The midland journal., 1946-06-14

MEMORY SELECTION - Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth. as 1t 10
In heaven.-Matthew $40.
Following Christ calls for the best
In man. Weakened and wateredl
out religious PHILOSOPHERS and activ.
tiles have no right to call them
selves Christian.
Let us put away these insipid
limitations of Christianity, which SO
often masquerade under it's name,
and face our time with a call to
discipleship which demands every
fine, noble, manly and womanly
quality.
I. Denial of Self (Luke 9:23, 24).
A cross-that speaks at once Of
suffering and death. We may as
well face it. The Lord never in.
tended it to be an easy thing to fol-
low him. A man must lose his life
for Christ if he is to win it.
Note tn at the cross we bear does
not refer to the trials or vexations
of life. We should bear those as
Christians, but there is something
else in mind; namely, the complete
denial of self-will, and the eager de.
sire to do only Gods will. And note
also that this is required of every
true Christian, not just of few
who are especially "consecrated."
Do you qualify? If so look at the
next point.
ii. Humility of Heart Uuke 9:46-
48).
The world looks up to the great,
the mighty, and the rich. The dis
ciples had caught that fever and
were quarreling about who was to
be greatest. What tragic and dis
graceful picture! But is it any diff
ferent in the church today? Men
are still determined to be ''Mr.
Big"
The follower of Jesus sees beyond
the false earthly standard of great.
ness, and in humility ministers tc
the little child. And To-! he has re.
ceived and served Jesus Christ him.
self, and has become greater thar
all the would-be great ones. Those
about him may not see it, but God
does, and in due time others shall
also know of it.
iii. Determination Of Purpose
(Luke 9:57-62).
Following Christ is more than
singing glIbly or carelessly, ''I'll go
where you want me to go, dear
Lord" The one who starts out
with him is to count the cost (Luke
14:28-33). He must expect the same
treatment as Christ (II Tim. 3:12)
and be willing to take it gladly
(John 1920; I Pet. 2:2D.
We ought to make this plain to
professed believers. Tell young
people the truth and you will see
that they are ready to respond to
it. They are willing to give them
selves sacrificially for causes of this
earth-why not for Christ?
Christianity is considerate and
courteous, and our Lord is not here
suggesting any neglect of the duties
or amenities of life. The point Is
rather that the Lord must have first
place whatever else may call for
second thought.
Nv. Prayer Of Faith duke 11:1-4).
The one who is to follow Jesus
must know how to pray-and to
pray in faith. He must know how
to hold up the world to God, and
get things from God for this needy
world.
There is no one who can teach
US to pray better than Jesus, for
he practiced what he preached. He
prayed. It was seeing him pray
that led the disciples to ask him
to teach them to pray. Jesus taught
his disciples model prayer. This
prayer opens with a recognition of
God as Father, followed by a rev.
erent petition that his name may
be hallowed; that is, that he may
have glory as his will is done and
his kingdom established in the
hearts of men. Those who have
that attitude are ready to ask for
the supply of daily needs, and above
all, forgiveness of sin and deliv-
erance from temptation.
Note that verse is not the prayer
OF the unSaved for forgiveness and
regeneration, for that is all of grace
(Eph. 2:8). ''The man outside (of
the kingdom) gets his forgiveness
with no condition; but once he is
in the kingdom of the Son of Gods
love, he lives within the laws of that
kingdom. Then he does not get
forgiveness unless he is ready to
forgive, unless he has forgiven"
(Morgan).
". Recognition Of Christ Luke II:
20, 2D.
The disciples thought of the
kingdom in terms of when; they
should have asked what" or even
better "who," for the kingdom was
present and operative right then be-
cause the King was there.
That is the true meaning of with
IN ". 21), which really means Sin
your midst" It does not mean that
the kingdom of God was within the
hearts Of the Pharisees, or within
the social order, but that in the
narSor nf fho KinC fha hin podn,,, ~