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THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
must have been a disappointm ent to the apostles to find bu t an insignificant door open to them. . Out of doors, w ith a few women, th e first work began. Lydia heard th e Gos pel. God uses hum an agencies, “F aith cometh by hearing ” (R om .l0 :1 0 ). There must be ligh t before th ere can be life. The words of testim ony touched her and silently bu t quickly th e door of her h ea rt opened to the tru th . When the door was open, th e Spirit of God went in and took possession. God had a new dwelling place among the heathen. Lydia confessed her Lord by being baptized into His name and opening her 1 ome to th e missionaries. The first convert in Europe was a woman. The Gospel -of Christ has changed th e char acter of th e life of womankind, lifting her. from a life of thralldom and serv itud e to a sphere in which she has been able to glorify God through pure, tru e womanhood. She has been the faithful, untiring friend and helper in the spread of the Gospel and in the ex emplification of its power to save from sin and to keep in peace and quietness. (5 ). The Curing of th e Slave Girl, “A certain maid.” Here we have a study in demonology. When God works, th e devil works also (Job 1:6, 7 ). When God’s power is manifested through His servants, Sat an ’s activity is displayed through his servants. P aul was in th e devil’s te rri tory and th e invasion was hotly con tested. Nothing so arouses the an tag onism ofvSatan as aggressive Christian work. Every faith fu l worker should recognize th is fact. When th ere is no opposition we may be sure th a t th e re is “ little doing.” In th e present dispen sation Satanic agency is more manifest ed in the delusions in the m inds of men th a n in the grosser forms of sin. This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit and His w ork is to reveal the mini! of God. Satan opposes Him by tak ing possession of th e minds of men, and
The appearance of the figure is th a t of a man, not a soldier, an artist, a p riest; not a m erchant calling for cus tom ers; not a teacher calling for pupils; not a devotee of pleasure calling for fol lowers, bu t a blind, man calling for ligh t; a lost soul calling for a Saviour. The vision is suggestive. The man is the embodiment of heathendom . He stands for the unevangelized masses. The call is to the Church of God of which P aul is a representative. Help is needed. The call comes to one who has been ’called through a vision and Qualified by the Spirit of God. The vision comes in the night, which is suggestive of darkness and sin, for out of the n igh t of th e ir deep need do the lost cry for help. The vision is also symbolic. I t re p rese n ts a needy world. It is the in ar ticu late cry of hum anity w ithout th e Gospel. “ Come over and help u s!” To such as have a sp iritu al vision there comes the cry from every section. Moth ers cry, “ Come and save our boys!” Wives cry, “Come and save our hus band s!” Children cry, “Come and save our p are n ts!” From th e world comes th e cry, “ Come and save our souls!” The command of th e departed Lord is, “ Go!” The cry of the needy world, “Come!” . W hat is the m a tte r w ith th e Church of God? Can it be th a t men and women, saved by His grace, and made p artak ers of th e heavenly calling, can be so oc cupied w ith the things of this world th a t they have no eye for th e vision, and no ear for the call? (3) The Conversion of Lydia, “A cer tain woman.” The vision was intelligible to Paul and Silas and they immediately took passage for Samothracia. The chief city of th a t p art of Macedonia was Phil ippi. Here th ere were Jews, bu t no synagogue. A little company of women gathered for prayer by th e riverside, probably in some enclosed place. It
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