The Book of Acts 1968 Version

The story is not new. Every generation has had its faithful witnesses for the Lord Jesus. In spite of the darkness that has covered the earth and the gross darkness that has cov­ered the people, God has not left the world without light nor has He left it without His messengers.But the story is current. It is fresh and glistening with a new luster and zeal. It is the story of a great vision—a vision of a finished work. It is a story of leadership and involvement. It is a story of worldwide revival, reformation, and evangelism, and our leaders in almost every place and area of influence are the leaders in this mighty crusade for Christ. Today all over the world a new spirit of urgency has taken possession of the lives of workers and mem­bers in the church of God. To fail to be involved, to fail to become a participant, is fast becoming a symbol of tragic compla­cency. The challenge today is: "The gospel to all the world in this generation." The aim: "The total involvement of the total church," with its membership, its organiza­tions, and institutions, and all their leader­ship and personnel.We may be running a press or sitting in a proofreader's booth, but we must be a part of the proclamation of the gospel. We may be serving the sick or ministering to the distraught or disturbed, but our aim is the salvation of souls and the gathering of these dear people into the church, and by the marvelous grace of God, into His kingdom. We may be wives in the home or fathers at work, but our real job is to be­come effective witnesses for the Lord Jesus and to direct people to the Saviour, who is soon to claim His people. We may be sit­ting in our offices or ministering behind the sacred desk, or teaching in the class­room, or students in that classroom, but what we are and how we are employed must never adversely affect our commit­ment to Christ. We are His last-day mes­sengers.We have glorious truth to tell and a wit­ness to give. These go hand in hand. The one without the other is meaningless. We must always witness to others about the sav­ing grace of the Lord Jesus and His power to change lives and give hope and peace. We cannot be delinquent in giving the vital message that God requires us to share with the world. The three angels' mes­sages with all their implications must be proclaimed with power and great earnest­ness. In this proclamation every worker, every member, should have a part. Our youth need to be involved. Our children are to have a place. Our older people are to work with even greater earnestness and without delay, for in a special sense they have but a short time.We Must Be IntelligentWe need to know exactly what our mes­sage is all about. We must have an experi­ence with Christ that is rich and mean­ingful. We must know personally the power that brings victory over sin, and the blessed­ness of the presence of the indwelling Christ. We should become so saturated with the Word of God and its great doc­trines that our language will take on new life and vigor. We must know the meaning and power of prayer. We must be intelli­gent in all these things, for there are lessons to be learned and an experience to be en­joyed.We Must Be ZealousNothing else must be allowed to sup­plant the reality of all this in our lives. We must be enthusiastic and outgoing. We must speak as if our very lives as well as the lives of others depended upon what we say and what we do. We must have zeal but according to knowledge. With our Lord we should be able to say, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." We are to be zealous of good works. We must crowd into these last few moments of earth's his­tory the work that centuries should have done. The good news of salvation that we have experienced we must share.We Must Be Totally CommittedThis cannot be a halfhearted involve­ment. Our time, our energies, and talents are all to be committed to the Lord and to His work. The reality of our salvation and the blessed hope must be the dominant factor in our lives. No other interest dare be allowed to divert us from our mission and our goal. We must be totally com­mitted, totally involved, wherever we go, whatever we do, whatever the time. We must be about our Father's business, and this requires complete dedication.We Must Be Spirit-filled

The hour has come when this must be the great heart cry of the people of God. We must not be content to labor on in the careless, indifferent, fruitless way that has been characteristic of some in the past. We should not be satisfied to receive only lim­ited blessings and limited power from the Lord. This is the time of the latter rain, and we need to seek the Lord for it with all our hearts. We must pray for the power of the Spirit to possess our lives in their totality. No reservations should be made. No evasion should be practiced by any of us. No other concern must be allowed to dom­inate our thoughts. We seek the power of the Spirit of God that we might become radiant, effective witnesses for the Lord. This is so vital that we must spend much time in earnest, diligent prayer for this greatest of all blessings. We cannot do the work committed to us without this power; therefore, to seek it should be our first and most urgent concern. We must be Spirit-filled.

We Must Be Joyful in the Lord

This is not the time for unhappiness to fill our hearts nor for a disgruntled spirit to affect our attitudes. We should be so ra­diant with the love of Christ, so burdened for the lost, that selfish, discouraging, criti­cal thoughts will have no place or time in our thinking. We have a blessed hope. Jesus is coming soon, and we are the heralds of this glorious message. "Lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth night." This is the good news that we bear, and our faces should reveal that it is just that to us.

This Is Not the Time to Find Fault

This is not the time to murmur and com­plain. This is not the time to share our doubts and misgivings. This is the time for action and for great conquest for the Lord Jesus. This is the time when the beauty of His life in the person of His witnesses is to clothe the Word of God and adorn the doctrines that we preach. We are to speak in love and happiness of the blessings of the Lord. We are to share our faith with all who will listen or who can be persuaded to give us even the slightest opportunity. We rejoice in the challenge and respond with grateful, eager hearts.

In answer to this call, 161 administrators in the conferences of North America alone last year became personally involved in evangelistic meetings. Nearly 23,500 people in North America were added to the church by baptism and profession of faith as a result of the labors of our ministers and our members. This year fifty-four mem­bers of the General Conference staff have already declared themselves as ready to participate in this great evangelistic thrust. This list is as follows:

R. E. Adams               A. C. Fearing           A. V. Pinkney

W. M. Adams              W. W. Fordham       M. H. Reeder

J. J. Aitken                 R. R. Frame            H. L. Reiner

E. H. Atchley               J. 0. Gibson            F. D. Retzer

D. H. Baasch              J. H. Hancock          L. B. Reynolds

R. C. Barger               R. R. Hegstad          V. W. Schoen

W. R. Beach               D. W. Holbrook        W. R. L. Scragg

0. M. Berg                  D. W. Hunter           J. V. Scully

F. L. Bland                 J. 0. Iversen            H. D. Singleton

M. V. Campbell           M. E. Loewen           F. A. Soper

T. Carcich                  T. E. Lucas              J. R. Spangler

E. E. Cleveland            C. D. Martin            W. M. Starks

0. A. Dart                   E. L. Minchin           E. H. J. Steed

Paul DeBooy               C. E. Moseley           G. E. Vandeman

D. A. Delafield             Lawrence Nelson       R. F. Waddell

N. R. Dower                P. S. Nelson             R. S. Watts

J. E. Edwards             E. W. Pedersen         Herbert White

A. A. Esteb                  R. H. Pierson           N. C. Wilson

In 1967, 31,000 new believers were bap­tized in Trans-Africa; nearly 26,000 in South America; over 23,000 in Inter-Amer­ica; more than 15,000 in the Far East; al­most 6,000 in Southern Europe; over 5,000 in Northern Europe and Australia; almost 4,000 in Southern Asia, with 806 won in the Tamil Section alone. The latter have a prayer objective of 1,200 for this year. The goal for South America in 1968 is more than 35,000 baptisms. They plan to dis­tribute one million gift Bibles with the study guides during the present year, and thousands of our laymen are engaged in public preaching of the message of truth. In the Far East 8,000 laymen are being challenged to hold some type of evangelis­tic meetings, and thousands of others will participate with them. Reports that reach us from all parts of the world field indicate that the Spirit of God is at work, and the people of God are responding wonderfully to His power. The plans that are being laid are big and the desire is great. There is evidence of consecration and activity among God's people. We shall experience more and more of the blessings of the Lord as the days go by.

This is no time for partial work. This is the time for a genuine revival of primitive Godliness. This is the time when necessary reformations must take place in our lives. This is the time to quit doing everything that is out of line with the counsels of the Lord and begin to live in harmony with all the light that God has given us. We need to reform, but with it we must experience the revival that will make the reformation effective. The one without the other is of little or no value. It is for both that we plead and for which we as workers must seek God.

We must go forth in the greatest wave of evangelism that the world has ever ex­perienced. It must surpass Pentecost in ev­ery way. Let us open our hearts and lives to the full control of the Holy Spirit, and God will give the results. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isa. 55:11). The work can and will be quickly finished. This is the challenge of the hour. May God help us as ministers throughout the whole church, whatever our involve­ment or specific assignment of duty, to lead out in this climactic work. The ministry must lead the way. A new book of Acts must be written. May God help us to do some­thing big for Him now!