Kansas City Bible College - Armour Bearer Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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THE COMMENTATOR PAGE FIVE God Chose A Donkey By Mrs. D. E. Wisner Child Evangelism Instructor PREPARA'rroN Only one figure, that of a donkey, is needed for this story, besides the letters and cards finishing the words. Make large capital letters of some color that will show up well against your plain back- ground to spell TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. Prepare cards with letters of appropriate size to finish the words of the acrostic as follows: ied, estless, nferior, nclean, arked out, icked out, onored, ccepted, oosed, ntered new life, ear, amed, edeemed, ielded. Back all the cards and the figure of the donkey with outing flannel and use as directed. PRESENTATION Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord fMark 11:93. Do you re- member how the people shouted these words of praise so long ago on that first glad Palm Sunday? We speak of this occasion as Jesus' triurnphal entry into Jerusalem. QArrange letters spelling Tri- umphal Entry on board as shown in the diagramj Triumphal is just another word for victorious. On this day the Lord Jesus was enter- ing Jerusalem with the people shouting as though He were a great and victorious conqueror, as indeed He was. Instead of riding on a white steed as most conquerors did, He rode a little donkey. fPlace don- key in center of the board.J Shall we read the story from Mark 11:1-9? This little donkey is like us in so many ways. First, he was tied. fPlace card ied after the letter TJ He is a picture of boys and girls who are not saved. They are tied by sin and evil. Like the little donkey, they are tied at the crossroads where two roads meet- the broad way which leads to destruction and the nar- row way which leads to life. It is up to us to decide which way we will take. No doubt this little donkey was rest- less, pulling and tugging to get loose. CPlace card estless after letter RJ This, too, is a picture of all who are without the Lord Jesus. They are restless and dissatisfied, not knowing that what they really need to make them happy is the Lord Jesus. Another thing about this little donkey is that he was such an inferior animal. CPlace card nferior after letter IJ He was not at all like the prancing steeds used by kings. O no, he was just a lowly an- imal used to carry men's burdens. Most of us are like that, too. We are not very mighty or great- just ordinary folks. There was something very sad about this little donkey which he could not help --he was an unclean animal. fPlace ncleam, after UQ God has said so in His Word. A long time ago God had given His peo- ple a list of animals which He called clean and others which He called unclean. A clean animal was one that had a divided hoof and chewed the cud. The little don- key had a divided hoof, but since he didn't chew the cud, he was considered unclean. Here, again, he is a picture of us. We are unclean in a far more terrible way. We are unclean in our hearts, until we re- ceive the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. The Bible says, There is none righteous, no not one CRom. 3:10J. There was another interesting thing about this little donkey- the Lord Jesus had, marked him out. CPlace arked out after MJ He knew all about him. He could see him tied there at the parting of the ways, and He had chosen him. The Lord chooses us in the same way. He has marked us out and wants us for His own. No matter where we live, or how poor we are, the Lord sees us and wants us. Jesus picked him out. fPlace icked out after PJ There were other donkeys in the land but Jesus picked this one out. And the Lord has picked us out. He says to those who have received Christ as Sav- iour, I have chosen you. Though we were tied by sin, restless, and unclean, yet He loved us and chose us for Himself. What an honor came to this donkey to carry the King of kings and Lord of lords! CPlace onored after HJ Do you know, boys and girls, there is no honor compared with carrying the Lord Jesus to those who are lost? Ti ed Entered a new Life Rest Less Near Inferior Ta med Unol ean Qedeemed Marked OUT Yielded picked QUT Honored cccepied oosed ,1 if 9 This little donkey was accepted by the Lord that day. CI-'lace ccepted after AJ And you and I are accepted in the Be- loved when we are saved. God accepts us because we have accepted His dear Son. And the little donkey was loosed. CPlace oosed after LJ No longer was he held by the rope which tied him. Now he was free, not to run aimlessly here and there, but .to do the bidding of his Master. Like the little donkey, we who have opened our hearts and asked the Lord Jesus to come in have been loosed from our sins. Now we want Him to lead us, and we listen for His voice saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. The donkey entered into a new life that day- a life of service to the Man who sent for him, and to others. CPlace ntered new life after EJ This is like us, too, if we belong to the Lord Jesus- we have entered a new life. Surely, then, we will want to serve Him. Not only was the donkey loosed, but he was brought near to Jesus, for Jesus had said, Loose him and bring hirn to me. CPlace ear after NJ That is the blessed thing that happens to Christians- we are brought near to the Lord. He even dwells within us and we walk with Him in a fel- lowship that this little donkey could not possibly know. The little donkey was tamed. CPlace amed ofter TJ When they brought him to the Lord, he was a wild, untamed little creature, not knowing the feel of a harness or the burden of a human being on his back. But when he heard the voice of the Lord and felt His gentle hand, he stood, patient and quiet, while his Master mount- ed him. So it is with us- the touch of the Lord tames us, hushes our wildness, and causes us to wait quietly for His di- rections. There was another thing about this don- key, which he did not know. God had said that if an unclean animal lived, it had to be redeemed by a clean animal. So when this little donkey was born, an in- nocent little lamb had to give its life that the donkey might live. You and I are like the donkey in this respect, too. The Bible says, The soul that sinneth, it shall die CEzek. 18:41. Since all'of us have sinned, we were under the sentence of death, and the Lord Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, took our places and gave His life on Ca1vary's cross so that we might live. He died to redeem us from sin. Our last letter gives us one more word. He was yielded to the Lord. CPlace card ielded after YJ This means he was will- ing to be led. Tell me, boys and girls, are you yielded to the Lord, or do you still want your own way? The Bible says Yield yourselves to God. This is said to God's born again children, of course. Have you truly given your hands, feet, minds, tongues, your all to Him? If you are not yielded to Him, you will not be able to bring others to Him, for your words will have no power. APPLICATION If you are not one of God's dear chil- dren because you have never been born again, you may become one by receiving the Lord Jesus as your Saviour just now. You have sinned, but the Lord Jesus paid for all your sins on the cross. He longs to come into your heart and make it clean and make you a child of God. But He will not come into your heart until you invite Him. If you would like Him to do this for you, just tell Him now. This story was adapted from That Little Donkey Was Just Like Me. by Mrs. .Helen Schaefer. in the book Seasonal Stories for the Flannelgraph, published by Wm. H. Dietz. Inc. A NEW DICTIONARY CContin'u,ed. from Page lb it were, Yes, I'm a sinner, all right, but not like this woman. Jesus rebuked Simon in no uncertain words. Simon, you are spelling religion as 'self-righteousness' when you should spell it 'love.' God's measurement of sin is not com- parison with another sinner. Simon, if you would define religion rightly, it would, in this case, be called 'common courtesy? Hers was a warm, fervent love which act- edg his was a cold, heartless attitude which criticized. Which definition was God's? Religion can be spelled in a thousand ways, such as love, kindness, honesty, de- cency, morality, liberality. If it is spelled rightly in our thinking, it will result in a way of life that exhibits the loving kind- ness and mercies of a faithful God.

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PAGE FOUR THE COMMENTATOR Christ As Seen by the Minor Prophets I UES-I-'pw X 'Q By Waller L. Wilson, Jr, for the Christ of the prophets had come. iq One of our old songs expresses the thought P -l beautifully: This article continues the series by members of the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Bible College. Mr. Wilson. who is the eldest son of our president, Dr. Walter L. Wilson, is auditor for the Greenlease Motor Car Company in Kansas City, Missouri. A statement in t.he last chapter of Luke recently arrested my attention. It was spoken of our Lord and recorded in verse 27, And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning him- self. 'I'he word all caught my attention and inspired a study of the minor prophets. I found Christ there, and the following are a few of the gems that were uncovered in these little but inspirational books. In Hosea 3:5 we read, Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall - fear the Lord and his goodness in the 5 H was His latter days. When Hosea wrote, David 1 Rafi' was s ,I s x swag Zigi, so-as din. had been 'dead many years. He was speaking of Christ, the Son of David, and His goodness. No other one is good. But we have found that His goodness, forebear- ance, and longsuf- fering lead us on, bring us, to repent- ance CRom. 2:41. How could we help but love One who has been so good to us? His good- ness is shown in the abundance of His provision for all our needs. He has show- ered us with spiritual blessings of every kind, and each blessing is more than our little cups will hold. There is forgiveness for all our sins, comfort in sorrow, strength for every weakness, hope to scatter des- pair, fellowship in prayer, and a thousand other blessings in His presence. Then, too, His goodness has given us such a bountiful variety of things to enjoy on this earth that none of us will ever know them all. Think of the variety of meats to eat, of vegetables, fruits, and berries. There are more kinds that we have not tasted than there are that we have enjoyed. Think of all the materials for dress and of all the climates and places to live. Think of God's colors in the sky, in the hillside, and in His abundant vari- ety of flowers. These are just a few evi- dences of His goodness to us. Zechariah foresaw that, as King, Christ would be great in goodness, and he spoke also of His good shepherding C9:16, 171. Nahum wrote of His goodness in the day of trouble 11:71. It was said of the Lord Jesus that He went about doing good, WALTER L. Wn.soN, JR. How good is the God we adore, Our faithful, unchangeable friend, Whose love is as great as Hisrpowex' And knows neither measure or end. The Prophet Joel spoke of Christ in Zion, and wrote this wonderful prediction: But t.he Lord will be the hope lplace of repair, or harborj of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel Q3:161. Joel was thinking of the safe harbor at the end of a long, stormy voyage, of the berth where the battered ship is repaired, repainted, refurnished, and made ready for service again. Joel was speaking of the One who would say, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The Lord Jesus knows how to repair our lives, harbor our souls. He makes us over when we come to Him, and con- stantly fits us with new furnishings for the journey ahead. He is our hope, our blessed hope, and with Paul we can say, I can do all things through C h r i s t w h i c h strengtheneth me fPhil. 4: 131. Joel was right, for Jesus the Christ has been t h e h o p e a n d strength of His peo- ple since Bethle- hem. ala B1 Jonah prophesied of the sufferings of Christ. In chapter 2, verses 2 and 3, he speaks of being in the belly of hell , and again, all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. There is material for deep medita- tion in the words, and thou heardest my voice. The writer of the Hebrews tells us When he had offered up prayers and supplica- tions with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared, though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. His prayer was heard, but He was not saved from death, He was saved out of death, out of the belly of hell, out from under the waves and billows, out of the tomb. God did not answer His prayer in the way we would have expected. The mariners who threw Jonah into the sea thought his God would let him sink to death. Years later, the accusers of our Lord sneered, He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him. They did not know that God had heard Jesus' cry, and had given an answer of peace and salva- tion to men. The Prophet Micah wrote in about 700 B.C. It is his prophecy of the birthplace CCo1l.ti'n.ued on Page 71 t 2-1-cr . ,.,, it .gi :-:vi -' uf.-:-2,-,ass .,.i51'1'131E'-gil, ......... ,. ' 1, : Sgt gg, By Rev. Wade K. Ramsey Dean, Kansas City Bible College QUESTION: What is the Christianfs rela- tion to secular governments? lX.NswER: According to Romans 1311, the Christian is to recognize secular govern- ments as ordained of God and consequent- ly to be subject unto them. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Then, in I Peter 2:13 God says, Submit your- selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the pun- ishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. Because of this nature and origin of human government, the Christian is also to pay tribute. Paul says to the Roman believers, For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers attend- thing ing continually upon this very CRom. 13:61. Then, too, the Christian is enjoined by the apostles to pray for gov- ernments and those in authority. In I Timothy 2:1, 2, I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, inter- cessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honestyf' All of this, however, does not mean that human governments are given unlimited authority over us and that we are to obey them whatever be the command. On the contrary, their authority is lirnited by God's Word to their specific sphere. If, therefore, a human government oversteps its authority and demands that a Christian do contrary to the unmistakable will of God, the child of God must always obey God rather than men. This fact is clearly shown by the apostles themselves, who when commanded by their rulers to cease preaching the gospel, continued to do so, replying, We ought to obey God rather than men CActs 5:291. It is also illis- trated by the capturing of Daniel and his three friends, who when they refused to worship the image of the king, suffered in the lion's den and fiery furnace CDan. 3, 51. But it should be noted that it is passive resistance that is here exempli- Hed and not active revolution. The whole relation of the Christian to secular govern- ment is concisely summed up by a state- ment of the Saviour Himself in Matthew 22:21 when in repl to the Herodians con- cerning paying trilbute, he said, Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. QUESTION: What is the difference be- tween Johnfs baptism and the baptism of believers today? ANSWER: The Bible does not specifically contrast John's baptism with water and CCo'nti11.'u,ed on Page 71

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m l PAGE SIX THE COMMENTATOR MAY 4, Warning A- gainst Profane Liv- ing. Exodus 20:7g Matthew 5:33 - 373 23: 16 - 22. Golden Te:rt: Exodus 20:7. , The enmity of the human heart against God is revealed by the prevalence of profanity through- - out our society. Men, women, and children continually use the names of the Father and the Lord Jesus to express their feelings in anger, derision, or surprise. It is a rather remarkable thing that even heathen who have come in contact with the white race use the names of the Christian's God in their pro- fanity although they never use the names of their own false gods. It is also note- worthy that none of the names of the Holy Spirit are ever used in profanity. It seems as though the Spirit Himself some- h.ow prevents men from using His name lest the unpardonable sin be committed and they be eternally condemned with no hope of salvation. - The name of God or of Christ is often used as an exclamation, carelessly, and without meaning. In the hour of extrem- ity one who has never known God at all may use His name to cry out in sudden fear. There are those who use the names of deity in blasphemy frequently without being aware of it. In one case, when the manager of a garage was using Jesus' name frequently in his conversation about the cars, I went over to him, put one arm around him, and said, You must think far more about the Lord Jesus than I do, because you talk about Him so much. You use His name frequently all day long while I only mention His name under cer- tain conditionsf' He blushed and said, Really, Doctor, I did not notice I was doing it. I know that I shou1dn't. Never again have I heard him use that precious name when I have been in the garage. There are those, however, who, hating God and Christ and the church, generally, use those names to express bitter feelings of animosity toward God. Of course, each word is placed upon God's record to be dealt with in the day of judgment. There is still another side to this com- mandment in Exodus 20 which is related to the fact that his commandment was not given to the Gentiles, but to Israel, the blood bought people of God. There is a sense in which the Christian may take that name in vain. The expression, in vain, means that we take something which should be of great use and obtain no good from it, as though one should receive med- icine from the doctor and never take it, or receive the gift of an automobile and leave it unused in the garage. By Jesus' name we may enter into God's presence, obtain the richest gifts of God, and be de- livered from Satan's wiles. We may go without many precious things because we fail to use His name to advantage. The Lord enable us to value that precious name. MAY 11- The Right use of summyff rx- Sundoy:SchooI Lesson Notes By Dr. Walter L. Wilson President, Kansas City Bible College odus 20:8-11: Mark 2:27, 285 Luke 4: 16abg 13:10-17. Golden Text: Exodus 2018. It is well for us to remember that God's original Sabbath day was the seventh day which is Saturday. He Himself rested on the seventh day, and since then He invites His people to do the same, yet Sunday is not a Sabbath .day in the sense of the Old Testament teaching. It is simply a day set aside in which to enjoy rest and the worship of God, because the human body needs to cease from labor for a while each week in order to regain strength lost. The Sabbath was a picture or sign of the rest which is given by the Lord Jesus to all of those who find in Him a resting place for salvation. In the book of Hebrews, chap- ters three and four are devoted to this precious truth. Let us note that God did not rest until He had finished all of His work. There is, however, a rest for the soul in Christ, wherein we cease from our own labors in trying to merit salvation and we rest fully in the Lord Jesus be- cause He finished the work of salvation on Calvary. After he had finished the work that saves the soul, He sat down at the right hand of God. We come to that Saviour, believing the work that He did for us, and we sit down in His presence to rest and rejoice in His saving grace. In Romans 5:10, we read that we are saved by His life, it is not our lives that bring merit but His. The sinless life that He lived is imputed to us as though we lived it, while our sinful lives are imputed to Him as though He lived them. This is described in Romans 4: 6, 7. Thus we rest in the love of God while being as busy as possible for His glory. We rest from our labors for salvation and rejoice in our labors because we are saved. We should note in Colossians 2:16,17 that the various Sabbath days were only a shadow of that which we are to find fully in Christ. No one ever did finish his work on Friday night. Because God knew that this would be the case, He sent the Saviour to completely finish every- thing necessary for our soul's salvation. We should, however, use the Sunday as a day of rest and a day in which we devote our love and our talents to the service of the King. Let us honor the day by re- fraining from every unnecessary work in order that our bodies and souls might be repaired in God. MAY 18- Conserving Our Family Her- itage. Exodus 20:12g Mark 7:9-13: John 19:25-27 Golden Text: Exodus 20:12. The commandment of God to Israel was intended for those who had godly families. When father and mother worship the Lord, believe the Word of God, and seek to obey His commandments, their children should honor them. There are parents, today, however, who are often drunk and as a result cruel in their family relations. Cer- tainly the children could not honor such lives. Then, again, there are children who are bent on living wicked lives, dishonest, cruel, lustful, and rebellious. 'I'hese hon.- or no one. The ideal home is that one in which both the father and the mother belong to the Lord, where the Word of God is read and loved, where the parents take the children to the Sunday School, stay for church, and seek to know and obey the Word of God. Such homes are rather scarce. The ma- jority of homes today have no Bible but do have cards, cigarettes, liquor, or other detrimental influences. There is no fear of God before their eyes nor love of God in their hearts, but a woeful indifference to the spiritual welfare of the children. The modern child, in a great majority of cases, is raised to be rebellious against any law or order in the home: the child com- mands the parents. The parents in many cases make -no effort to direct the careers of the children or their desires and can- not provide the kind of home that God wants when His rule is shut out. When the Bible is taught in the home and the commandments of God are taught to the children, then the fear of God is instilled in their hearts, and they know very well -that if they live sinful lives they may ex- pect to be sent to hell by a righteous God. This teaching has a restraining power in the heart and life of the child. The right- eousness of God must be taught in the home. His justice must be revealed, and His punishment must be explained. Where these are missing, then righteousness. is Haunted, and godliness becomes an object of scorn. Ungodly fellowship produces un- godly lives. If we would have a godly home then there must be the family altar, prayers at the table, a teaching of the Word, and the committing of the life to the Lord for His care and protection dur- ing the day. This would bring the fam- ily to the church house on Sunday and make the whole family interested in the spiritual welfare of others. God give us more God-fearing homes. MAY 25- God's Estimate of Human Life fTempe'rance Lessonj Exodus 20: 133 Matthew 5:21-26, 1825, 65 Luke 9:51- 56. Golden Text: Exodus 20:13. Life is a priceless gift which can be given only by the living God. The expres- sion, in Him was life, could only be said of the Lord Jesus. God gave Him the power to have life in Himself and to com- municate it to others. Every life is differ- ent, yet every one is priceless. When the Lord said, Thou shalt not kill, He was commanding us never to take away that which we cannot replace. Death is per- manentg there is no return. Those who kill set themselves up as enemies of God. God had intended a certain life for that person, but the murderer steps in to thwart God's plans and to destroy that life. Of course, all killing is not premeditated. There are accidents, some of which are unavoidable. The commandment does not apply to governmental discipline, for in Numbers 35 there is a frequent repetition of the ex- pression, shall surely be put to death. No fine or term of imprisonment was per- mitted: the murderer must be put to death. If this admonition were carried out today, there would be very few murderers. 'God expects the nation to put to death those who don't wish to let others live. The murderer wants to have his own way even at the expense of destroying the life of another and wrecking two homes, therefore, he should be out of the way promptly by the gallows or the gas chamber, lest his brutal lust for power I ,