The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1920-12-09
Sun, ay cho |.
L IS, n
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
FOR DECEMBER ~, 1920
Scripture, Matt. 13:44-4S.

the Holy spirit.
LIST, The joy of finding the kingdom,
the first real joy in my soul; yes, in
anyone, comes Of conversion or the
kingdom Of God born in the soul. I've
known people to forget things of
Importance but never conversion.
feel sad for people who can't say
they know they have been converted.
DR.. Chapman asked me when and
where l was converted. That night in
his sermon he told his audience that
for moment he was very sad-then
he thanked God while he didn't know
when he was born, he did know that
he was alive. That is fine-one should
be so born and brought up that he'd
never know when he entered. I was
converted in Chicago and the next
day when I went home I sure did in
troduce my wife to her new husband
and she is still living with him. 1t
was truly joyful find and, oh, the
millions who have testified to the
same. You see when | had found Him
I'd found the kingdom and the next
Thursday night after that he blessed
ly sanctified my soul and then you
see I was finding the rich blessings
of the kingdom and the best end of
this whole thing is ahead. You see,
for years I'd been trying to be
Christian. Something like trying to
To swim with one foot on the bottom,
and | was afraid to have anyone
know that I wanted to be, but the
night in Chicago if the whole world
had been right there doing their best
against me, it would have meant
nothing, and that's when my old
friends thought | was going crazy and
they truly did feel bad for me.
This great find never comes or is found
by accident--it is the reward of long
and earnest seeking No, maybe not
lyou; maybe godly mother and
likely she had already gone on If !
had space here to tell you when Dove
Bancroft fell at the feet of his mother
saying, Mother, must be Chris
tian,' she put her hand on his head,
saying, Il know that DOVE" I don't
suppose there is anything the devil
hates so bad as godly mother on
her knees for her family. The first
two parallels set forth the same thing
but from different angle. Most BIZ
BILE men say the first is Israel in
this old world and, second, that Jesus
is the treasure. He sure is all that
to lost sinner. Christ prayed for
his disciples-"that my joy may be
in them the same kind that he had
self denial for others, perfect vic
tory in God over flesh and the devil
Now comes the drag-net. In our
last lesson we saw the bad mixed with
the good. Here we have it again. 1t
is brought to the shore and there the
judgment takes place.
i Wrong Is not always going to be
on the throne and right on the scat
) fold and there is nothing but a
. Fearful waiting with the wicked. This
. kingdom we are reading about is to
; be on this earth, but it cant be, you
. can see plain enough, until the King
comes back. The kingdom is not in
the wicked, hence the wicked are not
! to be found in the kingdom. The bad
. fish in the net are not thrown back
in the water nor are they taken home
Yes, / know; some tell us that some
/ were born to be lost in other words
try to put their cussedness on Cod
but that whatsoever" in John 3.16
and 1st Timothy 23 and 4-"God,
cur Savior who will Tor would have
all men to be saved gives all tnat
stuff the lie-back to the devil No
man ever did bad thing, but if he'd
listened he could have heard the still
small voice Of God pleading. If you
ever go to hell, you'll have to fight
your way in over all the Lord, the
ministry and praying loved ones have
done tor you. "Oh, how sweet. The
touch of power comes,-it is saliva
tons hour; Jesus gives from guilt
release; faith hath saved thee; go in
peace.
One other thought in this 18th and
. 18th chapter of Matthew:-that is the
objectionable sin. A fellow asked
Gypsy Smith what that was. The an
swer was 1.-THE sin you won't let
Jesus pardon. Another is rejecting
the Holy Spirit. He was sent to
bring you to Jesus and there is no
hope outside of Him. May God help
you to receive Him as your own. You
may not understand Him, but be sure
He understands you and loves you.