The Life & Legacy of
Mr eternity
"Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new."
(2 Cor. 5:17)
When the word Eternity, was electronically emblazoned across the bridge of our Olympic city
after a spectacular display of more than twenty tons of fireworks that were let
off from fifteen different points (at a cost of a cool $5.8 million), it was
welcoming and ushering in not just a new year of A.D.2000 but a new decade,
century, and millenium.
As the
the world to more than two billion viewers.
However
long before the giant single word Eternity
was mechanically sparkled on the
This
one-word sermon appeared, in perfect elegant copperplate style, all over the
place…
from the Cross to Campbelltown……
from Woolloomooloo to Woolongong….. from
Wherever
this word appeared it mystified some and fascinated others. The mystery
was," who wrote it?"
When
the mystery writer was finally discovered the
Where did Arthur Stace come
from? ….
How was he raised? ….
What was so special about him?…...
And why did God use him?…..
Let's
trace the life & pay tribute to the legacy of Mr. Eternity in the light of his personal & dynamic relationship
with Christ the Lord of Eternity. We'll take his surname, STACE
&tell his story of sin, salvation,
surrender &sweet victory.
SINFUL PAST - his
condition before Christ.
Arthur Malcolm STACE entered this world in 1884 to
a drunken, dysfunctional and desperate couple in the Balmain
slums of
As a
very young child, a day in his wretched and miserable existence consisted of:
¨
stealing loaves of bread
& milk bottles in the morning,
¨
searching for scrap food out
of garbage bins during the day, and
¨
sleeping on hasian bags under the house at night.
His
pre-teen's troubles shot thru the roof, with schooling almost non-existent,
young Arthur had become a state ward by the
age of 12.
By
the time he entered the turbulent teenage years he was such a heavy drinker, he
often said, "I drank metho not milk ". His first pay was spent and
wasted in the pub and year later by the
tender age of 15 he was sent to jail.
In
his adolescence he became a cockatoo and worked as "a look out" for
police for those who ran two-up schools and illegal gambling joints. Later in
his twenties, he was employed as a scout for his sisters' brothels in the seedy
inner Surry hills.
In
his thirties there seemed to be a temporary relief in his criminal activities
when he enlisted and served as a stretcher-bearer between 1914and 1918 in the
First World War.
However
as soon as he returned to
Few years later Arthur described in his own
words what he had become " a petty criminal, a
bum and a metho drinker." He deteriorated so bad
and so low that he went from beer to wine to plonk
(i.e. bad wine) to plink
(i.e. bad plonk ).
Question? How on earth did Arthur Stace survive all that
and was also spared the inevitable early grave and
the horrible eternal loss
that awaited his father, mother, brothers
&sisters before him?
Answer - It
was the power of GOD from heaven
that saved, strengthened and sustained his needy
soul,
which we'll see next as we continue
with this marvelous demonstration of God's grace
and mercy
in The Life &
Legacy of Mr. Eternity.
TURNING POINT- his conversion to Christ
The new birth, of
turning from sin to trusting the Saviour, took place on the night of the
The conception commenced when the Holy Spirit of God used, the seed and truth of the word of God preached by Rev.R.D.S.
The conviction continued for Arthur Stace who
is, like his first parent Adam, created in the
image of God & as in Adam his
federal head he is now dead in sin and separated
from God. As he listened to the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God, he realized that he was a sinner
before God and recognized that the saving grace is the gift
of God.
The conversion concluded, shortly after, as he left the meeting in St
Barnabas, (following a cup of tea and a rock cake) walked across the road to
University Park, and under an old big Morton Bay fig tree he repented of sin towards God, received
Christ Jesus, as his sin bearer, who
is the only way to God and became a child of God. At last he has
experienced peace with God, and now
can exercise the peace of God. Arthur
used to often testify:" I went in to
get a cup of tea and a rock cake but I met the rock of ages".
The reality of this great and gracious salvation brings with it automatically and always an exchange of heart and a change from death to life, from darkness to light and
from the dominion of Satan to the liberty
in Christ, to all that call upon the saving name of the Lord in sincerity
and truth.
This significant and spiritual turn around of a monumental proportion
altered Stace's present and sinful desires by 180 degrees and affected his
future destiny for time and Eternity
Now the old man of sin is dead and his last will was read. The new man in Christ is
delivered from the power of darkness, dressed with the robe of God's righteousness
and destined for real life and great liberty.
The words of the following song perhaps may help us see
into the thankful heart and sense the gratitude that this trophy of God's grace
experienced.
"OH THE POWER OF THE CHRIST OF
YOU CLEANSED ME FROM SIN, GAVE ME PEACE WITHIN, SEALED
MY DESTINY, SECURED ETERNITY
FROM THE PRISON OF SHAME, RELEASED WITH NEW NAME, MY
SOUL YOU SET FREE, WITH GREAT
ON THE CROSS OF
HOW YOU CRIED "FATHER
FORGIVE, THEN YOU DIED THAT I MIGHT LIVE
FOR THREE DAYS THE GRAVE
WAS YOUR BED, THEN YOU ROSE FROM THE DEAD
TO ALL YOU DECLARED, YOUR
POWER, MIGHT AND GLORY
MY LORD AND MY KING, I OWE YOU EVERYTHING, THE DEBT
YOU FORGAVE AND THE NEW LIFE YOU GAVE
ALL SELF AND PRIDE WERE CRUCIFIED, MY NEW LIFE YOU
BUILT WITHOUT ANGER OR GUILT
IN GOD I'M HID, BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID, MAN IN SIN IS
DEAD, HIS LAST WILL WAS READ
MY MIND AND ATTITUDE YOU ALSO RENEWED, IN SUFFERING
AND PAIN THERE IS NOW JOY & GAIN
ANOINTED MESSAGE -his
conviction by Christ
By the grace of God and to His glory, Arthur Stace
grew in his relationship with the living God as he daily read the scriptures,
relied on the strength of Christ in prayer and related his salvation experience to others.
In obedience to God he had become an active member in a body of
believers at the Burton St Baptist
Tabernacle, Darlinghurst, which is, located
just a few kilometers down the road from the
On a Sunday night of November 14th1942, there was a special
series of meetings at that church where another fiery event of the cleansing
and life changing kind was in progress.
The
same Eternal Spirit of God, that earlier
convicted the soul of Arthur Stace of the choices and consequences of sin and converted his spirit to
Christ the Saviour, employed and empowered one of His choicest servants,
the late John G Ridley M.C.
This
prince among preachers delivered an
anointed and an appointed message entitled "The echoes of eternity"** that caught the heart
of one man, changed the lives of many, and challenged the mindset of a
multitude.
The
gem of a text is found in the prophet Isaiah chapter 57 vs. 15:"
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity, whose
name is Holy; I dwell in the high and
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones." (Audio available**)
Evangelist, John Gotch Ridley
M.C., was himself saved in 1915 from a dead religion of man to a dynamic
relationship with the living God, in the very same church building under Rev.
William Lamb's powerful premillenial preaching of the
second coming of Christ.
He was a purpose- driven communicator and a painter of word -pictures
whose pen was mighty because of the sword of the spirit. He sowed faithfulness
to the message of salvation here on earth and reaped fruitfulness in the ministry and service for time and
eternity.
John G. Ridley M.C was not only a prolific and terrific writer but also a
persistent and tireless worker.
He Co- founded the prophetic and premillenial voice of
the Herald of Hope, and also established the teaching and training vehicle of the Australian Institute of
Evangelism, which later become the Ambassadors
for Christ.
This prayer warrior and
soldier of the faith, who at one time nearly lost his own life in battle,
undertook faithfully to herald and understood first hand how important and imperative it is, to prepare for Eternity The helpless sound,
the hopeless sight and the horrible
smell of the sting of death, surrounded him like a constant companion, in the war as a soldier of WWI and in the
work as a chaplain of WWII.
John G. Ridley received a military cross for his
acts of bravery and action
in battle at Bellicourt 1918 for risking his own life
by bringing ammunition and ration to
the front line and also for rescuing the wounded. The veteran evangelist was
not one to shy away from confronting his hearers with the truth of their
eternal life and challenging their
hearts to trust his everlasting Lord.
On that night he stood plain and unadorned in his black suit and a tie, but with the power of scripture in his
hand and the passion for souls in
his heart, and stressed the word Eternity according to his preaching mandate and in his usual passionate manner.
He pointed out how the echoes of Eternity are heard not only in creation and in the Christian,
but also in the cross. Then suddenly,
laying his prepared notes aside and
seemingly in an impromptu fashion, the highly disciplined soldier-like
preacher, raised his loud voice and cried: *" Eternity Eternity, I wish
that I could sound or shout that word to everyone in the streets of Sydney. You’ve
got to meet it, where will you spend Eternity **
CALL TO WRITE -- his consecration for
Christ.
Arthur Stace was one of many
in the large congregation that God-ordained night. This faithful, available,
and teachable servant has been obedient
and active since
his conversion from an old life in
crime and sin to the new life in
Christ and service.
As he sat listening to the eternal word of God, preached
faithfully, and proclaimed forthrightly, from the heart and lips of Australia's beloved evangelist, he was yet again, confronted with sin
and it's eternal punishing consequences. Oh he was not worried about his own
eternal safety because his sins are under the blood and forgiven since that
blessed night, where he knelt under a Morton bay fig tree and called on the
name of the Lord, CRYING " Lord be
merciful to me a sinner".
His
burden and concern, however, was for the sake and the sins of others, so once
more his sensitive heart responded to God,
this time "here am I Lord send me".
*" Eternity went
ringing through my brain" was
Stace's own statement" and suddenly I begun crying & felt a powerful call from the
Lord to write Eternity. I had a piece of chalk in my pocket and outside
the church I bent down right there and wrote it…. The funny thing is that
before I wrote it I could hardly write my own name. I had no schooling and I
couldn’t have spelt Eternity for a hundred quid. But it came out smoothly, in
a beautiful copperplate script. I couldn't understand it, and I still
can't."* (The passing of Mr.
Eternity JG Ridley p.9)
We commenced with…. The SINFUL PAST -i.e. his condition before Christ
We
closely looked at… The TURNING POINT -i.e. his conversion to Christ
We
continued with…. The AN NOINTED
MESSAGE -i.e. his conviction by Christ
We
considered…. The CALL TO WRITE -i.e. his consecration for Christ
Let's
now conclude with: ETERNITY -your choice to receive Christ
ETERNITY- your choice to receive Christ?
God has personally written to you to prepare you for Eternity. This most important two-fold message must be
read and received by all from his
creation in Adam to his children in
Christ.
The first part of God's message is aimed at his creation in Adam:
1.YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
"Jesus..
said,..…Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."(John 3:3a, 7)
To be born again, you need to:
A.
Repent of sin - This
scriptural & spiritual exercise is as simple as A.B.C
q
Acknowledge - "I
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I
not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." (Psalm 32:5)
q
Be sorry -"For
I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin."
(Psalm38: 18) and
q
Confess- …"
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." (Psalm.32:
5b)
B.
Receive the Saviour - this
step of faith requires only 3 simple statements of belief.
I am sorry….Please forgive me…… &Thankyou for saving me….,
What the Eternal Almighty God did to, in and through Arthur Stace,
He is willing to do for you, but first you must answer the question of
"Where will you spend Eternity?"
ETERNITY,
ETERNITY, THE LIFETIME OF THE ALMIGHTY.
YOU'VE GOT TO MEET ETERNITY, WHERE
WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
WHERE WILL IT BE WHERE WILL IT BE?
WILL HEAVEN OR HELL BE YOUR DESTINY?
CALL ON GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY, IN
THE LOVE OF CHRIST ON
Your decision here and now on
earth Will determine Your destiny there and then in Eternity
If you refuse and reject The Lord Jesus Christ you are
choosing to spend Eternity in hell,
If you receive HIM you will spend Eternity in heaven and rejoice evermore.
The Bible clearly and consistently declares:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord." (Romans
Let me encourage you to bow your heart before your Maker and creator right now, and believe on The Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Saviour and become his child for time &
eternity. It only requires 3 simple yet
heart believed expressions
(This is a suggested prayer)
Dear God:
I am sorry that I have sinned against you and I turn away
from my sins.
Please forgive me and be merciful to me a sinner.
Thank you for saving me and giving me a new life. In Jesus Name, Amen
Whilst the first part of God's message YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN is
aimed at his creation in Adam, the second part of HIS message is
aimed at his children in Christ and
that is:
2. WE MUST ALL APPEAR
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor.5:10).
This
is one appointment that will not be neither forgotten, nor postponed but will
be kept and arrival will be on time as per God's schedule and diary. So then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom14: 12) You see the issue is not one of ability, but of availability
and accountability, nor is it a question of fantastic results but of
faithfulness.
God is not asking you, for what
you can or cannot do for Him, but
what HE can and will do for you, in you, and through you. Jesus said in John 15:5, "I
am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing."
When we, as God's children, discover here on earth what the Heavenly Father has entrusted us
with in talents and time, then decide
willingly and happily to give that
back to HIM in dedication and with devotion, then God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us," (Eph 3:20) takes
what we have in our hands and uses it as we trust HIM whether it is:
·
Made
by hand like David's sling and kills a giant,
·
Material resources like Peter's boat and reach the lost,
·
Meal of
a little boy and feed a multitude, or a
·
Mind like Apostle Paul and teach the Church..
"What is that in thine hand?" Don't limit your thinking to its physical entity; rather
consider the possibility that is in your power to do. In the case of Arthur Stace, God took his
tool of one piece of chalk, his text
of one word Eternity and his territory of one pavement at a time in
By
the time he was called to exit this
world into Eternity on July 30,1967,this gray-haired man had left behind a legacy of an
enormous value in the copperplate writing of one word - Eternity which was
witnessed first by many thousands in Sydney, Woolongong
and Newcastle then by millions all over the world on the eve of the new millenium celebration
So go ahead and give what is in your hand to God today, right now.
"Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"(Mat 6:19-20)
With the love of Christ
Peter
Rahme A.D.2000
Pastor –Inner West Baptist Church
Text ©Peter Rahme AD 2000. -
Website: www.innerwestbaptist.org.au *Oh the power of the Christ of Calvary
-Words & Music by Peter Rahme. **The messenger &message behind Mr Eternity 60min Audio Tape is available; The life &
legacy of Mr. Eternity- the story & the song is available on CD. The life &
legacy of Mr. Eternity is also available in a glossy/colorful abridged gospel tract.For more copies or for the Gospel tract version or
the 60 minutes audio tape, contact the writer.
Resources:
The Crooked Made Straight- Rev Lisle M Thompson; The Passing of MrEternity- J G Ridley; The Story of Arthur Stace- Keith Dunstan Photos supplied by: Ramon
Williams; A scene from the film "Mr
Eternity" by Liz Hughes - RoninFilms; Eternity
on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, -C. Kirton
and W. Cardwell Eternity Production Design;Arthur
Stace-Rex Beaver; St Barnabas’ Church, - Rev R
Forsyth