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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
January, 1934
eye understands its physiological function, “Take no thought” for life, food, cloth ing, or the morrow. To some, this is a hard saying. Philippians 4 :6 uses the same Greek word:, “Be careful for nothing.” Yet Titus 3:8 commands us to “be care ful’’ in many things. Unfortunately, the same English word was used to translate two different Greek words. The word used in Matthew and Philippians means “dis tracting care” ; the word in Titus means “solicitude.” There is a difference between being careful and care-full. Christ con demned the latter. Martha was guilty of it (Lk. 10:41). “His righteousness," in verse 33, does not refer to the imputed righteousness of God bestowed in justification. The men to whom our Lord spoke were “disciples” (5:1) and childien of God (6:32), As such, they were already justified, as Abra ham was (Gen. 15:6). Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, is not outlining the doctrine of justification; He is rather lay ing down the perfect standard of righteous ness on which the kingdom will be estab lished, a righteousness which must be modeled after the very righteousness of God’s own character (5 :48). This is what saved men are to seek. The imputed right eousness of God they already possess. Lesson Questions Vs. 19-21. What determines whether one is actually rich or poor ? May one be rich in worldly goods and still have treas ure in heaven? What is the difference be tween riches and treasures, as the latter is used in this passage? Vs. 22-24. What is meant by a “single eye” ? What spiritual lesson for the Christian gathers around the fact that light and darkness cannot dwell together (2 Cor. 6 :14-17) ? What two masters does Christ name? Why these two? What does each require of his follower? What are some of the characteristics of the ser vice of one who loves his master? Vs. 25-33. What is the real meaning of the words “take no thought for your life” ? How far does God’s knowledge of human need extend (Matt. 6:8)? .How great is His power to meet that need (Phil. 4 :19) ? What do you think of the Christian who says, “I am trusting God, but it is natural to worry” ? Jesus Tells of God’s Care M atthew 6:19-34 Memory Verse: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matt. 6:28, 29). Approach : When Jesus first began His teaching, many people followed Him be
BLACKBOARD LESSON P U T T I N G F I R S T T H I N G S F I R S T
years ago, I decided that God’s promise was sure: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ ”— S e lec t e d . Object Lesson G etting the B est G ift Objects: A dollar and a penny. Lesson: If I were to give you your choice of these two pieces of money, which would you take? (Hold the dollar in one hand and the penny in the other.) Why would each one choose the dollar ? “Because it is worth a hundred times more than the penny,” you say. What could you buy with the penny? “A sucker.” How many suckers could you buy with the dollar? “One hundred.” You would be foolish indeed if you took the penny when you might have the dollar. A friend once offered two sisters a nickel and a dime. The older sister, thinking the nickel was the better, because it was the larger, said, “Little sister may have the little one,” and she gave her the dime. Did you ever stop to think that every day people are doing things more foolish than it would be to take the penny when you could get the dollar? Christ knew people like this, and He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteous ness.” He noticed that they were more concerned about their clothing and food than they were about God’s kingdom and righteousness. He knew that there was a time coming when they would have to stand in the presence of God and would need His righteousness for eternity. These people to whom Christ spoke have long since died and have no more need for food and clothing, but they still need God’s righteousness. Some of them did not think Christ knew what He was talking about, and they refused to obey Him. What a great mistake they madel When we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, we receive the neces sary things of life. Christ said, “All these things shall be added unto you.”'
—PND ALL OF THFSE ! THINGS1’WILL FOLLOW '
fl. a. A - Z. 5-31!
saving money for the future. They did nothing but worry. Jesus saw that the people were forget ting. that God could take care of them, and that there was no need to worry if they were trusting in Him. So He began talk ing to the people about trusting God. He said, “Your life is more important than food and clothes. Look at the birds. They do not worry about food, but God takes care of them. Look at the flowers. Neither do they worry about what they wear, yet how beautiful they are. You mean more to God than birds and flowers. He takes
ii]iiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiinuiimmiiiiiimiiNiiii|iiiiiuiiiii “ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye trans formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Bom. 12:2). As the night is given for the renewing of the strength of the body, so may we come to each new year, pausing to ask for a re newing of our minds, and resolve to be found forget ting '“those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before/’ lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllinillllllllllllllllllllll
care of them, surely He will take as good care of you. Stop worrying, but ‘seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteous ness ; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ ” God is saying the same thing to us today TT-the most important thing is to seek the kingdom of God, and it is Jesus who points the way. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Golden T ext Illustration Some one asked John Wanamaker, the great emporium owner, “How do you get time to run a Sunday-school with 400 scholars, in addition to the business of your stores, your work as Postmaster- General, and other obligations ?” Instantly, Mr. Wanamaker replied, “Why, the Sunday-school is my business ! All other things are just things. Fifty-five Lesson Text: Matt. 7 :12-27. Golden Text: “Every tree that bring- eth not forth good fruit is hewn down, •and cast into the fire” (Matt. 7:19). Outline and Exposition I. T he W arning A gainst S elfishness ( 12 ). I n this verse, the Lord gives us the basic principle of true living in re lation to others. It is far-reaching, embracing the whole sphere of human life as far as conduct toward our fellows is
cause they thought that He was going to gather together a great company of people and be their King. The Jews were tired of living in a country that did not belong to them ; they wanted a king of their own. They thought that Jesus had come to be just
FEBRUARY 11, 1934 TIMELY WARNINGS (Temperance Lesson) M atthew 7 :l-29
concerned— “all things whatsoever, for this is the law and the prophets” (cf. Matt. 22:36-40; Rom. 13:8-10). The spring of such living can be only love, and the manifestation will be in deeds. Christ does not give a complicated set of rules or regulations. This one principle embraces them all. It is an example of the marvelous power of our Lord to con dense into one brief sentence the full law of conduct. It is a simple principle, easily understood and remembered. Most other regulations are negative, “Do not do this, or that” ; this is positive; we are to “do”
such a King, with an earthly kingdom. Lesson Story: Jesus had to explain to them that this time He had come to earth, not to be their King, but to point the way to the heavenly kingdom. He found the people worried about the things of this world. They worried about having enough to eat, about what they should wear, about
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