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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
October 1932
to start right. William told his friend that the only trade he knew anything about was soap making and candle making, in which he had helped at home. “Well,” said the old man, “let me pray with you once more and give you a little advice.” So they kneeled on the towpath, and then the old man said: “ Some one will soon be the leading soap maker o f New York. It can be you as well as any one. Be a good man; give your heart to Christ; give the Lord all that be longs to Him of every dollar you make; make an honest soap; give a full pound; and I am certain that you will yet be a prosperous man.” The boy remembered the promise he made to that old captain, and the first dol lar he earned he tithed to the Cord. He fol lowed all the good advice; his business g rew ; riches came faster than he had ever hoped. He increased the Lord’s one-tenth to four-tenths, and then to five-tenths. A f ter he had educated his family, he gave all his income to the Lord, amounting to mil lions o f dollars, and left a name for square dealing and honest goods that will never die.— S elected . Sharing God’s Gifts D euteronomy 8:11-14, 18 Memory Verse: “ Freely ye have re ceived, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). Approach: Last week our story was about a rich man who made three very big mistakes. First, he thought that the things which he possessed were the most impor tant things in life ; and the second mistake Years before, when, the children of Israel were on their way through the wilderness to the promised land, they began to think too much about their possessions, and God had to warn them about their sin. He said : “ Beware . . . lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein . . . then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God . . . and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might o f mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.” God was afraid that the children o f Israel might make the same mistake that the rich man later did. The sad thing is that, in spite o f God’s warning, many times the children of Israel did that very thing. When they grew rich and powerful, they often forgot that it was God who had made it possible. All through the ages, God has had to warn His people to be humble and unselfish and Generous. When the Apostle Paul was preaching to the early Christians, although* many of them were very poor, he urged them al ways to give to others saying to them that, in that way, they were not onlÿ help ing others, but they were also “ causing . . . thànksgiving to God.” That is something .for us to remember, too. A v i 5 » o * was that he was sel fish with what he had. He never thought of sharing his posses sions with oth ers.. The third mistake was that he forgot that it was God who had made it possible for him to gather to gether these g r e a t possessions. L e s s o n S t o r y :
BLACKBOARD LESSON
and however strange the distribution of gifts may appear, the end will justify God in whatever He does. In the case o f Israel, the ability was given in order that God’s promise that these people should be rich and powerful might be fulfilled. But their riches and power were not merely for their own sakes, but for the sake o f the whole world. The Jews still have their God-given capacities, and the day will soon come when, restored to their own land and brought back to their own God, they will use them for the pur pose intended. Then the nations o f the earth will come into their promised time o f blessing through Israel’s use o f that which God has given her. III. T he I nstruction C oncerning M oney (2 C or . 9:6-15). 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 are a classic on the important subject of Christian giving. These chapters should be carefully read in connection with this lesson. 1. The method o f Christian giving (vs. 6 ,7 ). The method is likened to a farmer sow ing his seed. The one who sows little, re ceives little in return ; the one whò sows much, receives much in return. There is nothing mysterious about it. It is all nat ural and familiar. The farmer gives away his seed, allows it to be lost in the ground, and then simply waits for God to do His part. The same principle governs Christian giving. The one who gives a mere pittance to the Lord will receive as much from the L ord; the one who gives largely will re ceive largely. The Lord is not so much in terested in the actual amount given as in the state o f heart behind the giving. He does not look at the size of the gift but at the purpose o f the heart which prompts the gift. The Lord is in no need either o f the one dollar o f the poor man or the million dollars o f the rich man. The poor man may receive from his one dollar a much richer reward than the rich man from his million. It is the Lord who pro vides all the wealth and the ability to get wealth, and He is in no need o f that which He thus supplies. He could retain both the wealth and the ability if He so pleased. And we must remember that the Lord is no poorer by His giving and no richer by withholding. Christian giving is an investment. Be cause we do not see the eternal riches which come from the investment, material riches loom larger in our sight. But the material wealth o f the earth is as nothing compared to the eternal riches which God gives in exchange. Hence Christian giving is never a duty but a real delight to the in structed Christian. A wealthy man was asked for a gift on behalf o f a Christian enterprise and was reminded: “He who lendeth to the Lord, that which he hath given will He repay again.” In reply the wealthy man said, “ The security may be good enough, but the credit is too long.” In a week he was dead, having missed by j ust seven days the very best gilt edged in vestment ever offered. 2. The results of. Christian giving (vs. 8-15). The results begin to be seen even upon earth. First, Christian giving brings in creased ability to give. As some one has said, “The more you give, the more you have to give.” This is but an adaptation o f the ancient proverb, “ There is that scat tered, and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall
H OW MUCH OF M Y SU B S TA N C E FOR. T H E E ------
H O W M UCH O F T H A T W H IC h T H O U GAVEST, M A Y I K E E P FOR. M Y S E L F ?
be made fa t: and he that watered shall be watered also himself” (Prov. 11:24, 25). Second, Christian giving results in in- increased thanksgiving to God from all who become aware of the giving. The Cor inthians had evidently been giving largely, and that had stirred up other saints to en gage in thanksgiving to God. There has never been a case of real Christian giving that did not sooner or later result in stir ring up thanksgiving to God, and this re acts in richer and fuller blessing to the soul o f the giver. Third, God’s glory is magnified by the thanksgiving. This is,- after all, the purpose of all Christian giving (Psa. 50:15). 3. The example o f all Christian giving (v. 16). “Thanks be unto God for his un speakable gift.” That gift was the mea sure o f the love of God for man, because “ God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten'Son” (John 3:16). True love is never satisfied unless •it can give, and the Father’s love breaks all bounds by the gift of His Son. The Son’s love is re vealed in that “ he' gave himself” for men. “The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). And the Holy Spirit, for nearly two thousand years, has been en gaged in giving blessings day by day, with out tiring, even to the unjust and the un thankful. Hence Christian giving brings the giver into fellowship with the Triune God as nothing else can do. W e may say we love God, but until that love breaks out in true, cheerful, ungrudging giving of what we have and are, the love will re main a mere “ say” love without reality or power. W e are to give to the Lord, for the Lord’s sake, by the Lord’s grace, for the Lord’s glory, and with the material wealth which the Lord Himself supplies. Lesson Questions Deut. 8:11-14. For what purpose had God humbled and proved Israel in the wil derness (Deut. 8 :2, 3) ? What are some o f the perils o f prosperity ? D o you think they are greater than the perils o f poverty? 8 :18. By what means does one receive the ability to get wealth ? Are there any ex ceptions? Why did God give to Israel the power to prosper? I 2 Cor. 9 :6-15. To what may Christian giving be likened ? What are the principles governing it? What are some o f the re sults of Christian giving: to the giver; to the recipient, and others acquainted with the giving; to God? What is the supreme incentive to the Christian to give? Golden Text Illustration When William Colgate was a lad of six teen, he left home to seek his fortune, car rying all his worldly possessions in his hand. His father was too poor to keep him at home. He mef an old neighbor, cap tain of a canal boat, who encouraged him
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