August 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
493
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Helpful Comm ents on C . E. Topics Rev. V. V. Morgan
O u r Young P e o p l e
AUGUST 10, 1934 Beautiful Things I See in Nature: Their Lessons Matt. 6:26-34 (An Outdoor Meeting) God reveals Himself in a thousand ways in nature, but how blind most1of us are. A critic once said to Turner, the artist, “ I never could see such colors as you paint.” “Don’t you wish you could? I can never begin to paint what I see.” We will never know the lessons that God intended men to receive from nature until we know Jesus Christ, the Creator of nature, as Saviour and Lord. The revelation of God in nature is not enough. We can never know God until we see Jesus Christ on the Cross. The revelation of God in nature and conscience leaves men who have never heard the Gospel without excuse. (Rom. 1:18-20). “How shall we escape” since we have the fuller revelation of God in the Bible. Different phases of nature are used in figures of speech again and again in the Bible. Psa. 1 :3 ; Psa. 52 :8 ; Jen 17:7-8: Believer compared to a tree. Psa. 5 1 :7 : -Cleansing from sin to the whiteness of snow. Psa. 2 3 :2 : The Christian life compared to green pas tures and still waters. Prov. 6:27, 28: Sin compared to Are. Song of Sol. 2 :1 : Jesus compared to the rose and lily. Isa. 5 :2 -7 : Israel, to a vineyard. John 15:1-6: Disciples, to branches of a vine. Isa. 17:13: Nations, to rushing waters. Isa. 4 0 :6 -8 ; Psa. 103:15; 1 Pet: 1:24, 25; Jas. 4:14: Brevity of life, to flowers and grass. Isa. 55:10-11: The Word, to rain and snow. Psa. 126:5-6:The Word, to seed, and saved souls to sheaves. Isa. 57:20, 21: The wicked, to the sea. Jer. 23:28, 29: The Word, to wheat and fire. Jer. 8 :2 0 : Neglect of salvation, to the end of summer and completion of harvest. Jer. 13:23: Impossibility of reformation, to the skin of the negro and the spots of a leopard. Isa. 3 4 :4 : The starry heavens during the great tribula tion, to falling leaf and falling flgs. Matt. 9:37, 38; Jno. 4 :3 5 : Souls, to the growing grain and the harvest. Jno. 4 :1 4 ; 7:37-39: Indwelling Spirit, to water. Jude 12: Apostate teachers, to clouds without water, and to dead trees. Rev. 22:16: Jesus, to the Morning Star. (See Matt. 13; Matt. 16: 2, 3; Jno. 1 :3 ; Heb. 1 :1-3; Col. 1:15-17.) AUGUST 17, 1934 What I Find In Romans Chapter 12 To get the most out of this wonderful climax chapter, first approach it reverently. This is the Eternal Word of Almighty God. Then, prayerfully, asking for light. Then, studiously. Read Romans through at least twice; note position of this chapter and the connecting link, “ therefore.” See
5:1 for climax of first division and 8:1 for climax of sec ond division; 12:1 is the climax of the third division. Read this 12th chapter through several times. Write down the leading words. Note the natural divisions of the chap ter, summarize the teaching of each division in a few words, and give each division a name. Study chapter six espe cially in connection with verses 1 and 2. The two natural divisions: The Principle of Consecration, Vs. 1, 2, and the Practice of Consecration, 3-21. Our Surrender to the Lord— The Rational Offering, V. 1. Our Separation from the World— The Requisite Act, V. 2. Our Service for the Lord— The Real Business, Vs. 3-8. Our Standard of Conduct— The Right Life, Vs. 9-21. 1. The Exhortation to Consecration: “ Beseech” , “Mer cies” refers to the love, grace and mercy of God as given in Romans. Grace is the foundation of salvation, and grace and mercy the foundation of consecration. 2. The Essentials of Consecration: “ Yielded bodies." Surrender, complete and voluntary. Body a comprehensive word, meaning spirit, soul and body, or life. Separation, Transformation. “Mind” includes thoughts, affections, pur poses. 3. The Effect of Consecration: “ Prove” or try “ the will of God.”- Proving how good and true and kind God’s will is. 4. The Exemplification of Consecration: How the con secrated life is manifested in humility, sobriety, sympathy, service, honesty, diligence, patience, etc. AUGUST 34, 1934 How Selfishness Shows Itself: How to Overcome It Genesis 13 The Revelation of Selfishness. In this incident, Lot’s selfishness showed itself in his choice. What we choose is an excellent index to our character. The Result of Selfishness. (See Gen. 19). Lot lost fel lowship with God, companionship with wonderful Abraham, influence with men, and even with his own family. He lost the respect of his neighbors and family. Resulted in the destruction of his home and property, death of his wife* debauchery of his daughters. Mk. 8:35-38; 10:23-31; Luke 12:16-21; 16:9-31, 1 Tim. 6: 9; Jas. 4:13, 14; Jas. 5:1-5, 8; Gal. 6:7-8. The Root of Selfishness— Self. Jer. 1 7 :9 ; Mark 7:20-23; Rom. 8:8. The Remedy for Selfishness. Place Him in front of self, thus— Himself. Gal. 5:22-23; Matt. 6 :3 3 ; Phil. 4 :19 ; Rom. 14 :7 ; 2 Cor. 8 :9 ; 9 :1 5 ; Rom. 8 :3 2 ; Psa. 84:11. Believers are, also, often selfish,— living contradictions of the very ,essence of the Gospel of Christ. Selfish with their lives, money and time. The meanest kind of selfish ness in the world is the sin so many Christians are guilty of that of not taking the glorious Gospel of salvation to a lost world. No one but a gluttonous brute would sit and eat to the full while surrounded by starving people. How brutal, how inhuman is the selfishness of the Christian as manifested in his failure to take the Gospel to dying men! Overcome selfishness by the study of the Word, by remem-
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