Lesson for February 26, 1911
in our day in "the defense a nd confirmation of t he f a i t h" and its Book. But (4) it has done and. -is doing great h a rm in the n ame of an "educated ministry" it invades our schools and pulpits a nd is heading on to the. great apostasy. (5) God is raising up, as in other critical times, men of unsophisti- cated -faith in a supernatural revelation. Bible institutes' are pending out such of ."good repute,, of sanctified common-sense; who have experienced, salvation, and borne fruit in seryice. (-6)- That a youth has his incidental series of diplomas; that he has been to Germany; h as done "settlement work," is not a sign t h at he is called to minister in the Gospel. His plough, fish- hook, awl, • cash box, may. be waiting and rusting somewhere for w a nt of him. (7) B ut there is a call for you whether from the •ploughing, or in the- ploughing. 2. Wlhat It Demanded. (1) Forsaking •father a nd mother;, the -bliss of the home life; the h a u n ts of boyhood; the smell of fresh turned -furrows; the song of sower and reaper; the wealth of the crop; and to become a wanderer with a mission and a message. (2) These, at least in spirit, are demanded of all who have the call of tlfe prophet. 3. How He Responded. (1) Promptly. "Left the oxen . . . ran a f t er Elijah," 19:20. : The Lord loves - a cheerful giver of his purse or of his person, 2 Cor. 9:7. (2) Affectionately. He left the dear ones with the kisses of his Spirit-touched lips. (3) Generously. He feasted his neighbors; would retain" their good will t h at he might gain their prayers, (4) Worshipfully. It .was a sacrificial feast; ho would show piety a t home before he preached it abroad. • III. HE CONDEMNED AHAB. 1. The Dread Message. Go down, meet ,Ahab . . * . saying, thus saith the Lord," 21:18, 19, (1) Sin must be punished. Sin- ner^., c a n n ot go on forever. (2) It is the painful duty of • preachers to declare the doom of the impenitent. , (3) They are not to blame for. this. - " H a st tho'u round me, 'O mine enemy?" "I have found thee be- cause *fhou" J hast' 'feold thyself to do evi'l," 21:20. The sinner is his own enemy! He has- sold himself and mu st take his pay. His sin,- not the preacher, his found him. 2. Ahab's Sin. 0 (1) He coveted Naboth's vineyard, (a) An adjoining acre is a great temptation. : (b) His sin was not in wishing . a fine piece just fit to round out his palace garden. All trade is based on a mutual desire to possess wh at afiother has. Ahab's sin is. seen in his readiness to take by foul w h a t he„ could not get by. fair means, (c) The tenth commandment,' Ex. 20:17, though last is not least of th^i: ten. Covetousness is a root of all evil. It can be killed only by (Ajwatchlng and prayer, Matt, 26:41; (B) contentment with food a,nd raiment, 1 Tim. 6:8; (-C) lbve of Olir neighbors. (2) He of- fered trade 6r cash. T h at was fair enough. H e even pledged a "better" vineyard. In all business give value teceived; dollar for dollar, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work; a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. It is the curse of 'our times to. get something for nothing. Big business, at least, today, like. Ah a b, *will* either buy out or kill out competitors.! Worse t h an Ahab,
THE LAST ACTS OF ELIJAH. 1 Kings 21. I. THE COMMISSION OF HOREB, 1 Kgs. 19:15, 16. 5 1. These were to anoint (1) Hazael King over Syria, (2) J e hu King over Israel, (3) Elisha prophet in his stead. He did (1) and (2) by proxy, Hazael by Elisha (2 Kgs. 8:13); J e hu through Elisha (2 Kgs. 9:1-3). ' 2. Whether (1) a Hazael over heathen Syria, or (2) a Jehu over Hebrew Israel "the powers t h at be are ordained of God," Rom. 13:1. 3. (1) Hazael and Jehu each murdered his master. Like Jeroboam in Similar expecta- tion, they "lifted 1 up their hands against the king," 1 Kgs. 11:30, 31, 26; 2 Kgs. 8:15; 9:23, 24. It w as God's will t h at they should reign. It w as their will to "Wa de through slaughter to a throne." . (2) God has a place for you. "Commit t hy w ay unto the Lord . . . and H e will bring it to pass." Take things into your own hands and you will 1 incur guilt and its a t t e n d a nt curse. (3) Safety is in this: Let your ambition be to ServfeGod and man, not self. Those men sought power, not service; for which all power exists. They sought Btelf, sefvedj self, served sm, and got sin's watre.s. 4. Why did God enthrone such wicked men? (1) Kings, parliaments, congresses, whether their Seats are gained by violence, bribery, election frauds, are appointed by God, though He neither cotnmands nor com- mends their methods. Every worldly good a man gets, by whatever me a ns is f r om God. Guilt cannot take it as God's gift, ingratitude, a shameful kin, follows all t he rest, Rom. 1:21. Better no good thing than a guilty thing. (2) God chooses such men not as pleasing Him, but the people, Who are like them; o r ' a s befitting the people, or as wh at they deserve. (3) Wh en men want good government they will get it. „ A small minority w a nt it now. They mu st wait, comforted by the thought t h at "Behind the dim unknown Standeth God amo ng the shadpws, - Keeping watch above His .own." (4) Capital w a n ts not righteousness but privilege; Labor not righteousness but a free hand; rings and b o s s e s . n ot righteous- ness but graft. The r e s t' are like them, but w a nt t h e ir chancel It is God's grace t h at preserves us government of any kitid. (1) At the plough. Prom ploughman to prophet. Amos from the herd, Am. 7:14; the Zebedees from the nets, Matt. 4:18-20; Levi from the re- ceipt of custom, Matt. 9:9; Ambrose from town clerk; Carey f r om the cobbler's bench; . Zinzendorf from his estates; Finney from the bar; Moody, from the shoe shop. AH laymen on whom lay the power of God. (2) To have no. technical or theological training is not a sign of no oall to preach. Elisha was not " amo ng the prophets;" was not t a u g ht in their schools, (8) B ut do not de- cry an education, scholarship. .He who dis- parages it advertises himself an ignoramus. We owe it an incalculable debt. We owe it our English Bible, if no more. Scholars have done a magnificent and efficient work II. HE CALLED ELISHA. 1. Where He Found Him.
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