June, 1941
THE K I N G ’ S BU S I N E S S
226
INTERNATIONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By H elen F razee -B ower By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
our part that today’s leading shall be exactly like yesterday’s, or that our direction should be siinilar to that re ceived by some other Christian. m . T he C onverts in E urope (1 3 -1 5 ) Apparently there was no synagogue at Philippi, but there was a place “by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made,” and to that place Paul went on the Sabbath day. There he found a group of women to whom he preached the gospel. This is a simple record, but it is fraught with tremendous conse quences, not only for Macedonia, but also for the 'whole world. H e r e was established the “First Church of Eu rope,” out from which went the knowl edge of God in Christ to many lives and many nations — our own among them. The first convert was an Asiatic citizen, a woman of some means and position. Reading this chapter in the Acts together with the Epistle to the Philippians, we gather that this chur.ch at Philippi was a most representative company, giving us some idea of what the Lord means His church to be. In the church at Philippi there was this Asiatic seller of purple, cultured and wealthy; there was also the Greek slave girl, ignorant and poverty stricken; and there was the Roman jailer, callous add hard. But because the gospel levels both the high and the lowly, these individuals What One Cent Will Do • For every one cent of postage that is provided, the publishers will mail five copies of THE KING’S BUSINESS ,(not cur rent issues) to those who will distribute them. • Requests for these copies are coming in constantly from Christian workers in migrant camps, prisons, missions, read-, ing rooms, hospitals, etc. Mag azines gladly will be mailed without cost, if postage is fur nished. • Please mfirk your gift “Post age for Free Fund” ; it will be used prayerfully. THE KING’S BUSINESS
JULY 6, 1941 THE GOSPEL IS TAKEN INTO EUROPE A cts 1 5 :3 6 to 18:21
BLACKBOARD LESSON
Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of G ala tia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7 A fter they were come to M y sia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8 And they passing by M ysia came down to T ro a s.. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night $ There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over Into M ace donia, and help us. 10 And after he had seen the vision, im mediately we endeavored to go into M ace donia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them, 11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracla, and the next day to NeapoIIs; 12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. 13 A n d , on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be m ade; and we sat down, and spake unto-the women which resorted thither. 14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. LE SSON T E X T : A cts 16:6-15. GO LD EN T E X T : “ Come over into Mace donia and help us” (Acts 16:9). D E V O T IO N A L B E A D IN G : Phil. 4:4-9. Outline and Exposition I. T he P urpose for E urope (.6-8) G OD’S PURPOSE was that Eur the gospel wherever an open door pre sented itself. He journeyed through Phrygia and Galatia, until he came to a door leading into Asia. In Asia, there were millions of souls, and Paul saw vhat he supposed was his opportunity. But he was “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to*preach the word in Asia.” This restriction may have seemed strange to Paul. [ These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the In ternational Council. The outlines are copyrighted by the International Goun- cil of Religious Education and used by permission. Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Version un less otherwise stated .]
Continuing further, he came to an other open door and "assayed to go into Bithynia.” But again, “the Spirit suf fered them not.” What was in the mind of the apostle, or what questions might have been aroused, we are not told. He knew he was sent to preach the gospel;. he knew these great piultitudes needed the gospel, but he was content to con tinue along- the path of the Lord’s choosing. Thus it was that he came, at last, .to Troas. The lesson for us lies in the fact that, while we likewise are called to preach the gospel, we need direction as to where we shall preach it. We must be ware of thinking that the place of the largest crowd must be the place of greatest usefulness. If we are depend ent upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance through the Word of God, He will in dicate where our testimony is to be given. The Lord’s purpose was that neither Asia nor Bithynia should be given the gospel by Paul, but that the apostle should take it to Europe first. H. T he D irection T oward E urope (9 -1 2 ) How the Holy Spirit hindered •Paul, or why He gave a vision for Paul’s •direction is not told us. When told of the vision, the company with Paul con cluded that “the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel” in Macedonia. At once they left Troas and went di rectly to Samothracia and Neapolis, and finally to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia. By mysterious hindering, by direct denial, by vision, or by some other means, the Lord leads His servants; but always when the direction is from Him, it is in perfect harmony with the Word of God. There must be nQ insistence on
ope should be given the gospel through the work of Paul the apostlf. Paul’s purpose was to preach
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