March, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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ter]”— then, no matter what arises, all is well'; storm there may be outside; calm, peace, serenity, victory is within. Christ at the center is the secret o f a victorious life. R ivals for M astery in the H eart Recognizing as we now do the importance o f occupying the citadel o f life, it is not surprising that there should be rival claimants to Christ for mastery in this vital realm. Other lords seek to invade this sanctuary which, rightly, belongs but to the “ one Lord.” It is Jesus Christ who would zealously guard the heart, standing watch at its door that rfo unworthy motive, false love, inordinate affection, or carnal desire should enter there. “ Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out o f it are the issues o f life.” Christ knows that; hence He resists every rival claimant to occupancy o f the throne room o f the life. “ M yself ” The first rival claimant to the control of the heart is myself — ourselves. A man’s worst enemy is himself in this as in other spheres. Alas, too often do we allow our own selfish de sires, self-indulgence, self-love, self-worship, self-seeking, self-interest, our self-centered plans and purposes, our car nal loves and worldly wisdom to occupy the place in qur hearts which Christ alone should occupy. Too often selfish and personal ambition finds its place where the magnanimous, unselfish, high-minded, generous- hearted Christ alone should find His throne. Why did Jesus refuse the offer o f the people to make Him King (John 6 :15 ), even though that kingship belonged to Him by very right? Because, to the people, that kingship was based on “ bread” which satisfieth the body, and “ miracle” which dazzles the eye. The throne the people offered Jesus was a throne outside themselves ; what the Lord demanded was a throne within. He knew that the only abiding king- ship was that which was offered with unselfish motives. Later, this same multitude came with soldiers, with stones, with staves, with swords to arrest the Master. S piritual I dolatry Idols in the heart are rival claimants to the supremacy o f Jesus Christ as. Master in the citadel o f a man’s life. Those are exceedingly interesting and instructive words uttered by the prophet to a people that had dethroned Je hovah from their lives : “ He said furthermore unto me, Son o f man, seest thou what they do? even the great abomina tions that the house o f Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? . . . . And he brought me to the door o f the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wa l l . . . . and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw ; and behold every form o f creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols o f the house o f Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about . . . . Then said he unto me, Son o f man, hast thou seen what- the ancients of the house o f Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers o f his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth” (Ezek. 8:6-12). T horough S urrender N ecessary All the idols and abominations connected with pagan worship had been taken from the high places, and not a vestige o f them was to be seen in the streets o f the city o f Jerusalem. The nation was making its boast that it had made a clean sweep o f idols. But, alas, idolatry was being practiced in secret ; it was reigning in the hearts o f men ; God was not King there. “ I f a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the mas ter’s use” (2 Tim. 2 :21 ). A new heart is not always a
clean heart. David had a new heart, and yet after his most heinous sin, he cried out to God, “ Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psa. 51 :10). Jacob buried but he did not burn his idols. Later he dug them up, and that act brought great trouble into his life (Gen. 35 :4 ). Moses burned the idol calf and scattered the dust, thus preventing further trouble (Exod. 3 2 :20). An idol may be cast down and not cast o ff; it may be dislodged and yet not destroyed. Sin may be renounced as a whole and yet not in particular: “ And he [Jehoshaphat] walked in all the ways o f Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes o f the L o rd : nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt in cense yet in the high places” (1 Ki. 22 :43). Sin may be renounced in public and yet not in private. It is not enough that idolatry be removed to less conspicuous places; it must be dislodged and destroyed. Sin in secret is as heinous to God as sin in public. A sin may be renounced physically and yet practiced mentally; there is such a thing as imagina tive sensualism: “ The carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom . 8 :7). Old sins may still be remaining in the life o f the Chris tian. But that means that Christ is not supreme on the throne of the heart. Gibbon relates that “ one o f the Roman Emperors by a strange vicissitude o f fortune was brought* from prison to receive the royal diadem; and as a smith could not at once be found, the monarch sat for some hours on the throne o f the Caesars with the fetters still on his limbs.” Do not some Christians remind us o f this strange sight? Their souls are brought out o f the prison, but relics o f the old degradation cling to them still, and the royal signs and ornaments o f virtue strangely mingle with the broken fetters o f evil. T he S upreme T est Have we burned and destroyed our idols? W e must destroy them, or they will destroy us. A divided heart is never a victorious, happy, and serene heart. Such a heart needs Christ as its occupant— entire and alone. Do not I love Thee, Lord? Oh, search my heart and see. And cast down every idol throne, That dares to rival Thee. Oh, that our hearts may this day becomé the very sanc tuary o f Christ! “ Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord.” Say to H im : The third rival claimant to the heart is the world. - The world is a vamp 'and a flirt: “ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship o f the world is enmity with God ? Whosoever therefore will be a/ friend of the world is the enemy o f God” (Jas. 4 :4 ). “ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love o f the Father is not in him” (1 John 2 :15). Jesus is the lover and wooer o f the soul; so we sing, The gospel is the story o f the divine wooing—Jesus Christ leaving heaven to woo and win the erring soul of man (John 3 :16). The world, with its charms and allurements, seeks to vamp the soul, and to allure it from Christ. The world caught Demas: “ Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4 :10 ). Jesús, lover o f my soul; Let me to Thy bosom fly. Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; I want Thee forever to live in my soul. Break down every id ol; cast out every fo e ; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. T he W orld a R ival
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