THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S these splendid followers of the Lord. We all need this lesson. Here we have the Old Testament spirit vs. the New. Under the old dispensation God taught lessons by wrath and vengeance. The times now require different treat ment, and so do men. As in the case of the Pharisee and Publican. There is a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up. (Eccl. 3 :3 ). There is another law operating now. Moses and Elijah fade away. The Son of Man is here. We are to no longer render evil for evil. (1 Pet. 3 :9 ). Blessing and cursing are not to come from the same mouth, (Jas. 3 :2 ). The disciples have not yet sensed the purpose for which the Son of Man came. He tells them He came to seek and to save men’s lives. He did not come to found institutions, but to find sinners. He did not come to destroy, but to de liver, (1 Tim. 1 :15 ). He came to ex press in His life and through His death the mercy of the Lord who gave His Son to be the propitiation for the sins of the world. (4) The Specious Spirit vs. The Sterl ing Spirit, vs. 57-62. The demand of the Lord is for a sterl ing spirit. He wants followers who are “out and out” for Him. Men have a thousand excuses for failure in loyalty to Christ, but He never accepted one of them. You cannot play fast and loose with Him. You cannot put anything over on Him. He is never impressed with the singing of " I ’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord” if it is not sincere, but He is heartily interested in the disciple who packs up and goes. The waving of handkerchiefs does not create any stir in His heart, but the waving of the hand in a good bye to the world does. Anybody can wear a button or a badge, but few care to bear in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus. John Mark lost a life record
1049 for failing to go all the way with Paul (Acts 15:37, 38). Don’t be a Demas (2 Tim. 4:10 ). It happens to many to be included in Peter’s denunciation “the dog to his vomit” and the “ sow to the mire” (2 Pet. 2t22). Remember Lot’s wife. Here is a good, sterling motto: “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.” PRACTICAL POINTS. (1) The disciples had been long with Him, and yet had not learned true likeness to Him. (2) Who seeks to be great in the eyes of men, will be greatly disap pointed. (3) God’s thoughts are not/ man’s thoughts. God’s rule is “the lit- tlest is the largest.” (4) There are many children disciples, but few that are child-like. (5) Man has no right to copyright the name of our Lord. (6) In Heaven it will, never be “what denomination did you belong to?’’ but “what did you do with Jesus which is called Christ?” (7) Don’t invoke fire from heaven; try killing your enemies with kind ness. (8) The merciful Christ seeks rever ence from men, not revenge upon them. (9) Our Lord came to deliver men from sin, not to destroy them in sin. A Great Character. This lesson shows the breadth of Jesus' vision and the greatness of His character. How small we seem as com pared to Him. We feel like the famous astronomer Laplace, LESSON after a life-time’s ILLUSTRATIONS ‘ study of the starry W. H. Pike heavens, when he exclaimed on his death, “The things we know are small, the things we know not, are immense.” How little do we know Jesus.
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