T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Bible, or in portions of the Bible. The sainted Wycliffe, reading the Bible In his cell, translated portions of it into English and sent them, to England to be read by the peasants and a great awak ening' followed which meant untold blessing for that land. Give God a chance to speak to you through His Word (Psa. 119:130) “T h e entrance of th y w ord s g ive th lig h t; it g ive th understanding to the sim ple.” Seek wisdom through God’s Book. Read the eighth and ninth chapters of Proverbs and meditate upon them. Bead the Bible! Very few people have ever read it. Read it through from Genesis to Revelation. The sum of all wisdom is wrapped up in its pages. Re member the old saying, “ Beware of the man of one hook.” Be a man or woman of one Book. Don’t believe the preacher or teacher in any church or school who denies or makes light of the Scriptures. Quote 1 Cor. 1:19, 20: “ F o r it is w ritte n , I w ill destroy the w isdom of the w ise, and w ill b rin g to no th in g the understanding of the prudent. W h e re is the w ise? w here is the scribe? w here is the dispnter of th is w o rld ? hath no t God made foolish the w isdom of this w o rld ? ” Scatter portions of the Scripture. You can do marvellous good by buying the cheap edition of the Gospel of John (which is the greatest piece of literature in the world) and giving it cut to peo ple— young and old—wherever and whenever you can. (3) THE BOOK’S INJUNCTION OB SERVED, vs. 8-12. “ Because they had understood.” As Ezra read they were reminded that the Feast of Tabernacles should be observed on the fifteenth of the mouth. Ezra read distinctly, gave the sense or meaning of what he read and explained it so that the people could understand it. There was no trifling with God’s Word. It was a serious business. Grave consequences accompany the privilege of teaching and preaching God’s Word. “ Every man’s work shall be tried with fire, of what sort it is.”
941
Pity the teacher that dares to trifle with a class and with his God-given opportunity. The Word of God has oon- victing power as has the Holy Spirit who is the author. (John 16:8) “A n d w he n he is come he w ill reprove the w o rld of sin, and of righteousness and of judgm e nt.” (Also, Acts 2:37.) The people had sinned against the Lord. They were facing their sins. Preaching against sin is Bible preaching. Sin is revolt against God. Sin deserves punishment. One sin makes a sinner. One sin bars the door to Heaven, for the sinner, and he must have a Saviour. One sin in the life of a child of God bars from fellowship and must be confessed and forsaken before fellowship can be restored. But this was a holy day and they were urged to turn from weeping to re joicing, which they did. The power of the Word was manifested also in giving them joy for sorrow, and filling their hearts with gratitude and unselfish de sires, so that they sent portions to the needy that they might also rejoice and be exceeding glad. Joy is a wonderful minister to the children of God, and our own experiime verifies the truth of v. 10: “ The joy o ' the Lord is your strength.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The turning point in a back slider’s life is when he returns to the Lord. (2) Thé wall was finished and the Word was furnished. (3) There is light, life and liberty in God’s Word for all who will have it. (4) The best method of Bible study is book by book. (5) Memorize Scripture, mark your Bible and make your own outlines. (6) The Word of God and the work of God, should be welded. (7) . The Bible secures our salvation and sanctification; stimulates our faith; separates us from the world; satisfies our souls; is the source of supply for
(See Outside Back Cover)
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter