T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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(1 ) 'T h e D enial o f Peter. At the gath ering in th e upper room our Lord had graciously forw arned th e disciples of th e ir desertion (while th e ir h earts were warm in fellow ship). He told them they all would be offended because of Him. Peter, th e big-hearted, enthusiastic, impetuous man, resented th e imputation. Can you not h ear him saying, “Master, you do not know me. I am not sure about these o th er men, b u t you can depend on me.” It was so when the Lord spoke of H is coming death and P eter rebuked H im (Mark 8 :3 2 ); and in th e upper room when he said, "You shall never wash my feet.” P eter m eant it all, b u t P e te r’s diffi culty was our difficulty,— he did not know his own h eart. He loved his Lord, and he though t perhaps: “ I shall never sin again. I can never be tempted be yond my ability to resist.” If he had only remembered Je r. 17:9, “The h e a rt is deceitful above all things and desperately w icked; who can know it? ” , he would have been more cautious, and so would we. P eter had been in school for th ree years b u t th e lessons yet to be learned were many. P ete r’s weakness was th is: He was self-centered and th erefo re was self-sufficient. Strong swimmers are more ap t to lose th e ir lives th an are the w eaker ones because they tak e g reater risk s and are liable to be caught in the sw ift undertow . Samson was dead sure he was safe and so was David,— b u t both fell. P eter was w arned by his Lord in th e garden “Watch, lest ye en ter into temp ta tio n ” (Matt. 2 6 :4 1 ), b u t P eter was off guard and was quick to say “Though I should die, I will no t deny Thee.” Many a man has had a fatal fall from over-confidence. Israel fell' before the garrison of th e little city of Ai. (Josh. 7:3, 4, 5.) Samson said, “ I will go out as a t o th er tim es” (Judges 16 :20 ) bu t he did not come back as a t other times.
P au l’s decision was a wise one “No confidence in th e flesh” (Phil. 3 :3 ). P eter said “Never” ; Christ said "This very n igh t.” If we can stress th is one lesson, by th e power of th e Holy Spirit, upon our classes, we will have accomplished a g reat good. Forew arned is forearmed. Satan never sleeps. “ Let him th a t th in k e th he stand eth take heed lest he fall.” (2 ) The D octrine o f Jesus. The High P rie st asked Jesu s about His disciples and doctrines. The High P riest knew th e story well. He was not seeking inform ation. He had th at. He was not seeking sp iritu a l light, fo r he was a foe to th e tru th th a t th e Lord taugh t. He was seeking to sn are th e Lord. Jesu s said, “ I spoke openly to the world,” and He did. (John 7:14, 26, 28; 8:2, 10; 10 :23 -29 ). He had spoken definitely upon th is very them e (Jo h n 7 :4 ). Our Lord did His work in th e open. His enemies, th e Jew ish leaders, worked in the dark, worked secretly, iThe ene mies of the tru th work secretly always. The infidels in th e church today work secretly. There are S piritualists and C hristian Scientists and H igher Critics and New Thought devotees in our churches and Sunday Schools, sowing th e seed of unbelief. Every devilish doc trin e of S atan is b rough t in by these em issaries who gladly use th e livery of heaven in which to serve th e devil. The Gospel is for the world. The tru e church has noth ing to conceal, but, on th e contrary, everything to proclaim . There are no secret societies in th e church, no rites,' no ceremonies, no secret performances. There is a public proclamation in th e Gospel, and should be in every believer’s life; a message which says, “Whosoever will, let him come.” A “Ho, every one th a t th irste th , come ye.” A glad, glorious, world-wide invitation to all to come, ta ste and see. i
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