God’s Providences

In the sure guidance of God we have His Word and His Spirit and also His Providences. Again, we would say, oh, how blessed to await the providences of God! His Providences are always in favor of the righteous. “All things work together for good to them that love God.”* (Romans 8:28) How many can look back through their lives and see how the providences of God have directed their ways. They may have planned, but God’s providence overthrew and brought better things to pass. Trust in the providences of God, commit your way unto Him, patiently wait, and He will guide you into the way that is best. Never get in a hurry, but wait on the Lord, and He will always make the way plain before you. I have learned never to take a step until I know it is ordered of God. In the providence of God, Joseph was sold to a company of Ishmaelites and cast into prison and thus brought to be ruler over all Egypt. In the providences of God, Kish’s asses went astray and Saul being sent in search of them was led to the prophet Samuel, who anointed him king over Israel. You may meet with losses, all things may seem decidedly against you; but be patient, trust in the providence of God, and in time you will see His kind favor.

If you value your happiness and success in life, wait on God. If you do not know which way to go or what thing to do, wait until you do know. God will surely guide you; He will open the way clear and plain before you. When He has given you full assurance, then go forward in all security. Mountains may rise before you, but He will pluck them up and cast them into the sea. Rivers and seas may lie across your path, but He will divide the waters and let you pass through. Live humbly and only for the glory of God. Trust in Him with all the strength of your soul. See that all motives are as pure as heaven. Prayerfully seek a knowledge of God’s will, patiently wait on Him, cheerfully and promptly obey when His will is known, and He will lead you in the path of security, strewing the way with blessings and glory, and make your life one golden gleam of light across this dark world to lead others to the Lamb.

Be Not Rash With Thy Mouth

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.—Ecclesiastes 5:2

Too much talking is very destructive to spirituality. Many people wonder why they do not have a closer walk with God. With some it is because they talk too much. It is surprising to note how much worthless talk there is in the world today.

How many think they must keep constantly talking to be entertaining! They do not know the power and the beauty of silence. Hearts communing in silence exert a power and influence over each other. Our musings are transmitted to other hearts. Often when my wife and I have been driving along some quiet country road or have been sitting in the quiet of our home, she has spoken on the very thing on which I was meditating. Often the thoughts of our hearts exert more powerful influence over the hearts and minds of our companions than would our words.

It is true that words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver; but unless fitly spoken, they become most unsightly, degrading, and ruinous. The most beautiful thing in its place often becomes the most unsightly thing when out of place. Let your words be few and well chosen. “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”—Prov. 10:19 [“A fool's voice is known by multitude of words.”—Eccl. 5:3b] In that ceaseless prattle [trifling or empty talk—Merriam-Webster] there is an awful waste of real soul energy. The odor of a rose confined in a room is very perceptible but in open air it would soon be spent. Words that are gathered in hours of silence, burst forth in strength and beauty; but where there is a constant flow of speech, the words run down into weakness. Alas! How much shallowness there is in much of the present day conversation! I do not mean among the unregenerate only, but among Christians as well. One word seasoned with grace is worth far more than a thousand graceless ones. Make your words palatable by putting in much seasoning [scripture meditation].

There is much to do in these days, by way of visiting and talking to others, so much writing to be done, and so much preaching needed, that, to some, hours spent in silence may seem to be a great waste. It is not if the heart’s musing is on proper themes. The ministry of Jesus was a short and busy one, yet He found much time to be alone. He would go apart into the desert and the mountain and there in deep communing in the Spirit He would compress within His inner being a holy unction that would burst forth upon the ears and hearts of His hearers in such weight that they would say, “Never man spake like this man.”—John 7:46 Elijah was left alone by the brook Kidron. We may think this was a waste of time. Paul was shut up in prison, but there he gathered force of words that speak to this day. If you would bring flowers to others, you must go to the valley to gather them. To converse with others without first having gathered in your closet vital force into your own inner being, is like trying to feed hungry mouths from an empty basket. To give out in excessive talk more than the soul has gathered in its silent communing, is a waste of vital force and will bring a decline in spirituality, just as the muscle is weakened by being too severely exercised.

Let your speech be always seasoned with grace. Talk not seasoned with grace is as insipid as food without salt. Our words should be so seasoned with grace that they would assist others into more heavenly frame of spirit. It is in the closet that we take on a store of seasoning grace. More time is required to so the seasoning than to do the serving. In other words, more time should be spent in secret prayer, in deep meditation and thoughtful reading, than in mingling and conversing. A useful man of God one time said he had learned that about an hour was as long as he could spend in conversation to profit. If you talk more than you pray, your words will run beyond the point of seasoning and be graceless.

Satan, in all probability, will tell you that the time spent in reading the Bible, in silent meditation, or in secret prayer is time misspent. He will endeavor to persuade you that you have no time for these. He would send you out in great haste to feed others from an empty basket. Be careful of your words. See that every one is seasoned with grace. Unless they are, they are wasted words. The unction of the Spirit upon your soul is obtained and retained by reading or in prayer and meditation. You should linger in the closet until this unction is compressed to the utmost capacity of your soul. It will impart force [power] to your words. The preacher that does but little praying may use great swelling words; but he is only a sounding brass. Let your words be few. Man shall give account for every idle word. Be careful how you spend your silent hours. If you spend them in idle dreaming or lazily, you will not be fit to be out among men. You will only go empty handed. Improve the silent moments and gather to your soul a bountiful store of grace; then go out and pour it upon the hearts of others.

O ye saints, avoid multiplicity of words. Some may count you dull and stupid, but it is better that the world should call us stupid than that God should count us graceless. Speak only such words as are good “to the use of edifying, that it [they] may minister grace unto the hearers.”—Eph. 4:29 In relating past experiences, be careful that it is done to edification, and not just to please. Be willing to listen rather than to speak. If a man does not bridle his tongue, his religion is vain. Someone has said, “Speech is silver; silence is golden.” Let your words and your thoughts be such as will invite and encourage the Spirit of God to rest upon you and as will keep in your soul an uninterrupted sense of divine presence. This was said of a man who enjoyed a walk and communion with God attained by but few: …

“It was a constant care to keep a deep sense of God’s presence. In order to do this he was slow of speech, and had the exact government of his words. To this he was so inwardly attentive, as sometimes to appear stupid to those who knew him not; though few conversed in a more lively manner when he judged it would be for the glory of God. It was his continual endeavor to draw up his own and every other spirit to an immediate intercourse with God; and all his intercourse with me were so mingled with prayer and praise that every employment and every meal was as it were perfumed therewith. He often said: ‘It is a very little thing so to hang upon God by faith as to feel no departure from Him. But I want to be filled with the fullness of His Spirit. I feel,” said he, ‘sometimes such gleams of light, as it were wafts of heavenly air, as seems ready to take my soul with them to glory.’”

Another said of the same devoted man: “I was intimately acquainted with him for above thirty years. I conversed with him morning, noon, and evening without the least reserve during a journey of many hundred miles, and in all that time I never heard him speak one improper word, nor saw him do an improper action. Many exemplary men have not known holy heart and life, but one equal to him I have not known—one so inwardly and outwardly devoted to God. So blameless a character in every respect, I have not found either in Europe or in America; nor do I expect to find another such this side of eternity.”

It is our privilege to live as near to God as did this man or any other, but in order to do so we must have the same constant care, guard our words, and live in an atmosphere that is wafted fresh from the perfumed fields of heaven.

Taken from: The Hidden Life or Walks with God, by Charles E. Orr; subtitle, “Talkativeness

The Spirit’s Impressions

The Holy Spirit is given us for a guide. With respect to our conduct and our duty, we often feel the impressions of the Spirit. The Word of God tells us to give of our goods as the Lord has prospered us, but the Spirit may often impress us as to where to give.

We feel impressed by the Spirit to give, we feel impressed to go to a certain place, we feel impressed to pray for such a one, we feel impressed to fast and pray, etc. Many a precious soul that once was full of joy and fatness is today in unrest and leanness because these impressions have been resisted. But are there not impressions given by an evil spirit? Most certainly, and these impressions have led many an honest soul into the wildest of fanaticism. Thank God, by living very humble, with all our motives very pure, and by acquaintance with the Word of God, we may know the voice of the Spirit of God and that of the evil spirit. I have known people to receive and obey impressions to fast and pray that were given by Satan. God’s Word and God’s Spirit favor fasting and praying, but both are bounded by sound judgment; and in such matters we should not follow a spirit beyond what common sense would approve.

It is blessed and beautiful to be led by the Spirit of God. If its impressions are not resisted, but encouraged by cheerful obedience, they will lead us into a blessed felicity with God and a deep acquaintance with Him. An evil spirit’s whisperings can be very easily detected by one who has much communion with the Lord. Recently, while standing on a steamer’s deck, it was whispered to me that the steamer was an ill-fated vessel, and that I never should see home again. At first I did not know but that it was the voice of God, but soon I felt attempts being made to cast over me a tormenting fear; this aroused my suspicion that it was not God speaking, and to be convinced I allowed the spirit to talk on. For a while it tried to torment me with fears that I should never see the dear ones at home again, and then said, “You may as well cast yourself overboard into the deep.” Ah! now I knew the Satanic spirit and I rebuked it in Jesus’ name. I reached my home in safety. Praise the Lord! Try the spirits by the Word; Satan will soon expose himself.

The Will

Among the different faculties which God gave to man in His creation is one called the will. It is because you have this faculty that you become a responsible being. Before the first man and woman in the garden of Eden God placed two laws—one was the law of obedience, and the other, the law of disobedience. These were subject to their choice. They could will to obey God and live forever, or will to disobey and die. Before all men are placed two ways—one is called the way of life, and the other, the way of death. These are subject to their choice. Therefore, the will is called that faculty of the soul by which we choose or refuse things.

The will is capable of cultivation. By the exercise of your will you can refuse to do wrong things, and thus strengthen your willpower. Men have attained extraordinary heights of morality by the exercise of the will in right-doing and refusing to do wrong. This is noble and beautiful, but there is something more noble still and more beautiful. The moral man wills to do right because it is right, while the Christian wills to do right because it is the will of God and pleases Him.

Although man cannot by the exercise of his willpower in right-doing evolve into a Christian, the will plays an important part in the formation of Christian character. It is true, the will is most usually led by the affections of the heart; therefore the writer of Proverbs said, “Out of [the heart] are the issues of life.”* (Proverbs 4:23) The heart must, however, get consent of the will before its desires are fulfilled. Here is a truth of vast importance to the Christian.

Many people’s wills have become so in bondage to the impure affections and desires of their depraved hearts that they have no will to do right and shun the wrong. The desires of the heart sway their scepter of power over the will, and it acts to the granting the heart its wishes. This is a sad picture. A human being created to be free, but now a wretched slave. When he wills to do good evil is present with him; the good he would do, he does not do; and the evil he would not do, that is what he does (Romans 7:15,21). O miserable man! A person who has rejected the mercy of God and has yielded to the inclinations of an unholy heart until he has no power to accept the offers of mercy and shun the ways of sin, is an object of the greatest pity. To him there is no hope of escaping the damnation of hell.

There is a time in the life of every rational young man and woman when they can accept the blessed offers of salvation which God extends through His Son, if they will. God gives the Holy Spirit to operate upon the depraved heart, making it to feel something of the realities of a Savior’s love and goodness, and something of the awfulness of sin. The Holy Spirit does not take hold upon the will and compel it to serve God, or force it into right action. He just takes hold upon the heart, suppressing its love for sin, and awakening desires for a better life, thus removing the unrighteous scepter the heart swayed over the will, giving the will freedom and power to accept or reject the mercies of God. While the impure affections and unholy desires of a depraved heart are being restrained by the power of the Holy Spirit, before the will is set the way of life and the way of death, each subject to choice. Now is the time for whosoever will to come and “take of the water of life freely,”* (Revelation 22:17) and whosoever will now “call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”* (Romans 10:13)

Not only does the will act an important part in securing the salvation of the soul through the offered mercies of God, but it is the purpose of God that the will act an important part all along the Christian way. After the Christian enters through the “strait gate” and steps out upon the “narrow… way”* (Matthew 7:13) that leads to eternal golden glories, he is not carried forward in a “chariot of fire”* (II Kings 2:11) through the journey of life and crowned at the end with eternal blessedness irrespective of his will. Often it is true that the soul is carried blessedly onward in the way of life on the wings of joy, without any apparent exercise of the will; but how often Good seems to have deserted or forsaken us, Joy has hid her smiling face, and Good Feelings have departed, and we are left to serve God and attend to our Christian duties from choice of will. God wants our life service to be a willing service. It is necessary, therefore, that He apparently forsake us and permit dark powers to engage us. It is that our wills may be exercised. The Psalmist says, “I will run the way of thy commandments…. I shall keep thy testimonies,”* (Psalm 119:32,146) and let us all say amen.

The blessings and joys the Lord bestows upon us are the rewards of willing service, for which things you should be very thankful; but never let them influence you in your conduct toward God. There have been those, who, in the hour of seeming desertion, refusing to use their willpower, have turned back to the world. This is faint-heartedness and cowardice, ignobleness and unmanliness.

Every faculty of the body or soul that is unused or unexercised will weaken and die. The muscles if unused will weaken, the mind if unused will grow lax, and the will if unexercised will lose its power. Should God always keep us soaring aloft on the wings of peace and joy and blessings, without the exercise of the will, this important faculty would degenerate into weakness and slavery. Oh, may my young readers arise in the strength of their manhood and womanhood and use, in choosing and doing the right, the will God has given them. The tempter may come, yea, will come, and endeavor to get some of the affections of the heart set upon the world; but you must reject all such temptations, and by the force of your will set your affections on things above. God does never will for us, but He gives us power to will if we will but use the power He gives us.

You are exhorted by the Scriptures to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”* (Philippians 2:12) The “crown of life”* (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10) lies at the end of the Christian race. When we step over the boundary between time and eternity our salvation is then eternally secured. Praises be to God! It is for this crown of amaranthine glory, or blessed eternal salvation, that we are to watch and labor with fear and trembling. Oh, may you be very careful! Be watchful, lest something should hinder you in your Christian race, and you miss at last the blessedness of heaven. Guard the affections of your heart with the strictest vigilance.

I said above that God would always give us power to will, if we would but make use of that power. For proof of this I shall refer you to Philippians 2:13, which in our common version is rendered thus: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” The meaning of this text is not so readily comprehended by this version as it is by some others. By Conybeare and Howson it is translated in these words: “It is God who works in you both will and deed.” Upon examination of the different translations we find the meaning of this text to be this: “It is God that gives us power to will and to do His good pleasure.” In the verse preceding this one the apostle tells us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” and then he adds for our encouragement, “God will work in you the power to will and to do that which will secure your eternal salvation.” Never say, “I can’t.”

Here is something which will prove very valuable to you in your Christian life if you can only get to fully comprehend it: You can do nothing; your will is powerless without God and his grace, and God can do nothing in you without the consent of your will. God does everything, and we do everything: we are to purify our hearts, and yet it is God who purifies our hearts; we are to make us a new heart, and yet it is God who gives us a new heart; we are commanded to work out our salvation, and God gives us power to do it. God furnishes the power; we are to do. Do not think that God will act for you. He will give you power to act, but He will not do the act for you. Do not, therefore, say, “I can’t.” You can do “all things”* (Philippians 4:13) through Christ, who strengthens you. You can serve God in a way acceptable to Him; you can keep your mind stayed on Him; you can pray; you can resist the devil and temptation and be an overcomer; you can endure unto the end—you can do “all things” by the grace and power of God, and He will always give you power to do His pleasure. Do not serve and praise God only when He gives you blessings and joy, but serve Him and praise Him when the way is dark. Have a fixed decision of the will to serve God no matter what the feelings may be. Be thankful to God for the willpower He has given you, and use it manfully, nobly in His service. Do not cower and tremble before temptation. You are to fear and tremble before God, but never before trials, temptations, sin, nor the devil (Deuteronomy 20:3). God will cause you to triumph by giving you power to will. Be steadfast, be faithful, fix your will unswervingly to serve God, and “in due season [you] shall reap if [you] faint not.”* (Galatians 6:9)

On Fruit Bearing

The following beautiful language is found in Isaiah 51:3: “For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall he found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Zion is a metaphor signifying the Church of God. It is, therefore, the church which the Lord will comfort and whose wilderness will be made an Eden. But what is the Church of God? This is a very important question, one which all people should fully understand, and one which is very easily answered. You will learn at once by reading Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18,24 that the church is the body of Christ, and in I Corinthians 12:27 we are plainly told that Christians are the body of Christ; they are, therefore, the Church of God. Dear reader, if you are a Christian, you have been born of the Spirit; you have passed from death unto life; you have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light; you have been created anew; you are, therefore, a member of the body of Christ, and all such members make up the Church of God.
The children of Israel were the Church of God in the old dispensation, and He dwelt in a tabernacle or temple they built for Him. In this more glorious gospel dispensation those who have been born of the Spirit and made pure in heart are the Church of God. In this Holy Spirit dispensation we do not build temples for the Lord to dwell in; for “know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”* (I Corinthians 3:16) “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”* (I Corinthians 6:19) In this blessed gospel day Christians are the “habitation of God through the Spirit.”* (Ephesians 2:22) If you are a Christian, God dwells in your heart; your body is His glorious temple. This is a most stupendous thought, but it is true. In your soul is the sweet heavenly manna, the budding rod, and the ark of the covenant overshadowed by the cherubim of glory.
When God created man He placed him in a garden which He had planted eastward in Eden. In this garden God made to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food; also, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil were in this garden, and a river to water it. It is said that God “[walked] in the garden in the cool of the day.”* (Genesis 3:8) That was in the day of literal things. We are now in the day of spiritual things, when our bodies have become the temple of God through the Spirit, and our hearts His lovely garden. It is in this garden He dwells; it is there He walks (II Corinthians 6:16). When the south winds blow and the spices flow out He comes into His garden to eat His pleasant fruits; He gathers the myrrh and the spices, He eats honey and drinks wine and milk (Song 4:16, 5:1). This is sweet language, and is expressive of the purity of the Christian heart, where God dwells, and where He walks in the gentleness of His Spirit, delighting Himself in the tender Christian graces that are budding and blooming all along the peaceful avenues of the soul. Like as the gentle south wind blows upon the flowers of the garden and scatters the fragrance, so the Spirit of God fans the heavenly graces implanted in the heart, and a fragrance flows out of the Christian life, awaking admiration in the minds of all who come into its presence.
The trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food in the literal garden of Eden symbolize the graces of the regenerated heart, which are lovely to behold, which feed the souls of those who look upon your noble Christian walk, and which become a “tree of life”* (Genesis 2:9) to the desert hearts of men. In the garden of the Lord blooms the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley. These are beautiful emblems of the Christ-life in the Christian soul. The river which flowed through Eden’s literal garden represents the deep, broad river of peace which flows in the heart which has tasted of redeeming love.
A young heart filled with the mild, meek spirit of Christ, and a young life laden in rich profusion with kind words, generous deeds, and gentle, modest ways, is the most beautiful object that ever graced this mundane sphere. Angels look down and marvel, and throughout all heaven is awakened songs of joy and praise. It is your privilege to be filled with Jesus now; to be clothed in white and walk in purity. It is also your privilege as you journey down life’s way to grow more kindly; to be more and more like Jesus; for the sweet graces of heaven to bloom more beautifully in your heart and life; and the beauty of your young Christian life to give way to more beauteous ripened age. If you attend to all Christian duties and live in prayer and devotion to God, your soul will become more and more weighted down with the riches of heaven, and, looking out through the casement, your soul will hail with joy the convoy that has come to bear it to its home of eternal rest.
The Savior in speaking of Himself said, “I am the vine,”* (John 15:5) and in speaking of Christians he said, “Ye are the branches,”* (John 15:5) and speaking of God he said, “My Father is the husbandman.”* (John 15:1) This very clearly and strikingly illustrates the duty of a Christian, and the position he occupies. Christians sustain the same relation to Christ that the branches do to the vine. As the branch receives life through the vine and bears fruit, so the Christian receives life through Christ and bears fruit. The object of fruit bearing is the glory of God. You should be desirous of bearing as great an abundance of fruit as possible, and do all you can to increase your fruitfulness, since “Herein is [God] glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”* (John 15:8)
The apostle Paul, in speaking of Christians, said, “Ye are God’s husbandry.”* (I Corinthians 3:9) If you will examine the Greek text you will find that a more proper rendering would be, “Ye are God’s field.” Greek scholars tell us that the Greet term from which husbandry is translated in our common version signifies a cultivated field. It answers to the Hebrew word sadeh, which means a field sown and under cultivation. From this you will be enabled to yet more fully understand the true position you occupy under God. You are His fertile field, where He is cultivating the precious fruits of the kingdom of heaven. The Husbandman has rooted up every plant that He has not planted, and sown there the seeds of righteousness.
Not only are your hearts the “garden of the Lord”* (Isaiah 51:3) where blooms the “rose of Sharon” and the “lily of the valleys”* (Song 2:1) in all the sweetness of their fragrance and beauty, but they are also the Lord’s fertile field, where the amiable Christian graces are to bud, bloom, and bear fruit. Your duty as a Christian is to bear fruit for God, that He may be glorified. Every fruit-bearing branch, therefore, He purges, “that it may bring forth more fruit.”* (John 15:2) The successful farmer carefully removes all the foreign growth out of his field, and then cultivates his plants, that he may reap the greatest possible harvest.
Delicious fruits are brought from the tropical clime to this land of ours, and they awaken in our hearts an admiration for that delight some country. We long to travel through those sunny lands. You are God’s fertile field. In your life has been placed the beautiful fruits of the heavenly land. As this world looks upon your life and beholds these fruits admiration will be awakened in their hearts for the fruitful fields of heaven. They will be influenced by your life to seek the kingdom of God and its riches, that they may taste of its fruits now and forever. If you will walk with God and live devoted to Him, those precious fruits of the Spirit will become more plentiful and beautiful in your life as you journey down the way, making you a greater blessing to the hearts of others. To this end you must live.

THE GREATEST LACK

TEXT: MATTHEW 19:20-21

THEME: Full consecration is the greatest lack of Christians today.

INTRODUCTION:
“Following Christ” or full obedience is not a backward step or a detoured
way toward one’s doom. “Following Christ” must be continuous. It is not
an “up and down” experience. The greatest lack is the reluctance to follow
Christ till the end. Let us consider Christ’s instructions in order not to be
among those who are in this “GREATEST LACK”.

I. “GO” – THE FIRST STEP IN OBEDIENCE

A. There must be joyful obedience
“The young man went sorrowful.”
B. Go to the furtherance of the gospel.

II. “SELL” – THE SEPARATION FROM THJE FARMER’S HEART’S TREASURE.
(Material)

A. We must exchange the material to the spiritual treasures (moral).
B. We are ready to sacrifice all for Christ, “no more, no less”.

III. “GIVE” – THE GIVING OF OUR LIFE TO GOD.

A. We must fully consecrate our ALL AND ALL to God.
B. There is no getting back what we have given to God.

CONCLUSION:
Many are backsliding today because they have the GREATEST LACK
in their lives. They want to go on in satisfying the flesh, rather than
living a life pleasing in the sight of God consecrate fully young people
your all to God in order to experience the joy in living for Christ.