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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
September 1932
deemed from a life o f drunkenness and vice to one filled with a passion for souls. What struck one in looking through the letters was the gradual improvement in their thought and expression. N ot only were the later letters more lucid and bet ter phrased, but there was also evidence of more mentality in them. Yet more remark able was it that the very handwriting had grown in boldness, legibility, and correct ness o f style. Professor Orr has given us. the psychology of it: “ The reason o f the remarkable expan sion and quickening of mind which we no tice in men and women brought to Christ is just the greatness o f the Christian ideas taken into the mind. When we accept the gospel o f Christ, we become possessed with the greatest ideas which the mind of man can receive.” It is through those ideas that the Holy Spirit works upon us and builds up the new c r e a t i o n.—T h e S u n d a y S c h o o l C h r o n ic l e . Outline and Exposition I. T h e B o y i n t h e F a m il y (2:40-52). This is the only record we have of what our Lord said and did during His youth, that is, until He was thirty years of age. The numerous apocryphal accounts o f pe culiar actions, miraculous deeds, and start ling sayings of our Lord in His youth have no foundation in fact. The Bible contains the only source o f information concerning the Lord during any period o f His life, and it is silent regarding the amazing events with which tradition has filled His early years. The phrase, “ and the child grew,” sets before us a picture o f a natural child growing up naturally.' The Lord Jesus did not spring full grown from His mother’s womb, but was once a babe with all a babe’s need o f the care and love and pro tection of a mother’s arms. Front strength to strength He grew in physical stature, as other children grow. The words, “waxed strong in spirit,” re fer to His mental growth. Learning day by day the things around Him, He did not differ from other normal children with whom He was associated. The expression, “was filled with wis dom,” refers to his spiritual growth, as do the words, “the grace of God was upon him.” And yet, while .outwardly He was as other children, under the necessity of growing in stature, developing His mind, and being filled with wisdom for His spirit, we must ever remember that essen tial deity was in Him at all times, whether as a babe, or a youth, or a full-grown man. His perfect humanity linked with essential deity is the one great mystery for which no explanation may be had, because it em braces that which is infinite. It is the “mystery o f godliness, God manifest in the flesh.” As a boy, the Lord Jesus would con stantly be assailed with various testings because o f His surroundings. These were notoriously wicked, so much so that later on it was asked, “ Can any good thing come out o f Nazareth?” (John 1:46). As we remember the sinlessness o f His nature,
Talking to God isn’t just asking for things. It is thanking Him for all the good things that come to us from Him. Every thing which we have comes from God. Think o f what that means! That should keep us busy thanking Him all the rest of our lives. Jesus’ disciples told Him that they didn’t know how to pray. So Jesus prayed for them the prayer which we call the Lord’s Prayer. In it, He not only asks God for things, but it is a prayer o f thanks and praise as well. This is our sample prayer; and when we pray it, we must remember what Jesus told His disciples, that is, to think of the meaning of the words which they were saying. Golden Text Illustration W e were shown, the other day, some letters, written over a period o f five years, by a Midland collier who had been re-
God intends it shall have. Unless we have such conviction, we shall always be ques tioning the authority of the Bible, be moved by every wind o f doctrine that blows, and never become settled in the truth. Finally, there is to be that trust in the Bible which allows it to do its intended work for us. It is profitable for four things: First, for doctrine, that is, teach ing. Without the Bible, we could have no conception o f what God thinks; but with it, we may know the mind of the Lord. Second, for reproof. W e have no other means of knowing wherein our lives may be wrongly adjusted. Third, for correc tion. Other religious teachings may show where faults lie, but only the Bible has power to correct the faults which it re veals. Fourth, for instruction in righteous ness, in order that the good works or dained by God may be performed. With the Bible, we may know not only what God requires of us, but also how to perform what He requires. Lesson Questions Matt. 6:5-15. What would you say were the two chief requisites for growth in the Christian life? What definite rules for prayer are laid down in verse 6? Into what divisions does the model prayer of verses 9 to 13 fall? How many petitions concern the Lord’s glory ? our physical needs ? our spiritual needs ? Do you think the Lord intended us to keep this propor tion in our praying? 2 Tim. 3:14-17. What does the word “continue” imply? Do you think Timothy was an exception in the matter of his early and thorough training in the Scriptures, or does he represent the norm in this respect? For what four things are the Scriptures profitable ? Talking to God M a t t h e w 6:9-13 Memory Verse: “Jehovah is nigh unto . all that call upon him” (Psa. 145:18). Approach: When Moses was leading the children o f Israel through the wilder ness into the promised land, he found how necessary prayer to God was. Through
OCTOBER 9, 1932 THE CHRISTIAN IN THE FAM ILY G en . 50:17-21; L k . 2:40-52; 10:38-42
Lesson Text: Lk. 2:40-52; 10:38-42. Golden Text: “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart” (Psa. 101:2). Oriental Hospitality T h e o u t s t a n d in g characteristic of the people o f Palestine is hospitality. W e did much o f our traveling in districts in which the tourist seldom goes, and wherever we went, we were received with the utmost kindness and considera
tion. One experience in particular will long be remembered. Four m em bers o f our party were out exploring the region to the east o f the Dead Sea when we encountered the camp o f the sheik o f that district. He received
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prayer, he found out God’s plan for the children o f I s r a e l . When there was no food or no w ater, Moses prayed to God about it. He prayed when he was discour aged. He prayed when he wished to thank G o d f o r h a v i n g helped him. L e s s o n S t o r y :
us most cordially, bidding us to rest in his tent while he prepared coffee for us. A fter we had exchanged courtesies, he rode out with us and showed us all the points o f interest in the neighborhood. At the end o f a pleasant afternoon, he asked us to return the next day for dinner, an invitation which we accepted with plea sure. W e arrived on time the following day; to find that he had had two young kids killed, and was cooking them for our dinner. This was an unusual feast, for it is very seldom that the natives eat any thing but bread and sour milk. When the repast was ready, we all sat down upon mats in the tent, and the dinner was brought in a large bowl which was placed in the center o f the circle of guests and hosts. W e were each given about a square foot o f bread from which we tore smaller pieces. Placing one of these thin pieces between the thumb and forefinger, we reached into the common dish and lifted out a piece o f meat. Thus we did the best we could to consume the dinner. There was so much, however, that we made little more than a slight impres sion upon it. It was an excellent meal, and the genuine hospitality which accom panied it was even more greatly appre ciated.
Many years later, Jesus talked to His dis ciples about how necessary prayer is. First, He told them how to pray. He said, “ Re member that it is. God to whom you are praying. Don’t think about the people around you. Go off quietly by yourself and think of the meaning o f the words you are saying.” If you ask your father or your mother for something, you are careful to ask for something that you are sure you want, and if they know that it is something which you Should have, they give it to you; if it is something which you are better without, they don’t give it to you. That is the way with our Heavenly Father’s gifts. He al ways hears our prayers, and He answers them with a “yes” or a “no,” whichever is best for us.
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