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“ Those things, which ye have . . . heard . . . do” (Phil. 4:9).—P ickering . III. W alk V ersus T alk Three lads were taking a handcart up Renfield Street, Glasgow. The two be hind started a discussion and forgot to push. The lad in the shafts turned around and tartly exclaimed, “Less talk and more shove.” If Christ had said, “ Rise up and talk," how many would have fulfilled their mission! But He said, “ Rise up and walk." Remember that!—S elected . IV. D iscovering G od ’ s P lan ■ There are at least three conditions for finding God’s will in the matter o f our life work: 1. Belief that He has a plan (Eph. 2:10; Psa. 37:23 ; 32:8). 2. Prayer (Jas. 1:5; Psa. 62:5). 3. The will to do the will o f God (John 7:17, R .V .; Rom. 12:1, 2). V i'i—S elected . V. “ C hoosing ” a C alling Every day men talk o f “choosing” a calling. But is not the phrase a sheer mis nomer? , For how can a man “ choose” a “calling” ? I f a man is called, he does not choose. It is the one who calls who does the choosing. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit,” says our Lord.................... Young friend, are you standing in that trying place where men are pressing you to “choose” a calling? Are you about to cast the die of a self-chosen life work? Do not cast it. Do not try to. choose. Does not the text say we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” ? If the plan is in Christ, how will you find it unless you go to Christ? Therefore, go to God simply, trustfully, prayerfully, and ask Him to show you what H e has chosen for you from all eternity. And as you walk in the daily light which He sheds upon your path, He will surely lead you into His appointed life-plan. So shall you be saved the sor row, disappointment, and failure which fol low in the wake o f him who “chooses” his own path, and, all too late, comes to himself to find out that it pays to trust God in this great concern o f his life, even as in all others.—J ames H. M c C onkey . VI. T he G od -P lanned L ife Why do I drift on a storm-tossed sea, With neither compass, nor star, nor chart, When, as I drift, God’s own plan for me, Waits at the door o f my slow-trusting heart? Down from the heavens it drops like a scroll, Each day a bit will the Master unroll, Each day a mite of the veil will He lift. Why do I falter? Why wander, and drift? Drifting, while God’s at the helm to steer; Groping, when God lays the course, so clear; ;
o f salvation. Second, this verse brings the inspiring thought that God has a plan for each believer’s life. Both of these facts need to be remembered by the Christian who seeks to find his life work. A first consideration is the divine source of our power to do works which are accept able to God. In this key verse of the les son, God has given the fundamental prin ciple of good works: They are the fruit o f salvation, not the root. W e recognize an apple tree by the apples which it bears; but these apples which we see did not make the tree. The tree produced the apples. Fruit cannot be produced until the roots are firmly fixed. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him” (Col. 2:6, 7). Should any one desire to estab lish his own righteousness or holiness by good works, he would be just as foolish as one who plants a tree in his garden with the roots upward and the branches down ward. Philippians’ 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,” shows further the se quence which the Word of God stresses. Though it is our responsibility to choose and do His will, it is through His grace that we perform “good works.” Good works, therefore, are the evidences of a genuine work of God in us. They prove the reality of our faith and o f our life in Him, for we read in James 2:20: “ Faith without works is dead.” Each Christian is to bring forth fruit. The secret o f fruit-bearing is in abiding. Jesus said: “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Constant abiding keeps us in His will, and thereby we may know what He would have us do. What a stimulating, inspiring thought it is that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” God, the omnipotent Creator, has ordained and planned good works for us, and He desires that we should fulfill His plan. Every Christian should find his life work by letting God choose it for him. Only thus will he be fulfilling God’s plan for his life. Would that every Christian En- deavorer should so have the mind that was in Christ Jesus that he could say with Christ, “ Lo, I come . . . to do thy will, O God.” Press oh I Press on! Nor doubt nor fear. From age to age this voice shall cheer— Whate’er may die and be forgot, Work done for God, it dieth not. II. U ncompleted “Is the sermon done?” said one member of the congregation to another. “No, the preacher is done, but the ser mon: has to be worked out in our lives,” replied the practical listener. —K nox . Leader’s Helps I. W ork D one for G od
MAY 6, 1934 How Should a Christian Choose His Life W ork? E phesians 2:10; H ebrews 10:7 Suggestions (or the Meeting Hymn—“ To the Work.” Hymn—“Give o f Your Best to the Master.” ■ Prayer. Scripture—Ephesians 2 :10; Hebrews 10:7. Reading—“ Lead On, O King Eternal.” Solo—“ This Is My Task.” Leader’s Message. Testimonies—Endeavor to have every one express himself regarding his life work, especially as to how God has led in the desire for it or in the realization o f it. Hymn—“Jesus Calls Us, O’er the Tumult.” Benediction—Psalm 1, in concert. Meditation on the Lesson Ephesians 2:10 häs a twofold message. First, it throws much light on the oft-dis cussed question of good works and their relation to salvation, by teaching that in the sight o f God, good works are the fruit D IETZ REWARD PINS Beautiful— Dignified— Economical. Now the Standard Reward Emblem of Thousands of Sunday Schools throughout the land. Our New Catalogue, free to all Officers and Teachers gives full details of these new Emblems.
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