"What Doth the Lord Require of Thee."

GOD requires the heart's supreme affection. If that is not given, God does not accept our labor, or the sacrifice we make. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." When the Jews entered into the promised land, they were to bring for a thank-offering a wave sheaf of the first-fruits. This was before they had put in the sickle to gather in the grain. Then when they had harvested their grain, the first loaf of bread made from the first threshed and ground corn was given to the Lord as an acknowledgment of his goodness to them. See Lev. 23. In all the temporal blessings that they received, God was acknowledged as the giver by them, when they gave to him a thank-offering of the first-fruits of the best they received.

But when the Jews backslid from God, how great a change came over them in this respect. It was self first, and God afterward. They would do for the Lord if it cost them nothing. They brought to the Lord the refuse, the blind, the lame, and that which they could spare as well as not. This, was showing contempt to the Lord's ordinances and despising his name. It was not treating God with that respect they would show to their governors. They would not even shut the doors of the temple nor kindle a fire upon the altar without pay. This state of things is clearly described in the following words: "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master; if then I be a father, where is mine honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say the table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us; this hath been by your means; will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." Mal. 1:6-10.

"Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering; should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing; for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." Mal. 1:13, 14.

They had lost sight of the special providence of God and the sacredness of his work. To sacrifice was a burden to them. They had no relish for it. Religion had become to them a round of ceremonies without life and power. The burden of God's cause did not rest upon them. And because of this, the labor of their hands was blasted. They had labored hard and brought in little. They failed in procuring what they wished to eat. They clothed themselves, but were not warm. They would at times earn much money, but it was like putting it in a bag with holes. It did not seem to spend well. When they looked for much, lo, it came to little. The Lord said all this was because he did blow upon it, and the reason why he blew upon it was because every man run to his own house, or made his own interests first, and left the work of the Lord as a secondary matter. See Haggai 1:5-11; 2:16-18.

But if they would return to the Lord and seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he promised from that day to bless them. Hag. 2:19. Our temporal blessings are spoken of as being in proportion to our honoring the Lord with our substance. "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Prov. 3:9, 10.

Promises are numerous touching this point, and when the heart is fully imbued with the Spirit of God, so that it is drawn out for others to the extent that our ease, comfort, means, and all, are laid upon God's altar, the Lord will bless the effort made.

Here lies the strength and success of the Christian. Lose this Spirit and we might as well cease our efforts. A few weak prayers and certain rounds of duty are not sufficient to bring the power of God's Spirit into the heart. It is not a little sacrificing just now, and that the end of it. It is a sacrifice to-day, to-morrrow, and so on to the end.

It is a life of sacrifice. It is to bear the cross daily. "He that cometh after me and taketh not up his cross daily and followeth me cannot be my disciple."

It is to have the mind exercised, the heart drawn out for others, and not be weary in well doing. And there is not one-half the danger of becoming weary while actively engaged that there is in ceasing to be at work and brooding over the past. This is the enemy's ground. If we are to die on the field, let us die at our post. Let us be men and women to the very last. This Spirit of sacrifice is the Christian's forte. It is where he will receive power from on high. It is when sacrifices are made that cost something, that God meets men and gives a spirit that will reach hearts. It is when self is laid at the foot of the cross. It is when selfishness is rooted out of the heart that Christ will come in, and not before.

Publicans and harlots bid as fair to reign in glory as do those that daily mingle with their judgment-bound fellow-men, with hearts as unfeeling as a stone for their spiritual welfare. Men and women are wanted who regard the cause of Christ of more value than their farms or their merchandise. If men and women can go to heathen lands to toil and suffer every deprivation for the cause of Christ, and when there, send their children to this country to be educated among friends, nevermore to see them in this world, how must Heaven look upon those who will let a worldly influence prevent them entering the work of Christ?

"This life to toil is given,

And he improves it best

Who seeks by patient labor

To enter into rest."

The cause in which we have enlisted is everything or it is nothing. If this third angel's message of Rev. 14 be the truth of God, then our all is at stake. We should bend all our energies to act well our part for its advancement. Not by impulse, but to settle into the work, counting well the cost, coming to the conclusion that it will take all there is of us to act our part. If we have any idols, they are to be laid one side. If we have ways and schemes that conflict with the spirit of this work, bring them to the altar of present truth, and let them there be sacrificed, and the heart be broken before God.

Men of iron nerve whose hearts are as true as steel are called for to enter the work of God at the present time. It is because there has been some who have not considered their own interest, neither have counted their lives dear unto themselves for the advancement of this work, that God has blessed this cause and saved it front such extremes as would have proved its ruin. The pioneers in this and every good cause are an example in this respect. The lives of such men are familiar to all. It is such a spirit of sacrifice and devotion that will consider it a privilege to suffer deprivation, if need be, that God will own and bless. This is the spirit that brought Jesus from Heaven to suffer and die for a fallen race. And we want missionaries possessing the spirit of Christ, who will be true to God's cause in every emergency, at whatever cost. We want men and women who will labor unselfishly in their neighborhoods, and in the community where they live, and who will not let the sinner go until he gives his heart to God. They should have hearts that are tender, that will feel for the sinner, and that will not wait until urged and urged to bear responsibilities, but who will be drawn out for the afflicted, and will sympathize with them. This spirit has not wholly left the Earth. It exists in the heart of every true child of God. It is when sacrifices that cost something are called for that the heart is tested. It may be to renounce friends that are near and dear for the truth's sake. A right eye or a right hand may cause us to offend; if so, we had better enter into life maimed than having two eyes or two hands to be cast into hell. But however costly the sacrifice, it cannot be compared with the sacrifice made for us; and our appreciation of that sacrifice is shown by the sacrifice we make for Christ. If it is full and complete, God accepts it; and it is consumed in his precious cause.