Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

R E L I G I O U S A N D D E V O T I O N A L ,8. S. LESSON I., SABBATH, JULY 2. 1893.Acts 6:6-15.GOLDEN TEXT :Oo ye therefore and teach all nations, baptisingthem in the name of the Father, and of the Son, aridof the Holy Ghost. Matt. 28 : 19.6 Now when they had gone thronghont Phrygia and theregion of Galatia, and were forbidden of the holy Ghost topruaoh the word in Asia,7 After they were come to Myeia, they assayed to go intoBithynia : but the Spirit suffered them uot.8 And they passing by Myaia oame down to Troas.9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night ; Therestood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Oomeover into Macedonia, and help ns.10 jnd after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavouredto go into Maoadonla, assuredly gathering thatthe Lord had called us for to preaoh the gospel unto them.OHEISriAN NATION. Volume J 8.1. Particularly described, v. 14, (a) "Aships." (Condensed from Thomas) "Theceriain woman named Lydia.' She was in thevision is still perpetuated. The cry of^humanityin its sense of need, its guilt and wretch­place of blessing and she obtained it. The11 Thersfore loosing from Troas, we oame with a straightgospel has brought great blessings to women.coarse to Samothracia, and tho n»xt day to Neapolis : edness, its helpless, hopeless despair, is still(b) "A seller of purple ;'' a lawful calling. She12 Aud trom thence to Philippi, which is the chief oity sounding now from East to West, as then fromwas a woman of energy and of force ; was notof that part of Macedonia, and a oolony : and we were in West to East. It comes from every heathenafraid of work. Work is honorable in womanthat oity abiding oertain days.continent, and from the many islands to theas well aa in man. (c) "Of Thyatira," a city13 And on the sabbath we went out of the oity by a river church of every region aud to the Christian ofof Asia Minor, where one of the seven churchesside, where prayer was wont to be made : and we sat down, every name.' J. G. Butler, D. D. "Itis deathwas located, ^d) " She worshipped God," theand spake unto the womeu which resorted thither. to a church or a Christian not to hear this cry,true God. She was a proselyte of the JewishU And a oertain PAUL woman CALLED nameii TO Lydia, EUROPE. a seller of purple, or having heard it, not to heed it" Middle.faith.of the oity of Thyatira, whioh worshipped God heard us ; 2. These men entered ihe open door, verses2. The means of her conversion, V. 14. (a)whose heart ITotes: the Lord Original opened, that and ahe Selected. attended unto the 10-12. They were not disobedient to the heavenlyvision. There was no hesitation and noThe instrumental means, "heard us." Thethings whioh were Eev. spoken 0. D. of Trumbull, Paul. D. D.hearing of the ear. " Paith cometh by hearing."(b) The efficient means,—the Lord15WeAndspentwheusixshe wasmonthsbaptised,lassandyearherinhousehold,the studyshe de'ay. Means of conveyance was sought atofbesoughtthe Actsus, saying.closingIf yewithhave jiidgedthe accountme to be faithfulof theto once. God provided a ship to carry them ; Heopened her heart. Her heart was closed byApostolicthe Lord, eomeCouncil,iuto myohap.house,15and: 12-29.abide there.TheAndcouncilahe brought the wird out of His treasures, andignorance, unbelief and ein ; was like a castleconstrainedcommissionedus.prospered the voyage of His servants. ThePaul and Barnabas to deliverwith i s gates shut and barred. Christ Jesusvoyage of eighty miles to Neapolis, a seaportits decrees to the church at Antioch, whichprevails to open the heart, not by violence, butof' Macedonia, was made m two days. Promcommission they fulfilled, and " they continredsweetly constrains by His Word and ordinances.He does it silently and secretly. Thein Antioch teaching and preaching the word ofthe Lord." 14 : 35. After a time Paul proposedto Barnabas to re-traverse the ground of3. Proofs of her conversion, (a) "She at­wind bloweth where it listeth, etc. John 3 : 8.their firstmissionary journey, that they mighttended unto the things spoken," v. \4. Shelook into the spiiitual condition of the churchesgave good heed ; yielded assent ; embraced thethey had organized. Barnabas readily agreedtruth. (b) She professed faith rn Christ. Impliedin her baptism.to the proposal but expressed a desire to takewith him his nephew, John Mark. Paul objected,and these good men, unable to agree,Baptism is a sealing ordinance to believers. It4 The seal of her conversion, baptism, v. 15.separated, " and so Barnabas took Mark andseals their union to Christ ; their jubtificalion,sailed unto Cyprus : and Paul chose Silas, * *adoption and sanctification ; their resurrection^ and went through Syria and Cilicia, confirmingthe chnrches." At Lystra they found Timlievera seal of his engagement to be theto newness of life. It is on the part of the be­Lord's.othy, a young convert, who, by early trainingand by special endowments, was well fittedtotake up the work, and secured his companion.ship in their journeys and labors. A littlelater, at Troas, they were joined by Luke, thewriter of tbe Acts, as is in ferred from the changein the chronicle from " they," v. 8, to " we," v.10. As we look at the lesson we note,I. The Doons of Asia- Were Closed to theApostle and His Companions, v erses 6 and 7.God is sovereign. He opens doors for missionwork and he closes them again at hispleasure. Just now some doors are closed inour mission fieldin Syria. It was the HolyGhost who forbade Paul and his companionsto preach the word in Asia, and suffered themnot to go into Bythinia. We are not told inwhat manner the prohibition was made manifest.These men had no doubt as to the mindof the Spirit, and they bowed to His will. Inthis they are ensamples to us. " There is aDivine Spirit, and that spirit has access to thehuman spirit. The fact that He influencesmen is not only a doctrine of the Bible, but isalso a matter of c9nsciousnes8. The modes ofHis operation are various and often inexplica*ble. ' The wind bloweth where it listeth,' etc.,* * * The will of that spirit mvst be obeyed :to oppose that is sin.' Thomas,II. A Door Opened in Europe.1. I'he fact made known in vision, verse 9.They were at Troas, a seaport of Asia Minor,near the site of ancient Troy. The doors ofAsia were shut to them, and Paul at least wascrying, " Lord, what wilt thou have me do?"He'was not left without an intimation of theDivine wili. That night he had a vision." There stood a man of Macedonia, not anangel, not a philosopher, warrior or king ; buta man. It is the humanity in heathendomthat is in moral distress. The help that isneeded is moral; help to the conscience, helpto man in his spiritual and eternal relation­thence they went at once to Philippi, a city ofno little importance as a Roman militar3 colony.The journey was overland ; the diptanceabout ten miles. 0.i the expression " a straightcourse," versel4, Dr. Pentecost remarks : "The' straight course ' here is a nautical term, butit may be used in a higher sense, also. Thereare those who seem always to take a tortuouscourse ; but Paul was a man not only of quickdecision and immediate action, but, wheneverhe could, he sailed a straight course to his destinedharbor. He went to his work with a willand straight at it. While he had infinite tacthe used it always to lead him in the most directline to his goal. The longest way roundis sometimes the shortebt way home, but it isnot u ually so; and life may be increased agood half, and a man's power multiplied, bytaking straight courses whenever it is possible."III. Work Begun in Europe, verse 13.1. The time—" on the Sabbath." Probablythey arrived at Philippi about the middle ofthe week. We are not told how they spent theintervening days ; we may be sure they werenot idle. The Sabbath came—the Jewish Sabbath.They knew that the devout Jews, ifsuch there were in the city, would gather forworship on that day. They took a'^vantage ofthis gathering, as they did in every place, tospeak a word for Christ. It is duty to seekopportunities to do good on the Sabbath.Matt. 12! 122. The place. The Jews do not seem tohave had a synagogue ii Philippi, but they hada stated place of gath ring by a river side, asthe most convenient place to attend to tue purificationsconnected with their religious ritep.It is better to have a regular place for religiousgatherings.3. The 'persons present. It appears that nomen were present at that service before Paul. went, but women only. Why was it? Wasitbecause there were no men of the Jewish faithin the city? Or was it because it was a specialservice for women? Or was it was because themen took little interest in these things? W«cannot say with assurance that it was for eitherof these reasons, yet prefer the last namedview. Women are generally more largely representedin church services, especially inprayermeetings than men. The faot that Pauland his couipanions found women only at theplace of prayer did not cause them to go awaywithout delivering their message. As disciplesof Him who talked with the woman ofSamaria, and who appeared to women first,after his resurrection, and gave them a messageto the Apostles, these men preached theirfirst sermon in Europe to a congregation ofwomen.III. The First Convert in Europe.5 The iruds of her conversion. We note(a) obedience. She professed faith in Christ;she was baptised ; she sought baptism for herhousehold. It is more reasonable to supposethat the terra " household " refers to minorchildren, who were baptised on her professionof faith, rather than to adults, all of whom professedfaith and were baptised, while no otherswjre converted at that time, (b) Hospitality.She constrained Paul and his companions toabide with her, and this no doubt because theywere servants of ChristAdded Thoughts.1. When God closes one door to His servantsit is that another may be opened.2. The servants of Christ should avail them.selves of opportunities to preach the gospelanywhere and everywhere.3. It is the duty of all men to avail them.selves of the opportunities they have to waiton divine ordinances.4 God only can make the preaching of theWord effectual.5. Children have a right to baptism on aP « m^*^° of faith by their parents.b. True Christians will "use hospitahty withoutgrudging."''