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Seek
First The Kingdom
"But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall
be added unto you." Matt. 6:33. An injunction of much
importance is here given. Verses 24 to 34 of this
chapter show how beautifully it is in the plan of God to
care for his own. We are taught to have our trust in God
for what we eat, for what we drink, for what we
wear---for all the necessities of this life. We are
referred to the fowls of the air and the lilies of the
field, which take no thought for their life, but live in
their happy, independent way, without care or trouble.
These God cares for and says we are of more value than
they.
What a valuable lesson we are to
learn from this! But is it really true that we are to
have the same degree of freedom from care or anxiety
that the fowls or the lilies have? We shall also ask, Is
it really possible? This lesson surely teaches that we
are to have such a trust in our Maker, and therefore it
must be possible. The apostle Paul instructs us in Phil.
4: 6, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God." And in another place,
"I would have you without carefulness." Our lives are to
be free from worry or anxiety about anything and
everything. This feature alone of the divine life, or
this principle alone in the economy of God’s gracious
plan, ought to represent salvation as a thing greatly to
be desired. But in the face of this people fail to see
anything desirable in it, because by their unbelief they
hold such a life to be impracticable. By this kind of
unbelief the enemy of souls deprives many of their
privileges in Christ and hinders the world from seeing
the real nature of the salvation experience.
How the world is estranged from
the principles of righteousness! How it holds light to
be darkness and darkness to be light! Instead of
accounting that there is any reasonableness in such
trust in God as is shown in this lesson they would fain
be selfishly taking upon themselves the responsibility
of maintaining their own existence, and thus every one
seek for his own gain. Thinking that they thus have an
excuse for not devoting their time to God’s service and
their spiritual welfare, the things of the Lord are
forgotten and neglected, and their souls consequently
are lost. When will individuals learn that they have a
spiritual as well as a physical existence, and that the
spiritual is the more important of the two? Seek first
the kingdom.
But the fact that we wish to bring
out most prominently is that many Christian professors,
who are supposed to be examples of the Christian life,
do not comprehend the import of the test "Seek ye first
the kingdom of God." The mistake is made on the word
first. They think to obey this scripture by first
gaining the profession of salvation, presuming then that
the blessings of the kingdom will follow, while they
live as selfishly as before and dig deep into the things
concerning the unrighteous mammon. In so doing they fail
to experience the blessings of the kingdom, and also
misrepresent the kingdom to the world. The word first
means not only first in time, but first in importance;
and this idea of importance must ever be held before us,
not only when we enter the kingdom, but throughout our
whole Christian life. We are to hold the kingdom of
righteousness first in all our lives. If we hold God
first in everything and consider what will be to his
glory before we consider our own, we give God a chance
to fulfill his word, and his own good pleasure in us
will be accomplished. We then place ourselves in the
order of his plan where it will be possible for him to
do as he has promised.
The salvation life means an
unselfish life. We are not to seek selfish glory in
anything, but seek the glory of God first---above
everything else. It has been remarked concerning certain
ones who were struggling for an earthly existence, that
if they would only get saved "all these things" (all
earthly necessities) would be added unto them. But it is
not those who merely get saved that can claim this
promise; it is those who remain faithful and carry out
the principles of the plan of righteousness. "Seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness" in everything.
Lose your own individuality in God, consign your all to
him, live for his glory in all your life, then "all
these things shall be added unto you."
Prayer
The value of prayer can hardly be
estimated. Unless you are willing to take up a life of
prayer and keep it until the close, you had just as well
not take up the Christian profession. Without prayer you
will die. Some one has expressed it thus:
"Prayer is our life, our soul’s
triumphant wings, The arm that holds the shield and hand
that takes the crown; Along the line on which a thousand
faithful prayers ascend, Surely God doth send ten
thousand blessings down."
What an honor it is to have
audience with the King of glory! He extends the golden
scepter to us, and we come hopefully, confidingly, into
his presence and tell him all that is in our hearts. It
is only because we comprehend something of his great
love to us that we venture to come into his presence.
Who would not consider it a great honor and blessed
privilege to be admitted into the courts of the lords
and the kings of earth? The greatest honor bestowed upon
man is the privilege of coming into the presence of God
and conversing with him. Alas! how few appreciate the
privilege of prayer! How few can properly estimate its
true worth! Jesus by his example has taught us something
of the worth of prayer. His rising a great while before
it was day to hold communion with the Father, and his
spending all night in prayer to him, teach us something
of its importance. If it was necessary for Jesus to
spend so much time in prayer---how much more necessary
for us.
Prayer is the energy and life of
the soul. It is the invincible armor which shields the
devoted Christian from the poisoned missles shot forth
from the batteries of hell. It is the mighty weapon in
his hand with which he fights life’s battles unto
victory. He who lives in prayer reigus triumphant. His
soul is filled with the peace of heaven. Power is given
him over sin and the world. By prayer all storm-clouds
are driven away, mountains of discouragement are cast
into the sea, chasms of difficulties are bridged, hope
is given wings, faith increases, and joys abound. Hell
may rage and threaten, but he who is frequent and
fervent in prayer experiences no alarm. By prayer the
windows of heaven are opened, and showers of refreshing
dews are rained upon the soul. It is as a watered
garden, a fertile spot where blooms the unfading rose of
Sharon and the lily-of-the-valley; where spread the
undecaying, unwithering branches of the tree of life.
By prayer the soul is nourished
and strengthened by the divine life. Do you long for
deeper joys? for a greater sense of the divine fulness?
for a sweeter balm of hope to be shed upon your soul?
for a closer walk with God? then live much in prayer. Do
you desire to feel the holy flame of love burning in all
its intensity in your soul? then enkindle it often at
the golden altar of prayer. Without prayer, the inner
being will weaken, famish, and die; the fountain of love
dry up; the spring of joy cease to flow; the dews will
fail to descend; and your heart will become a parched
and dreary desert waste.
Look upon the character of Jesus.
Behold his lowliness, his meekness, gentleness, and
tender compassion. Have they any beauty? and would you
love to have them grace your own soul? then draw them
down from the skies in all their glorious fulness by the
fervent prayer of faith. As through the process of
assimilation food is transformed into an active, living
being; so through the medium of prayer the character of
Jesus in all its transcendent beauty and glory becomes
the character of man.
If you desire victory during the
day, begin it with prayer. Not a few hurried words, but
minutes of deep, intimate communion with God. Linger at
the sacred altar of prayer until you feel particles of
glory drop in richness into your soul, scattering
sweetness throughout the whole and relating you to the
world above. In the early morning hour, when the still,
balmy breath of nature plays around, let your soul fly
away on the wings of prayer with its message of love
amid praise to its Maker. Jesus went out a great while
before day to hold communion with God. There is no time
better suited for prayer. The world is hushed in
slumber. There is less sin being committed, and if the
world ever is innocent, it is in the early morning time.
We thus get an advantage of the devil and have sweet
converse with God before the devil is aware.
If you desire to be more deeply
and sincerely pious, seek it in prayer. If you desire
heights in God’s love, depths in his grace, fulness in
his joy, richness in his glory, seek it in prayer. Did
you say you had not time for prayer? What a pity! Your
happiness and usefulness in life depend upon it; your
eternal welfare depends upon it---then, oh, what a pity
you have no time for it! But you must find time. You
cannot afford to listen to Satan; there is too much at
stake. This is an excuse that many allow Satan to make
for them. Time for rest, time for eating, time for
sleeping, time for friends, time for books; but no time
for prayer. This is a device of Satan to rob souls of
the love of God. You must not give him such an advantage
of you.
In love for your spiritual welfare
I beseech you in Jesus’ name, live much in prayer. Go
often into your closet, and then, with the loins of your
mind girded up, in all earnestness of soul pray until
the love of God and the light of heaven fills your
being. Satan will try to make you listless and
indifferent; he will try to make your thoughts to
wander; he will tell you of many other things that need
to be done that very moment; and many other things will
he tell you to deprive you of the blessings of prayer.
But you must resist him and go the more earnestly in
prayer; and continue to pray until a rapture from the
skies sweeps over your soul, making the place of prayer
the dearest spot on earth to you.
When the shades of night come
softly stealing,
Softly stealing o’er the window
sill;
When the busy day is slowly ending,
Slowly
ending peacefully and still,--
Christian, with thy
heart adoring Heaven,
Sweetest glories falling from
above,
Go to God in secret, silent pleading,
Tell to him the wondrous tale of love.
When the
morning light is gently dawning,
Gently dawning in
the eastern sky;
When the darkness fast away is
fleeing,
Duties of the day are drawing nigh,---
Down before the sacred, hallowed altar,
Christian, bow before thy God in fervent prayer,
Giving thanks to him for life’s sweet blessings,
For the day imploring his kind care.
To be overcome to-day makes
to-morrow’s battles harder. If you would be a better
Christian to-morrow, live your very best to-day. Like as
the warming rays of the autumn’s sun melt the early
frost, so the warmth of Christian love in our hearts
will melt the coldness in the hearts of sinful men.
Begin the day with prayer: it will
fortify you against the tempter’s power. The result of
neglecting prayer is to be tossed furiously about upon
the billows of temptation.
Time is of too great worth to
waste one precious moment. An hour lost is that much of
life lost. For all the time spent in idleness, you had
just as well not have lived at all. By rightly using
each moment you will build up a character that will
stand a monument upon the tomb of the dead past. Moments
misspent are life and character gone, and no imprint is
left on the hearts of men to tell that we have lived.
How many golden moments are flying away into eternity
unladen with any fruit from your life? Learn to value
time. Redeem it because these days are evil. Seize upon
each passing moment, and send it up to the glorious
Author of time laden with golden deeds.
Unto the Shedding of Blood
2
KI.13:18-19, And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took
them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the
ground with them." And he struck three times and
stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and
said, "You should have struck five or six times; then
you would have struck down Syria until you had made an
end of it,"
Jas. 5:19-20, Brethren, if any of
you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him
know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error
of of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall
hide a multitude of sins.
Heb. 12:1-4, Therefore since we
also are surruonded with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so
easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race
set before us, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher
of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured
such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you
be weary and faint in your minds. You have not yet
resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
May I suggest that "resisting unto
blood" against sin is not promoting self-flagellation!
Rather, a letting go of our own life for the life of
Christ to animate us. Not by bleeding physically, but by
dying to sin. In other words, the author of Hebrews is
pointing out an individual's sin issue that has not been
fully dealt with! That is why he says, "You have not yet
resisted to blood in your struggle against sin!"
This can happen to any "believer"
who has not died to sin or is overcome in such a fault
of error as to think he can continue to sin and remain
in the faith. The "contradiction of sinners against
Jesus" is the teaching of being saved in their sins.
This is a gross "error" in the churches today! The James
passage is addressed to the BRETHREN and they are told
that their "conversion" from this error will save them
from "soul death." That's right! Look at the passage
closely. You'll see it!
Two spiritual truths (laws) are
being violated in the passage above with those who have
not found victory or not persuing its conclusion over
their "besetting sin." 1. The 2 Kings scripture above
points out a laziness in a person by the kings'
non-assertiveness in "striking the ground with the
arrows only three times!" This made the man of God angry
because he knew it wasn't enough times to defeat such a
big foe! You see, the struggle is not over until the
enemy is made "an end of." Simpily put, if the
"besetting sin" is still besetting, the thing is not
dead, whatever the sin is! So what do the arrows
represent? I answer:
2
Cor. 10:4-5, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowkedge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ."
2. Unbelief! It is that simple!
You see, a saving faith is one that produces obedience.
If something is true I will act on it! This brings
"salvation" (See: Heb.5:9). And Salvation is "from sin"
not 'in sin,' as the Lord is still "enduring such
contradiction of sinners against Himself!"
Everything that promotes a
believer being able to stay in sin, such as ETERNAL
SECURITYor ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED or PERSERVERENCE OF
THE SAINTS still in sin is that which, exaltheth itself
against the knowledge of God and is addressed just so by
St. Paul:
1
Cor.15:34, Come to your senses, and sin not; for some
have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your
shame.
The "knowledge of God" spoken of
above is to SIN NOT!
Meditation
The Scriptures invite Christians
on to greater depths in the love of God and greater
heights in his joy as they journey through life. It is
the will of God that you grow in grace and become more
spiritual each day of your life. That meditation does
affect one‘s spirituality is an undeniable fact.
Meditating upon God and his law is an excellent means of
increasing spiritual life in the soul. Vagrant thoughts
dull the finer sensibilities of the spiritual being,
thereby rendering it less capable of impression by the
Holy Ghost.
"Keeping in touch with God" is an
expression much used in these days by people professing
holiness, but what does it imply. We are all at sea when
not in touch with him. To be so kept is to have
everything in us fully alive to God. Every Christian
grace must be in a perfect state of health and vigorous
growth. If there be any dwarfed condition of the
spiritual being in any part, it will be less sensible to
God’s touch. The blind have been known to cultivate the
sense of touch in the physical being to the amazing
acuteness of being able to distinguish between colors.
The sense of touch in the soul can by careful, earnest
cultivation be refined to such a degree as to make it
susceptible to the slightest impressions of the Spirit
of God.
By an electric cable America is
brought in touch with Europe. Were this to become
divided, communication would cease. Sin divided the
life-giving cable from the presence of God to the souls
of men. In Jesus the divided cable is taken up and
united, and man brought into communion with God. So
cultured may become the sensibilities of the inner
being, and so thoroughly impreguated by God’s enlivening
power, that one empty thought causing the slightest
ebbing of life’s current flow is keenly felt. To keep in
perfect touch with God is to live where there is a
soul-consciousness that he is pleased with every act of
your life, and where there is a clear, definite
witnessing of the Spirit to your inmost soul that the
words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart
are acceptable unto him.
Useless thought makes the soul
coarse, and difficult of impression by good influences.
Pure and holy meditations are an excellent means for the
refinement of your moral being. Praying to God is
talking to him, telling him the desires of the heart;
whereas meditating upon God is contemplating his
goodness, love, mercy, greatness, and wonderful works.
Meditation prepares the heart for that deeper communion
with God called prayer. Whoever gives attention to
his-meditations, and has learned to fix his mind upon
God; to whom "day unto day uttereth speech, and night
unto night showeth knowl-edge;" to whom "the heavens
declare the glory of God." and who hears God’s voice in
nature and sees the goodness of his hand in all
creation, finds no difficulty in drawing to God in
prayer. If you allow your mind to wander vaguely about
upon the vanities of the world, you will find prayer a
difficult and rather an unpleasant task. Lean,
therefore, I beseech you, to stay your mind upon the
Lord, and great will be the peace and quietness of your
souL Precious moments spent in idle chit---that with
your companions or indulging vagrant thoughts are time
worse than wasted. As your mind acts once, so it is
disposed to act again. The mind forms habits of
thinking. Then, how careful you should be to direct it
in proper and useful channels.
Some people have found it
difficult to prevent their thoughts from wandering while
they were reading the Bible or in secret prayer. The
wonderful works of God hardly awaken any admiration
within them; they can not elevate the soul into a
profound awe before his awful presence, and there is but
little conscious depths of inner reverence and devotion
to his name. There is a blessed and sure remedy for this
serious trouble. Carefully watch your meditations. Call
the oftener upon God in some silent, secret place.
Select some secluded, hallowed place, where nature is
most inspiring for meditation. Isaac, the soit of
Abraham, went into the field at eventide to meditate.
The evening is a time well suited to draw the soul out
into deep, intimate communion with God. The setting of
the sun is a reminder of life’s setting sun. You will be
brought face to face with the fact that you must some
day stand before Him who created all things. Your
meditations will become serious. Oh, may you adore the
Creator, and learn to admire his wondrous works! Go
forth in the starry evening, when Nature is most
inviting, and through her let your soul adore the
Almighty, and let all within you be awed to solemn
stillness at his footfall.
Idle, careless thoughts generate a
stupidity that will rob you of joy. The sensibilities of
your inner nature will become deadened, and you can no
more hear the solemn footsteps of the Lord, nor the
whispers of his voice. Meditating upon pure and holy
things and seeing God in all, will elevate the soul to a
plane all radiant with light and love, and put a
meekness and modesty in your life and a sweet gentleness
in every expression that will seem to make you akin to
angels.
Are you concerned about the peace
of your soul? Is a happy life worth anything to you? Do
you have any desire to become more like Jesus? Do you
want to do all you can for him? Do you want to dwell in
heaven with him forever. Then let your meditation be
upon him, and your soul sipping at the fountain of
Heaven’s love as the flower drinks up the dew. I cannot
be too earnest in my exhortation to you in this matter.
I know how important it is. I want to see, you prosper
and your soul increase in God; therefore I exhort you to
meditate upon his law day and night.
"He That Winneth Souls Is
Wise"
Not to belabor the point, but it
should be rather obvious that we are all different.
There are different types of seeking souls, and there
are different types of soul-winners. Each is unique;
each is precious; each is of immense value in the
eternal scheme of things. Each evangelistic style has
its obvious strengths, and each has its advantages, just
as each has its inherent weaknesses and its challenges.
God has blessed me personally with certain abilities
that He expects me to use to win souls to Christ. He has
blessed others with differing abilities, but His
expectation is the same -- win the lost to Jesus. Based
upon our individual abilities, He places before us open
doors of opportunity. It is then up to us to take every
advantage of them to His glory and to the benefit of
those around us. "He who is wise wins souls!" [Prov.
11:30]. We certainly don't have to be alike in our
evangelistic approaches, nor should we suggest one
disciple is inferior or superior to another simply
because of his individual style or ability. Regardless
of our style, may we each prove "wise" in the eyes of
our Father! May we all, according to our ability, style
and opportunity, win souls.
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