In the riches of divine grace, a wonderful provision
has been made for every one of God's precious
children. A provision has been made for constant,
unbroken victory on the part of every child of
God. A victory that's unaffected. absolutely
unaffected by circumstances, however adverse,
however depressing these circumstances may be,
provision has been made by God for every one
of His children for literally an unbroken victory,
an unbroken fellowship. large measure is unaccepted,
partly because of ignorance as to its nature
and value, and also on the ground of its terms.
And its terms require a surrender which the average
Christian is unwilling to make. average Christian
is unwilling to yield. You see, things gotten
cheap are usually cheap, you know. The things
that you have to pay most for are usually the
things that are most valuable and that we appreciate
most. It's kind of like that. And the most extraordinary
thing about the victorious life is that although
it's so clearly taught in the scripture, yet
it is so frequently unrecognized by Bible students.
That's something that's been very difficult for
me to understand. Why it is that so many men
in our pulpits today, so many of our seminary
students, so many, many, of our spiritual leaders
have not recognized this wonderful life of unbroken
victory with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many who
have a thorough knowledge of the Bibles know
nothing of this truth experimentally. And you
cannot give to someone else. No minister can
give to members of his congregation. more than
he has experienced himself. And I do hope that
there are many ministers of the gospel following
me in these heart -to -heart talks, not because
of me, not because I'm giving them, but because
they are based on the very Word of God. And if
you can catch the glory of the truth that I've
been trying to give to you, then you can go into
your pulpits and give to your people something
that will revolutionize, will change their entire
spiritual life. It will change you as a minister.
I mean exactly that. It's been one of the greatest
truths that it has been my privilege to receive
from the Master. How is it that we're so slow
of heart to understand? Probably the best way
to put the case is to describe at some length
the inner experiences of two men who had long
been devoted to the service of God. Born again?
I would not question the fact that they had never
been born again. If you have read regarding the
lives of these men, you would readily agree with
me. They were God's precious children. Oh, sure.
They were devoted to the service of God. Take,
for instance, Hudson Taylor, a missionary to
China, was one of these men. He's left a letter,
and the letter was written to his sister, a record
of his search for holiness, his search for a
deeper walk with God, a constant abiding in Christ
Jesus. And in his letter, he tells of his total
inability to see how to get it, how to obtain
it. although the way lies so clearly on the pages
of the Scripture. You cannot help seeing this
wonderful truth as you read the Word of God.
And yet, I suppose, only the Holy Spirit can
make it real to the hearts of men and women.
And so, in this letter, written to his sister,
Hudson Taylor. that great missionary to China,
expressed the deep feeling, his great search
for this experience that I have been talking
about in his heart -to -heart talks. I quote
from the letter, I prayed, fasted, agonized,
made resolutions, read the Bible more diligently.
sought more time for retirement and meditation.
But all without effect. Every day, almost every
hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me.
Then came the question. Is there no rescue? Must
it be this to the end? Constant conflict instead
of victory? Too often defeat? I hated myself,
I hated my sin, and yet I gained no strength
against it. I felt I was a child of God. I knew
I was a child of God, but how to rise to my privileges
as a child? I was utterly powerless to see. I
thought that holiness, practice, holiness was
to be gradually attained by a diligent use of
the means of grace, I felt there was nothing
I so much desired in this world, nothing so much
I needed. And when my agony of soul was at its
very height, a sentence in a letter was used
to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit
of God revealed the truth of our oneness. with
Jesus. And do you want to know, do you desire,
even as I desired one day, to know what was in
that letter? What was that sentence, just one
sentence, that gave to him that which he had
sought so long? All right, I continue. Oh, this
is thrilling. This is priceless. I read from
the letter. By faith a channel is formed by which
Christ's fullness plenteously flows down. The
barren branch becomes a portion of the fruitful
vine. He is most holy who has most of Christ
within. Let me repeat that one sentence. It's
profound. If you forget everything else that
this letter includes, if you do not hear another
word that I may say in this heart -to -heart
talk, remember this one sentence. He is most
holy who has most of Christ within. It is detective
faith which clogs the feet and causes many a
fall. Abiding. Not struggling or striving. It's
looking to him. It's trusting him for... present
power, trusting him to subdue all inward corruptions,
trusting in the conscious joy of a complete salvation,
a salvation from all sin, willing that he should
be truly supreme. That is not new, and yet, said
Hudson Taylor, it is new to me. I seem to have
gotten to the edge only, but to the edge of a
sea that is bondless. Not a striving to have
faith, not a striving to increase our faith,
not a struggle at all, but a looking to the faithful
one. Looking to Jesus seems all we need. Resting
in the Lord. Just resting completely entirely
on him for time and eternity. That is the secret.
And that was the letter. That was the sentence
which arrested us. Hudson Taylor's attention,
that one sentence. Not a striving to have faith,
but a looking off to the faithful one seems all
that we need. And it's just that simple. I shall
never forget, years ago, after my conversion,
at the age of 14, in that little Methodist church
in Concordia, Missouri. And then it was sometime
after that that God so definitely gave me a call
to the ministry. And that call was as definite
as my conversion. Oh, it seemed that every atom
of my being cried out for more of him. I've known
physical hunger. But I have never known a physical
hunger in my whole life that was as great as
the spiritual hunger that I had for him. And
I was so ignorant. I was so stupid when it came
to spiritual things. I'd had no training, nothing
whatsoever. And then I shall never forget those
holiness camp meetings in Oskalooso, Iowa. Oh,
that's been years and years ago. They may still
have those holiness camp meetings. I don't know.
I only attended years ago, right after I became
a Christian. And before I knew anything about
the Holy Spirit, before I knew anything about
the baptism with the Holy Spirit, all I knew
was I'd been born again. Jesus had forgiven my
sins. And I can remember that old -fashioned
tabernacle. Saw this on the ground. Maybe I'm
talking to someone who has attended one of those
holiness camp meetings. Maybe you were there
years ago when I was there. So hungry for more.
And every time an altar call was given, whether
it was after the morning session, the afternoon
session, or night, there was a red -headed, freckled
-faced teenage girl who was the first to walk
down the aisle and kneel in that sawdust, seeking
holiness, seeking some experience I knew not
what. After every one of those morning services,
that red -headed, freckle -faced girl would rush
to the altar, my head buried in my arms, weeping
and crying. And when the noon hour would come
for dinner, everyone else would leave. But she
was still there. She would still be there when
the afternoon service would begin. She was the
first at the altar when the call was given again
for those who wanted to be completely holy and
seeking holiness. I never found what I was seeking
there. I was that girl. I was seeking for some
experience, some ecstasy. It was years later
that I found out that Jesus is our holiness.
And the one who has the most of his holiness
is the one who has the most of Jesus. You talk
about the experience. of holiness, of sanctification,
it is still a matter of seeking Jesus. You talk
about the wonderful experience of being filled
with the Holy Spirit. It's still more of Jesus.
And even after one has been filled with the Holy
Spirit, remember, my friend, the Holy Spirit
himself always magnifies and glorifies Jesus.
He is most holy who has most of Jesus within.
No. It's not striving to have faith. It's not
striving for some experience. But it's looking
to... Jesus. Receiving more of Him. And that
is your answer.