T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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men, and yet there Is more sin all the time. Today we have such a wonder ful story, which tells us of someone who lived in this world, and met this awful thing sin, but he overcame it, and tells Us how we too can overcome it in our lives. Prayer. Lesson Story.—When Jesus was grown up and was ready to begin his work as a preacher, He was baptized in the river Jordan by John the Bap tist, and while he was still standing in the water, a voice from heaven spoke. It was God the Father speaking, and this is what He said: “ Thou art my beloved Son; in Thee I am well *pleased.” You see God wanted every one to know that Jesus was really His Son, so they could believe in Him and be saved from their sin. Then after the baptism Jesus was led by God’s spirit away into the wilderness where he could be quiet and think and pray over the great work God had given Him to do. Now that wicked person whose name begins with that same crooked letter S was right there to tempt Jesus to do wrong. Do you know his name? Yes, Satan. Of course we know Satan brought sin into the world through Adam and Eve, because they listened to him and disobeyed God. So Satan tried to get Jesus to sin so He could not save us from our sin. Jesus was here in this lonely place for 40 days, and during all that time He did not have anything to eat. Satan knew how hungry Jesus was, so he told Jesus if he was really God’s Son, to make bread out of the stones lying all about Him. Jesus repeated a verse out of the Bible, saying that man did not live by bread alone. We see how well Jesus knew the Bible. (Take each temptation, showing how in each one Satan tried to have Jesus use His power for His own glory, and emphasize how Satan put the “ IF” in, doubting God’s Word that He was the Son of God.) Jesus knew that He was God’s Son, and that God the Father had sent Him down
here to use His life and strength to glorify His heavenly Father, and save people from sin, and so He overcame Satan, and we too can overcome Satan if we let Jesus come into our hearts and live, as Jesus did, and as our mem ory verse tells us. “Thou shalt wor ship the Lord thy God.” These are the words Jesus said to Satan. Satan went away and left Jesus, and then God sent angels to strengthen and feed Him. Closing Prayer.— Dear Lord Jesus, we thank Thee for overcoming Satan, and showing us that by believing in Thee, we too can overcome him, and be saved from sin. A PRACTICAL PRECEPT “ As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.” (Colossians 2 : 6 .) If you walk in Christ, what will be the result? The world will find you out to be real in a very special way. If it is seen that your religion makes you a Christian in common things—if the walk in Christ is such that you are known to be practical to the uttermost, but Chris tian to the backbone—you will be, by the grace of God, glorifying your Master. But you can only do it by walking in Jesus Christ. The shame and scandal is that people should be dreamy, unprac tical, selfish under a spiritual cloak, when they are meant to do tenfold well the common thing, to be found faithful in the daily task, to see God’s will in the dust of the common road, because they are walking along it in Jesus Christ. You will find it is absolutely impossible while you are recollecting, “I am in Him,” to say a word that is untrue— absolutely impossible to say the thing that is unkind or in the faintest degree harsh or judging. Absolutely living for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, at a tre mendous sacrifice of self, it will be im possible to make a reckless use of the tongue, which is one of the disgraces of professing Christian life.—Moule.
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