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Lord, n eith er can he have a rew ard w ithout paying th e price of death to self. The problem is simple,— if self is th e center, you lose; if Christ is the center you gain. P eter learned th e lesson. Read what he says in 1 P eter 5:6-10: “ H u m b le y o u r s e lv e s t h e r e fo r e u n d e r th e m ig h t y h a n d o f G o d , t h a t h e m a y e t a l t y o u In d u e tim e . C a s t in g a ll y o u r c a r e u p o n h im , fo r h e c a r e th fo r y o u .* * * B u t t h e G o d o f a ll g r a c e , w h o h a th c a lle d u s u n to h is e te r n a l g lo r y b y C h r is t J e s u s , a ft e r t fia t y e h a v e s u ffe r e d a w h ile , m a k e y o u p e r fe c t, s t a b lis h , s tr e n g th e n , s e t tle y o u .” Have we learned it? PERTINENT QUESTIONS (1) Was the title “Son of m an” a new one? (Dan. 7:13) (2) W hat has the F ath e r promised th e Son? (Psa. 2:7-9; Heb. 1: 4-8) (3 ) What* is the purpose of the revelation of Jesu s to men? (Gal. 1:16) (4) Can the church ever have any stable foundation? (1 Cor. 3: 10, 11) (5) Can Satan prevail against any believer? (Rom. 8:33-39) (6 ) Does Satan ever control any of God’s own? (2 Cor. 11:13) (7) W hat compensation is th e re in losing our lives for Christ’s sake? .(Acts 20:23, 24) (8) Will memory be active in the next world? (Luke 16:25) ife F o r the earliest notice of Simon Peter, we must tu rn to the first chap ter of th e Gospel of John. Here we find, at th e very outset, a scene full of in terest and in- COMMENTS struction. Amongst SELECTED By those who had been K e ith 'L . Brooks gathered by the powerful m inistry of John th e Baptist th ere were two men who heard him deliver his glow ing testimony to th e Lamb of God. It was th is th a t went to the very h ea rt of th e two disciples. They heard John; they followed Jesus. Jesus saw them following, and said, “W hat seek ye?”
They said, “Master, where dwellest thou ?” He said, “Come a n d see.” They abode w ith Him th a t day. Thus the testimony of John led them to fol low Jesus and as they followed on, fresh ligh t was poured upon th e ir path. Nor was th is all. There followed th a t delightful going out afte r others which must in every instance be th e result of close personal acquaintance and oe- cupation w ith th e person of Christ. “One of the two which heard John and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon P ete r’s brother. He first findeth his own b ro th er Simon. . . . And he brought him to Jesus.” See th e resu lt o f ' a single sentence u ttered in tru th and reality. See how the circle of bless ing widens. “When Jesus beheld P eter, He said, Thou a rt Simon, th e son of Jonas: thou sh alt be called Cephas, a stone.” We have no record here of any deep work in th e soul of Simon. We are told his name in th e old creation, and his name in th e new. F o r the deep ex ercises of soul, we must tu rn to Luke 5. Jesus entered P e te r’s boat and sat down and tau g h t th e people. “When He had left speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into th e deep and let down your nets for, a d raugh t.” Simon was about to be well paid for the loan of his boat. N either th e ir nets nor th eir ships w ere, able to sustain the fru it of divine power and goodness. When P eter saw it, he fell a t Jesu s’ knees saying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.” H ere we have th e g reat practical ef fect in P ete r’s soul, produced by the combined action of grace and power. He is brought to see himself in the ligh t of th e divine presence where alone self can be tru ly seen and judged. Simon is in th e place of tru e self judgm ent— a blessed place indeed— a place from which all must sta rt if they are to be much used. P eter felt he had no rig h t to be n ear such an one as Jesus, yet we may tru ly say he would not for worlds have been any where else. It was Jesu s’ joy to pour healing balm in to a wounded soul. Jesus said, “F ear no t; from henceforth thou sh alt catch men.” P eter forsook all and followed Christ. His sta rtin g was of th e righ t sort. There was no halting between Christ and present things. All was clear and unequivocal so far as the sta rtin g was concerned. Bear th is in m ind as we pursue his a fte r history.
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