The Coolidge examiner., 1938-02-17

Imbr0ped 0 SUNDAY
Uniform c~IrooT
= :-LESSON =
By REV. HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST.
Dean of the Moody Bible institute
of Chicago.
G Western Newspaper Union.
lesson for February 20
CHOOSING COMPANIONS
IN SERVICE


LESSON TEXT-Mark 3:7-19, 3l-35.
GOLDEN TEXT-For whosoever shall
do the will of God, the same Is my
brother-Mark 3:35.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Twelve Men Who
Went With Jesus.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Twelve Men Who
Went With Jesus.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Working With Others for Christ.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Comradeship in Christian Service.
God can save a man who is all
alone on the top of the Alps" So
spoke one who sought to discourage
another who wanted to give his
life for Christian service. No one
questions that God could thus carry
on His work in sovereign power, and
that there are times when He does
that very thing. But ordinarily
God works through men. 1t was
1.-The sword of the Lord, and of
Gideon" (Judges 7:l0.
What glorious, inspiring truth it
is that God calls men into compan-
ionship with Him for service. Sinful
and weak though they be they may
become strong and holy. and do
valiant service for Him.
1. The Need of Christian Workers
(vv. 7-1D.
Although the hostility to Christ
was growing apace among the relig-
ious leaders, the people thronged
about Him in the hope they might
have deliverance from the devil and
from disease. The need was so great
that the Lord Jesus now prepared
to call those who were to be His
fellow-servants.
The multitudes are in just as des-
perate need of Christ and of the
ministry of His church today. Why,
then, do they not crowd the churches
and press in around His servants?
That is the question over which
leaders of the church are puzzled.
There may be many reasons, but
we suggest two as being at least
worthy of careful thought. The first
is that we live in time of apostaSy.
In the time of Christ men had only
begun to hear His message of de-
hverance. In our day men have
heard and heard again and have
hardened their hearts because they
'loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds we're eviP'
John (3:19). Self-righteousnesS,
which is harder to deal with than
gross sin, is rampant everywhere.
Another reason is that in many.
perhaps most, instances, the church
has so far separated itself from
the Lord that it has no power.
Needy men are not interested in the
dead observance of religious forms.
They want to see the workings Of
the power of the Most High God!
Whether men know their need or
not, whether they throng our
churches or not, their very need of
Christ should impel us to serve the
Master in reaching them. The love
of Christ should constrain us.
III. The Call to Christian Work
wv. 12-19).
Much might be said at this point
but we must limit ourselves to two
thoughts. Note that the Lord chooses
his own workers; we do not choose
to work for Him. Then be en-
couraged by the fact that He chose
men of widely differing gifts, tenn
peraments, and personal character
istics.
Then we note that He called some
Of unusual ability, others with little
ability; some learned, and some
Observation-Disclosures, tax-gather
er, and others of various occupa-
tions. Note that none were by pro-
fession preachers. What a comfort
it is to those who are in Christian
work to remember that it is not
what we are or may have been that
counts; it is what Christ is and
what he can do with an6 through
usl
There was one traitor-Judas.
The papers of our day like to mag
nifty the misdeeds of erring preach
ers. What disgrace they are to
the name of Christ! But remember.
there was Judas even among the
twelve.
III. Preparation for Christian
Work wv. 31-35).
God has many ways to prepare
His servants-but it seems that
they all experience the heart-break-
ing disappointment of misunder-
standing and the heart-warming joy
of intimate fellowship with the Lord.
Look at verse 81 and you will
realize that the family and friends
of Jesus thought He was crazy be-
cause He devoted Himself so whole
heartedly to the service of His Faith
er. Is it not strange that if man
becomes a scientist he is honored II
he ruins his health in jealous re-
search? If he is a business man
AAG may OlLA IL LllC l4Shto law Al S>
pursuit of wealth, but if he chooses
to give his life to the greatest of
all occupations open to man-serv-
ice for Christ-his friends and rela-
tives try to deter him by calling
him a fanatic.
Beautiful beyond words is the 9TH
er side of our picture. Those who