The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1916-02-24
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 27
THE SEVEN HELPERS.


VIII give vision. inspiration ana a
more comprehensive idea OF the con.
tinuation OF what Jesus began" and
which record is not yet fully written.
The time Of this lesson Is about A. d.
20, though Ramsey aces 1t at 32. 80;
and the place. the city OF Jerusalem.
!. The Occasion, w. 1-2. For time
the preaching Of the Gospel OF Jesus
continued In Jerusalem. but soon the
pressure OF circumstances thrust II
forth as prophesied tl:Sl. There
were two groups OF men in the early
church: those who had been. born In
Iudea who spoke Hebrew tAramalcl,
and those born In foreign cities and
who spoke the Greek language. Trou.
bic arose over the distribution OF funds
among certain Of the dependent wild.
ows-the text suggests secret dis.
pleasure There was imperfection,
seiiisrness, suspicion and jealousy In
that early church. We do not know
what grounds there may have been
for complaint. but no sooner did the
occacion arise than. the apostles set
about o remedy the difficulty
II. The Method, w. 3, a. II does not
appear that Cod gave the church a
cut and dried program according to
which II must act. Certainly the
church had no precedent to follow,
and step by step God was developing
1t. Tnis lesson gives US a suggestion
Of those steps: tD AS the occasion
demanded. ~ The Apostles refused
to diminish their praying and preach
ing, literally It was not pleasing" to
God for the Apostles to serve tables"
Such work must be done. certainly.
but Il was not to be done by these
God-appOnted and selected leaders.
their duty was clearly stated The
minister business is praying and
ministering the word. These things
should fully engage his attention. and
in them he is to continue steadfast.
iy.' The minister cannot manifestly
schOolteacher; more about politics
than the Politician more about med.
icine than the doctor: more about
psychology than the college profes-
sor." No, that is out Of the question,
though he should be intelligent in
these lines. But he should be- pre-.
eminent in prayer and In the minis.
try of the word, and furthermore he
should preach that word pre.emnent.
ly. tSl The church. not the apos.
ties. must needs select these new Of.
ticials. tI) The qualifications OF
these men, who we're thus to care
for these temporal affairs. we're tai
men Of good repo -" not those bear.
ing doubtful regulations. nor chosen
because they we're rich or shrewd In
business. tbl full of the spirit" Il
demands the Spirit-illed man to look
after financial affairs as certainly as
it does 10 teach or preach the word
tcl full of wisdom" Men OF com.
mon sense, a quality often sadly lack
ing among spiritually men.
Men meeting such qualifications will
be men of the spirit OF power, OF
love, and Of a sound mind" Literally
sound sensel. tll Tim. 40.
lll. The Method Of Choosing, w. 5, 6.
Cd The people did the choosing. The
early church seems to have been re.
markably democratic. t2l The choice
was made after. and not before, pray
er had been offered. This Is sug
gestion and a warning for present-day
practice Of choosing church officials.
CD II was a legal selection, not the
selection of minority. and ii was
confirmed by the laying on OF the
hands OF the apostles, This last was to
signify the amounting OF the Holy Spir.
1t and. the separation unto their par.
ticular task of these men. II is sig.
nticant that every man chosen bore
a Greek name, and suggests that Jew.
ish church desired to avoid any charge
OF favoritism. The spirit of fairness.
OF love and OF concession. and the
character of the men chosen. caused
the word of God to increase exceed.
ingly."
". The Result, w. 7,8. First OF all
upon the people. ul The word "in.
creased."t2l The number OF disciples
multiplied greatly" and (3l Some OF
the priests of the Jews we're "obedi.
ent to the faith" Secondly. the re.
suit in the lives of the thus chosen
and Spirt-anointed men gave evidence
of the .ood hand of God. They we're
Full of grace" tEph. 4:9, Acts l5;l5I:
they were full OF power tl:Sl. The
first two of them soon became great
and mighty preachers as we'll. In.
deed as far as we can read they even
outstripped the apostles themselves
in real achievement for God Ste |
phen. OF course. stands out pre-emi |
nently. His character is fuggested In
verse eight He was lal full OF faith" |
tbl full OF the Holy Spirit" lcl FUN
OF grace" tR. W, Id full OF power"
How sad II is that so frequently our
churches fail to make wise and
spirit-ed choice OF lis leaders. and are
contSnt with few. or perhaps none. be-
ing added to its membership. One
great denomination reports a thousand
churches having no additions by et
their confession or letter for the pc
riod Of whole year. All the way
through the book OF the Acts we read
this same history OF an ever grow
ing church church that surmounted
all sorts of obstacles conquered ev
cry foe. and went forward from Je
rusalem even to Rome.
M man ia AZ IN ha IN oaso,. A.. 49,