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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S men' in connection with the life of the great apostle,—Ananias to baptize him; Barnabas to introduce him to Antioch; four laymen to lay their unordained hands upon him and send him forth upon his world-wide mission. For a 'whole year Saul and Barnabas labor together in Antioch. Here his heart and mind were being prepared for his great life work. Here he was form ing the associates which were to be so helpful to him in after years. Here in a great heathen city of half a million peo ple Paul found ample scope for the exer cise of those matchless gifts with which God in infinite wisdom endowed him. In Antioch the n a m e Christians was first bestowed upon the early church. Other titles were given them—Brethren, Those of The Way, Disciples, Saints, Elders, Nazarenes,—but the term “Christian”, has become the badge of those who fol low the Crucified One. The Christian needs no special garb, no buttons, no ribbons. He needs only to live out the life which is within, and to prove by his words and works that his faith is fixed in the Lord Jesus Christ. 4. ASSISTING THE POOR, vs. 27-30. “The disciples . . . determined to send relief unto the brethren”. Agabus was one of the order of proph ets which had grown up in the church, (1 Cor. 12:10; Eph. 4:11; Acts 21:10,11). He foretold a famine which was to affect the whole Roman Empire. The famine did occur and was especially rigorous in Palestine. We need no prophets now (Eph. 3:4,5) “Whereby when ye read ye may under stand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. . j . Which In other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as It is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” . ■" , The true Christian spirit was manifest by the Church. They had the compas sion of their Lord to some extent; they longed to minister to their suffering brethren. In this way they gave evi dence of the real union which bound
them to their fellow saints. They gave according to their ability. No levying of taxes, but loyal testifying by gifts, in which every man had a part. It was a sign of a yielded heart and subjection to the Holy Spirit. It was the seal of saint- ship. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The devil’s persecution was overruled by Divine Providence. (2) Persecution did not stop the preaching of the Gospel, but gave zest to Its publication. (3) When the hand of the Lord Is upon the preacher there w ill be a heavy har vest of people. (4) The malice of the Jews was made to m inister mercy to the Gentiles. (5) When the grace of God is manifest, the heart of man Is glad. (6) When Barnabas added Saul he divided his work and multiplied his useful ness. (7) True sympathy does not end w ith senti ment, but in service. (8) You cannot kill the seed by cutting down the stalk. v. 19. .They which were scattered abroad. Persecution is the mother of evangelism.—Chafer. We owe mission ary work to persecution.—Sel. If trav eling _ Christians COMMENTS FROM would preach, the MANY SOURCES G o s p e l would Keith L. Brooks spread. — David son. The persecu ted saints had iron put into their blood. They learned to lean the more heavily upon the Lord. They loved not their lives unto the death. There is nothing that draws us closer to our Lord than trial. —Neighbour. Traveled far. Scattering the witnesses spreads the message.. To seek to put out a fire by striking into it is a serious mistake. Thus the sparks fly in every direction and fires are kindl ed everywhere. This is what Satan did by persecution.—Hottel. How grandly God’s plan for the evangelization of the Gentiles is being worked out! How ap parently accidentally .He is breaking up the church monopoly in Jerusalem. The Gospel is detaching itself from Jeru salem and attaching itself to the world. This is the sublime purpose of the book of Acts.—Evans. To none but JeWB. God led on, step by step,—first Jews, then Samaritans, then Jewish prosely tes, and then genuine Gentiles, i Thp first missionaries were just ordinary day Christians who had gotten so full of the truth that they could no longer fol low the slow lead of the authorities in
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