Standards of Life and Service Part 2

Take still another: 'As the Father hath sent Me, even so'--that is a very powerful little link--'even so send I you'. There is not only the sender and the one sent, but the same purpose in both minds.

There is _the unity of effort_; that is, being yoked together for the work. It is a beautiful thing to be yoked with loving comrades in service, so that when there is a difficulty to face, some burden to be carried, or something to be moved, then you can go in for a good pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together. But this fellows.h.i.+p with Christ really means having Jesus Christ as a yoke-fellow in your work for G.o.d; that as you are not your own, you are not left to yourselves, but find that He is yoked up with you, and when the pull comes it is pulling together--He pulls and you pull.

4. Then this service sometimes goes so far as to become _the fellows.h.i.+p of suffering_. Jesus Christ could only redeem men by the sacrifice of Himself. There was no other way, and if He had not done that man would not have been redeemed, and the whole world would have remained under the ban of condemnation and without hope. It is on the same track that we must work out our union with Him in the service of G.o.d and humanity.

When I was meditating on this Divine union a picture imaged itself before my mind. The scene was a prison in Rome, where was seated a prisoner for Christ's sake; his name was Paul. During a visit to Rome they showed me the place where this was supposed to have occurred.

There is Paul, in this prison-cell, writing a letter which he wants to send by one who, having visited him in prison, is now returning to his own people at Philippi.

The prisoner is reviewing his life. He writes that he was well-born, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and that he became very zealous, and persecuted the Christians until the Lord met him and converted him. He went on, 'But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.... That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellows.h.i.+p of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.' And on the same page of his letter Paul says: 'Brethren, be followers together of me'. It is one of the plainest things which the Bible and Christian history confirm, that the union of service does very often include the fellows.h.i.+p of suffering.

5. The last feature of this relations.h.i.+p which I want to name is _fellows.h.i.+p of victory and glory_. Thank G.o.d, we are in for that fellows.h.i.+p!

We all know that a great victory will crown our Blessed Lord's sacrificial life and service; that the great Victor over death and the grave shall not only see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, but as He sits upon His throne there will be many crowns of glory. But the blessedness of that knowledge is the fact that if we suffer with Christ we are also to reign with Him--glorified together--not only workers and victors, but 'more than conquerors'. We are to sit down among that company who are able to say that they overcame by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. We may have to go on with the service and suffering, but we know that we shall be transformed into His blessed likeness, and be sharers of His glory.

Salvation, love, service, victory, glory! These are the things which we share with our Lord, and that is what I mean by Divine fellows.h.i.+p.

I do not think, however, I can leave this soul-entrancing vision of fellows.h.i.+p without specially indicating how men may enter into it. How shall I do this? By reading to you these words from the First Epistle of John: 'This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that G.o.d is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellows.h.i.+p with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellows.h.i.+p one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.' Who shall partic.i.p.ate in the joy of this experience? The people who walk in the light; the people who are cleansed from all sin in the Blood of Jesus.

IV

Finding G.o.d

'_Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart._' (Jeremiah xxix. 13.)

The words of Jeremiah in their relation to G.o.d are very appropriate for men and women in whose hearts there is any longing after personal Holiness. Look at them: 'Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart'. I like this word, because it turns our minds to the true and only source of light and life and power. We speak of seeking and getting the blessing; but, in reality, the object is to find G.o.d, and that deliverance and blessing which can be secured only from Him.

In our prayers and songs we express a great fact when we say, 'Thy gifts, alas! cannot suffice unless Thyself be given'.

_Less than Thyself, Oh, do not give, In might Thyself within me live, Come, all Thou hast and art._

I want to make it plain that Holiness is an aspect of religion in which the personality of G.o.d is very real. We must find G.o.d, and have Him possessing and dwelling within us if we are to live the life and do the work which Full Salvation implies. To realize this Divine union is as essential as to experience the forgiveness of sin. We must know G.o.d as well as wors.h.i.+p Him, and the text I have read indicates to us that _the discovery of a personal G.o.d belongs to the heart_: 'Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart'.

G.o.d's power displayed in Nature may be perceived by the eye, the ear, and other organs of the senses. On the lines of the Psalmist, we may walk out at night, and consider the heavens the work of His fingers, and exclaim, 'All Thy works praise Thee'; 'The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d; and the firmament sheweth His handywork'. The mind also by reflection and deduction may clothe the Creator with attributes or qualities of character, such as Almighty skill and benevolence; but 'spiritual things are spiritually discerned'; and it is only when G.o.d reveals Himself to the heart that He is truly known as a personal Father, Friend, and Saviour.

To the formal religionist or the casual dealer in pious phrases and occasional prayers, these revelations do not come. It is when the heart is set upon finding G.o.d that realizing faith makes--

_The clouds disperse, the shadows fly, The invisible appears in sight, And G.o.d is seen by mortal eye._

We urge men and women to thus seek G.o.d, because He alone can meet their need; He alone can save after the fas.h.i.+on that they need a Saviour; He alone, having forgiven, can break the power of sin, and cleanse from natural impurity.

But the real trouble with some is that they do not seek Full Salvation with that full purpose of heart which the prophet's words imply. In a sense they want the blessing, but I fear they do not want it enough to make them put their whole heart into seeking G.o.d's sanctifying power.

Turn to the Garden of Gethsemane, on that final night when certain men came to take Jesus. When they fain would have included and taken others, His words, you remember, were, '_If ye seek Me, let these go their way_'. Now, may I not reasonably apply these words to some who regularly attend our Meetings, but do not obtain the blessing? You are holding on to things about which it requires no stretch of imagination to hear Christ say, 'If ye seek Me, let _these_ go their way'. He desires to be your Saviour and Sanctifier, but cannot until you drop the things which hinder and which come between you and Him.

Some of these things may not be positively evil in themselves, but they are a.s.sociated with things which are evil or questionable; doubtful pursuits, questionable friends.h.i.+ps or conduct. Do you care enough about G.o.d and Holiness to drop all such? Some have not done so up to the present, and it is about these very things which hinder that Jesus says to you, 'If ye seek _Me_, let these things go'.

Then, again, some have not found G.o.d as a perfect Sanctifier, because their minds are not fully made up as to the lines of service and duty.

The general meaning of our various topics may be put thus, 'Holiness, and what comes out of it'. Not simply spiritual blessings as an inward experience, but a gift to be lived out in daily toil and effort to spread the Kingdom. We must have that or our teaching will be rightly regarded as 'goody-goody', and be of little real use.

A very fine young woman, on the occasion of my visit to a certain town, offered herself as a Candidate for Army Officers.h.i.+p. Hearing that the case did not mature, I inquired a little later, from an Officer who had seen her, what the difficulty was, and he repeated to me the explanation she had given him: 'Well, Colonel, I have changed my mind; I have left The Army and become a Christian'. That seems a strange putting of the position; but I fear that it was with her, as with some of you who have sought to dodge the cross, escape the toil, and evade the testimony, the sacrifice, and the service which are indispensable to the maintenance of Holiness. Instead of trying to escape from duty as it is revealed to us from day to day, our hearts should be tuned up to the idea in the song, which says--

_For thee delightfully employ What e'er Thy bounteous grace hath given; And run my course with even joy, And closely walk with Thee to Heaven._

The central thought of Jeremiah's text is beautifully ill.u.s.trated in the Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver. Look at this woman's anxious concern and corresponding action; she lights the candle--that is, uses what light she has; she sweeps the house--turns everything over; she searches diligently--keeps at it, not giving up at the first disappointment. Observe also the effect upon herself when her search is successful. Full of satisfaction she calls in her neighbours and friends--'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost'. Loud in her testimony, she delights in making her blessing known. You see, this woman so valued the piece of silver, that she gave herself up to the search for it, and nothing satisfied her until she found it. When men appreciate the importance of having a clean heart and the blessing of G.o.d like that, they will not seek long without result.

There are two or three things implied in this whole-hearted search after G.o.d which need to be emphasized. Of these I will name, first, _intensity of desire_. There are blessings that come like G.o.d's rain and suns.h.i.+ne, sought or unsought; but no man ever got a clean heart who did not badly want it; and if G.o.d is to sanctify and keep you in the enjoyment of the blessing, your heart will have to be moved by strong desire.

Jesus put it clearly when He talked about 'hungering and thirsting'.

Even prayer, without strong desire, does not accomplish much. 'What things soever ye _desire_'; it is that which gives intensity to your prayers, as well as 'believing that ye receive'. The Psalmist's words are equally fitting--'As the hart panteth after the water brooks'--as the hunted deer longs for the stream--'so panteth my soul after Thee, O G.o.d'. That means more than a contention for the doctrine, more than a sentimental admiration of Holiness. It implies the deep stirrings of conviction, the heart moved by strong cravings, the crying out, 'Oh, that I might find Him whom my soul desireth'!

This whole-hearted seeking the blessing also implies _fullness of intention_. How often I have spoken of the relation of the will; the choice, the setting of the mind in strong purpose, the decision--'I ought, I must, I will secure G.o.d's sanctifying blessing'; all this counts for much. People speak of their desires and hopes, but how slow they are to make up their minds that, at all costs, they will seek and find a Saviour, by whose power they shall be fully delivered, and kept in purity and fellows.h.i.+p with G.o.d. I like those Bible words about 'sincerity', 'following the Lord fully', 'cleaving unto Him with full purpose of heart', for it is to people in that state of mind that G.o.d reveals Himself.

Finally, _compliance with G.o.d's conditions_ is included in whole-heartedly seeking Holiness. The revealed conditions of entire Sanctification have often been stated, but may be repeated once more: a turning from all things known to be evil or doubtful; a full surrender and dedication of ourselves to G.o.d's service; and a simple trust in the all-cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ.

The real tests are different with different people, but all who seek this blessing must face G.o.d's conditions, and pay the price by complying with them, not only as I have stated the conditions in general terms, but as the Holy Spirit reveals them to each one personally. To one it is, 'Do this', to another 'Do that'; 'Give up this', or 'Give up that'; 'Trust Me for this', 'Trust Me for that'. But all who cast themselves fully into G.o.d's hands, letting Him have His own way with them, shall find the truth of Jeremiah's message, 'Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart'.

V

The Doctrine Adorned

'_But shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of G.o.d our Saviour in all things._' (t.i.tus ii. 10.)

Those of us who are specially interested in this great work often seek for plans by which the knowledge and enjoyment of a Full Salvation may be extended. I think I have found a good plan for helping the Kingdom forward, and I see it in this little sentence which Paul wrote to t.i.tus: 'That they may adorn the doctrine of G.o.d our Saviour in all things'.

When I say that is a plan for spreading Salvation, I mean simply this: as there is nothing which commends an apple-tree so much as the sight of the ripened fruit hanging from the branches, so nothing sets people longing for Holiness like the living exhibition of it.

First of all, I want you to see the force of that little word 'adorn'.

In speaking about adornment we usually mean something more than necessary dress. The word in our minds usually expresses the idea of clothing or covering, with the addition of decorations or ornaments.

If you fathers and mothers ask your boy or girl the meaning of the word, they will probably turn to the dictionary, and tell you something like this: 'To "adorn" is to set off to advantage, to add to the attractiveness, to beautify, to decorate as with ornaments'. Now that is exactly what the Apostle meant, and the application is that you and I must set off to advantage, add to the attractiveness of the Gospel which we profess to believe.

Jesus Christ meant that when He said, 'Let your light so s.h.i.+ne before men, that they may see your good works'--and be so influenced that they shall 'glorify your Father which is in Heaven'. That also was the idea in Paul's mind in that verse to the Philippians, 's.h.i.+ne as lights', or luminaries, 'in the world'.

Will you also look at that word 'doctrine'? It is not an acceptable word at public meetings, generally implying some system of theology, some stated creed, some definition of religious belief. But whilst that may be the general application, the Apostle had no such idea in his mind when he wrote these words.

He was now writing about persons many of whom were of very humble position, servants in the houses of the unG.o.dly, often mere slaves in some pagan household. They had never heard about formulated creeds or theologies, but they did understand the duty of living up to their profession. They knew the importance of showing in their daily lives the power of the things which they believed, and thus commending their religious faith and teaching to all observers.

There are people who know very little of what you call 'the body of doctrine', who yet in all simplicity hold the truth of G.o.d, and live up to it. Tens of thousands have crossed the River who could never give you a definition of any doctrine; but they accepted the simple truths in their hearts, were ornaments to their profession, and are now in Glory.

Now take the two words together--'adorn' and 'doctrine'--and then you will see your duty.