Avgust 1. ITO

PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

A.nd this gospel of the kingdom shall he preached in all the world for a min-ess vnfo all nations: and then shall the end come.'’—AMfh<w :d‘_f

There was a iirn'’. not so long ago. when many of us had a great deal of interest hi tb.is text: but it o< principally in the latter part of it. We magnified the end of the age., looked upon it as the cud of our earthly lives, and made it. in a sense, our objective.

Now we see that this was a wrong view. To be sure, it is still the privilege of the Lord’s people to anticipate the happy time when they shall be with the Lord in glory; but those who are participating in their present privileges of sendee cannot imagine themselves as being much happier anywhere than they are right here and now. in the midst of their enemies.

Deliverance

There is a deliverance coming, a deliverance from human weakness and illness; but we cannot be sure that this was what the Lord meant, or at least all that he meant when he said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads [and rejoice]; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Our Lord may have meant, and we think he did mean, a very considerable measure of deliverance here and now. Those who go out in the service of the King of kings are impressed more and more with the evidences that the robe of righteousness is about them, that they belong to the Lord, that he is guiding their feet, and that no evil can befall them while they are doing the thing that he wants then¹ to do.

The Message the Witness

At this time we are getting a new view of the meaning of this text. To preach the gospel of the kingdom for a witness to all nations does not mean to give a little formal or perfunctory notice of the coming reign of righteousness, but it means to stand forth and in stentorian tones tell the whole world over and over again that the reign of God’s Anointed has begun.

This is the most thrilling and the most happifying j’ob that has ever been given to any people in the world. If anything, it is a greater honor than came to the angel Gabriel when he announced the birth of the Savior; for tire birth of the Holy One was merely one of the many steps leading upward and onward to the blessed day in which we stand.

Each Canvass Teaches

But it is a job that requires work, real work, and plenty of it, if we are to do the thing that is to be done. The world is not going to sense the force of our message by merely having one statement of it made to them. All good teaching is a matter of constant repetition, not of the same words, but of the same ideas, not necessarily by the same teachers but by whatever means is available.

The only way of preaching that existed in apostolic times was to go laboriously about from place to place, by the little sailboats then in use, or else afoot; for it was rarely that any could afford to travel by other means, and there were no conveniences of travel worth mentioning. And on arrival at destination it was necessary to get a company of persons together and talk to them, or else to talk to them from house to house. There was also a method of instruction by epistles, but there was almost no mail service, and hence this method could be used but rarely. Getting a Hearing

Look at the situation which we have today! Some who are really in earnest in this matter of preaching the gospel of the kingdom find ways to travel as much as 100 miles to their canvassing territory and get to work by eight o’clock in the. morning. The railway and the automobile are available to almost everybody. Scattered districts can be reached easily which were only a few years ago almost inaccessible. Concrete roads, upon which the workers can fly as on the wings of the wind, run hither and thither in every direction.

On arrival at the scene of action it is no longer necessary to hunt around for a few dozen people to whohi the message may be told, and then to tell it orally. That day has passed. People have largely lost interest in

such antiquated forms of instruction. What they want today is. something modem, and we have just that.                    ¹

Now when a worker goes into a territory to tell about the message of the kingdom he finds that his message has gone before him. It has penetrated the walls of the homes. The people have been "'tuning in”. Many of them are ready for the message. They know something about it. 'rhe kingdom work is bearing its fruit.

After the Visit

And when the worker would leave something with the people that they will not forget, some witness that will be worth while, he can place in their hands for very little money, the grandest messages that ever were heard by human ears or seen by human eyes. The various books, turned out by the million at the most up to date printing plant in the country, all present the gospel of the kingdom, some from this angle and some from that, but all together making a most glorious witness for the truth, and a witness that will some day be reme.vibered.

Always New Hearers

It is our business to preach the gospel of rhe kingdom for a witness, and not to concern ourselves about anything else than doing a good job at it. And it is not for us to say when a town has had a sufficient witness. Xnmerons evidences are at hand to show that the more often and more thoroughly a town has been worked, the more valuable it is as a place in which to give further witness of the kingdom. •    .

Reached Before But Yet Hungry

An idea of what may be done was afforded recently in a town which boasts a population of 215 souls. A brother visited the town, made 57 calls and sold 205 books, and expects that at least as many more can be placed there in the near future. ’

In two instances recently the same streets have been recanvassed within a few days of each other, and as many books sold on the second occasion as on the first. In one of these instances it was not even ascertained that the street had been recanvassed until the workers got together and compared notes. The ground has only been scratched. The work of preaching the gospel of the kingdom for a witness to all nations is only nicely getting under way. The Lord has still a great work for his people to do. And the end will not come until the work is done.

1. B. S. A. Week—Aug. 28-Sept. 5

I. B. S. A. Week is primarily for witnessing to the people the message of the kingdom. It will be worthy of having been set aside only in the measure with which it succeeds in a wide distribution of the message in printed form. That this may be accomplished, it will be necessary for the message to be taken to the people. The experience of past years has manifested that the people are eager for the message at this time; and it is also being demonstrated that few are interested enough to attend public meetings. Probably people have come to think that all activities along religious lines are more or less the same, and that they desire something better than ordinarily given them at the churches. They <ki not Imow to whom to go.

World’s Message Delivered.

Each one in present ‘’Th can probably sympathize with these people; but the service in connection with bringing this message of the truth to them is not of such nature as to bless only those to whom the message is brought. Rather, the one who brings the message is blest in some way with the joy that is the part of each individual with whom he talks; and it is this j'oy that is his strength. In the belief, then, that the witness in order to be -widespread must be brought to the people themselves, I. B. S. A. Week is set aside as a week for canvassing only. Instead of having large public meetings or setting aside a topic to he used throughout the world as a topic of the lecture from the public platform, one message will be taken to the people; and each one will have an opportunity of taking them the message. The message is in book form—Deliverance. It brings to the people the message of deliverance and with a set of Studies in the Scriptures enables the people to prove that deliverance is true. ¹

Back Message Up

Instead of the world-wide topic, then, each one can have as the spirit of his work that of going to the people with the message, and let that message he: “Deliverance—prove it is true with Studies in the Scriptuees.” We urge that during I. B. S. A. Week all meetings be dispensed with; and that the entire week be devoted to the work of witnessing by going to the people with the message in printed form, beginning Sunday, August 2Sth, and continuing the work eaeh day of the week, aud ending I. B. S. A. Week with a tremendous message that can employ three holidays, Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day, in going to the people with the message of truth. Some idea of the extent to which a concerted effort of this sort will lead can be gained by estimating that each worker will call upon thirty homes the first Sunday and thirty homes each of Saturday, Sunday and Monday following. Multiplying this number of homes by the number in the class will approximate the number of those that will be witnessed to with the message of the kingdom. Compare then this work with the result of holding a public meeting that will bring out a few strangers and a great number of those who have attended meetings in the past.

Plans Will Include All

We have urged the directors to take pains to plan the work so as to Teach the outlying territory first, leaving the medium-sized towns for the final work of the week, and leaving city territory for work during the rainy days that might interfere with rural and with other work during the week—work that will allow for the gathering of all who arc engaged in the service during the noon hour and at supper time. Arrangements that will permit those who are engaged in secular work to participate in work in the territory during the evenings. This is the sort of activity that should be marked throughout I. B. S. A. Week. If during the week you cannot engage in the service every dav. take advantage of the opportunities that will allow you to call upon those who have followed the lecture series. Make as many back calls as you can. and offer them the set of Srrnn:s in the Scrijtubes. Try to take advaid age of every bit of time that opportunity will allow. Such efforts will make the witness during I. B. S. A. Week a distinctive one and a great one.

8 Books the Week's Canvass

In stressing the canvass for the set of eigljt volumes for $2.78, we do not wish to intimate that no other offer should be made; but what we wish to emphasize is that this canvass should be the principal canvass of the day. If people do not care for the eight-volume combination, then a combination of a book and booklets should be offered at a dollar, or Deliverance and the Harp can be offered as a combination, or a combination of six or three booklets, or, as a last resort, just one booklet. Work that distributes booklets plays an important part in preparing territory for the next work that will be undertaken in the territory; and though the primary work of each canvass is to place the eight-volume combination at $2.78, yet every effort should be made to see to it that the work you are doing in the territory will make a subsequent canvass more effective than the one you are at present engaged in might be found to he.

The World to Be Reached

During I. B. S. A. Week you can be sure that at practically all times of each day during the whole week there will be co-laborers with you engaged in the service. Throughout the whole world that week a great witness will be in progress—the distribution of- a message that will leave more than a hearing, the truth in permanent form to be used by the people to comfort and help them as they try to come to a better understanding of the Lord and his Word. With such concerted effort throughout the world we can be sure that the Lord’s blessing will be ever in evidence and that the joy of the Lord will be your strength and your encouragement as you witness for the King and his kingdom.

With Christian greetings, we are

Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society

1. B.S. A. WEEK, AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 5

ALL DAY WITNESS
SUNDAY AUG. 28 - SAT. SUN. MON. SEPT. 3-4-5