I&l
April-May, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Lesson 6, Mark 10:32-45, Jesus Faces the Cross, reveals the heart devotion of our Lord to the program before Him. Once again He told the disciples of what lay be fore Him in rejection, mocking, scourging, and finally the death of the cross. But as before, He promised them that He would rise from the dead. He instructed them that the high places in the kingdom were not given by caprice, but that they had to be earned. Each one will have the place which he has earned, and for which the earning of it has fitted him. Lesson 7, Mark 11:1-10, 15-18, Jesus As serts His Kingship, reveals our Lord’s au thority. This was seen in the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem in exact fulfillment of the prophet’s word. His authority was seen in the way He took the colt, ordered His disciples, received the homage of the people, and fulfilled the prophetic word concerning His Messiahship. The common people recognized Him as Messiah. But alas I their leaders soon diverted them from their acknowledgment and so turned them against Him that they would rail upon Him as He went to the cross. Lesson 8, Mark 12:28-40, Jesus Answers His Adversaries, reveals our Lord’s wis dom by which He answered and silenced all who attempted to trip Him in His speech. Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, all were put to shame. Answering all their trickery, Jesus showed them to themselves as being what they were, and filled them with shame and chagrin. He put before them, in answer to a scribe’s question, the heart of all the commandments, that is, love to God and love to man. This was what they did not possess, and hence the necessity for the new birth was placed be fore them. They could love God with all the heart if they would receive from Him by grace a new heart. This they refused to do, even as people do today. Lesson 9, Mark 13:33 to 14:9, Jesus and His Friends, reveals our Lord’s warning to His disciples, the hatred of His enemies, and the danger confronting His friends. The warning to the disciples was that they were to be always on the watch for His return, the exact date of which was hid den from them. The hatred of His ene- mies_ was seen in their desire to kill Him, and in their fear of the people, should they do so. The danger to His friends lay in being so utilitarian as to forget His person which should be more to them than all else. Lesson 10, Mark 14:17-31, Jesus Faces Betrayal and Denial, reveals our Lord’s knowledge of the future. He warned His disciples against their coming fear because of His betrayal and their subsequent for saking of Him. The love of His heart is revealed by the institution of the Lord’s Supper by which He would be remembered through all the coming ages, until His re turn. Finally, He warned Peter against his coming denial. Had Peter listened properly, he might have been spared his oaths and curses, though he would cer tainly have joined the others when thev forsook the Lord. Lesson 11, Mark 15:22-39, Jesus on the Cross, reveals the circumstances and the character of our Lord’s death. The cir cumstances were such as to minutely ful fill the prophecies uttered centuries before; all had been foretold. The character of His death was absolutely voluntary, He was not an unwilling victim; His death was penal, in that it satisfied the eternal justice of God and established God’s throne forever in righteousness; His death was sacrificial, He died not for His own sin but the sin of others; and His death was substitutionary, because He died in the place and stead of others. The believer can
now say, “I have been crucified with Christ,” and, “My sins are forever put away under the blood of the Lamb of God.” As a sinner, the believer will never again stand before God, and that becarfse of the efficacy of the blood that was shed upon the cross. Lesson 12, Mark 16:1-11, Jesus Rises from the Dead, reveals the exact fulfill ment of His own word that He should so rise after He was crucified. The resurrec tion was the proof He Himself offered to substantiate His claim to deity and Mes siahship. Without the resurrection, both claims are proven false. But His résurrec tion is the best attested fact in all history. G olden T ex t Illu stratio n A university professor was accustomed to perform every year in his classroom work an experiment in electromagnetism. The experiment was this: On an oak table was placed a pile of horseshoe nails. In one corner of the same room was a power ful dynamo. When the electric current was turned on and the poles of the battery were brought up under the table, although they did not touch the nails themselves, imme diately there was constituted about the table a field of magnetic force. So long as this field of force was maintained, the loose horseshoe nails could be built up into va rious forms, such as a cube, a sphere, or an arch. So long as the current was on, the nails would stay in exactly the form placed, as if they had been soldered to gether, but the moment the current was cut off, the nails would fall into a shapeless mass. What the field of magnetic force was to the nails we may conceive Christ’s unify ing, directing power to be to those who come under its influence. And this is the power of life, of endless, divine life. —S amuel J udson P orter . Memory Verse: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Lesson 1. “Little Neighbors.” All peo ple are equal in God’s sight. Lesson 2. “Being True to Jesus.” We must be ready to do hard things for Jesus. _____ Lesson 3. “Jesus Jesus O u r F rie n d R eview
Christian Endeavor Notes [Continued from page 148]
The greatest motive-moving cause of the Christian life and the subjection of that life to authority is this marvelous truth set forth in these verses. Dr. William Evans says, “No man is likely to sin looking Jesus Christ straight in the face. We must at least turn our back on Him ere we are untrue to Him. The more conscious we are of His presence, the more victorious will be our lives in the world. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.” “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he [Christ] is pure” (1 John 3:3). So the greatness of this blessed hope which we have of seeing Jesus in unob scured glory, of being like Him in right eousness—our fondest, deepest hope at last realized—we are not only allowed to cher ish, but commanded to do so. As we keep our eyes fixed on this great glorious event, “toward which the whole creation moves,” we will of necessity “walk honestly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering, and want onness, not in strife and envy.” “As ye have received the Lord, so walk ye in him.” L ead er’s H elps I. B ible D escription of the “H ope ” “A good hope through grace” (2 Thess. 2:16). “A lively hope” (1 Pet. 1:3). “The blessed hope” (Titus 2 :13)—blessed both in anticipation and realization. “Hope we have as an anchor” (Heb. 6: 19). “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). “Change and decay in all around I see.” So runs, as ever, earth’s long mournful story; But God’s own truth as ever sets us free— A present Saviour, and a coming glory. —S elected . II. P auline M ethods U sed in A frica “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” I have heard of a mission station on the Congo where a noble standard of Christian conduct is successfully maintained by the missionaries among the converts so lately walking and living in the foulest air of tropical paganism. And their secret is the inculcation at once on the new Christian of the deepest principles of union with Jesus Christ. The man who has three times burst into anger is debarred from the Table of the Lord. “You need not sin so; you have the whole power of Christ with you and in you, not to do it.” The converts are taught early to look for power from above for their resource and strength in the midst of a world of sin. No method could be more apostolically orthodox. It is Pauline.— M oule . III. A S uggestion A courteous, thoughtful thing for En deavor Societies to do at this season of the year is to notice in some way the young folk in the society who graduate from high school or college in May and June. This friendly gesture often binds them to the church.
God’s Son.” God showed Peter and James and John that Jesus was His Son. L e s s o n 4. “My Playmates." Jesus said, “Be kind one to another.” Lesson 5. "Jesus and th e Children.” Since God cares so much for us, we
should be careful to be His loving children. Lesson 6. “Doing Hard Things.” God will help us to do the hard things. - Lesson 7. “Praising Jesus.” We can praise Him just as the little children did when He was on earth. Lesson 8. "Talking with Jesus.” To love God and to love those about us are the greatest commandments. Lesson 9. “Some Friends of Jesus.” Jesus wants us to give Him our best. Lesson 10. “Jesus and Peter.” Even Peter forgot to be Jesus’ friend at the time when Jesus needed friends most. Lesson 11. “Jesus Dying for Us.” Jesus died for us because He loved us. Lesson 12. “Jesus Living Again.” Jesus asks us today to believe that He is the Son of God.
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