The Green Forest tribune., 1918-02-08
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUND6YS01O0L
 LESSON CBy E. G. SELLERS, Acting Director of the Sunday School Course of the Moody Bible Institute Chicago) Copyright. 1sEs, Western Newspaper Union)
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 10
JESUS CHOOSES THE TWELVE
LESSON TExT-Mark 3.7-25

Mark 3:14
 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR TEACHERS-Matt. 1O:1-4; Luke 6:12-16; John 15:15-27; Matt. 5:13-16; 16:24-25; John l7:6-26; II Tim. 4:7-s.
 PRIMARY TOPIC-Jesus chooses twelve helpers
 INTERMEDIATES TOPIC-The twelve and what we know about them.
 SENIOR AND ADULT TOPIC-What it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
 No man can alone accomplish any great task. Every great leader has been blessed by one or more equally great helpers. Luther had his Melanc- thon; Wesley, his brother Charles, Whitfield and others; Moody had Whittle, Bliss, Sankey. Towner and more. These leaders but followed the example of OUT Lord. Jesus ministry made him much observed and greatly multiplied his duties and burdens. When, therefore, he chose these dis ciples, he desired not only to obtain help and to begin to teach those who were to take his place, but like every other act, he desired to teach a lesson to those who were so carefully observ- LIE DllIl III NeISc IT we al . lOiu tiAe'S he chose twelve, which was signifi- cant number, corresponding to the
 twelve tribes, and at once confirmed
 his assumption to the MessiahShip and
 meant that the wondrous prophecies
 were being fulfilled It also served to stimulate those upon whom the choice
 fell. Jesus, as we know from other passages retired to the mountains to pray. The call came from on high (v 13), and those called went up" to him for preparation and for quali- ficatiOn. The call is purpose ful one. for it Is not enough to go up; we must also go down and out, hence these are "sent" (vv. II, 15). Only those who are authorized, however, are sent Those whom Jesus sent out were to found q new kingdom and to do greater work than merely to judge the people, because they were not only to judge results, but they were to change results Dy altering causes; hence they had power over demons, even as the Master, for evil has no rights. The source of their power is to be Jesus, for he Is to be with them, our own pro- tection as we'll (Matt. 2S :20) and their power is to grow with it's usage, for we learn by doing. These men were originally united not by creed but by an ideal not by a doctrine or teach ing, but by actions; not by q subscrip- tion to a confession. At once they met with conflict First of all by a blas- phemous unbelief. The Holy Ghost is no more holy than Jesus; but, if we islander him in his yelled condition and before his unfinished work, great shall be the penalty. Those who hate God shut out the light. Secondly, by con- fiict with mfsdirected zeal. There were those about Jesus who watched over
 him, whereas rather they should have had him watching over them (v. 2D. On the other hand, the scribes accused him of being possessed of devils. They attributed to the devil the work that
 the Holy Spirit and Son were doing. | What a strange picture Friends seek ing to restrain, enemies accusing and relatives interpOsing, yet nothing can
 Nlps ltlt 'li " 4 VI liitLl tli pt tiit NiiSNlOlIl
 of God. Luke tells us that these twelve
 were selected from among the rest of
 the diSciples They were to have a
 greater nearnesS and more extended authority and, of course, greater test ings than the others who were diSci- ples or learners" These disciples are to he the light of the world. The Chris tian, "who is the salt of the earth" loses his identity and will lose his salt ness and become like the world, if he keeps not near unto Christ. As light Is a good thing to preserve, purify and to cleanse, so are the Christians, vet there Is a greater thing, when we ener- gize, direct and believe. This is what the apostles were to do. The aggres- sive Peter and the other "SOn of Thunder" the reflective, cautious Thomas, these were the men who were sent forth as public heralds (John 1 :36.) Some they are to win by per sonal solicitation Games :4D. 9th CTS by public proclamation (Acts ? :39-41) Men are saved through men, and those whom he sends forth are those who have first learned to follow Their work is made permanent only as they abide in him." God wants the hearing ear, the believing heart and the confessing mouth (Rom. 10: :14). The one who would preach Jesus and have power in his name must first of
 all "be with him." that is, he must en- | joy deep, abiding, victorious life of
 fellowship with Jesus. Jesus gave di-
 rections to those he sent out first to
 preach; second, to heal illness: third,
 to cast out demons and they were pre-
 pared for the work they had to do, by
 the Lord imparting power to them to
 do it (v. 15; see Matt. 1O:1; Acts 1:5. S.) Our mission is to both body
 and soul, but Christ puts the spiritual needs first (vv. 14, 15; see Matt. 10:7, S.) The difficulty with many healers of today is that they invert this order. Those whom Jesus sends out are to offer his Kingdom to men and not command men to receive if. Their work will bring variance upon the earth, even among those in the same family; but those who will not go are not worthy of me-" Jesus saw plainly that the victories of his king dom were often hindered rather than helped by the presence of great crowds (v. 12). Why send Judas? Undoubtedly he had all the desired for leadershin anN chO-