Echoes From Paradise, Part #5

“Hear Ye Him”

Sermon One Continues

Continuation of Sermon One, that the writer listened to on the first hill of his pilgrimage, a pilgrim which took him to Paradise. The sermon was titled:

Simplicity is the Key to Perfection

Hear Ye Him!

So, Little Meekness continued, “Life at best does not demand for complicated and sophisticated theories that strain the mind to comprehend, and that elude hands from effecting. Life at best is lived simply. Or am I mistaken, my friend, Shalom?”

“On the dot! Drum it still. Beat her home! It makes me glad, so glad. Why? The scripture says: ‘And the common people heard him gladly.’ Mark 12:37b KJV

“I am that common, and hears him still, gladly. Please, carry me along; I am willing to travel the full length. Shortcuts? I don’t believe in them! Better go the long sure way that delivers me safely home, than the shortcut of some vain religious outfit which will miscarry me along the way. Speak it to me still! I am not yet there!”

“Look!” Cried Meekness. “A perfectly made machine is one which is simple and easy to operate. Look at a vehicle, a modern one in the land of the heathens, it is quite complicated within; it is so sophisticated a machine when viewed from within but look at how simple it is on the outside, and how easily operated it is too. That is why almost anyone can learn how to drive a car, whether he is literate or illiterate. Yes, the more perfect you get to be, the simpler you are, and the easily operated too!”

“My brother, you have nailed it on the head,” cried Little Peaceful, “I can’t swing. No adjustment, no room for flexibility. Facts can be stubborn; they can never bend, they couldn’t, even for the emperor of Rome! He had to obey them or perish. Submitted I am, under their sway. Carry her home!”

“Yes, simplicity is the key to perfection. If what you have achieved is a perfect piece of work, then it should be very simple to teach anyone how to operate it. On the other hand, whatever is hard to operate, means it is still crude, unfinished and unaccomplished. Get it? The same thing applies to Christianity! Yep, much more so.

“All natural things operate and are operated in simplicity and with ease. Look at how you operationalize your hands with ease while working; all is easy and flexible. Look at how you operationalize your feet and legs as you scale here and there; it is simple and easy. Look how your fingers are adapted to various functions; there is nothing complicated about it. Exactly!

“The very way to heaven is only trod by the simple in heart. Those who can repent; who can confess their sins; who can publicly own up their faults, who can kneel and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus penitently; those who can identify themselves with the crucified Saviour, the same are they who are found on the narrow way. If not so, let any object with facts to substantiate their stand.”

“No, my lord, it is the truth!” Cried Little Bethlehem. “Strike it still. We are holding on that – our only hope to glory! Miss that, you miss heaven. So risky!”

“This is what all people need…” Meekness solemnly spoke as he fixed his eyes on me. “Loud and clear it reads: ‘And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.’ Isa 1:25 

“Yes, my lord, I am willing,” I cried, “I repent it all. With all my heart.”

“Coming up with a big, complicated machine, hard to operate, means your work is very far from perfection. Perfection is achieved in simplicity. When you have made it so simple that anybody can operate it, then you have perfected it. Hallelujah! So is the way to heaven. Some people once cried to the apostles asking them the way to heaven’s endless joys. They imagined a long lesson taking years, but they were surprised that it could be taken in a minute. Here it is:

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:37-38 KJV

“Nothing complicated about Peter’s answer. Any humble, simple man can understand the meaning thereof. Many scriptures treat it the same way:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18 KJV

“How simple that is! How easy to comprehend!

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24 KJV

Hear Ye Him!

“No wonder, the common man heard Jesus gladly! Nothing complicated about his speech. It was always straight to the point.

“Yes, it comes to show that complicated persons are far from salvation! All that are sophisticated in their ways are still in their raw, carnal, crude, unsaved, heathen state!

“This applies in every sphere of life. Any man who is not easily approachable, who is not easily entreated, who is not able to abase himself, who finds it difficult to humble himself, who cannot be lowly enough to believe every verse in the Bible, not simple enough to confess his errors and repent from his sins, not simple enough to confess Jesus Christ as his only Saviour, not simple enough to submit to the Word of truth, not a child enough to denounce sin and its wickedness, not lowly enough to cry to God for mercy, not a child enough to plead on his knees for the Holy Spirit to fill his heart, yes, such a one is a crudely imperfect –  so defective a creature far from the way of salvation! So says the facts!

“As Little Peaceful has affirmed, facts are stubborn, they never bend their knee, not for the master of masters! Those who can’t cast off their pride, their self-esteem, their arrogance, their high-minded nature, their hunger for vainglory, their self-importance, they can never be saved!”

“Exactly my lord!” Cried Little Ruthful. “It is the plain truth. Speak! Unearth it still. Unveil it! We are still absorbing, so needy! So hungry!”

I stole some glances at Ruthful, and she looked exactly as her name… if her gesture meant anything, it was ruthful. If in such a refined state she still needed being cut to size, then how far was I from heaven! “Woe is me,” I cried, “for I am a man of unclean lips, full of rot and decay! I repent, repent, repent, and repent! Be merciful to me, oh God and save my soul from sin.”

Meekness pressed on still. “The perfect are humble, lowly and meek; they are merciful, kind-hearted and are easily entreated; they are humble and gentle; they are easily led in the way of light; they can abase themselves to any level to receive the gospel truth in their season; they hunger and yearn for righteousness; they desire holiness with all their hearts; they abhor the world with all its lies; they can listen to any man sent from God, and take heed to the Word of truth spoken, no matter how low and simple the man is. They are simple enough to submit to God’s will and way. Why? Because perfection is only attained in simplicity. There you are. Let’s see it:

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Mat 5:42, 48.

“Look at the simplicity stated in the above lines! And that is the state of perfection. That is the high mark of your calling. That is the true refined state that you should attain. So much refined so that when one slaps you on your right cheek, you turn to him the left also. When someone snatches some of your property, you add him more. When your avowed enemy borrows from you, you freely give to him. You bless those who curse you and pray for all who misuse you. You simply have no enemy among men! All are your dear brothers and sisters anyhow! And you love them, regardless! Hallelujah! What a wonder! Yes, simplicity is the key to perfection!

“What a refined state! What a perfect state! You honour all men, regardless. You respect all men, regardless. You seek for the good of all men, regardless. You are a friend of all men, regardless. You fight for the salvation of all men, regardless of what they have done to you, and you can spend yourself to any level to reach them for salvation. You abhor all sin, abhor all unrighteousness, abhor all wickedness, all filthiness and all uncleanness, but you love every soul of man, and you are ready to stand for them for the sake of their souls. Hallelujah! That is Jesus at work in you! A sacrifice for the salvation of all. Is that the heart in you, Little Joyful?”

“Quite a state much desired by me, to be that perfect just as our God and Father who is in heaven is. What a challenge, yet how true! Simplicity is the way to perfection. The very truth twice told. I confess it with all my heart. Here am I, take me.”

“Look at it at work: …Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Luke 23:34 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Act 7:59-60 

“That is the simplicity of Jesus Christ that the Gospel attains in any man who seriously takes it in. When the gospel work has been fully done in you, that is how you come out. A simple perfect man. Out of those machines of salvation by grace, you emerge a perfect creature that God loves to keep company with. I call upon every soul that hears me now, to accept to be thrown into those gospel machines. For the sake of your salvation, come on!”

Rael cries, “What are the machines, and how can one plunge in? I am ready to go in headlong, please!”

“The machines I mean are God’s workmanship in Christ. How can one pass through those machines where all things are possible? Repent and be baptized for remission of your sins, and so as to receive the Spirit of God. It is receiving the gospel with singleness of heart in simplicity and godly fear. For the proud, the boastful and the high-minded can never stoop that low, and of course they can never be perfected. They ever remain imperfect, crude and deformed; fellows who are unprofitable to all around them. In the name of Jesus Christ, I throw every willing soul into the gospel machines!”

Meekness looked into the blue sky for a minute or two and proceeded thus: “Keep simplicity before your eyes if I will meet you in the morning, a cloudless morning. Goodnight.”

Meekness ended his sermon abruptly. He left me bewildered, astonished, and deeply cut in heart. I was willing, sincerely willing, to part with anything if only I could be cut to size. What about you?

Yes, Hear Ye Him!

Previous Page

Next Page