The Lord does not intend that heaven shall be filled only with women. Jesus Christ died on Calvary to save the men as well as the women. We read concerning the early church, "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." The early church was able to bring men to Christ, and God intends that the remnant church should also win men to stand in the day of Christ's coming in that great company of which it is said, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
Many times men face a more severe test when they hear this message than do women, because they are the wage earners, and they have the problem of how to keep the Sabbath and still support a family. The third angel's message is a life-and-death warning and invitation. Every sermon that is preached should lead the audience to realize that they are listening to the only way of escape from the impending judgments of God. When men are made to understand that the only way to be sheltered from the wrath to come is to surrender in complete obedience, it will do much to lead them to make the necessary sacrifice to be numbered among the redeemed of God. Tell them of how men in past ages have suffered imprisonment, fire, the sword, and deprivation, that they might gain heaven. (Heb. 11:36-38.) Tell them that "he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me." Matt. 10:38. Picture before them the beauties of heaven and the worth of eternal life.
We must believe and talk faith, if we are to get more men to take their stand with God's commandment-keeping people. Jesus said, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:25, 33.
Jesus stands back of every promise He makes. When I held a campaign in San Francisco, a man attended my meetings and was convicted that he should give his heart to the Lord and take his stand. He had a family of a wife and five children. He was paying fifty dollars a month for rent and had no money in the bank. He was told that if he did not come to work on the Sabbath, he would lose his job.
It was during the depression, when thousands of people were out of employment, and it seemed almost impossible for men to secure work.
After several weeks of trying to persuade his employers that they could so arrange his work as to allow him Sabbath privileges, he gave notice to the company that he would not be at work on Sabbath beyond a certain Friday. He was informed that he must work or else lose his job.
It was indeed a test of faith. Five children to feed, no job, and no money laid up to meet such an emergency! The wife's faith wavered, but the man kept the Sabbath. On Monday morning when he returned to work, he was told that the company would no longer hire him. With a heavy heart, but with faith in God, he faced the test.
Tuesday, his wife called our home and said,
"God has done for us more than I could believe.
My husband was without work but one day.
He now has work and is making almost twice as much as he was earning before." It is good to serve a God who takes care of His people and who abundantly fulfills His promises. Such experiences as this one could be multiplied to fill a book.
I tell men that if God wants them to work where they are now employed, He can impress their employers to ''=rive them Sabbath privileges; that if the Lord does not provide the opportunity of Sabbath observance there, then He has some other place where He wishes them to work ; and that we should be willing to be led of the Lord and to be where He wants us to be.
After I have made plain the necessity of Sabbathkeeping, I devote an evening's sermon to the subject, "Can a Working Man or a Businessman Keep the Seventh-day Sabbath ?" In this sermon I read several of God's promises, and I relate many experiences of how God has providentially enabled men to secure Sabbath privileges.
I have found that it is helpful to encourage men to talk with their employers concerning the Sabbath. I promise them that if their superiors refuse them the privilege of the Sabbath, I will go with them and help them in talking the matter through with their employers.
When we held our campaign in Pittsburgh, a man who worked for the Duquesne Light Company was told by his foreman either to report for work on Sabbath, or to consider his job lost. The man refused to return to his work on God's holy day, and when he returned on Monday he had lost his employment. He asked me to go with him to see the highest officer in the company in that city. We were ushered into a luxurious office, and when we began to lay the matter before this executive, we were told it would be impossible to extend such a favor.
The officer said, "We must treat our men alike. We can't let one be off on Saturday and not the others. We can't show partiality toward our men. I keep Sunday, but many times I find it necessary to work on that day. I never let my religion interfere with my business." I told him that it is in that respect that we differ from others, and that we never allow our work to interfere with our religion ; that we believe that God must have first consideration in our loyalty and planning.
I .explained to him the importance of the Sabbath and why we consider it a matter of eternal consequence. I reminded him that this man who was requesting the privilege of keeping the Sabbath had by their own admission given eighteen years of faithful service. I asked him whether that company wanted to go on record as having discharged a man who had worked for them eighteen years, because he was determined to obey his God according to the dictates of his conscience. He listened with real interest, and after about two hours' discussion concerning the matter we were assured that it would be adjusted satisfactorily. In a few days the foreman and the timekeeper came out to see our new Sabbathkeeping brother, and told him to come to work. They said they would not interfere with his observance of the Sabbath.
Many men have the tobacco habit to overcome when they consider accepting this message, but this need not keep them from coming to God. The Lord is able to deliver them from every habit of the flesh, no matter how longstanding the habit. Tell them of a Saviour who can save them from their sins. Jesus healed the man who was possessed of a legion of unclean spirits, and if men will but surrender to Him, He will deliver them from every unclean thing. One man who had a whole carton of tobacco on hand took it back to the store. The storekeeper asked, "How could you ever give up tobacco?"
The man replied, "God has delivered me from the habit."
"That is a miracle," responded the store-keeper. God is pleased to work miracles to deliver men and women from the habits of sin. I like to tell my audience of how others have been saved from their sins. This strengthens their faith in the saving power of the Lord. Men must be led to say with the apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phil. 4:13.
In connection with our large campaigns we need some male Bible workers who can give personal help to the men. In a smaller campaign there are fewer men to be helped, and the minister will be able to give special attention to them. I cannot overemphasize the importance of some well-trained men Bible workers for the large city campaigns. If we would make provision to give more consideration to the men who are interested, more men would be led to God and turned toward the kingdom of heaven. This would greatly increase the tithe. When the husband is converted, tithe is paid into the treasury of God that the wife would find impossible to bring to the Lord.
