Young People’s Blog

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

This is a wonderful verse for us to remember, and it is not recorded in any of the gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. But Paul had learned that the Lord Jesus said this, and he records it here for us. The Lord Jesus was always giving — healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, feeding the hungry, preaching the Word of God, and many other things. Yes, He also graciously accepted gifts from time to time, such as aid from women who followed Him, hospitality from people like Martha and Mary, meals at different homes, etc. But He told people that it was better to give than to receive.

We all like to receive things, but there is a special joy in giving, and this is especially true of Christians, for then we are acting like our blessed Master, our Lord Jesus Christ.

“By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

“But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).

In our verses today we have two kinds of sacrifices mentioned. The first one is praise and thanksgiving to God, and this always comes first. What is due to the Lord is always the most important, and comes before what is due to other people. We should be ready to praise and thank the Lord at all times, but especially when we come together on Lord’s day to remember our Lord Jesus Christ in death.

However, God also values our sacrifice on behalf of others, and the Word of God has put the two verses right next to one another. That is why it is appropriate to take a collection when we come together to remember the Lord, for then we are giving in a practical way for the help and care of others. According to 1 Corinthians 16:2, we are to put aside money every week, according to how much God has given us, in order to be a help to others. This is also a sacrifice that is pleasing to God.

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Hebrews 13:7).

We are to follow the Lord Jesus first of all, for He always sets before us a perfect example. But God has also given us leaders and guides — those who are older than we, and who have spoken the Word of God to us. We are to respect them, listen to them, and to follow their faith.

Of course, if we look at their lives, we can usually see some failure in them too, for they are only men and women like ourselves. Once a young man mentioned to his father some wrongdoing he had noticed in an older brother in Christ. His father’s answer was good. He said, “Son, it says ‘Whose faith follow,’ not ‘Whose failures follow.’”

We may see failure in other Christians, but we will also see Christ in them. We are to follow what we see of Christ, and not what we see of the old sinful nature.

“The liberal soul shall be made fat” (Proverbs 11:25).

“The soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4).

In natural things, both of the statements in the above verses are true. If someone is liberal in his dealings, he usually does well, for he thinks of other people, and is generous when he deals with them.

Also, someone who is diligent (a hard worker) usually does well; his hard work pays off, and he is rewarded for it.

However, the same thing is true in spiritual things. If we learn the things of Christ, and share them with others, we too will become “fat” spiritually. Also, if we are diligent, we will enjoy more of Christ, for it takes effort to read the Bible, to think about what we have read, and to spend time in prayer. Those who do these things will become strong Christians, and will be rewarded for their diligence.

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light” (Luke 8:16).

Before electricity was discovered, people often used candles at night in order to light their houses. Naturally, when they had lighted a candle, they put it in a prominent place, so that all could see the light. They would never put that candle under the bed, or under some kind of a pot or bowl. Then no one could see it.

Putting it under the bed would speak of laziness, while putting it under a vessel would speak of our being too busy with other things, to let our light shine. But as we saw yesterday, the Lord wants us to let our light shine in this world. We should not allow ourselves to get too busy to let our light shine, nor should we be too lazy to do so. When we live our daily lives, we should clearly show others that we belong to Christ.

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

“Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

“Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

When the Lord Jesus was here on earth, He was the light of the world. Morally and spiritually, He gave light to this world, if people would receive it. But now the Lord Jesus is up in heaven, seated at God’s right hand; the world can no longer see Him. Now you and I, as Christians, are the light of this world. Those who do not know the Lord may not read the Bible, but they should be able to see the light in our walk through this world. They should see Christ reflected in how we live.

That is why it is important to let our light shine, and to walk as children of light. We can easily hide our light, and then no one can see it. God wants our light to be easily seen!

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34).

This verse might seem to be a bit complicated to us, but it means that when we really want to look at something closely, we give it our full attention. If we look only at one thing, our whole person is taken up with it. Suppose we are looking at a pretty bird outside, and wanting to know what kind it is. We look very closely at it, perhaps even with some binoculars, to see it as well as possible.

It is the same in spiritual things. If we are really interested in following the Lord Jesus, we give Him our whole attention, and our whole body is filled with real light from God. But if we do not want the things of the Lord, our eye is evil, and we look at evil things. Then our whole being is full of darkness. Even as Christians our whole body can be full of darkness, if we get away from the Lord, and set our minds on sinful things instead of good things. Do we want our bodies to be full of light, or full of darkness?

“Except a corn [grain] of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24).

Most of us understand what happens when we sow a seed in the ground. With warmth and moisture, it germinates and a new plant grows from it. But we never recover the original seed; it dies, so that it can grow a new plant that produces many more than the original one. With wheat, an average crop will produce about sixty grains on a stalk, while a good crop will have one hundred or more grains of wheat on the head of the stalk. But if we do not plant that grain of wheat, it will never produce more; it will remain alone.

It was the same way with the Lord Jesus. If He had never gone to the cross and died, He would have remained alone in heaven. But when He died, many were able to be saved. There will be millions in heaven because the Lord Jesus died!

Of course, not only did the Lord Jesus die, like a grain of wheat, but unlike the grain of wheat, He also rose from the dead. He is now alive and seated at God’s right hand, as we saw a few days ago. We will spend all eternity with Him!

“And from thence they [Paul and Barnabas] sailed to Cyprus…and when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found…a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus: which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus…who…desired to hear the Word of God” (Acts 13:4,6-7).

Here we find a Jew who was actually a sorcerer — someone who casts spells and works miracles by the power of Satan. But one of the rulers of the area really wanted to hear the Word of God, and this man Bar-Jesus, the sorcerer, kept trying to persuade this ruler not to listen to Paul and Barnabas. We find later that Paul used the Lord’s power to blind this sorcerer for a while, in order to show him that God’s power was greater than Satan’s power. As a result, Sergius Paulus got saved.

Several years ago, my wife and I were privileged to spend a few days in Cyprus, and went to Paphos. It was interesting to see that no one mentioned this sorcerer, but there was a large plaque there, telling people that this was where Christianity first came to that area. We were thankful that people remembered this, and we too were able to hand out some gospel tracts, and speak a little about the Lord. You may read about this visit by Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13.

“Peter seeing him [John] saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me” (John 21:21-22).

It seems that Peter and John were close friends, and when the Lord had told Peter in some previous verses what He wanted him to do, probably Peter was very happy. But then he saw John sitting there, and he wanted to know what John was to do. The Lord Jesus did not tell Peter this, but rather said, in so many words, “Even if I allow him to live until I come back, that is not your business. You follow Me.”

It is good advice for us too. Sometimes we get so busy trying to find out what others are doing for the Lord that we forget what He has given us to do. This does not mean that we do not take an interest in what others do, but always to be curious about what the Lord has given others is not good. The Lord wants us to mind our own business, and to be content to follow Him.