THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S choice which shall ultim ate in moral action. SATURDAY, J u n e 7. 1 Jo h n 3:16-24. Obedience th e Test of Love. The exhortation of th e Apostle here is not to love in word only bu t in deed and in tru th . It calls to m ind th e Mas te r ’s question, “Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I sa y ?” In verse 22 our obedience seems to furnish the ground on which our prayers are heard and answered. When ou r Lord stood by th e grave of Lazarus H e said, “F a th e r I th a n k Thee th a t Thou h ast heard Me and I knew th a t T hou hearest Me always.” We may put Jo h n 8:29 beside th is statem ent, “ I do always those things th a t please H im .” These two “ always” are related as cause and effect. W hat is tru e of the M aster must be tru e of th e disciple also, “Whatsoever we ask we receive of Him because we keep His commandments an d do those things which are pleasing in H is sight: We must hot suppose, however, th a t our obedience creates any m erit on our p a rt th a t commends us to Hod and obligates Him in any sense to answ er our prayers. Our obedience is th e outw ard expression of an inw ard devotion th a t is created and sustained by th e Holy Spirit. We do not keep His commandments to obtain favor in His sight. We keep them as an evidence of abounding g ratitu d e th a t we have been accepted in the person of our Sub s titu te and Saviour th rough H is aton in g m erit alone. Every tru e believer is- a repeated incarnation. The indwell ing Christ lives out His own life in the daily lives of His disciples as easily and n atu ra lly as th e sun shines and the b ird s sing. We are no t only saved by sub stitu tio n b u t we serve by sub stitu tion since it is God who w orketh in us bo th to will and to do of His good pleas u re. Mr. John W ilkinson, th e founder of th e Mildmay mission to the Jews, con ducted his work upon a two-fold p rin ciple, viz., th a t power goes w ith plan an d blessing w ith obedience. If one would know th e fulness of Divine power in service, he must discover and co-operate w ith the Divine plan and purpose. If one would know th e ful ness of blessing in his individual life, he must yield prom pt and glad obedi- SUNDAY, Ju n e 8. Jo h n 15:1-14. The Joy of Obedience.
565 ence to every Divine command. Hap piness comes and goes. It depends upon the hap; or happening, in o ther words, circumstances. It is created by favorable circumstances, a blue sky, a b rig h t sun, a south wind, a well-cooked dinner. I t may be destroyed by the merest trifle, a passing cloud, an east wind, an im patien t or thoughtless word. Joy on th e o th er hand is th e fru it of th e Holy Spirit. It is deep, abiding and independent of all external su r roundings. One cannot be happy and sad a t th e same tim e b u t joy and sor row can co-exist in th e same h eart. 2 Cor. 6:10. A sinner may be though t lessly and tem porarily happy bu t such a condition is as p itifu l as it is p re carious. A sa in t has an abiding and abounding joy which th e world can n eith er give nor tak e away. The pleas ures of sin are fo r a season only and leave a b itter taste in th e mouth. The joys of salvation are lasting and become sweeter as the years go by. The first th ing to be noted in th is in stru ction on prayer is th e period. “Vphen thou prayest.” The practice of prayer involves a definite and stated time. To make and keep a regu lar appointm ent w ith God is of g reat value in form ing the h ab it of prayer. Ps. 55 :17 ; Ps. 119:164. There m u st also be a place. “E n te r into th y closet.” As th e command to pray always does not preclude a stated time, so th e com mand to pray everywhere does no t for bid a p articu lar place. It will be a san ctu ary because it is an o rato ry and will make prayer much easier th an otherw ise and elsewhere. The atmos phere created by previous petitions will make p reparation needless and will at once induce the sp irit of devotion. The chief requ irem en t of such a place is privacy. “ P ray to th y F ath e r which is in secret.” A closet is an enclosed space. It suggests th e Holy of holies in th e Tabernacle which had n eith er door nor window, where the high p riest was alone w ith God. There was silence, secrecy, solitude and sep aration . The suppliant was sh u t in w ith God and th e world was sh u t out. The eyelid can in stan tly drop over th e eye and exclude external things. If the ear had a sim ilar appliance we m ight seclude ourselves even in a crowd and commune w ith God a t any time. In the absence of any such arrangem ent, how- MONDAY, Ju n e 9. Matt. 6:5-15. How to P ray.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker