November 1924
T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
702
w | O u r Young P e o p l e |
H e lp fu l C omm en ts on C . E. T op ics Rev. V. V. Morgan
HONESTLY— 8:21. God keeps books. Men are continually robbing God but the record is kept. We are blessed accord ing as we give,— 9:6. In verses 8:9 and 9:15 there is set before us the most powerful argument for generous, whole hearted, sacrificial giving. The gift and grace of God to sinners ought to break our hearts and bring us in joyful gratitude to the place of “ hilarious” , giving. In 1 Cor. 16:2 we find that our giving is to be SYSTEMATIC and REGULAR. NOVEMBER 23, 1924 Stewardship: Our Time and Service for Christ ; Jer. 1:4-10; Matt, 4:18, 19; Eph ,5:16 (Thanksgiving Meeting) Time is a gift from God and our possession of it means responsibility in the use of it. I have only just a minute, Just sixty seconds in it. We are alarmingly and amazingly indifferent to the rapid passing of time. We are probably more selfish about this than about any other one thing. The average Christian doesn’t give more than 150 hours a year to the Lord. HE gets what is left over, after we finish using the time to earn a living and seek our own desires. The Lord demands one- seventh of our time and very, very few Christians give Him even that. And that demand is for man’s own good. The time is so very short, eternity is so very long, the issues involved are so very stupendous, that we ought to be alert to make the most of the time allotted to us. The wisest use of time is to put our time at HIS disposal. In Ephesians 5:16 we are told to redeem the time. Redeem may be para phrased “ to grasp or sieze every opportunity to serve Him.” In the first Scripture reference the entire chapter should be read in connection with Exod. 3 and 4 and Josh. 1. God has called each of His children into His service and there is only one alternative to obedience— that is disobedience. The election—vs. 5 (cf. Jno. 15:16). The encouragement l—vv. 8 , 17, 19. The enduement—-vv. 9, 10. Matt. 4:18, 19—The CommandfS-Follow. The Com mander—ME. The Covenant—?|l will make.” NOVEMBER 30, 1924 The priceless privilege of prayer is our most potent pos session, and entails a great responsibility. Prayer is a sacred trust committed to us and for which we are held accountable. When we do not pray, we Sin. (Jas. 4:17; 1 Sam. 12:23). When we do not pray we rob ourselves of the greatest force ever placed within the reach of man and of a most blessed source of cheer, comfort, inspiration, encouragement and faith. When we do not pray, we rob countless thousands of people of countless thousands of blessings._ When we fail to pray we rob God of glory, for He is glorified in our prayers. (Jno. 14:13). The object of prayer is His glory, and the great burden of our prayer, the world. Man lost the world through disobedience. Satan gained it by conquest and is the arch-usurper of the universe (Gen. (Continued on page 729) Forced upon me- —can’t refuse it, Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it, I must suffer if I lose it, Give account if I abuse it. Just a tiny little minute, BUT Eternity is in it! Stewardship : Our Prayers for Christ’s World Matt. 6:9-13
November 9, 1924 Stewardship: Our Abilities for Christ Matt. 25:14-30.
Reception and Responsibility— 14-15. What we have— strength, talents, abilities, money, time—we receive from Him. (1 Cor. 4:7; James 1:17; Rom. 11:29). Possession means responsibility. Since our abilities are from Christ, our abilities should he for Christ. God forbid that we should be recreant to our sacred trust. What we are and have, we are and have by His grace and God has a right to expect a wise use of what has been committed to us. Return and Reckoning— 16-20, 22, 24, 25. The man who goes to a far country refers to Jesus Christ who has gone to a distant land and has promised to return (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:15-17). His doctrine of His immi nent return is the great incentive for a life of usefulness and holiness (Matt. 24:42-44; Matt. 25:13; 2 Pet. 3:8-15; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Thess. 1:9-10). God keeps books and makes no mistakes. He is coming to reckon with His servants -—see Luke 19:11-27. The believer has already been judged for his sins in the person of Jesus Christ, as He hung on the Cross, (Gal. 3:13; 1 Cor. 5:20; Isa. 53:5, 6 ; 1 Pet. 2:24) but he will be judged for his work,— his service—-(1 Cor. 3:11-16; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10.) Reward and Retribution—21, 23, 25-30. Salvation is a free gift, (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-10) but rewards are earned by work (1 Cor. 3:14; Matt. 10:42). Not a question of how much talent or ability but how faithful we are in using what we possess. Do not be downcast if your abilities or tal ents'are few. God can work wonders with a LITTLE that is entirely HIS. Remember the little fish and loaves that were placed at His disposal and what He did. What we do not use becomes a curse in place of a blessing (Rom. 1:20, 21; Dan. 5:23-27). NOVEMBER 16, 1924 Stewardship: Our Money for Christ Mai. 3:10; 2 Cor. 8:1-7. “ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Hag. 2 :8). God is Creator— all things belong to Him. What we have, we receive from Him. (Deut, 8 : 17, 18). “ For it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.” What we have, we hold in trust. The first Scripture passage given in our lesson should include verses eight and nine. Verse ten tells us to give PROPORTIONATELY. There is a difference between tithes and offerings. The tithe or one tenth belongs to God, and was instituted long before the law of Moses was given. The offering is a voluntary gift above the tithe. When a man paid the tithes he was simply paying his debts in that par ticular matter, and that which was given above that was an offering. Surely, we who believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross and who have partaken of the riches of His grace, should do as well as a Jew under the law. Our giving is a proof of our love. The second Scripture passage should be studied in con nection with all of chapters eight and nine. 8:5 is SPIRIT UAL GIVING. This is the basic principle in Christian giving. Our lives must be our gifts. The surrendered will must precede our gifts to make them acceptable to God. We should give GENEROUSLY or BOUNTIFULLY— 8 :7 and 9:6. Giving should be WILLINGLY or VOLUNTAR ILY, not legally, but to prove our sincerity— 8 : 8 , 12; 9:7. Someone has wisely observed that money is the acid test of the Christian’s religion. We should give CHEERFULLY and JOYFULLY, praising God for the blessed privilege of giving— 9:7, last clause. PROPORTIONATELY— 8:13-15,
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