EXTRACT – PURPOSE OF HEART
I desire to speak about purpose of heart, about the need to be definite. We will get nowhere spiritually without resolve. The Lord Jesus is the perfect model for us. We could be well occupied with the purpose of heart that was seen in the Lord Jesus. He said, “Lo, I come … to do, O God, thy will”, Heb.10.7. It was written of Him in the roll of the book, but there was a moment in time when He came into manhood to fulfil the will of God. Think of the definiteness of the purpose that marked our Lord Jesus Christ. There would have been no blessing for us, and God’s purpose would not have been secured, if it were not for the Lord Jesus coming into manhood and with purpose of heart pursuing perfectly all that the will of God involved.
So I read the verse in Luke (chap.9 vv.51-53) where it says, “He stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” … Think of His devotion; we may well feed on the purpose of heart of our Lord Jesus Christ and on His devotion to the will of God. If we feed on this purpose of the Lord Jesus in manhood we will be built up ourselves in desire to be marked by definiteness of purpose of heart. We will get nowhere without purpose, without decision, and what we often speak of as commitment. Young people, and all of us, need this arriving at a purpose in our lives.
… I have read of three persons in the Old Testament who were marked by this feature, and the first one is Daniel (chap.1 vv.8-16) who was a youth. In modern language we speak of teenagers; that is what Daniel was, but one who had purpose of heart. We do not need to wait until we are old to arrive at purpose of heart, we can have it when we are young … He was sent to the university of these days to be trained to promote the idolatrous system of Babylon. Daniel might have conceded … He was allocated the daily provision of the king’s delicate food and the wine that he drank which, if he had partaken of it, would have fitted him for the Babylonish system; but he purposed in his heart not to pollute himself with the king’s delicate food … the kind of food he requested was pulse and water. The king’s delicate food was no doubt attractive to the man after the flesh. It would be well presented; it would be colourful; it would appeal to young people. Daniel in his purpose of heart rejected it and requested that he should be given pulse.
Now pulse is very unattractive to the natural man … no matter how you presented pulse, it would not be all that attractive; but it is basic food. … What would this pulse be for us today? The king’s delicate food and the wine that he drank is what builds up persons for this world’s system, but pulse and water is food for persons who are committed to the will of God. Pulse is an excellent food … We have reading material the like of which is not found anywhere else … We have the Holy Scriptures in an accurate translation; we have ministries which are reliable; I think that is like the pulse.
The Holy Scriptures may be unattractive to us when we are young. I can remember a time when I knew the Lord as my Saviour but I had little or no desire for the Scriptures. I could see my father reading his Bible, and I would see him too with books of reliable ministry, and he would be engrossed in enjoying these things, but I did not have that same purpose. I did not have any taste for the Scriptures until I began to read the Scriptures; the more I read them, the more I desired to read them. I had no desire to read ministry until I began to read the ministry; the more ministry I read, the more I desired to read, not just for memorising it but I found food, I found what cleansed my thoughts, occupied my mind with what was good and built up the soul in the knowledge of the will of God. Such reading matter builds up manhood according to God. I think that is what answers to the pulse and water. It is simple, not attractive to man after the flesh; you have to acquire a taste for it. Daniel had this taste; he purposed in his heart. Even as believers we need our taste changed.
When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, after three days in the wilderness they came to Marah and the waters of Marah were bitter. God showed Moses wood “and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet”, Exod.15:25. In the history of the children of Israel the waters changed, but in our experience we change, our taste changes. What is bitter to man after the flesh becomes attractive because Moses is shown wood; for us it is really the Lord Jesus Christ here in manhood in wilderness circumstances, here for the will of God. The appreciation of Him changes our taste, we find that the waters can be appropriated, just as Daniel’s taste was for this pulse and water. Dear brethren, we need to arrive at this purpose of heart. The more we read of this world’s literature the less taste we will have for the Scriptures or for ministry that will help us … there are the Scriptures and there are books that are reliable, books that will build up our souls in the kind of manhood that is here for the will of God. The pulse and the water are like reading material which we need to commit ourselves to. You will never get a taste for the Scriptures or ministries that will help you until you begin to appropriate them, then your taste will change. May we all commit ourselves with purpose of heart to this line of Daniel. He began young. There are great opportunities for young people. I believe the Lord specially helps persons who commit themselves when they are young; you cannot begin too young on this line of Daniel. May we all have this purpose of heart …
Motueka, New Zealand
10 March 1979
Extracted from pages 209-214 of ‘First Things and other Ministry by Jim Renton Vol.1’, containing ministry from 1972 - 1984, compiled and published by Andrew Burr and available (also Vol.2) from
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