January 1929
31
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
Bible Food for Preacher and Teacher
He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. Psalm 147:14
F in e s t o f
the Wheat
A Prayer Oh, Lord, give me the grace to be Content with what Thou givest me 1 No! more than that: Let me rejoice In all Thou sendest—’tis Thy choice. My human knowledge cannot tell Trials from blessings; Hence I shall With childlike faith, hold up my hand And ask Thee,' God, but not demand. You Can’t w^xplain Jesus Away Every attempt to explain away Jesus has ended in leaving Him more of a power than before. We know enough to generate the belief that if it had been pos sible for God to live on earth in human form, the life of Jesus, as set before us in the New Testament, would have satisfied our every expectation as to what such a divine life should be. More and more even those who do not believe in God admit that if there were a God, and if He could make a revelation of Him self to men, they could not sug gest any qualitative improve ment in the story of Jesus as given us in the Gospel '¿¿-Bishop F. J. McConnell, D.D., at Lau sanne Conference. •b ------------------------------ -------------- READY BIBLE OUTLINES P ---------------------—- —— --------—4 Why Do Men Suffer? Text: Gen. 3:16, 17, 19. Introduction: Man left to prosper in his fallen con dition would soon turn the earth into a hell. Should make friends with our trials and afflictions since we’ll have to live with them. Wise course, to seek their purpose. I. Suffering Due to Connection With a Fallen Race. (Rom. 5:12; Exo. 20:5.) Organic penalties follow violation of organic laws. Can’t be helped—part of penalty of liv ing in sinful world. (Illus.—Acts 3:2; Jn. 9:2.) Other side of this law (Exo. 20:6). II. Suffering as a Penalty Upon an Evil Doer Himself {Unsaved'). (Prov. 5:22; Rom. 1:27.) A check upon one’s course in sin. Penalty in this life, however, is pur posely incomplete. G
Man’s works can’t be summed up until the end. Eternal penalty may be set aside through acceptance of Christ (Jn. 5:24). III. Suffering as Correction Upon God’s Children. (Heb. 12:5-8. “Chastisement”—child training; 1 Cor. 5:5; 11:32.) A sign of God’s love, not His wrath. May sometimes be avoided by self scrutiny and forsaking an evil (1 Cor. 4:13.) IV. Suffering as Preparation for a Closer Walk with God. (2 Cor. 12:9; 4:17; Heb. 5:8; 1 Pet. 4:13.) Produces patience, humility, love. Suffering not always a penalty or chas tisement—but to purify, glorify, beautify. V. Suffering Voluntarily Borne for Sake of Loyalty to Christ. (Col. 1 :24.) Conclusion (Psa. 119:75) : “Behind my life the weaver stands And works His wondrous will; I leave it in His All-wise hands And trust His perfect skill. Should mystery enshroud His plan And my short sight be dim, I will not try the whole to scan But leave each thread with Him. The dark threads are as needful In the Master’s skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern which He planned.” Introduction : Jesus Christ accused of being crazy (Mk. 3:21; Jn. 10:20). He was either crazy or the sanest man who ever lived. Early Christians were accused of being crazy (Acts 26:24; 2 Cor. 5:13). They are either crazy or the wisest people on earth. I. Was Christ Crazy? (1) Made tremendous claims as to His Person and work (Jn. 5 :22- 29). (a) Claims proven by His works (Lk. 7:22). (b) Witnessed to by Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:7-11). (c) Confessed by men who first doubted (Jn. 20:28; Jn. 1:49; Acts 9:3-6). — o — Are Christians Crazy? Text: Acts 26:25
S EARCH-LIGHTS FROM THE WORD By Dr. G. Campbell Morgan (Permission FlemingH. Revell Co.)
“Today hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:21. What a wonderful day that was 1 The Lord was back in Nazareth, in His boy hood’s home, among the people who knew Him best, so far as the incidental things of His earthly life were concerned. Luke says that He went into' the syna gogue “as His custom was.” What visions that suggests of His regu lar presence in that gathering-place through the years ! How often He had been there mingling with the worshipers, and yet separated from them by the mys tery of His, being, and by the conscious ness of His mission! And now He chose to make that synagogue the place where He claimed the fulfillment in Himself and His work of the wonderful foretelling of the prophet so long: before. Reference to the passage in Isaiah (61:1, 2 ) will show that the place where He ceased reading is revealing, In our versions only a comma separates what He read from the words, “and the day of vengeance of our God.” For that He was not then anointed. In the time ap pointed He will carry that out also, with all that follows of restoration. How long the interval represented by that comma, only God knows. The times and seasons are within His: authority. So far the interval has lasted nearly 2,000 years. This is still the day of His Gospel, His work that of delivering of captives. It is still the acceptable year of the Lord. * ------------------- I, —I—I----------------- -f LINES TO MEMORIZE J,--------------------------------------------- 4 The Chisel and the Wood I asked, O Lord, that I might be A plane, a chisel, in Thy hand ; But now, in penitence, I see Such prayer for me was far too grand. I simply ask that I may lie As on Thy bench, the favored wood ; Thyself the saw, the chisel ply, And work me into something good. Friendship It is the joy of my life to find At every turning of the road The strong arms of a comrade kind To help me on with my load ; And since I have no gold to give And love alone must make amends, My only prayer is, while I live, God make me worthy of my friends.
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