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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1936
Jesus Keeps His Promise A cts 1:6-14; 2:1-47 Memory V erse: “Lo, I am with you alway” (Matt. 28:20). Approach : Before the Lord Jesus left this earth to go back to heaven, He made His disciples a promise. You see, the dis
Lord promised that they were to be “baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence,” His Jewish hearers immedi ately, and rightly, thought of the great prophecy of Joel 2 :28, 29, in which Jehovah promises He will pour out His Spirit upon “all flesh.” And being familiar with Joel’s prophecy, they also knew that the prophecy o f the pouring out of God’s Spirit was in separably connected with the establishment o f Messiah’s kingdom over all the earth and the judgment of the Gentile nations which had persecuted the Jew (read the third chapter of Joel). Hence their ques tion, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” should not be regarded as the utterance of dull-witted men, as is often taught, but rather as a very discerning and legitimate inquiry. It is too bad that the critics of the apostles know so little about the Book of Joel. 2. The question asked by the apostles contains d whole nest of assumptions. First, the question assumes that there is a kingdom of God yet to be set up upon earth. Second, it assumes that Jesus Christ is the absolute Sovereign over this coming kingdom. Third, it assumes that this kingdom belongs properly to the na tion of Israel. Fourth, the question as sumes that the kingdom will be a literal one, the restoration of a kingdom which once existed actually in history. 3. Now the question arises, Were these assumptions right or wrong? The modern school of interpreters will tell you that they were all wrong, especially the third and fourth. But against this idea, note two things: First, these apostles had just finished a forty-day post-graduate course dealing with the subject o f the kingdom, and taught by the King Himself (Acts 1 :3). Certainly they should have known more about the subject than would their modern critics. And, second, by the ab sence o f any corrective word in His reply, our Lord tacitly grants the truth o f every assumption in their question. The sole point unknown to them was the time o f the kingdom’s establishment and restoration to Israel. Golden Text Illustration Hercules, because of the enmity o f Juno, was rendered subject to his cousin Eurys- theus, who imposed upon the prodigious youth all sorts of desperate and delicate adventures. Twelve things he was com manded to do, which are known as the twelve labors o f Hercules. Among these was the slaying o f a lion, the slaughter of the Hydra, the securing of the golden ap ples of Hesperides, the bringing of Cerberus from the lower world, and other feats of like wonder. Hercules was a mighty man, but o f him self would doubtless have failed. The gods, however, were favorable to him, and equipped him for his strenuous labors. Zeus gave him a powerful shield. Hermes gave him a magic sword. Apollo lent him his bow and arrow. Poseidon gave him a horse, and Vulcan a golden armor for his body. How much we need some other power than our own I We wrestle not against flesh and blood, and there are victories to be won too hard for u s; but. if we are weak, we might be strong. Our God is better than the gods o f mythology. His promise is, “Ye shall receive power,” and if we have failed, our very failures ought to drive us to Him, for infinitely better than all the gifts the Olympian gods could ¡bestow is the power that comes from the touch o f His Spirit —Illustrations from Mythology, by Biederwolf.
He gave them power to stand up and tell others about Christ.
Object Lesson M aking G ood a P romise
Objects: A promissory note for one hundred dollars, and a check for the same amount dated two months later. Lesson: How many of you ever made a promise and didn’t keep it? It is wrong to break promises. Soon people will not believe you at all. When we become Christians, we have the Holy Spirit and His power in our lives; and if we make room for Him and let Him guide us, He will help us, as He helped the disciples, to tell others about the Lord Jesus. In the business world, when one person owes another a certain amount o f money, he often gives a written promise to pay on a certain date. This promise is called a “ Promissory Note.” I thought you would be interested in seeing one o f these written promises. Here it is. It is dated two months ago. It reads, “Two months from this date, I promise to pay William Jones one hundred dollars.” The note is signed by Sam Smith. The time has come for the payment, and here' is a check to pay the note. It reads, “Pay to the order o f William Jones, one hundred dollars.” It, too, is signed by Sam Smith. When a note is paid by a check, the one who receives the check goes to the bank and gets the money. He then can use the money. This note reminds me of a promise Christ made to His disciples. He told them that He would return to heaven, and that the Holy Spirit would come to abide in them forever. Christ did not write the promise, but it was just as sure to be fulfilled as though He had written it. The promise was not fulfilled at once. The disciples had to wait until the day of Pentecost, and then, true to Christ’s promise, the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples. This check reminds me of the coming o f the Holy Spirit, because it makes good a promise. In the second chapter o f Acts, we read o f Peter’s great sermon. Just as a person cashes a check and begins to use it, so Peter was making use of the Holy Spirit whom he had received. When we accept Christ as Saviour, thq Holy Spirit comes into our heart. It is God’s desire that we then allow Him to fill us and use us in witnessing to others about Christ and His power to save. be imprisoned on unjust charges, and they were now about to continue to deal un justly with the prisoners. The Jews were opposed to what was being preached, that is, the literal resurrection (cf. v. 2), and they proposed to silence the preaching. They had already decided the case before they had heard any of the evidence, and the question they asked was merely a matter o f form with them. But Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he answered boldly. Immedi ately the unjust judges and unholy per secutors were confronted with facts that they could not gainsay (vs. 8-10). Peter was careful to refer to the healing o f the
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ciples felt very bad when they knew that J e s u s was going away. They felt very weak and helpless. Perhaps they were a f r a i d that they might f o r g e t the many things that the Lord Jesus had told them. They might forget how Jesus had explained to
them that He was the only Way that could lead them back to God. And then, too, how would they have the strength and courage to give to others this wonder ful message of God’s love and forgive ness ? So Jesus made them a promise. He promised to send them a “ Comforter”— One who would help them. He said that when this Comforter should come, He would help them to understand about Jesus’ being theSon o f God, and He would give them power so that they would have strength and courage to go through out the whole earth to tell about Jesus. Lesson S tory : Ten days went by after Jesus went up from the Mount of Olives into heaven. The disciples were gathered together, wondering when the One whom Jesus had promised to send to them would come. And what would His coming be like? Suddenly while Jesus’ friends were sitting together in the house, the Holy Spirit came. He came to live in the hearts o f those who believed in Jesus. No one could see the Holy Spirit, but the disciples did see and hear very wonderful things that made them sure that He was there. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus’ followers a greater knowledge and understanding of Jesus than they had ever had before, and
JULY 12, 1936 WITNESSING UNDER PERSECUTION . A cts 3:1 to 4 :31; 1 C orinthians 1 :21-25
Lesson T ext: Acts 4:5-12; 1 Cor. 1 :21-25. Golden T ext: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Outline and Exposition I. W itnessing to the J ews (Acts 4:5-12). T he men to whom Peter witnessed were already settled in their rejection of the truth (vs. 5-7). The rejection was not only personal, but it was official as well, for the whole Jewish nation was rep resented by these leaders, rulers, elders, scribes, and the kindred of the high priest. These supposed religious leaders had caused the witnesses, Peter and John, to
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