The Ohio Independent Baptist, November 1960

\ .<)lJ 1.1s1'.. " \ \ i141t of tl1e 111i, sio11,1r, , ., 1.111?" l~, tl11 · ti111e e,·er(11 of 1n,· ., ~ 111i11t1r, t'lt , ~lllclte l1a,·e be 11 to a • 111i ·io11 field tl!1 (i l1acl , e11 renu·11ed 011 f t1rlot1gl1. fho e )'e,1r of h·ain– i11g ,, ere 11ot 011<lt1ci, ·e to conficl 11ce i11 111e a11d tl1e Lord' c,111 b,, Chri - • tia11 or non- l1ri tian . After tl1e completio11 of tot1r ) ear of medical cl1ool I con1pleted a 1 ear in rotating i11ten1 hip a t t. Lt1ke' Ho pital in l1aker Height , and then one year of a ge11eral surger ., re ide1 cy at Crile \ "'etera11 Adm1ni h·ation Hospital in a tibtrrb of Clp,·eland. It '"~a not t111til ugu t 195 that the Lord made kno,vn to me His geographical area of service. The Lord had been ''narrovving" my think– ing during medical chool days to the conti11ent of Africa. Then He t1sed a letter from a mis ionary nur e u11- der Baptist ~1id-11ission concerning the need and opportunity for a doctor in Congo t o cau e me to fall on my knee and olE>mnly say, "By Thy grace I 11 be that doctor." Peace and a surance came jmmediately. Thus , until and unle::> he leads otherwise Cor1go con tirutes my particular sphere of ser"'Ice for Him . The call \.,·ill not be ir1,:alidated should He choo e to re-locate me geographically. Permit me to enlarge a bit h ere and sa,, that I do not b elieve that ,; the need and <}pportunity of a given land plus one's personal qt1alifications to meet that need in themselves alone constih1te Goel · call . The call to ser,·ice is the rc.sult of my obedience to the cognizable call of God. The first and impe: ative qualification of a missionary is the assurance as un– shakeable as tl1at of one's salvation that God has called or commissioned that one to sen e Him. H O\\l does tl1e call of God come? The call of God can come through any means that He chooses; ho,vever, it is u sual!)' through H is \,lord or one of His sen:ants. The call of God November, l 9GO Mi • • 1onar1 ? • How Io God Mak 11 l) E 13 LE ·1E '"l' is 11 <) l <l tl c.\ 111c) lto 11 rtl c,1Je ri 11c.·e <>11ly tl1a l 1 ,1, s 11 0 s 11~e t1f a cli, i11 i1n– l) lli11g or co1111)t1l ic>11 to c>l)e 1~Ji1n i11 l) '\C.'Ollli11g a 111i \~io11ar). Tl1c re i 11otr1- i11g , agt1 \ al)o11t tl1 call of od. \\'h 11 He epnrates a11 i11cliv·idt1al to . er, · Ili111 , it i , ,er r al a11d this ~ r ,1lit)' b eco1ne.. a driving force to ac- co111pli h Hi ,,. ill i11 tl1e life, regard– } of the co t to tl1e personal life of the i11di,·idL1,1l. Courage t o step ot1t "vith God a11cl everla ting p er- evera11ce a11d f8ithful11e to Him, He honor . 11u t we a hristian al– "''ays eek the easy ,vay? othing ,vorth,,,hile is nccomplished ,vithout plain hard ,vork. To twn from His call i di astrous to those ,vho have kno,\'11 His h and t1pon them. It can only re ult in a life of heartache and regret for the call to ervice for God come , "not of men neither by man, but by Je us Christ and God the Father"-Galatians 1: l . My year of residency was finished i11 July, 1959. I had the opportunity also to do about six months of gen– eral practice in tl1e latter part of my 1esidency. I was accepted by Baptist Mid-Missions for service in fue Congo in February, 19':>9. Two "veeks were spent at the Mid-Missions seminar in Augu t , 1959. Full-time deputa– tion began ir1 Sf>ptember, 1959. This was a real and consta11t source of blessing and challenge. Undoubtedly my greatest b lessing in the past year has been fue ,vork of the Holy pirit in making the Word live anevv. I believe that God's primary purpo e for me, whether in Belgium or in Congo is to conform me to the image of His Son. On March 17, 1960, I sailed from J. e,v Jersey on the Holland-America Line for Brussel , Belgium. It \Vas a pleasant bt1t cool and rough voyage. After approximately six months , I am still bt1sily engaged in the study of the French language. It is a very melodious language, and I find the study of it most enjoyable. Brussels is a beautiful city, and the p eople very n1uch like 1;>eople anywhere ex– cept that they speak a different lan– guage. These are days of tremendous need in Congo and around the \vorld. Es- p c iall y Oltg11t \\. e t c> p1 ay a r1 cl gi\' ~ <)ttr li\ CS l<> IIi1n . \ itl1 pc)liti c,1] ir1- clcpe11clc11cc i11 (:c)11go comes n1 t1c l1 cl1a11g . \\ 1 J1at tl1i c; vvill mean in tl1e ,vc)rk of 111i ssio11 probably no or1 ca11 acct1r,1t ly predic t. Th clay of pres tige l)ec,1t1se of tl1e 11ovelty of a '-\'hite ski11 is long since gon and rightly so, I l)elieve. ProlJ– ably the only v·alid authorit)' for the missionary in Co11go ~·ill be the re- ult of piritt1al a11d intellectual qual– ifications. Today one must possess the esse11tial attributes of humility and humor as he work with the Congo– lese. Above all , one must live a Spirit-directed , holy life. As you and I pray, God will continue to use His \ Vord an<l us to bring salvation and light to tl1ose ,vho sit in darkness. One of my seminary teachers once said that «what the work of God needs is broad men sharpened to a point not narrO\V men b·ained in a groove.,. Will you ask Him \vhat your place is and what preparation you need to implement tl1e spread of the Word to the ends of the earth? 1063 RABBIS RECEIVE NEW TESTAMENTS T he 1,000 bi-lingual New Testaments we mai l~d to Jewish rabbi s are bear ing fru it. Many have written to express their thanks and interest . One rabbi has received Chr ist as Sav iour- now wants to be baptized. In an unpr ecedented group action, 63 rabbis wrote request ing b i-lingual New Testaments, giving the name and address of each- thrilling proo f of in· creas ing interest of Jews in the Ne,v Testament. Now we have started a missionary venture to reach· Jews of France, Switzerland and Belgium. Directed by a consecrated veteran Hebrew-Chris t ian soul -winner, a great opportunity is before us-again with the bi- li ngual New Testaments as the key weapon. Jews prize t he bi-l ingual edition for its 2-column presentation of He· brew and second language side by side. It is far and away the best method of printed approach. $1.25 will place a bi -lingual complete New Testament in the hands of a Jew; for $25.00 you can reach 20 Jews, and the i r families. Will you help us? Dr. Jacob Gartenhaus, President Dr. Robert G. Lee, Chairman Advisory Boord, world renowned minis1er and author