Arkansas State press., 1947-04-04
THE RISEN LORD AND
UIS DISCIPLES

LESSON TExT-John 2o:ls.23. 1920;
MEMORY sELEcT1oN-But now h
Christ risen from the dead. and becom,
the Arst fruits Of them that slept
Corinthians 1890.
Ever new and blessed in its touci
upon our souls is the message O
Easter. To be assured once more
that the grave could not hold oul
blessed Lord and Saviour, and tina
he arose In victory over sin ane
death. Is our delightful portion In to
days lesson.
II Is a very appropriate conclu
sion TO our three month study Of the
Gospel of John and comes in the new
quarter because Of Easter Sunday
Three helpful incidents make ur
our lesson.
Z. A Risen Lord and Glad Dis.
ciples GO: 1929
The appearance Of our Lord te
hk disciples after he arose from the
grave emphasizes the close relation.
ship between the resurrection and
the life and ministry OF his followers.
Those who live for and serve the
risen Christ have triumphant faith,
~ inward peace. and an outward
authority and power Their convic-
lions are based on the Lords own
words which came to assure the dis
ciples as they secretly assembled for
fear Of the Jews.
He stood in their midst and spoke
the words Of peace wv. 19-2D and
authority wv. %, 80.
Peace Of soul is absolutely essen
tial 10 useful and satisfied living.
Only as we are "steadfast. immov-
able" can we be Astounding in the
work Of the Lord Il Cor. 1883.
Steady at the center. active at the
circumference.
Commissioned and sent by the Son
OF God. clothed with Holy Spirit pow
err, the Church of God has his au-
thority. While some have read too
much into verse %. others have read
out Of 1t the real authority that God
has given.
Little wonder that we read ". 20).
''Then we're the disciples glad when
they saw the Lord" They had rea-
son for real joyl
II. A Convinced Doubter and Glad
Testimony go, 1920.
Thomas made the serious error OF
being absent from the gathering of
the disciples when the Lord Jesus
stood In their midst. Let those who
commonly absent themselves from
the place and hour Of worship take
heed lest they miss blessing, and
coming later add nothing to the spir-
itual life Of the church, but rather
become troublers and doubters.
But God graciously turns the doubt
OF Thomas into a means Of blessing
TO all Of us who since then have read
Of his experience. Thomas was an
honest doubter God is always ready
TO meet such with satisfactory proof.
The trouble is that there are so many
In the world who use protested
doubts TO cover a life of sin.
Doubt may come TO any man. In
Itself II is no sin. But TO cherish It
and hold to 1t in unbelief-that is a
different matter. One wise spiritual
leader rightly counseled his people,
believe your beliefs and doubt your
doubts. Never make the mistake Of
doubling your beliefs or believing
your doubts"
When doubling Thomas saw the
Lord. his questions changed at once
10 strong convictions and assured
personal testimony TO his blessed
Lord.
III. A Restored Disciple and Glad
Service t2l:l5-lD.
After meeting Jesus on the first
Easter morning. Peter had been as
sured Of forgiveness for his denial
Of the Lord and had been taken back
Into fellowship and service with him.
But then something seemed TO
have gone astray. for we find that
Peter and the others had returned
70 their old life as fishermen. They
seem 70 have lost their vision. or
had become discouraged.
But the Lord had not forgotten
them. He appeared and told them
where " catch fish, and then we
have the lovely scene around the Gre
as they breakiasted together.
There 1t was that the Lord met
Peter. and as he had denied Christ
thrice be is asked to thrice declare
his devotion TO him.
The man who thus declared his
readiness to serve Christ to the end
had many an opportunity TO prove
the sincerity of that profession He
met persecution and Imprisonment,
but 10 every effort Of man to close
his mouth or TO change his witness
he had the simple reply Of absolute
obedience 10 the Lord.
Tradition tells US that this faithful
ness finally led Peter to a mar.
tyr's death. So We see life made
over, made powerful. made glori.
GUS for God through the matchless
Trace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He