TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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APPROACH: I f you h a d some thing very hard to do, and a strong and loving person said, “Never mind, I will help you,” you would not be a f r a i d to try,
to work the miracles named was the divine credential given these preachers of the kingdom. 3. "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father" (11:25). When was it that the Saviour’s heart was filled with such gratitude? Was it at ,a time of great-victory, time of unusip%! joy and blessing? It would •not seem so. It was a time of re jection, a time of spiritual declension when He was about to turn His at tention away from Israel as a nation. But even then He found gratitude in His heart. Thus He is the perfect ful fillment of the text, “In every thing by p r a y e r and supplication with thanksgiving" (Phil. 4<6). Christian, are you discouraged or downhearted? Begin ‘expressing gratitude and praise to God. That will scatter a host of clouds. 4. "Take my yoke upon you" (v. 29). In Palestine it is a common thing to see two oxen yoked together for service. The Lord offers to let men be yoked together with Him in the doing of the Father’s will. Christ’s yoke was the burden of obeying His Father in all things. “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.” He found that burden light and restful, -and thus will all those who will allow themselves to be linked with Christ in such a fellowship. It is the joy of living. Golden Text Illustration J ohn 15:14 Zinzendorf, when a boy, used to write little notes to the Saviour, and throw them out of the window, hoping that the Lord would find them. Later in life, so strong was his faith in the friendship of Christ, that once, when traveling, he sent back his companion in order to converse more freely with the Lord, with whom he spoke audi bly. Thus we all need to converse with Him, our soul’s love. “He alone is a thousand companions; He alone is a world of friends. That man never knew what it was to be familiar with God who complained of the want of friends when God was with him.” But who can originate such con ceptions of God as are necessary to the enjoyment of His friendship in prayer Without time for thought, for self-collection, and concentration of soul? Momentary devotion, if genuine, must presuppose the habit of studious prayer.—Austin Phelps. Friends of Jesus .M atthew 10:1, 5, 7, 8 MEMORY .VERSE: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsover I com mand you” (John 15:14). AIM: To show what means to follow Jesus.
III. T he I nvitation to R est (11:28-30)
Two classes are addressed in this gracious invitation. First, there are those who labor under the law and find it a burden too heavy to bear. These individuals are without rest. But Jesus, moved with compassion, invites them to come to Him, promising to give them rest. To find this rest, one must lay down his burden; that is, be done with the law as a means of obtaining salvation or as a rule of conduct. And he must trust only in Christ’s grace and power on his be half. . Second, there are those who find rest from the law, but need rest for the soul. Jesus invites them to receive His own rest. This means something more than turning from law to grace. It means learning of Christ in His character of meekness and lowliness of heart. Much unrest in a believer is caused, not by burdens from the outside but from pride and a domineer ing spirit on the inside. Jesus declared that His yoke is easy and His burden light, unlike either the chafing yoke of- the law or of one’s own sinful nature. To every needy soul rest is offered by One who has the ability to bestow it. When it is received, service will be triumphant. Points and Problems 1. The twelve disciples were called, empowered, commissioned, and in structed (Matt. 10:1, 5-8). Though this is not the missionary commission for the present dispensation, yet it is al ways true that the real servants of the Lord must have the above quali fications. 2. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead" (v. 8). Some claim that the ministry of healing the sick and casting out demons should al ways accompany gospel preaching as it did when the disciples were, an nouncing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. If this is so, one is in clined to wonder why the raising of the dead should not also be included? But very conveniently the advocates of the suggested view either ignore or spiritualize that portion of the text which speaks of the raising of the dead. We know that God can and does oftentimes heal, the sick in this dispensation. He casts out demons also. And He can raise the dead. But it is evident that the power to do these things does not necessarily ac company gospel preaching today. It is only as He wills to do these things that they a ^ done* now.5The words of the text plainly relate to Israel in another dispensation, and the-power
5 ‘ D i v i s i o n would you? Our l e s s o n to day is about twelve special friends of the Lord Jesus who had an im portant work to do. But they were not afraid, because the Lord Jesus “gave them power” (v. 1) to. do the work. LESSON STORY: These friends of Jesus, or disciples as they were called, were to tell many, many people about Him; that was their work. Their lives were to be loving and true, so that people would believe what they said. Jesus showed them how. , First, “he called unto him his twelve disciples” (v. 1). The friehds of Jesus learned that they must stay close to Him, their Saviour, if they were to do their work well. Then Jesus told them where they were to go.1They were to go to other cities, away from their own homes. Jesus said: “As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven •is at hand” (v. 7). Last of all He told them what to do; to help anybody who was sick or in any trouble (v. 8). They were to do all this “freely” and gladly (v. 8), because of the Lord Jesus. Jesus wants us, too, to be His friends. He wants us to come to Him, to have our sins forgiven. He wants us to tell of Him wherever we go. And He wants us to help other people, because He is always helping us. Shall we be His friends? OBJECT: A piece of paper 8% x 11 inches (Fold each end to within V* inch of the middle, leaving a gap of y2 inch. In this space print the words, “TRUTH TELLERS.” Open the folds and using these two words, complete the following words: “MATTHEW, BARTHOLOMEW, LEBBEUS, THOMAS, JOHN, PETER, JAMES, PHILIP, ZELOTES, JAMES, ANDREW, and JUDAS.” Do" not allow the letters in T ruth T ellers Object Lesson
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