The Tupelo journal., 1904-02-26
HI SUNDAY SCHOOL.
for February IS, 1OO4-Hearers
and Doors of the Word.
THE LESSON TEXT.
Matt 7.21-29.l

MY fathef which 1S IN heaven.
Y. Many will say to Me In that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy
name? and in Thy name have cast out
devils? and in Thy name done many Won
derful works?
%. And then will I profess unto them, ]
never knew you; depart from Me. ye that
work iniquity.
"a. Therefore whatsoever heareth these
sayings of Mine, and doeth them, l will
iken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock;
rs. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell not; for it was
founded upon a rock.
rs. And every one that heareth these say
ings of Mine, and doeth them not, shal be
likened unto a foolish man, which built
his house upon the sand;
q. And the rain descended, and the floods
came. and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell; and great was
the fall of it.
Is. And it came to pass, when Jesus had
ended these sayings, the people were aston
ished at His doctrine;
20. For He taught them as one having
authority, and not as the scribes.
GOLDEN TEXT.-Be We doors of the
word, and not hearers only.-Jas.1 ~.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
jesus Withdrawal to Seashore......
Matt. 12:15-2l.
Jesus Withdrawal to Seashore. Mark 3:7-12.
Choosing of the Matt. 1924.
Choosing of the Twelve Mark 3:13-19.
Choosing of the TwelVe........Luke 6:12-16.
Sermon on the 5:l-S:1.
Sermon on the Mount..........Luke 6:2o-49.
TlME.-Summer of A. d. Is (part of The
Year of Public F'avor').
PLACE.-Not a mountain, but the eleva-
ton which overlooks the sea of Galilee.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Matt. 7:21-23.) Jesus had just been
warning His followers against false
teachers. They were to be known, He
said, by their fruits. But there might
be false disciples as we'll as false teach
ers, and false notions of what it meant
to be a true disciple. In these verses
Jesus shows how tremendously serious
and thoroughgoing a thing it is to be a
Christian.
Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord" Profession was not
enough now, to make one Jesus disciple.
1t is not q question of saying, but of do
ing. 1t is a good deal to say, Lord,
Lulu. II 10 IlSnt W ody II, 1t LHedllS
respect, admiration, belief that His
teachings are high and true, but a per-
son can have all those feelings about
Christ without actually living the Christ
life. Enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven" The kingdom of Heaven as
it is on earth. Jesus was not primarily
training people to follow Him out of
this world. but to follow Him in this
world. But he that doeth the will of
My Father" Saying. when accom-
panied by doing. is natural and right;
without it, it is a hollow mockery.
Jesus had been telling what Gods will
was. In that day" The great day
of judgment announced by many
prophets and expected by all the Jews.
Did we not prophesy:" Did we not
preach. New Testament prophecy was
preaching rather than predicting future
events. BY thy name cast out demons"
etc: Great. snowy works, initiating
the external deeds Of Christ Himself.
preaching and perhaps making converts,
and yet not living a life governed by
the principles laid down in this hillside
teaching. Depart from Me-" A ter
ribly solemn sentence of doom, not from
a hard and stern God-there is no such
God-but from the loving Christ.
(Vs. 24-27.) Here begins the con-
clusion of the most wonderful body of
teaching the world has seen. Some of
these lofty ethical teachings have been
nynrHccol NV tho fo,,Io,1 &c 49, ~.o.4
world religions. but always hopeless
ly mixed with the darkness of heather
ism. We need not say that the world
religions were all false, for they were
not, but Jesus teaching was all true.
"Heareth these words of mine, and
doeth them" The hearing without the
doing would make one worse rather
han better. Shall be likened unto a
wise man" Jesus does not say a good
man, but a sensible man. The wise
man took care what foundation he
built upon, realizing that the building
OF a house was a serious matter and
that II it was to prove equal to the
tests of the storms of years, it must
be built right from the foundation up.
"Heareth these words of mine. and
doeth them not" This mans oppor-
tunities were as good as the others,
but he neglected them, did not realize
the importance of a sound foundation.
His mistake was mot in selecting a
bad foundation, but in taking no
thought of foundation; in beginning
to build haphazard and anywhere; on
loose sand, near the bed of a mountain
torrent."-Bruce. The result is a
foundation just as worthless as if a
bad n had been purposely chosen.
A house built on the sand will stand
in fair weather. The foundation Jesus
has been speaking of is one that will
stand the tests of the storms of life.
(Vs. %. 29.) AS usual the impress
sion made by the great Teacher was
tremendous, and the distinctive thing
about it was, as in a recent lesson. that
He did not quote authority but
spoke His own convictions directly
from His own heart and from God.
Those who heard Him felt that what
He said vas authoritative.
Spear Points.
They only rule who scorn all ridicule.
No wrong path can lead to a right end.