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Chosen no: R-4904 a, from: 1911 Year. |
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"The Issues Of Life"
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life."--Proverbs 4:23.
ORIGINALLY man was created in God's image and
likeness. As a result of the fall our hearts are not perfect, but are prone to
sin. The Lord invites us to give our hearts, our affections, to Him: "My
son, give Me thine heart." (Prov. 23:26.)
God has provided the Channel whereby He can restore us to the relationship of
sons, that Channel being the Lord Jesus. After we have accepted the Lord's
proposition and given Him our hearts, we become the Lord's dear children, as
the Apostle expresses it. The next thing is to keep the heart in loyalty, in
full submission to the Divine will. The necessity for thus keeping the heart is
manifest. Even though our hearts are loyal to the Lord, yet we are surrounded
by adverse conditions. The world, the flesh and the Devil are assailing our
hearts, which need, therefore, to be watched continually. As the Apostle says,
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels." (2
Cor. 4:7.) We have these adverse tendencies, or conditions, to deal
with.
God is not judging His people merely in respect
to their flesh, in respect to the deeds of life. These are more or less
imperfect. He has so fixed the matter that the result of that which springs
from the heart, for which the heart is responsible, is life or death. If the
issues are right, the result will be life eternal. If the issues are wrong, the
result will be death, unworthiness of life. It is not merely the issues of our conduct that determine the everlasting result, life or death, but the issues of our hearts. They not only affect the present life, in the cleansing or polluting of those
with whom we come in contact, but they determine or settle the matter as to
whether or not we shall have life.
Thus the issues of the heart constitute the
decisive test. The statement does not say that the antithesis of life is death;
but the question is, Shall we have life? We have already been in
death. We can have life only through the appointed Channel, the Redeemer. If we
accept the issue of life and receive God's favor of life everlasting, we avoid
the other issue, death everlasting. Not only is this question decided by
the issue of our hearts, but it is also true that those who attain the
condition of life during this Age will attain either the glory of the divine
nature or membership in the "great company." They will be either of
the Royal Priesthood or the servants of this priesthood. Hence, a great deal
depends upon the issues of the heart. Therefore, we should desire the things
approved, the things of God. We should seek to have the very best achievable
issue, or result, to attain to the prize of our calling in Christ Jesus!
MUST ROOT
OUT OF OUR HEARTS ALL LOVE OF SIN
It is not sufficient that we acknowledge sin in
its various forms to be evil, and that we resolve that we will strive against
it because it is under the Lord's ban; in addition to this we are to root out
of our hearts every longing, every desire for everything not thoroughly
approved by the Lord. Oh, what a cleansing this would mean in the hearts and
lives, and especially in the thoughts of many who have named the name of
Christ! Many who fail to note this point find themselves continually beset with
temptations because, while outwardly avoiding gross immoralities, they secretly
harbor sympathies for things condemned, desiring that they might
have them, if only they were not forbidden.
The more attention we give to this subject the
more we will be convinced from our own personal experiences of the truth of the
Scriptural declarations respecting the beginnings of sin as secret faults in
the mind, the heart; and the more we will appreciate the statement of our
text, "Keep thy heart [mind, affections] with all diligence, for out of it
are the issues of life."
We are not to wonder that God has so constituted
us as to permit temptations to come to our minds, nor are we to pray that we
may have no temptations; for if there were no such presentations, no such temptations, there could be no victories on our part, no
overcoming of sin and of the Wicked One. We know that for this very reason we
are now in the School of Christ; not that we shall there be shielded from
all temptation, but that we may learn of the great Teacher how to
meet the Tempter, and by our Master's grace and help come off conquerors,
victors in the strife against sin. The degree of our success in this conflict
will depend largely upon the keenness of our faith and trust in the great
Teacher. If we have confidence in His wisdom, we will follow closely His
instructions and keep our hearts, minds, with all diligence. Faith in the
Lord's wisdom and in His help in every time of need is necessary to us in order
that we may be thoroughly obedient to Him; and hence it is written, "This
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"; that is,
it will be by the exercise of faith and the obedience which
flows therefrom that we will be enabled to come off conquerors and "more
than conquerors" through Him that loved us and gave Himself for us.--I John 5:4; Rom. 8:37.
We are not to seek Divine aid far in advance;
as, for instance, to ask to be kept throughout the year to come, or month to
come, or week to come; rather we ought to know that if we have made a covenant
with the Lord and are His, He is near us at all times, in every trial, in every
temptation; and that His assistance is ready to our use, if we will but accept
it and act accordingly. Hence our prayers should be for help in the time
of need, as well as general prayers for the Lord's blessing and care for
each day.
The difficulty with many is that they are
looking for some great battles instead of averting the great battles and
keeping their minds cleansed from secret faults. The little battles, which are
much more numerous, are principally the ones in which we gain the victories,
with their ultimate rewards. "Greater is he that ruleth his own spirit
[mind, will] than he that taketh a city."-- Prov.
16:32.
Finally, the grand results of obedience to this
counsel [R4904 : page 397] of the Lord, the
grand attainment of those who have faithfully kept their hearts with diligence,
is expressed in the words of the Psalmist, and may well be the repeated,
earnest prayer of all the sanctified in Christ Jesus: "Cleanse Thou me
from secret faults....Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my
heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer."--Psa. 19:13,14.
W.T. R-4904a : page 396 - 1911r