Continued From
“The Theme of the Issue”
Nothing can be more worthless than seeking a place for oneself. It is sure to end in disappointment and confusion. One who comes forward much in public will need that chastened spirit, that matured judgment, that subdued and mortified mind, that broken will, and that mellow tone which are the sure and beautiful result of God’s secret discipline. It will generally be found that those who take a prominent place without more or less of the above moral qualifications will, sooner or later, break down.
The Lord Jesus never once stopped to inquire how any act or circumstance would affect Himself.
It is impossible that a man full of himself can be a vessel of the Holy Spirit. Such a one must first be emptied of himself, and then the Spirit can use him.
If only we are self-emptied, our every act may emit a sweet odor to God. The smallest as well as the greatest services may, by the power of the Holy Spirit, present the fragrance of Christ. The paying of a visit, the writing of a letter, the public ministry of the Word, giving a cup of cold water to a disciple, giving money to the poor, yes, the commonplace acts of eating and drinking — all may emit the sweet perfume of the name and grace of Jesus.
God has had all His servants very much alone with Himself, both before and after their entrance upon their public work, nor will anyone ever get on without this. The absence of secret training and discipline will, necessarily, leave us barren, superficial and theoretical. A man who ventures forth upon a public career before he has duly weighed himself in the balances of the sanctuary or measured himself in the presence of God is like a ship putting out to sea without the proper ballast; he will doubtless overturn with the first stiff breeze. A man who is always doing will be apt to do too much.
The man who will present Christ to others must be occupied with Christ for himself.
God takes up the weakest instruments to accomplish His mightiest ends.
The man who is merely feeding on the fruits of his ministry, who delights in the gratification which it affords or the attention and interest which it commands, is like a mere pipe conveying waters to others and retaining only rust itself. In order to act for God outside, I should be with Him inside.
Be it remembered that the man who will speak on God’s behalf of death and judgment, life and salvation, must, before he does so, enter into the practical power of these things in his own soul.
It frequently happens that the very person whose presence we deem essential to our progress and success afterward proves a source of deepest sorrow to our hearts.
The messenger of God should always remember whose message he bears.
From Food for the Desert