tition. Squeeze the envelope sufficiently to make it open wide, which will conceal the other compartment.) Look! God takes away the heart of stone and gives a heart marked “ FLESH.” God is- still changing the hearts of those who accept Christ as a personal Saviour and come to Him for cleansing.
April 4, 1948 W in d W a r n in g s
Rev. Elmer L. Wilder Illustrated by Gladys Bowman
April 18, 1948 B u il d in g s a n d B a s k e t s
Objects: A compass and a weather vane. (An imitation weather vane can be cut from cardboard.) Lesson: I brought two strange-looking things with me this morning. One is a compass which tells the traveler the direction. The other is a weather vane which tells the way the wind is blowing. It changes with the wind. The compass always points toward the region of the north star.
Objects: A picture of a dwelling house, a picture of a church, two shopping bas kets, various vegetables, a yard of out ing flannel dyed black, and a piece of veneer or cardboard a yard square. (Cover one side of the veneer with flan
April 11, 1948 S i n f u l S o u l s S a v e d
Objects: Two unused correspondence envelopes, a light grey paper heart, a flesh-colored paper heart, and a pair of scissors. (Cut down both sides and across the bottom of one envelope. Discard the irregular half, and keep the complete side which bears the flap. Insert this side and flap in the uncut envelope with the gummed portion in the normal posi tion for sealing. This will make a parti tion in the envelope. Print the word “ STONE” on the grey heart and the word “FLESH” on the other. Hide the flesh-colored heart behind the partition, and then stick the two flaps together. This gives the envelope the appearance of being empty. Print the word “ GOD” on the envelope.)
nel. Paste flannel on the back of the two pictures, and cut them in sections. Put a few withered vegetables in one basket, and All the other with fresh vegetables.) Lesson: How would you like to help me build a couple of buildings? I have materials with which to build a house and a church. Which will we build first? “ Build the house.” That is what the people did in the days of the prophet Haggai. They built and furnished their fine houses before they worked at building God’s house. We will build the house on this board. (The flan nel on the back of the pictures will stick to the flannel on the board, holding the pieces in place.) This is a beautiful house. Each one of us would be glad to live in such a home. I told you a moment ago that the people in Haggai’s day built and furnished their homes beautifully, before they at tended to the needs of God’s house. The Lord punished them for this sin, by giv ing them poor harvests. See this basket with withered vegetables in it. It re minds us of the words of Haggai, “Ye have sown much and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough” (Hag. 1:6). “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house” (Hag. 1:9)'. We will now take down the house and build God’s house first. This is God’s or der. It is now proper to build the house, after God’s house is completed. When the children of Israel obeyed God, they had plenty of food to eat, just as this other basket is filled with food. If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all necessary things will be given us. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
The ancient people of Israel were very often like the weather vane. They were blown about by the changing winds of worldly circumstances. We find this con dition mentioned in the book of Ezekiel. Because of their sins they were in cap tivity. Even though the majority of the peo ple of Israel were like the weather vane, there was one man who was like this compass. You can blow on it without changing it in the least. It points north, regardless of the changing winds. The man of whom I speak was the prophet Ezekiel. Regardless of the condition of the people of Israel, Ezekiel was told to point them to God. In Ezekiel 3:10, 11, we read, “ Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.” You will notice that Ezekiel was told to deliver God’s message, even though those to whom he delivered it might not be willing to hear him. He was told that he was a watchman and as a watchman he must watch and warn the whole house of Israel. We, too, are living in a day when many people are like the weather vane— changed quickly by the winds of worldly circumstances. God is still looking for Christians who will not be changed by these winds, but will watch and warn against all forms of worldliness. Page Twenty-eight
Lesson: The children of Israel were in the land of Babylon as captives. They were there because they had allowed themselves to become captives to sin while living in their native land. This grey heart with the word “ STONE” written on it, indicates their sinful con dition. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God in vited the Israelites to come to Him with their hard hearts, and to those who did He promised to give a heart of flesh. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). We have an envelope marked “ GOD.” We will take the grey heart and place it in the envelope. But first, let us look and see if there is anything in the en velope. “ It appears to be empty,” I hear Paul say. We will seal the envelope, and then cut it open. (Blow the envelope open, and take the heart from behind the par
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