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THE KI NG ' S BUSINESS
November, 1934
desk, open that old Hebrew Bible, drop his face right down between the pages, and say something like this: “ O Lord Jesus, may Thy Holy Spirit teach us Thy Word.” Do you wonder that he knew his Bible? He knew it by the same pro cess that Black Robert knew his. You cannot read your Bible without the Holy Spirit.— C ortland M yers . Memory Verse: “W e know that thou art a teacher come from God” (John 3 :2 ). Approach: The most wonderful Teacher who ever lived was the Lord Jesus. He taught His disciples many lessons. They are lessons w h ic h ■ . we may learn, too. Lesson Story: One Jesus Our Teacher M atth ew 7 :-24-29 could come unto the Father but by Him —Jesus Christ. Then He told them a story. He said something like this: “A wise man built his house upon a rock. All kinds of weather came. The rain fell, the wind blew, floods came. Still the house stood firm, for it was built upon a rock.” By this story, Jesus meant that the per son who believes on Jesus is like the man who built his house on a rock. No temp tation can come and destroy such a per son, because he has the strength of Jesus beneath him. Then Jesus told them the rest o f the story. A foolish man built his house upon the sand. When the rains and the floods and the winds came, this house had no ■strong foundation on which to stand, and so it fell. When we are tempted to do wrong, our own strength is not enough to keep us from falling. If-we depended on our own strength, we would be like the house with out a foundation. W e cannot stand unless the power o f Jesus is underneath and around us. When we are tempted, we must pray to the Lord Jesus to give us His strength to keep us safe. Paul, one o f Jesus’ followers, said: “ I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.” W e can say this, too. Object Lesson U sing E lectricity Objects: An electric bulb, an electric stove, and an electric fan. Lesson: This bulb, stove, and fan are like people before they accept Christ as Saviour. They are all cold and hard. But the manufacturers did not intend that these three things should always remain as we now see them. And unsaved people are not in the condition in which God wants them to be. When an unsaved person accepts Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart to guide and to cause the person to manifest Christ to others through his life. As soon as the electric current is turned into the bulb, you forget about the bulb and think o f the light it gives. When a person accepts Christ as Saviour and really lives for Him, the light, the life of Christ, which is manifested, shown to others, is more noticeable than the Chris tian himself. day Jesus told His disciples a story with a meaning to it which is meant for us, too. The Lord Jesus had been telling His d is c ip le s that He was “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that no man
love, people will be reminded o f Christ more than o f the person. This fan is no good unless it is connected with the electric current. When the elec tricity is flowing through it, it becomes a great blessing on a hot summer day. There are many people who are scorched and burned with sin, and Christ wants us to live so close to Him that we may refresh them by telling them of Him. It is well to remember that the electricity will not be manifested, that is, shown, un less the bulb, the stove, and the fan keep in contact with it. And the Christian will not manifest Christ to others if he loses contact with Christ. It is very important, then, that we walk close to Christ in order that we may constantly manifest Him to others. the Lord and with His requirements—to the exclusion of all else. It is the Lord’s Supper, and it is spread upon the Lord’s Table. The observance does not belong to any particular denomination or to any special group o f Christians. All the Lord’s people are invited to partake, whatever name or sign they may bear. Every time the disciples partook o f the Supper, they would be reminded that the only ground upon which they could stand in Christ’s holy presence was that pro vided by His body given for them and His blood shed for them. IL T h e P urpose of th e S upper (25, 26). 1. It is an act of. remembrance. The Lord’s people were to remember the Lord in His death. That death was sacrificial, settling forever the question of sin before God. The Christian does not come to the Lord’s Supper as a sinner seeking forgiveness, but as a saint already forgiven—cleansed from sin by the blood o f the Lord Jesus Christ, which is sybol- ized by the wine. He comes to the Table of the Lord as one who is strengthened by the body of the Lord, symbolized in the bread. 2. It is an act o f worship. In the observance o f the Lord’s Supper, one remembers the Lord as being risen from among the dead, alive, and spiritually present at the Table. The presence o f the Lord must be realized, or else the Supper will quickly deteriorate into a feast for the exaltation of the flesh, or a mysterious pagan rite, a sort o f heathen ceremony. But when the Lord’s presence at the Sup per is recognized, the Christian’s heart is raised in praise and adoration and wor ship, and all his thoughts are centered upon the Lord Himself. Only thus is the Lord truly remembered, as He de sired to be. 3. It is an act o f proclamation. “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.’’ In other words, as often as the Supper was observed, there would be an eager looking into the future and a watchful readiness for the Lord’s coming. This simplicity has largely been eliminated from the observance o f the Supper today, and the Lord’s Table is often so fenced about with all sorts o f prohibitions that the poor sheep o f the flock fear to do what the Lord asked— merely to remember Him in the simple ceremony that He Himself provided. There as a vast difference between the Supper instituted by the Lord and carried
The cold stove is soon giving its warmth when it is connected with the current of electricity. As long as the stove is giving warmth, you forget about the stove and enjoy the heat which it gives. If a person is truly giving out the warmth o f Christ’s
DECEMBER 16, 1934 THE CHRISTIAN AND THE LORD’S SUPPER 1 C o rin th ian s 11:23-34
Golden Text: “ For as often as yet eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor. 11:26). Outline and Exposition I. T h e I nstitu tion of th e S upper (23-25). L ik e other truths concerning the church, ! the teaching regarding the Lord’s Sup per came to Paul by special revelation from the Lord (vs. 23, 24). The Supper was instituted by the Lord the same night in which He was betrayed. Knowing that one of His disciples was even then betray ing Him, and knowing also that the next day would see Him upon the cross, the Lord Jesus gathered the rest o f the dis ciples about Him in closest fellowship and gave them, with His own hands, this last ing memorial. In instituting this Supper, our Lord’s thoughts went far beyond the immediate number o f His followers at that time, and included all believers down through the ages to the time when He should return from heaven for His own. The service was o f the simplest char acter, such as could be engaged in any where and at any time. Nothing was re quired but the elements of daily food, and as long as men lived on earth, they would have such food. Nothing else was needed to properly observe the Lord’s Supper— except the heart that turned toward Christ. O f course, the bread was not His literal body which He gave to them, because He was yet present with them; and the wine was not His literal blood, because that blood still flowed in His veins. But these elements would remind the disciples of that Bread which came down from heaven, and o f that blood which alone had power and efficacy to cleanse from all sin. The Lord Jesus instituted this Supper in order that He might be ever remem bered by His own followers (v. 25). Hence, when the Christian comes to the Lord’s Table, he should not be occupied at all with himself or his own interests, but with BLACKBOARD LESSON
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