Consecration Needed by R. A. Underwood

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 17, 1910

Consecration Needed

By R. A. Underwood

R. A. UNDERWOOD

(Reading for Monday, December 12)

BEFORE the sweet voice of mercy, entreating sinful men to accept salvation, has ceased; before the awful moment fixing unalterably the destiny of all men, has come; before Jesus leaves the heavenly temple, and says, “It is done,”—the earth must be illuminated by individual light-bearers of divine truth. The gospel of the kingdom must be proclaimed to all men as a “witness” to the love of a gracious God. The commission is, “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” “Unto the end of the world,” is given the Lord’s command: “Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.” Isa. 62:10, 11.

The magnitude of the work to be done is scarcely comprehended. There are more than one and one-half billions of human souls to hear the message of King Emmanuel. This number is so vast that we shall perhaps better appreciate its greatness when we remember that only less than one billion moments of time have lapsed into history since the beginning of the Christian era. Were it not for the fact that “all His biddings are enablings,” we might draw back from the task. But in his great commission, Christ has delegated to the church all the power necessary to accomplish the purpose of God. Matt. 28:18-20.

Justification, or the forgiveness of sins, consecration, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are successive steps in Christian growth and experience. Of Christ it is written, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good.” Listen to the instruction Christ gives his disciples: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”

Those charged with the responsibility of giving the message of hope and warning of Revelation 14 to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people must be converted, consecrated, Spirit-controlled, volunteer soldiers of the cross, rather than persons drafted into service. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,” is the promise of the great God through the psalmist.

Consecration inspires enthusiasm to accomplish great things for the cause of Christ. While fanaticism is a frenzied zeal in behalf of trifles, consecration means the dedication of life, and service, and substance to our God for the salvation of man.

Man must be born from above before he can feel the need of giving his life and service unreservedly to a cause unappreciated by the world. Man’s lips must be touched by a live coal from the altar of divine truth, his iniquities must be purged, before he is ready to respond to the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isa. 6:6-8.

The gospel call to “repent, and bring forth fruits answerable to an amendment of life,” must be accepted, and become a part of the life of the messenger who is to carry the message, before he has a vision of the great need of a sinful world. When the Spirit of God brings before us the view of despairing, dying souls without Christ and hope, lost, forever lost, so that the scene appears more vivid to our sight than the agonies of the dying gladiator sculptured in marble; and when, in contrast, we see another picture, of poor, sinful, confused men and women, once without hope, but rescued, redeemed, and in full possession of the eternal treasures of heaven as a result of patient effort and consecrated service,—when we see these two pictures, I say, we can exclaim, “Here am I; send me.”

It was a view of man’s needs, and of the joy of seeing him redeemed, that induced our Lord Jesus Christ for our sakes to become poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. 2 Cor. 8:9.

It was a vision of eternal things that led Moses to refuse “to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the

treasures in Egypt.” Heb. 11:24, 25. It was a view of eternal realities and a touch of the divine Spirit, that changed the proud Saul of Tarsus to the humble apostle of Christ, and sent him as a missionary to a heathen world, crying out, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

“If clearer vision Thou impart, Grateful and glad my soul shall be; But yet to have a purer heart, Is more to me, is more to me.

“So wash me, Thou, without, within, Or purge with fire, if that must be, No matter how, if only sin Die out in me, die out in me.

“Yea, only as this heart is clean, May larger vision yet be mine, For mirrored in thy life are seen The things divine, the things divine.

“So wash me, Thou, without, within, Or purge with fire if that must be; No matter how, if only sin Die out in me, die out in me.”

The love of Christ enthroned in the heart is the all-mastering power urging on the man of faith. “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” Christ of Calvary, formed within, changes our vision and our ambitions, and with Christ we say: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” Christ was not exclusive. He bound himself to men by ministering to them in their sorrows and joys. So the successful winner of souls will reach men where they are. The bearers of God’s message must possess an aggressive as well as a meek and quiet spirit. “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward,” is our Captain’s command. Every advance we are called to make is a test of our consecration. We are to shun hell and win heaven. It is a battle and then a march, a test and a trial, all the way to the kingdom. The secret of the Lord is not imparted to a cold, formal, fossilized soul. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching.”

“O Spirit, who makest all things new, Thou leadest onward; we pursue The heavenly march sublime. ’Neath thy renewing fire we glow, And still from strength to strength we go, From height to height we climb.”

Consecration Fills Our Hands

“Who then is willing to consecrate his service [“fill his hand,” margin] this day unto the Lord?” Of Aaron and his sons we read: “Thou . . . shalt anoint them, and consecrate them [“fill their hand,” margin, Hebrew], and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Ex. 28:41. To be thus consecrated means to be anointed with power to use heart and hand in loving service to both God and man.

A consecrated church must be a wide-awake missionary body of believers. The call to awake out of sleep is a call to consecration:— “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Rom. 13:11, 12.

“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem. . . . Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” Isa. 52:1, 2. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:1, 2.

This is a clarion call to the people of God to accept their responsibility. Great power is to accompany the closing gospel message. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.” Rev. 18:1. As another has written:— “The Comforter that Christ promised to send after he ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Series B, No. 7, page 63.

“Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to his church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. . . . Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for his guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train.”—“Desire of Ages,” Trade Edition, page 804.

With God’s storehouse of power awaiting the demand of faith, it seems little less than a tragedy for men and women to go crippling along, suffering repeated defeat, when the powers of heaven are pledged to the support of the man of faith. The apostle assures us that we may “always triumph in Christ, making manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Cor. 2:14.

It is the joy of the parent to give food to the hungry child. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:13. Here is the challenge: “How much more!” This almost staggers our faith. Lord, help us to believe.

A deep consecration and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are the greatest needs of the minister. The Bible worker, the physician, the nurse, the teacher, the canvasser, the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, the mother in the home, even the children,—each needs to have a consecrated mind, heart, and hand, and to be endued with power for service.

The prophet says: “I proclaimed a fast, . . . that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” Ezra 8:21. It is fitting that we seek the Lord to find the right way to use all our talents and substance lent us from God; for all the world is open for the gospel message.

The servants of Christ are spared from the slavery of many harmful and sinful habits, which consume the means and strength of those who know not the better way. Millions upon millions are spent for tobacco, tea, alcoholic drinks, etc., and many millions more are paid to attend theaters, shows, sports, and demoralizing entertainments.

The consecrated servant of God, in his “reasonable service,” is saved from all these needless and damaging expenditures. It is appropriate that we give liberal thank-offerings to send the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth as a fitting token of the debt of gratitude we owe for the precious gospel and its saving power to keep us from the follies of sin.

Another year has nearly passed into eternity. Let us consecrate our all to God, and unite with the agencies of heaven in proclaiming “among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established. . . . Let the heaven rejoice, and let the earth be glad. . . . Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” “Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.” Ps. 96:10-13; 98:8, 9. “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.”

Trees, hills, and floods,—all rejoice in the hope of the coming of him who has promised to put an end to sorrow, pain, and death. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Rom. 8:22, 23.

A geologist recently said that the seismograph has shown that scarcely an hour has passed since the San Francisco earthquake, when the earth has not been in a quiver. As the result of sin, the old earth gives signs of the approach of her last congestive chill. Rev. 16:17-21.

“All nature seems to say, ‘O, why these years of waiting, These ages of delay?’”

Happy, thrice happy, is that man or woman who is preparing to welcome the return of Jesus Christ! Such a one has his heart and his hands full in consecrated service.

We can not be passive, and meet our responsibility. God is calling us to meet our obligations to a dying world. We must break the awful spell of cold indifference by helping poor, paralyzed sinners to accept the cup of salvation before it is everlastingly too late. The Spirit and the bride say, Come; and let him that has tasted of the joys of saving grace say, Come. Let the enslaved soul break the bands of sin to-day, and be free. The Saviour stands ready to welcome all who will come to him. Let the aged, those in the prime of life, the youth, and even the little ones, surrender their plans, their time, their intellect, their strength, their life, to Christ our Saviour.

Those who do this will unite in consecrated service now, and will ultimately join with the heavenly choir in ascribing praise, and glory, and “dominion forever and ever” “unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” “Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?”

CAMP-MEETING AT RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL

BELIEVERS IN ATTENDANCE AT THE FIRST GENERAL MEETING IN SPAIN