About the Book
"Kingdom Man" by Tony Evans explores what it means to be a man who aligns his life with the purposes and principles of God's kingdom. Through biblical teachings and practical advice, Evans guides men on how to be leaders in their families, communities, and workplaces, ultimately living out their calling as kingdom men. The book challenges men to step up and take responsibility for their spiritual growth and impact on the world around them.
William Chalmers Burns
William Chalmers Burns was born in the Manse of Dun, in Angus, on April Ist, 1815. He was the third son of the Parish Church minister there. After leaving school, he went to Edinburgh to be apprenticed with an uncle to the legal profession. His eldest sister, a gay young lady, was converted to God, and became a bright witness for the Lord Jesus in 1831, and it was by means of her decided testimony that William was first awakened to a sense of his need of salvation, and led to put his trust in the Son of God, as his Redeemer and Saviour.
It was shortly after his conversion that he walked into the manse of Kilsyth, where the family then resided, having walked on foot the thirty-six miles from Edinburgh, to tell his mother and his sisters the glad news of his conversion, and to say that his desire now was to relinquish his study of law, and devote himself entirely to the preaching of the Gospel of Godâs grace to his fellowmen.
And this he did heartily and with all his might, first in the neglected Parts of Scotland, and latterly among many heathen millions of the great Chinese Empire, then scarcely touched by the feet of Godâs messengers of peace.
Mr. Burnsâs name came into prominence in connection with a wonderful work of grace in Dundee, while he was preaching for Robert Murray MâCheyne, then on a visit to Palestine, for the evangelization of the Jews. During Mr. Burnsâs preaching in Dundee, a remarkable awakening took place; thousands were aroused to their condition in the sight of God, truly converted, and set on the heavenward way.
Remarkable scenes were witnessed in the old church of St. Peterâs, near to which MâCheyneâs body now lies, awaiting the first resurrection. It was on the evening of a Lordâs Day in Kilsyth, after preaching to a crowded congregation, that Mr. Burns felt constrained to intimate to the people that he would preach to the people in the open air, before returning to Dundee the following day.
Deeply burdened with the souls of the people, he went into the village and invited the people, who thronged into the old church, until every seat and passage was filled. And the Lord helped His servant to preach straight to the people with great power, with the result that the whole congregation became melted under the message, many weeping aloud and crying to God for mercy. A glorious work of conversion followed.
Meetings for prayer and preaching of the Gospel continued in the churchyard, the market-place and elsewhere for weeks, while Mr. Burns returned to Dundee to resume his ministry. The work progressed in Dundee with increased interest, until the return of Mr. MâCheyne, who greatly rejoiced in all that the Lord had done during his absence, through the ministry of His servant.
There was no jealousy, but the deepest gratitude, and these two true ministers of Christ rejoiced together over the Lordâs doings, which were indeed marvellous in their eyes.
From that time onward, until the Lordâs call came to go to China, Mr. Burns gave himself almost wholly to itinerant Gospel preaching, through Perthshire, up as far north as Aberdeen, preaching in barns, on market-places, and wherever the people could be gathered together to hear the Word. His message was plain, and to the point; thousands were awakened and many saved. But the adversary opposed. Time and again Mr. Burns was stoned, and bore the marks of these brands of the enemy for many days.
Believing it to be the call of the Lord, he went forth to China as the first missionary of the Presbyterian Church of England, in June, 1847. When questioned by those interested in his out-going, how long it would take him to prepare for the voyage, he replied with all simplicity, âI will be ready to go to-morrow.â
On a brief visit to his home, to take farewell of his sister, he silently wrung her hand, took a last glance around their old home, and with a small bag in his hand and his motherâs plaid across his arm, went forth, in the Name of the Lord with the Gospel to Chinaâs benighted people, of whom it was said âa million a monthâ were dying without having once heard the Gospel.
For years this solitary witness toiled alone, at times with a few helpers, in the great heathen land, amid overwhelming hindrances, but his faith in God never faltered. On and on he went, sowing the seed which others would reap, until he reached the borders of the great kingdom of Manchuria, where, in a small, comfortless room in Nieu-chang, wearied and worn in labours abundant, he fell asleep on April 4th, 1868, his last audible words being, âFor Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory.â
It is of this great land that the story of grace related in the following pages is told, and those who saw and shared in its joyful results, say that it was no doubt part of the result of William Burnsâs sowing, in his earlier years in China.
slain in the shadow of the almighty
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty . I will say to the Lord, âMy refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.â (Psalm 91:1â2) On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Flemming, and Roger Youderian were speared to death on a sandbar called âPalm Beachâ in the Curaray River of Ecuador. They were trying to reach the Huaorani Indians for the first time in history with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Elisabeth Elliot memorialized the story in her book Shadow of the Almighty . That title comes from Psalm 91:1: âHe who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty .â Not an Accident This is where Jim Elliot was slain â in the shadow of the Almighty. Elisabeth had not forgotten the heartbreaking facts when she chose that title two years after her husbandâs death. When he was killed, they had been married three years and had a ten-month-old daughter. âGodâs refuge for his people is not from suffering and death, but final and ultimate defeat.â The title was not a slip â not any more than the death of the five missionaries was a slip. But the world saw it differently. Around the world, the death of these young men was called a tragic nightmare. Elisabeth believed the world was missing something. She wrote, âThe world did not recognize the truth of the second clause in Jim Elliotâs credo: âHe is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose .ââ She called her book Shadow of the Almighty  because she was utterly convinced that the refuge of the people of God is not a refuge from suffering and death, but a refuge from final and ultimate defeat. âWhoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save itâ (Luke 9:24) â because the Lord is God Almighty . God did not exercise his omnipotence to deliver Jesus from the cross. Nor will he exercise it to deliver you and me from tribulation. âIf they persecuted me, they will also persecute youâ (John 15:20). If we have the faith and single-mindedness and courage of those five missionaries, we might find ourselves saying with the apostle Paul, âFor your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.â No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:36â39) Security in His Strength Has it ever hit home to you what it means to say, âMy God, who loves me and gave himself for me, is almighty â? It means that if you take your place âin the shadow of the Almighty,â you will be protected by omnipotence. There is infinite and unending security in the almightiness of God â no matter what happens in this life. âThere is infinite, unending security in the almightiness of God â no matter what happens in this life.â The omnipotence of God means eternal, unshakable refuge in the everlasting glory of God, no matter what happens on this earth. And that confidence is the power of radical obedience to the call of God â even the call to die. Is there anything more freeing, more thrilling, or more strengthening than the truth that God Almighty  is your refuge â all day, every day, in all the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life? Nothing but what he ordains for your good befalls you. God Intervened Research into the circumstances surrounding the martyrdom of the five missionaries has revealed the hand of God in unexpected ways. In the September 1996 issue of Christianity Today , Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint, who was martyred along with Elliott, McCully, Flemming, and Youderian, wrote an article about new discoveries made about the tribal intrigue behind the slayings. He wrote one of the most amazing sentences on the sovereignty of the Almighty that I have ever read â especially coming from the son of a slain missionary: As [the killers] described their recollections, it occurred to me how incredibly unlikely it was that the Palm Beach killing took place at all; it is an anomaly that I cannot explain outside of divine intervention . (italics added) In other words, there is only one explanation for why these five young men died and left a legacy that has inspired thousands. God intervened. This is the kind of sovereignty we mean when we say, âNothing but what he ordains for your good befalls you.â âIn the darkest moments of our pain, God is hiding his weapons behind enemy lines.â Which also means that no one, absolutely no one, can frustrate the designs of God to fulfill his missionary plans for the nations. In the darkest moments of our pain, God is hiding his weapons behind enemy lines. Everything that happens in history will serve this purpose as expressed in Psalm 86:9, All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. If we believed this, if we really let this truth of Godâs omnipotence get hold of us â that we live perfectly secure in the shadow of the Almighty  â what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our families and churches. How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God.
