swear word, cannot truly love Him. Their lips are not praising Him as did the lips of the angels long ago. Are you honoring the name of your Saviour in the way that you celebrate Christmas this year? Have you remem bered to thank God for His wonderful gift to you? Have you worshiped His name because He is precious to you? Unless your heart and your lips both show your love for the Saviour, you are not truly honoring Him on His birthday. Dec. 27, 1953 Thy Kingdom Come Mott. 6:9, 10; 28:16-20; John 17:18-21; In the study of this series of passages selected for this week the teacher will need to keep in mind that there is a dis tinct difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church of God. Many fail to rightly divide the Scriptures at this point and end in confusion. It is the feel ing of the writer that those who selected the present passages have failed to dis tinguish between the two. We shall en deavor to present the heart of the message in each one of the Scriptures before us. Prayer For the Coming Kingdom Matt. 6:9-10 Strictly sp ea k in g the prayer which opens with these two verses is not the Lord’s Prayer. It is the Disciples’ Prayer. The Lord said, “ After this manner there fore pray YE” . In John 17 we have what can more correctly be called the Lord’s Prayer. There we have the prayer He Himself uttered. In the prayer before us, after the recognition of God as “ Our Fath er” who deserves to be reverenced, the Lord exhorts His followers to pray for the coming of the kingdom— “ Thy king dom come” . Furthermore, the will of God, as will be evident when Messiah’s king dom actually comes, ought to be charac teristic of those who belong to God now. The citizens of heaven ought to live now as they w ill by and by. The Great Commission Matt. 28:16-20 When Christ was upon earth He knew that there would be the passing of the cen turies before His kingdom would be estab lished upon earth. In the meantime the church would be formed by the calling out of a redeemed people for His name (Acts 15:14, etc.). The method whereby all this was to be accomplished is set forth in the passage before us now. The dis ciples of the Lord were to go into all the world preaching the gospel, the Lord go ing with them. This was to be kept up until “the end of the age” when Christ will come and bring to completion the work of forming a body for Himself. The Great Commission in Another Form John 17:18-21 Note the ministry of Christ for the saints as set forth in this passage. In verse 19 He sanctifies Himself for their sancti fication. That is, He has set Himself apart for their welfare. The aspect of sanctifica tion referred to here makes it clear that sanctification does not mean sinless per fection. Christ did not need that. He was already sinless. Sanctification literally means a setting apart for a holy use or Acts 1:6 8; Rev. 11:15b Pointers on the Lesson
purpose. How wonderfully true this was of Christ! The Time of the Kingdom's Establishment Acts 1:6-8 This passage makes it clear that be lievers are not to dabble in dates as to just when Christ will come. Rather they are to be concerned with a ministry of witnessing until He comes (v. 8 ). . Under the power of the Holy Spirit every be liever is expected to be a witness for Christ. Thus “ the uttermost part of the earth” is to learn of the gospel. The Final Triumph of Christ Rev. 11:15b One day Christ will indeed become King of kings and Lord of Lords (19:16). Then will earth realize the glory of its C rea tor and th e Utopia m a n y have dreamed about will become a glorious reality. Helps For the Children Thy Kingdom Come Matt. 6:9, 10; 28:16-20 Memory Verse: "Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done In earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9, 10). While the Lord Jesus was with His dis ciples He taught them to pray, “ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” After His death and resurrection, the Saviour met the eleven disciples on a mountain. He gave to them His last command telling them how God’s kingdom could come and His will be done in earth as it is in heaven. The Lord Jesus told His disciples to, “ Go . . . and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” He gave to them His promise to be with them always because all power had been given to Him in heaven and in earth.” Only as Christians obey the last com mand of their Saviour can others become Christians and cause God’s will to be done in earth as it is in heaven. Many Christians say the Lord’s Prayer with their lips, but their hearts are not saying it and they are not telling others of the Saviour to make the prayer come true. Are you a lip-Christian or a heart-Chris- tian? Perhaps you would like to be a different kind of Christian next year than you were last year. Pray that your Lord will give you a clean heart with which to enter the clean new year. END. BIBLESTORYMOTIONPICTURES Bight 300' 8 mm. films
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