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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
December, 1934
God” is preached, by which the Lord is saving souls today and forming them into an organism called the church, which, when completed, will be translated. Later, Jesus thè King will return to earth in power and glory to assume the reins of government and to bring the fulfillment of the promises made through the prophets concerning the kingdom upon earth. Andrew, the first disciple Jesus had, to gether with his brother Peter, were the first disciples called to service (vs. 16, 17). The call to service was as simple as the call to conversion : “Come ye after me.” It is interesting to trace Peter’s spiritual progress through the record given us. Jesus came into Peter’s life (John 1 :42), and brought salvation ; into his home (Mk. 1:29), and brought needed blessing; into his business (Lk. 5:1-3), but only as bor rower and not an owner; into his heart (John 21:15-17), and brought peace and restoration after his fall; and finally into his will and desire (see the book of Acts), and brought power and blessing to all the church. “Come ye after me” was Peter’s call to service, and it meant that, from that time on, Peter should be a follower, a learner, and a servant of the Master. Peter knew the meaning of such following; perhaps “SEVEN APPEALS TO THE UNSAVED and (2 1 ) other R evival Sermons,** 154 pages by E vangelist Joseph T. Larson, Th.G. (B aptist) 3033 Columbus A ve., M inneapolis. SEVEN years in w riting, hundreds won to Christ by these. Dr. J. C. Dent, D.D., Chicago, said, *‘The book is clear, convincing. Scriptural, soul-w inning.” Price $1.10 cloth, 85 cents paper. A lso “Wonderful Christ Songs and Poem s,” 48 pages, 35 cents. “Modern Am usem ents” 16 Pages 5c each. IN CALIFORNIA February-May— som e open tim e.
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stone.” Certainly only the penetrating eyes of the omniscient God could have “beheld” in this impulsive and changeable disciple what he would be some day by divine grace. So God today “beholds” us who are sinners saved by grace, and sees us as we shall be, not as we are. 3. It is interesting to note that the same Greek word is also used in Luke 22:61, where, after Peter’s dreadful denial, the Lord turned and "looked upon Peter.” He fixed His eyes upon him. What a look that must have been—a searching look of reproach and rebuke, yet full of compas sion and forgiveness, a look that sent Peter out into the night weeping bitterly. 4. There has been much discussion about what the “gospel of the kingdom” is. Mark 1:14, 15 answers the question completely. Jesus came preaching “the gospel of the kingdom of God,” and Mark tells us exactly what He said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” The Good News was not merely a discussion of what the kingdom would be like—which every intelligent Israelite knew—but rather that the time had arrived to establish the kingdom on earth. The sole condition was: “Repent ye, and believe.” Golden Text Illustration I watched an old man trout-fishing the other day, pulling them out one after an other briskly. “You manage it cleverly, old friend,” I said. “I have passed a good many below who don’t seem to be doing anything.” The old man lifted himself up and stuck his rod in the ground. “Well, you see, sir, there be three rules for trout-fishing, and it’s- no good trying if you don’t mind them. The first is, Keep yourself out of sight; and the second is, Keep yourself farther out of sight; and the third is, Keep yourself farther still out of sight. Then you’ll do it.” “Good for catching men, too,” thought I. —M ark G uy P earse . Why Peter Went with Jesus Memory Verse: “We will obey the voice of the Lord pur God” (Jer. 42:6). Approach: One of the twelve disciples that followed Jesus was Peter. Peter had
he had himself been a follower of John the Baptist, learning from him. He was acquainted with the followers of Moses, who had learned of him. And now he was to be a follower of Jesus, learning of the Lord. It was voluntary service to which Peter was called, as is implied in the word, “Come.” The Lord has only volunteer servants. He accepts no forced service, nor does He ever draft His servants against their will. Let us not confuse ser vice with salvation; one may be saved without being an active servant of the Lord. He will not be a happy Christian, nor a growing Christian, nor a contented Christian, but he may be a Christian for all that. It was personal service to which Peter was called, as is implied in the command, “Come ye." In other words, Christ im plied: Without any question as to what others may do, you are to follow Me. Peter was slow to learn this lesson. Even at the end of the Lord’s earthly life, Peter had to be reminded that it was none of his business what other disciples might do (John 21:21, 22). And it was an honorable service to which Peter was called, as is implied in the words, “Come ye after me.” The Lord of glory deigns to accept the service of mortals and honors them with His pres ence and power and blessing. The highest of the angels would delight in such ser vice, but it is reserved only for poor sin ners, saved by grace. To make the call effective, there was required the action of the will, bowing to Christ’s authority. The promise accompanying the call was: “I will make you to become fishers of men.” These men knew what fishing meant, for they were fishermen. The Lord undertook to teach them how to catch men. Such work would require patience, observation, and skill—all of which He would supply; the disciples merely had to obey His word. Without waiting for any manifestations of Christ’s power, they at once yielded themselves to Him and received the ful fillment of His promise. The same sim ple obedience on our part will bring the fulfillment of the promise in our own lives. Points and Problems 1. In John 1 :36, two words, “looking upon,” are used to translate the Greek verb emblepo. Godet uses four words, trans lating the word “fixing his eyes upon ” and remarks^ that this Greek word means “a penetrating look which searches its object to its depths.” It was no mere passing glance that John the Baptist turned upon Jesus, and which enabled him to see what other men did not see—“the Lamb of God.” 2. The same Greek verb is employed in verse 42, where we are told that our Lord “beheld" Peter and gave him the new name which, being interpreted, means “a
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a brother named An drew, and it was he who told Peter about Jesus. Lesson Story: An drew was a follower of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, who had come to tell the people that Jesus, the Saviour of the world, the Son of God, had been born.
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Now John, like the people he was preaching to, was looking for the Messiah, the promised Saviour. And one day Jesus came to John to be baptized. John knew that Jesus was the Messiah when the heavens opened and a voice said: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Then John said to his disciples: “Be hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world 1” Andrew heard John speak, and he fol lowed Jesus. When Andrew knew for himself that Jesus was the promised Mes siah, he went to find his brother, Simon Peter, and said: “We have found the Messiah.” And that is why Peter went to find Jesus. He, too, had been looking for the
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