Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-02-20
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY u.
FAITH DESTROYING FEAR.

LESSON TEXT-Luke 12;1-12
GOLDEN TEXT-"Every one who shall
confess me before men, him shall the
Son of Man also confess before the angels
of God. Luke 1878
The first verse of this lesson indi-
Gates the character of this period in
| the life of our Lord which we are now
studying. 1t was a time of thrilling
interest and of intense excitement. A
time when the crowds were so great
that they ''trode one upon another"
This may have resulted from the
preaching of the seventy; but we of
today can see what Jesus then saw,
that this interest was only superficial
and transitory. So 1t was that the
Master turned first Of all" to his dis
ciples lest they be deceived by this
seeming popularity.
Hiding the Truth.
I. The fear of losing reputation,
w. 2, 8. The Pharisees made great,
pompous claims at their being re-
ligious. A hypocrite is one who hides
behind mask, one who is a play
actor. 1t is pretence instead of reali-
ty. Therefore, if one is not real his
fear of losing his reputation is increas-
ed in direct ratio to the extent of his
deceit. The principal error of these
Pharisees was that they hid the truth
and at the same time refused to be
ruled by it themselves Jesus de-
mands new publicity ". p of serv-
ice and in the presence of this vast
crowd denounces this hypocrisy as be-
ing SIM He also says plainly that what
they had been saying in darkness will
be proclaimed from the housetops.
Our Lord compares hypocrisy with
leaven in that it is the product of cor
ruption, it works secretly, it infects
the whole mass $50 hypocrisy will
effect our whole life and conduct.)
This leaven is sour spreading cor
ruption that changes the whole charac
ter of man. 1t cannot be hid No
amount of care can effectualIy cover
our deceit. We may, for time, hide
our sin from men, but God knows and
in due time will publish it abroad ".
81; l. Tim. 5:24. Not alone our acts,
but our secret thoughts also. This
well. The word of counsel to the seek
er of life eternal will have its re-
ward. To the saint Of God this
thought brings no condemnation, /.
John 4: IS.
! Warned by Jesus.
| III. The fear of death, w. 4, z. Such
publicity will and always has led to
| persecution, and so Jesus calls his
disciples to courage, charging them
that they fear not those who have
power over the body, but rather to
fear him whose power is over the
soul. Notice the manner of address,
my friends, fear not" Intimacy and
courage are suggested. Look up the
many times the Scriptures admonish
us not to fear, /. John 4:1S. Satan and
man ". 81 have power over the body,
but they cannot touch the soul. The
! Christian, however, needs not to fear
man or Satan, lisa. 51:12, Rom. S:31,
for the angel of Jehovah (the Lord
Jesus) encamps about them that fear
Jehovah Cps. 94:O. Paul tells us that
to depart from this life is again, Phil.
1:21; II. Cor. 5:8. We have, therefore,
no cause to fear the death of the body.
| One only, God, has the power after
death, to cast the soul into hell ". 81.
He it is who gives us a suggestion of
awful consciousness of the soul, and Of
the body as well, when they are in
hell, Matt. 1928. Jesus has warned
US and we are to warn others that they
avoid that which was prepared, not for
man, but Off the devil and his angels,
Matt 25:41 Is there a hell2 Yes!
| Else Jesus was deceived or has de-
liberately deceived US. Thank God,
| however, that as a man is of more
value than a sparrow, SO God has pre-
pared better things for those who
place their faith in his son, (v. g. He
also looks after the most minute details
of our lives, beyond what we can do,
down to the counting of the hairs of
our head (v. y. Contrast Fear him."
" 5, and Fear not" v. T. The fear of
| God produces that obedience and fel
! lowship whereby all other fear is ban.
| ished All fear being banished we be-
come conscious of his love and we are
inspired to persistent service.
| III. The fear of making an\open con-
fession, wv. 8-12. With such a tender,
beautiful assurance of Gods care over
us it would seem unnecessary for
| Jesus to admonish his followers about
confessing him before the world Yet
such is the persistent hardness and
the natural timidity of the human
heart that the Master, in mercy, warns
his followers, Rom. 1879, To- Our
Lord looks beyond his disciples to the
| dispensation of the Spirit and de-
clared that men, speaking against him
would be forgiven, but that those who
slander, detract and heap vituperation
upon the Spirit would commit sin, a
blasphemy, which could not be for
! given Moreover, in that dispensa-
| ton of the Spirit, no matter how much
men might suffer, or be in danger.
they would be taught by that Spirit
what they ought to say, Wv. IL, II.
| The one who commits this sin, de-
liberately attributes to the Devil what
he knows to be the work of the Spirit,
Matt. 12:22-32. 1t is a deliberate
choice of darkness and the heart is SO
hardened as to preclude repentance.
l uGT0 lS uO QColO AOl repentance
Those whom Jesus calls to proclaim
the truth concerning the Kingdom of
God may depend upon cooperation
of the Holy Spirit which will make
them fearless of all opposition. The
death of the body is but an incident
AS we receive the Comforter and
come to know the God of all comfort
we begin to sense our value to him in
carrying out his enterprises and the
mystery of his condescending grace.
There is no warrant for undertaking
work for Christ without adequate
preparation, but there is sufficient war
rant for fully trusting him in every
emergency.
Good Work Done by Gideons.
The Gideons have placed 1S9, $50 BIZ