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Forgiveness

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“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew. 6:14,15.

We should not suppose there is a more plain condition in the Holy Bible. From the lips of the great Forgiver comes words that cannot be mistaken. There is no room for holding grudges, no room for a loveless attitude on the part of any professed believer in Jesus as their Savior.

Have you been forgiven of your sins? Have you experienced the peace that passes all understanding? Do you love much?

“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” Luke 7:47.

Does Your Heart Break?

Is there anyone who has not been hurt by a sinner? Is there anyone who has not had their heart thrust through with words spoken without forethought as to the consequences? The pain may be even greater from a premeditated personal attack.

Every day in our world sin takes its toll. Tens of thousands die because of reckless behavior. Minds swim in a thought process of “Why?” “How could this have happened?” Thoughts of abandonment, despair, and retaliation stir the cauldron of human godlessness.

The world, of course, is going mad. Acts of hatred will increase. Words spoken in rage and acts of violence will gather a momentum that will stun onlookers, as the planet reaches its final, probationary hours.

Tested and Tried

The time is at hand when those who have not been sanctified by the truth will become bitter enemies of those loyal to God. Our spiritual lives will be tested as though there is not another being on the face of the earth, (See The Great Controversy, 608, 490.) Ponder the pressures God’s people are about to face.

Jesus “came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” John 1:11. Have you ever been rejected by those closest to you? Perhaps you have been rejected in no uncertain terms, in very emphatic, rude or crude ways. Have you been mocked, derided, scorned… hated?

“But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.” John 15:25.

Cause to Hate

Think of this Scripture for a moment. Did the religious leaders have cause to hate Jesus? From a just point, no, of course not. Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God. On the other hand, from an unjust viewpoint, they had tremendous cause to hate Him, because He was toppling their entire tower of man-made authority over the people. He was a daily

threat to the established entrenchment of human power. Have we been forgiven much? Do we love much? Have we put as much energy into soul winning, especially in our own families, as those apostates put into stopping Jesus?

Have you ever noticed the number of times the word “suffer” is used in connection with Jesus, as He spoke of His own experience? Consider these two statements after His resurrection: “And He [Christ] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:” and “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” Luke 24:46, 26.

To what “things” was our Lord referring? Cleopas and his fellow traveller provide our answer; “…Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him.” Luke 24:19, 20.

Here is the sad, common thread running through the garment of Christ’s sufferings. Seven times before His death Jesus spoke of how He would suffer. The connecting link is the word “pentho,” meaning “to experience a sensation or impression (usually painful).” Strong’s Concordance, Greek Dictionary, 56.

When Jesus spoke of His suffering, He did not equate it to experiencing the loss of connection to His Father, something of which we could have no understanding. He linked it to something we can and will understand, in vivid terms, in the soon coming crisis.

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” Matthew 16:21.

Too Great a Threat

Jesus stated to us His suffering came at the hands of men who should have received Him and His truth with great joy. They should have received His offers of a kingdom a thousand times greater than the one they so desired. They did not. He was too great a threat to their system of religious power and authority. So they discussed, planned, and

carried out their hatred and unjust cause. The pain Jesus experienced was tremendous. How could men be so blind? How could they refuse so great a salvation? How could they act like demons and walk in darkness while professing belief in heavenly light? Jesus knew the answer, of course, though it did not release Him from experiencing the pain of rejection.

His greatest pain was in sensing rejection from His Father as He took on the sins of the world. God be praised through ceaseless ages, we shall not have to undergo such rejection. But make no mistake; a pain is coming we may have had tastes of, yet the full flavor of rejection still awaits.

“Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness be the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 136.

How did Jesus make it through? “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

We Have No Excuse

Did they hate Him without a cause? Yes and no. Did they know what they were doing? Yes and no. Dear Reader, do we know what we are doing? Is our cause a just one? They could have known. We have no excuses. If there is even a hint of lovelessness in us, we shall not receive the latter rain. Whatever pain we have gone through, or will yet go through at the hands of those closest to us, it is still eternally true that love and forgiveness are more powerful than pain and rejection.

We must never forget Paul’s timely words; “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered: And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” Hebrews 5:8, 9.

As remnant believers in the work of Jesus in the Most Holy Place above, we have seen and heard much of character perfection from pen and pulpit. Have we considered what is coming that shall finish this work of the Holy Spirit within us? It is all tied in together in God’s plans of human restoration to Christlikeness.

The apostle Peter wrote more about this than any other author. Certainly he was a man who went through much emotional and physical pain and was a witness to Christ’s sufferings. His reflections, under the guidance of the Spirit, himself being a holy man of God, are to be noted.

“For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye shall be buffeted for your faults, ye take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:19-24.

Deserving of Death

Let us face it; as sinners we only deserve death. But as we learn obedience through the things we suffer, God is filling us with eternal life from the infusion of higher principles, something swiftly being lost in our world. God desires witnesses. Witnesses who are able to stand on high principles and carry them through in our daily lives—no small task.

In the opening of this letter Peter writes, “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:11.

The word “glory” in the Greek comes from the word “doxa” which is to make something apparent or obvious, like the noon day sun, shining in all its glory. We know by study that the word glory is synonymous with God’s character. Then behold, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12, 13.

Love and Forgive

In partaking of Christ’s sufferings, going through the dark tunnel of rejection by leaders and those who make profession of truth, our characters undergo transformation that we may be pure, even as He is pure. We have hope beyond the human struggles with kingly power and Romanism. We have hope beyond the struggles of deception in human hearts. If we do not or cannot forgive all infractions or violations of sinners against ourselves, we do not and cannot have the fullness of Christ; we will not be ready to take on the final crisis or meet Jesus in peace when He returns. We stand on principle, but we must love in Christ and be ready to forgive.

There are too many amongst God’s people who continue to grind the ax of bitterness, who cannot wait for an opportunity to tell others how they have been maligned or mistreated. Does this give glory to God or ennoble our characters? Nay. And it must cease, if we expect God to use us when He takes the reigns in the finishing thrust. Is this not just before us? The end of all things is at hand.

“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, [in His way, His truth, and His life, in His brethren preparing for translation at His return] but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busibody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:14-19.

Can we see the issues at stake for our lives? We must, or we will not see or enter the kingdom of God. Being born again is to have love to God and to our fellow men—sinners just as we are. If we believe in a truth that can sanctify fully, completely and entirely, our hearts will be perfected in love, which will cast out fear, which will leave in us only pity for those who oppose themselves, and deny the Lord that bought them. (See 2 Timothy 2:25, 26 and 2 Peter 2:1-3.)

“In the prayer that Christ taught His disciples was the request: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We cannot repeat this prayer from the heart and dare to be unforgiving, for we ask the Lord to forgive our trespasses against Him in the same manner that we forgive those who trespass against us. But few realize the true import of this prayer. If those who are unforgiving did comprehend the depth of its meaning they would not dare to repeat it and ask God to deal with them as they deal with their fellow mortals. And yet this spirit of hardness and lack of forgiveness exists even among brethren to a fearful extent. Brother is exacting with brother.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 95.

Soon God will pull together a people of one accord, a people who will have experienced the blessings of being forgiven and of forgiving others. Hearts will be joined in chords of love and expectation of God doing marvelous things for His children, as we enter the final stages of earth’s history. Learn from the past what you can, but do not hold on to its pain. Give that to Jesus.

The Enemy Within

“And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10:36. Has this happened to you? Is it happening even now? Marital pain? Family strife? Has or is the professed household of faith putting you through sore trial and grief? Then strengthen your connection with our Father in heaven, and receive the power of forgiveness that you may have the peace, the patience and the faith of Jesus.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32.

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Colossians 3:13.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Changes

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“And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Genesis 1:8. When God created this earth, He created time. We know that the earth, in one revolution around the sun, creates time known as a year. The moon going around the earth in one orbit creates time known as a month.

Time Equals Change

There is an absolute consequence to time—change. We see changes take place in this world. From year to year we experience the change of the seasons. Right now when you walk outside, you definitely know the season, do you not? It is winter. So an absolute consequence of time is change.

My wife and I like to plant a garden in the spring. We plant little seeds, which will develop eventually into a full-grown plant. There is a change that takes place over time.

We are not the same people we were five years ago. If you look at a picture of yourself, you would see the changes. What has happened in this time period? Change has taken place because all change is an absolute consequence of time, and we live in a world of time.

By the study of God’s Word I am leaning that time is running out for this world, and we are entering a shorter period of time for change—change that is necessary if we are going to heaven some day.

Consistency In All Things

There is a consistency that runs through the time that God created, and the changes that take place as a consequence of time. The earth continues to rotate around the sun year after year. The moon rotates around the earth month after month. There is consistency in this.

“God says through His prophet, For I am the Lord, I change not.” Malachi 3:6. That is the ultimate reason why there is consistency in all the changes that take place from year to year.

What has God implemented in the creation of this world that brings forth consistency in time and change? “The works of His hands are verity [which means truth] and judgment, all His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Psalm 111:7, 8. So we see when God created this world—and time—it all fell into the context of His laws. That is why there is consistency.

“Let it be made plain that the way of God’s commandments is the way of life. [God has created everything with a law in it.] God has established the laws of nature, but His laws are not arbitrary exactions.” Ministry of Healing, 114.

You see, God has not created law for Himself. He created law for you and for me, and we will see the goodness of God in giving us His laws.

Every “Thou shalt not,” whether in physical or moral law, implies a promise. If we obey it, blessings will attend our steps. God never forces us to do right. It is amazing that the God whom we worship, the God who created us, does not force us to do what He knows to be right. You and I must choose.

Built In Consequences

With change, there is choice, but He seeks to save us from evil and lead us to good. That is the whole plan of redemption. Within every law that God created He placed a principle. God says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7. I have found that to be true, not only in the garden, but also in my own life.

What I sow, I reap, and I have been ashamed of much of what I have sown. But God is merciful. God is gracious, “…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. What is repentance? Repentance is change; a change that comes from choice. Every law God created has a built in consequence. There is a blessing if we are in harmony with God’s laws; but there is a curse upon us if we are not.

Non-Compliance is Sin

What does God call non-compliance to His laws, whether the physical or moral laws? He calls it “sin.” Sin is being out of harmony with God’s laws. However we want to term it, we are not obeying God’s laws, for “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.

It is interesting to read what Jesus spoke to those He healed, physically or spiritually. When He forgave their sins there was a physical healing and a spiritual healing of forgiveness and cleansing of sin.

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

Notice John 5:1–14. This story is about the paralytic man by the Pool of Bethesda, who for 38 years could not walk. He believes that when the water gets troubled, the first one in is going to be healed of his disease.

It is Sabbath, and Jesus is walking through Jerusalem. He comes by the Pool of Bethesda. He looks, and He wants to heal everyone, but He cannot. So He chooses the worst case. He comes up to this man, bends over him and says, “Wilt thou be made whole?” Verse 6. That is all.

The man looked at Him and said, “I would like to be made whole but every time the water ripples, I do not have anybody to carry me into the pool.” (See verse 7.) Did Jesus get into a discourse with this man? No. The next thing He said is, “Arise and walk.” (See verse 8.) Is that a command, a law? Yes. It may not be a law that we totally understand, but if we respond to God’s commands, we will reap the benefits.

Did the paralytic reap the benefits? Yes. He arose and walked for the first time in 38 years. Is this not a wonderful God we serve? Are His laws grievous? No! His laws are beneficial. The man was healed. “Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more.…” John 5:14.

All sickness, whether physical or spiritual, is the result of sin. Whether you have a spiritual deformity or a physical sickness or disease, God wants to heal you. He will heal you as you come into harmony with His laws.

Principles of Life

“In His written Word and in the great book of nature He has revealed the principles of life. It is our work to obtain a knowledge of these principles, and by obedience to cooperate with Him in restoring health to the body as well as to the soul.” Ministry of Healing, 115.

What is our work? Our work is to obtain a knowledge of these principles, an understanding of what constitutes God’s laws in the physical world in which we live and, in regard to our moral nature, the spiritual laws that God has given us. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.…” Psalm 19:7. “Converting” means restoring. Physical and spiritual restoration will come by way of allowing God, through His grace, to bring us into harmony with His laws.

We see this clearly brought to view in Exodus 15:26. Jesus Himself is speaking, through Moses, to the ancient Israelites in the wilderness. “…If thou wilt diligently harken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”

In Romans we see a strong inference that God’s laws, as Himself, are no respecter of persons. We may be totally ignorant of the laws that God has ordained for our physical health, but this does not mean that we cannot receive the blessing if we are choosing to do these things that constitute those laws.

Some people in the world may not even believe in God, or they may believe in a concept of a god that is not scripturally founded, but whether you have an intellectual knowledge of the law or not, if you are brought into harmony and work in harmony with the law, you will receive the benefit. (See Romans 2:14.)

God’s Plan for Health

Some of the physical laws that God has given to keep us well are found in Ministry of Healing, 127:

  1. Pure Air:

Is that something consistent that we need? Is that a law? It is. When someone smokes a cigarette, are they getting pure air? No. Are they breaking a law? Yes. Will they reap a consequence? What you sow, you reap. People who smoke cigarettes have a high incident rate of lung cancer, and most of them die earlier than God planned.

  1. Sunlight:

Maybe you never thought of sunlight as a law. We cannot be perfectly healthy unless we get a certain amount of sunlight. Close somebody up in a dark room; and after a month or two, you will find they are not physically healthy.

  1. Abstemiousness:

This is a long, old fashioned word that means temperance. Temperance is self-control. The only way we can have self-control is to allow God to have control of our lives. He wants to help us be temperate in all things, and that is a law.

  1. Rest:

Most of us are so busy we do not rest until our eyes start drooping in the evening. That is the signal that we had better go to bed. We live in a society that does not rest. We are constantly moving, and stress is the result. That is a law.

  1. Exercise:

God is balanced. He says, “Rest, but I want you to exercise, too.” We need to exercise if we are going to have physical health. That is a law.

  1. Proper Diet:

What we eat is what we are physically. How we eat, when we eat, how much we eat will determine, to a great degree, how physically healthy we are. It is a law.

  1. Pure Water.

God created water to cleanse us inside. The best water we can drink is pure water. When we talk about pure water, we are not talking about mineralized water. Our bodies cannot break down inorganic material. So it is not true when people say you must drink water containing minerals. We are told, by Ellen White, through the testimony of Jesus, that pure, soft water is the best water to put into our bodies, and we need to get plenty of it every day. If you are not drinking pure water, you are not in perfect harmony with God’s laws.

  1. Trust in Divine Power.

Faith is a law. God has laws, and if we choose to be brought into harmony with these laws, we are going to have physical health.

How Do You Hear?

How is it with us spiritually? We should know, or we are totally deceived. We have a choice whether we want to be wayside hearers, stony ground hearers, the ones who allow the thorns to crowd out the Word, or we can be good ground hearers. Did you know that is a choice? It is a choice that we are all making right now.

Diagnosis of Death

Some of us may be burdened with besetting sins, wondering if God has a message for us. In Revelation 3:17 we find a diagnosis from the Great Physician, the Son of God. Under the seventh church, the last dispensation just before Jesus returns to this world, He diagnoses the spirituality of His people: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.…” Jesus placed Himself in a position with humanity as a Physician because we are definitely in need.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. The whole plan of redemption is to bring us back into harmony with that law that we have sinned against, that we might be a glory to God.

God knows us. If you have never understood that, read Psalm 139:1–3. “Oh Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” He knows what we are thinking and doing.

“…and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17. Is that a diagnosis? If you went in for a physical exam and received a diagnosis like that from a medical physician today, he would probably be telling you that you are about to die.

We do not have to be in this position, and I hope none of us are. But this is a warning that it is possible to return to this Laodicean condition, if we choose. Jesus says the people (Laodiceans) are preoccupied with a form of religion, and they are forgetting the power that God has to change their lives and to bring them into harmony with His laws. (See 2 Timothy 3:5.)

Our Greatest Need

What is our greatest need? “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 121. We should seek for true godliness, not a form of godliness that God says the majority of His professed people have in the last days just before He comes.

The question we should ask ourselves is, Are we weary of a form of godliness that denies the power? It is only those who sense their need, who realize their true situation, who are going to lay hold of the solution. Jesus has the solution: “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.…” Matthew 6:33. Do you know you cannot separate those? The kingdom of God will only be found in His righteousness. No one is walking into God’s kingdom without His righteousness. His righteousness is harmony with His laws. “…all Thy commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:172.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” Is it a real kingdom, a real place? It is fully as real as where you and I are at this moment. It is reality and God wants to give us a sense of that reality. He tells us to exercise the law of faith in His Word. Believe and He will give us evidence by the presence of His Holy Spirit.

God wants to heal us of our physical diseases, if we allow Him to bring us into harmony with His laws. He wants to heal us spiritually. He wants us to be whole.

Love Obeys

Romans tells us something about God’s laws. “…love is the fulfilling of the [My] law.” Romans 13:10. He has put His love into every law that He has made. When we choose to be brought into harmony with that law, and allow that law to have its right place in our lives, His love will come out of us. His love is His righteousness. To do right is to show love.

Scripture tells us that we will never be able to implement the moral law of the Ten Commandments fully and completely into our lives without His grace. Some people today are preaching a message that God’s grace does away with the law. That is just the opposite of what God says.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created [or restored] in Christ Jesus unto good works.…” Ephesians 2:8-10. And what are the good works that God wants us to perform? His law!

“Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life.…” Revelation 22:14. God wants to bring us into harmony with His laws, which are filled with His love for us. If we allow Him, we will be the healthiest, happiest people on the face of this earth. Jesus says, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.

The only way we can have more abundant life is to be brought into perfect harmony with all of God’s laws. We will never accomplish this without God’s grace. “Men need to learn that the blessings of obedience, in their fullness, can be theirs only as they receive the grace of Christ. It is His grace that gives man power to obey the laws of God. It is this that enables him to break the bondage of evil habit. This is the only power that can make him and keep him steadfast in the right path.” Ministry of Healing, 115. The right path is the narrow path.

All lasting changes involve consistent choices. There is only One being in the whole universe who is consistently changeless, and He can help us be consistent in our choices.

Our first choice in obeying God is to love Him. He says it is of faith that works by love. God wants us to have a faith that works by love. (See Galatians 5:6.) In fact, a professed faith that does not have the love of God motivating it constantly and consistently does not work consistently.

He Loves You!

You must fully understand and believe, with all your heart, that Jesus loves you personally, fully and completely, no matter who you are. No matter what you have been doing or where you are. “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.…” Jeremiah 31:3.

An everlasting love is a love that lasts forever. Forever, as long as life exists. God loves you personally. He wants you to know that. It is so important because that needs to be the full motivation of our experience with Him. That is what will cause us to love Him fully.

When we believe that He loves us fully, we can love Him fully, and when we love Him fully, it is only natural to obey Him fully. Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. There will be a promise of love in every law, it will not be a “Thou shalt not” to you any more.

One of the most drastic changes that God reveals in His Word concerns Laodicea. We read about Laodicea earlier. How were they? They were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

But now look at where they are. Some, not all, will accept the message to the Laodiceans, and those who accept the message undergo a drastic change. God says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. That is a drastic change! These people, over time, have allowed God, through His grace, to change them. Now they are a perfect people, before a perfect God, having a perfect law written upon their hearts.

Is that the kind of people you want to be? That is the kind of people we must be. His grace, we are told in 2 Corinthians 12:9, is sufficient. I do not care where you are today, I do not care how down and out you feel in regard to sin in your life, God is talking to you today. He is trying to wake you up to the reality that He loves you fully and wants you to love Him so He can bring you into harmony with His laws. He wants to bring about a change in your life. Time for change, however, is running out.

“Our Saviour’s words, ‘Come unto Me,… and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28), are a prescription for the healing of physical, mental, and spiritual ills. Though men have brought suffering upon themselves by their own wrongdoing, He regards them with pity. In Him they may find help. He will do great things for those who trust in Him.” Ministry of Healing, 115.

Jesus, right now, this very moment, lives and moves in the heavenly court for you and for me. He knows us, loves us, and wants us to respond fully and completely so He can perform a full and complete work in us.

Facing The Crisis – When God Speaks Seven Times

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Ready or not we have finally arrived in the end time when every person who is alive on earth will behold the most thrilling event ever witnessed by mortals. The Bible portrays this in these cataclysmic words found in 2 Peter 3:10–12. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.”

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13. As we envision the Second Coming of Jesus, as pictured by inspiration, we need God’s mighty Spirit to impress us with the conviction that now is the time to prepare for the final revival and reformation that will enable us to go home with Jesus when He comes.

Preparing for the Second Coming

Let us contemplate how God has invited you and me to prepare for the Second Coming by giving us three separate messages as found in Revelation 14 which, if followed and obeyed, will prepare us to be ready for this cataclysmic event.

The First Angel begins with the good news of the everlasting gospel, revealing a loving Saviour who made possible on Calvary the redemption for every nation, kindred, tongue and people. This angel declares that a judgment is now taking place in heaven’s sanctuary in which Christ, our High Priest, is able to forgive and take away our sins. It is a call to those who would be saved to worship God as Creator by keeping holy the seventh day Sabbath.

The Second Angel sounds an alarming message, warning us of a worldwide structure of religious systems which have become drunk with the traditions of paganism by drinking of the cup extended through the ecumenical movement which has been brewed by Roman Catholicism. God declares that this world power is Babylon, which has fallen from Biblical truths.

God’s Last Call

Finally a Third Angel gives God’s last call, to all who would be saved, to totally separate from Babylon’s pagan doctrines, because God’s wrath is soon to be poured out upon all who worship the beast of Babylon or who make an image to her customs and traditions. This is absolutely God’s last call for every individual to never accept the mark of the beast when Babylon will make it a law to keep Sunday as a holy sabbath day.

Such pleadings of God, who desires all to be saved, concludes with a call for each individual to become a part of His remnant church. This church is described by the angel as a people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. They believe that, through His mighty power, He can give you victory over every known sin and make ready a people who stand unafraid when they hear God speak seven times at the Second Coming of Christ.

These people will be ready, together with God’s sleeping saints, to be gathered together with Jesus to go to the eternal home that He has prepared for them. The following details I have gleaned from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy and especially from the chapter in The Great Controversy entitled, “God’s People Delivered.” Everyone loves a thrilling story of what has taken place in the past, but this amazing true story is yet to take place.

Some day very, very soon, in a day just like our days, when people are buying and selling, building homes and mighty skyscrapers, conducting weddings and getting divorced; in a day of unstoppable crime of every description, men’s thoughts continually dwelling on evil. In such a time when the majority defy God and His law by preaching that God is such a God of love that all anyone needs to do is just believe, in such a time as this, suddenly a darkness, deeper than any night ever experienced, will come to this old world, and to the amazement of all, a great rainbow will be seen in the heavens that will encircle the entire earth.

God Speaks

And that is not all. A small rainbow will hover over each small group of commandment keepers. Then it happens. God speaks for the first time. As He speaks, He will shake the earth with just two words, “Look up!”

Immediately the black clouds of total darkness will part, and the living saints obey God’s command. They will look up into the heavens and see God the Father and Christ the Son seated on their thrones. The saints will listen to the conversation between the Father and the Son as Jesus speaks: “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.” John 17:24.

When we hear these words, we shall give a shout of victory not heard since the deliverance at the Red Sea in the days of Moses. The time is at midnight. Signs and wonders will appear as the sun shines forth in all its glory. The wicked will be filled with terror. Streams will cease to flow. Angry clouds will fill the heavens, but there remains one clear spot filled with indescribable glory.

God Responds to Christ’s Plea

This is the moment when God speaks the second time with these unforgettable words: “It is done!” Just three short words in answer to the request of Jesus. Suddenly there is a mighty worldwide earthquake as foretold in Revelation 16:18. “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” Mountains are shaken like blades of grass in the wind. The whole earth convulses in destruction. Ragged rocks are hurled in every direction. The sea boils like a pot.

Mountains sink beneath the earth’s surface and islands disappear. The whole earth heaves and swells like the ocean. Seaports, which have become like Sodom in wickedness, are swallowed up. Great hailstones, over 50 pounds in weight, drop from the sky and the earth’s proudest cities are destroyed.

Prison walls crumble, setting free God’s faithful who have been imprisoned for their faith. Then another wonderful surprise. A special resurrection takes place as some of the graves open all over the earth as the Bible foretold. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2.

At this time all who have died in the faith of the Third Angel’s Message arise, glorified. What a moment! There will also be a special resurrection of those who condemned and crucified Jesus. This resurrection will include a third class who were the most violent oppressors of God’s truth. They are to see the redeemed rescued and honored.

Thundering Doom Pronounced

Revelation 1:7 tells us “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” As sheets of flame envelope the earth, God now speaks for the third time, declaring the doom of the wicked. His words are not comprehended by all, but they are distinctly understood by the false teachers who are overwhelmed in fear. Even the demons are terrified.

This is the moment spoken of by the prophets of old, “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:…In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isaiah 2:10-12, 20, 21.

Amid the wails of these false watchmen and the fear of demons who now openly acknowledge the deity of Christ, God does not forget His faithful few. Amid a rift in the clouds a star shines forth four times brighter than the darkness. This is to encourage the saints with hope and joy amid such cataclysmic events. The faithful become aglow with wonder and faith and love.

They repeat the promise; “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3.

Pen of Fire

As God listens to His saints, He commands the clouds to part so that the glory of the New Jerusalem shines upon His faithful. Oh, what a God! How wonderful! Next God spreads His TV screen across the heavens. Two hands will be seen, each holding a table of stone. As every living soul watches, a pen of fire traces each word of the Ten Commandments. Can you see them as they are traced one by one in the heavens?

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Instantly millions will realize that there god has been the riches of gold and silver. Others will see that they have worshipped sports, sex, even the theater as their god.

And now the second commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them.” Too late the pagans and the misled Catholics will see that God means exactly what He says in His law.

Next the finger of fire traces, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. …” Those who have made a habit of swearing discover how wrong they were.

And then the wicked will tremble as the finger of fire traces the words, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

Billions of the earth’s inhabitants will discover that God has not altered these words from His lips. Too late they see that Sunday keeping has been inspired by Satan.

And then the youth will tremble for they shall see the words “Honor thy father and thy mother.”

Then appear the words traced in fire, “Thou shalt not kill,” followed by the words, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” These commanding words disprove beyond question the present consensus that abortion makes things right with God. Now they see that it is a terrible lie. Those who live together, without benefit of marriage, will be speechless.

Then the pen of fire concludes, “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet ….” Too late all will recognize that God’s law is eternal, a transcript of His character, that this law is the basis upon which God judges between life and death. It is impossible to describe the hour of despair of those who have trampled upon God’s requirements.

Too Late, Too Late!

Too late the enemies of God’s law, especially the false ministers and priests, see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the very seal of the living God. Too late they now see the true nature of Sunday keeping, that it is the mark of the beast which God warned against. Now the voice of God is heard for the fourth time, declaring the day and the hour of the coming of Christ.

Hope fills the heart of every saint. Their faces shine like that of Moses as he descended the mount. God also pronounces a blessing upon Sabbath keepers. The saints respond with a shout of victory. Soon there appears in the east a small cloud. It is a cloud of angels surrounding the Saviour. Because of the distance, it appears shrouded in darkness, but it soon becomes brighter and more glorious as they behold the King of kings, coming as a mighty Conqueror surrounded by countless angels.

Who Shall be Able to Stand?

Every eye beholds Him. As the saints see the beauty of His character, they cry out, “Who shall be able to stand before Him?” Suddenly the angels stop their singing. The whole universe awaits God’s answer. It is here that God speaks for the fifth time in answer to the saints’ question. He speaks those loving words; “My grace is sufficient for you.” At these words the angels rejoice in songs of victory.

The righteous are filled with unutterable joy as the Saviour descends in clouds wrapped in flaming fire. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.” Psalm 50:3. This is the time when “…the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Revelation 6:15, 16.

And now God speaks for the sixth time, not to the righteous but to the wicked, to awaken their memory that He has done everything possible that they might be saved. He declares, “…I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof.” Proverbs 1:24, 25.

These words bring to memory warnings despised, invitations refused, privileges slighted. As Pilate listens, he remembers his own words when he said, “I find no fault in Him.” Haughty Herod recalls how he mocked the Saviour. Those very hands which placed the crown of thorns on Jesus now tremble. The soldiers, who drove the nails and pierced His side, try to hide.

The very same priests who cried “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” are now speechless. These, together with today’s ministers who declare that you do not have to obey God’s law and that you can sin until Jesus comes, all such, together with the earth’s wicked, are consumed with the brightness of Christ’s coming.

A Mighty Army Awakes

And now for the seventh and last time the voice of God loudly cries out, “Awake! Awake! Ye that sleep in the dust of the earth. Arise.” Instantly the whole earth rings with the tread of an exceeding great army from every nation, kindred and tongue. Together these risen, immortal righteous and the remaining living righteous unite in a great shout of victory. Oh, what wonderful victory over sin and death for these living righteous are now made immortal in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. For the next seven days we shall travel to heaven. All will celebrate the Sabbath before entering the Holy City. As our journey ends on the Sea of Glass just outside the City, Jesus gathers the redeemed around Him.

Home at Last!

Try to catch this picture with me. Jesus is crowned with seven crowns and with His own hand he places a crown upon each saint, upon which is imprinted a new name. Then the angels give a golden harp to each of the redeemed who will skillfully play and sing in unison.

“And I saw as it were a Sea of Glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the Sea of Glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” Revelation 15:2, 3.

And now the city becomes the center of attraction. Standing on the Sea of Glass we shall behold its walls made of jasper with twelve foundations. It is a city with no night, just never-ending day. Jesus opens those great pearly gates and bids us enter in to walk on streets of gold, which lead us to that great white throne. Picture with me the rainbow above the throne and the river of life flowing out beneath the throne.

It is here that Jesus presents us to God the Father that we may take the place of the fallen angels. Adam, who is some 14 to 16 feet tall, represents the redeemed. He stands but a little lower than Jesus. The Saviour points him to the Garden of Eden, and “Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight—the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he casts his glittering crown at the feet of Jesus and, falling upon His breast, embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of heaven echo the triumphant song: ‘Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again!’ The family of Adam take up the strain and cast their crowns at the Saviour’s feet as they bow before Him in adoration.” The Great Controversy, 648.

Oh, beloved, never forget. What Jesus did for Adam He can do for you and for me. “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24.

Come Sit with Me in My Father’s Throne

And now a most precious promise is to take place. Are you ready for this? It is unbelievable but true. Christ now assumes His place with the Father on the great white throne. As He looks over the redeemed, that number as the stars of heaven, as He looks over the vast multitude, He sees you, and He lovingly asks you to come up to the throne, to ascend the stairs and to sit on the throne with God.

Are you astonished? Do you not remember? “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” Revelation 3:21. Oh, what a marvelous salvation! Praise the Lord!

Dear Child of God, I cannot, I must not conclude this godly message without making a special appeal to you in the name of Jesus. Will you just now give your heart anew to such a loving Saviour who died for you that you might live with Him? I urge you to determine right now, this moment, that when the mark of the beast, so soon to be enforced by law, is passed, that you will stand firm and be faithful to God’s commandments no matter what the cost may be.

None But These Will Stand

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I would like to direct your attention for a few moments to the first part of Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away.”

In the book The Great Controversy, beginning with chapter 29, page 492, we find a series of eleven chapters which appear to be telling us how heaven and earth are going to pass away—very essential reading for all of us who are in the Seventh-day Adventist movement today.

Our Greatest Danger Today

Six chapters describe the supernatural powers that will be arrayed against us. Four chapters describe the earthly powers that will be arrayed against us, and in those chapters, I suggest that as you read them you take careful notice of the number of times the warning is against false teachers. It appears that, in Ellen White’s view, the greatest danger we face is the false teachers among us and around us in these last days.

Then there is one chapter entitled “The Scriptures a Safeguard,” telling us how we may survive. At the bottom of the first page of this chapter we find these lines: “Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided.” Think about that for just a moment.

Will they be called dirty names? Yes, they will be called dirty names. Will they be called legalists? Yes, they will be called legalists by people who do not even know what the word means. A legalist is one who thinks he can make it to the kingdom of God doing all of the things that God tells him to do without any help from the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the historic definition of legalist and is the one that we ought to always remember.

Will they be called perfectionists? Another dirty word. Yes, they will be called perfectionists. May I point out that the doctrine of perfectionism is a specific theological doctrine, and you should not misuse that word anymore than a doctor should diagnose appendicitis for a man who has a broken leg.

The doctrine of perfectionism, whenever and wherever it has appeared in the history of all churches, has rested like a three-legged stool on three legs.

The first idea is the teaching that man can, by the power of Christ, live a sinless life. That is the only one of the three that Seventh-day Adventists have ever accepted.

The second one is that man can have instant sanctification; he can become perfect in a moment of time. Seventh-day Adventists have always rejected that, and Ellen White very firmly rejects it.

The third one is that when this instant sanctification has occurred to you, you can know it; you can recognize it, and you can testify to the world that you have become a sinless person. You know how firmly Ellen White rejects that. She often wrote there is no instant sanctification, it is the work of a lifetime, you never lay it aside as finished.

“Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided.” The Great Controversy, 593. They will be called legalists. They will be called perfectionists. They will be called right-wingers, which is perhaps the most ludicrous of all of these epithets, these dirty words. If you want to check that out, all you have to do is go to a college library or any church school library and examine the books on Bible doctrines that were used in Seventh-day Adventist schools up to the mid-1950s.

You will see that those of us who call ourselves “historic” Adventists and who are scornfully called by others “traditional” Adventists (there is a propaganda technique there you understand quickly), have not deviated one iota to the right of what you see in those books. But those who have gone wildly off to the left are calling us right-wingers! That is about as crazy as anything could possibly be. But we are told that is the way it is going to be.

Fortified with the Truth

Now, how can we handle it? The very last line on page 593 of the Great Controversy is the one upon which I want you to focus your minds. “None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” Ron Spear once said, “One of the best ways to study the Bible is to read the Spirit of Prophecy, because every few pages that you read you get loaded up with Bible texts!”

Folks, in the end, we are going to divide over the Spirit of Prophecy. Those who accept the Spirit of Prophecy will go one way, and those who reject it will go another way. Just hold that in your mind.

Fortified. A fort is put where you expect an attack, is it not? I want to ask you to consider the following Ellen White statement most carefully. It is a prediction of what will happen in the future.

“After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations…” She is referring to Matthew 24:14. “…this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” We have seen ourselves as the people who had the special task of taking the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

Tearing Down the Pillars

But notice this, “After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations,… there will be a removing of the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 985. What might that say to us about our present position in the stream of time? Are we seeing a removing of the landmarks today?

What are these pillars, these landmarks? Depending on how you divide the Three Angels’ Messages, whether you think of them as one or as three, you can count the pillars as five or eight.

We have the landmarks defined for us in the book Counsels to Writers and Editors, 30. “The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary [Number 1] transpiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God’s people upon the earth, [also] the First and Second Angels’ Messages and the Third. [That is one or three, depending on how you count.]… One of the landmarks under this message was the temple of God, seen by His truth-loving people in heaven, and the ark containing the law of God [Number 3]. The light of the Sabbath [Number 4, if you separate the Sabbath from the Law] of the fourth commandment flashed its strong rays in the pathway.… [Finally] The non-immortality of the wicked is an old landmark. I can call to mind nothing more that can come under the head of the old landmarks.”

What are they?

  • The sanctuary
  • The Three Angels’ Messages
  • The Law
  • The Sabbath
  • Non-immortality of the soul.

Those are the landmarks, and the one under attack most bitterly, most viciously, most unyieldingly at this moment, is the sanctuary.

Attacking the Sanctuary

A gentleman called me from England recently. He asked me for some materials to help him. He said, “One of our prominent church elders has launched a paper attacking the sanctuary with the approval of the conference president.”

One week after that, I had a telephone call from Australia. The caller said, “The conference has given a man freedom to circulate among the churches attacking the sanctuary.” He wanted to know whether I would prepare a response if he sent the tapes to me. He said he would fly all the way to the United States to make videotapes of my response in an attempt to offset what this man, with the approval of the conference, was doing.

That is where we are, folks, and we must bear in mind, and be cautious while still speaking the truth, that the increasing strangeness of the behavior of some of our leaders is equaled only by the sternness of their demand that nobody dare to criticize. I am sorry. I am going to have to speak out against that just the same.

When our conference officials approve of attacks on the sanctuary, I believe it is the sacred duty of every true man of God to speak out and say, “That is wrong. That is hopelessly wrong!”

I want to focus on one thing relative to the sanctuary. A few years ago a certain gentleman came up from the lands down under and sent a lot of Seventh-day Adventist ministers into a flap of confusion by proposing that our Seventh-day Adventist pioneers were so ignorant that they did not even know that Christ went to the throne of God when He went back to heaven in 31 A.D.

A lot of our Seventh-day Adventist ministers, perhaps mostly the younger ones, did not know how to handle that at all. They were really upset and troubled by it. I am going to give you a little Bible study. Unfortunately, this is the only place where you can get this Bible study at the present time.

How Many Thrones?

Where did Christ go in 31 A.D.? Revelation 3:20, 21 tells us how our pioneers understood that. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. [Read carefully]. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.”

How many thrones are there? Two. My throne and His throne. One is present and one is future. Which is which? He says, “I overcame [past tense] I am set down [past tense] with My Father in His throne. You will, if you overcome, [future tense] sit down with Me in My throne [future tense].” Two thrones, two times, two persons or groups of persons, and two distinctly different situations.

Now let us begin at the beginning: “The Lord said unto my Lord [God the Father said to God the Son], Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.… The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Psalm 110:1, 2, 4.

A Scripture that is recognized by virtually all conservative commentators as a prediction, or prophecy, about our Lord, says, “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord: Even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His [the Father’s] throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” Zechariah 6:12.

Now go to the New Testament and look at Mark 16:19. “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” In Peter’s Pentecostal sermon he states, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted [You will find modern translations sometimes translate that as “Therefore, being to the right hand of God exalted.”], and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right hand [What is he quoting? Psalm 110.], Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.” Acts 2:32–35.

You see, He is not going to always be sitting on the right hand of God. He is not going to be always a priest sitting on the throne of God. Some day He is going to sit on His own throne.

“Him hath God exalted with His right hand,” again, modern translations frequently put that “to His right hand.” It is an acceptable translation of the Greek. “…to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31.

Before he died, the testimony of Stephen was, “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55.

A Priest on His Throne

Let us get the testimony of the apostle Paul: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, [And what is He doing there?] who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34. What kind of a person makes intercession for us? A priest on the throne of God, on the right hand of God. As Zechariah wrote, “A priest on the throne.”

Look at the following texts: “Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:20.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1.

“Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3.

“But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Hebrews 1:13. What is he quoting? Psalm 110.

“(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:).” Hebrews 7:21. What is he quoting? Psalm 110.

There is another reference in Hebrews 7:17: “For He testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Hebrews 8:1 and onward, “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” And then he goes on to talk about His priestly ministry there.

“But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; [Look carefully at verse 13.] From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.” Hebrews 10:12, 13. What is he quoting? Psalm 110.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2,

And, of course, we could add to these Revelation 12:5, the vision of John. “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.”

Where Was the Father’s Throne?

Can there be any question that Christ went to the throne of the Father in 31 A.D., and sat down beside the Father as a priest on the throne of the Father, from henceforth expecting until He would sit on His own throne when His enemies are made His footstool? And we shall share that throne with Him. Now that creates a question. Where was the throne of the Father in A.D. 31? We need not speculate. The answer is in Revelation 4:1–5. “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: [Now note this] and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”

The Pioneers Still Speak

Were these seven lamps in the holy place or the most holy place? In the holy place, the first apartment. Where was the throne of God in 31 A.D.? In the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. Now where do you think I learned all this? Where do you think I got this Bible study? From the writings of our pioneers.

I have a whole stack of articles written by our pioneers, the first one in 1858. That is going a long way back in Adventist history. A gentleman by the name of F. M. Bragg wrote an article entitled, “Jesus Reigns Upon Two Thrones.” He went through briefly the same material that I have shared with you here. In The Review and Herald, September 12, 1871, J. N. Andrews and J. H. Waggoner comment briefly on it. (J. H. Waggoner was the father of E. J. Waggoner of 1888 fame.)

An article by Uriah Smith talks about these things in some detail. He includes some answers to an objector, a critic, who had tried to say that God was in the Most Holy Place in 31 A.D., and that is where Christ went. I would like for you to notice how he sums up his response to that. This is a little bit different, if I may say so.

After pointing out the strange conclusions that would be forced upon us in so many different ways if we said that God the Father was in the most holy place in 31 A.D., he says this. “To such stupid driveling absurdities are we driven the moment we take the position that Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary when He ascended. Dear Brother Smith, we do not talk like that any more, do we?” The Review and Herald, July 29, 1875 and August 5, 1875.

Signs of the Times, September 18, 1893, a Mrs. M. E. Steward wrote an article entitled, “Our Priest King,” in which she covers the same ground.

Signs of the Times, December 10, 1894, an Elder M. H. Brown writes an article entitled, “The True Tabernacle,” and one of the subtitles is “The Two Thrones.” “Christ occupies that throne with His Father at the present and as Christ rules upon the Father’s throne and is a priest upon His Father’s throne, we know that Christ’s present office and work is that of a priest-king.”

J. Waggoner makes a brief comment on it in the same fashion, Ibid., April 18, 1895. And beginning with The Review and Herald, June 2, 1910, Elder J. N. Loughborough put in four lengthy articles in succession all under the one title, “The Two Thrones.”

In the Australian Signs of the Times, December 23, 1929, an article by William W. Prescott, appeared, entitled, “The Priest Upon the Throne.”

And, of course, in The Great Controversy, 415, 416, you will find Mrs. White briefly summing up the whole thing.

Did our pioneers know where Jesus went in 31 A.D.? They most certainly did! They knew exactly where He went. They knew exactly what He was doing, and their position was just as Biblical as anything could possibly be.

I cannot claim credit for this Bible study. I got it out of the writings of our pioneers. I want to testify to you that our message can stand against any challenge. Our message cannot be faulted. In its essential points, in its broad picture, it is absolutely certain. It will stand against the powers of hell itself.

Never have any questions, any doubts. I would like to appeal to you to remember those words, “None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand.” Ibid., 593. You have heard comments on the shaking time and you need to be studying that. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken.

Multitudes, Mrs. White writes, of false brethren will leave us. Companies will throw down the flag and depart from us. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away from the floor where we see only rich wheat. Men that we have admired as brilliant stars will go out in darkness and turn against us. Let us resolve that, by the grace of God, we will let the chaff blow, let the brilliant stars go, let company after company join the foe, nevertheless we will stand though the heavens fall.

God’s Special Gift for His Last Day Church, Part I

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If you are interested in evangelism, you need to be well acquainted with the writings and the speeches of the apostle Peter, because there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who have a special regard for the apostle Peter. They say that he was the first head of their church.

I love to talk to my Roman Catholic friends about the apostle Peter. I just love it! They are shocked when they find out what the apostle Peter said. Did you know that it is recorded in Acts 10 that a man by the name of Cornelius was so happy to see the apostle Peter that he knelt down to worship him?

The apostle Peter said, “Stand up, I am just a man.” Did you know that the first pope would not even allow anybody to get down on their knees in front of him? Something has changed, has it not? Well, the apostle Peter had something to say about the last days.

Where is the Promise?

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days [Some translations say “mockers.”], walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:3.

Now notice what the apostle Peter says is going to happen in the last days, the days in which you and I are living. He says there are going to be scoffers. What are they going to scoff at? They are going to scoff at the idea of creation. They are going to scoff at the idea that the world came into existence by the word of God.

The apostle Paul talked about this, too. Paul said in the last day perilous times will come. (See 2 Timothy 3.)

Spiritual Suicide

Let me list for you three things that have happened in the last 200 years, things which have brought the world into greater spiritual peril than at any previous time in world history.

  1. The Development of Higher Criticism.

I attended Andrews University. Do not let anybody think that I am recommending that you go there. That is one of the most dangerous places in the world that you could go for an education. My son is an engineer, and he went to a Seventh-day Adventist College in Washington State. When he went there, I talked to him. I said, “Son, it is all right with me if you go to this place and study engineering, but I do not want you to study theology there.”

Now that seems strange. I studied theology at that very place. I told my son, I do not want you to study Bible, and I do not want you to study theology there. Why? Because in our time, theology has become one of the most dangerous things to study in the universities and colleges.

Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, but one of the reasons has to do with the development of higher criticism. The net result of higher criticism is that after you have studied for several years under teachers who have imbibed these theories (and they have imbibed them from other universities where they got their doctoral degrees in theology) you have a completely different idea about the Bible. You do not have nearly as much confidence in the Bible anymore.

You no longer look at it as the infallible Word of God. Christian leaders need to know that we are up against a world of unbelief.

The Age of Unbelief

We are producing a series of programs for television on the age of unbelief—the time in which we are living. Higher criticism is a big part of this. It has destroyed faith in the Bible for the majority of Christian ministers and priests.

There are preachers all over the world who claim to be Protestant preachers and Catholic priests, and they do not believe what the Bible says about how the world came into existence. They do not believe that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. They do not believe in the virgin birth. They do not believe in the blood atonement, and they do not believe in the Second Coming of Christ.

Have you ever read, in the papers or magazines, about meetings where theologians get together and discuss the Second Coming of Christ? Most of them do not believe in it. Why? the outgrowth and development of higher criticism. Christian religious leaders all over the world do not believe the Bible the way Martin Luther, John Calvin and our spiritual forefathers did.

This has brought the world into the most perilous time since the creation of the world. But there are two other things that have happened in the last 200 years that have also brought the world into these perilous times.

  1. The Development of the Theory of Evolution and Uniformitarianism.

In 2 Peter 3, Peter specified that in the last days the theory of uniformitarianism would be taught. That is the theory that all things continue as they were from the beginning.

In 1979, during the Christmas season, my sister’s family, my parents and I were all visiting my brother, Marshall. He and his family were pastoring a church in Pennsylvania. We decided one day to take a trip to the Smithsonian Institute, one of the largest museums in the world. It has many, many different buildings; you cannot visit everything in one day. I decided I was going to go through the geology building.

I knew what I would find. They would say that the earth was millions of years old. By the way, you can figure out from the Bible, within fifty years, how old the world is. It is around 6000 years old right now.

Of course geologists say that the world is billions of years old; the common figure is four and one-half billion years. So I went into their geology building, because I wanted to know what their evidence is.

One Piece of Evidence

Do you know what evidence they have? They have only one piece of evidence for the whole thing. I went through the whole building. I looked at all the exhibits and the explanations and found they only have one piece of evidence—a theory. It is the theory of uniformitarianism. Do you know what the theory of uniformitarianism is? They look at the depth of the sediment at the bottom of a lake. Then they measure and they say that the sediment is gathering at the rate of 1/16 of an inch per year, so that means that this lake is x many years old.

Everything just continues the same. That is the theory of uniformitarianism. That, along with the theory of evolution, has worked to destroy the confidence of men in the Bible and the inspired writings of God.

I am glad that at least some evolutionists are candid, that they know what they believe. One of the leading educators, who is an evolutionist, has written “Now if the theory of evolution is really true, it has to mean the following. It has to mean that there is no God, or gods, there is no such thing as a moral law, and there is no such thing as a future. When you die, that is the end of everything. Also, there is no such thing as free choice.”

He just listed those four things. If evolution is true, then those four things have to be so. We are living in a time when, if you go to any university anywhere in the world—not just the United States—but Europe, Africa, South America, Australia, this theory has permeated all fields of learning.

Made in the Image of Whom?

Has that brought the world into a spiritual crisis? When you are bringing up a young child, does it make a difference in their behavior whether they think they are made in the image of God or they think that they descended from an ape? It makes all the difference in the world in their behavior. Do you want your children to act like animals, or like sons and daughters of God?

The first development has affected the entire religious world. The second development has involved the entire educational and scientific world, every field of human thought. The third development in the world has involved just about everybody except the people who believe in the Bible and know some things in the Bible.

  1. The Development of Modern Spiritualism

This development, which started in 1848, has affected the entire world, and it is affecting everybody It affects atheists, agnostics, evolutionists, scientists, government leaders and church leaders in both Catholic and Protestant faiths. It has permeated the whole world.

Those three things show us how dangerous the world has become and why we are living in an age and world of unbelief. Peter talked about it, Paul talked about it, and God knew about it.

What Would You Do?

Let me ask you this question, and I want you to think about it. If you were in God’s position thousands of years ago, and you foresaw what was going to happen in the world in the last days, and you knew what the devil was going to do to deceive the whole world, (God had His prophet record in Revelation 12:9 how the devil would deceive the whole world); and you wanted to save as many people as you could, what would you do?

Let us see what God said He was going to do about it. In the Old Testament, one of the greatest prophets. Elijah, came to the Children of Israel at a time when they were in a time like we are in today, when there was an apostasy and people did not believe in the God of heaven, and they were kneeling down to Baal and idols.

Elijah came with a message. It was a stern message, but it woke up a lot of people.There was a great that went throughout the land and throughout the Children of Israel.

Ever after that time whenever a prophet arose who brought a great reformation, they would call them an Elijah prophet. God talked about this through the prophet Malachi: “‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.’” Malachi 4:5, 6.

The Elijah Prophet for the End Times

Our heavenly Father, foreseeing the great crisis that the world would be brought into in the last days because of the theories of higher criticism, the theories of evolution, and because of the working of spiritualism which has inundated the world with deception, said, “Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, I know that you are going to go into perilous times. You are going to be in very deceptive times. The devil is going to deceive the whole world, but I am going to do something special for My people. I am going to send you Elijah the prophet.”

So the Jews began to look for the coming of Elijah the prophet. When Jesus came, the Jews were looking for the coming of Elijah the prophet. “Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ [That is the prophet Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15.] And he answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said: ‘I am “The voice of one crying in the wilderness;’ Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.’ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him saying, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, saying, ‘I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.’” John 1:19–26.

Spiritual Blindness

Here is what the problem was with the Jews. It is a problem among many Christians today; I hope it is not your problem. You know the Bible says that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14.) You read that and if you cannot discern spiritual things and all you can see is literal things, you are going to be in trouble. You are not going to understand the Word of God.

The Jews knew that God had taken Elijah in a chariot up into heaven in the days of Ahab. Elijah was up there, and they said, “Before the Messiah comes (this is what they taught) God is going to send Elijah, the same one who spoke to Ahab and Jezebel. God is going to send him back down from heaven to us.” And so they asked John, “Are you Elijah? You know, the one that talked to Ahab and Jezebel,” and John said, “No, no I am not.”

Do you know what they said then? They said, “Well, then the Messiah cannot be coming yet, because before the Messiah comes Elijah has to come back down from heaven.” What was their problem? They did not discern spiritual things. Was John the Baptist the Elijah prophet who was promised? Yes, he was. Jesus said so.

In Matthew 11:11–14 it says, “‘Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he [that is greater in privilege]. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.’”

More than a Prophet

Was John the Baptist the Elijah prophet? Yes, he was. And notice what Jesus said about the Elijah prophet. He said, “This person is a prophet all right, but he is more than a prophet.”

Now let me tell you something. This is the very best news on the face of the earth right now. There have been three times since the beginning of the world that God has sent His children, because of the crisis they were in, not just a prophet, but somebody who was more than a prophet.

The first time God sent His children somebody who was more than a prophet was when He sent Moses. Miriam and Aaron were prophets, too. One time they got jealous of Moses, and they said, “Well, has God spoken through Moses and has He not also spoken through us?” (See Numbers 12:2.) Do you remember what the Lord said to them? He said, “Why were you not afraid to speak like this about My servant Moses?” And the Lord said to them, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in a vision and dream, but My servant Moses is not so. I will speak to him face to face or mouth to mouth.” (See Numbers 12:6–8.) Moses was more than just a prophet.

The second time God sent His children somebody who was more than a prophet was when He sent John the Baptist. When Jesus came, that was the most important event of the ages. Before Jesus came God sent His children somebody who was a prophet all right, but somebody who was more than a prophet because that was a crisis period and they needed it.

The third time God sent His children somebody who was a prophet, who was more than a prophet, was in the last days. God said, “I am going to send you Elijah the prophet.” Now the Elijah prophet before the first coming was more than a prophet, and the Elijah prophet before the Second Coming is more than a prophet, too. We will see that soon. This is the best possible news I could tell you

Confidence Lost

You and I are living in the most spiritually dangerous time of all the ages, and we need special instruction from heaven to keep us focused in Bible truth. We are dealing with the world. Even the people who are the spiritual leaders of the world do not have confidence in the Scriptures anymore because of the theories of higher criticism.

The scientific community and the educated people do not have confidence in the Bible because of the theories of geology and evolution, which they have been taught since they were young. And nobody, believes, in what this Book teaches anymore, who has been involved in spiritualism because they have been taught opposite theories that are contrary to this Book.

God knew that this would happen, Jesus predicted it in Luke 18, and so He promised through Malachi the prophet. He said that before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, He was going to do something special for us. He knew we were going to be in trouble: we were going to be in perilous times. There were going to be scoffers; there were going to be mockers. It was going to be an age of unbelief.

So the Lord said, “I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet, somebody who is more than a prophet.” John the Baptist was more than a prophet. The Elijah prophet is to be more than a prophet. We know that from the words of Jesus in Matthew 11.

Jewish Tragedy

The great tragedy that happened to the Jews is that the Elijah prophet came. They asked him, “Are you Elijah? Are you the one that talked to Ahab and Jezebel?” He said, “No, I am not.” So they said, “That is not the Elijah prophet” and they left, and they missed out. Here they had had contact with the man whom Jesus said there had never been anybody born of a woman who was greater than this man. (See Matthew 11:11.) He was more than a prophet. He was a special messenger sent to prepare the people for the Messiah.

Do you know whom it was that became Jesus’ disciples? If you study the New Testament, you will find that when Jesus came it was the people who had been with John the Baptist. Was it important whether or not they knew whom the Elijah prophet was? Well, it made all the difference in the world whether or not they would be ready to meet the Messiah.

Now the Jews had the Bible, that is the Old Testament. That was all that had been written so far. Sometimes I meet people who say, “Pastor John, I do not need any more prophecy. I have the Bible.” I say, “Oh, bless your heart, I have the Bible, too, and I love every word of it.”

But do you realize, my dear friend, that those Jews in the time of Christ missed what God wanted them to know because they did not accept the gift of prophecy that God sent to them just before Jesus came? They missed it! The most wonderful thing that God sent to them and they missed it! That was part of the reason they rejected the Messiah.

To be continued……

Editorial – He sits as God – Part IV

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A quick review is that the church is God’s temple (Ephesians 2), that God has prerogatives that He will not give to any created being, and any man or angel who attempts to assume prerogatives of God in the church has thereby set himself up as God, in the temple of God, as the antichrist is described as doing in II Thessalonians 2.

One of the prerogatives of God that the angels and the apostles have never had (and which therefore the church has never had) is the right to decide what is right and wrong—the right to be the lawgiver. There is only one lawgiver (James 4:12).

Another right that only God has, is the right to be the Saviour—to deliver you and me from the guilt and power of sin.  Both the Old and New Testaments declare this. (See James 4:12; Matthew 9:2-6; Isaiah 45:21.) The church cannot save you from sin; the leaders of the church cannot save you from sin; the services of the church cannot save you from sin. Only God can do that. All that the church or any man can do is point people to where the help is, where the salvation is. But the essence of false religion is to lead men to look to men, to trust in men for salvation, to trust churches or rituals or theological beliefs for salvation.  This is why false religion doesn’t work.

If your religion is not leading you to victory over sin, to a cessation from sinning in your life, then there is something wrong with your religion. True religion points people to the true God and results in a spiritual new birth, which results in victory over sin. (See I John 5:18.)

Through heathenism, Satan had, for ages, turned men away from God; but he won his great triumph in perverting the faith of Israel. By contemplating and worshiping their own conceptions the heathen had lost a knowledge of God and had become more and more corrupt. So it was with Israel. The principle that man can save himself by his own works lay at the foundation of every heathen religion; it had now become the principle of the Jewish religion. Satan had implanted this principle. Wherever it is held, men have no barrier against sin. (See Desire of Ages, 35, 36.)

One of the most serious consequences of the rule of antichrist is that the people are not delivered from their sins and a theological system has been developed to handle this.  The theological explanation is that we cannot overcome our sins because of our fallen sinful nature (“original sin”). Therefore, we are saved just by being forgiven of our sins and the church claims to do this. So the sinner who goes on in sin, regularly confessing his sins, believes, mistakenly, that he is on the road to salvation. Nowhere in the Bible is salvation promised to the person who is living in sin.  In fact, damnation is promised to the person who goes on living in sin. Salvation is promised only to the one who overcomes or is set free from sin. (See John 8:32-36; Romans 6; I John 3; Revelation 21:5-7; I Corinthians 6:9, 10; Revelation 22:14, 15.)

There was a time when God’s remnant people knew this, and we proclaimed that the doctrine of being saved in sin was from the antichrist and that we could only be saved from sin.  But the doctrines of antichrist have strangely become much more acceptable to the professed people of God, and many have accepted the “saved in sin” theology along with the majority of the professed Christian world. Where will this theology leave you in the Day of Judgment? With antichrist. (See Matthew 7:21-23.)

“The victory that Jesus gained in the wilderness is a pledge to you of the victory that you may gain through His name. Your only hope and salvation is in overcoming as Christ overcame.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 457.

Bible Study Guides – “Call on Me in the Day of Trouble”

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February 17, 2001 – February 23, 2001

MEMORY VERSE: “And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15.

STUDY HELP: Great Controversy, 613–634.

Introduction

“Those who are earnestly seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure defense. ‘Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee’ (Revelation 3:10), is the Saviour’s promise. He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan.” Great Controversy, 560.

“Exceeding Great and Precious Promises”

1 What promises of divine help in time of trouble have we been given? Psalm 46:1–3; Psalm 91:3–10.

NOTE: “Our God is an ever-present help in every time of need. He is perfectly acquainted with the most secret thoughts of our heart, with all the intents and purposes of our souls. When we are in perplexity, even before we open to Him our distress, He is making arrangements for our deliverance. Our sorrow is not unnoticed. He always knows much better than we do, just what is necessary for the good of His children, and He leads us as we would choose to be led if we could discern our own hearts and see our necessities and perils, as God sees them.” Signs of the Times, May 25, 1888.

2 How swiftly does God hear the cry of His children? Isaiah 65:24. (Compare Daniel 9:21.)

NOTE: “Since He has made such gracious promises, why do we not trust God? Why do we not take Him at His word? We must have increased faith.” Review and Herald, May 27, 1884.

“As Daniel’s prayer is going forth, the angel Gabriel comes sweeping down from the heavenly courts, to tell him that his petitions are heard and answered. This mighty angel has been commissioned to give him skill and understanding—to open before him the mysteries of future ages. Thus, while earnestly seeking to know and understand the truth, Daniel was brought into communion with Heaven’s delegated messenger.” Review and Herald, February 8, 1881.

“I Also Will Keep Thee”

3 What is required on our part to ensure that God will watch over us in time of trouble? Revelation 3:10.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 593.

4 What is even more necessary than a mere knowledge of the Scriptures? Revelation 1:3.

NOTE: “When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different religious experience. They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart. The Lord will bless all who will seek humbly and meekly to understand that which is revealed in the Revelation. This book contains so much that is large with immortality and full of glory that all who read and search it earnestly receive the blessing to those ‘that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.’ One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelation,—that the connection between God and His people is close and decided. Let us give more time to the study of the Bible. We do not understand the Word as we should. The book of Revelation opens with an injunction to us to understand the instruction that it contains…. When we… understand what this book means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival.” The Faith I Live By, 345.

“Thy Words were Found and I did East Them”

5 What brought consolation to Jeremiah in his time of trouble? Jeremiah 15:15, 16.

NOTE: “The word of the living God is not merely written, but spoken. The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as though we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe would we open God’s word, and with what earnestness would we search its precepts! The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded as an audience with the Infinite One. When Satan presses his suggestions upon our minds, we may, if we cherish a ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ be drawn into the secret pavilion of the Most High.” [Psalm 27:5.] Testimonies, vol. 6, 393.

6 What precious promise may we claim in prayer? John 14:26.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 600 and The Desire of Ages, 355.

“Hezekiah Prayed unto the Lord”

7 What example of prayer for deliverance are we given from the life of Hezekiah? Isaiah 37:16–20.

NOTE: “When the king of Judah received the taunting letter, he took it into the temple and ‘spread it before the Lord’ and prayed with strong faith for help from heaven, that the nations of earth might know that the God of the Hebrews still lived and reigned. The honor of Jehovah was at stake; He alone could bring deliverance.” Conflict and Courage, 239.

8 In what wonderful way was Hezekiah’s prayer answered? Isaiah 37:36. (Compare Psalm 91:7, 8.)

NOTE: “Hezekiah was not left without hope. Isaiah sent to him, saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.’… That very night deliverance came. ‘The angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand.’… The God of the Hebrews had prevailed over the proud Assyrian. The honor of Jehovah was vindicated in the eyes of the surrounding nations. In Jerusalem the hearts of the people were filled with holy joy. Their earnest entreaties for deliverance had been mingled with confession of sin and with many tears. In their great need they had trusted wholly in the power of God to save, and He had not failed them.” Conflict and Courage, 239.

“Our Eyes are upon Thee”

9 What wonderful prayer of faith in God’s deliverance did Jehoshaphat pray? 2 Chronicles 20:9–12.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 200.

10 How did Jehoshaphat express his confidence in God’s power to save? 2 Chronicles 20:17. (Compare Exodus 14:13, 14.)

NOTE: “We dared not venture in a mist and perplexity, and were obliged to stand still and see the salvation of God. The words from the living oracles teach us when tried and tempted and surrounded with difficulties, the safe course for us to pursue is to patiently wait, to be of good courage, and commit the keeping of soul and body to God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 325.

11 How was Jehoshaphat’s prayer answered? 2 Chronicles 20:20–22.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 202.

“My God Hath Sent His Angel”

12 What examples of deliverance are to be found in the lives of Daniel and Paul? Daniel 6:19–23, Acts 27:20–25.

NOTE: “A man whose heart is stayed upon God will be the same in the hour of his greatest trial as he is in prosperity, when the light and favor of God and of man beam upon him…. The power that is near to deliver from physical harm or distress is also near to save from the greater evil, making it possible for the servant of God to maintain his integrity under all circumstances, and to triumph through divine grace.” Conflict and Courage, 255.

13 What promise of final deliverance is given to God’s people? Daniel 12:1.

NOTE: “‘They have come out of great tribulation. They have walked in the fiery furnace in the world, heated intensely by the passions and caprices of men who would enforce upon them the worship of the beast and his image, who would compel them to be disloyal to the God of heaven. They have come from the mountains, from the rocks, from the dens and caves of the earth, from dungeons, from prisons, from secret councils, from the torture chamber, from hovels, from garrets. They have passed through sore affliction, deep self-denial, and deep disappointment. They are no longer to be the sport and ridicule of wicked men. They are to be no longer mean and sorrowful in the eyes of those who despise them. Remove the filthy garments from them, with which wicked men have delighted to clothe them. Give them a change of raiment, even the white robes of righteousness, and set a fair mitre upon their heads.’ They were clothed in richer robes than earthly beings had ever worn; they were crowned with diadems of glory such as human beings had never seen. The days of suffering, of reproach, of want, of hunger, are no more; weeping is past. Then they break forth in songs, loud, clear, and musical; they wave the palm branches of victory, and exclaim, ‘Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ Oh, may God endue us with His Spirit and make us strong in His strength! In that great day of supreme and final triumph it will be seen that the righteous were strong, and that wickedness in all its forms and with all its pride was a weak and miserable failure and defeat. We will cling close to Jesus, we will trust Him, we will seek His grace and His great salvation. We must hide in Jesus, for He is a covert from the storm, a present help in time of trouble.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 210.

Bible Study Guides – The Effectual Fervent Prayer

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February 10, 2001 – February 16, 2001

MEMORY VERSE: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:6.

STUDY HELP: Education, 253–261.

Introduction

“When as a people our works correspond with our profession, we shall see very much more accomplished than now. When we have men as devoted as Elijah, and possessing the faith which he possessed, we shall see that God will reveal Himself to us as He did to holy men of old. When we have men who, while they acknowledge their deficiencies, will plead with God in earnest faith as did Jacob, we shall see the same results. Power will come from God to man in answer to the prayer of faith.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 402.

“The Just Shall Live by Faith”

1 What has God given to everyone? Romans 12:3.

NOTE: “God has given to every man his measure of faith, and each is to walk in faith. He is to show that he has that faith that will rely upon God for help. As God has given to every man his measure of faith, he is to put it into exercise. He is to let his light shine.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 133.

“Faith is not a happy flight of feeling; it is simply taking God at His word, believing that He will fulfil His promises because He said He would.” Our High Calling, 119.

2 What are we to do with the faith that God has given to each of us? Mark 11:22, 23.

NOTE: “How to exercise faith. This is the science of the gospel. The Scripture declares, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ The knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired. We suffer much trouble and grief because of our unbelief, and our ignorance of how to exercise faith. We must break through the clouds of unbelief. We cannot have a healthy Christian experience, we can not obey the gospel unto salvation, until the science of faith is better understood, and until more faith is exercised. There can be no perfection of Christian character without that faith that works by love, and purifies the soul.” Review and Herald, October 18, 1898. (Emphasis supplied.)

See also Desire of Ages, 347.

“The Prayer of Faith”

3 What example of the prayer of faith are we given? James 5:17, 18.

NOTE: “True faith rests on the promises contained in the word of God, and those only who obey that word can claim its glorious promises. ‘If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ John 15:7. ‘Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.’ 1 John 3:22. We should be much in secret prayer. Christ is the Vine, we are the branches. And if we would grow and flourish, we must continually draw sap and nourishment from the Living Vine; for separated from the Vine, we have no strength. I asked the angel why there was no more faith and power in Israel. He said: ‘Ye let go of the arm of the Lord too soon. Press your petitions to the throne, and hold on by strong faith. The promises are sure. Believe ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.’ I was then pointed to Elijah. He was subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly. His faith endured the trial. Seven times he prayed before the Lord, and at last the cloud was seen. I saw that we had doubted the sure promises, and wounded the Saviour by our lack of faith.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 126, 127.

4 What will the promises of God do for us when we lay hold of them in faith? 2 Peter 1:3, 4.

NOTE: “Christ has promised, ‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.’ He will hear and answer our prayers, and faith appropriates the rich promises of God, believing they are for us. As we accept the promises of God, we grow stronger in faith, and find the word of the Lord fulfilled as He has spoken it. We may feel our weakness and unworthiness, and because of this, realize our dependence upon God. Every one of us can have a rich experience in the things of God if we will utterly forsake our sin and submit ourselves to God. Oh, how can we cherish impurity in the soul when Christ has died for us, that we may become partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust? We are to be sanctified through the truth, and this sanctification is not the work of a moment, but of a lifetime. We must all learn to lean upon Jesus; for the time will come when we shall be scattered, and we cannot lean upon one another. Christ is ready to give us the help we need.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1891. (See also The Desire of Ages, 121.)

“Ask and Ye Shall Receive”

5 What must we do to lay hold of the promises of God? Matthew 7:7–11.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 564.

6 What promises do we have that our requests will be heard? Psalm 34:4; John 6:37; 1 John 5:14, 15.

NOTE: See Steps to Christ, 96.

“Believe that Ye Receive”

7 What necessary pre-condition for answered prayer did Jesus reveal? Mark 11:24.

NOTE: “For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive.” Education, 258.

8 What are we told about the prayer not presented in faith? James 1:6, 7.

NOTE: “God is behind every promise, and we cannot dishonor Him more than by questioning and hesitating, by asking and not believing, and then by talking doubt. If you do not immediately receive what you have asked for, will you go on in sullenness and unbelief? Believe; believe that God will do just what He has promised. Keep your prayers ascending, and watch, work, and wait. Fight the good fight of faith. Say to your heart, ‘God has invited me to come. He has heard my prayer. He has pledged His word that He will receive me, and He will fulfil His promise. I can trust God; for He so loved me that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for me. The Son of God is my Redeemer.’ ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ ‘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?’” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 300.

9 How did Jesus demonstrate the necessity of faith in making one’s requests to God? Matthew 21:19–22.

NOTE: “The promise is… ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.’ Believe ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them. Now in the first place you have the promise that if you ask you shall receive. Then think what you most need to overcome. Acquaint yourselves with your failings, and then as you feel you cannot overcome in your own strength, ask God to help you. By doing this you acknowledge your own weakness, and throw yourselves upon God’s arm. He will sustain you in your efforts to do right. But be careful and do not rely too much on your own strength and efforts. Ever realize that Satan is continually trying to lead your … minds to do wrong. In order to resist his temptations, you must rely upon a power stronger than your own. ‘Believe ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.’ Do not merely come to God and ask; but believe that He will do just as He has said He would. As you ask, believe He answers, and believe you do receive strength from Him.’” An Appeal to the Youth, 54. (See also Christ’s Object Lessons, 147.)

“Ye Ask and Receive Not”

10 What may be one of the reasons for unanswered prayers? James 4:3.

NOTE: “There are thousands of prayers daily offered that God does not answer. There are faithless prayers. ‘He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.’ There are selfish prayers, proceeding from a heart that is cherishing idols. ‘If any man regard iniquity in his heart, the Lord will not hear him.’ There are petulant, fretful prayers, murmuring because of the burdens and cares of life, instead of humbly seeking grace to lighten them. Those who offer such petitions are not abiding in Christ. They have not submitted their will to the will of God. They do not comply with the condition of the promise, and it is not fulfilled to them.” Review and Herald, September 11, 1883.

11 What other things may lead to our prayers not being heard? Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9.

NOTE: “Many are forfeiting the condition of acceptance with the Father. We need to examine closely the deed of trust wherewith we approach God. If we are disobedient, we bring to the Lord a note to be cashed when we have not fulfilled the conditions that would make it payable to us. We present to God His promises, and ask Him to fulfil them, when by so doing He would dishonor His own name. The promise is ‘If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ John 15:7. And John declares: ‘Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.’ 1 John 2:3–5.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 144. (See also Steps to Christ, 95.)

“Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving”

12 Besides faith, what must also accompany our requests to God? Philippians 4:6.

NOTE “For any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received. We need look for no outward evidence of the blessing. The gift is in the promise, and we may go about our work assured that what God has promised He is able to perform, and that the gift, which we already possess, will be realized when we need it most.” Education, 258.

13 What example do we have of Jesus giving thanks to His heavenly Father for a prayer whose answer He had not yet seen? John 11:41–44.

NOTE: “‘In every thing give thanks’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18) for the keeping power of God through Jesus Christ…. At the moment when you are offering your prayer for help you may not feel all the joy and blessing that you would like to feel, but if you believe that Christ will hear and answer your petition, the peace of Christ will come…. If you take hold of the strength of the mighty Helper, and not reason with your adversary and never complain of God, His promises will be verified. The experience that you gain today in trusting Him will help you in meeting the difficulties of tomorrow. Each day you are to come, trusting as a little child drawing nearer to Jesus and heaven. In meeting with unwavering trust in God the daily trials and difficulties, you will again and again test the promises of Heaven, and each time you will learn a lesson of faith. Thus you will gain strength to resist temptation, and when the harder trials come, you will be able to endure.” Our High Calling, 326. (See also Testimonies to Ministers, 485.)

Bible Study Guides – “My House Shall Be Called The House Of Prayer”

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February 3, 2001 – February 9, 2001

MEMORY VERSE: “And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place: and when Thou hearest, forgive.” 1 Kings 8:30.

STUDY HELP: Gospel Workers, pages 175–179.

Introduction

“The Pharisees had stated hours for prayer; and when, as often came to pass, they were abroad at the appointed time, they would pause wherever they might be,—perhaps in the street or in the marketplace, amid the hurrying throng of men,—and there in a loud voice rehearse their formal prayers. Such worship, offered merely for self-glorification, called forth unsparing rebuke from Jesus. Yet he did not discountenance public prayer; for He Himself prayed with His disciples and with the multitude. But He impressed upon His disciples the thought that their public prayers should be short.” Gospel Workers, 175.

“Reverence My Sanctuary”

1 How did Jacob regard the place where he encountered God? Genesis 28:16, 17.

NOTE: “Parents, elevate the standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to weave Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest reverence for the house of God and to understand that when they enter the Lord’s house, it should be with hearts that are softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: ‘God is here; this is His house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives. I must have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, hatred, or deception in my heart; for I am coming into the presence of the holy God. This is the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart, and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life.’” Child Guidance, 541.

2 What command did the Lord give His people regarding His sanctuary? Leviticus 26:2.

NOTE: “There should be an intelligent knowledge of how to come to God in reverence and Godly fear with devotional love. There is a growing lack of reverence for our Maker, a growing disregard of His greatness and His majesty.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 315. (See also Prophets and Kings, 48, 49.)

“Holy and Reverend is His Name”

3 What attitude is appropriate when we come before the Lord in prayer? Psalm 95:6. (Compare 1 Kings 8:54; Daniel 6:10 and Luke 22:41.)

NOTE: “Both in public and in private worship, it is our privilege to bow on our knees before the Lord when we offer our petitions to Him. Jesus, our example, ‘kneeled down, and prayed.’ [Luke 22:41.] Of His disciples it is recorded that they, too, ‘kneeled down, and prayed.’ [Acts 9:40; 20:36, 21:5.] Paul declared, ‘I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ [Ephesians 3:14.] In confessing before God the sins of Israel, Ezra knelt. [See Ezra 9:5.] Daniel ‘kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God.’ [Daniel 6:10.]” Gospel Workers, 178.

4 In what spirit should we address God in prayer? Psalm 99:3; Isaiah 29:23; Isaiah 57:15.

NOTE: “Some think it a mark of humility to pray to God in a common manner, as if talking with a human being. They profane His name by needlessly and irreverently mingling with their prayers the words, ‘God Almighty,’—awful, sacred words, which should never pass the lips except in subdued tones and with a feeling of awe.” Gospel Workers, 176.

“Reverence should be shown also for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. ‘Holy and reverend is His name.’ Psalm 111:9. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!” Child Guidance, 538.

See also Desire of Ages, 613.

“They Think that They Shall be Heard for Their Much Speaking”

5 What practices in public prayer did Christ condemn? Matthew 6:7.

NOTE: “Many tedious prayers are offered, which are more like giving the Lord a lecture than presenting to Him a request. It would be better if those offering such prayers would confine themselves to the one that Christ taught His disciples to offer. Long prayers are tiring to those who hear, and do not prepare the people to listen to the instruction that is to follow. It is often because secret prayer is neglected that long, tedious prayers are offered in public.” Gospel Workers, 175, 176.

6 What example of vain repetitions is recorded for us? 1 Kings 18:26.

NOTE: “When engaged with our brethren in public worship, we could add to the interest of the meeting; for we should bring with us some of the atmosphere of heaven, and our worship would be a reality, and not a mere form. Those about us can soon tell whether we are in the habit of praying or not. If the soul is not drawn out in prayer in the closet, and while engaged in the business of the day, the lack will be manifest in the prayer–meeting. The public prayers will be dry and formal, consisting of repetitions and customary phrases, and they will bring darkness rather than light into the meeting.” Gospel Workers (1892 ed.), 425. (See also My Life Today, 19.)

“After This Manner Pray Ye”

7 What should be an important element in our public prayers? Psalm 100. (Compare Acts 16:25.)

NOTE: “In our devotional meetings, our voices should express by prayer and praise our adoration of the heavenly Father, that all may know that we worship God in simplicity and truth, and in the beauty of holiness. Precious indeed in this world of sin and ignorance is the gift of speech, the melody of the human voice, when devoted to the praise of Him who hath loved us and given Himself for us.” Counsels to Teachers, Parents and Students, 245.

8 For what other purpose should we make public prayer and what should always accompany such prayers? Philippians 4:6.

NOTE: “Our prayers in public should be short, and express only the real wants of the soul, asking in simplicity and simple trusting faith for the very things we need. Prayer from the humble, contrite heart is the vital breath of the soul hungering for righteousness.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1896.

“Human help is feeble. But we may unite in seeking help and favor from Him who has said, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ Divine power is infallible. Then let us come to God, pleading for the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Let our united prayers ascend to the throne of grace. Let our requests be mingled with praise and thanksgiving.” Testimonies to Ministers, 485. (See also Steps to Christ, 103.)

9 Are some things better left to private prayer? Matthew 6:6.

NOTE: “We should not come to the house of God to pray for our families unless deep feeling shall lead us while the Spirit of God is convicting them. Generally, the proper place to pray for our families is at the family altar. When the subjects of our prayers are at a distance, the closet is the proper place to plead with God for them. When in the house of God, we should pray for a present blessing and should expect God to hear and answer our prayers.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 145.

“When They had Prayed”

10 What example are we given of the power of communal prayer? Acts 4:31.

NOTE: ‘”’Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain.’ Do not rest satisfied that in the ordinary course of the season, rain will fall. Ask for it. The growth and perfection of the seed rests not with the husbandman. God alone can ripen the harvest. But man’s co-operation is required. God’s work for us demands the action of our mind, the exercise of our faith. We must seek His favours with the whole heart if the showers of grace are to come to us. We should improve every opportunity of placing ourselves in the channel of blessing. Christ has said, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst.’ The convocations of the church, as in camp meetings, the assemblies of the home church, and all occasions where there is personal labor for souls, are God’s appointed opportunities for giving the early and the latter rain.” Testimonies to Ministers, 508.

11 What specific communal prayer was wonderfully answered? Acts 12:1–16.

NOTE: “The angel of the Lord opened the prison doors for Peter, for ‘prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ There is your work. Pray as you have never prayed before; and if you spend nights in prayer, and learn to trust God, you will have an intelligent experience. It was by praying without ceasing that Peter gained the victory, and when the angel went to bring him out, Peter was bound with two chains, and, behold, the angel of the Lord came forth, and smote Peter on the side, and said, ‘Rise up quickly.’ All the ruler’s expectations failed because the same mighty agent that Joshua summoned when he was to bring down the walls of Jericho, was with the men who were bound with chains. When Peter returned to his brethren, a free man, he found them praying, and this is the key to his deliverance,—they were praying. He knocked at the gate, but the maid who came to open it, ran back to the house in great astonishment without letting him in. They did not think that Peter was to be released from the prison. They had expected a deliverance of a different order, but God worked in His own way and after His own counsel, and brought him to the very door of those who were praying for him.” Review and Herald, April 29, 1890. (Emphasis supplied)

“Hear Thou Their Prayer and Their Supplication”

12 What specific requests were included in Solomon’s public prayer? 1 Kings 8:23, 26, 29–30, 35–36, 44–45, 51–53.

NOTE: “The prayer offered by Solomon during the dedication of the temple, was not made while he stood upon his feet. The king knelt in the humble position of a petitioner. Herein is a lesson for God’s people today. Our spiritual strength and our influence are not increased by conformity to a worldly attitude during prayer…. Let man come on bended knee, as a subject of grace, a suppliant at the footstool of mercy. Thus he is to testify that the whole soul, body, and spirit are in subjection to his Creator.” Review and Herald, November 30, 1905.

13 Of what may we be assured when we come before the throne of God in prayer? Psalm 65:2. (Read the whole Psalm.)

NOTE: “Jesus sees His true church on the earth, whose greatest ambition is to co-operate with Him in the grand work of saving souls. He hears their prayers, presented in contrition and power, and Omnipotence cannot resist their plea for the salvation of any tried, tempted member of Christ’s body…. Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for us. Through our Redeemer what blessings may not the true believer receive? The church, soon to enter upon her most severe conflict, will be the object most dear to God upon earth.” In Heavenly Places, 284.

Bible Study Guides – “Have Mercy Upon Me, O God, According to Thy Lovingkindness”

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January 27, 2001 – February 2, 2001

MEMORY VERSE: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13.

STUDY HELP: Steps to Christ, 23–35.

Introduction

“Our sins caused Jesus to die a shameful death, that through His sufferings and death we might receive pardon. Can we receive the forgiveness of sins before we feel that we are sinners? and before we realize the sinfulness of sin? I think not. When we repent before God of our sins sincerely, we shall feel that without the pardoning blood of Christ we must perish. If we cast ourselves in our wretchedness wholly upon the mercy of Christ, and feel that unless He saves us we perish; when we yield our own will, our own way, and plead for Jesus to control our will and actions, then we come into a position where we can receive and appreciate pardon and the forgiveness of sin.” An Appeal to the Youth, 67.

“I Had Not Known Sin but by the Law”

What has God given to mankind to explain what sin is? Romans 3:20, last part; Romans 7:7.

NOTE: “The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin.… ‘By the law is the knowledge of sin’ (Romans 3:20). In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern the defects of his own.” God’s Amazing Grace, 20.

Is a person condemned when he does not know he is breaking God’s law? Romans 5:13, last part. (Compare Romans 2:14, 15.)

NOTE: “In His sufferings and death Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance, but there is no provision made for willful blindness. We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception, but for that which we have resisted and refused. A man could not apprehend the truth which had never been presented to him, and therefore could not be condemned for light he had never had.” Last Day Events, 218.

“Thou Art the Man”

What means has God given for people to be convicted of their sins? John 16:7–9.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 52.

What means did the Lord use to convict David of sin? 2 Samuel 12:1–13.

NOTE: “The prophet Nathan’s parable of the ewe lamb, given to King David, may be studied by all.… While he was following his course of self-indulgence and commandment breaking, the parable of a rich man who took from a poor man his one ewe lamb, was presented before him. But the king was so completely wrapped in his garments of sin, that he did not see that he was the sinner. He fell into the trap, and… passed his sentence upon another man, as he supposed, condemning him to death.… This experience was most painful to David, but it was most beneficial. But for the mirror which Nathan held up before him, in which he so clearly recognized his own likeness, he would have gone on unconvicted of his heinous sin, and would have been ruined. The conviction of his guilt was the saving of his soul. He saw himself in another light, as the Lord saw him, and as long as he lived he repented of his sin.” Conflict and Courage, 179.

“Mine Iniquity Have I not Hid”

What did David do once he was convicted of his sin? Psalm 32:5, first part. (Compare Jeremiah 3:12, 13.)

NOTE: “David awakens as from a dream. He feels the sense of his sin. He does not seek to excuse his course, or palliate his sin, as did Saul; but with remorse and sincere grief, he bows his head before the prophet of God, and acknowledges his guilt.…” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1023. (See also Patriarchs and Prophets, 361.)

“Those who have not humbled their souls before God in acknowledging their guilt have not yet fulfilled the first condition of acceptance.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, 456.

In what words did David acknowledge his sin? Psalm 51:3, 4.

NOTE: “As soon as we consent to give sin up, to acknowledge our guilt, the barrier is removed between the soul and the Saviour.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 325.

“Whoso Confesseth and Forsaketh His Sins Shall Have Mercy”

While it is not God’s will that we should sin, what precious assurance is the sinner given? 1 John 2:1.

NOTE: “…it is not God’s will that you should be distrustful and torture your soul with the fear that God will not accept you because you are sinful and unworthy.… Present your case before Him, pleading the merits of the blood shed for you upon Calvary’s cross. Satan will accuse you of being a great sinner, and you must admit this, but you can say: ‘I know I am a sinner, and that is the reason I need a Saviour. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1 John 1:7. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (verse 9).’” Faith and Works, 105.

How specific should be our confession of sin? Leviticus 5:5.

NOTE: “True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty. Many, many confessions should never be spoken in the hearing of mortals; for the result is that which the limited judgement of finite beings does not anticipate.… God will be better glorified if we confess the secret, inbred corruption of the heart to Jesus alone than if we open its recesses to finite, erring man, who cannot judge righteously unless his heart is constantly imbued with the Spirit of God.… Do not pour into human ears the story which God alone should hear. The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity.” The Faith I Live By, 128.

“Let the Wicked Forsake His Way”

In addition to confessing our sins, what further condition must be met to obtain mercy from God? Proverbs 28:13.

NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 203.

“Satan does not want anyone to see the necessity of an entire surrender to God. When the soul fails to make this surrender, sin is not forsaken; the appetites and passions are striving for the mastery; temptations confuse the conscience, so that true conversion does not take place.” Evangelism, 317.

What precious promise is given to the one who is willing to forsake his sins? Isaiah 55:7.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 552.

“Search Me, O God”

What work was required of the people of Israel in preparation for the Day of Atonement? Leviticus 16:29, 31; Leviticus 23:27, 32.

NOTE: “We are now living in the great day of atonement.… All who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart.” God’s Amazing Grace, 69. (See also Our High Calling, 142.)

What prayer of David’s should be ours as we prepare to meet our God? Psalm 139:23, 24.

NOTE: “The enemy will come in, and try to draw our minds away from the important work to be done for this time. He will seek to keep us engaged on trivial matters, to make us think that it is our province to criticize and condemn others; but our work is to deal faithfully with our own souls. We must search our hearts and see if we are right in the sight of God.” Review and Herald, May 15, 1913. (See also Faith and Works, 75.)