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TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
February 1925
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caught up to meet Him, and th e king dom peace and blessing which follow afte r th a t event. (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev.. 19:11-21). He is coming some day to receive to H imself His Church. Then all be lievers will be judged for th e ir works (1 Cor. 3 :11-15), and all the work which medical missions, indu strial missions, educational missions or evangelistic missions have done th a t has not had the salvation of souls as its object will «“ go up in smoke.” If th e love of God is in the heart, the joy of the Lord in the soul, and the peace of God in the mind, we will do every th ing in our power to win others to- Christ. MARCH 1, 1925 The Cost of F riendliness John 15:13, 14; 1 Sam. 20:1-4; 16- 42; 2 Sam. 1 :2 6 (Consecration Meeting) The te st of our friendship for C h rist is obedience. (John 14:15, 21, 23; Phil. 2 :8 ; 2 Cor. 10:5; Acts 5:29,32;. Rom. 16:16; 1 Pet. 1:14; 2 Cor. 2 :9 ; 8:4.) Our friendship may be tested by our desire to please Him in all things (Gal. 1 :1 0 ); by our longing to- be with Him (2 Cor. 5 :8 ; Phil. 1 :2 3 ); by the time we spend alone w ith Him; by the number of persons to whom we introduce Him; by m inistering to Him (Luke 7:44-47; Matt. 2 5 :4 0 ); by- longing for His re tu rn (2 Tim. 4 :8 ; Rev. 22 :20 ). Have we any rig h t to call ourselves “ friends of Jesu s” if we are not doing what He commands? This may mean unpopularity, th e breaking of home- ties, the forsaking of native land, per secution, sufferings and death, bu t IT PAYS. The test of our friendship tow ard man is our sacrificial service in his. behalf. This may involve l o s s of money, health and comforts, and may mean hardship and poverty, bu t IT PAYS. Sometimes the motive back of“ friendliness is selfishness. Men culti vate the good will of other men for the- purpose of gain. F riendliness w ith David in Jo n a th an ’s case mea,nt the- violent displeasure of his father, the- risk of being disowned and disin herited, and the danger of losing his own life. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain. No w o n d e r David said th a t Jo n a th an ’s love was wonderful. Scriptural definitions of friendliness, toward man— Rom. 12:10; Gal. 5 :13 ; 6 :1 ; 6 :10 ; 1 Cor. 10:24; Phil. 2 :4 ; Gal. 6 :2 ; Rom. 15:1-3; 1 Thess. 5: 14; Rom. 12:10, 15; Luke 6:35; Eplu 4: 2 , 32 ; 1 John 3 :17 ; Matt. 5:44;. Jno. 15:13; 1 Jno. 3 :16 ; Rom. 14: 15, 19, 21.
ship, be th rilled by His confidences, be enlightened by H is revelations, we must be friends w ith Him in a very real and intim ate sense. The second Scripture is an illu stra tion of His amazing friendliness to ward vile and outcast sinners. Zac- chaeus was a publican, therefore hated and despised. The publicans were, for th e most part, Jews, who collected customs taxes for the hated Roman government, and so were considered traito rs. He was th e chief of pub licans, th erefo re the hate and scorn were m ultiplied;w as a sinner of bad reputation, (v. 7 ), was rich, (v. 2 ), was grasping and dishonest, (v. 8),-- was little of sta tu re and no doubt a subject of ridicule, (v. 3 ); yet Jesus loved him, and chose to go to the home of this despised outcast ra th e r than to th e home of one of th e many hundreds of priests who were residing in Jericho a t th a t time. Our Lord desires to show Himself friendly to all, but many give Him no opportunity to bless them . He saw (cf. John 1:48; 2 :25) in the h eart of Zacchaeus a real hunger to know Him, and th a t Zacchaeus would appreciate th e privilege of en tertain ing Him. (Matt. 5 :6 ; Matt. 12:20; Psa. 107 :9 ). The seeking Saviour always finds the seeking sinner. The Lord is calling today. Men must make haste to answer before it is too late. (Rev. 3 :20 ; 2 Cor. 6 :2 ; Heb. 3:7, 8.) FEBRUARY 22, 1925 F riendliness as Expressed through In d u strial Missions Isaiah 61:1-4 The purpose of all missions is to win men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Indu strial mission is to be a means to. th a t end. It is neces sary to win the confidence and friend ship of people before we can success fully tell them of the Saviour. One of the ways for providing an approach is industrial work, by which the un trained are helped in practical every day affairs. This train in g is surely an expression of friendliness, and often wins the loyal friendship of the people so th a t they gladly listen to the good news about the F riend of sin-r ners. Concerning th e Scripture lesson, Jesus applied these verses to Himself in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-20). He quoted th is passage, stopping a t the end of the first clause in the second verse. The re st of v. 2 and vs. 3 and 4 refer to the future, and have to do w ith His second com ing, the judgm ents th a t will come up on th e world afte r the Church is
FEBRUARY 8, 1925 Conquest of Selfishness
Romans 15:1-7; Matt. 16:22-27 The conquest of selfishness means the conquest of self, and th ere is only one way to conquer self,-—let Christ conquer you. The cure for self is Himself. The remedy for the curse of selfishness is not “ Coueism,” or “Eddyism ,” not “w ill-development,” not “ ritualism ,” bu t by giving the One altogeth er lovely an opportunity to m anifest His unselfishness through us. The first step is the new b irth , (2 Cor. 5 :1 7 ). Love and unselfish ness then come n atu rally as the re su lt of the indwelling Spirit of God, (Gal. 5:22, 23). A brief analysis of the first Scrip tu re lesson is as follows: THE PLEA FOR UNSELFISHNESS, (vs. 1, 2). Surely of all people on earth believers have the least reason for being selfish. THE PATTERN OF UNSELFISH NESS, (v. 3). W hat an example of unselfishness He set before us! THE P U R P O S E OF THE OLD TESTA MENT, (v. 4). W ritten to encourage us in hope. Prom ise given to teach us to be patient. PETITION FOR UNITY, (vs. 5, 6). There will be no genuine unity as long as we are selfish, fo r selfishness causes discord and consequently, inefficiency in th e professing church. THE PRECEDENT FOR LOVE, (v. 7 ). If we, poor, hell-deserving sin ners, have been graciously received and abundantly blessed, surely we should receive and bless others. Matthew 16:22-27— The Censure of Christ by Peter. The Censure of P eter by Christ. The Cost of Selfishness— L o s t Life. The Consequence of Unselfish ness— Saved Life. FEBRUARY 15, 1925 S triking Instances of th e Friendliness of Jesus John 11:1-11; Luke 19:1-10 The first Scripture is an illu stration of special friendliness toward those who were Jesus’ friends. There is an inner circle, close to His g reat heart. Our Lord showed a peculiar friendli ness to Mary, M artha and Lazarus. Why? Was it not because they were friendly tow ard Him in a peculiar way? Their home was the one home in which He always felt welcome and in which He was received w ith love and honor. If we would enjoy His company, be enriched by H is fellow
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