September, 1933
322
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
in another moment covered the little mes senger with kisses and caresses. The carrier pigeon had been away from the cottage thirty long months and had not forgotten the way home. It brought a note from Nansen from the polar regions, stat ing that all was well. Nansen had fastened a message to the bird and turned it loose. The frail courier darted out into the polar air and flew like an arrow over a thousand miles of frozen waste, and then over another thousand miles o f ocean and plain and forest to reach the window of its mistress and de liver the message. We boast of human fortitude and endur ance, but this carrier pigeon, after an ab sence o f two and a half years, accomplished a feat so wonderful as to cause a commin gling of amazement and admiration. Like the homing instinct of the carrier pigeon is the homing instinct of the soul— nothing but home satisfies. Like this carrier pigeon is every man and woman. God has turned us loose with a message, a message o f “all is well.” The "flesh” is the corrupt nature for which we are to make no provision, or “take no foothold.” The sad stories o f Lot and Balaam reveal the consequences of making provision for the flesh. The Chris tian is to sit loose to the things of time and sense and treat these as being o f sec ondary importance. II. T he L ordship of C h rist (14:7-9). “We are the Lord’s” (vs. 7, 8 ). W e are His by gift from the Father, by purchase with His blood, and by surrender of our selves (John 17:9; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Rom. 12 :1). Being the Lord’s, we live and die to Him, not to ourselves. Christ both died and rose that He might be our Lord (v. 9 ). Hence we are to shape our conduct according to His desires, not according to our own. The recognition that we are owned by Him, to be ruled by Him, and used for Him will make us temperate in thought and word and action. Maintaining the character o f life which will please Him delivers from all legal insistence on set rules and regulations and sets free to do what He would have done for His glory. And as each one stands or falls for himself alone, all judging of one another or forcing o f particular ways of living upon one an other, will be ruled out as being an assump tion of the Master’s prerogatives. At the same time, it must be remembered that one who says, “ I am under grace and therefore can spend my time in wantonness, strife, and drunkenness,” makes a confes sion o f being wholly ignorant o f the char acter of grace and of the relationship exist ing between the Christian and the Lord. III. T he O neness of th e B ody (14:15-21). To indulge in that which causes grief to a brother is to deny love (vs. 15, 16). Love is the very life o f the Christian, and the highest Christian life is that in which love dictates the actions. Love desires to ex press itself without any consideration of the cost (John 3:1$; Rom. 5:6-8). If God loved enough to give His Son, so we “ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:10, 11). The value o f any action should be decided by the question, “Will this do good to my brother?” not, “Will this do good to me without consideration o f my brother ?”
enter the kingdom. It does not mean “enter” in the sense of position; they were already in the kingdom by simple faith, but “enter” it in the sense of understanding and growth and enjoyment. Having thus established the disciples, they ordained elders among them, prayed and fasted with them, commended them to the Lord, and departed for Antioch. We are in danger of thinking that converts must have the presence of the missionaries. We must learn that the converts are not the missionaries’ but the Lord’s, and He can and will look after them. Lesson Questions 13 :l-5. Who were some of the outstand ing leaders in the church at Antioch? Tell something about them. When did the Holy Spirit make known to them His will for their future? Who had called Barnabas and Saul? To what were they to be sep arated ? What part did the other members o f the church have in their outgoing? What would lead to the enjoyment of sim ilar unity between members who become missionaries today and those who remain members of the home church? Vs. 13-15. Trace on a map the course of the journey. What happened in the syna gogue in Antioch in Pisidia? 14:19-23. Where was Paul stoned? Did the disciples forsake him? What was Paul enabled to do? What was the purpose of the return visits to young converts? Dis cuss the importance o f this. When may new converts safely be left without the supervision of the missionary or Christian worker? What is the natural tendency in this matter? Far Away Friends Hear About Jesus A cts 13 :l-5 Memory Verse : “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). Approach-. Last week we were talking about the faithful Christians in Antioch. W e talked about how they worked to tell others about Christ, and how anxious they were to work for God. L e s s o n s t o r y : she would like to have you do. And then you would listen for her answer. When we talk to God, we call it praying to Him. These men prayed earnestly to know what they could do that would help the Lord most. Th'ey were so earnest that they didn’t even take time to eat. Besides, they didn’t want any interruption. They waited quietly for God’s answer. At last His Holy Spirit made it clear to the Christians that they were to take Bar nabas and Paul, their two best workers, and send them off on a journey to new places to preach the gospel to people who had never heard it before. This was a hard thing for them to do. They probably thought that they needed Barnabas and Paul as much as any one else. But they had asked God to guide them, and this was His answer. They must have remembered, too, that it was because Barnabas and others had been willing to come all o f the way to their city that they had been able to hear the gospel story. O /V l S t O * They knew just the right way to find out what work God had for them to do. They did just as you would do if you wanted to do some- t h i n g f o r y o u r mother. First y o u would ask her what
BLACKBOARD LESSON
Barnabas and Paul were missionaries. Today there are missionaries too—men and women who go to other countries or other people to tell them of Jesus Christ. Golden Text Illustration One day a carrier pigeon tapped at the window of Mrs. Nansen’s home, at Kris- tiana. Instantly the window was opened, and the wife o f the famous Arctic explorer
OCTOBER 29, 1933 WORLD ’S TEMPERANCE SUNDAY R om an s 13:12 to 15 :3
Lesson T ext: Rom. 13:12-14; 14:7-9, 15-21. Golden T ext: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfill ing of the law” (Rom. 13:10). Outline and Exposition Three great incentives to temperate liv ing appear in today’s lesson. , • I. T he N earness of th e D ay (13:12-14). “ The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (v. 12). The “night” is this present scene, our life here, the valley of the shadow o f death (Psa. 23:4). The “day” is the time o f our Lord’s return from heaven, our future place, and is always “at hand” because none can tell when that event will occur. The “night” or this pres ent age is evil and grows worse in its rela tion to God (John 14:16, 17; 15:19, 20; Rom. 12:1, 2; Gal. 1:4). The “day” is the time of our Lord’s glorious manifestation (Phil. 3:20, 21; Col. 3:1-4; 1 John 3:1-3). In view o f the nearness of that day, there is a threefold exhortation introduced by the repetition of “let us” (vs. 12, 13). “Let us cast off, . . . put on, . . . walk honestly.” Cast off what is unsuited for the day, put on fitting garments for the day, and walk in “good form” as in the day. In other words, now that we have entered into a different sphere, let us change our clothes and engage in works suited to the day and cease to be engaged in works suited to the night. Such a change will not find us engaged in rioting and drunkenness, that is, intem perance in strong drink; in chambering and wantonness, that is, impurity in ac tions ; in strife and envying, that is, impious in feelings. But self-control, purity, and love will be the clothing exposed to the sight as we walk as those who are of the day. The method o f making such a change is this: “ Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh” (v. 14). “ Put on” is a definite action, done once for all, and “make not,” or “be not making,” is a progressive, continuous action. Christ in us speaks of condition, and Christ bn us speaks of conduct. In conduct we are to be o f Christ, for Christ, and like Christ, which is true temperance.
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