283
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
June 1932
are life” (John 6:63). “ The words that I speak unto you I speak not o f myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). “ For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me” (John 17:8). Jesus Christ came to reveal God to fallen man. He came to call sinners to repentance, to give His life a ranson for many. That is why His teachings differ from the teachings of man, and that is why they reach every land. Some one has said o f the Lord Jesus Christ: “ He has won more followers than any other world teacher, numbering today 576,000,000 o f the 1,600,000,000 o f the world’s population.” Worded as a question, the topic o f to day’s lesson would read: “ How far do the teachings o f Jesus affect our conduct?” To this question, there can be but one an swer. The teachings o f Jesus Christ the Son o f God should be the compelling motive o f every act on the part of every believer. Much is being said these days concerning Jesus as a Man and as the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, but if His teachings are to have the effect in our lives that God wants them to have, we must, like Peter of old, exclaim: “ T o whom shall we g o? thou hast the words o f eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son o f the living God" (John 6:68,69). A boy in a machine shop was told to drill holes into some iron bars, following a pattern that was given him. He made a few bars correctly, and then mislaid the copy. He thought it would be just as well to make every bar like the last one he had made. But in the first one he copied, there was a very slight difference in the position o f one hole, in the next it was still worse, and in each succeeding one the error grew greater. When the foreman came to ex amine the boy’s work, he found that sev eral hundred bars must be thrown away, because the boy had not followed the right pattern. In Jesus, God has given us the right Pattern for our lives. I f we look upon Jesus’ life and character, we shall see what God Himself is. God has shown Himself to us in His Son, and only by studying His teachings and obeying His words can our lives be pleasing to His Father and to our Father. Anger^Matt. 5 :22. Atonement—Lk. 9:22; Matt. 20:18, 19; John 3:15; 12:32. Faith—Mk. 11:22; John 14:12. Faithfulness—Lk. 16:10-12; Matt. 24: 45-47. Hypocrisy—Matt. 6 :2, 16; 23 :28. Obedience—John 14:15, 21; Matt. 28:19, 20 . Prayer—John 4:24; Matt. 6 :5 ; Matt. 7: 7-9. Pride—Lk. 14:11; Matt. 23:12. Purity of Heart—Matt. 5 :8 ; Lk. 6 :45. Purity o f Speech—Matt. 12:36, 37 ; 23 : 20 - 22 . Repentance—Lk. 15:8-10; 13:3-5. Second Coming—Matt. 24, 25, 26; Mk. 13. W ord (th e)—Mk. 13:31; John 6:63; 8: 40-47. On the above subject, We recommend the Illustration F ollowing the P attern D iscussion Material C hrist ’ s T eachings
This done, the sugar itself did the rest. No amount o f trying, -or “stirring,” will make our lives sweet; but when we let Jesus enter and take possession, He will make and keep them pure and sweet. Sweetness of life is possible through the indwelling Christ. II. S cripture P assages that I llustrate and E nforce Write the following passages on slips o f paper, distribute them among those present, and call for the passages to be read during the course o f the message: Eph. 2:10; Rom. 6:13,16; 12:1, 2; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 3: 10, 11; Col. 3:1-3. Hymn— “More About Jesus.” Hymn— “Tell me the Story o f Jesus.” Prayer by Chairman of Prayer Meeting Committee. Scripture Lesson (read Matthew 7 re sponsively). Hymn—“ I Would be Like Jesus.” Sentence Prayers for God’s Blessing up on the Meeting. Announcements and Offering. Special Musical Number. Leader’s Remarks. Several One-Minute Talks on Various Teachings o f Jesus. Hymn—“Take the Name o f Jesus with You.” Mizpah Benediction. Meditation on the Lesson The teachings o f Jesus Christ have so revolutionized the world that they can never be compared with the philosophy and teachings o f man. They excel in majesty and power and effect all other teachings. Never will there arise another with such words o f wisdom as those of the Lord Jesus Christ. The ground for such dogmatic state ments is not difficult to find, when we look within the covers o f the W ord o f God. For instance, Nicodemus, a ruler o f the Jews, whose position of necessity placed him among the highly educated class of his day, made this statement in a private interview with the L ord : “Rabbi [an o f ficial title of honor], we know that thou art a teacher come from G od : for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” The Greek word trans lated “ teacher” in this passage is trans lated elsewhere as “master,” meaning “teacher” or “ instructor.” Again, the rich young ruler, who sought the way to eternal life, recognized Christ as a great teacher. In Mark 12:37, we are told that “the com mon people heard him gladly.” They look ed upon Jesus as “a good man” (John 7: 12). Moreover, the officers who were sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take Jesus prisoner, when asked why they did not take Him, exclaimed: “ Never man spake like this man.” It was on this oc casion that Nicodemus was again heard in defense o f Jesus. Read the account o f this in John 7 :40 to 53. How were Jesus’ teachings unlike the teachings o f others? Let the answer come from His own lips: “ The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they JULY 17, 1932 TEACHINGS OF JESUS M atthew 7 :24-27 Suggestions fo r the Meeting
will to be done in our lives). Hymn—“ I Gave My Life for Thee.” Benediction (Psa. 19:14). Meditation on the Lesson Paul says, “ None o f us liveth to him self” (Rom . 14:7). How true that isl Even a recluse, one who separates himself from the people, does not live entirely un to himself. He may hie himself to the mountains or the desert, and for months come in contact with no other person, but nature about him will be affected by his presence. The birds o f the air will hunt him out and will draw from him either a sense o f kindness or o f cruelty. Our lesson today pictures a young man who wanted to get out from under the re straints of home, and who attempted to live entirely unto himself in a foreign land. He obtained from his father the portion of heritage which would fall to him, and then started toward the lights o f a big city. At first, no one seemed to notice him. He thought he was doing pretty well, until a few people learned o f his wealth. Imme diately he began to spend his money on others, and within a short time he was pen niless. He lived his own life, but alas, bit ter remorse follow ed! Bereft of his for tune and his supposed friends, he was obliged to seek the lowest form o f employ ment, that o f feeding swine. But at no time did he live unto himself, and the hour finally came when .he was forced to admit the folly o f ever trying to do so. In sharp contrast to the self-centered life is the Christ-centered life. “ For to me to live is Christ,” said Paul. This is also the high privilege and the sacred obligation o f every truly born-again child of God. Self stands between many a person and a successful and prosperous life. A legend is told o f a youth who agreed to live in a wild ass’ skin, which would bring him everything he desired, but which would, with every wish that it granted, shrink a little in size. A t length, the youth was crushed to death. What a picture of a life lived entirely for s e lf! When we become Christians, through faith in the finished work of Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to abide in our lives. Being redeemed with the precious blood o f Christ, we become His possession and should yield unreserv edly to His control. When we let Him live His life through us, instead o f having a miserable, selfish existence, Another works through us to the blessing of many other lives. Now, Lord, what wait I for? On Thee alone My hope is rested— Lord, seal me Thine own. Only Thine own to be, Only to live to Thee,
Thine, with each day begun, Thine, with each set of sun, Thine, till my work is done.
—A nna W arner .
Illustrations I. How to K eep S weet
A little girl sat at the tea-table alter nately stirring and sipping her tea. Pres ently, with tears o f disappointment in her eyes, she exclaimed, “Mother, it won’t come sweet!” Then the mother realized she had for gotten to put sugar into the child’s cup.
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