269
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
July-August, 1934
Leader’s Helps 1. S tandards for the C hristian %
Have you sought the Saviour’s mind? The world, with a criticising view, Has watched—but did it see Christ in you ? Has some one seen Christ in you today? Oh, Christian, be careful, watch and pray; Look up to Jesus in faith, and then Lift up unto Him your fellow men; On your own strength you cannot rely; There’s a Fount of grace and strength on high; Go to that Fount and your strength renew, And the life of Christ will shine through you. —Z ion ’ s H erald . AUGUST 26,1934 W hat A re the Qualities o f a True Gentleman or Lady? C olossians 3 :12-17 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“ Living for Jesus.” Hymn— “ O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.” Prayer. Hymn—“ Take the Name of Jesus with • You.” Scripture—Colossians 3 :12-17. Leader’s Message. Solo—“ Sweet Peace, the Gift of God’s Love.” Paul is writing to the Colossian Chris-' tians about the risen life in Christ. He has told them what has been “put off,” and now he is telling them what to “put on.” It has been said that these two imperatives de scribe the true Christian life : “ Put off the old man’%r-“put on the new” ; “put off. . . anger, wrath, malice”-^ “put on a heart of compassion, kindness.” Why should we as Christians be con cerned about our spiritual garments ? Our motive comes from our God-given position —we are the “elect of God.” W e are in the royal family, heirs o f God and joint heirs with Christ. In the passage for our study, Paul enumerates the! virtues which flow from a loving heart. He likens them to a garment and calls “love” the girdle binding them all together, love being “the bond of perfectness.” 1 M b -* Thus living in love, “ Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Pr. Maclaren says: “Peace will sit in our heart as an umpire, for it will instinctively draw itself into itself, like the leaves of. a sensitive plant; :at the approach of evil; and if we will give heed to its warnings, and have nothing to do with what disturbs it, we shall be saved from falling into many a sin.” What a high standard is set in verse 171 W e read: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name o f the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” As. we come to understand more of the perfection of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves more and more dependent upon the power of: G jd. To truly “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,” we find that we must yield our wills actively and gladly to the Holy Spirit,o f God. And then the “whatsoever” widens in scope until it in cludes all o f life, and we come to know more o f the meaning of our union with Christ. Out o f this refining process will come the love for others which will ex press itself in true courtesy and considera tion. David said of the L ord : “Thy gen tleness hath made me great” (Psa. 18:35). The follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be “gentle unto all men” (2 Tim. 2:24). Testimonies. Quiet Hour. Benediction—2 Corinthians 13:14. Meditation on the Lesson
and lifted him u p : and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” The effect was wonderful. All the reg ular worshipers at the temple knew the man; and when they saw this miraculous trans formation, “they were filled with won der and amazement.” And, under God, this experience opened the way for Peter to witness to this large company in the temple. What wonderful dividends Peter and John received for their investment! What if they had done nothing because they did not have money! What blessing many souls would have lost! W e discover from this incident our own obligation in regard to possessions. “What I have, I give” should be the rule for all Christians, especially in regard to spiritual riches. God never requires from us that which we do not have. He said to Moses: “What is that in thine hand?” To the perplexed disciples out in the wilderness, the Lord said: “ How many loaves have ye?” And in obedience to Him, the disciples, like Moses, witnessed the miracle-working power of God, in whose hand every gift finds its fullest use. To give is to live. Everywhere are the lame, figuratively speaking, desperately needing our help. Often they think money is their greatest lack, when spiritual strength and power are the blessings really needed. Our world is groping for relief from its distress and perplexity—and its need .can be met only in Christ—the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us do our share in pro claiming Him. Leader’s Helps I. P overty A monk, showing a visitor around one o f the religious houses o f Spain, pointed to the numerous vessels o f gold and silver and remarked, “ You see we cannot say with Peter, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’ ” “Neither can you say with him* ‘Rise up and walk,” ” quietly replied the visitor. —P ickering . >: ' t II. ■ :• S tewardship r A beggar asked something of a lady. She gave him sixpence, saying, “ This is more than ever God gave me.” “ Oh,” said the beggar, “Madam, •you have abundance, and God hath given all that you have.” “ Nay,” said the lady, “I speak the truth, for God hath not given, but lent unto me what I have, that I may bestow it upon such as thou art.”—S elected . III. O ur T alent for S ervice That we may help Him in His plan for winning the world, He has given us five things. Every one has these five things. The life —what we j are. The what we say or sing. The, service —-what we do. The groM—what we do not keep selfishly for ourselves. Our prayer —what we claim in Jesus the'Victor’s name. Each one has that five-finger spirit hand. And with it we may reach out, if we will, and touch the man nearest, and bind him back to the heart of God, and touch the man farthest, and all between, under the gra cious guidance o f the Holy Spirit. — S. D. G ordon . IV. H as S ome O ne S een C hrist in Y ou? Has some one seen Christ in you today? Christian, look into your heart, I pray; « The little things that you’ve done or said— Did they accord with the way you prayed? Have your thoughts been pure, your words been kind?
Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being little. Do you desire to construct a lofty fabric? Then think first about the foundations of humility. The higher the structure, the deeper the foundation should be.—S t . A ugustine . 2 . Be kind. Every man you meet is fight ing a hard battle I—M aclaren . 3. Paul describes the traits o f a true gen tleman in 1 Corinthians 13. The root is love which flowers out into friendliness, kindness, willingness to help another. —W hicher . 4. True humility is unconscious self-forget fulness.—F ry . 5. A missionary in Jamaica was questioning the little black boys on Matthew 5 :5 and asked, “Who are the meek?” A boy answered, “ Those who give soft answers to rough questions.” This reply accords with what Solomon says: “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” —P ickering . II. “ So A lso D o Y e ” A settler in South Africa observed a Kaffir near his yard. Charging the native with prowling around in order to steal his cattle, he was answered with a prompt de nial o f any such aim. Roused to anger, the settler hauled the Kaffir to a tree and with one blow ,of an ax cut off the man’s right hand. Months later, the settler lost his way in the bush, found a hut, and rested for the night. In the morning, he was horror-struck as the owner of the hut held up his right arm, for the hand was gone. His fears were gone as the Kaffir said, “ You were in my power. I could have killed you. Revenge said, ‘Murder the man who so wrongfully maimed you for life,’ but I be a Christian; the Master in my heart said, ‘Forgive,’ so I do not kill.”-— P ic k e r in g . SEPTEMBER 2, 1934 Basic Virtues— Honesty L uke 19:8 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn— “ O Worship the King.” Hymn—“ Day Is Dying in the West.” Prayer. Scripture—Luke 19:1-10. Hymn— “I Am Thine,' O Lord.” Quartet—“ Something for Jesus.” Leader’s Message. Testimonies. Quiet Hour. Hymn—“ Take My Life, and Let It Be.” Benediction—Psalm 19:14. Meditation on the Lesson The story of Zaccheus is one of unfail ing interest and charm. The Lord Jesus was on His triumphal march to Jerusalem. He had just performed an outstanding mir acle in the healing o f blind Bartimeus by the wayside. Great crowds were thronging His footsteps, eager to see this marvelous Miracle-Worker. Christ entered the city of Jericho. In this city lived Zaccheus, a publican, a tax- gatherer-—hated and despised by the Jews. This man had been moved by some impulse —perhaps curiosity—to see Jesus. Being short, he climbed a tree in order to see over the heads of the crowd. What a momentous climb! Jesus, looking
Made with FlippingBook HTML5