Small Results
True success in our walk with God is not measured by outward success, but by conquering our own spirits and receiving God's approval.
Harmon A. Baldwin addresses the challenges faced by holiness professors, emphasizing the prevalence of covetousness and pleasure as the downfall of nations and churches, including the church today. He highlights how society's focus on materialism and pleasure-seeking has hindered spiritual growth and led to a lack of true holiness. Baldwin points out the shift from inner holiness to outward religious practices and the proliferation of false forms of holiness in modern religions. He concludes by stressing that true success lies in conquering one's own spirit, regardless of outward achievements, and that genuine holiness is recognized by God, not by worldly standards.
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Some object that such small results attend the efforts of holiness professors that there must be a mistake in its profession.
Some will not hear the truth. Jesus was not uniformly successful in every place.
These are days when the two damning sins of the world, covetousness and pleasure, have conspired to take things and even the church is crippled by them. Look into the history of every fallen nation and you will find that these two forms of sin were the lever that accomplished their downfall, and with various modifications they have overthrown the spirituality of every worldly church. Our country today is reeking with these two vile diseases. Commercial greed, political thievery and ecclesiastical pomp and emulation are centralizing power and wealth in great men and concerns, while the common herd dances to the music of their multiplying pleasures, and, to gratify their insatiate desire for fun and enjoyment, throw all they have in goods, power, or reason lavishly and carelessly into the maw of the great moloch who is hourly tightening his grip on them.
But what has this to do with the question in hand? Much every way. Men will not listen. While one seeks gain another seeks pleasure; while one is miserly another is spendthrift; while one seeks enjoyment another is inventing means of enjoyment to keep pleasure-seekers on the run and lest they tire of old things. The nominal church is caught in this flood tide of sin; now the prophecy of the apostle is fulfilled and men are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. The Athenians spent their time in seeing and hearing new things and even Paul could not reach them.
Again the one thousand and one imitation religions which are being palmed off as ways to heaven are hindrances. Men used to believe in the Saviour Jesus; now they believe in the man Jesus: once they thought they must be holy in heart; now they must follow Jesus; once they feared an eternal hell; now they fear nothing. The whole tendency of religions matters is toward the outside. Religion is not of the heart any more but of the life.
One great reason for the lack of success among holiness professors is found in the fact that so much is palmed off as holiness which is false. People take up with the shallow holiness and will not accept that which is thorough.
After all, outward success not a criterion of experience. That man is successful who conquers his own spirit whether he takes a city or not. A man may take a city and be a failure in God's sight. All who are entirely sanctified have conquered their own spirits, and God says, "Well done."
Sermon Outline
- The Problem of Unsuccessful Holiness Professors
- The Causes of Unsuccessful Holiness Professors
- The True Measure of Success
- Conquering one's own spirit
- God's approval, not outward success
- False or shallow holiness
Key Quotes
“Men will not listen. While one seeks gain another seeks pleasure; while one is miserly another is spendthrift; while one seeks enjoyment another is inventing means of enjoyment to keep pleasure-seekers on the run and lest they tire of old things.” — Harmon A. Baldwin
“After all, outward success not a criterion of experience. That man is successful who conquers his own spirit whether he takes a city or not.” — Harmon A. Baldwin
“All who are entirely sanctified have conquered their own spirits, and God says, 'Well done.'” — Harmon A. Baldwin
Application Points
- We must be careful not to be caught up in the pursuit of gain and pleasure, which can hinder our walk with God.
- True holiness is a thorough and heart-based experience, and we must be willing to seek it above external things.
- Conquering our own spirits is the key to true success in our walk with God.