Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 25, 1949 Page: 2 of 7

                                
MAY 25, 1949
THE CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE
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Each wook ihJT&fiiorial article which ia adjudged most
timely and valuable will be printed an thia page
of CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE.
•
To Hold Month’s
Meeting In Cola.
By Loyd L. Smith
1903 Kinyon
Lawton, Oklahoma \
The Lord willing, we are going
to hold a meeting for a month,
(June) in Rifle, Colo. I will
preach and Don Mansur, of Ana-
darko, wilj lead the singing. We
have a small congregation there
that has been meeting for some
two or tjnee years. It is one of
the most active small groups 1
have known. They try to carry
the financial load themselves,
and have done it up to now. They
will have to have some help in
this. (Most of it has already been
secured).
Rifle is a thriving little city of
4,000 qr 5,000 people. Farming,
mining, and shale oil production
are the principal occupations
Shale oil production is growing
rapidly, and many people are
moving in, so it promises to be
one of the best towns in that sec-
tion. With the active group We
have there now, and with propel
support, we should be able to
build a good congregation.
J- 1 : .JU.
---------
The Church of Christ in River- J
side, Ft. Worth has accepted the' .the influence of Brother McGre-
oversight of another evanggj^t
to a foreign field. They decided
in their regular business meet-
ing May 16 to sponsor Allan E.
Flaxman
Flaxman
good tracts that can be contri-
buted for the work there June,
as many people to go with us as
possible—for either part, or all
of it—young people would be
welcome. We would like to con-
tact anyone who might like to
make a move to another country.
And of course, if any would like
to send money, it can be used and
would be appreciated. (Send it to
the congregation there, in cars
of E. R. Anderson). . .
Our Daily Bible lesson from
K S W O of Lawton is well along
in its fourth year. Interest in it
is as good, if not better, than at
any time since it started. In ad-
iMlluti to th© radio work, I do
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hold the sun in its place, and tonight the moon,
stars, and earth in their march around the sun^
each holding its proper place without clash or
collision, ask yourself, “What keeps it thus?”
Then remember that God says all things are up-
held "by the word of his power I"
When spoken by the Master, that word had
the power to calm the sea and steady the wind.
It was by the same word that the flood covered
the earth in the long ago, and by it, the word of
God, shall the world be destroyed with fipe in
the future. The Spirit declares, “For this they
wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of
old, and an earth compacted out of water and
. amidst water, by the word of God; by which
means the world that then was, being overflow-
We want- some help like thist to impart spiritual life to men;----         ~~
■ In His contest with the devil in the wilderness.
Jesus trusted in no other weapon than “the
sword of the spirit, the word of God," answering
each subtle temptation of Satan with an empha-
tic, "It is written.” With what effect? With the
effect that the devil left him for the time There
is no weapon more powerful today:
In the kingdom of nature God’s word has
been, and shall continue to be, the active agent*
of His power. In the creation, all things were
brought forth by it. “By faith we understand
that the worlds have been framed by the woed
of God, so that what is seen hath not been made
out of things which appear,” states the writer of
Hebrews (11:3).
Calling to mind the first paragraph of the
Bible, we remember it is there recorded “And
thcre be> liKht: and there was
light (Gem. 1:3). The Psalmist, singing praises
to such a C reatcr. said, “By the word at Wnfr
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quite a lot oi .vaWII.Ue work. ft- w„ done. H°, „^“d,d
~ ~    1 (Psalms 33:6,9).
We read not only of its use in the creation,
but also ’bf the pdwer of the word In holding
-these things logger. In speaking of Jesus, the
writer of Hebrews says of Him, "Who being the
effulgence of his glory, and the very image of ■ 
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R i vers ide Ch u rch, f t, Wo rtli
To Sponsor Flax man For W ork
In Inland Australian Cities
<i.                          •                          .  £3.--——
By Claude A. Guild „          7'4\
pie class in his home. Through
. gor, jjrp, Flapfean obeyed /he
gosptl. .He has a wife, a daugji-
taMjGayle, four; a son, Bryan,
■ .fa^t .months. He came to A.C.C.
in O&tober 1947 and has preached
for over 30 congregations within
a radius of 300 miles of Abilene.
Published Wednesday of each week except the last week ir^June and
Lhe last week in December at Abilene, Texas.
*2.00 Per Annum In Advance
’          Bl.50 Outside United States ■
Send all communications and articles to Box 1158, Abilene, Texas
QLAN%? HICKS      Editor
EtrcrENlA 8CQTT •.   Assistant
Entered as second-class master October 18, 1944 at the Post Office
at Abilene, Texas, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
--------------£-------—
Volume VI 3         May 25, 1949 j      Num bey 52
ed with water, perished; but the heavens that
now are, and the earth, by the same word have
been stored up for fire, being reserved against .
the dav of judgment and destruction of ungodly
v men” (2 Pet. 3:5-7).
From its. power in thp physical realm, let us
consider next the power of that word in the mor-
al and spiritual kingdom. The presence of sin in
the world is not a Question of controversy among
religionists, all admit it. And the realization that
man must be convicted of sin and brought to Je-
sus Christ for salvation is as readily admitted.
But. How are men to be convicted? has been
the Question long asked. “By the direct operation
of the fiblv Spirit upon the heart of the sinner,”
answer some. “By the word of God the instru-
ment of the Spirit.” answer others. • But what
saith the Scrintures? “To the law and to the tes-
timony.” advises Isaiah.,
. Jesus said of the Holy Soirit whom , He
would send, "And he, when ho is come, will con-
vict the world in resoect of sin, and of righteous-
ness and of judgment" (John 16:13). Now when
the Snirit came. He camo to the apostles, who.
guided by Him, preached the word of the Lord
unto those. Jews who had Just put Jesus to death.
Note Acts 2:37 for the result, "Now when they
(the Jews who had come together) heard thU"—
heard what? the message of the Holy Spirit
through Peter—"They were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of tho
apostles. Brethren, what shall we do?"' They
were convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, this is
readily seen; but how? through the word of God,
and the Spirit continues His work of convicting
through the word even until now.  I ',, - 
“* * JcSus further declared in His teaching that
man “must be born again.” Necessary* to any
birth is a begettal. The Bible declares that God
“begat us by the word of tfuth” (James 1:18) and
again, “Ye were begotten again, not of corrupti-
ble seed, but of incorruptible, through the word
of God which liveth and abideth” (1 Pet. 1:23), 
The word of God, then, possesses that power
of begettal essential to the new birth. No man
cah be born of God who has not heard the word
of God, for by it he is begotten unto the spiritual
life,
ft
All of us recognize the principle that “with-
out faith it is impossible to please God,” but few
today recognize an equally true principle, that
“faith comethl by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God^ (Rom. 10:17). The word of God is
the testirpohy upon which all faith rests. Faith
is sure confidence bajed upon testimony. The or-
der alwajlis fact, testimony, falth. The funda-
mental fact\of Christian faith is that Jesus died
for our sins, and was raised again on the third
day. The word of God is the testimony to the
fact, with faith the result.
Further faith in the fact that one’s sins are
forgiven rests upon the acutance of God’s word.
God testifies, “He that Lelieveth^and is baptized-<
shall be saved” (Mark 1^16). The testimony ie
presented through preaching, man believes It
and is baptized in obedience fo^its command. Up-
on the promise of that word of Gpc^ man believes
his sins forgiven. If the word of God does not
teach that which one claims to believe,-it is not
belief or faith at all, but presumption.
And now that the new creature has been t
brought forth by the word of God, t babe in
Christ, this new spiritual life is nourished and ,N
sustained by the same word, since it possesses
the 1‘te sustaining power, Peter declared, "As1----
nt’w-borir babes, desire the sincere milk of the .
- ^°pdt-^2)ye may             “"to
“7 As the years pass anf^the Christian grows in
grace and in the k;^wfcdge of the Lord, and as
there must come into nis life sorrows, disappoint-
ments, heart-achfcrf\ he finds another powe>
which the word .possesses; that of comforting fa
time of double? ^hat could be mon
to the brokenbdjrtedhhMfaer who)
*      "                 iJrii.lf.* V<xiv(. Lvb Tjll*
world beyond, than to be able iflbtju
The Power of God’s Word
/              ‘ By Homer Hailey
We gratefully/hank our Father for His word
and for its power. We are glad tha* in the midst
of weakness, death, and decay, there is some-
thing that is living, active and powerful, which
has back of, it the divine declaration that It
“shall never pass a'way.” The writer of Hebrews
has said, “For the word of God is living and ac-
tive and sharper than any two-edged-, sword”
(Heb. 4:12>. While Jesus declared, "Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away” (Matt. 24:35). In otir study we shall
invite your consideration for our lesson, “The
Power of God’s Word.”
Jklay I again recall Jeremiah’s plea tq the
people of his day?—an appeal we are making to
the people of our day—-“Thus saith .Jehovah,
Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is-the good way; and walk
therein” (Jer. 6:16). An appeal for a return to the
old paths woqld be incomplete without an ap-
peal to recognize the word of God as the instru-^
ment of His power today.            .
Strange as it may seem, from the beginning
it has been the disposition of man to minimise
Gcd’s word. From Eve in Eden, who belittled it
to a place inferior to the voice of Satan, to the
scoffers of today who make light of its gospel
message, man has been disposed to reject it.
Naaman. the leper of Syria', when instructed by
the word of God simply to "go dip seven times
in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall come again to^
thee, and $)hou shalt be clean," wanted some-
thing spectacular. He was not satisfied with the
simple manifestation of God’s power through His
word, nor was he anxious for tho blessing if it
must come through humble obedience to the
Word...
Even In Hades, a certain man asked that the
word of God be set aside, and one be sent from
the dead to his father’s house to warn his breth-
ren that they conie not to the same place of tor-
ment. He forgot that the power to steer one from
such a place was to be -found in the word of the
Lord. But from on high came a voice saylfig,
"They have Moses and the prophets; let them.,
hear them . . If they hear not Moses and the"
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, If one
rise from the dead” (Luke 16).
But whatever may have been, and whatever
may now be man’s general attitude toward the
word ot the Lord, i\Ve find, the attitude of Jesus
toward it to hav« beep that of reverence for.its
power and authdfity. He claimed no originality
for what H<* spoke4, but that whatsoever things
He commanded or taught were as the Father
taught Him. He asked men io believe what He
said because of the source of the message—be-
cause He spoke the word of God.
When in the presence of deaths’ it was the
simple word of Jesus, "Lazarus, come forth,” -
fhat brought His friend from the tomb. He recog-
nized in the word which He spoke the power to
raise from physical or spiritual death unto life
T5f the spiritually dead He said, “Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the hour cometh, and now is,’
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God; and they that hear shall live. For as the
Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to
the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:25,
26). That word of Christ, which is the word of
God, is the only power in the world today able
to Australia. Brother,
has been preparing
himself in Abilene Christian Col-
lege far his work. He is highly
recommended by the college
church and the officials of the
school. Brother R. W. Grimsley.
Elder, said: “The College church
bolds Brother Flaxman in very
high esteem and feel that since
he is a native of that country he
will be well prepared to carry
the gospel to those people.” Bro-
ther Don H. Morris wrote: "Al-
lan Flaxman is one of the best
men that we have ever known ior
doing mission work in his home
country.”                          • , ■
Four Men Employed
Brother Flaxman is the fourth
man employed by this congrega-
tiom Brother Claude A Guild is
the local evangelist, Delbert Mat-
thews, Danforth, Maine; John T
Hardin, Union of S. Africa and
now Brother Flax man to Aus-
tralia. <We are receiving supple-
mental assistance in the work in '
Maine and will expect some in
Australia but will fully support
Brother Hardin to Africa.) In ad- J
dition to these fields, Riverside
is helping the local Mexican
work, tjie eJmrcli in Omaha, Neb.,
Italy and Old Mexico.
Our Needs in Australia
Travel Funds-—The college
church in Abilene has agreed to
raise the funds for the Flaxman
family.
Facilities on the field—A tent
with seating is a MUST for the
work in Australia. Brother Flax-
man will be working the inland
cities and advises that his native
people will come to tent meetings
easier than to an auditorium. -—
Song books and broadcasting
funds:—Brother Flaxman wants
to do some radio work. The field
is virgin. There are only two
evangelists in the whole country
now.
Salary—The church in River-
side wants to raise $300 a month
for Brother Flaxman’s support. If
any congregation would like to
have a part in a worthy, fruitful
and needy field of evangelism,
help Riverside support Brother
Flaxman. Address correspon-
dence to Riverside Church of ,l
Ghriot, 2701 E. Belknap;—JTfl"
Worthy. Tom........_..i_________-        -
Brother Flaxman was born ia
Five Dock, a suburb of Sydney
March 26, 1916. His parents were
Baptists. Brother John McGre-
gor, a lone Christian in Austral-
ia at the time, invited Brother |
Flaxman and other boys to a Bi-
; iiS
■ .
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