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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
January, 1,939
on Pentecost, and to the Gentiles, in the case of Cornelius. And the argument is that even though Philip had done the first preaching in the case of the Samaritans, the gift of the Spirit is purposely withheld until the coming of Peter, thus fulfilling the orig inal commission of the Lord to Peter. 5. There is the view held by a number of Greek exegetes, that what happened at the coming of Peter and John was not the reception of the Person of the Holy Spirit but rather the power and gifts of the Spirit Adherents of this view point out that in the New Testament the use of the definite ar ticle before the name “Holy Spirit” indi cates a reference to His person, and that the omission of the definite article indi cates a reference to His power and gifts. Now it is a fact that the Greek puts no article before “Holy Spirit” in verses 15 and 17. Therefore, it is argued, what was received by the Samaritans through the ministry of Peter and John was the power and gifts of the Spirit, the Person of the Spirit having already been received at the previous moment of belief. This view is supported by verse 18 which declares that Simon '"saw" whatever it was that took place, and therefore it must have been an outward manifestation of power rather than merely the invisible indwelling of the Spirit. The truth of the matter is probably a combination of numbers 3, 4, and 5. Num ber 1 is impossible. Golden Text Illustration I saiah 55:1 During a certain campaign, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to a store of food and medical supplies. “Can I buy delica cies for my sick men?” he asked. “No,” was the reply. "But they need them; I am proud of my men,” said the Colonel. “And they of you, Colonel,” was the reply. “But we cannot sell Red Cross stuff.” “Then how can I get them?” asked Colonel Roosevelt. “Just ask, Colonel,” was the reply. “Then give me a sackful, and I’ll take them”; and thus the Colonel marched off with a sack on his back, which he could not buy, but got for the asking. So our heavenly Father’s wonderful gifts are ours for the asking.—S elected . How Peter Helped Philip A cts 8:4-25 Memory Verse: “Pray one for another" (Jas. 5:16). Approach: After the Lord Jesus arose from the grave and went to heaven. His disciples, bolder and more powerful than ever, went about preaching and teaching and healing, even as Jesus had done. Once
Lesson Story: This was just as Jesus had said that it should be: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and In all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” And now that Jesus’ follow ers had to flee for their lives from Jerusa lem, they went throughout Judea and far ther north into Samaria, and there one of them, Philip, helped spread the good news. Many believed, and Peter and John came to tell them still more about Jesus. One man named Simon was a sorcerer. When he had listened to the apostles, he thought he "believed,” but he evidently didn’t quite understand. He offered Peter money if he would just show him how he could get the wonderful power which the apostles had. Peter said, “Thy money per ish with thee, . . . for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent . . . [that] the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” God’s gifts are not to be bought. They are free to all who will come and take them.
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Object Lesson P atchwork
Objects: An old handkerchief full of holes and badly stained, a new white silk handkerchief, and a pair of scissors. Lesson: My handkerchief does not look very good this morning, but I think I shall be able to fix it all right. I have another new one, and if I take the scissors and cut out the stained parts in the old and sew in pieces cut out of the new, I will have one which does not look so bad. I did not realize that this handkerchief was so badly stained and so full of holes until I tried to get rid of them. Well do I remember when these stains and holes appeared. Oh, well, it will look much better when the new pieces take their places. Shall I cut a piece out of the center of this beautiful new handkerchief to patch the old one? (Place the scissors in the cloth as if you were going to cut the new one.) (Voices of protest.) Why don’t you want me to cut it? “Because you are spoiling the good one to patch the old, and when you get it fixed, it still won’t be any good.” Yes, you are right. Did you ever stop to think that this is the way people often treat the Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible says that in God’s sight our righteousness is as filthy rags. Christ came to earth in order that He might die for us and give us His perfect righteousness. In Acts 8 we find a man trying to buy blessings from the apostles. Peter rebuked him for trying to buy God’s free gifts. Christ wants to give His perfect right eousness to all who will receive Him as Saviour.
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Remember Russia A great white nation is perishing. The sufferings of Christians in Soviet Russia are indescribable. And yet— they are members of the same body of Christ to which we belong. Do their sufferings mean nothing to us? Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? The Russian Missionary Society is doing its utmost for those who sit in the shadow of death. Many thousands of dollars for support of missionaries and for relief and for orphans have been sent by us into Soviet Russia and its border states. No time must be lost, if we really have at heart the Lord's cause on the farflung Russian Mis sion Field. Please pray earnestly, and then—Whatsoever He tells you to do, do it with all your might. Gifts for relief, or missionaries, or orphans can be addressed to RUSSIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, Inc. M. N. Fetter, Secretary 1844 W. Monroe Street • Room 2 • Chicago, III.
more the j e a l o u s Jewish leaders tried to stop it. T h e y stoned Stephen, one of the disciples, to death, but that didn’t stop the apostles. It just sent them away to far-away places, so that the gospel was heard by more and more people.
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