THE KI NG ' S BUSINESS
September, 1934
331
like this flashlight. The Holy Spirit, who is represented by the battery, is, o f course, on the inside of these Christians’ hearts, after they have accepted Christ as Saviour, but they do not allow Him to fill them, and, therefore, they do not shine for Christ. As hard as I try, the battery will not go in farther. Let us see what is the matter. Here is a black rag, which stands for sin. Christians cannot expect the Holy Spirit to fill them unless they have put away any sin they know is in.their lives. Look at this I A playing card helped keep the battery from filling the flashlight. Pleasure often keeps people from being filled with the Spirit. And here is a cigarette I It is not very big, but it helped keep the battery out. There is something rattling down in the flashlight which still keeps the battery from filling it. It is a bottle, and in it is something which looks like whiskey. The Spirit of God will not fill the heart where whiskey has a place. Now that all these things are out, let us notice how beautifully the flashlight shines. It is just so with the Christian. When sin is put away, the Holy Spirit will fill the heart and cause the life to shine for Christ. This is what Paul had in mind when he w rote: “ Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
sent one-half of his men to see what hos pitality they might find. It was the palace o f Circe, a powerful magician, who by her magic changed all who came into her palace into the form o f beasts—tigers, lions, wolves, or whatever pleased her fancy most. The visitors entered and were roy ally entertained and feasted with wines and choicest delicacies. But no sooner had they drunk, than she touched them with her wand and they were turned to swine. But Ulysses came to investigate their fate. On the way he was met by one o f the gods who told him o f his danger, and gave him a certain flower with wonderful power to resist the sorceries o f the enchantress. Circe received him royally, and when she had given him the wine, she cried, “Hence 1 Seek the sty and wallow with thy friends!” But he had the magic flower with him, and her charms were powerless. He drew his sword and she begged for mercy, which he gave on condition that she restore his companions. She did so, and once more they sailed on their way to Ithaca. A c cording to the fable, the youth who met Ulysses was the god Mercury, and the flower that protected him was a rare and precious specimen. The flower for the Christian is the Rose o f Sharon; it is the Lily of the Valley, pure, sweet, and strong. That flower is Jesus Christ, whom God gave that we might be free from sin. No matter what the enchantment be—the wine when it sparkles, those eyes that look visions o f lust—let it .be what it will, Jesus Christ is strong to deliver; He can save you out of the very mouth o f hell. Have you tried Him? Do you know Him? Yield to Him today.—W . E. B iederwolf . Growing Like Jesus E phesians 4 :25, 31, 32; S :1-21 Memory Verse: “Jesus increased in wis dom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Lk. 2:52). Approach: W e have learned that there are two things which help us to live a good Christian.life. The first is to pray to God These are the things which God tells us not to do. W e are not to tell lies. I think that most of us know that telling a lie is a sin, but when we read on in today’s lesson, we are told that foolish talking is also wrong. I wonder if we have ever thought o f that! When people talk foolishly, they are saying things which are not exactly true. Perhaps it is only in- fun, but God says that instead oi making that kind o f fun, there should be “ rather giving of thanks.” In another place in God’s Word, He says that not only doing a wrong thing is a sin—but that even thinking about doing it is a sin. The Bible goes on to tell us some of the things which we are to do. It says to “speak the truth.” Sometimes it is easier to be silent about a thing than it is to tell the truth about it. But God says the right way is to tell the truth. Then He says to “walk in love.” Hating people is a sin; loving them is God’s way —and if we ask Him to put love in our hearts, it will be easy for us to love every one. ^ V i s v 0 ' for help; the second is to study God’s Word and find out how God tells us to live. Lesson Story: To day our story is about some o f the t h i ng s which God tells us are wrong to do, and about some o f the things which God says are right.
Objects: A flashlight with the battery removed, and the following articles con cealed in the battery chamber: An imita tion cigarette, a small bottle of vinegar, an imitation playing card, and some black rags. Lesson: This flashlight does not seem to want to work. What do you think is the matter? The battery is on the outside, but as long as it is touching the flashlight, it looks as if it should work. W e will put the battery on the inside and see whether it works any better. It does not go all the way in, but that should not matter. There are many Christians who are just
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