our prayers must sound in angel ears The old paths call us back to an old- monthly cheque from the conference office when compared with theirs. Or how time fellowship, a fellowship especially would reach our home. Time and again Heaven must grieve when our little cares marked in these days of national barriers when the letter was opened it would con- or even our ministerial or administrative and animosities. Such fellowship will tain the word that the tithe had not come duties are allowed to encroach so heavily enable us to say as David of old : "I am a in as had been hoped and that the wage on time that should be spent in private companion of all them that fear Thee." could only be paid in part. The hope was devotion. At a recent workers' meeting in And might it not afford even in our day expressed that it would be possible to make Britain a Bible worker, speaking on evan- such blessings as came to hospitable it up by the end of the quarter, or at least gelistic methods, made this humble Abraham who, entertaining strangers, en- by the end of the year.