December 1926
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
784
our hands in His, our faith resting in the sure promises, and our eyes upon the Goal, we may meet every day’s problems with confidence, and be sure of a royal welcome when we are called into the presence of the King. n Suggestive Scripture Reference« For Claes Hour Use Grace Maxwell A Central-Truth Text: These are they that follow the Lamb whitherso ever He goeth. Rev. 14:4. Walking in Christ’s footsteps: John 14:6 with Isa. 30:21; 2 Cor. 12:18 (last cl.); Col. 1:10. Note Pea. 86:8. Oppositions of evil try to hinder the true following of the Lord: Psa. 87:1, 2 12, 14; Mark 10:21, 22; Titus 2: 12; Heb. 13:13; 1 Peter 4: 1-6. Called, each from his own place, his business, where Jesus found him: Recall Moses—Exod. 3:1, 10; David— 2 Sam. 7:8; Amos—Amos 7:14, 16. To whom does Jesus say “Follow me’’?: John 10:27; Acts 2:39; Rev. 22:17. Note Prov. 8:1-6; 9:1-6. (If time allows—other Scripture: Josh. 1:7 last cl.; Hos. 6:3; Matt. 7:21.) m . m What It Means to Follow Jesus Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-17; 1 John 1:2-6. Golden Text: “He said unto him, follow me. And he arose and followed Him." (Mark 2:14.) Approach: What do you think it means to follow Jesus? Some think it means joining the church. Others think it means liv- ELEMENTARY ing a good life, and Mabel L. Merrill giving money for good purposes. Will our own good works insure us salva tion? (Titus 3:6; Eph. 3:8.) Lesson: Here we are at the begin ning of a brand new year. We are starting on a new page of our life record. What do you want that rec ord to be? Are you satisfied with the record of 1926? It is written and finished and we can not go back and change It, but we now have the oppor tunity to make the 1927 record dif ferent. Some of yqu have made New Year resolutions, and of course they are good, but the only trouble with those good resolves is, we can not keep them in our own strength. How can we make this record just the kind of a record we can be happy about when it is finished? By taking Jesus as our Captain and Guide, and following Him every step of the road throughout this year and every year we spend on this earth. Do not put it off. When Jesus called the disciples, they followed immediately. Satan al ways tries to get us to wait until some other time (2 Cor, 6:2). As they followed Jesus, they had His leader ship and companionship.'' Quick obe dience to God brings happiness and peace. If we are to follow Him, we must get our marching orders from the Bible. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). If we are to truly follow Jesus, we must first of all be born again. Then our greatest joy
(5) Whoso forsakes all to follow Him will find fishing a fine sport. (6) The sea is a type of the world. Its shores are the two eternities. (7) The Church is the boat in the sea, but not of the sea. (8) The net is the means of grace— preaching, teaching, testifying. If we could but adequately sense the fulness of meaning in what It is to be “a follower of Jesus!" It is so much more than a mere endeavor, however sincere, to DEVOTIONAL conform our lives to COMMENT the outward forms of Wm, A. Fisher H i s righteous life. When we remember that His coming to earth was made necessary by our inability to deliver ourselves from the limitations and tendencies of our sinful human na ture, by the very logic of that neces sity we see that to follow Jesus is to be led out of the thraldom of inherent evil desires onto a victorious plane as being actually made one with Him! Being clothed upon with His Divine sufficiency, we have ample power for each necessity. No m e r e effort at emulating His example could do this for us. So it is also in our endeavors to help our fellow men. We cannot hope successfully to exercise the Influence which His example enjoins unless an-, lmated by the same Impelling motives. Having renounced all claim to Divine favor because of any supposed good ness of our own; having yielded our hearts to the cleansing efficacy of the blood Bhed on Calvary for our regener- acy; and having enthroned In o u r hearts as the supreme controller of our lives Him who alone has a right to reign there,—then, "the love of Christ constraining us," we shall be enabled t o do effectual service for those about us,—even unto "the ut termost parts of the earth." As followers of Jesus we may be led into experiences which we would of ourselves shun. The flesh is weak, and inadequate to bear the burdens which ofttimes press with crushing weight upon our hearts. What natur al human strength could cope suc cessfully with these distressful epochs in our lives? With Paul we may well say, "Who is sufficient f o r t h e s e things?" But with the strength im parted by the indwelling Source of Strength Himself, we may gladly echo the apostle’s triumphant answer, “I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And then, the glad fruition of our hopes! Having committed our ways to Him for the brief journey here be low, we may look forward with eager expectancy to the glad day when we shall follow Him into the Glory Land, there to join the happy throngs who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth!" __ Let us not fear to follow Him. fne path of obedience has a joyous begin ning and a sure ending. The way may be sometimes rough, and we may expect ofttimes to be weary. But with
has been done can be done; what ought to be done, must be done, and you must do It. You are called by your Lord to do It. A fisherman must bare courage, for It takes courage to tackle certain kinds of fish. Be brave. Life is full of hard things. To testify, to talk personally to people, to tell the story In public, will call for a courageous heart. Finally, a fisherman must have faith. You must believe that men can be caught. You must have confidence in your call, and in Him who has called you. You must go.where the fish are. You will not find many of them in the church; but In the schools, in the homes, in the shops, the offices, the street cars, in your dally occupation, whatever and wherever It may be—In your own neighborhood, in the city, in the outlying districts, in the regions beyond, there are multitudes. (3) FORSAKING AND FOLLOWING, vs. 18-20. "And they left their father and went after him." v. 20. The call is clear; the service is spe cific. They had fished in the waters of the sea, now they were to fish in the sea of the world. They were to turn men from the old to the new. They were to take men alive. The call was to an unselfish life. They were to find the other man; as the Lord had sought and found them; as did Paul, who said, "Be ye follow ers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). The call was to a help ful life. The waters of the world were full of men who needed so much to know of the rest that was to be found in Him. It was a divine call to duty, to fol low in fellowship with their Lord In a service of sorrow and suffering, de manding self-sacrifice and self-abase ment. But it was to be a holy, help ful work in the doing of which their own souls were to be enlarged and en riched and their Master honored. They were to be rewarded. They should catch men, and men should con stitute jewels in their crown (1 These. 2;20). PRACTICAL POINTS (1) In the presence of Christ, dark ness gives place to day. (2) The call of Christ is a summons to service. (3) Catching men is a divine art. Why not be an artist? (4) The schools can make theologians, but only our Lord can make soul- savers.
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