The midland journal., 1946-04-12

LESSON TEXT-Mark l:lo-z0; p:Ib-z0;
10:46. So; Luke SGT, %.
MEMORY sELECTION-He left all, rose
UP. and followed him.-Luke B:2S.
Friendship calls for an exchange
mot Of gifts or possessions neces-
sarily, but Of service, love and fel-
lowship.
The friends of Jesus responded to
the warmth of His affection and the
appeal of His call, and they gave
themselves In life and service to
Him.
Many In the church have forgotten
that part of the friendship of Jesus
Christ. They want to count Him as
their friend, they expect much Of
Him; but they give little or nothing
In return. Their love is cold, their
service Indifferent, their witness
powerless.
Not every one of Jesus friends
Is called to be a preacher or a
teacher. He needs those who will
be His faithful followers, just liv-
ing testimony without special Office
or message.
To effectively present the contrasts
OF our lesson, we have arranged
the verses In slightly different Sc
quence. Among the friends Of Jesus
1. Some Became Preachers (Mark
1:16-20).
These men had met Jesus before
(John 1:35-51), but now He was
ready to call them away from their
daily occupation as fishermen and
make them Fishers of men,"
Such change was not an easy
one to make. It meant the giving up
Of an established earthly calling, a
place in the community, home life
and family, for the service Of the
Lord. That was to bring persecu-
ton, ridicule, poverty and loneliness.
But "straightway they forsook their
nets"
Let the members Of the church
and pastors be on the alert to sense
! the call of God to young men and
women to the ministry and to the
mission field, and then let them do
everything possible to encourage
them on their way.
III. Others Became Followers
MARK 1O:46, 52).
When Jesus came by, blind Barti-
maeus began to cry, "Jesus, son Of
David have mercy on me" ". Az.
/ Many around him tried to hush his
voice ". 48), but he cried the more.
Through that babel of voices
Jesus heard him, stopped and sent
for him, and healed him. The ear
OF our Lord is always attuned to
hear the cry Of the one in need,
and His heart is quick to respond
to his call. He can hear the cry
| Of the repentant sinner through all
the confusing sounds of our day.
Bartimaeus became a follower"
OF Jesus. He probably had no posi-
ton in tile church, no call to preach,
but what testimony he had. (cf.
| John 9:25,.
Jesus needs simple, steady fol-
lowers. Men and women with q
plain, effective testimony of saliva
ton. The army of the Lord is not
made up Of generals and officers
only. Perhaps we have more Of
them than we need.
iii. Some Stayed at Home mark
5:15-20).
This striking story Of the deliv-
erance of the mad man shows the
importance of testimony at home.
The people had asked Jesus to
leave ". 17) because in delivering
the maniac He had caused some
swine to 60 mad and run into the
sea.
These men needed witness, and
the most effective possible word to
them would come from the deliv-
cred demoniac. He wanted to 20
with Jesus, but at the Masters word
he stayed at home.
1t is hard to leave home and loved
ones to 60 afar to witness for Jesus
Christ, but sometimes it is easier
to speak for Him in strange land
than at home. Even Jesus found no
honor in His own city.
II you are called to witness for
the Lord in the small circle of your
own family or community, trust
God to make that word for Jesus
tremendously effective. He can do
It'll
Nv. Others Left Home and Busi-
ness Uuke SGT, 28).
Levi-better known to us as Mat
thew - was "a member of that
hated group of renegade Jews, who
served the Roman invader and
helped him in his cruel work of
wringing extortionate taxes from
the people" earl L. Douglass). AS
a result, he was rich and undoubted-
ly had fine home and every de-
sirable material possession.
He had come to know Jesus and
when the call came suddenly to fol-
low Jesus, he did not hesitate; he
did not stop to gather up his
money. he did not sell his house:
but he stood up and left all, and
followed Jesus.