The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1909-04-22
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
Lesson W.-Second Quarter, Fol
April 25, 1909.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Text Of the Lesson, Acts XII, 1890; xii,
25-Memory Verses, q, 2a1GoIden
Text, Acts xi, 26-commentary Pre-.
pared by Rev. D. M. Stearns.
copyright, 1908, by American Press Association
| In Acts viii, IA, we read that the
persecution at the time of Stephens
martyrdom led to the scattering abroad
from Jerusalem of all the disciples ex-
cept the apostles and that they went
everywhere preaching the Word. The
lesson today begins just there with the
statement that they which were scat
tered abroad went as far as Phenice
and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching
the word to Jews only, but that some
at Antioch spoke to the Grecians,
preaching the Lord Jesus, and that a
great number believed and turned to
the Lord. That was a blessed scatter
ing which sent the good news so far
from Jerusalem, but we cannot help
wondering If the disciples had been
obedient to Acts i, s, might the per-
Secution have at that time been avoid
ed. and yet persecution was what they
were taught to expect CMatt. <, %;
John XIV; 20. Well the fact stands
that God expects us to be obedient,
for only Is we are so He can accom-
plish His pleasure in US Elsa. j 19). If
there vas a great scattering today Of
true believers to all the dark places of
the earth, how soon the church, the
body Of Christ, might be gathered
from all nations!
When the church at Jerusalem heard
the tidings from Antioch they sent to
inquire about it, and it was fortunate
that they sent the man they did, for
he had eyes to see the grace of God in
others than Jesus and a heart to love
all who loved the Lord. To this very
day in this twentieth century, after
the birth of the Messiah, it is not diff,
cult to find those who cannot see any
grace of God in any outside Of theil
own denomination. A visit from some
Barnabas, full of the Holy Ghost and
of faith, would do them good If they
would listen to such a one. Barnaba:
was glad to see the work of the Spirit
in these people, and his exhortatior
was that with purpose Of heart they
would cleave unto the Lord, not to thu
{ one who had led them to the Lord, blu
to the Lord Himself. We are in
I time OF great following Of men, blu
things will not be right till the Lore
alone is exalted Qsa. ii, II, 10.
/ AS WI come in verse % to Sau
4 and the visit OF Barnabas to Tarsui
to find him we had better pick up tn
e threads Of his story since his con
version. Having seen and heard tn,
! risen Lord Jesus, there was no con
. ferring with flesh and blood after tn,
. visit Of Ananias, but he went of int
Arabia, perhaps like Elijah to Horeh
for further communion with God
| Then he returned to Damascus, con
: founding the Jews, thereby provin'
; that Jesus was indeed the Messiah
l They sought to kill him, but the disci
: pies took him by night and let hin
down by the wall in a basket, and b,
made his escape to Jerusalem. Their
was no welcome awaiting him there
the disciples being afraid of him, anG
: it was not until Barnabas took hin
= and spoke on his behalf that the disci
pies were willing to receive him al
one of them. AS he spoke boldly a
Jerusalem in the name of the Lore
Jesus, his life was soon in danger
there also, 81 the brethren took him tt
Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus. L
we cannot quite fit into their propel
places his experiences Of chapter
xxi, 1921; Gal. /, 18, 10, we can &C
cept the record as it stands and ador,
the grace of God, which so cared fol
and guided him, and imagine the fel
lowship which he and Peter must have
: had those fifteen days at Jerusalem
He began early in his career as a child
Of God to experience something Of thu
suferings to which he had been called
and to which he afterward referred
quite fully in II Cor. II, 1888, wherl
he seems to consider even his manner
I Of escape from Damascus as an In
trinity.
Barnabas, his faithful friend, having
found him at Tarsus, brought him t.
Antioch, and for a whole year they
abode there, teaching the people, teach
ing them to observe all things thai
Jesus had commanded, and no doubt
enjoying a fulfnment of His assur
ance, "Lo, I am with you all the days
even unto the end Of the age" Matt
xviii, 2O. These must have been
blessed days for the believers at An
tioch, who must have greatly grown in
grace and in. the knowledge Of ouI
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ under
such teachers. Here the disciples
were first called Christians, perhaps
4 because their lives made it so manifest
that they belonged to Christ. We may
at least think so. A dear man of God
now in glory ono said to me that tc
him Christian" suggested Christ is
all; 1 am nothing. Paul wrote in Gal
ii, 20, ST live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth In me-"
Prophets from Jerusalem having tes-
tilted by the Spirit Of the need Of the
believers there in temporal things, the
believers at Antioch determined to
send relief to them, each man contrib
uting according to his ability, not
grudgingly, but ~cheerfully, as unto the