August, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
274
( Holes on CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR . . . B y M a r y G. G oodneh
Meditation on the Lesson The rare boldness o f the apostles on this occasion thrills the heart of every Chris tian. After the miraculous healing of the lame man, the apostles were cruelly ar rested and placed in jail. However, the angel of the Lord delivered them by open ing the prison doors and bidding them preach again to the people. As a result of their immediate obedience, they were again arrested and brought be fore the council, who demanded silence after rebuking them severely. Peter’s an swer for the apostles is a challenge for ever to every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, R. V .). Dr. Morgan suggests putting emphasis on every word in this sentence, or at least on the first four words: “We must obey God.” ' Let Him be our Master and our supreme Commander. Next, “we must obey God” instant, uncompromising, un hesitating obedience, “not halting between two opinions.” Again, “we must obey God” not “perhaps,” or even “ought to” as the Authorized Version has it, but “must.” We are moved to listen when one says, “ I must.” Quoting Dr. Morgan here, he says, “When a man says, ‘I must,’ and be gins to interpret his rights or his beliefs in the terms o f obligation, then he is passing into the realm o f power— ‘We must.’ All these men are against you— ‘We must.’ You will be imprisoned—‘We must.’ We are determined that you shall not—‘We must.’ ” Last, "we must obey God”—not some one else in the church', not the preacher, the officers, the Sunday-school teacher, but "we must.” Would that every Christian today had the moral courage to stand up for Jesus as these apostles did! What was the secret o f their boldness? They knew Jesus Christ intimately and worshiped Him as their exalted Prince and Saviour. Leader’s Helps I. D esire for a L ife I want my life to glorify my Lord and King; I want to please and honor Him in every thing ; I want my life to tell men that He is my Guide; I want the world to know He’s walking by my side. Oh, that my life might magnify the Sav iour’s power; Oh, that my deeds might witness to His grace each hour; . Oh, that my words might magnify His holy name, So let my heart and voice His mighty power proclaim! I want my life to testify that He can save; I want to help to make His crimson ban ner wave; I want to tell the blessed story every day; I want to be a light to others on their way. I want my life to testify that He’s my Lord "and King. — ScHOLFIELD.
2. Nehemiah (Neh. 6:2, 3, 5-14). 3. Joshua (Josh. 24:15). 4. Caleb (Num. 13:30; 14:24). 5. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 3:8-30). II. No N eutrals in C hrist ’ s K ingdom Christ’s kingdom leaves no room for neutrals to stand on. A neutral is just a neither; he is neither for nor against; he wishes to be neither for Christ nor against Him. In ancient Greece and Rome, the man who was a neutral in the time of war was declared to be infamous and was made an outcast and an outlaw. Near Niagara, there lived in the time of the red Indians, a tribe which was called “The .Neutral Nation” but the tribes on both' sides rose against them and swept them clean away. The kingdom of Christ makes.no provision for neutrals, for it claims all. —J ames W ells . :■ III. ’D ependability Give us a man, young or old, high or low, on whom we can thoroughly depend, who will stand firm when we fa il; he is like a fragment o f the Rock of Ages. H B -D ean S tanley . IV. G reat M en W ho H ave M olded P ublic O pinion It might add interest to the meeting to let several members be appointed to give one-minute talks on any one of these great leaders, stating how and why they influ enced public opinion: Moses; Paul; Elijah; Joshua; Luther; Wesley; Calvin; John Knox; William of Orange; Moody. SEPTEMBER 10, 1933 WHEN AN D H O W SHOULD W E STAND AGA INST PUBLIC OPINION? A cts 5 :29 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“ Trust and Obey.” Hymn—“Who Is on the Lord’s Side?” Scripture—Acts 5 :29. Prayer. Hymn—“ Stand up for Jesus.” Reading—“My Desire” (see below). Duet—“ List to ' the Voice of the Sav iour.” Leader’s Talk. Spiritual Blessings I find in T he K ing ’ s B usiness excellent spiritual food. HESH ague , S ask . T he K ing ’ s B usiness is a spirit ual uplift. It is the only magazine I am subscribing for this year. —M onrovia , C alif . To lose T he K ing ’ s B usiness would be to lose a spiritual friend. —Y akima , W ash . Testimonies. Quiet Hour. Benedictionlljude 24.
SEPTEMBER 3, 1933 H OW IS PUBLIC OPINION CREATED ? E phesians 4:14; P roverbs 12:5 Suggestions for the Meeting Leader—“ O, come and let us worship.” Response—“Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Silent Prayer—Followed by singing soft- ly, “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow.” Hymn—“All Hail the Power o f Jesus’ Name.” Hymn—“He Keeps Me Singing.” Scripture—Ephesians 4 :1-14. Prayer. Q uarte® “ The Name o f Jesus.” Leader’s Talk. Testimonies. Quiet Hour. Benediction—Psalm 19:14 in concert. Meditation on the Lesson Length of years constitutes, civic and political maturity. It is not so always with spiritual maturity." Hence the apos tle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, urges these Ephesian Christians to be mature in their spiritual life. The same complaint is found in the letter to the Hebrews: “ For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first prin ciples of God; and are become _such as have need of milk, and not of solid food” (Heb. 5:12). One characteristic of children is their instability and their liability to be deceived and led astray. This is presented in this verse. Paul compares them to a ship with out a rudder, tossed to and f r o ,by the waves and driven by every wind. James uses a like figure when he compares the unstable to a “wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (Jas. 1:6). Also in Hebrews 13:9, the apostle exhorts believ ers not to be -“carried away with diverse and strange doctrines.” Children are not only unstable, but they are easily deceived. He therefore adds, “through the artifice of men.” This word “artifice” is from the Greek word kubeia, meaning “dice-play ing,” in which there are many parts of de ception and therefore the word is used for craft or deceit. There is no protection against such wiles of deceitful men except being rooted and grounded in the love of God. We are not asked to prevent the blowing of these evil winds of doctrine. Indeed, we could not prevent them if we would. But the same wind that scatters the leaves and blows down the dead trees in the forest only causes the well-rooted tree to send its roots down deeper into the soil. Strater says: “ Separations and siftings are inevitable. They are needful. To bring them about, God makes use of mighty storms of sweeping currents of false doc trine. They bring much dead wood to the ground with a crash. The sound trees grow stronger.” Leader’s Helps I. B ible C haracters W ho W ere N ot “ D riven by the W ind ” 1. Daniel (Dan. 6:10).
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