Heart Talks Part 7

Behold the zeal of the advocates of some of the false movements of these days! See how they pour out their money like water. See how they never can be satisfied unless they are laboring for their movement. Are we as zealous as they? If not, why not? If we have the truth and know that we have it, should not that be enough to fire our zeal till it would not let us rest while there are others in darkness? Almost in sight of you, or perhaps within a stone's throw, are people who do not know the truth. If you do no more than you have done the past year, may they not live and die there and never know it?

Zeal does not ask for excuses. Zeal is never satisfied till it has gone full length in labor. When one man was asked what was the secret of the marvelous success of the early church in its fight against heathenism, he replied with just one word, "Zeal." The same sort of zeal will produce results today. Zeal must, of course, be enlightened. It can succeed only when guided by wisdom. Blind zeal is like a blind horse: it is likely to run in any direction regardless of results. So be wise when you are zealous. If you are truly wise with that wisdom "which cometh down from above," you will also be zealous.

A Fervent Hatred.

A good Christian is a good hater. "Ye that love the Lord hate evil." This is an age of toleration. Almost any false doctrine may be preached, while many of the religious teachers of so-called orthodoxy plod on their way indifferently. Error thrives, a mult.i.tude of souls are deceived, but many seem but little concerned. Evil raises its head everywhere and sneers at the Christian people. Dens of vice, gambling-houses, lewd picture-shows, and a hundred other forms of evil are tolerated and even looked upon as "necessary evils" by religious professors. He who really loves G.o.d just as truly hates all evil. He so hates it in himself that he will give it no place in his heart or life. He hates it in others. He sees no pleasant thing in it. To him it is foul, vile, and revolting. It is his enemy, and he is its bitter foe. The measure of his love for good is the measure of his hatred for evil. We can not love the good more than we hate the evil.

The two exactly balance in our lives.

A burning love, a burning zeal, and a burning hatred will make your life as a beacon-light to the world; and if you would be a true example of what G.o.d means men to be, you must have this fervency in your life. It alone can keep you from coldness. It alone can make you a prosperous, victorious Christian.

TALK TWENTY-ONE. WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEVIL

Some people say there is no devil, but I am convinced that he is very real. In fact, I have had some personal experiences with him that leave no room for doubt. He is right here in this world. Like a lion he "goeth about seeking whom he may devour." What to do with him is the biggest problem that faces some Christians. They spend so much time thinking about the devil, fearing him, and trying to combat him, that they have little time for G.o.d. Their testimony is a testimony of the devil's doings and their conflict with him. Their religion is a negative, not a positive, thing. It consists in _not_ doing and _not_ being, _not_ thinking and _not_ feeling or in trying not to. They are working on the problem from the wrong end. Our problem is to do and be, to live a positive life. Life is for accomplishment and for character-building. The overcoming of the obstacles that we meet is only incidental; it is not the main purpose of our lives. A great many persons think that they could accomplish great things and be wonderful Christians if it were not for the devil. What to do with him is their problem. I shall tell you what to do.

_First, do not be afraid of him._ Have you not read these words, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world"? If you will just believe that, you will have no cause to fear the devil. Do you not know that G.o.d is in you? and if he is in you, is he not more than a match for your adversary? "If G.o.d be for us, who can be against us?" Satan may oppose us, but he can not prevail against us. His opposition and his schemes will be brought to naught. Just add a little boldness to faith, and you will overcome him. Do not be frightened at his roaring. He can not touch you unless G.o.d permits, and if G.o.d permits him, it will only be to give you the greater victory in the end. Are you G.o.d's child? Will he permit anything that will do you permanent ill? Do not fear the devil; trust G.o.d. Give your attention and strength to pleasing him. If you will keep busy doing this, you will not have so much trouble with Satan. G.o.d does not want you to be s.h.i.+vering with fear. He wants you to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might."

Satan is like a lion; but when a lion roared against Samson, that man slew the beast with his naked hands because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. If, instead of fearing, you will trust in the Lord to put his Spirit upon you when there is need of it, you may overcome Satan as easily as Samson did the lion. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, but they did not eat him. G.o.d put a muzzle on them, not a literal muzzle, but something still more effectual, and they could not touch Daniel.

Being afraid of the devil is much like being afraid of the darkness. When I was a boy, I was bold enough to go where I wanted to in the darkness; but when I started for the house again, I could imagine that dogs and bears and all sorts of frightful things might be anywhere about, so I would run at full speed. There might have been something, but if so, I never really knew it; but I would get panic-stricken just the same. If you become frightened this way in spiritual things, you may look upon it as only a childish habit. You will never be a "really and truly" grown-up man or woman for G.o.d until you get over your foolish fear of the devil. We are told to "resist him stedfast in the faith." It is faith that counts. If you have a gun, a crow will not fly near you. If you have faith, the devil will be more afraid of you than you are of him. Try using this weapon on him. You will find it very effectual.

_Second, do not run from him._ A man from the East was once riding over a Western prairie with a party of friends, when he saw an Indian walking along. While he was looking at the Indian, an angry bull, which had been bellowing and pawing up the ground, suddenly charged the Indian. Instead of his running, as the Easterner expected him to do, he simply turned about, folded his arms, stood stock-still, and faced the angry animal. It came charging down till it was almost upon him, then suddenly stopped, looked at him, and ran around him. The Indian stood motionless. The animal bellowed and pawed and ran round and round him. He did not move, and the animal did not touch him, but presently went off and left him alone, after which the Indian went on his way as though nothing had happened. There is a good lesson in that for us. There is no use to run from the devil, for he can run faster than we can. Our victory is often won by our standing still to see the salvation of G.o.d.

_Third, watch._ That is what our Lord commanded, but he did not say, "Watch the devil." The thing that we need to watch most is where our own feet are going. If we allow ourselves to be occupied in watching Satan, we may get out of the path and not know it. The Bible also says, "looking unto Jesus," not, "looking unto Satan." It is from G.o.d that our help comes. When we look at Satan, he appears great and terrible. When we look to G.o.d, We see his greatness and realize how much greater he is than Satan, and our courage rises, our strength is increased, our fears vanish, and we become confident. Look to G.o.d and where your own feet are going, and let G.o.d manage the devil.

_Fourth, ignore him._ There is nothing Satan hates so much as to be ignored. For us to calmly go upon our way unafraid and trustful, not dismayed by his roaring, is not at all to his liking. If we will keep our hearts and minds occupied with good things and pay no attention to his threats, we shall find that he will go off and leave us. He may soon return, but if you meet him in the same way, he will not linger around you as he will if he can hold your attention upon himself.

You have better use for your time than to let the enemy occupy it. Use it in active service for G.o.d. Jesus said he would give us "rest unto our souls." Do you have that rest? G.o.d means for you to have it, but you can not have it if you keep your attention on Satan all the time. He will tantalize you if you will let him. While you are looking unto Jesus, you will not see the faces that Satan makes at you, and so will not be troubled. If you will listen to G.o.d, you will not have time to listen to Satan. If he is constantly troubling you, it is because you are giving him opportunity. He is a conquered foe. The victory is yours, if you will have it so.

TALK TWENTY-TWO. WAITING ON THE LORD

Some people are always in a hurry about things. If they want to do something or to have something, they can not wait, they must do it or have it at once. When they are compelled to wait, the time seems very long and their impatience grows with every delay. They can not quietly and patiently wait for anything.

Such persons bring this same characteristic into their spiritual lives.

When they pray, they want an immediate answer-they want G.o.d to hurry up.

If the answer is delayed, they get all worked up about it. Sometimes they murmur against the Lord and feel very bad, like spoiled children.

Sometimes they pray a few times for what they desire, and if the answer does not come they conclude that G.o.d does not mean to answer them; so they give up seeking for it and sometimes question G.o.d's faithfulness. If they see something that needs doing or something that is not going to please them, it must be remedied immediately; if it is not, they are much displeased. They can not wait for a propitious time or till things have worked out so that they can be properly handled. Their motto seems to be, "Do it now." That is all very well for some things, but quite frequently it is necessary to patiently wait on the Lord and upon others. We can not hurry the Lord; all time is his. He works according to his own purposes and will, according to his own wisdom and plans. We can not choose for him; we must be willing for him to choose for us. It must be his to say both as to "when" and "how." Ours is to wait and trust, his to choose and do.

Many years ago I read a story. Later, when I was lying on my bed of affliction and praying earnestly for G.o.d to restore my health, he brought to my mind this story and applied its lesson to my soul. It was such a help to me that I will give it to you also. I had been much troubled because I was not healed. I would pray very earnestly, with a longing that seemed to draw out all my soul. Others would pray also, but there was no answer from G.o.d. Disappointment and discouragement seemed to shut me in with walls of darkness. A feeling of helplessness and almost of utter hopelessness came over me. I was in this condition when G.o.d brought to my memory this long-forgotten story and applied it to my heart with a peculiar emphasis that made it a direct message from him to my soul.

This is the story: The king of a certain country was growing old, and he had no son to succeed him. He announced to his people that he would choose an heir to the throne from among the young men of the country by a compet.i.tive test which would give all an equal chance. On the day appointed a great number of young men presented themselves. A certain test was made, and some failed while others pa.s.sed. Then other tests came, and each time some were rejected till at last only three were left.

They were put through test after test, but all seemed equally able to meet them, so the king announced through his heralds that on the next day the matter would be decided by a foot-race. The course was marked off, the judges were at their places, and all was ready. Just at this time a man came up to each of the contestants and said secretly to him, "The king is taking special note of you. Do not run when the signal is given until the king gives you a special signal." The three took their places eager for the race. The signal was given, one bounded forward quickly, then hesitated and stopped; then another sprang forward after him, upon which the first started forward again and they ran for the goal with all speed.

The third stood looking anxiously at the king and at the two runners, murmuring to himself, "I can make it yet, I can make it yet." The king gazed at the runners and gave no heed to the one still standing. The waiting man thought himself forgotten and soon realized that it would be impossible for him to win the race. He felt that all was lost for him.

The two runners ran on at top speed, reaching the goal together. They were brought back, and all three stood before the king. To the first he said, "Were you not told not to run until I gave you the signal? Why then did you run?"

"I forgot," said the man.

Of the second he asked the same question. His reply was, "I thought it would be but a moment till you would give the signal, and seeing the other running I ran also."

To the third he said, "And why did not you run?"

"Because you did not give me the signal, sir," he answered.

"My son," said the king, "I knew that you could run, but I did not know that you could wait."

So the young man found that the test was not a test of doing but of waiting. And thus the Lord said to me that day, "I knew that you could run, I knew that you would work with all your strength; but can you wait on me?" These words have been repeated over and over in my heart during the long years. It was a hard lesson to learn, and many times I have grown weary, many times I have longed for the end of the waiting; but that lesson has helped me to bear and to wait and to be patient in the waiting.

Sometimes it has seemed that the answer would never come. Sometimes it has seemed that the Lord had forgotten. Many times I have had to say to my heart, "Be patient and wait." This is the hardest lesson that many of us ever have to learn, but learn it we must if G.o.d's will and his plan are to be fulfilled in our lives.

There are some things for which we do not need to wait, but for which we need to press our pet.i.tions with earnestness and diligence and with an out-reaching grasp of faith for a "now" answer-for example, the supplying of a soul-need, such as forgiveness or sanctification, or physical or other help where the need is urgent. Sometimes people think that it is not the Lord's time to save or sanctify them or to give them something else that is needed at once, when the trouble is they do not get in earnest enough or do not exercise faith as they might. G.o.d's time for necessary things, and especially for salvation work, is _now_; and if we do not receive when we seek, we may look for the fault in ourselves or in our manner of seeking. Waiting on the Lord is not needful in this cla.s.s of things and it will only hinder receiving. There are, however, many other things for which we may not know G.o.d's time and in the case of which growing impatient and trying to force matters will grieve G.o.d and hinder us. Unfulfilled desire patiently and submissively met is often a powerful factor in character-building.

Have you prayed for things, yearned for them, reached out after them, and yet your prayer is not yet answered? Have you been tempted to believe that it was of no use to seek for them? If you are not seeking selfishly, or if G.o.d has not denied you, do not lose faith. G.o.d has said, "Ask, and ye shall receive"; and again he says, "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me" (Isa. 49: 23). G.o.d is faithful. He knows what is best. As a loving Father he watches over you. His ear is open to your cry. We are told to "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." Do not grow impatient, do not become wrought up, but while you must wait on the Lord, rest in him.

Jeremiah tells us how to wait for G.o.d to deliver-"It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3: 26). Think of that expression, "hope and quietly wait." Do not these words mean confidence and soul-rest? Do they not mean a.s.surance and trust? They do not mean, however, that we should be careless. They imply activity of faith and desire, but they shut out fear and unbelief. The Psalmist says, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart" (Psa. 27: 14). Keep up your courage while you wait, do not grow despondent, be strong in faith; G.o.d will not fail.

Again, we are exhorted to "wait on the Lord, and keep his way" (Psa. 37: 34). If wrongs are not righted, if persecutions continue, if, like Paul, we have a "thorn in the flesh" and our desires are not granted, let us do what this text tells us-let us "keep His way." Let us serve the Lord just as truly as though conditions were ideal and all our desires satisfied.

Let us show our fidelity to G.o.d, by being true whether circ.u.mstances are favorable or unfavorable. G.o.d promised Abraham the land of Canaan, but he went up and down in it for many years as a stranger. His posterity went into Egypt and there, under the lash of the taskmaster, they waited, waited, waited. Did not they have G.o.d's promise? Had he not said that that goodly land should be theirs? Why did he wait so long? Was this the way that he fulfilled his promise? Had he forgotten them? Did their cries to him fall on deaf ears? Their waiting was not easy. It was long and oh, how wearisome! Why did G.o.d wait so long, was there any adequate reason? Yes, when G.o.d waits there is always a good reason for the waiting. His acts are not arbitrary; he does not act according to caprice; he acts wisely and when it is best. He tells us why he delayed in this case-it was because the sins of the Canaanites had not yet come to the full. When they reached that point, the Lord fulfilled his promise and led the children of Israel out of their bondage into that goodly land.

Have you learned this lesson of waiting upon the Lord? Can you commit your ways to him and feel that if desire is still unsatisfied, if obstacles are not yet removed, if trials yet bear upon you, the Father-love is not growing cold, nor his hearing dull, nor has he forgotten? In the proper time and way the answer will be sure, and because of the delay the answer will be fuller and will enrich you more than if it had come when first you asked. Wait patiently on the Lord, trust also in him, be not weary in well-doing, and out of your waiting will come strength, and out of your sorrow will come rejoicing, and out of the bitterness will come sweetness, and at the end of the way you will find a crown and life everlasting.

TALK TWENTY-THREE. THREE NECESSARY "RATIONS"

The soul, like the body, must have something to nourish and strengthen it, to give it vigor and vitality. An army will have neither the strength nor the courage to fight unless it has its rations. And if I may be allowed a play on words, I may say that there are three rations which are very needful to every Christian. Without these he must be weak and faltering and of little service, but with them he may be a pillar of strength in the temple of G.o.d.

The first of these "rations" is _aspiration_, or ardent desire. Strong desire is one of the greatest incentives of life. To be contented as we are is one of the most fatal hindrances to progress and activity. There is nothing to stir us to action when desire is satisfied. The trouble with a great mult.i.tude of people is that they are satisfied when conditions do not warrant it. If we are to make progress in the Christian life or accomplish anything for G.o.d, we must have strong aspirations. These are as a spur to our energies. Aspiration is the cure for being "at ease in Zion." Aspirations are good or bad according to the motive that prompts them. Some are essentially selfish, and such are necessarily evil. If we desire to be or do for selfish advantage, for glory and praise; if we aspire to be leaders, as so many religious people do, only that they may have authority or honor-our aspirations are evil. But each one of us owes it to himself and to G.o.d to desire strongly to be and to do his best for G.o.d.

What is the temperature of your spiritual aspirations today? Are you so well satisfied that desire is cold and almost lifeless? or are you reaching out to the things that are before with an eager yearning? No matter how good or how holy you may be, if you look Christward until you see the depths of his submission to the Father, the length of his love for souls, the heights of his lofty purity and unworldliness, the tenderness of his sympathy, the richness of his communion with the Father, his self-abnegation, his humility, and his unswerving faithfulness, your soul will feel itself so immeasurably beneath Christ that you can not help longing to be more like him. It will create in your soul an inexpressible aspiration to draw further away from this old world with its trifles and its follies and to draw nearer to Christ, to be more like him in your inner life, and to act more like him in your outward life. If you look only at self and self-interest, your spiritual aspirations will fade away; but as you look away from self and behold Him who is altogether lovely, the more you look upon him the greater will be your desire to be conformed to his likeness and submitted to his will.

Each of us ought to desire to be our best for G.o.d. Do not be content to be one of the "weak ones," or even an average Christian. Those souls who rise above the average, those who are bright lights in their communities, are not the ones who are easily satisfied with their attainments, nor are they the ones who are willing to be this year as they were last year or the year before. You, as well as anyone else, can be a bright light if you will. You can be spiritual if you will. It is not a question of G.o.d's blessing some more than others; it is a question of desire that spurs to active effort to become spiritual.

There is much work to be done, and you have a part in that work. How great that part may be depends more upon your desire to work than upon anything else. Are you, like many professed Christians, willing enough for others to work and willing to be idle yourself? If you really _want_ to do something for the kingdom, there is something that you can do. If you are willing to do anything, no matter what, G.o.d will see that you have something to do. No matter how small your task is, it is worth doing well.

Look upon the fields, not those afar off, but those about you. All around you are souls going to destruction. Forget your own concern. Look at the needs about you till your heart is filled with desire for these souls, till you covet them for the Master as a miser covets gold. Then you will find work enough to do and strength to do it.

The second "ration" is _inspiration_. There is so much half-hearted work, so much done mechanically, so much form in wors.h.i.+p and service. What we need is enthusiasm. We hear much about artistic inspiration and poetic inspiration, but what we really need most of all is spiritual inspiration.

Religious forms are cold and dead until there is put into them the warmth of enthusiasm. Get your soul filled with this glowing warmth. It will lighten your tasks. It will bring success instead of failure. It will be a well-spring of joy. It will make an optimist of you. It will help you break down barriers. It will enable you to surmount obstacles. It will put the shout of victory in your soul in the very face of your foes. An enthusiastic man is a victorious man. An enthusiastic church is a victorious church. Enthusiastic work and wors.h.i.+p are filled with a vitality that makes them worth while.