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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1934
The Kind of Life a Christian Should Live 1. A life of holiness (1 Thess. 5:22; 2 Tim. 2:19). 2. A life of prayer (1 Tim. 2 :8 ; 1 Thess. 5:17). 3. A life o f service (Deut. 10:12; Lk. 16: 13). 4. A life o f self-forgetfulness (Gal. 5 :14). 5. A life o f consecration (Rom. 12:1). 6. A life of separation from the world (Ex. 32:26). 7. A life of resurrection power (Gal. 2: 20 ). — S ayles . Our Lord’s Prayer for His Disciples J ohn 17 Our Lord and Saviour JesuS Christ is our intercessory High Priest. Shortly before His crucifixion, He prayed to His Father for His disciples. W e can better understand how He prays in heaven now by studying the nature o f this earthly prayer. It reveals three great truths to be realized in the heart and life of the Chris tian. 1. Separation (John 17:15; Eph. 5:15, 16). . 2. Sanctification (John 17:17; Rom. 12: 2 ). 3. Identification (John 17:22; 2 Tim. 2:12; Phil. 1:29). —H elen E. B artlett . Ground for Assurance A friend o f mine who died some years ago in India did not, at one time, have the assurance o f salvation. The thing that troubled him above everything else was that he had an idea that God had chosen an elect few that should be saved, and as he had no evidence that he was among them, he could not know that he was saved. He went to a meeting where the preacher de clared that a man was saved the moment he believed in Jesus, and that he possessed eternal life and could never perish. “ Now,” he said, “I would like to be sure of that.” When he got home, he got down on his knees and prayed, “ O God, if it is possible for a man to be sure he has eternal life, show it to me now from Thine own W o rd ; but if it is not possible, show me that, and I will leave it with Thee.” He turned to the fifth chapter o f First John and . . . when he came to the verse, “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave o f his Son,” he said, “ I don’t want to make Him a liar, but I don’t know what that record is.” And so he looked at the next verse, and read, “And this is the record.” He put his thumb down on the rest of the verse, and shut his eyes and prayed: “O God, I have just been reading that if a man does not believe the record that Thou hast given o f Thy Son, he makes Thee a liar; I don’t want to make Thee a liar.” He almost dreaded to lift his thumb, but finally did, and read, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” “ Oh,” he said, “blessed be God l Then right here and now I can know.” And his faith was confirmed as he read, “ He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the, Son o f God hath not life.” He saw that it was just a question o f re ceiving Him. He came into peace, and for years preached this same truth to others. g —H. A. I ronside , in Addresses on the Epistles of John.
for Treachers and Teachers B y P u l P r i c h a r d
HELPS
The Command to Search M atthew 6 :33
The Expansiveness of Easter 2 T im o t h y 2:10
1. Seek ye what? 2. Seek ye how? 3. Seek ye why?
According to this glorious text, the work o f our Lord at the open tomb brings to light the hidden councils of eternity that is past, and provides for an eternity yet to come. Note: . 1. The revelation which our Lord Jesus Christ’s first appearing gave—God’s purpose and grace from eternity to save us. 2. The work which our Lord Jesus Christ’s first appearing accomplished. It brought: a. Life. . b. Immortality to light. 3. The method by which our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished His purpose— “through the gospel,” i.e., through His sacrificial death and His resur rection. Two Outlines on the New Birth J ohn 3 :7 (A Topical Treatment o f the Text) I. The Nature o f the New Birth. II. The Author o f the New Birth. III. The Necessity of the New Birth. IV. The Evidences of the New Birth. I (A Propositional Treatment o f the Text.) Proposition: The new birth is neces sary to salvation, because: I. The Human Heart is Alien to God. 1. By birth. 2. By choice. 3. By disposition. II. The Divine Heart is Alien to Man. 1. In its character of holiness. 2. In its righteous indignation and wrath toward the sinner. 3. In its method and plan of salva tion. The Resurrection and Repentance A cts 17:30, 31 Theremin, the noted German Huguenot pastor o f the French Reformed Church of Berlin, who lived in the early part o f the last century, used the following outline: Proposition: The resurrection is an in centive to repentance. 1. The resurrection proves the existence o f an invisible world. 2. We pass into that world at death. 3. Our destiny in that world depends on our relation to Christ in this world. Persecution "W hy persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4). 1. Unconverted men are often o f a per secuting spirit. 2. Christ has His eyes upon persecutors. 3. Christ considers an injury done to His people as done to Himself. 4. Christ’s call to persecutors is to pro duce conviction of sin. 5. Christ’s call is earnest and particular. 6. Christ condescends to reason with the persecutor.—B enjamin B edome .
The Laws of the Harvest G alatians ,6 :7
1. W e shall reap if we sow. 2. W e shall reap what we sow. 3. W e shall reap as we sow. 4.. W e shall reap more than we sow. 5. We shall often reap what others sow. An Interceding Congregation “Praying always . . . for me, that utter ance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery o f the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:18-20). God’s apostle pleaded for intercession on the part o f the congregation, in order that he might preach the gospel: 1. With all boldness. Sin is bold—the believer’s witness must also be auda cious. 2. Transcending all circumstances. Paul was a prisoner—but his circumstances did not silence his testimony. 3. In all clarity. The gospel is a mystery revealed—yet some believers do not seem to know that it is the glad tidings o f a crucified and risen Saviour. “Dont’s” Regarding Illustrations in Sermons 1. Don’t string a list of illustration? to gether and call that a sermon. 2. Don’t use illustrations that do not fit. 3. Don’t fail to clinch the point your il lustration is supposed to illustrate. 4. Don’t use humorous illustrations sim ply because they afford opportunity to tell amusing stories you have heard. Your task is serious. Keep it so. Jokes usually belong elsewhere than in ser mons. 5. Don’t use ah illustration to show your knowledge or your wide reading. 6. Don’t use an illustration with a distant and unfamiliar setting, when a homely one, near at hand, will serve the same purpose. An illustration must be understood. 9. Don’t form the habit of relying upon books of illustrations. Draw your il lustrations from your own reading, ob servation, and contacts. 10. Don’t forget that an illustration drawn from the Scriptures is the best kind. Such illustrations are sound. They teach the hearers to think in terms of Scripture. They lay the proper foun dations for sound doctrine. They are true to life. They are true to God. On the cross Jesus became all that God must judge, that we through faith in Him might become all that God cannot judge. —R obert G. L ee . 7. Don’t overillustrate. 8. Don’t underillustrate.
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