The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-02-16

LESSON TEXT-Mark 4:21-34.
GOLDEN TEXT-They shall not hurt
ner destroy in all my holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge Of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9.
PRIMARY TOPIC - Sharing Our
Stories for Jesus
JUNIOR TOPIC-Into All the World.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
1C-Great Growth From Small Begin
nings.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
Ic-The Spread Of Christianity.
I. The Parable OF the Candle wv.
21-25).
The Word which is sown in the par
able of the Sewer wv. 1-2O is not
only to bear fruit, but to shine forth
in testimony. This obligation is en-
forced by a solemn command and
warning "Take heed what We hear"
". 24) means that there should not
only be attention to what is taught,
but whole hearted reception Of 1t.
%. The Parable Of the Growing
Grain wv. 26-29).
This parable Is peculiar to Mark.
In the light of the purpose Of Mark,
it is clear why it should appear here.
1t is the parable for the servant. In
the previous parallels tvv. 2425, Ct.
w. 1-21), the responsibility Of the
hearer is set forth. The responsibility
here is that which devolves upon the
servant who proclaims the message.
/. The attitude of mind of the Cos
pei preacher wv. &c. 27). He should
with the utmost fidelity least seed
into the ground" preach the Word,
and leave the results with God. The
spiritual processes of Gods Word in
the soul Of man are shrouded in the
deepest mystery. The seed should
Spring and grow up he knoweth not
how" ". 27). When the sowing has
been intelligently and faithfully done,
the sower should not be burdened
with anxiety. He can sleep and rise
night and day." confident that the AL
mighty will take care OF the processes
and results.
2. The processes of the spiritual
life are gradual ". 2S). First the
blade, then the ear, after that the full
corn in the ear" We should not ex.
pect maturity Of Christian character
at once any more than the farmer
should expect the crops to mature at
once. The farmer has a time Of SOW
ing, of growing, and Of harvest.
8. The contamination of the spir-
itual processes ". 29). Though the
sowing Of the seed be done under dif.
ficulties and the processes Of develop
nent long drawn ont, the harvest will
surely come.
III. The Parable of the Mustard
Seed wv. 30-34).
In this parable the plant with its
great branches, called tree in Mat
thew Is 80, which springs out of the
small seed, exhibits the Kingdom in
its mystery form, Matthew 1871. It
shows the condition of things in the
world in the interval between Christ's
going away and his coming again. In
this parable three things claim our
attention.
1. The unimpOrtant beginning ".
31). 1t begins as the least of all seeds
but grows to be the greatest among
herbs. The parentage and humble cir
cumstances Of Jesus greatly per-
picked the people. That twelve inlet
tered men, most of them fishermen.
should be selected as his royal ad-
visors was still more amazing. The
prophet had said Of him that he would
be despised, rejected, forsaken, cut
of, having nothing.
9. The vigorous growth ". 32).
From the very beginning Of the move
ment inaugurated by Christ his infiu-
ence has gone forth so that there is
no power or influence today in the
earth so great as that which calls It,
self Christian.
3. The lodging capacity. The birds
which find Judgment in the branches
do not represent, as is commonly in
terpreted, the children of men who
find safety and salvation in the
church, because church truth is not
now under consideration. 1t is the
mystery of the Kingdom which was
proclaimed as at hand by John the
Baptist This Kingdom passed into
allegiance when Jesus was crucified
and it shall come into realization
when Jesus comes back to earth
again. The believer in Christ becomes
n vital part of his body and even is
necessary to its strength and fruitful
ness. The bird in the branches is
something foreign to and Independent
of the tree. The branches increase
the growth of the tree but birds are
injurious and burdensome to it. They
are predatory-waiting to pluck off
the tender buds or to prey upon the
ripened fruit. The effect of such lodg-
ing is evil and blighting to the tree