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T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
On every stage, from youth to age, S till discontent attend s.”— Southey. Discouragement. The story is told of a woman who had a ra re rosebush. She worked over it for weeks b u t saw no resu lt of her labor. One day she observed a crevice in th e wall n ear th e bush and noticed a shoot runn ing th rough th e wall. She w ent to th e o th er side and found her rose blooming beautifully. The mes sage comes to us not to be discouraged. W ork on; our work will be blooming on th e o ther side even if we do no t see th e fru it Jiere. Have You Tried To Go On? When Arago, the astronom er, was young, he became discouraged over m athem atics. One day he found on th e fly-leaf of a text-book D’A lem berts’ advice “ Go on, sir; go on !” Following it doggedly, he w ent on and became the leading m athem atician of his day. If Israel had gone on from Kadesh Barnea they never would have had th e w ilder- .ness experience. The g rea t Napoleon once said: “The only way to have a conquering army is to have an arm y th a t is always fight ing.” No church can be a conquering church th a t is no t always fighting evil. And th is is tru e w ith an individual and a nation. Don’t Stop Possessing. A little boy leaned on th e fence, watching th e birds playing in th e field. A t length a boy picked up a stone to th row a t one, b u t before th e stone left his hand th e little fellow began to sing his sweetest. The boy dropped th e stone. “Why did you no t stone the bird, my boy?” said a gentlem an near. “ Couldn’t cause he sung so,” answered th e lad. If we would keep up th e song th rough life it would save us from many an evil dart. “The joy of th e Lord is your stren g th .” “ Beneath th is sta rry arch, N aught reste th or is still; B u t all things hold th e ir march As if by one g rea t will.
Caleb, tu rn th e ir back upon God and re tu rn to Egypt. They lo st n early forty years of blessing. Hum an n atu re is glorified by men b u t never by God. PRACTICAL POINTS (1 ) The th ing th ey failed to do by faith they sought to do by th e ir own streng th . (2 ) Success comes in cans. F ailu re comes in cants. (3 ) Don’t look upon your difficulties. Do look to your deliverer. (4 ) Courage consists in conquering your foes. (5 ) The fru it of th e Sp irit is like a big bunch of luscious grapes. (6) God h as given us a g reat in h erit ance. Why don’t we possess our possessions? (7 ) Those who lied about th e land per ished in th e plague. ( 8) Ten unbelieving men filled ten hun dred thousand w ith discontent. (9) Israel lo st fo rty years because they were no t fortified by faith. (10) G iants are grasshoppers when you see them th rough God’s eyes. (11) Vox Populi, Vox Dei, will be tru e only in heaven. (12) Isra el’s request for spies was a rejection of God. Discontent. “Men would be angels, and angels would be gods” or as Horace says, “The lazy ox w ishes fo r horse trappings, and th e steed wishes to plough.” “Discon te n t” says Auer- LESSON bach, "is th e source ILLUSTRATIONS Of all trouble, bu t ^ p iicfl also of 3(11 progress in individuals and in nations.” Israel would never have eaten th e precious fru it of th e good land if they h ad followed th e sp irit of discontent m anifested in th e fo rep art of th is lesson. "Man h ath a weary pilgrimage, As th ro ’ th e world he wends;
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