_The secret of Holiness._
Instead of indwelling sin, an indwelling Christ conquering it; instead
of indwelling sin, the indwelling life and light and love of the blessed
Son of God. He is the secret of holiness. "Christ is made unto us
sanctification." Remember that it is Christ Himself who is made unto us
sanctification. Christ coming into me, taking charge of my whole being;
my nature and my thoughts and my affections and my will; ruling all
things. It is this that will make me holy. We talk about holiness, but
do you know what holiness is? You have as much holiness as you have of
Christ, for it is written, "Both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one;" and Christ sanctifies by bringing God's life
into me.
We read in Judges, "The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon." But you know
that there is in the New Testament an equally wonderful text, where we
read, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ," that is, clothe yourself with
Christ Jesus. And what does that mean? It does not only mean, by
imputation of righteousness outside of me, but to clothe myself with the
living character of the living Christ, with the living love of the
living Christ.
_Put on the Lord Jesus._
Oh! what a work. I cannot do it unless I believe and understand that He
whom I have to put on is as a garment covering my whole being. I have to
put on a living Christ who has said, "Lo, I am with you all the days."
Just draw the folds closer round you, of that robe of light with which
Christ would array you. Just come and acknowledge that Christ is with
you, on you, in you. Oh, put Him on! And when you look at one
characteristic of His after another; and you hear God's word, "Let this
mind be in you which was also in Jesus Christ," and it tells you He was
obedient unto the death; and then you answer, Christ the obedient one,
Christ whose whole life was obedience, it is that Christ whom I have
received and put on. He becomes my life and His obedience rests upon me,
until I learn to whisper as Jesus did, "My Father, Thy will be done; lo,
I come to do Thy will."
This, too, is the secret of influence in witness and work. How comes it
that it is so
_Difficult to be obedient_,
and how comes it that I so often sin? People sing, "Oh, to be wholly
Thine," and sing it from their hearts. How comes it then that they are
disobedient again? Where does the disobedience come from? And the answer
comes, It is because I am trying to obey a distant Christ, and thus His
commands do not come with power. Look what I find in God's Word. When
God wanted to send any man upon His service, He first met him and
talked with him and cheered him time after time. God appeared to
Abraham seven or eight times, and gave to him one command after another;
and so Abraham learned to obey Him perfectly. God appeared to Joshua and
to Gideon, and they obeyed. And why are we not obedient? Because we have
so little of this near intercourse with Jesus. But, oh, if we knew
_This blessed, heavenly secret_
of having the presence of Christ with us every day, every hour, every
minute, what a joy it would be to obey! We could not walk in this
consciousness,--My Lord Jesus is with me and around me,--and not obey
Him! Oh, do you not begin to long and say, This is what I must have, the
ever-abiding presence of Jesus! There are some Christians who try not to
be disobedient, who come to their Sunday and week-day duties most
faithfully, and pray for grace and a blessing, and they complain of so
little blessing and power, so little power! And why? Because there is
not enough of the living Jesus in their hearts. I sometimes think of
this as a most solemn truth. There is a great diversity of gifts amongst
ministers and others who speak; but I am sure of this, that a man's
gifts are not the measure of his real power. I am sure of this, that God
can see what neither you nor I can see. Sometimes people feel something
of it; but in proportion as a man has in reality, not as a sentiment or
an aspiration, or a thought, but in reality, the very spirit and
presence of Jesus upon him, there comes out from him an unseen silent
influence. That secret influence is the
_Holy presence of Jesus._
"Lo, I am with you always." And now, if what I have said has sufficed
just to indicate what a desirable thing it is, what a blessed thing it
is to live for, then let me now give you an answer to the question that
arises in more than one heart. I can hear some one say, "Tell me how I
can get this blessed abiding presence of Jesus; and when I have got it,
how I can ever keep it. I think if I have this, I have all. The Lord
Jesus has come very near to me. I have tried to turn away from
everything that can hinder, and have had my Lord very near. But how can
I know that He will be with me always?" If you were to ask the Lord,
"Oh, my blessed Lord Christ, what must I do, how can I enjoy Thy
never-failing presence?" His first answer would be, "Only believe. I
have said it often, and you only partly understood it, but I will say it
again--
_My child, only believe._"
It is by faith. We sometimes speak of faith as trust, and it is a very
helpful thing to tell men that faith is trust: but when people say, as
they sometimes do, that it is nothing else but trust, that is not the
case. It is a far wider word than trust. It is by faith that I learn to
know the invisible One, the invisible God, and that I see Him. Faith is
my spiritual eye-sight for the unseen and heavenly. You often try hard
to trust God, and you fail. Why? Because you have not taken time first
to see God. How can you trust God fully until you have met Him and
known Him? You ask, "Where ought I to begin?" You ought to begin with
first believing; with presenting yourself before this God in the
attitude of silent worship, and asking Him to let a sense of His
greatness and His presence come upon you. You must ask Him to let your
heart be covered over with his holy presence. You must seek to realize
in your heart the presence of an Almighty and all-loving God, an
unspeakably loving God. Take time to worship Him as the omnipotent God,
to feel that the very power that created the world, the very power that
raised Jesus from the dead, is at this moment working in your heart. We
do not experience it because we do not believe. We must take time to
believe. Jesus says, "Oh, my child, shut your eyes to the world, and
shut out of your heart all these thoughts about religion, and begin to
believe in God Himself." That is the first article of the Creed--"I
believe in God."
_By believing I open my heart_,
to receive this glorious God, and I bow and worship. And then as I
believe this, I look up and I see the Lamb upon the Throne, and I
believe that the Almighty power of God is in Jesus for the very purpose
of revealing His presence to my heart. Why are there two upon the
Throne? Is not God enough? The Lamb of God is upon the Throne in your
interest and in mine; the Lamb upon the Throne is Christ Himself, with
power as God to take possession of me. Oh, do not think you cannot get
that realization. And do not think of it as now only within your reach;
but cultivate the habit of faith. "Jesus, I believe in Thy glory; I
believe in Thine omnipotence; I believe in Thy power working within me.
I believe in Thy living, loving presence with me, revealing itself in
Divine power."
Do not be occupied with feelings or experiences. You will find it far
simpler and easier just to trust and say, "I am sure He is all for me."
Get rid of yourself for the time; don't think or speak about yourself;
but
_Think what Jesus is._
And then remember it is believe always. I sometimes feel that I cannot
find words to tell how God wants His people to believe from morning till
night. Every breath ought to be just believing. Yes, it is indeed true;
the Lord Jesus loves us to be just believing from morning to evening,
and you must begin to make that the chief thing in life. In the morning
when you wake, let your heart go forth with a large faith in this; and
in the watches of the night let this thought be present with you--my
Saviour Jesus is round me and near me, and you can look up and say, "I
want to trust Thee always." You know what trust is. It is so sweet to
trust. And now cannot you trust Jesus; this presence, this keeping
presence? He lives for you in Heaven. You are marked with His blood, and
he loves you; and cannot you say, "My King, my King, He is with me all
the days?" Oh, trust Jesus to fulfill His own promises.
There is a second answer that I think Christ would give if we come to
Him believing, and say, "Is there anything more, my blessed Master?" I
think I can hear His answer:
"_My child, always obey._"
Do not fail to understand the lesson contained in this one word. You
must distinctly and definitely take that word OBEY and obedience, and
learn to say for yourselves: "Now I have to obey, and by the grace of
God I am going to obey in everything." At our recent exhibition at the
Cape, Mr. Rhodes, our Prime Minister, went to the gate, thinking he had
got the fee in his pocket. When he got to the gate, however, he found he
had not enough money, and said to the door-keeper, "I am Mr. Rhodes; let
me in and I will take care you do not suffer." But the man said, "I
cannot help that, sir, I have my orders," and he refused to let Mr.
Rhodes in. He had to borrow from a friend, and pay before he could pass
the gate. At a dinner afterward Mr. Rhodes spoke about it, and said it
was a real joy to see a man stick to his order like that. That is it.
The man had his orders, and that was enough to him, and whoever came to
the gate had to pay his fee before he could enter. God's children ought
to be like soldiers, and be
_Ready to say, "I must obey."_
Oh! to have that thought in our hearts--"Jesus, I love to obey Thee."
There must be personal intercourse with the Saviour, and then comes the
joy of personal service and allegiance. Are you ready to obey in all
feebleness and weakness and fear? Can you say, "Yes, Lord Jesus, I will
obey?" If so, then give yourself up absolutely. Then your feeling will
be, "I am not going to speak one word if I think that Jesus would not
like to hear it. I am not going to have an opinion of my own, but my
whole life is to be covered with the purity of His obedience to the
Father and His self-sacrificing love to me. I want Christ to have my
whole life, my whole heart, my whole character. I want to be like Christ
and to obey." Give yourself up to this loving obedience.
The third thought is this: If I say, "My Master, blessed Saviour, tell
me all, I will believe, I do obey, and I will obey. Is there anything
more I need to secure the enjoyment of Thine abiding presence?" And I
catch this answer:
"_My child, close intercourse with me every day._"
Ah, there is the fault of many who try to obey and try to believe; they
do it in their own strength, and they do not know that if the Lord Jesus
is to reign in their hearts, they must have close communion with Him
every day. You cannot do all He desires, but Jesus will do it for you.
There are many Christians who fail here, and on that account do not
understand what it is to have fellowship with Jesus. Do let me try and
impress this upon you: God has given you a loving, living Saviour, and
how can He bless if you do not meet Him? The joy of friendship is found
in intercourse; and Jesus asks for this every day, that he may have time
to influence me, to tell me of Himself, to teach me, to breathe His
Spirit unto me, to give me new life and joy and strength. And remember,
intercourse with Jesus
_Does not mean half-an-hour_
or an hour in your closet. A man may study his Bible or his commentary
carefully; he may look up all the parallel passages in the chapter; when
he comes out of his closet he may be able to tell you all about it, and
yet he has never met Jesus that morning at all. You have prayed for five
or ten minutes, and you have never met Jesus. And so we must remember
that though the Bible is most precious, and the reading of it most
blessed and needful; yet prayer and Bible reading are not fellowship
with Jesus. What we need every morning is to meet Jesus, and to say,
"Lord, here is the day again, and I am just as weak in myself as ever I
was; do Thou come and feed me this morning with Thyself and speak to my
soul." Oh, friends, it is not your faith that will keep you standing,
but it is a living Jesus, met
_Every day in fellowship_
and worship and love. Wait in His presence, however cold and faithless
you feel. Wait before Him and say: "Lord, helpless as I am, I believe
and rest in the blessed assurance that what Thou hast promised Thou wilt
do for me."
I ask my Master once again, "Lord Jesus, is that all?" And his answer
is: "No, my child; I have one thing more." "And what is that? Thou hast
told me to believe, and to obey, and to abide near to Thee: what wouldst
Thou have more?"
"_Work for me my child._
Remember, I have redeemed thee for My service; I have redeemed thee to
have a witness to go out into the world confessing Me before men." Oh,
do not hide your treasure, or think that if Jesus is with you, you can
hide it. One of two things will happen--either you must give all up, or
it must come out. You have perhaps heard of the little girl, who, after
one of Mr. Moody's meetings, was found to be singing some of the hymns
we all know. The child's parents were in a good position in society, and
while singing those hymns in the drawing-room her mother forbade her.
One day she was singing the hymn "Oh, I'm so glad that Jesus loves me,"
when her mother said, "My child, how is it that you sing this when I
have forbidden it?" She replied, "Oh, mother, I cannot help it; it
comes out of itself." If Jesus Christ be in the heart, He must come out.
Remember, it is not only our duty to confess Him; it is that, but it is
something more. If you do not do it, it is just an indication that you
have not given yourself up to Jesus; your character, your reputation,
your all. You are holding back from Him. You must confess Jesus in the
world, in your home; and in fact everywhere. You know the Lord's
command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature;" "and, lo, I am with you," meaning, "Any one may work for Me,
and I will be with him." It is true of the minister, the missionary, and
every believer who works for Jesus. The presence of Jesus is intimately
connected with work for Him. You say, "I have never thought of that
before. I have my Sunday work, but during the week I am not doing work
for Him." You cannot have the presence of Jesus, and let this continue
to be the case. I do not believe you could have the presence of Jesus
all the week and yet do nothing for Him; therefore my advice is, work
for Him who is worthy, His blessing and His presence will be found in
the work. It is
_A blessed privilege to work for Christ_
in this perishing world. Oh, why is it that our hearts often feel so
cold and closed up, and so many of us say, "I do not feel called to
Christ's work"? Be willing to yield yourself for the Lord's service, and
He will reveal Himself to you.
Christ comes with His wondrous promise, and what He says, He says to all
believers: "Lo, I am with you always; that is My promise; this is what I
in My power can do; this is what I faithfully engage to perform; will
you have it?
_I give Myself to thee, O soul._"
To each of those who have come to Him, Christ says, "I give Myself to
thee, to be absolutely and wholly thine every hour of every day; to be
with thee and in thee every moment, to bless thee and sustain thee, and
to give thee each moment the consciousness of My presence; I will be
wholly, wholly, wholly thine."
And now, what is the other side? He wants me to be wholly His. Are you
ready to take this as your motto now,
"_Wholly for God_"?
O God, breathe Thou Thy presence in my heart that Thou mayest shine
forth from my life. "Wholly for God," let this be our motto. Come let us
cast ourselves on our faces before His feet. Our missionary from
Nyassaland says he has often been touched by seeing how the native
Christians, when they are brought to Jesus, do not stand in prayer; they
do not kneel; but they cast themselves upon the earth with their
foreheads to the ground, and there they lie, and with loud voices cry
unto God. I sometimes feel that I wish we could do that ourselves; but
we need not do it literally. Let us do it in spirit, for the everlasting
Son of God has come into our hearts. Are you going to take Him and to
keep Him there, to give Him glory and let Him have His way? Come now
and say, "I will seek Thee with my whole heart; I am wholly Thine."
Yield yourself entirely to Him to have complete possession. He will take
and keep possession. Come now. Jesus delights in the worship of His
Saints. Our whole life can become one continuous act of worship and work
of love and joy, if we only remember and value this, that Jesus has
said, "Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the world."