Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-02-28
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR MARCH A
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY By THE
BANNER FOn IT'S MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text of the Lesson, John iv, 1-21--
Memory Verses, 10, 11-G0lder
Text Matt vi, documentary
Prepared by Rev. ID. M. Stearns.

This miracle Of the feeding Of 5000
men, besides women and children. with
few loaves and fishes is the only
miracle recorded In each Of the four
gospels and seems to me to set before
us the one thing which believers ought
to be doing. and that Is to give the
bread Of life to every creature. for the
gospel Of God concerning His Son Is
trust committed to US to use for the
benefit Of others, and II we are not
faithful In the ministration Of the trust
1t will prove a serious matter for be-
levers at the judgment seat OF Christ.
II any should ask, What can do about
II? let such remember that the bread
and fish Of this miracle came from a
little boy and was possibly his lunch
which his mother had given him, but
II came into the hands Of the Lord
Jesus, and He multiplied 1t and used
It. / believe these facts are the rea-
son why OF all that has been wrought
In and through my church and Bible
classes for over twenty-five years. for
asked Him to let me be like one OF
the boys loaves, I'm His hands to be
blessed and broken and passed on to
help feed hungry thousands. And has
|.He not wrought wondrously?
Any one who is willing He viii ac-
cept and use as He shall see fit. The
second part OF our lesson, the toiling
disciples in the dark night with con-
trary wind and He on the mountain
praying is so suggestive Of this whole
age during which we are In the con-
flict with the world, the flesh and the
devil, but He is at the right hand of
the Father for us. He sees us toiling,
and in the morning watch He will
come, and we will be suddenly at our
destination. forever with the Lord. 1t
was Passover time, a great feast OF
the Lord to commemorate their deliv
erance from Egypt, but 1t had become
merely feast of the Jews. Not until
Israel shall be delivered the second
time and the nation be reborn and the
Passover be fulfilled In the kingdom
shall the whole world hear Of the Liv-
ing Bread, for then shall Israel bios
som and bud and fill the face of the
earth with fruit Qsa. xvii. O..
In the meantime we who are re-
deemed should be wholly occupied In
giving the Bread OF Life as far and as
| fast as possible to complete His church
and bring the morning OF His return.
He is, as then, full Of compassion to-
ward the multitudes and is saying to
us, "Give We them to eat" Matt. xiv,
16; Mark vi, 81; Luke TX, 49,; but, like
the disciples, many prefer to send them
away as II II was no concern OF ours.
Some, like Philip and Andrew, talk OF
what might be done II we had the
money or speak Of what is In sight as
wholly insufficient to accomplish any
thing, forgetting that the silver and
the gold are His, and He always knows
what He intends TO do and how He Is
| going to do IL, and He cannot fail nor
be discouraged, for He shall see Of
the travail Of His soul and shall be
satisfied Qsa. Kill, A; lii, III. He did
not say that He would begin or make
the attempt or endeavor to build His
church, but He said, II will build My
church Matt. xvi, 49,, and all His
81 Wills are as good as accomplished,
for every purpose Of the Lord shall be
| performed, and no thought of His can
be hindered ops. xxxiii, IL; lisa. xiv, "a;
Jer. II, 20; Job xiii, 2, margin). In
stead Of the people receiving each a
little food, as Philip had suggested,
they were all filed, and twelve baskets
full remained over, for He would have
all eat and drink abundantly verses
| 1, II, 13; Song V, II. The limitations
are all on our side. not ON His, for He
does everything abundantly, whether
IL be pardon or giving life or an en-
trance into His kingdom Qsa. lv, z;
John X, 10; III Pet. 1. III.
| It does seem strange from our stand
point that the multitudes should be
sent away In peace for q night of rest
and those who had ministered to them
be sent out into a night Of tempest
and toll and perplexity while He who
knew all and did all and was full Of
compassion for all was away In the
mountain alone talking over things
with His Father AS we shall see In
our next lesson (verse 90, and we can
not call too much attention to 1t, He
ever lived by the living Father who
had sent Him. and we are not as right
as we might be In our daily life with
Him unless He Is all In all to US, as
the Father was to Him (Col iii, III.