The Bible Echo
February 15, 1893
“Come in Your Need to Jesus”
Those that call upon the Lord in humble, fervent prayer, will receive the strength and grace that they need to battle with temptation and to endure trials. In coming to God, the petitioner must present Christ as his authority, Christ's merit as his plea; and when these conditions are fulfilled, God has pledged his word that heaven is open unto the cries of the penitent and humble soul. BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 1
The enemy will come to you, and say, “It is of no use for you to pray. Did you not do that evil thing? Have you not transgressed against God? Have you not violated your conscience?” Answer him, “Yes; but Christ has bidden me pray. He has said, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’” BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 2
Let the repenting soul repeat the promise that Jesus has made,—“Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” Let him tell the enemy, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Tell the enemy that you know your garments are stained with sin, but that by faith you claim the righteousness of Christ. Turn to Jesus, and tell Him all your trouble; Christ sees all your circumstances, knows all your temptations and sorrows. The enemy will suggest that you stay away from Christ until you have made yourself better, until you are good enough to come to God; but do not listen to his suggestions; for if you wait till you are good enough to come to God, you will never come. You might wait until the judgment, but you would not be fit to come to Christ. “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” You are to yield to the drawing power of Christ's love today, and come to Him as you are. As you come, He will continue to draw you, until every thought shall be brought into captivity to Jesus. When the enemy would keep you from your Saviour, accusing you of being a sinner, tell him that you are entitled to go to the Lord, since He has said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The accuser of the brethren told the repentant publican that he was a sinner; and he dared not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, and cried. “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” and he went down to his house justified. The coming of the sinner is not unwelcome to Christ. He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” When Christ was upon earth, at one time certain Greeks came, saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” On every side were those who were cruel and vindictive, who were seeking an opportunity to put Jesus out of the way, for they rejected the Lord of glory; and how precious to Jesus was the thought that there were earnest souls who desired to see Him. The Master's heart warmed with satisfaction that some one wanted to see Jesus. When the voice of God speaks to the heart, and the heart responds to it, we shall hear the inquiry, “Sir, I would see Jesus.” Heaven is all ready to receive those who receive Jesus. Then let us come to Him, asking for the very things that we need, believing that we shall receive them. BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 3
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In coming to Christ there must be an exercise of faith. We need to bring Him into our every-day life; then we shall have peace and joy, and we shall know by experience the meaning of his word, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” Our faith must claim the promise, that we may abide in the love of Jesus. Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 4
Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Through faith the Holy Spirit finds access to the heart, and creates holiness therein. Man cannot become an agent to work the works of Christ unless he is in communion with God through the Holy Spirit. We can be fitted for heaven only through a transformation of character; we must have Christ's righteousness as our credentials, if we would find access to the Father. We must be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We must daily be transformed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; for it is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man, by presenting to the soul the matchless charms of Jesus. BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 5
We are to behold Christ, and by beholding to become changed. We must come to Him, as to an open, inexhaustible fountain, from which we may drink again and again, and ever find a fresh supply. We are to respond to the drawing of his love, to feed on the Bread of life which came down from heaven, to drink of the water of life which flows from the throne of God. We are to keep looking up that faith may bind us to the throne of God. Do not look down, as though you were bound to the earth. Do not keep up an examination of your faith, pulling it up, as though it were a flower, to see if it has any root. Faith grows imperceptibly; and when the enemy rallies his forces to bring you into a critical place, the angels of God will be round about you, and you will have help from on high; for your prayer will be answered in the conflict. If you have genuine faith, you will praise God from whom all blessings flow, and as you praise Him you will realize more of his blessing. As God gives us light, we are to make use of it. We shall have no second ray until we have appreciated and appropriated the first. BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 6
But let us never imagine that we can do without God. The enemy knows when we decide to do without the Lord's help, and he is ready to fill the mind with evil suggestions, and make us fall from our steadfastness; but the Lord would have us abide in Him every moment, that we may be complete in Him, accepted in the Beloved. Many think they have not time to pray, or that it would be useless to pray if they had time. They indulge themselves in the gratification of unholy desires. They cherish unchristlike traits of character, and the least crossing of their will arouses their combativeness and upsets their temper. While they are thus unemptied of self, and unwilling to renounce their evil way, they cannot expect to receive answers to their prayers; for evil tempers and corrupt indulgences will make prayer of none effect. The psalmist says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” We must roll off the load of evil from our souls into the sepulchre, that we may not believe from impulse, but from calm assurance that God is true. We must have a childlike, humble spirit, exercising living faith, making earnest supplication at the throne of mercy, knowing that Jesus is our Intercessor and Advocate. BEcho February 15, 1893, par. 7