The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-03-25
Gaturday Digit
NoIkc BY Rev. F. E. DAWSON
N/uhtNS Rutland, VI
THE THREE FOLD MISSION OF
THE KING.
international Bible Lesson for Mar.
27, 'to-(Mstt. 1929.
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AS Teacher He made plain much
that had been obscure, and misinter.
preted. The whole Jewish nation had
been under the tuition of men who
were blind leaders of the blind, and
they had all floundered in the ditch
together. But when the King spoke
He taught as one having authority
and not as the scribes. He deliberate
ly upset much of the teaching Of the
men of his day. and did II so thorough
ly, clearly and simply. that the COM
mon people heard him gladly. His
words appealed to them as reason,
able, intelligent and easy of compre-
hension. The tendency on the part OF
all mere human teachers is to befog,
confound, obscure, make it difficult
for the unframed mind to follow. But
when the King opened His mouth He
taught them, and the wayfaring man
though he were very simple could not
err therein. He explained the teach
ings of Moses and the Prophets to the
utter confusion of the scribes and
Pharisees. He showed how utterly
they had misconstrued the meaning
of the simplest language Of the word
and led the people out of the darkness
into the clear light of truth. AS
wise teacher the world has never seen
His equal and never will
Christ, the Preacher.
But He is also Preacher. A teach
er gives instruction, a preacher
arouses to action. The sermons Of
the king are Incompatible, they are
masterpieces, for generations they
have been the models upon which SER
monic literature has been founded.
The nearer the preacher approximates
to the Sermon on the Mount or the
subsequent utterances of the King the
nearer he comes to being a model
preacher. Christ never had any diff
Guilty in reaching the masses, a thing
that troubles modern preachers might.
lily. Wherever He set up His pulpit
the people thronged Him, until ex-
haustion compelled repose. He knew
what he wanted to say and He knew
how to say it so that all would under.
stand. He was not a man pleaser by
any means. His words often cut men
to the heart, they sometimes gnashed
upon Him with their teeth, but they
always bore testimony that He
preached as one sent from God, sure
of His message and sure of it's truth,
and applicability to those whom he
addressed.
Christ, the Healer.
And in the next place He was a
great Healer. He came out of eter-
nifty bearing all the virtue Of that un-
soiled world in His hands for suffering
humanity. He instructed the minds of
men, He aroused the souls of men
and He healed the bodies of men. Dis
ease fed at his approach as the dark
ness fees before the sun. Chronic all
ments that had defied the doctors
were banished from the patient with
word Distance was no barrier and
dea.h itself gave up its victim at His
command He was the worlds life
giver.
Disciples Credentials.
And this three fold mission of the
King He transmitted to His disciples.
In His final commission to his ambas-
sadors He conferred upon them all
these prerogatives. In the tenth chap
ter of Matthew We are told, And when
He had called unto Him His twelve
disciples, He gave them power against
unclean spirits to cast them out, and
to heal all manner Of sickness and all
manner of disease. There is the heal
ing commission. And His final word
was, Go ye therefore and teach all ma.
tions. There is the teaching And
finally in the eighth chapter OF Acts
we are told, Therefore they that were
scattered abroad went everywhere
preaching the words. There is the
Teaching, preaching, heal
ing that was the mission of the King;
that was the commission of the disci-
pies. And it is evident that the peo-
pie were instructed and were intelli-
gent along that line, for In the epistle
of James we find a most remarkable
statement concerning the administra-
tiOn of the church when he says,
Games 5:13) Is any afflicted among
you? let him pray, Is any merry? let
him sing psalms. Is any sick among
you? let him call for the elders of the
and let them pray over him,
him with oil in the name
OF the Lord: and the prayer OF faith |
shall save the sick and the Lord shall !
raise him up; and II he have commit |
ted sins they shall be forgiven him. !
Confess your faults to one to another. |
and pray one for another, that ye may
be healed.
Perpetual Credentials.
That is the way it was in the be- |
ginning And there Is no record that
shows where that credential was re-
moved from the church It Is a lost |
credential, but II is not withdrawn |
credential. The church has mislaid |
H. but It has never been recalled. And |
all down through the ages, men Of God |
have risen up who have recovered this
divine credential and used |
Il with all its oldtime power II has
been counterfeited, but that has only |
it's genuineness. II has