The Mississippi enterprise., 1962-09-08
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
September 8, 1862
BY Rev. George A. Harper
5l1 Avenue c.,

Win yOu III III dyCI, duu u
arrange for specific set times
for prayer when all may gath
er to pray unitedly. This text
commands, LET us go speed
lily with a spirit of prayer
that brings divine urgency
to the soul in which there is
a longing to enter into the
secret closet to pray. 1t is
most wholesome when the in
habitants of one city will say
to another city as indicated
in this text, '1et us CO." and
the response of, 81 will go
alone"
A PEACE THAT WAS
NOT SUSTAINED:
In our last lesson the cap
tives were seen hurryin g
back to Jerusalem at the first
possibility of return. There is
no lingering or malingering.
They "came as one man.. +"
Apparently they built the al
tar first. This could have
been a mistake, though. The
ly which the priest and Le-
vite made on the Jericho road
when they probably gave
their hurrying to worship al
the Temple, priority over SER
vice to a man left to die on
the h g h way. When this
strong incentive to worship
God on His altar was salts
fled, there was not sufficient
incentive left to confront the
much larger task of building
Gods house They had hur-
ried into action without reck-
oning the cost of the whole
op er a t i o n and so, to use
words of Jesus, gave specta-
tors the privilege of saying
these men started to build
and were not able to finish.
One wonders just how faith
full the people were to Gods
altar which they left unhous-
ed.
THE DUTY OF GOADING
TO ACTION:
Much is lost to good causes
when interested people are
too agreeable to risk troub-
ling their comrades in order
that they may be gotten to
the Lords work" If a task
is sufficiently commanding
enough, it should warrant
our efforts at arousing enough
other people to accomplish
the task. Haggai addresses
himself heroically in the les
son to such a task to those
who say the time has not
come to build the Lord's
house, he answers SIS it time
for you, 0 ye, to dwell in
your ceiled houses and this
charges the people of God
with ceiling their on houses
while they have failed even
to build up Gods house from
its ruins. In the parable OF
the rich farmer, Jesus warns
us against being among those
who lay treasure for them
selves but are not rich to-
ward God. It will be a won
derful world when we come
to think of the material ad-
vantages which we have as
gifts held in trust for those
who need them.
THE INSTRUMENT OF
VICTORY:
Like the rich farmer in the
parable already mentioned,
we ultimately encounter sit
uations in which the things
LAID up" are completely in
adequate. In the lesson, the
people had turned from the
needs of Gods house to pur-
sue their own material in
terests. The message with
which Zechariah sought to put
them in line of their true,
abiding interest has proven
itself down the ages. mot by
might, nor by power, but by
my spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts" The a c u m u a t.
ed wealth of Judah and Is
rael has never reached US,
but the spiritual r i c h n e $ S
which they achieved has bles-
sed us around the world and
down the ages. What valuable
lessons went out to the entire
world from the Temple which
was finally finished under the
persistent prodding of faithful
leaders. "His speciality was
finished up.
PRACTICAL POINTS ON
THE LESSON: