T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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no better method than to begin with what ever the person happens at the moment to be interested in. Philip found his pros pect reading (of all things!) Isaiah S3. More likely today we shall find our pros pect reading a newspaper or the latest book. 5. “Philip . . . began at the same Scrip ture and preached unto him Jesus” (v. 35). No matter where we begin, whether with the subject of the weather or anything else, the rule is to get to “JesuA as fast as possible. Without Him, all our fine-spun arguments will fail. 6. “And he baptized him” (v. 38). The first and surest evidence that we have suc ceeded is the manifestation of the spirit of obedience in the new-born soul. When we have heard the confession of faith, we should press immediately for obedience to the will of God. For the sinner, the com mand is “Believe.” For the believer, the command is "Obey.” 7. “The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip" (v. 39). Philip’s work was done. And thus, some day, when the soul-winning work of the church is done, we shall be “caught away” to be forever with the Lord. G olden T ex t Illustration It was at the Lord’s Supper; there was a large churchful of disciples, and the dea cons came along with the cup. The rule was for the man at the end of the pew to partake of the cup and then pass it along. But one man, right in the middle of a pew, partook, and then held on to the cup. “Pass it on,” he was told, but he refused. The pastor came and said: “Pass it on. It has come all the way down from the table until it reached you. Don’t stop it.” But the man did not heed. There is the cup of salvation. Christ filled it and gave it to His disciples to drink and pass it along. They passed it on to Antioch, to Rome, to Britain, to America, and we of America are to pass it on to Japan and China and India. But now, some who have the cup hold on to it. “It is good,” they say. The heathen are perishing, but these individuals will not pass it on.— Adapted from the tract, “Pass It Along." Memory Verse: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10, 11). Approach: Last week our Bible story was about Stephen, a follower of Jesus— one who was not afraid. Our story today Philip T ells th e G lad News A cts 8 :26-40
preached His name. This seemed to Philip an opportunity to go out and preach. First he went into Samaria and preached, and the people there heard him gladly. Then the Lord had another work for him to do. He called him to go down on the desert road 'which led to Gaza. Perhaps Philip wondered why he was to leave the crowds who were gathering to listen to him at Samaria. Why should he go off to the desert ? He may have wondered—but he went, because he knew that the Lord wanted him there. As soon as he reached the desert, he understood the reason for his coming. A very famous man from the country of Ethiopia was traveling along the road on his way back from Jerusalem. God had prepared this man’s heart to receive the word. Thé man had journeyed all the way to Jerusalem with a great longing in his heart. He really wanted to hear the Good News, but he had not found any believers in the Lord Jesus who could tell him. Now he was on his way back, still searching for the truth. But God will find a way for every true seeker to learn the truth about salvation, and He sent Philip to the desert to meet this stranger and tell the glad story about the Lord Jesus. How happy Philip must have been because he had lis tened when God had spoken to him ! Objects: Two jewel boxes. (These can be secured at a novelty store. Paste small red crosses on thé four sides of one box. On the inside of this box place a cardboard heart, covered with blue paper. To the heart, attach with a thread a piece of yel low paper, cut to represent a bag of gold. Paste a red cross on one side of the other box. Paste a coin on one of the other sides, an imitation playing card on another side, and an imitation cigarette on the fourth side. On the inside of this box place a light yellow heart, to which is attached a paper representing a light blue sack.) O b ject Lesson T he B ox B rothers Lesson Text: Acts 9:1-9, 17-19; 1 Tim. 1:12-14. Golden Text: “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). O utline and E xposition I. S aul ’ s C onversion (Acts 9:1-9). I n this lesson there is an outstanding example of what the grace of God can „ do. The account of the conversion of Saul taken in connection with 1 Timothy 1 :15 and Philippians 3 :4, reveals, what grace BLACKBOARD LESSON
Lesson: These boxes are so much like boys that I have named them Bill and Bob. As they are facing you, you see that they both have red crosses. This would suggest that they profess to be Christians. We will first examine Bill. As I turn him around, you will notice that each side has on it a red cross, which speaks of Christ. These crosses remind me of what is, said in Acts 8:4, regarding the apostles: “They that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” Wherever you see Bill, he is true to Christ. I wonder why it is that some people are always true to Christ. Perhaps if we look at Bill’s heart we will find the answer. (Open the lid to the box.) His heart is “true blue” ! If a person’s heart is true blue, he will always be loyal to Christ. Christ said: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Bob is not true like his brother Bill. As I turn him around, we see money, cards, and a cigarette. If you were to see Bob on Sunday, you might think he was a good Christian; but if you see him every day, there are many things in his life which would not remind you of Christ. Bob’s heart tells why he does not always remain true to Christ. Instead of being “true blue” like his brother’s, it is “yellow.” Because his heart is yellow, he is often disloyal to Christ. Christ said: “But who soever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:33). can accomplish and what legalism cannot do., Before God, Saul was the worst, or the chief of sinners; before man, he was the best, or the chief of legalists. He went to the depths of human wickedness and to the heights of human righteousness ; and he was as far from God in the heights as in the depths. Saul’s guilt was no hindrance to his sal vation, and his goodness was no help. Saul headed up the blindness, unbelief, wicked ness, and hatred of the nation of which he was a member. He would, as a member of the Jewish council, give his vote to drive out of the land all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. As he went on the road to Damascus he had no sense of his sinful ness, nor any conception of his need. It was while he was “breathing out threateri- ings and slaughter” (v.l) that the Lord was, as it were, breathing out grace. Saul was not a repentant sinner seeking the mercy of the Lord, but he was a desperate enemy seeking to give vent to his hatred of that which belonged to the Lord. He had a zeal for God, but it was not accord ing to knowledge, and he had a religion, but it was opposed to God. Zeal and reli gion may be barriers to a man’s salvation,
AUGUST 9, 1936 SAUL CONVERTED AND COMMISSIONED A cts 9:1-31; 22:3-21; G alations 1:11-17; 1 T imothy 1:12-17
is about another fol lower of the Lord Jesus. His name was Philip. Like Stephen, Philip helped divide the money and pos sessions which were given to the church. Like Stephen, too, he wanted to do more than this. He wanted to go out and preach Christ to
A v i s i o ’
the people, telling them how to be saved. Lesson Story: You remember how the Christians had had to flee from the city of Jerusalem after the death of Stephen, because the enemies of Christ were deter mined to do away with all those who
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