MARKS OF SOUL PROGRESS
F. S. Marsh
For those who have confessed Him, I would suggest the next stage in our soul history is that the Lord would have us brought to a definite committal to Him. We have to lament the indecision of so many young believers. If you have one foot in the world, you will soon find both feet there. It is vain to try to make the best of both worlds; you will not make the best of either. The Lord has moved the hearts of His people for you that you might be brought to a point in your soul history, that out of true affection for Him, you may be definitely committed to Him and to His beloved people. I love that man who was lame who sat at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful (Acts 3: 1–10). The moment he was healed he took his stand alongside the followers of Jesus. Splendid! Have you done that? Have you been converted a long time and yet have never thrown your lot in with them?
Think of what you are missing! What did he get? He walked and leaped and praised God, and he entered with them into the temple. That is where the Lord wants you. He would take possession of your affections; He would secure possession of you by causing you wholeheartedly to respond to Him; He would lead you to be found with them who find their joy in the presence of God, in the service of God, and in the worship of God.
In the goodness of our God, some of us have been tasting together the joys that belong to those who are His beloved children. We have been engaged during the past two days with things that are new, things that are of God, things that are divine, and things that are glorious and wonderful, and our hearts have been stirred to their depths as we have shared those joys.
Our hearts have gone up to the Lord for you, for He wants you to share them too. Many of those engaged in this happy occupation are old and grey-headed, and, if the Lord tarry, many, of them may soon be taken home. But we are assured that the Lord is getting ready a generation to follow. He is making an appeal for young men and young women with hearts devoted to Him, as divinely moved by the love of Christ, to be ready to step forward and say, ‘Lord, I desire to follow Thee’. Such will be ready to stand with those who love Him, ready to go into the temple with them, to engage in the holy worship of God with them, to sing with them, to praise with them, and ready to come out with them and stand with them as they suffer reproach, shame, and dishonour for His name.
Are you ready for that? Have you ever weighed it over in the presence of the Lord Jesus that He gave His life for you, that He is entitled to have you, spirit, soul and body, for His pleasure, His joy, His service and for the worship of His name? Are you ready to say, ‘Lord, Thou art worthy; I would desire to be devoted to Thee’? What a moment it is in our soul history when the love of Christ in all its magnificent power so controls the heart that we are ready to commit ourselves in true devotedness and affection to Jesus. Let me put it in scriptural language, as it is put so beautifully by the apostle, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service” ... He wants you, not a part of you, not for an hour or two a week; He wants you, your heart, mind and body, your interests, and your affections. He wants you in every position, so that your hands, as clean, may be used to express your identification with His beloved saints who are here, in true affection, remembering Him. What would not the Lord do with a body presented to Him as a living sacrifice? Dear young friends, if only you realised the tremendous possibilities of your life if held by Christ in the power of His love, you would never hold it for one moment in your own keeping. You would surrender it to Him, to be held by Him and for Him until He shall come, and you would enter, at that moment of committal, upon the sweetest, and purest, and happiest life it is possible to live on earth.
The Lord appeals to you, that you might not only be converted, not only confessing His blessed name, but that you might commit yourself entirely to Him. Can you trust Him with yourself? You have trusted Him concerning your soul’s eternal welfare. Cannot you trust your body to Him? Cannot you trust your lips, your hands, your mind, your life, your joys to Him? Will not the blessed Son of God, do better for you than you can do for yourself? Can He not secure for you a present, and eternal joy, and blessing that the world knows nothing of and can never give? How great is the appeal of the love of Jesus! What are the words of it?
“This do in remembrance of me”. I believe many a young believer’s life is a failure because he is not wholeheartedly committed. Many are content to come and be spectators, content with merely attending the meetings. What is that to the heart of Christ? He is waiting for your love. He has loved you unto death, and He loves you still with such a love—a present living love—that He wants you in possession, that He may fill you and use you for His glory, to make you profoundly happy in a path of wholeheartedness for Him.
I thank God I speak to many who have confessed His blessed name, and are already committed to Him and to His beloved people, who have tasted the joy of the remembrance of Himself in partaking of His Supper. They have in true devotedness stood with those who have entered into the temple and praised and blessed God, and have stood shoulder to shoulder with the saints as they have had to suffer reproach for His name, and to such I would desire to add a further thought. The Lord would give you a definite commission in relation to His interests here.
The scripture we read together (Acts 26: 13–18) was about Saul of Tarsus. I am not referring to
him now as an apostle, but as he himself speaks, “But for this reason mercy was shown me, that in me, the first, Jesus Christ might display the whole long-suffering, for a delineation of those about to believe on him”, 1 Timothy 1: 16. In that sense, I refer to the way in which the Lord commissioned him to be here as His servant for His pleasure … May I say a word to the dear young men? Have you received your commission? Have you waited upon the Lord for the definite word from Him as to what He would have you do, and where He would have you, relative to His interests here on earth? Have you received from Himself direct a consciousness, a living touch that has given you to realise that you are His servant, one ready to do His bidding? Have you heard Him say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”, Isaiah 6: 8. And have you said, in true affection for Him, “Here am I; send me”? Such are the men that the Lord will use today in His service and in His interests. Such are the brothers or sisters that the Lord will make fruitful for His glory and pleasure. Let me again ask in all affection, ‘Have you received your commission from the Lord in glory?’. It says that He left His house and gave “to each one his work”, Mark 13: 34. Have you received your work—
your life work? Face this question in the presence of your Lord. What is your life work? You have interests; you may have a well-developed, a well-educated mind; you may have a great sphere of life opening up before you, but what is your life work? What are you living for? Is wealth the object, or is it Christ? We are not commissioned to serve ourselves and to acquire the maximum of wealth that our efforts can secure; we are commissioned to do His bidding as His servants—His trusty servants—ready to stand in His power against His foes in His name, and for His sake.
The Lord is calling young men and young women that He might commission them in His service, for His glory; that He might fill up the ranks of those that are passing away, so that they might take their stand alongside those who are standing for Him.
From an address at Croydon in June 1926, printed in J.T. O.S. Vol. 82, p.