St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1937-07-09

Improved 0 SUNDAY
Uniform c@rI00r
.Ntern4tionHI SOhOOA
= LESSON =
BY REV. HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST.
Dean of the Moody Bible Institute
of Chicago.
g Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for July II

LESSON TEXT-Exodus 3:1-12.
GOLDEN TEXT-Come now therefore.
and will send thee.-ExoduS $40.
PRIMARY TOPIC-How God An
swered His Peoples Prayer.
JUNIOR TOPIC-A Leader In the
Making.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-How to Get Ready to Work for God.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP.
IC-How God Provides Leaders Today.
God calls men, commissions and
uses them to carry out his plans
and purposes in the earth. What
great truth that is and how it glori-
f1es the destiny of man to know that
it is divinely appointed. AS Joseph
Parker beautifully points out, the
experience of Moses in INDIAN was
a direct dealing with God, whereas
we who may not be able to "see the
fountain" must ''be content to drink
at the stream" but should always
remember that the stream flows
from that same fountain.
Every man should put to himself
the questions-What is my destiny?
What does God mean me to be and
to do in the world? It Is a
most pitiful thing that man should
read Of Moses being divinely called
to a special work" and fail
to realize "that God has special
work for every man to do" Let
us have a care that we do not so
pervert and misinterpret circum-
stances as to press them into justi-
fication of self-will," rather than
recognize them as destiny which
is beckoning us to duty"
For our instruction and guidance
we consider then the story Of the
call of this outstanding leader Of
Israel. It presents him as a true
servant of God-one who was
/. Personally Equipped.
While it is a blessed truth that
God will use any man who sur
renders himself to his control and
guidance no matter how limited that
mans ability and training may be,
it is also true that, other things be-
ing equal, the man with the best
equipment will be the most useful
servant.
God gave Moses unique prep
aration. He was first Of all a He
brew, born among the people that
he was to lead. He knew the luxury
and all the cultural advantages OF
the Egyptian court (Acts 7:22), with
the safeguard of training by his own
mother as his nurse. He observed
at first hand the oppression OF his
people and made self-willed and
impulsive effort to deal with the
problem. The result was that he
had a postgraduate" course OF in
struction and discipline in the will
derness where he spent forty years
in the school of experience.
The leaders of God in our day
need training. Some best receive
it in schools, in Christian colleges,
seminaries, and Bible schools true
to the faith. Others prepare in the
home, the church, and in the uni
versity of hard knocks'-as some
one has called the school OF ex-
perience. Perhaps the best prepare.
ton is a balanced combination OF
the two, school and experience. But
the important thing is to be pre-
pared for Gods call.
II. Spiritually Qualified.
Moses was. man who knew God
Had he been worldly man ne
would have been but curious OF the
phenomenon of the burning bush
But note how alert and reverent he
was and how Immediately re
sponsive to the instructions and the
call of God.
All the training and preparation
in the world is worse than useless II
Gods service apart from that spirit
ual qualification that comes from
true regeneration and dedication t.
him. There is no more pathetic
sight than a spiritually powerles'
church worker "going through thu
motions" Of service for Christ. 1
we are in that condition we ma!
be sure that we deceive, no on
but ourselves. Let US seek God Il
confession and in glad acceptance
of his provision for both our redemp
ton and our sanctifcation.
III. Divinely Called.
Moses was called (v.Q, commits
stoned wv. 6-1O, and clad with di
vine authority wv. 11-12 for hi
great task.
God calls his servants to differer
responsibilities a nd in diferen
ways, but the important thing
that we should know that we ar
in his will and that we are answer
ing his call.
No man or woman has any rigt
to choose full-time Christian servic
simply as desirable vocation, fc
it is a divine calling. Quite mscril
tural was the attitude of the ma
who said that in a quiet woodlan
nook he had faced life's realitie
and had decided ''to bet his life