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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November, 1933
is humbling to the pride of the natural man, and it demands full trust in, and obedience to, Another, even the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. III. T he W ork at R ome (30, 3 1 ).' Paul’s testimony was related to the king dom of God, and his teaching was occupied with the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” speaks of His sovereignty, “Jesus” implies His saviourhood, and “ Christ” speaks o f His sustaining grace and power. Paul must have lived a peculiarly noble life to have won and held the soldiers’ ad miration and, in many cases, their accept ance of what he preached. Lesson Questions Vs. 11-16. Trace on a map the journey from Melita to Puteoli. Who ministered to Paul on his way to Rome? Do you recall another instance in the Bible of ministry to One who faced trial (Lk. 22:43)? What special privilege was given Paul when he arrived at Rome? Vs. 17-22. What important meeting took place three days after Paul arrived in Rome? What was the purpose o f it? To what does the word “sect” refer? What reasons can you give for the fact that the believers who constituted this “sect” were unfavorably received generally? Vs. 30, 31. How long did Paul remain in Rome? In the light o f Philippians 4 :22, what would you say was the value and result o f Paul’s imprisonment in Rome? Golden Text Illustration Two soldiers were charging up a hill with their regiment in a desperate attempt to .capture a battery. When half-way up, one o f them turned to the other and said, “Why, you are as pale as a sheet. You look like a ghost. I believe you are afraid.” ''Yes, I am,” was the answer. “And if you were half as much afraid as I am, you would have run long ago.” With enemies within and without, we are apt sometimes to faint for fear, but “he giveth power to the faint” (Isa. 40:29); and they press forward (Phil. 3:14).— S elected . Paul Has Guests A cts 28:16-31. Memory V erse : “ I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” .,(Psa. 34:1). Approach: Paul went to Jerusalem as he planned, and the thing that his friends had feared, and that the prophet had warned him of, did happen. His enemies
who lived in Rome. He wished so much to tell them about Jesus. He called them to gether to his house and talked with them. Some believed and some did not. Paul didn’t stop with the Jews. He knew that God had said o f these people that many o f them hearing “shall hear and shall
not understand.” So once more he turned to the Gentiles. For two years they came to his house and he preached to them. Paul knew that probably he had not long to live, but he didn’t just sit and think about it; he kept right on working for~God up to the end.
DECEMBER 24, 1933 A VISION OF W ORLD PEACE I saiah 11:1-9
Golden T ext: “ The earth shall be full of the knowledge o f the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9). Wild Life in the Holy Land e who live in countries from which wild animals have been extermi nated cannot realize the impression they make upon the people who live where they roam at liberty., There are many wild animals in Palestine today, but there were many more in the days of Isaiah. Dwellers in the land could not feel perfectly secure, while these prowlers were at large. It in
end all that has troubled the nations, and would introduce a time of universal bless ing and peace. That time is sometimes re ferred to as “the millennium,” or a thous and years of absolute sovereignty o f the Lord Jesus Christ upon earth. So ingrained in human thought is the idea of a future time of blessing, that references to it are found in all literature. Even the American Association for the Advancement o f Athe ism refers to the millennium. This is pecu liar, because nowhere except in the Bible can the idea be found. Bible believers hold that this time will come only with the sec ond coming o f Christ. Isaiah here describes the person of this coming Sovereign. Out wardly, as touching Himself, He will be lowly; inwardly, as touching His office and dignity, He will be regal. II. T he E quipment of the S overeign (2 ). This verse speaks o f the trio of graces which will characterize the coming King, because the Spirit o f the Lord rests upon Him. That spirit will be the spirit of wisdom, or intellectual apprehension; and of understanding, or moral apprehension. It will be the spirit of counsel, or ability to plan for G od; and of might, or ability to execute the plans. It will be the spirit of knowledge, or acquaintance with the mind and will o f God; and o f the fear o f the Lord, or determination to perform the will of God at any cost. III. T he P ractice of the S overeign (3-5). His delight shall be in the fear o f the Lord (v. 3, R, V .). That is, the precepts o f Jehovah will be His constant pleasure (cf. John 4:3 2; Heb. 10; Psa. 40). He will be the Blessed Man o f Psalm 1, whose “delight is in the law o f the Lord.” His decisions will be made not by out ward appearance but by the wisdom and understanding o f that Spirit which rests upon Him. Hence His decisions will be according to the mind o f God. They will be righteous and equitable decisions, un moved by any “pull” or “influence.” The execution of His judgments will be swift and terrible, for He shall “smite the land with the rod o f his mouth, and with the breath o f his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Righteousness and equity will be the order o f the day, all “ waves of crime,” gangs of criminals, unfaithful judges, cor rupt courts, and the intrigue which now defeats the execution o f justice will be done away. IV. T he E ffects of the R ule (6-8 ). The prophet here speaks particularly of the lower creation. But if that is to be so fully blessed and delivered from bondage, how much greater will be the deliverance wrought for the higher creation, or for man himself? There will be perfect harmony between the beasts themselves. Now they are at war with one another, they continually prey upon each other, until the cruelty ex isting in the world of the lower animals is the amazement and despair of all lovers of the creatures o f nature. There will be perfect harmony between
vests the k i n gd om age with an atmos phere of great secur ity then, when Jeho vah tells the people, through Isaiah, that those animals which they so feared were to be tamed in that day. A ll o f the p r o p h e c i e s in this
lesson, regarding intimate companionship between men and animals, served to en hance the glories of that future age in the minds o f God’s people, Israel. Even today, one may experience some of the charm o f companionship with the wild life o f Palestine. George Adam Smith writes: “Upon a warm spring day in Pal estine, to sit upon the grass beside some old dyke or ruin with its face to the south, is indeed to obtain a rapturous view o f the wealth of life with which the bountiful God has blessed and made merry man’s dwelling place. How the lizards come and go among the grey stones, and flash like jewels in the dust! And the timid snake rippling quickly through the grass, and the leisurely tortoise with his shiny back, and the chameleon, shivering into new color as he passes from twig to stone and from stone to straw—all the air the while alive with the music of the cricket and the bee! You feel that the ideal is not to destroy these pretty things, but, as Isaiah declares, to bring them into sympathy with our selves, to make pets of them and play things for children, who indeed stretch out their hands in joy to the pretty toys.” Outline and Exposition I. T he P erson of the S overeign (1 ). Isaiah was writing o f a coming time when a Sovereign Would have universal rule over this earth, a rule that would bring to an BLACKBOARD LESSON
made trouble for him, and he was sent to pr ison. But Paul found that he could serve the Lord even there. Lesson Story: Be cause he was a Ro man as well as a Jew, Paul had the right to say that he must be taken to Rome to be
tried before Caesar, the Roman emperor. Tins meant that he would have an oppor tunity to preach the gospel all the way from Jerusalem to Rome— for it was a long journey by boat. And the Bible tells us how Paul did preach on the way, and how he saved the passengers when the boat was shipwrecked. He showed them the power which he had through Christ. Then when he reached Rome, although he was a prisoner, he was allowed to live in a house with just a guard to look after him. He could invite friends to come and visit him. He thought at once of the many Jews
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