Young People's Meeting

 •  12 min. read  •  grade level: 6
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November 27th, Friday 2.00 P. M.
Hymn 197, L. F. Prayer.
"Keep Thyself Pure."
The little portion that is before me is a part of 1 Tim. 5:2222Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22), three words: "Keep thyself pure." Timothy was exhorted to "Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins" and then the injunction is added, "Keep thyself pure."
I don't know of anything that we need so much as this little exhortation. Timothy, as most of us know, was a young man. He had been left in Ephesus by the apostle Paul, and had been blessed by his ministry and teaching. Paul was anxious that the truth he had taught should be maintained, and he entrusted this to Timothy. I think that is a happy thing: To Timothy, a young man; weak physically, but strong spiritually, were committed certain things by the apostle, and he was exhorted to continually remind the saints of these things for their edification.
But Timothy was not exempt from the ensnaring influences of this world, and neither are we, dear young Christian: for, if we are honest before God, we must own how much—and, alas, too much—this world has its influence upon us; and what a detriment to our spiritual state, if this world is allowed to come in in any measure, and claim our affections! These affections are to be given to Christ, according to His great love wherewith He loved us. The love of Christ, constrains us; and it is often a challenge to you and to me.
We, as Christians, know the love of Christ in its saving power; but I wonder how much we know it and enjoy it day by day?
Timothy was commanded to put the Christians continually in remembrance of these things; and we, too, need to be reminded of these precious things that have been committed to us, for our walk, our conduct and our ways down here.
I am not speaking in these measures to those who are not saved. There may be some young people here this afternoon who do not know Christ as their Savior, i. e., in the eye of God they are not pure. In our portion of the Word, it does not say "make thyself pure", but it says "keep thyself pure", and this is very simple. If there is anyone here who does not know the value of the blood of Christ; does not know that his or her sins are, forgiven, this is no part for them, for we would have to go first to Isa. 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18),
"Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
There we get purity, the sinner cleansed by God, the sinner accepting from God the precious gift of His own dear Son; the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That is how we who are Christians have been made pure and white in the sight of God, i. e., through having to do with Christ as the gift of God's love, for our sins. So, if there is one here this afternoon who has not had to do with Christ as his or her Savior, I entreat you, Do not delay;
God says "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord." God wants every soul to come. The Gospel goes out today, because God in His great love does not want any one left out. He wants your soul this afternoon. He wants you to come. When God says "Come," He means exactly what He says.
As this was given to Timothy for the edification of the saints, he was reminded of a thing which I believe we ought all to be reminded of today, i. e., that it costs something to keep pure, in a world that leaves Christ out.
For instance, a boy or a girl enjoys Christ, knows Him as his or her Savior; yet there must be battles, because we are in the enemy's land, as it were—we are in a world that cast out Christ—we can't expect friendship.
I remember a very dear girl, and she came to her mother and said, "Mother may I go to the concert to be given at school next week?" Her mother answered, "No. Why do you want to go to the concert at school?" The girl replied, "It's all right, mother; I just asked you, to know, so that if they ask me to go, I will say, 'Mother doesn't want me to go." How important that we should seek to be in His presence first, and then go out.
I think perhaps the best way in which our ways can be committed to Him, before a busy day, is to come to Him in the morning, even if we have only a few minutes; to own before Him—dear young Christian, you need it, and I need it, too—that we have no strength of our own, that we need His grace for the day. We need His presence with us for the day, whether we are at school or in business—and in business how much we need Him, too.. If you are in business, how many things come up—ambitions—perhaps. Really, I am much concerned about the young men in these great cities because of the ambitions and worldly prosperity that present themselves, both to young and old. And it is going to cost us something if we refuse; look what it cost Moses—a throne in Egypt,—but the riches of Christ are far greater. If you want to see what you are gaining for what you are giving up, just look at Christ in glory. We are going to enjoy His presence, and we are going to have a crown, too, for every little thing we do for Him.
I think it is so wonderful, that for any service whatever that we do for Christ, we are going to receive a reward—for every little thing. We have joy, and I do not know of any greater joy, nor do you, young Christian, than to be able to present Christ to poor souls, so that they are snatched from hell; and not only snatched from hell—yes, we are all glad that we are not going to hell—but how much do we enjoy what we have been saved for! How much do we enjoy that which God, which Christ, would have us enjoy,—that you and I as children of God are going to enjoy throughout all eternity? That is often a great challenge to our hearts; indeed, it is! We have been saved from hell, from everlasting banishment from God, from eternal damnation, but think of what we have been saved to—to spend eternity with Christ.
I ask you, how much, dear young Christian, are you expecting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, to take you to be with Himself? Have you ever been separated from any dear ones? A little while ago my father was coming from England. I would go down to the steamship company and inquire as to when the steamer would leave, and when it would be due to arrive. And when the day came for it to arrive, I took time to leave my business and see that boat in. And why? Because there was one on board that I loved.
Dear young Christian, just think how the Lord Jesus Christ loves you, He loves me, far greater than anybody else has ever loved or ever will love us. We know very little of love compared to that love of His, which caused Him to go into death for us.
He is coming again. It may be that He will come today. I am not my own, you are not your own—we are bought with a price. But how often we want to go on in our own way, and He has to come in with bit and bridle to stop us. What a selfish thing to want our own way here, when we expect to be with Christ through all eternity.
If we weigh all things in the light of His presence, whether we are in school, in business, or in service for Christ, how it changes things! I want to tell you, dear young Christians, just as an encouragement, what joy it is to be of any little service for Him, who delights to draw our hearts on to lead us on, for further service, for further occupation with Him. But He never draws us into service to take our eyes off him. No, He has to be everything in all we do. Well may the love of Christ constrain us; well may we be occupied with Him, the One Who gave Himself for us!
Let me tell you, if we are ever called upon to give up anything for Him, God is never our debtor. If we have to give up a little of this poor, Christ-rejecting world, we shall get back, with far greater interest, more than any earthly concern pays.
Dear young Christian, when I see people wanting to get on in this world, I think of what Rev. 6:1515And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; (Revelation 6:15) says. Great men, rich men, pompous men, but how poor without Christ! I often pity them; and I am sure, you do, too. How humbling it will be when this scene takes place! Men that had position in this world, rich men mighty men—think of it!—when that great day comes, will be mingled in with all classes, crying, "Hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." They had heard of Him, but they had rejected Him.
This verse, too, should have its effect on us, in separating us from this world which is so soon to receive its judgment. We don't want to be like Lot, a brand plucked out of the burning. We want to be of service to the One who loves us, and it is our reasonable service to give a little back to Him.
Dear friends, dear young Christians too, perhaps as we look back on our lives, how many things we would wish that were not there, even as Christians; perhaps things that we have said, perhaps things that we have done. O, how necessary it is that we conduct ourselves properly, those of us who know that precious truth of being gathered to His blessed Name; and, of course, as children of God, there is no reason why we should not all know this.
"Now are we the children of God"—some declare that this is a difficult thing to say; but if I should ask some of you if you are saved, you would answer, "Yes;" and if you are saved, you are a child of God.
Then don't be surprised, dear young Christian, that the world does not know us. We might expect a great respect from the world because we have been saved, and living an honorable life, but how sadly disappointed we would be if we expected it. They cast Him out and crucified Him. If the world won't have you, thank God for it,—in this way you suffer with Him in His rejection. However, God does not want to set hedges about us, and say that we must not do this or that, but we have a blessed Object! We might get discouraged at our own failure, we are full of failure. Peter when he looked at the waves, immediately began to sink, and then he uttered five words, "Lord, save me, I perish." He was saved and kept up by that blessed Hand. What a strong arm we have—the arm of Christ—to help us on that course. We have that Shepherd, who will surely take us home to Himself. Not one shall be lost. Just think of how beautiful, and encouraging that is. Take for instance, soldiers in battle. If they knew to a certainly that their charge would be a victory, they would forge ahead at all costs. You and I should go on; it is certain victory for us.
When He comes—and how soon that coming may be—there shall be no more failing bodies, but they shall be like His body. I remember when I was a young Christian, how it filled me with joy to know that I was going to be like Him.
"When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself."
To Timothy, it was "Keep thyself pure." The apostle Paul wanted that testimony to the name of Christ maintained by the children of God; but he did not, as it were, force them to keep it. There was that injunction to be found walking well pleasing to God; and it is to you and me—"Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."
If we knew the Lord Jesus was coming tonight, we would want to undo a lot of things, and perhaps do a lot of things we were not doing. It may be that He will come tonight. I can't tell you when He is coming, nobody else can tell you, but He is coming. That ought to be sufficient for you and for me—to know that we are going to have a body like His own, Who loved us and died for us. O, how that ought to keep us in our ways down here, that we might be more and more to His praise and glory.
Hymn 46, App. L. F. Prayer.