The Alphabet Look on his Face

Several months ago, Brothers David, Morgan and the writer of this article were on their way back from a small camp meeting in Canada. We dropped David off at his son’s home in northern California and proceeded on our way to Arizona, with the charge before us as it is written in 2 Timothy, we decided to stop along the way.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

We decided to stop in modern day Sodom and Gomorrah otherwise known as Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world (Extenuation to Macao). After setting up our chart we began speaking to the passers-by. The chart is painted on canvass and depicts the following Scripture.

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (Revelation 17:3-5).

I was primarily speaking in English, but as the Koreans walked by I switched to Korean and as the Chinese came by, I began to speak in Mandarin. A young Chinese lady and her parents stopped to talk, they were surprised to hear Chinese and see the chart. After conversing for a few moments I told her, “I have a book for you,” and gave her the book Christ Object Lessons. I spoke with her parents for a while, while she perused the book. She then said, “How much for the book?” I felt impressed to say, “Whatever you would like to give will be fine.” She looked in her purse and gave me one dollar. You may say, that does not even cover the cost of paper. But the week before I met a man named Dean in Apache Junction, Arizona and said the same thing “Whatever you would like to give, sir.” He gave me forty dollars for a much smaller book. So we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. The Chinese woman may have lost all her money in the slot machines, who knows? At any rate, if she reads the book she can find the “pearl of great price”. Pray for her. The Chinese woman lives in Idaho.

The police came and told us we had to move. So I asked Mark, the policeman, “Is there some place nearby where we can go to speak?”
He said, “Yes, down the street in the walk way corridor under construction.” So we quickly moved on and set up our charts there.

Have you ever heard of 5 or 10 minute sermons? How about 5 or 10 second sermons?

As Jesus hung between heaven and earth on Calvary’s cross many passed by.

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. (Lamentations 1:12)

What can you say to passers-by in 5 or 10 seconds? God is love? Jesus only? God is a spirit? Have faith in God? Remember Lot’s wife? Behold the bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him? Repent?

Speaking of repent, on our way back from preaching to where we parked the car we walked through a lobby of a casino hotel and I noticed some T-shirts for sale. On the front of some it said “sin city” on others it said in big letters “Repent” with the second “e” crossed out with a red slash and an “i” instead “re-pint” in other words “another glass of wine please”.

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again (Proverbs 23:29-35).

Meanwhile back at the walk way corridor, Morgan was on one side and I on the other and scores of passers-by walking between us. What can you say in 7 seconds? I was trying to recall a terse verse to speak and a verse from the Psalms came to my mind, “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”. If God through His word says something it is momentous. If He says the same thing twice it is exceedingly momentous. (See Psalm 14 and 53.)

Like the third angel’s message, “saying with a loud voice,” I uttered the words, “the fool hath said in his heart there is no God”. A black brother had just passed by and he turned around and looked at us with a look that language is inadequate to describe. If a picture paints a thousand words the look on his face portrayed 10,000 thoughts. As Lot’s wife in blatant disobedience to the direct command of the angel looked back toward Sodom and became a pillar of salt this man also looked back, not in defiance of heaven but for some other reason. The look on his face was so unique. I reckon God granted us this token of his love for our encouragement in the great work of the three angels which brings such joy and blessing. Never while memory lingers, can I forget that look on his face. Even as I write now I am wondering if he may have been a black angel. Do angels only appear as Chinese? Of course not. Their physical appearance can be as from any nation kindred tongue or people. And ... looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Acts 6:15

Remember in the book Early Writings the chapter on the “Shaking”? The conflicting looks on the faces of the saints!

I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God's approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them (Early Writings, p. 269.1).

The brother in Las Vegas turned to look at us. It was a look of amazement, brevity, concern, desire, earnestness, firmness, gloom, haste, interest, jeopardy, keenness, lamentation, misapprehension, necessity, outrage, passion, query, retrospection, surprise, tenaciousness, non-ambiguity, vacillation, wonder, and a look of X = ten in Roman numerals and times in mathematics, so all the previous looks intensified ten times plus yearning and zeal.

How is that for a look? All from one sentence of Scripture. “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” “One sentence of Scripture is of more value than ten thousand of man’s ideas or arguments” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7 p.71). In closing let me share with you a reference to the words, “the fool has said in his heart there is no God.”

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard [Psalm 19:1-3]. Who can behold the wonders of God in the starry heavens, and yet deny that an infinite Power gave these jewelled lights their place, and upholds them there by his omnipotent arm? God has left his own witness upon the canvas of heaven and upon nature everywhere.

The story is told of an astronomer whose friend denied the existence of God. In order to show him the folly of his unbelief, the astronomer obtained a globe of the starry heavens, and placed it in the room where they were seated. On seeing it, his friend inquired where he got such a beautiful globe, and who was the maker. “It was not made,” answered the astronomer, “it came into existence of itself.”
“You are jesting,” said his friend; “that is impossible.”
The astronomer answered: “My dear sir, you will not accept my word for it that this small body originated of itself, or came by chance, and yet you contend that those heavenly bodies of which this is but an inferior representation, came into existence without a Master-power of design.” As he pursued this line of reasoning, the atheist saw and acknowledged the absurdity of his own position.

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” but he can advance no evidence to sustain his claims; he can only take the position of an objector to the purposes of an all-wise God. Atheism can shed no ray of light into the grave. It cannot restrain crime or quicken the moral energies. It has no power to elevate the character or purity the soul. On the contrary, it always tends to degenerate the human race; it leads away from purity and peace. An instance of this is given in the history of the French Revolution. That period, when the existence of God was denied, and his commandments were abolished, was the most revolting that is recorded on the pages of human history (Youth Instructor, December 24, 1896 par. 2-7).

The Lord make His face shine upon thee.

There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. (Dan 2:28)

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