August, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
299
said he wanted to give a donation of a thousand pounds. On being asked how he had come to be interested in the Army and its work, he replied: “Some time ago I was walking down Aldersgate Street, and I noticed on the other side of the road a costermonger loading sacks of scrap iron onto a barrow. One of the sacks was ap parently too heavy for him to lift, and a tall man wearing a silk hat stopped and put up the sack for the old costermonger and said a word to him. I was so much interested that I asked a policeman who was near by to tell me who it was that had assisted the costermonger. “Oh, don’t you know?” said the policeman. “That’s General Booth.”— P ickering , in 1,000 Acts and Facts. A Happy Worker for Jesus A cts 20:33-35; P hilippians 4:4-13 Memory Verse: “Rejoice in the Lord al ways: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). Approach: Last week we had a story about a man who gave a love gift of money to the Lord Jesus. Today our story is about a man named Paul, who also gave lieved, as many other Jews had, that Jesus was not the Son of God, as He had said, but instead, a wicked man. Paul had hated all who called themselves followers of Christ. Once, when the Jews were angry at a man named Stephen, who was one of Jesus’ followers, they took Stephen out to the edge of the city and stoned him to death. Paul had stood by and watched them, and had even taken care of the coats of the men who threw the stones. But how differently Paul acted after God had touched his heart and made him a follower of Jesus, God’s Son! Nothing was too hard now for him to do for Jesus. Paul was just the man God needed to carry His gospel message to people every where. Paul not only told his friends and neighbors about Jesus, but he went also into far-away countries to tell people who would never have heard about the Lord Jesus if Paul had not gone to tell them. He suffered many things for Jesus—sick ness, prison, hunger, shipwreck, and at last death. But he was not afraid, for he was a brave follower of the Lord. And Paul was a happy follower, too. He knew that even though his enemies hurt his body, they could not hurt his spirit. He belonged to Jesus, and no one could .change that. Paul was so happy because he knew he be longed to Christ, that even when he was in prison, he could write these words to friends: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” ^ V l s l O * a love gift to Jesus. His was a gift of h i ms e l f . T h e strange thing about the s t o r y of this man is that before he b e c a m e Jesus’ follower, h e w a s one of the men who hated J e s u s t h e most. Lesson Story: At first, Paul had be
The real difference, then, between these two objects is in the fact that the sack has an inside support, while the cardboard is propped from the outside. This is one of the many differences between Christians and the unsaved. Christians are filled with thq Holy Spirit and Christ, and, therefore, do not need the outside props that others require to keep them from falling. An example of this truth is found in the life of Paul. He could say: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen- eth me.”' He needed no outside props, but only the strength which came by having Christ within his heart and life. How dif ferently the unsaved look at hard tasks I They often say, “If you will go with me and help me, I can do it.” Notice how easily the cardboard is made to fall. The prop is removed with my lit tle finger, and down it goes. This is the danger of having the life propped from without—the props are?easily removed, and then comes a fall. The safe way is to be{^Strengthened from within by the Lord Jesus, and to be able to say with Paul: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthened! me.” who resorted thither. There Paul “sat down, and spake unto the women” con cerning Christ, and Lydia’s response was immediate and willing. It is true that the natural heart must be opened to the Lord through a sense of the individual’s bond age to sin (cf. Rom. 8 :7j 2 Cor. 4 :4). And it is true that only God can touch the lock and cause the door to swing open, for only He is stronger than Satan or the flesh. But it is also true that the Lord stands ready always to open any heart wherein is a willingness to receive the gos pel when it is heard. Lydia heard, and the “Lord opened” her heart to receive, and “she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” Her testimony immediately proclaimed that she had turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God (v. 15). Her baptism was the acknowl edgment of her death to all the old life— whatever that may have been, good or bad. Her burial with Christ in baptism also an nounced her unity with other disciples of the Lord. She “constrained” them to abide in her house. Lydia was the firstfruits of the gospel in Europe, and her conversion can be spoken of as the beginning of the church in Europe. II. P riscilla (Acts 18:1-3, 24-28). Claudius had driven from Rome all Jews, among whom were Priscilla and her husband Aquila. The persecution was wholly unjust (vs. 1-3). Jew-baiting is nothing new; in fact, it~has-existed ever since God laid His hand upon the ancient people. But neither Priscilla nor Aquila lost his or her Christian sweetness through the oppression. They went forth and found a refuge at Corinth, where they again took up their trade. To Corinth came Paul, in the course of his journey- ings, and there he found this devoted couple. Being of the same trade, that of tentmaking, he took up his abode with [Continued on page 302]
of cardboard are like people. The sack of salt is like a Christian, and the cardboard like a person who is not a Christian. You are wondering how these things can be like people. Let us see. Notice how solidly this sack of salt sits up without be ing propped with a stick. The cardboard cannot stand for even an instant without the support of the stick. You will be surprised when I tell you that the sack has something to support it, too, but its prop is an inside one. The pure salt which fills the sack causes it to stand. It would be impossible to make an empty cloth sack stand alone.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1935 LYDIA AND PRISCILLA
(Christian Women in Industrial Life) A cts 16:11-15; 18:1-3, 24-28; R omans 16:1-6
Lesson Text: Acts 16:11-15; 18:1-3,24- 28. Golden Text: “Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates” (Prov. 31:31). Outline and Exposition I. L ydia (Acts 16:11-15). I t is said that the battle of Waterloo changed the face of Europe. But the incident of which our lesson today is a part, had an even wider influence, for it changed the face of the world. Paul went to Macedonia with the good news of salva tion. From Macedonia, Europe received the gospel; and from Europe, America re ceived it (vs. 11-13). And thus the mes sage spread round the world. Lydia was an Asiatic woman of some wealth, influence, and social position. She was a “seller of purple” ; that is, she en gaged in a business that was both lucrative and widespread in those parts. Macedonia had no need of anything that the apostle might bring, except the gospel. The city was a place of high culture and deep philosophy; it led in the arts and sciences, and boasted great material riches. But the people of Macedonia were poor and igno rant, spiritually, for, being without Christ, they were without hope. Lydia’s opportunity for enlightenment came when she went one sabbath day to the riverside, in company with the women BLACKBOARD LESSON
Object Lesson P rops and F lops
Objects: A small sack of salt, a piece of cardboard about twelve inches square, and a small stick with which to prop up the cardboard. Lesson: This sack of salt and this piece
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