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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
Christ. He m ingled w ith all classes. This is.th e curse of India, w ith its un godly caste system. I t is a devilish sin and one of which we are all guilty. Selfishness is a root sin. Jesu s no doubt noted th e ir push' fo r place. He does now. Trifles reveal character. He noted th e paying of tithes by the P h ari sees (Luke 1 1 :4 2 ); the widow’s m ite; He speaks of a cup of w ater (Matt. 1 0 :42 ). I t may be Christ was neglected. He is so often by all of us. The chief seat is sometimes th e lowest (Matt. 9 :3 5 ). Christ warns against th is habit (Mark 12:38-40) “A n d h e sa id u n to th e m in h is d o c trin e , B e w a re o f th e s c rib e s w h ic h lo v e to g o in lo n g c lo th in g , a n d lo v e s a lu ta tio n s in th e m a r k e t p laces, A n d th e c h ie f s e a ts in th e sy n a g o g u e s, a n d th e u p p e rm o st ro o m s a t f e a s ts ; W h ic h d e v o u r w id o w s’ h o u se s, a n d fo r a p re te n c e m a k e lo n g p ra y e rs ; th e s e s h a ll re c e iv e g r e a te r d a m n a tio n .” If a child of God is in harmony w ith his Master, he will not be th ink ing of place or position, bu t will be thinking of th e pierced feet of his Lord. If we have th e m ind of th e Master our ways will be comm itted unto th e Lord. H e who h ath chosen us before the founda tion of the world has a place for us and! will th ru s t us into it, if we abide ini loving patience in His will. We will never be compelled to edge or elbow our way into prominence. He m u st choose th e place for us, prepare us for it and press us into it. Here is the first g reat lesson for a servant. “ Seekest thou g reat things for thyself? Seek th em not.” Seek g reat things for Him. Seek only H is honor, His glory. Serve where He places you, w ith gladness of heart. The place of a doorkeeper in th e house of God is a thousand tim es b etter th a n a place o f au tho rity in the ten ts of th e world. “Humble thyself under th e m ighty hand of God, and He will exalt you” ,— it may not be here, bu t it will surely be in th e mansions above. (3) THE HUMBLED HOST, vs. 12-14.
forced to follow His custom and give them an opportunity to upbraid Him for breaking th e Sabbath? They watched Him. (Psa. 37:32) “T h e w ic k e d w a tc h e th th e rig h teo u s» a n d seek eth . to s la y h im .” Jesus knew th e ir thoughts. “He knew w hat was in man” and so He answered th e unspoken question by questioning them. They hoped to spring a trap on Him, b u t He tu rn ed th e tables, (Luke 20:20-22) and asked: “ Is it law ful to heal on th e Sabbath Day?” No answer. So he healed th e m an and let him go. Then He gave them an illustration. (Deut. 22:4) “T h o u s h a lt .n o t se e th y b ro th e r’s a s s o r h is ox fa ll d ow n b y th e w a y , a n d h id e th y s e lf fro m th e m ; th o n s h a lt s u re ly h elp h im to li f t th e m u p a g a in .” There was no answer. So th e Lord silences criticism. Note how He used every opportunity to do good— always, everywhere. I t was a social occasion, b u t proved to be a splendid occasion. He healed a m an; proved H is Deity; silenced the critics; glorified God. The lesson for us is obvious. (2 ) THE HUMBLE HONORED, vs. 7-11. “He th a t hum bleth himself shall be exalted.” Our Lord now gives a parable on selfish seeking. P rid e of self is n atu ra l to man. It is inh eren t in our Satanic n atu re. “ Ye shall be as gods” was S atan ’s snare to Eve. (Gen. 3:5.) Desire for preferm ent, fo r th e best place, looking ou t for Number One, is Satanic. This was the secret of S atan’s fall. The Anti-Christ will be filled w ith the same spirit. He will seek to exalt himself as God. (Ezek. 28:2, 12, 15) “B e cau se th in e h e a r t is lifte d u p , a n d th o u h a s t sa id , I am a God, I s it in th e s e a t o f God, in th e m id st o f th e s e a s ; y e t th o u a r t a m an , a n d n o t G od, th o u g h th o u s e t th in e h e a r t a s th e h e a r t o f God. • * * T h u s s a ith th e L o rd G od: T h o u s e a le s t u p th e su m , fu ll o f w isd om a n d p e rfe c t in b e a u ty . * * * T h o u w a s t p e r fe c t in th y w a y s fro m th e d a y th o u w a s t c re a te d t i l l in iq u ity w a s fo u n d in th e e .” This was one of the chief sins of th e Pharisees, and th is was why they hated
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