/ S t h e ’ K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 2. “But they that wait 'upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa. 40:31). The Revised Version trans lates this verse: “They that wait for Jehovah shall .renew their strength.” This expresses more accurately the meaning of the text, for the word “wait” means to expect, to look for, or to hope. Doubtless this is a ref erence to the second coming of the Messiah. Nothing will so steady a man’s walk and demeanor, so streng then him and keep him from dis couragement, as a genuine belief in the coming of the Lord. Those who are. expecting Him soon to take con trol of the affairs of this world are not disheartened. “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” It is also true that they who live daily ex pecting the Lord to meet their every need in response to their trust in Him and dependence upon Him find a source of strength sufficient for every experience. 3. “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). Note that this man’s discretion and intelligence and knowledge of the truth did not provide him entrance into the kingdom of God. He was still outside; he had not ac cepted the Saviour. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the king dom of God” (John 3:3). For the Children J esus W orships in the S ynagogue L uke 4:16-27 When the Lord Jesus Christ became a man and started teaching the peo ple about God, He left the town of Nazareth where His home had been, and went throughout the country, teaching, preaching, and healing. After one of these trips, He returned to Nazareth on the Sabbath day. He went to the synagogue to worship as He always did on the Sabbath. The ruler (or preacher) of the synagogue gave Jesus one of the books of the Old Testament and asked Hiip to read to the people. The Lord Jesus opened the book to the place where the writer had told what the Saviour would do when He came to the earth. He read about preaching to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, giving sight to the blind, and telling about God. When Jesus had closed the book and sat down, everyone in the synagogue looked at Him. Then He told them that He wits the One about whom those words He had just read were spoken. How grateful those people in the synagogue should have been because they had the Son of God with them and heard Him speak! But instead of MEMORY VERSE: “Thou shalt wor ship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8).
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their wealth (v. 18). It was not their cleverness, but His grace that caused them to prosper. Hence humility for acceptable worship and for preserva tion from destruction was required. Pride would lead to their forsaking the Lord and turning again to idols, which would bring judgment upon them as it had upon other nations (vs. 19, 20). II. C ommun ion R equired (I sa . 40:30, 31) In times of stress, when even youths become faint, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Waiting upon the omni potent God brings His strength into the place of weakness, and empow ers to true worship. In the strength received from wait ing upon the Lord, His children rise above all that causes unrest upon the earth; they run without weariness while others droop by the way; they walk without fainting in the experi ences and circumstances that break down others. Out of such strength, received by waiting upon God, comes the spirit of true worship that finds acceptance with Him. III. The answer is: Love to God is first (vs. 29-31). Love to man necessarily follows, and the law is thereby ful filled. This is the heart of true wor ship, and the substance of right living. The scribe assented and was told he was not f^r from the kingdom. He was “not far from” but not in either. There is no neutral ground. There is either full worship, acceptable to God, or no worship of Him. It is love that makes the worship real. Points and Problems 1. “Forget not the Lord . . . remem ber the Lord” (Deut. 8:11, 18). Does it seem strange that Moses had to stress the obligation of Israel to con sider the Lord? It should not when we realize how prone we are to forget the source of our blessings. As Mat thew Henry aptly suggests, it is often true that “the better God is to us the worse we are to Him.” Prosperity and good health have often led men to feel sufficient of themselves and hence to forget God. Upon the occasion here mentioned, Israel could look back upqn the blessings of God’s good hand upon them. They were looking toward the land of milk and honey. But Moses warned them against being so taken up with the enjoyment of their bless ings that they would forget their source. L ove R equired (M ark 12:28-34) What is the first commandment? What is my first duty to God (v. 28) ? No greater questions can be asked of the human heart.
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