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Diet, As It Was In The Days Of Noah

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Disease is everywhere. America is filled with chronic invalids. Disease has caused the health-care cost in America to sky-rocket. Look at the mess we are in! Obesity affects 34 million Americans and puts them at serious medical risk. It increases the chances for heart-disease, cancer of all kinds, diabetes, arthritis, and gall-bladder disease. A recent survey found that 40 to 50 percent of Americans between 35 and 59 years old were ” diet -ing.”

Then you have the problem of diabetes. There are an estimated 30 million diabetics in the world, and one-half of them are right here within the United States of America. This disease and its complications are responsible for 300,000 deaths a year. This disease is virtually non-existent in eighty percent of the world’s population because they cannot afford it! They cannot afford the steaks, the hamburgers; they cannot afford the hot dogs; they cannot afford the milk-shakes and the ice cream and all the fries and the pie.

Then we have a disease called hypertension or high blood-pressure that affects 35 million Americans within this country and another 25 million which are border-line hypertensive. Hypertension is the most important contributing factor in the 500,000 stroke cases reported each year.

Second only to cardiovascular disease, as the leading cause of death in the United States, is cancer. It accounts for twenty-three percent of all deaths with 514,000 fatalities each year. The latest survey just came out from the American Cancer Society showing how many new cases of cancer were seen each year. Do you know who leads the record across the nation? California! We can expect one in three to die with cancer within that state according to the records of 1994. It says that by the year 2000 one-third of all deaths in America will be caused by cancer.

And when there are no more answers or explanations for all the auto-immune diseases that are plaguing our country today, the specialists assign the name, syndrome, which actually means, we don’t know what is wrong. So we see Americans suffering from chronic-fatigue syndrome, irritable-bowl syndrome, sudden infant-death syndrome, and attention-deficit disorders.

Why all the disease? In July, 1988, a 712 page report was published by the Surgeon General of the United States of America, C. Everett Coop. The information that came out in this article dealt with diet and disease. The main conclusion was that Americans consume an excessive amount of food—specifically a diet that is too high in fat, calories, sugar, salt, and alcohol, and too low in fiber rich foods. His solution was to eat a high fiber starch-based diet filled with fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.

Today Americans are eating food that is filled with fat, filled with protein, filled with environmental contaminants, and this is responsible for many of the diseases and the deaths we see in the United States today. It is true, fatty foods are killing us! It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the cause of the problem. How about one scripture?

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” Matthew 24:38.

In verse 37 we read, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Do you believe Jesus Christ is coming soon? I do. Since He is coming soon, the prophecies of Christ should be real. And Christ said, if you would study your Bible, you would know what is happening in this world.

In Luke 21:31 it says Jesus says: “So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” In other words, there are going to be certain signs within the world that will let you know He is ready to come.

And then He says, “Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” Verse 32. And in verse 34 He tells us, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged [or filled up] with surfeiting, and drunkeness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Surfeiting and drunkeness were the words that Christ used. What is surfeiting? It’s an overabundance of food; drunkenness is an overabundance of drink. He is trying to tell us is that in the days just prior to His coming, the world is going to be eating too much, drinking too much, and being too concerned about themselves.

Phillipians 3:19 says: “Whose God is their belly.” They are so concerned about their own desires that they are not going to be ready for His coming!

The problem Jesus was addressing was over-indulgence. Appetite was gaining the mastery over the people. He warns us, “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:35. There is going to be a snare, and that snare is your appetite. Nobody escapes the temptation on appetite.

Christ urges us, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” According to the Word of God, there is going to be over-eating and over-drinking, and today we see obesity, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and people dying from over-indulgence of appetite. Do these things have something to do with being prepared for the coming of Christ? What does He mean, “Stand before the Son of man?” Does my appetite have anything to do with that?

In Isaiah 22:12 we read: “And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth.” It was a time of afflicting their souls.

The Lord is calling His people right now to look at themselves. But notice what the state of the world is according to the prophecy of Isaiah. “And behold joy and gladness—” everything’s fine! —”slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.” Verse 13. Leave me alone, man! I’m going to eat, I’m going to die someday, and I want to enjoy my life until I go. He is saying, The people should be preparing for My coming to stand in front of Me when I come. But yet they are eating flesh, drinking. It’s a party! We are eating like kings and queens everyday. We are slaves to our appetites.

Do you spend as much time studying your Bible as you do looking in the refrigerator? What is more important today? The Bible is! When is the last time you opened it?

I have not eaten meat in ten years, and the reason I don’t is because when my wife gave birth to our little baby girl, I began to do my home work—I began to study like never before. As I researched and looked for the best diet that I could possibly give to my child, I prayed and said, Lord, what is the best for my little girl? And He said, How about if I give it to you in one scripture? “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29. You mean to tell me that I need to become a vegetarian?

In Numbers 11 we find that God has led the children of Israel out of Egypt and He is trying to lead them into the promised land. It says in Numbers 11:1 that they complained and it displeased the Lord. In verse 4 it says that they “fell a-lusting.” The children of Israel were wandering in the desert for forty years and were complaining and lusting. What are they lusting for? Flesh! And what are they murmuring to God about? What didn’t they like? They did not like the manna, they did not like the diet that God had provided for His people.

It is interesting that as they ate manna-pizzas and the manna-cotti and manna-sandwiches and all these foods God made them—I do not read where they were sick! God was trying to march them into the promised land on a vegetarian diet—a very simple diet. But they complained. The Bible says that they lusted. They said, “But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.” Numbers 11:6.

Exodus 16:31 says, “And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was coriander seed, white; and the taste thereof was like wafers made with honey.” So God provided the diet that was best for His people and out of His goodness and His care for them, said, Do not eat of the flesh-pots of Egypt, they are not good for you.

Again in Numbers 11 we find that Moses is very upset. He asks, how can I handle all these people myself? I am trying to lead them into the promised land and they want to eat the diet of Egypt. Is God trying to lead us into the heavenly land today and we are eating the diet of America? “And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh . . . Therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils.” Verses 18–20. In other words, He knew that they were going to sit there and scarf the stuff up.

“And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought forth quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp . . . And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague” Verses 31–33.

The food they lusted for proved to be a curse. The story goes on in Psalms 78:26–29: “He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by His power He brought in the south wind. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea. And He let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. So they did eat, and were filled: for He gave them their own desire.”

God does not put a chain around your refrigerator; He does not put your tires flat when you want to go to McDonalds and get yourself a couple Big Macs—God does not do that. He lets you have your own desire, because He is a God of love and respects your choices.

But it says here, “They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.” Verses 30, 31. Isn’t it interesting that the Lord uses the words “fattest of them?” Perhaps He is saying, The one who had the greatest appetite, who was more of the glutton, the one that just ate, ate, ate, and ate—was the one that was smitten.

There is a point here. The scenario of what is going on is that God is trying to lead us into the Promised Land and we are murmuring for the diet of Egypt—for flesh. Yet God knows that the diet of Egypt, as with the standard American diet, is not the best for His people as He leads them into the Better Land.

Does your diet have anything to do with your state of mind? The children of Israel were lusting after the flesh. In other words, the flesh was controlling their reasoning to the extent that they would not follow God’s way. The Bible says, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. Have you ever had that problem? Knowing what is right, yet your body and flesh is pulling you in another direction and you cannot do what is right?

The apostle Paul knew this very well. He says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself might be a cast-away.” In others words, I do not want my flesh pulling me in a way that is contrary to the Word of God. I want my reason sanctified by His divine will. That is what a Christian is.

“As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be . . . They were eating and drinking.” Matthew 24:37, 38. It is not only that the time is short for us, but somebody else knows that the time is very, very short too. “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12. Christ is coming soon! And we do not have much time. Do you want to stand ready before God? Is your flesh controlling your mind? That is the big question: Is your flesh controlling your mind?

The devil is working in a thousand ways and in a thousand places. His efforts are ten-fold greater today, knowing that his time is short, to destroy as many people as he can. He is using our food supply, he is using the environment, he is using the water, he is using the chemicals you put under your arm, on your lips, and on your face. He is doing it through your clothing, he is doing it every way he can to kill you! He uses flesh foods, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, drugs, sugar, whatever he can to stimulate your fleshly desires and to cloud your mind.

“As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be . . . They were eating and drinking.” Matthew 24:37, 38. They are not prepared!

Paul gave us some of the most precious counsel in the Word of God with regards to this. He said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.” Romans 12:1. We are to present a living sacrifice—not a sick and diseased one!

There are things that we can be doing as a people. Do not make manure hamburgers, because there is more bacteria in the meat than there is in the manure of some of these animals today. Put away the coffee, put away the cigarettes, put away the high-fat diet, put away all the candy with the sugar that is rotting your teeth. Put it away! The next time you find that you cannot put away what you know is harmful to your body, watch out, because your stomach is controlling your head.

What did Paul say when he finished? He said, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2. Do you think that the Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, feeding on the quail until it came out of their nostrils, were giving glory to God?

Were they doing it His way? No they were not!

What do you want to do? It is your choice to make that decision. Do you want to serve God?
Our diet is killing us. I want you to think about this—the battle between the Spirit and the flesh. They are opposed.

I want you to think about this scripture that you have probably never looked at in this way. “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” This is what it says about His diet. “Butter and honey shall He eat.” Very simple—remember, Daniel had pulse and water, just two items. John the Baptist had locust and honey, just two items. Jesus had a very temperate diet here, “butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” Isaiah 7:14, 15. There it is! A very temperate, simple diet is necessary. A temperate life is necessary for us to make right moral decisions.

As I look at that statement in the Bible, I go back to Galatians 5:17. It says, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” But notice verse 16: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Isn’t that beautiful?

Does your diet affect your spiritual life? Does your diet affect your moral decisions? If I am not exercising and I am eating a high-fat diet, I am going to be sluggish and tired, my blood is not going to be circulating right, I am not going to get the oxygen to my mind. How can I make a proper moral decision?

Can diet affect your spirituality? “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” Ephesians 3:16. Where is He dwelling? In my arm? He is dwelling within the inner man, within my mind! He’s going to put His character and His life within me. It says “That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Verses 17–20.

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30.

The End

Children’s Story – Madison, God’s Beautiful Farm

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How it All Began

On a peaceful day in June 1904, Edward Alexander Sutherland and Ellen White, along with two of Mrs. White’s sons, boarded the steamboat Morning Star to travel down the Cumberland River. Their mission was twofold: (1) to find a suitable location for a training school for young black workers, and (2) to find a site for the training of the white young people in the area. The latter mission was led by Sutherland and his college friend Percy Magan.

As the steamboat neared the area of the Ferguson-Nelson farm, a site which had been considered for the training school, the boat’s machinery began to sound strange. Mrs. White noticed where they were and suggested that they go look the land over one more time, while the boat was repaired. Sutherland was not interested. He had seen the land before, and to him it held no promise. But when Mrs. White insisted he finally gave in.

As they approached the property, Mrs. White said that she recognized this as the place she had seen in vision for the training school. Amid the protests of both Sutherland and Magan, she urged them to purchase the place. The following day the two men hired a horse and buggy and drove out to the property. The two men surveyed the land. To them it looked like an unpromising rockpile. As they fell on their knees in prayer they felt courage pour into them. Never after did they doubt that the Lord was indeed leading them. Even though the price was much more than they had planned on spending, they put their faith in God and went forward.

Purchasing the School

The next step was to approach the Ferguson family for the purchase agreement and the contract. But from the start this was a struggle. The Ferguson’s, especially Mrs. Ferguson, were very much against northerners, Yankees, they called them. Percy Magan struggled and prayed with her and thought that he had finally made some headway, but a few hours later she was back to her stubborn attitude. Magan finally left, saying that he would be back until they got that farm.
In the meantime, Sutherland was in the north when he received a telegraph from Magan saying that the he had better come down because he was running into difficulty. Before Sutherland arrived Magan had another meeting with the Fergusons, and got a verbal agreement for the purchase, after a raise in price. With Mrs. White’s encouragement, they decided to pay the extra, and finally were able to get Mrs. Ferguson to sign the papers.

Starting the School

When the school began, the Ferguson’s refused to immediately give the plantation house over to the new residents. So those that came before the fall of the year had to live in barns and other outbuildings, in less than comfortable surroundings.

The servants’ quarters in the stable were dubbed ‘Probation Hall’. At one time or another almost everyone of the early faculty and students lived for a time in ‘Probation Hall’.

Their diet was very simple because their funds were so limited. They ate primarily cornpone, buttermilk, or milktoast, but few complained. They endured with cheerfulness.

Through all the hardships they grew to be a very close knit group—faculty and students. In the evenings they gathered in the parlor of the big plantation house to sit around the fireplace and discuss various topics. But throughout their conversations ran a consistent thread of dedication to the will of God.

By the spring of 1905 there were fifteen students, but the school was running low on funds. However the school never turned anyone down because they lacked the money to come. A number one principle at Madison was self-support. Each student was required to work to pay their tuition. The buildings which were erected for the school, were built by faculty and students.

The students followed a ‘One-Study’ plan of education. They devoted most of each day to one major subject. They students rotated through different lines of work until they received a well-rounded approach to many lines of work.

Through all the progress that the school had made there was a cloud hanging overhead. Sutherland was troubled that a sanitarium had still not been started.

The Sanitarium Work

Finally, one wonderful day, Sister White came to visit Madison. She and all the faculty were having a picnic when Sister White commented that the spot where they were would be wonderful for a sanitarium. She told them to step out in faith and mark the spot, which they did.

Before any of the sanitarium buildings could even be built, a businessman came from Nashville asking to be treated. The women protested that they had no facilities to treat him, but on his insistence they made makeshift quarters and agreed to treat him. As a result of their successful treatment of him, as well as their successful treatment of several smallpox cases, Madison Sanitarium gained a good reputation and soon it began to add substantially to the school’s income.

Progressing the Lord’s Work

One very important thing in Sutherland’s life was a vegetarian diet and he instituted one at Madison.

He wanted to create a health-food factory on campus as well. A health-food factory had been established not far from the school when it first began, but the factory was not at all successful. Now Sutherland was very impressed to purchase the machinery from the unused factory. The factory that he started on the campus greatly prospered providing one more avenue for the school’s support.

Several students who came to Madison went on to start small schools called ‘units’ in other areas of the south. Some of these schools still remain and prosper. Three students even went to Cuba and served there as missionaries for several years.

Over the next several years Madison continued to grow and prosper. The Lord blessed them with many workers. One in particular, Mrs. Lida Scott gave over a million dollars, as well as herself, to the work of the ‘units’ across the south.

In 1915 the death of Ellen White brought especial grief to the Sutherlands. They rested in the wonderful friendship they had shared with her, and the hope that they would soon meet again at Christ’s second coming.

Over the next eighteen years the school climbed to accreditation as a senior college. Madison’s influence spread far and wide. Their orchards and vineyards were flourishing on the land that had been considered hopeless, providing food to eat and can for the school.

In 1943 the school experienced the worst drought of anything since the school began. The faculty pled with the Lord and two days later the rain poured on the parched earth. They later found out that the rain was limited to the location right around the school. The rest of the surrounding area did not get relief for ten more days!

The Closing Years

In 1947 Percy Magan passed to his rest. Then in 1955 Edward A. Sutherland followed.
Madison continued as a model for many schools around the world but particularly in the south. And even though it was eventually forced to close its doors for lack of finances, Madison’s spirit lives on.

The End

A Lesson From Australia

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In 1888 our church leaders and a large proportion of the Seventh-day Adventist church rejected the message that God sent to us through A.T. Jones and E.J. Waggoner at the Minneapolis General Conference. Ellen White, A.T. Jones, and E.J. Waggoner traveled all over the United States preaching and teaching our people, attempting to reverse the tide that had been set in motion by our leaders, but it did not work. The majority of Adventists flessonsdid not accept the message of righteousness by faith. The General Conference leaders decided they needed to get Ellen White out of the way, so they suggested that she go to Australia. She had no light from the Lord that she should go, but she said at one time when she had no light from the Lord, she followed the counsel of the brethren (see appendix part A). This statement has been quoted all over the world, but she made another statement later that she believed that she had made a mistake in going to Australia. Later the General Conference brethren wanted to get her even farther out of the way so they suggested that she go to Africa, but she would not go (see appendix part B).

She came back to the United States in 1900, just in time for the greatest crisis that the Seventh-day Adventist church would go through, up to that time. It is reported that Ellen White said in Australia in 1896, that if we had accepted the message in 1888, we would have been in the Kingdom by then. It was during the 1890s, after we had rejected the message of righteousness by faith, that we started on the long way home to the Kingdom. The long way involved the building up of many institutions.

If you look at the history of Adventist institutions, you will find that most of our colleges started in the 1890s. The college at Keene started in the 1890s; the one at Lincoln and Walla Walla started in the 1890s too. Shortly afterwards, we had two crisis General Conferences in 1901 and 1903. After the 1903 General Conference, which Ellen White said was one of the deepest disappointments of her life, the Lord chose to institute another plan for finishing His work.

Ellen White, through Divine inspiration, authorized Dr. Sutherland and Magan to begin Madison College, a self-supporting institution which she said was not to be under the control of the conference (see appendix part C). God authorized self-supporting work, work that was not under the control of the conference, and it has been under attack by the devil ever since. When Ellen White was in Australia, she was instrumental in helping them start a model school. There were two schools that were established in Ellen White’s lifetime which she spoke of as model schools. One of them was the college at Avondale; the other one was Madison College.

I recently visited Avondale College with Elder O. K. Anderson. His father was very well acquainted with Ellen White. Elder Anderson showed us around the college and showed us the place where Ellen White saw a furrow in vision and knew that this was the sight that they needed to purchase. Elder Anderson’s father was contacted and he went and investigated this property. People thought that it would not grow anything, but it became a very fertile farmland in just a few years.

Ellen White directed them to plant an apple orchard, where today they have a ball field. They had a high-producing apple and persimmon orchard on this farm. Ellen White lived at Cooranbong, just a stone’s throw from where this college was established, from 1896 to 1900. Under her direction this college was established, and the Austral-Asian Division became a flagship division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The work progressed very rapidly; Ellen White visited both Australia and New Zealand and taught them that they had the responsibility of taking the Gospel to all of that region of the world. From Australia and New Zealand we sent missionaries to Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and to New Guinea. In addition to that, there are many small islands scattered throughout the Pacific. Before World War II, we had mission boats and our missionaries would travel from island to island.

The work was established in these islands at great sacrifice. Many of the missionaries that first went there lost their lives. We lost one of our missionaries in 1920 from Blackwater Fever. In 1966 there was a new convert to Adventism who wanted to take the Gospel to the islands, so he and his wife went to the islands. He was there for only eleven days when he was speared and lost his life. In 1988 we had a missionary who was shot and lost his life. Taking the gospel to these islands has not been without cost.

As the work progressed in these islands, everyone looked to Austral-Asia as a flagship division—a place where the Adventist work was progressing rapidly in purity. We had no idea what was going to happen, that this would be the division that would be the first to come under a tremendous attack through the new theology.

At the General Conference Session in 1980, H. M. S. Richards, Sr. referred to the possibility of losing a whole division. This attack began when Desmond Ford began to teach our ministers and theology students at Avondale College. A fight developed between Desmond Ford and many of our leading evangelists and pastors in Australia. These pastors and evangelists in Australia said that Desmond Ford was preaching heresy and something needed to be done about it. The interesting thing was that our organization would not do anything about it. Anyone in the Austral-Asian division that went to school after about 1960 was trained in this new theology. Ministers that were experienced said, “This is heresy!” But the church would not listen to them. However, it finally got so bad that something had to be done, so this is what was done:

People said, “He is just a big fish in a little pond over here in Australia. We’ll just ship him off to the United States and then he’ll be a little fish in a big pond and he won’t cause so much trouble.” So they transported the problem to the United States, and within a matter of months it became a worldwide problem. At that time Desmond Ford was “defrocked.” However, it was a situation in which outwardly he was defrocked, but actually instead he got control of a large portion of the Adventist church. New theology had already taken hold—it had taken hold in the 1940s and 1950s among some of the leading men in our seminary. In the mid 1950s we published the book Questions on Doctrine, and by the 1960s it was starting to take hold of the men who were teaching our ministers in the United States. By the 1980s it was everywhere, not just with the ministers, but all through the ranks of Adventism.

Let me just mention a few of the cardinal teachings of the new theology. The first and the main one is the teaching that you cannot keep the law of God perfectly. You can keep it, but you cannot keep it perfectly. Desmond Ford was grilled on this by his opponents; he would say, “Yes, I believe that you can keep the law of God.” So he was finally asked, “Do you believe that you can keep the law of God perfectly?” He said, “No, I don’t believe that you can keep the law of God perfectly.” That understanding is based on a certain understanding of the nature of Christ, original sin, what happened at the cross, and the meaning of the sanctuary. New theologists do not think that the Adventist doctrine concerning the sanctuary has any real relevance.

In 1979 Desmond Ford made the statement that he did not think that 1844 was relevant. If 1844 is not relevant, then our Sanctuary teaching from Daniel 8 and 9 and the book of Hebrews is not relevant. If that is not relevant, then you do not have any rational reason to be a Seventh-day Adventist, you might as well be a Seventh-day Baptist or something else. Of course, Ellen White would be a false prophet. Desmond Ford was forced to take a position on all of those things. He said that he did not believe that Ellen White had canonical authority (whatever that is)! He said that she had pastoral authority. That’s the same as denying the prophetic gift! A prophet has Divine authority!

This controversy exploded all over the United States, and we had a tremendous shaking in which we lost members from all of our large churches in the early 1980s. The effects of this liberal theology are still being felt in our conferences, institutions, and in the structure of the Seventh-day Adventist church today.

But this attack came first in Australia, and it has been there longer than any other place. The very same thing that happened there could happen in the United States if we are not thinking correctly. In Australia, as this fight between Historic Adventism and the new theology went throughout the churches, there were many ministers and laymen who were concerned, so they began to fight this liberal theology.

Colin Standish, Ron Spear, Marshall Grosboll and a number of other Historic Adventist preachers went throughout Australia preaching against this new theology. They preached about things like the nature of Christ, the Sanctuary, the Spirit of Prophecy, and all of these things that pointed out the difference between Historic Adventism and the new theology. They would get crowds of people—over a thousand—at these different meetings. By the time I was there in 1988 you were not getting crowds of over a thousand, but you could get crowds of several hundred sincere, Christian people.

But a terrible thing happened in Australia. I want to describe to you as briefly as I can, without mentioning any names, what happened. Preachers went around Australia preaching about this terrible apostasy. They preached the doctrines of Historic Adventism, and the people believed it. But there was one fatal flaw, and if we do not learn our lesson, the same thing that is happening there will happen in other places. Here is what many preachers were telling the people: “In spite of all this apostasy, in spite of this new theology, the church is the church.” Have you ever heard that expression? “The church is the church.”

What do people mean when they say that “the church is the church?” This organized church, this conference structure—that is the church, and you have to stay in there and fight it out. Let us just think this through a little bit. Suppose that you are in a mental and a spiritual battle with the forces of darkness. You are supposed to fight it out, but when you go to fight it out, all you can do is sit in the pew—you cannot say anything! The other side has the pulpit and control of who speaks all the time. Who do you think is going to win?

In Revelation 3, what is the big problem among the people of God in the last days? They think they are all right! People got the idea, “I’m not part of the new theology, I believe the Historic Adventist doctrines, but I’m going to stay here.” So they stayed; they kept going to church. And over a period of time their convictions, their fervor, their zeal, their burden for lost souls just seemed to disappear. Why? Because of the preaching they were listening to. Don’t you ever let anybody tell you that where you go to church and what kind of preaching you listen to has no affect on your soul’s salvation. It does!! If you go listen to people that are preaching the new theology or easy-going sermons, it is going to have an affect on you. God is not going to work a miracle to cover up or take away the effect of your presumption, when you go and listen to that kind of preaching.

Do you know what has happened in Australia today? I have talked to some very concerned people who have been there and watched this whole thing develop, some have even lost their own children! They decided that they needed to keep going to these churches. The new theology people had control of the pulpit, and as they kept going there year after year after year, finally they got calmed down. And at the same time they got calmed down, the apostasy got worse.

There are still some today who are trying to tell the people that they need to stay in the conference churches. They have had evangelists come in from the United States who have had evangelistic meetings, and they have had twenty to twenty-five people get ready for baptism. But they said, “We’ve got to keep these people in the church structure; take them to a conference church.” And after a few months, they do not have anything to show for. Either the people leave the church, or what is even worse, they become Laodicean, they get calmed down. There is almost no protest going against the apostasy.

I spoke at three different places in Australia, and in every place that I spoke, it was a place that just happened to have a home church, and so people came. These people were still alive spiritually, they were not totally asleep. The places that are still alive are the places where there are home churches. We need to pray for a miracle in Australia; it used to be one of the strongest divisions in Adventism, and, at the present time, it is one of the weakest.

I do not want to see what happened in Australia happen here in the United States. We are going to have to tell everyone, “You cannot keep going where the new theology is being preached and people say, Just believe in the Lord, trust Him! Everything will be all right.” If you go and listen to that, you will get calmed down and will go to sleep. Jude 3 says that we are to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. The word contend literally means fight. There is a time to fight; there is a worldwide battle going on in Adventism. If you just sit and get calmed down, the devil will put you to sleep and the end result will be that you will lose your soul.

Here is what has developed in the Austral-Asian Division. Eight years ago, when all this was going on in Australia that I described, I was over there for the first time. I was told that all of these awful things that are going on in Australia and New Zealand had not gotten out to the islands. How long do you think that would last if things keep getting worse in Australia, which calls the shots in the islands? It should not be impossible to figure out that the time is coming when the same thing that is going on in Australia and New Zealand is going to start up in the islands; it did in the early 1990s. The same thing that has happened in Australia and New Zealand is now taking place in the islands.

But there is one difference: Evan Sadler has been up to these islands and they have figured out that they have to stay together as a church. You have to have a church of people that believe the same way, you have to meet together, exhort one another, and help one another get to Heaven. You cannot stay in an apostate church! We are hoping that we will have a completely different outcome in the islands. There has been an effort to crush the revival and reformation movement in all the islands, but it has not been possible. God has raised up people to proclaim the Adventist message in Fiji, Vanuatu, in the Solomon Islands, and in Papua New Guinea.

In Papua New Guinea, when Livingston Kul was raised up by the Lord to preach, he did not intend to be a preacher. He already had a very good job, a nice home and was better off than most of the people on the island. He left his good job and went to get trained to be a minister. Not too long ago, Livingston Kul got in trouble with the conference because he was preaching the Three Angels’ Messages on the street. There were so many Roman Catholics that were listening to him that one of the Catholic clergy went and talked to one of the leaders of the Adventist mission. The president of the Adventist mission called Pastor Kul into his office and told him, “We want you to quit preaching on the street.” Livingston Kul was convicted that he was doing what the Lord wanted him to do, so he said, “I will never, never, never quit!” A short time afterwards the Adventist mission did not have any money to pay him anymore.

Now he was without a job and he did not know what to do, so he started praying. The Lord led him to start teaching laymen how to be street preachers, and he has organized a force of street evangelists. Seventeen people were disfellowshipped because they were supporting Livingstone Kul and all these street preachers. When they were disfellowshipped, eight churches said, “We’re going with them.” Now the revival and reformation movement has about twenty churches. These lay preachers are going out and they are shaking Papua New Guinea.

Right now they are going through a similar experience to what Australia went through fifteen years ago. I hope that the outcome will be much different. What is it that will make the outcome different? You must gather all the people that want to do the Lord’s will and organize. You need to have regular meetings and organize for evangelism.

One of the things I learned when I visited Australia was that if I want my religious experience to stay hot, I have something to do. I need to be part of a church that has regular meetings, that is organized and has discipline, where we help each other get to heaven.

The purpose of the church is two-fold. 1. We are to send out a warning message to a lost world in an organized way. 2. We are to help those inside the church get ready for heaven. Where you are going to church is either helping you get ready for heaven or for hell—one or the other. It would be better to be in a little home church with six or eight people and be helping each other get ready for heaven, than to be in a great big church and just sit down and warm the pew and lose your Christian experience. Ellen White said that it was difficult to maintain a high level of Christian experience in large churches. The small churches are where the action has always been.

It is the little home church where people meet together regularly to pray and to study the word, to encourage and help each other get ready for heaven, to send out the warning message to the world—that is the places where people are going to be ready for heaven. I want to be in a place like that, do you? I want to take advantage of all the spiritual opportunities the Lord gives us, to help each other to have discipline and order, and to be ready for heaven.

 

Appendix

PART A – Australia

I have not, I think, revealed the entire workings that led me here to Australia. Perhaps you may never fully understand the matter. The Lord was not in our leaving America. He did not reveal that it was His will that I should leave Battle Creek. The Lord would have had W.C. White, his mother, and her workers remain in America. . . There was so great a willingness to have us leave, that the Lord permitted this thing to take place. Those who were weary of the testimonies borne were left without the persons who bore them. Our separation from Battle Creek was to let men have their own will and way, which they thought superior to the way of the Lord. . . . It was not the Lord who devised this matter. I could not get one ray of light to leave America. 1888 Materials, 1622, 1623

PART B – Africa

Elder Olsen, I wish to say to you, You must not make any calculation for me to go to Africa, I see no light and consistency in such a move. . . . I have not the slightest inclination to go to Europe or to visit Africa, and I have not one ray of light that I should go. I am willing to go where ever the Lord indicates my duty, but I am not willing to go at the voice of the Conference unless I see my own way closer to do so. 1888 Materials, 1263

PART C – Madison

The Lord has instructed me that, from the first, the work in Huntsville and Madison should have received adequate help. But instead of this help being rendered promptly there has been long delay. And in the matter of the Madison school, there has been a standing off from them because they were not under the ownership and control of some Conference. This is a question that should sometimes be considered, but it is not the Lord’s plan that means should be withheld from Madison, because they are not bound to the conference. The attitude which some of our brethren have assumed toward this enterprise shows that it is not wise for every working agency to be under the dictation of conference officers. There are some enterprises under certain conditions, that will produce better results if standing alone. Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 202

The Lord does not set limits about His workers in some lines as men are wont to set. In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld form them because in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered. Madison School, 31, 32

The Need for Union Conferences

There is need of a most earnest, thorough work to be carried forward now in all our churches. We are now to understand whether all our printing plants and all our sanitariums are to be under the control of the General Conference. I answer, Nay. It has been a necessity to organize union conferences, that the General Conference shall not exercise dictation over all the separate conferences. The power vested in the Conference is not to be centered in one man, or two men, or six men; there is to be a council of men over the separate divisions. Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 279

The End

Has God Ordained Independent Self Supporting Work ?

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The idea of independent self-supporting work is very old. Some people think that it has existed only within the last few years. There were independent self-supporting workers in Bible times. We do not mean independent in the sense of a person going off and doing his own thing. God’s people are never independent in that sense.

We need to understand the word “independent.” In Matthew 24:3, 4 the disciples came to Jesus and said: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” And what did Jesus answer? “Take heed that no man deceive you.” The first thing that Jesus said when they asked for the sign of his coming and the end of the world was “Be careful that someone does not deceive you.”

By What Authority?

The Bible teaches that in the multitude of counselors there is safety. In Bible times God’s people counseled with one another. They counsel with other people whom the Lord is leading, and they work together. That is the way things are done in heaven. The angels are organized. And all of God’s work is organized. If we are not organized, the Lord cannot work with us, the angels cannot work with us, and we cannot have the success that the Lord wants to give us.

When I say independent I mean independent from the control of the denomination. Has God authorized independent self-supporting work? Matthew 21:23 says: “And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?” Have you ever heard that question asked? “Who gave you authority to do this? Has your meeting been authorized? Is your preacher duly credentialed? Have you been given permission to give Bible studies?”

Are you authorized to do what you are going to do? Is there a conference representative on your board? Have you been given permission? Have you been recognized? Often the conclusion is that since you have not been authorized, you are against the church.

Eventually it comes to a threat. “If you cannot follow directions, you are going to be disfellowshiped, or your ordination is going to have to be taken away, and you will not be part of the church.”

Let us read again Matthew 21:23. They asked: “By what authority?” Did Jesus have authority from the Sanhedrin? No, He did not. Did He have a certificate from any of the schools? No. Did John the Baptist? No, he did not have one either. Neither John the Baptist nor Jesus had permission from the “right sources” to do what they were doing. They were not authorized. Their meetings were not authorized. Their ministries were not authorized. See The Desire of Ages, 132, 133.

Friends, I want you to see how current this subject is. In a paper published March 30, 1991, which states ten questions that people ought to ask to find out whether they should listen to someone or not. The third question is: “Are you authorized by the General Conference Committee?” If someone had asked you that question in Jesus’ day, would you have gone to listen to Jesus? Would you have gone to listen to John the Baptist? Let us go back a little farther. If someone had asked you that question in Isaiah’s day, would you have gone to listen to him? Would you have gone to listen to Elijah? Would you have gone to listen to Elisha? If that question would have caused you to reject the Messiah; if it would have caused you to reject John the Baptist—the greatest of the prophets, I wonder if that is a good question to ask today.

This is the question that we need to ask today: “Has God authorized independent self-supporting work?” Jesus was challenged as to His authority. “Who gave you the authority to do this? Who gave you the authority to teach? Who gave you the authority to come here to the temple and talk in public?”

Please notice how Jesus answered that question: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.” Matthew 21:24–27.

Notice what Jesus did here. They asked Jesus: “Who gave you the authority to do what you are doing? Where did you get permission?” And Jesus led them back in the providence of God to the time of John the Baptist. He said: “Where was the authority for the baptism of John? Was it from heaven? or was it human authority?” Suppose they had answered the truth. They knew the answer to the question, but they thought that telling the truth would get them in trouble. One of the great shocks that I had as a young minister was being in a meeting with other young ministers when a man in a very high position in the church said to us, “Do not do this, because if you do, you will make us tell a lie.” Well, that is the way the priests and elders who came to Jesus felt. “If we tell the truth, Jesus will get us in trouble in public, and we will be embarrassed.” If they had told the truth, saying that the baptism of John was from heaven, what would Jesus have said? Did John the Baptist recognize who Jesus was? He told everybody who Jesus was. “I [John the Baptist] . . . bare record that this is the Son of God.” John 1:34. If they had recognized that John the Baptist’s authority came from Heaven, their question as to where Jesus’ authority came from would had been answered. But since they did not want that answer, they told a lie.

The answer to the question, “Has God authorized independent self-supporting work?” is the same today as it was in Jesus’ day. The way to find the answer to the question is to go back in the providence of God, and see what He has authorized or done in the past.

Protestant or Catholic?

Do you understand the difference between a Protestant and a Roman Catholic? For a Protestant the highest authority is God’s Word, and underneath it is every other authority, including the authority of the church. Ellen White said that Jesus was a Protestant, she was a Protestant, Adventists are Protestants, and if you and I are Seventh-day Adventists, we should be Protestants also. For a Roman Catholic the supreme authority is the authority of the church, and even the Bible is underneath the church’s authority. That is the difference between a Protestant and a Roman Catholic. You have to understand that if you want to understand this subject.

In 1888 we reached a crisis point in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Read from the book Testimonies to Ministers what happened then. One of the primary problems that the Seventh-day Adventist Church had in 1888 was that of finite men putting themselves in God’s place. They took a Roman Catholic position. “Finite men should beware of the control of their fellow men, taking the place assigned to the Holy Spirit. Let not men feel that it is their prerogative to give to the world what they suppose to be truth, and refuse that anything should be given contrary to their ideas. This is not their work. Many things will appear distinctly as truth which will not be acceptable to those who think their own interpretations of the Scripture always right. Most decided changes will have to be made in regard to ideas which some have accepted as without a flaw. These men give evidence of fallibility in very many ways; they work upon principles which the Word of God condemns. That which makes me feel to the very depths of my being, and makes me know that their works are not the works of God, is that they suppose they have authority to rule their fellow men. The Lord has given them no more right to rule others than He has given others to rule them. Those who assume the control of their fellow men take into their finite hands a work that devolves upon God alone.

“That men should keep alive the spirit which ran riot at Minneapolis is an offense to God. All heaven is indignant at the spirit that for years has been revealed in our publishing institution at Battle Creek.” Testimonies to Ministers, 76.

Do you want to manifest the spirit that causes all heaven to be indignant at what you are doing? It happened in our work in the 1880s, and it reached the crisis point at Minneapolis in 1888—the idea of finite men trying to control and rule God’s work.

Divine Counsel

“There are men whose character and life testify to the fact that they are false prophets and deceivers. These we are not to hear or tolerate . . . Men can become just as were the Pharisees—wide-awake to condemn the greatest Teacher that the world ever knew . . . There are those who are today doing the very same things . . .

“These men who presume to judge others should take a little broader view and say, Suppose the statements of others do not agree with our ideas; shall we for this pronounce them heresy? Shall we, uninspired men, take the responsibility of placing our stakes, and saying, This shall not appear in print? . . .

“Has not our past experience in these things been sufficient?” Notice the next sentence: “Will we ever learn?” Does it sound as if the prophet is frustrated? She says: “Will we ever learn the lessons which God designs we shall learn? Will we ever realize that the consciences of men are not given into our command? If you have appointed committees to do the work which has been going on for years in Battle Creek, dismiss them; and remember that God, the infinite God, has not placed men in any such positions as they occupied at Minneapolis, and have occupied since then.

“I feel deeply over this matter of men being conscience for their fellowmen.” Ibid., 294, 295. This took place at the General Conference level. What about in the local church, or the conference?

“A strange thing has come into our churches. Men who are placed in positions of responsibility that they may be wise helpers to their fellow workers have come to suppose that they were set as kings and rulers in the churches, to say to one brother, Do this; to another, Do that; and to another, Be sure to labor in such and such a way. There have been places where the workers have been told that if they did not follow the instruction of these men of responsibility, their pay from the conference would be withheld.” Ibid., 477.

“I write thus fully, because I have been shown that ministers and people are tempted more and more to trust in finite man for wisdom, and to make flesh their arm. To conference presidents, and men in responsible places, I bear this message: Break the bands and fetters that have been placed upon God’s people. To you the word is spoken, ‘Break every yoke.’ Unless you cease the work of making man amenable to man, unless you become humble in heart, and yourselves learn the way of the Lord as little children, the Lord will divorce you from His work.” Ibid., 480, 481.

Oh, friends, I do not want God to divorce me from His work, do you? If I lose everything else in this world, I do not want to lose the Lord.

This problem did not cease at Minneapolis. We reached a crisis point at that time, but it did not cease at Minneapolis in 1888. “The prejudices and opinions that prevailed at Minneapolis are not dead by any means; the seeds sown there in some hearts are ready to spring into life and bear a like harvest. The tops have been cut down, but the roots have never been eradicated, and they still bear their unholy fruit to poison the judgment, pervert the perceptions, and blind the understanding of those with whom you connect, in regard to the message and the messengers.” Ibid., 467.

I hope that you have seen from these statements that the SDA Church in 1888 was in the midst of a gigantic apostasy from truth. And what did this apostasy involve? It involved men in positions of responsibility dictating and controlling what other people should do. The problem came when some men had convictions about how something should be done, but they could not carry them out. They were men trying to do God’s work, and were not able to do what in their consciences they thought they should do, because they were receiving orders and instructions from men of responsibility who said: “We are in authority and you are going to do it this way.”

Self-Supporting Work Begins

Because of this gigantic apostasy there were sincere-hearted men in the Seventh-day Adventist Church who found it impossible to carry out God’s instructions within the denomination. This dilemma eventually led to what we call today self-supporting work.

Apparently, the educational work was the first to be reformed on a self-supporting basis. Two young men named Sutherland and Magan were trying to follow the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy in regard to education, and found it impossible to do so. The development of self-supporting work at Madison, Tennessee, came into being because our church leaders would not listen to the counsel from the Spirit of Prophecy about God’s method of education.

“A great many of the difficulties that have come into our work in California and elsewhere have come in through a misunderstanding on the part of men in official positions concerning their individual responsibility in the matter of controlling and ruling their fellow laborers. Men entrusted with responsibilities have supposed that their official position embraced very much more than was ever thought of by those who placed them in office, and serious difficulties arose as the result.

Church Organization

“Simple organization and church order are set forth in the New Testament Scripture.” Paulson Collection, 298.

If your church organization is not following the New Testament plan, it is not divinely inspired.

In the book of Galatians, is the apostle Paul writing to a world-headquarters organization, or is he writing to the believers in the church in Galatia? He is writing to the brethren in the local churches. See Galatians 1:2. What is he telling them? “And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person).” Galatians 2:4–6. The New Testament teaching is that if someone comes to your church, wherever he comes from, if he says something not in line with the truth, you should oppose it.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8. Paul says that even if an angel from heaven comes to tell you something that is contrary to truth, oppose it in a Christlike manner. That is the New Testament position.

“Simple organization and church order are set forth in the New Testament Scriptures, and the Lord has ordained these for the unity and perfection of the church.” Paulson Collection, 298.

The Work of a Leader

I want you to see what the Lord says is the rightful position for a leader. “The man who holds office in the church should stand as [1] a leader, as [2] an adviser and [3] a counselor and [4] helper.” Ibid.

But here is what the leader should not do. “But he is not appointed to order and command the Lord’s laborers. The Lord is over His heritage. He will lead His people if they will be led of the Lord in the place of assuming a power God has not given them.” Ibid.

“Position does not give a man kingly authority. The meekness of Christ is a wonderful lesson given to the fallen world. Learning this meekness from the great Teacher, the worker will become Christlike.” Ibid., 298, 299.

As I study this subject my great desire is that the work that I do for Jesus will become Christlike. Do you want your work for Jesus to become Christlike? If that is going to happen, we must humble ourselves. I am very concerned, because as I study I realize that unless you and I learn a lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross, we will not be saved. See The Desire of Ages, 83, 84.

Because of these problems with kingly authority, the rule-or-ruin principle, the desire to control others, Ellen White began to encourage self-supporting work. She helped to set up a self-supporting school near Madison, Tennessee. She counseled them to incorporate, and she told them to remain separate from the General Conference. The basic issues were always the same.

Sutherland and Magan, the founders of Madison, were opposed by the General Conference, and especially by the president of the General Conference. He said, in effect, “You should not work independent of the Conference, and you must not ask Seventh-day Adventists for any money to do a project which the General Conference has no vote or control over.” That was the issue.

On May 14, 1907, Ellen White wrote to Magan from Loma Linda, California, she said: “I bare positive testimony that you and your fellow workers in Madison are doing the work that God has appointed to you . . . The attitude of opposition or indifference on the part of some of your brethren has created conditions that have made your work more difficult than it should have been. You have not received from some many words of encouragement, but the Lord is pleased that you have not been easily discouraged.

“Some have entertained the idea that because the school at Madison is not owned by a conference organization, those who are in charge of the school should not be permitted to call upon our people for the means that is greatly needed to carry on their work. This idea needs to be corrected. In the distribution of the money that comes into the Lord’s treasury, you are entitled to [a] portion just as verily as are those connected with other needy enterprises that are carried forward in harmony with the Lord’s instruction.” Spalding-Magan Collection, 411.

“The Lord does not set limits about his workers in some lines as men are wont to set. In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld from them because in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered . . .

“The Lord does not require that the educational work at Madison shall be changed all about before it can receive the hearty support of our people. The work that has been done there is approved of God.” Special Testimonies, Series B. No. 11, 31, 32.

Did God approve of independent, self-supporting work in 1907? He did be- cause of the difficulties that we were experiencing as a church. People could not follow the dictates of their conscience and follow the counsels of the Lord, because their brethren would not let them do so within the organization. That was the precise problem. It cannot be denied by anyone who candidly looks at the evidence.

“The work that has been done there is approved of God, and He forbids that this line of work shall be broken up.” Ibid. These words are strong. Did you read the second part of that sentence?

When Madison was organized, Ellen White did not permit its leaders to place themselves under the control of the conference. She said: “God forbids that this line of work shall be broken up.” Today I see people who say: “Well, unless you have somebody from the conference on your board, you should not be recognized.” That counsel is directly contrary to the divine plan.

“The Lord will continue to bless and sustain the workers so long as they follow His counsel.” Ibid. The emphasis is not on whom you are associated with; the emphasis is, Are you following the divine counsel? Are you following the truth? That was the position of the apostle Paul.

Ellen White was very emphatic about how the title should be held and where the controls of this property at Madison should be.

P. T. Magan’s diary, August 8,1904: He says that he “worked with W. C. White during the forenoon getting articles and plans ready regarding the incorporation of the school at Nashville. In the afternoon he met with Daniells, the General Conference president, Prescott, field secretary of the General Conference, Griggs, Washburn, Byrd, and W. C. White to consider our plan of organization. Daniells did not like it.”

We ought to think about that a little while. Here is a plan that the Spirit of Prophecy had authorized and said to follow, but the General Conference president does not like it.

“Prescott thought that we traveled too much; so did Daniells. Bland thought other teachers would envy our independence and would like to do likewise.”

August 9, 1904, one day later: “Talk with Mrs. E. G. and W. C. White regarding our plan for organization. She said we were not to go under the dominion of the Southern Union Conference.”

April 14, 1906: “Spent forenoon with Daniells . . . Told him why our school was independent and would have to eat shewbread.”

May 7, 1907, Paradise Valley: “Talked with Sister White regarding attitude of General Conference toward us. Mrs. Sara McEnterfer and Lillian present. Told Sister White that the administration held we had no right to go and get money unless we were owned by the conference. She replied: ‘You are doing double what they are. Take all the donations you can get. The money belongs to the Lord and not to these men. The position they take is not of God. The Southern Union Conference is not to own or control you. You cannot turn things over to them.’” Why? Because when things were turned over to them, they forced people to go against their conscience and not follow the counsels.’”

May 14,1907: “I talked to her [E. G. White] about the General Conference position that concerns non-conference owned [institutions] should have no money. She answered: ‘Daniells and those with him are taking a position on this matter that is not of God.’ She said she had something written on this and would try to find it.” We have just refered to it in the Spalding-Magan Collection, 411.

May 23, 1907, St. Helena. “Spent the forenoon with W. C. White. He gave me Sister White’s letters to Daniells regarding us. He told me he did not agree with the administration at Washington in insisting that all monies pass through their hands. Said that he would not agree to our going under conference domination.”

Ellen White wrote on January 19, 1907: “Today I have been carrying a heavy burden on my heart . . . You have a work to do to encourage the school work in Madison, Tennessee . . . all in their power to hold up the hands of these workers by encouraging and supporting the work at the Madison school. Means should be appropriated to the needs of the work in Madison—that the labor of the teachers may not be so hard in the future.” Spalding-Magan Collection, 395, 396.

I want to ask some questions. This self-supporting school that was begun in Madison, Tennessee, around the turn of the century, was it a Seventh-day Adventist school? Yes, it was. Here is a school not owned or controlled or operated by the conference, but it is a Seventh-day Adventist school. It was not some school owned by some other church. These people were Seventh-day Adventists. The sanitarium that was started at Madison, was this a Seventh-day Adventist sanitarium? Was it owned and operated by the conference? No, it was self-supporting. It was independent from the conference, but it was Seventh-day Adventist. Did they later start a printing operation? Did Madison start many self-supporting schools and sanitariums and print shops all over that area of the United States? Yes. And were those printing shops that were self-supporting and not owned and controlled by the conference, were they Seventh-day Adventist? Yes.

Starting a New Church?

Is it then possible for a local church that is not controlled or operated by the conference to be a self-supporting congregation and still be Seventh-day Adventist? It most certainly is. I am not telling people to separate from a conference church. But people have been forced to do that because of repeated influences which are detrimental to the spiritual welfare of their family. Were Sutherland and Magan starting a new church when they started a self-supporting school? No. They just wanted to follow God’s counsel. If you must go to a homechurch because of the apostasy, if you are not recognized by the conference, are you still Seventh-day Adventists? Yes, they are. Has God authorized that? Yes, He has. Any area of God’s work, even if it is self-supporting, can still be Seventh-day Adventist, even if it is not connected or controlled by the conference.

Individual Responsibility

Whenever this topic is being discussed, the subject of tithe inevitably comes up. Remember what I quoted earlier from a Seventh-day Adventist paper dated March 30, 1991. “All genuine independent ministries will encourage their supporters to return their tithe and offerings to the appropriate channels.” Let us examine the validity of this statement.

You cannot have a candid discussion about self-supporting work without discussing finances; it is impossible. God is not raining manna from heaven to support us today. However, He has given us guidelines and told us what we should do, and how His work is to be supported. Do you think that God has designed for any work to be done and not planned how He would support it? Can you comprehend such a thing? For each kind of work that God wants to be done, He has figured out how it is to be supported.

Did God have a plan how His ministers would be supported? Yes, He did. Did He have a plan how literature evangelists would be supported? Yes, He did. Did He have a plan how sanitariums would be supported? Yes, He did. Did He have a plan how Bible workers should be supported? Yes, He did. Now do you think it would be at all safe for you or me to try to figure out our own way to support God’s work instead of following God’s directions? Do you think that would be safe?

Inspiration has given us this solemn warning regarding our responsibility in the support of God’s work: “If God pronounces a woe upon those who are called to preach the truth and refuse to obey, a heavier woe rests upon those who take upon them this sacred work without clean hands and pure hearts. As there are woes for those who preach the truth while they are unsanctified in heart and life, so there are woes for those who receive and maintain the unsanctified in the position which they cannot fill.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 552.

“I call upon God’s people to open their eyes. When you sanction or carry out the decisions of men who, as you know, are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lose your relish for communion with God.” Testimonies to Ministers, 91.

When efforts were made to urge writers to return to the conference or publishing house all of the profits derived from their writing, Sister White counseled, “The Lord has made us individually His stewards. We each hold a solemn responsibility to invest this means ourselves . . .

“While it is not your own property that you are handling, yet you are made responsible for its wise investment, for its use or abuse. God does not lay upon you the burden of asking the conference or any counsel of men whether you shall use your means as you see fit to advance the work of God in destitute towns and cities, and impoverished localities.” Pamphlets in the Concordance, vol. 2, 467.

Counsels on Finances at Madison

When Madison was started, the comments in the diaries showed that one of the main points of contention between the General Conference and those who were trying to start Madison was over money.

Inspiration has given us no right to feel that all the means should be handled through one organization.

“All the means are not to be handled by one agency or organization . . . To those in our conferences who have felt that they had authority to forbid the gathering of means in certain territory I now say: This matter has been presented to me again and again. I now bear my testimony in the name of the Lord to those whom it concerns. Wherever you are, withhold your forbiddings. The work of God is not to be thus trammeled . . . This wonderful burden of responsibility which some suppose God has placed upon them with their official position, has never been laid upon them.” Spalding-Magan Collection, 421, 422.

“You ask me what you shall do in view of the fact that so little help is given to that department of the work in which you are working.

“I would say, ‘Trust it with the Lord. There is a way opened for you in regard to securing help for the Southern field. Appeal to the people. This is the only course you can pursue, under the circumstances.

“Send no statement of the situation through our religious papers; because it will not be honored. Send direct to the people. God’s ways are not to be counterworked by man’s ways. There are those who have means, and who will give large and small sums. Have this money come direct to your destitute portion of the vineyard. The Lord has not specified any regular channel through which means should pass.’” Ibid., 498.

If we cannot understand language as plain as that, I do not know what we will do.

Because of the great apostasy, God authorized independent, self-supporting work as one of the means through which He would finish His work. Do not let anybody tell you that self-supporting work is not Seventh-day Adventist, that something that is not controlled, directed or authorized by the conference is not Seventh-day Adventist. It is. A self-supporting school can be Seventh-day Adventist, a self-supporting sanitarium can be Seventh-day Adventist, a self-supporting printing press can be Seventh-day Adventist, and a self-supporting local congregation can be Seventh-day Adventist. The important thing is to test the work by what Paul says in Galatians 2. Is it according to the truth? If it is according to the truth of inspiration, you can depend on it.

Whatever happens, one of these days very soon the truth is going to triumph. When the truth triumphs, I want to be with it, do you? Let us dedicate ourselves in prayer to be faithful to the truth no matter what happens.

Appendix

“There are ministers’ wives, Sisters Starr, Haskell, Wilson, and Robinson, who have been devoted, earnest, whole-souled workers, giving Bible readings and praying with families, helping along by personal efforts just as successfully as their husbands. These women give their whole time, and are told that they receive nothing for their labors because their husbands receive their wages. I tell them to go forward and all such decisions shall be reversed. The Word says, “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” When any such decision as this is made, I will in the name of the Lord, protest. I will feel it in my duty to create a fund from my tithe money, to pay these women who are accomplishing just as essential work as the ministers are doing, and this tithe I will reserve for work in the same line as that of the ministers, hunting for souls, fishing for souls. I know that the faithful women should be paid wages proportionate to the pay received by ministers. They carry the burden of souls, and should not be treated unjustly. These sisters are giving their time to educating those newly come to the faith, and hire their own work done, and pay those who work for them. All these things must be adjusted and set in order, and justice be done to all. Proof-readers in the office receive their wages, two dollars and a half and three dollars a week. This I have had to pay, and others have to pay. But ministers’ wives have nothing for their labor. This will give you an idea of how matters are in this conference. There are seventy-five souls organized into a church, who are paying their tithe into the conference, and as a saving plan it has been deemed essential to let these poor souls labor for nothing! But this does not trouble me, for I will not allow it to go thus.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 117, 118

“It has been presented to me for years that my tithe was to be appropriated by myself to aid the white and colored ministers who were neglected and did not receive sufficient properly to support their families. When my attention was called to aged ministers, white or black, it was my special duty to investigate into their necessities and supply their needs. This was to be my special work, and I have done this in a number of cases. No man should give notoriety to the fact that in special cases the tithe is used that way.

“In regard to the colored work in the South, that field has been and is still being robbed of the means that should come to the workers of that field. If there has been cases where our sisters have appropriated their tithe to the support of the ministers working for the colored people in the South, let every man, if he is wise, hold his peace.

“I have myself appropriated my tithe to the most needy cases brought to my notice. I have been instructed to do this; and as the money is not withheld from the Lord’s treasury, it is not a matter that should be commented upon; for it will necessitate my making known these matters, which I do not desire to do, because it is not best.

“Some cases have been kept before me for years, and I have supplied their needs from the tithe, as God has instructed me to do. And if any person shall say to me, Sister White, will you appropriate my tithe where you know it is most needed, I shall say, Yes, I will; and where it is most needed to help to do a work that is being left undone; and if this matter is given publicity, it will create knowledge which would better be left as it is. I do not care to give publicity to this work which the Lord has appointed me to do, and others to do.

“I send this matter to you so that you shall not make a mistake. Circumstances alter cases. I would not advise that any should make a practice of gathering up tithe money. But for years there have now and then been persons who have lost confidence in the appropriation of the tithe who have placed their tithe in my hands, and said that if I did not take it they would themselves appropriate it to the families of the most needy minister they could find. I have taken the money, given a receipt for it, and told them how it was appropriated.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 215, 216

“There are those who have means, and who will give large and small sums. Have this money come direct to your destitute portion of the vineyard. The Lord has not specified any regular channel through which means should pass.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 498

In Ellen White’s writings, “means” include tithe.

“Every soul who is honored in being a steward of God is to carefully guard the tithe money. This is sacred means.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 185

“Of the means which is entrusted to man, God claims a certain portion—a tithe.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 149

“Should means flow into the treasury exactly according to God’s plan—a tenth of all the increase, there would be abundance to carry forward His work.” Evangelism, 252

“Pharisaism in the Christian world today is not extinct. The Lord desires to break up the course of precision which has become so firmly established, which has hindered instead of advancing his work. He desires his people to remember that here is a large space over which the light of present truth is to be shed. Divine wisdom must have abundant room in which to work. It is to advance without asking permission or support from those who have taken to themselves a kingly power. In the past one set of men have tried to keep in their own hands the control of all the means coming from the churches, and have used this means in a most disproportionate manner, erecting expensive buildings where such large buildings were unnecessary and uncalled for, and leaving needy places without help or encouragement. They have taken upon themselves the grave responsibility of retarding the work where the work should have been advanced. It has been left to a few supposed kindly minds to say what fields should be worked and what fields should be left unworked. A few men have kept the truth in circumscribed channels, because to open new fields would call for money. Only in those places in which they were interested have they been willing to invest means. And at the same time, in a few places, five times as much money as was necessary has been invested in buildings. The same amount of money used in establishing plants in places where the truth has never been introduced would have brought many souls to a saving knowledge of Christ.

“For years the same routine, the same “regular way” of working has been followed, and God’s work has been greatly hindered. The narrow plans that have been followed by those who did not have clear, sanctified judgment has resulted in a showing that is not approved by God.

“God calls for a revival and a reformation. The “regular lines” have not done the work which God desires to see accomplished. Let revival and reformation make constant changes. Something has been done in this line, but let not the work stop here. No! Let every yoke be broken. Let men awaken to the realization that they have an individual responsibility.

“The present showing is sufficient to prove to all who have the true missionary spirit that the “regular lines” may prove a failure and a snare. God helping his people, the circle of kings who dared to take such great responsibilities shall never again exercise their unsanctified power in the so-called “regular lines ” Spalding and Magan Collection, 174, 175

“Shall the “regular lines,” which say that every mind shall be controlled by two or three minds at Battle Creek, continue to bear sway? The Macedonian cry is coming from every quarter. Shall men go to the “regular lines” to see whether they will be permitted to labor, or shall they go out and work as best they can, depending on their own abilities and on the help of the Lord, beginning in a humble way and creating an interest in the truth in places in which nothing has been done to give the warning message? . . .

“Young men, go forth into the places to which you are directed by the Spirit of the Lord. Work with your hands, that you may be self-supporting, and as you have opportunity, proclaim the message of warning.

“The Lord has blessed the work that J.E. White has tried to do in the South. God grant that the voices which have been so quickly raised to say that all the money invested in the work must go through the appointed channel at Battle Creek, shall not be heard. The people to whom God has given his means are amenable to him alone. It is their privilege to give direct aid and assistance to missions. It is because of the misappropriation of means that the Southern field has no better showing than it has today . . .

“I have to say, my brother, that I have no desire to see the work in the South moving forward in the old, regular lines. When I see how strongly the idea prevails that the methods of handling our books in the past shall be retained, because what has been must be, I have no heart to advise that former customs shall continue.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 176, 177

“In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld from them because in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered . . .

“The Lord does not require that the educational work at Madison shall be changed all about before it can receive the hearty support of our people. The work that has been done there is approved of God, and He forbids that this line of work shall be broken up. The Lord will continue to bless and sustain the workers so long as they follow His counsel. . . .

“The leaders in the work of the Madison school are laborers together with God. More must be done in their behalf by their brethren. The Lord’s money is to sustain them in their labors. They have a right to share the means given to the cause. They should be given a proportionate share of the means that comes in for the furtherance of the cause.” Madison School, 31, 32

“The tithe should go to those who labor in word and doctrine, be they men or women.” Evangelism, 492

“Paul set an example against the sentiment . . . that the gospel could be proclaimed successfully only by those who were wholly freed from the necessity of physical toil. He illustrated in a practical way what might be done by consecrated laymen in many places where the people were unacquainted with the truths of the gospel . . .

“It is God’s design that such workers shall be freed from unnecessary anxiety, that they may have full opportunity to obey the injunction of Paul to Timothy, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them” (1 Tim. 4:15). While they should be careful to exercise sufficiently to keep mind and body vigorous, yet it is not God’s plan that they should be compelled to spend a large part of their time at secular employment.” Acts of the Apostles, 355, 356

“There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsanctified to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262

“As there are woes for those who preach the truth while they are unsanctified in heart and life, so there are woes for those who receive and maintain the unsanctified in the position which they cannot fill.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 552

“The children of Israel beheld the awful semblance of God’s presence in the mount but before Moses had been forty days away from them, they substituted a golden calf for Jehovah. Things similar to this have been done among us as a people. Let us now return to God in penitence and contrition. Let us trust in Him, not in man.” Kress Collection, 120

“There are only two places in the world where we can deposit our treasures—in God’s storehouse or in Satan’s, and all that is not devoted to Christ’s service is counted on Satan’s side and goes to strengthen his cause.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 447

“The word “storehouse” is equivalent to the word ‘treasury.’ If all TITHES were brought into the storehouse, God’s treasury would not be empty.” Pacific Union Recorder, 10

“Brethren Sutherland and Magan should be encouraged to solicit means for the support of their work. It is the privilege of these brethren to receive gifts from any of our people whom the Lord impresses to help. They should have means—God’s means—with which to work. . . Our people are to be encouraged to give of their means to this work which is preparing students in a sensible and creditable way to go forth into neglected fields to proclaim the soon coming of Christ.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 422

“There is to be no man that has the right to put his hand out and say, No, you can not go there; we won’t support you if you go here. Why, what have you to do with supporting? Did they create the means? The means come from the people, and those who are destitute fields. The voice of God has told me to instruct them to go to the people and to tell them their necessities, and to draw all the people to work just where they can find a place to work, to build up the work in every place they can.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 168

“Representations have been made to me of a work that does not bear the divine credentials. The prohibitions that have been bound about the labors of those who would go forth to warn the people in the cities of the soon coming judgments, should every one be removed. None are to be hindered from bearing the message of present truth to the world. Let the workers receive their directions from God. When the Holy Spirit impresses a believer to do a certain work for God, leave the matter to Him and the Lord. I am instructed to say to you, Break every yoke that would prevent the message from going forth with power to the cities. This work of proclaiming the truth in the cities will take means, but it will also bring in means. A much greater work would have been done if men had not been so zealous to watch and hinder some who were seeking to obtain means from the people to carry forward the work of the Lord.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 435

“If we are to bear a part in this work to its close, we must recognize the fact that there are good things to come to the people of God in a way that we had not discerned; and that there will be resistance from the very ones we expected to engage in such a work. A man that is sincere in the wrong is not justified in the wrong.” 1888 Materials, 1024

The End

Editorial – Separation, Necessary or Just Advice?

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The Scripture says, “what participation has righteousness with lawlessness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14. The lawless are those who break one or more of God’s commandments and teach others to do so. We are to love these people enough to tell them the truth of the Three Angel’s Messages. But as long as they have heard and not accepted the Three Angels’ Messages in entirety and are not living by them, they are described in the scripture as the “unclean,” (those who break God’s law are described throughout scripture as defiled or unclean) the “children of the world,” the “children of darkness,” the “world,” and unbelievers,” etc. This does not mean that they are not professed Christians, but they are still part of what the book of Revelation calls “Babylon” and are called to come out. Revelation 14:8-12. As long as they remain in Babylon in their lawbreaking condition, God’s faithful children must be separate from them. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. Notice how clear the counsel of God is: “Those who join themselves to worldly men, that they may carry out their unsanctified purposes, make a fearful mistake; for they forfeit the favor and blessing of God.” This Day With God, 354.

“You are not to unite with unbelievers in medical work.” Medical Ministry, 45.

“Let not God’s people in any of our institutions sign a truce with the enemy of God and man. The duty of the church to the world is not to come down to their ideas and accept their opinions, their suggestions, but to heed the words of Christ through His servant Paul. (2 Corinthians 6:14, 15 quoted.) This means in a special sense marriage with unbelievers, but it covers more ground than this: it means in our instrumentalities ordained of God, in our institutions for health, in our colleges, in our publishing houses.” Testimonies to Ministers, 271.

“The children of the world are called the children of darkness. They are blinded by the god of this world, and are led by the spirit of the prince of darkness. They cannot enjoy heavenly things. The children of light have their affections set on things above. They leave behind them the things of this world. They fulfill the command, ‘Come out from among them and be ye separate.’ Here is the conditional promise, ‘I will receive you.’ Christ from the beginning has chosen his people out of the world, and required them to be separate, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. If they love God and keep his commandments, they will be far from having the friendship, and loving the pleasures, of the world. There is no concord between Christ and Belial.” Review and Herald, June 25, 1861.

“’Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.’ This means that the children of God are in no case to be contaminated with the spirit of the world, to receive its evil suggestions, nor to come under its influence. Be afraid of uniting with the world in secret societies, or of being bound in bundles with them. Be afraid of communicating to the world that which concerns the cause of God; for they would have no sympathy with those who love the truth of God.” Review and Herald, July 31, 1894

“Satan is constantly seeking to strengthen his power over the people of God by inducing them to enter into alliance with the hosts of darkness. And to accomplish this he endeavors to arouse unsanctified passions in the heart which is naturally prone to evil. It is not safe for Christians to imitate the example of the ungodly, or to yield to their influence. The wisest counsels of the wicked are not to be relied upon.” Signs of the Times, October 6, 1881.

“May the Lord bless his people with spiritual eyesight, to see that the children of God and the world can never be in copartnership. Whosoever will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God…Let us not form unholy bonds of union, with the friends of the world; for God has pronounced his curse upon all such unions…Let not the world’s direction and propositions be given to God’s people to control them. Woe be unto him whose wisdom is not from above but from beneath! Men of superficial piety, by their desire to receive patronage, to obtain fame, betray the most sacred interests into the hands of unbelievers. Let not money be obtained by touching or sanctioning any unclean practices.” Testimonies to Ministers, 276, 277.

The End

Bible Study Guides – Victory

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March 20, 2011 – March 26, 2011

Key Text

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13.

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 662–678; Early Writings, 269–273.

Introduction

“God will preserve all who walk in the path of obedience.” The Desire of Ages, 126.

1 How does the great controversy between Christ and Satan involve us? I Peter 5:8; Romans 7:14, 15; John 15:5.

Note: “Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. God alone can limit the power of Satan. He is going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. He is not off his watch for a single moment, through fear of losing an opportunity to destroy souls. It is important that God’s people understand this, that they may escape his snares.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 341.

2 Wherein is our only hope of victory? I Corinthians 15:57; I Peter 5:9; Philippians 4:13; Romans 8:37.

Note: “The example of Christ shows us that our only hope of victory is in continual resistance of Satan’s attacks. He who triumphed over the adversary of souls in the conflict of temptations understands Satan’s power over the race, and has conquered him in our behalf. As an overcomer, He has given us the advantage of His victory, that in our efforts to resist the temptations of Satan we may unite our weakness to His strength, our worthlessness to His merits. And sustained by His enduring might under the strength of temptation, we may resist in His all-powerful name, and overcome as He overcame.” Messages to Young People, 50.

3 Explain one duty we have in the plan of salvation. Ephesians 4:27.

Note: “The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent, faith must let go its hold upon Christ, before Satan can exercise his power upon us. But every sinful desire we cherish affords him a foothold. Every point in which we fail of meeting the divine standard is an open door by which he can enter to tempt and destroy us. And every failure or defeat on our part gives occasion for him to reproach Christ.

“When Satan quoted the promise, ‘He shall give His angels charge over Thee,’ he omitted the words, ‘to keep Thee in all Thy ways’ [Psalm 91:11]; that is, in all the ways of God’s choosing. Jesus refused to go outside the path of obedience. While manifesting perfect trust in His Father, He would not place Himself, unbidden, in a position that would necessitate the interposition of His Father to save Him from death.” The Desire of Ages, 125.

4 How is God willing to help us if we give our hearts to Him? I Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 50:15; II Peter 1:3, 4.

Note: “Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.’ James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter’s power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but ‘the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.’ Proverbs 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.” The Desire of Ages, 130, 131.

“What human wisdom cannot do the wisdom of God can do through the surrender of the will, the mind, the soul, the strength, the entire being, to God. His providence can unite hearts in bonds that are of heavenly origin. But the result will not be a mere external interchange of affection in soft and flattering words. There will be a new experience; the loom of heaven weaves with warp and woof finer, yet more firm, than those of earth.” In Heavenly Places, 205.

5 How are we to do our part in overcoming? James 4:7, 8; II Corinthians 7:1; II Peter 1:5–8.

Note: “Will man take hold of divine power, and with determination and perseverance resist Satan, as Christ has given him example in His conflict with the foe in the wilderness of temptation? God cannot save man against his will from the power of Satan’s artifices. Man must work with his human power, aided by the divine power of Christ, to resist and to conquer at any cost to himself. In short, man must overcome as Christ overcame. And then, through the victory that it is his privilege to gain by the all-powerful name of Jesus, he may become an heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ. This could not be the case if Christ alone did all the overcoming. Man must do his part; he must be victor on his own account, through the strength and grace that Christ gives him. Man must be a co-worker with Christ in the labor of overcoming, and then he will be partaker with Christ of His glory. …

“It is a sacred duty that we owe to God to keep the spirit pure, as a temple for the Holy Ghost. If the heart and mind are devoted to the service of God, obeying all His commandments, loving Him with all the heart, might, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, we shall be found loyal and true to the requirements of heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 32, 33. [Emphasis author’s.]

6 How are we to work out our own salvation? Philippians 2:12, second part, 13; I John 1:7, 9.

Note: “The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be co-operation between God and the repentant sinner. This is necessary for the formation of right principles in the character. Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works. Resistance of temptation must come from man, who must draw his power from God. On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other, weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness.” The Acts of the Apostles, 482.

7 How do John 5:39, II Corinthians 13:5, and I Peter 1:22 describe what our relationship is to be with God’s word?

Note: “We must search the Scriptures with humble hearts, trembling at the word of the Lord, if we would not be in any way deceived in regard to our true character. There must be persevering effort to overcome selfishness and self-confidence. Self-examination must be thorough, that there be no danger of self-deception. A little catechizing of self on special occasions is not sufficient. Daily examine the foundation of your hope, and see whether you are indeed in the love of Christ. Deal truly with your own hearts, for you cannot afford to run any risk here. Count the cost of being a wholehearted Christian, and then gird on the armor. Study the Pattern; look to Jesus, and be like Him. Your peace of mind, your hope of eternal salvation, depend on faithfulness in this work. As Christians we are less thorough in self-examination than in anything else; it is no wonder, then, that we make such slow advancement in understanding self.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 332, 333.

8 What promise belongs to those who walk in the path of obedience? Number 23:21, 23; II Timothy 2:19, 22; John 14:23.

Note: “If they [the people of God living in these last days] follow after righteousness and true holiness, if they keep all the commandments of God, Satan and his agents will not be permitted to overcome them. All the opposition of their bitterest foes will prove powerless to destroy or uproot the vine of God’s own planting. Satan understands what Balaam learned by sad experience, that there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither divination against Israel, while iniquity is not cherished among them; therefore his power and influence will ever be employed to mar their unity and defile the purity of their characters.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 599.

“Often when Satan has failed of exciting distrust, he succeeds in leading us to presumption. If he can cause us to place ourselves unnecessarily in the way of temptation, he knows that the victory is his. God will preserve all who walk in the path of obedience; but to depart from it is to venture on Satan’s ground. There we are sure to fall. The Saviour has bidden us, ‘Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.’ Mark 14:38.” The Desire of Ages, 126.

9 Explain the details of the Christian’s armor. Ephesians 6:10–18.

10 Name one victor who testified to the success given to those who wear this armor. 11 Timothy 4:7, 8.

11 What should we be doing while the great controversy is being waged? Mark 14:38; Luke 12:37, 38, 40, 42, 43.

Note: “Those who watch for the Lord’s coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christ’s coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth. With vigilant watching they combine earnest working. Because they know that the Lord is at the door, their zeal is quickened to co-operate with the divine intelligences in working for the salvation of souls. These are the faithful and wise servants who give to the Lord’s household ‘their portion of meat in due season.’ Luke 12:42.” The Desire of Ages, 634.

Review and Thought Questions:

1 What are people unable to do unless they are under the control of Christ?

2 Although Satan has conquered humanity, when is he forced to tremble?

3 How do we become coworkers with Christ?

4 What must we do if we do not want to be deceived in regard to our own character?

5 How should we wait for the Lord’s appearing?

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – Freedom of Choice

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March 13, 2011 – March 19, 2011

Key Text

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19.

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 479–491; Steps to Christ, 105–114.

Introduction

“To those who refuse the precious rays of light which would illuminate the darkness, the mysteries of God’s word remain such forever.” The Desire of Ages, 588.

1 What great privilege does God extend to erring man? Deuteronomy 30:19. What happens if freedom of choice is misused?

Note: “God gives sufficient light and evidence to enable man to distinguish truth from error. But He does not force man to receive truth. He leaves him free to choose the good or to choose the evil. If man resists evidence that is sufficient to guide his judgment in the right direction, and chooses evil once, he will do this more readily the second time. The third time he will still more eagerly withdraw himself from God and choose to stand on the side of Satan. And in this course he will continue until he is confirmed in evil, and believes the lie he has cherished as truth.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1112.

2 How is truth genuinely accepted? John 7:17.

Note: “The perception and appreciation of truth … depends less upon the mind than upon the heart. Truth must be received into the soul; it claims the homage of the will. If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception. But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart; and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals.” The Desire of Ages, 455.

3 If the truth is self-evident, why do men choose darkness rather than light? John 3:19, 20.

Note: “You may remove every prop today and close the mouths of objectors so that they can say nothing, and tomorrow they will go over the same ground again. Thus it will be, over and over, because they do not love the light and will not come to the light, lest their darkness and error should be removed from them.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 37.

“Light makes manifest and reproves the errors that were concealed in darkness; and as light comes, the life and character of men must change correspondingly, to be in harmony with it. Sins that were once sins of ignorance, because of the blindness of the mind, can no more be indulged in without incurring guilt. As increased light is given, men must be reformed, elevated, and refined by it, or they will be more perverse and stubborn than before the light came.” Gospel Workers, 162.

4 Through whose influence does Satan secure sin-loving multitudes to himself? Ezekiel 20:30; Micah 7:5, 6.

Note: “Many are the ways by which Satan works through human influence to bind his captives. He secures multitudes to himself by attaching them by the silken cords of affection to those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Whatever this attachment may be, parental, filial, conjugal, or social, the effect is the same; the opposers of truth exert their power to control the conscience, and the souls held under their sway have not sufficient courage or independence to obey their own convictions of duty.

“The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it matters not what one believes, if his life is only right. But the life is molded by the faith. If light and truth is within our reach, and we neglect to improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we virtually reject it; we are choosing darkness rather than light.

“ ‘There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.’ Proverbs 16:25. Ignorance is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God.” The Great Controversy, 597, 598.

5 How can people rise from the lowest depths of ignorance and sin? Psalm 119:98, 105.

Note: “By giving heed to the teachings of God’s word, men may rise from the lowest depths of ignorance and degradation to become sons of God, associates of sinless angels.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 85.

6 What will be no excuse for those who persist in error and sin? Hosea 4:6.

Note: “He [Jesus] came in humility, in order that the humblest being upon the face of the earth could have no excuse because of his poverty, or ignorance, and say, Because of these things, I cannot obey the law of Jehovah. Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity; that He might live with humanity and bear all the trials and afflictions of man. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. In His humanity He understood all the temptations that will come to man.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 925.

“Jesus is mighty to save His people from their sins. … Sin has been revealed to us by the Word and the Spirit of truth, that we may not be found transgressors of the divine precepts, and there is no opportunity to plead the excuse of ignorance. The command is ‘Depart from iniquity’ (II Timothy 2:19).” That I May Know Him, 255.

“The times of ignorance God winked at, but now, with the blazing light of truth shining all around us, with warnings, with reproofs, with increasing light if we will but open our eyes to see it, there is no excuse of any, even the weakest child of God, that they should not disperse light to the world. The four angels are holding the four winds that a special work may be accomplished: the saints of God are to be sealed in their foreheads. Brethren, how long before you will be ready for the seal of God? Every step you advance upon the path which God forbids, toward your own pleasure and in sin, is a step nearer your destruction. Every act of disobedience to the word of the Lord is exposing you to irreparable loss. Every moment of ease, of self-indulgence, secured by you in neglecting the divine admonitions and call to duty in earnest work for the Master, is placing you under the power and control of the prince of darkness.” The Review and Herald, June 7, 1887.

7 What falsehood did Satan use successfully to deceive the Jews of Christ’s day? John 7:48.

8 How can we be deceived today in the same way?

Note: “Many are deceived today in the same way as were the Jews. Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions; and the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge for themselves as to what is truth; but they yield up their judgment, and commit their souls to their leaders. The preaching and teaching of His word is one of the means that God has ordained for diffusing light; but we must bring every man’s teaching to the test of Scripture. Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the Scriptures.” The Desire of Ages, 459.

“Notwithstanding the Bible is full of warnings against false teachers, many are ready thus to commit the keeping of their souls to the clergy. There are today thousands of professors of religion who can give no other reason for points of faith which they hold than that they were so instructed by their religious leaders. They pass by the Saviour’s teachings almost unnoticed, and place implicit confidence in the words of the ministers. But are ministers infallible? How can we trust our souls to their guidance unless we know from God’s word that they are light bearers?” The Great Controversy, 596, 597.

9 How are people entrapped to cooperate with Satan? Isaiah 53:1; Acts 28:24.

Note: “Those to whom the message of truth is spoken seldom ask, ‘Is it true?’ but, ‘By whom is it advocated?’ Multitudes estimate it by the numbers who accept it; and the question is still asked, ‘Have any of the learned men or religious leaders believed?’ Men are no more favorable to real godliness now than in the days of Christ. They are just as intently seeking earthly good, to the neglect of eternal riches; and it is not an argument against the truth, that large numbers are not ready to accept it, or that it is not received by the world’s great men, or even by the religious leaders.” The Desire of Ages, 459, 460.

10 Why will one class of people remain blind to the truth? II Corinthians 4:3, 4.

Note: “God does not propose to remove every objection which the carnal heart may bring against His truth. To those who refuse the precious rays of light which would illuminate the darkness, the mysteries of God’s word remain such forever. From them the truth is hidden. They walk blindly, and know not the ruin before them.” The Desire of Ages, 588.

11 How might we (individuals, families and churches) be in danger of following the example of the Jewish people? Hosea 13:9; Jeremiah 6:19.

Note: “Christ overlooked the world and all ages from the height of Olivet; and His words are applicable to every soul who slights the pleadings of divine mercy. Scorner of His love, He addresses you today. It is ‘thou, even thou,’ who shouldest know the things that belong to thy peace. Christ is shedding bitter tears for you, who have no tears to shed for yourself. Already that fatal hardness of heart which destroyed the Pharisees is manifest in you. And every evidence of the grace of God, every ray of divine light, is either melting and subduing the soul, or confirming it in hopeless impenitence.

“Christ foresaw that Jerusalem would remain obdurate and impenitent; yet all the guilt, all the consequences of rejected mercy, lay at her own door. Thus it will be with every soul who is following the same course.” The Desire of Ages, 588.

Review and Thought Questions:

1 To whom does God reveal the truth?

2 When the light of truth comes to a person, what are the two alternative possibilities?

3 Why is ignorance no excuse for error or sin?

4 What help should a carnal heart never expect from God?

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – Character Revealed

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March 6, 2011 – March 12, 2011

Key Text

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20.

Study help: Christ’s Object Lessons, 150–163; Steps to Christ, 67–76.

Introduction

“A profession of religion has become popular with the world.” The Great Controversy, 386.

1 How do false Christians often deceive themselves? I John 4:20.

Note: “It is the greatest and most fatal deception to suppose that a man can have faith unto life eternal, without possessing Christlike love for his brethren.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1141.

2 How do loveless Christians reveal their character? Matthew 7:4, 5.

Note: “The sin that leads to the most unhappy results is the cold, critical, unforgiving spirit that characterizes Pharisaism. When the religious experience is devoid of love, Jesus is not there; the sunshine of His presence is not there. No busy activity or Christless zeal can supply the lack. There may be a wonderful keenness of perception to discover the defects of others; but to everyone who indulges this spirit, Jesus says, ‘Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye’ [Matthew 7:5]. He who is guilty of wrong is the first to suspect wrong. By condemning another he is trying to conceal or excuse the evil of his own heart. It was through sin that men gained the knowledge of evil; no sooner had the first pair sinned than they began to accuse each other; and this is what human nature will inevitably do when uncontrolled by the grace of Christ.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 126.

3 When the love of Christ is lacking in the heart, how does this become evident? Revelation 3:17; Matthew 7:20.

Note: “Love of self excludes the love of Christ. Those who live for self are ranged under the head of the Laodicean church who are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. The ardor of the first love has lapsed into a selfish egotism. The love of Christ in the heart is expressed in the actions. If love for Christ is dull, the love for those for whom Christ has died will degenerate. There may be a wonderful appearance for zeal and ceremonies, but this is the substance of their self-inflated religion. Christ represents them as nauseating to His taste.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 962.

4 How do men deceive themselves through self-love and self-confidence? Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19.

Note: “It is difficult for us to understand ourselves, to have a correct knowledge of our own characters. The word of God is plain, but often there is an error in applying it to one’s self. There is liability to self-deception and to think its warnings and reproofs do not mean me. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it’ [Jeremiah 17:9] Self-flattery may be construed into Christian emotion and zeal. Self-love and confidence may give us assurance that we are right when we are far from meeting the requirements of God’s word.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 332.

“Man’s great danger is in being self-deceived, indulging self sufficiency, and thus separating from God, the source of his strength. Our natural tendencies, unless corrected by the Holy Spirit of God, have in them the seeds of moral death. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we cannot resist the unhallowed effects of self-indulgence, self-love, and temptation to sin.

“In order to receive help from Christ, we must realize our need. We must have a true knowledge of ourselves. It is only he who knows himself to be a sinner that Christ can save. Only as we see our utter helplessness and renounce all self-trust, shall we lay hold on divine power.

“It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed.” The Ministry of Healing, 455.

5 How does a counterfeit type of missionary work contrast with the genuine? Titus 3:2, 3; James 3:14–16; Proverbs 6:18, 19.

Note: “God will never say to us, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ [Matthew 25:23], at the end of our journey, if we now cherish a spirit which craves to crowd out and supplant others. Malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking are things which God abhors, and no one who reveals those fruits in his life will enter the kingdom of heaven. …

“Those who make faultfinding their work, may appear to be constantly anxious and interested in regard to the welfare of others. They may seem to be actively engaged in good work. But their work does harm, and by the Lord it is not regarded as of any value. ‘They say,’ is whispered here and there; by blind suggestions, other minds are filled with suspicion and distrust; uneasiness is created. Those who have listened to the ‘They say,’ call to mind something they have observed in their brethren, which might have been wrong, and much is made of that which is worthy of but little notice. These apparently innocent words strike long, fibrous roots into the minds of those that hear them, and untold harm is done. Seeds of bitterness are planted; evil suggestions rankle in human hearts, and the seed springs up to bear an abundant harvest.

“The enemy of all righteousness sets in operation objectionable missionary work of this kind. One who is professedly working for Christ is tempted by him to probe the minds of others, and ask their opinions of words which have been spoken. In this way suspicion and envy are planted in many breasts. If those who carry on this missionary work could see it as it is regarded by the Lord of heaven; if for one day they could trace the course of their work, and see its baleful results, they would repent.

“To do good to all, to faithfully perform our home duties, to devote our time to comparing our lives with the life of Christ, praying for a humble, sanctified mind—this is the missionary work which the Lord requires us to do.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 940.

6 What attitude too often destroys the peace of the church? Matthew 18:1–4.

7 Describe the attitude spread by those who boast in their own self-sufficiency over righteousness and truth. Isaiah 5:20; 65:5.

Note: “[Isaiah 5:19–23 quoted.]

“The class here represented, in order to exalt their own opinions, employ a reasoning which is not authorized by the word of God. They walk in the sparks of their own kindling. By their specious reasoning, they confuse the distinction that God desires to have drawn between good and evil. The sacred is brought down on a level with common things. Avarice and selfishness are called by false names; they are called prudence. Their rising up in independence and rebellion, their revenge and stubbornness, in their eyes are proofs of dignity, evidences of a noble mind. They act as though ignorance of divine things were not dangerous and even fatal to the soul; and they prefer their own reasoning to divine revelation, their own plans and human wisdom to the admonitions and commands of God. The piety and conscientiousness of others are called fanaticism, and those who practice truth and holiness are watched and criticized. They deride those who teach and believe the mystery of godliness, ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ [Colossians 1:27]. The principles underlying these things are not discerned by them; and they go on in wrongdoing, leaving the bars open for Satan to find ready access to the soul.” The Review and Herald, December 22, 1896.

8 What will be the influence of capable but unconverted men, and what will be their end? II Peter 2:1–3.

Note: “Men may possess capabilities given them in trust of God, but if they are not humble men, daily converted men, as vessels of honor, they will do the greater harm because of their capabilities. If they are not learners of Christ Jesus, if they do not pray and keep their natural hereditary and cultivated tendencies under control, traits of character that God abhors will pervert the judgment of those who associate with them.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1138.

“Men who repudiate the teachings of the Spirit of God are not the proper persons to be placed in offices as leaders in the church. There is danger that the teachings of men who are not soundly converted may lead others into by and forbidden paths.” Loma Linda Messages, 465.

9 How are today’s popular ministries and professed Christians making Satan happy? II Timothy 3:1–5.

Note: “A profession of religion has become popular with the world. Rulers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, join the church as a means of securing the respect and confidence of society, and advancing their own worldly interests. Thus they seek to cover all their unrighteous transactions under a profession of Christianity. The various religious bodies, re-inforced by the wealth and influence of these baptized worldlings, make a still higher bid for popularity and patronage. Splendid churches, embellished in the most extravagant manner, are erected on popular avenues. The worshipers array themselves in costly and fashionable attire. A high salary is paid for a talented minister to entertain and attract the people. His sermons must not touch popular sins, but be made smooth and pleasing for fashionable ears. Thus fashionable sinners are enrolled on the church records, and fashionable sins are concealed under a pretense of godliness.” The Great Controversy, 386.

10 What warning is given to us who profess to believe in the third angel’s message? Matthew 23:25, 27.

Note: “Many who profess to be serving God are in the same position as Saul—covering over ambitious projects, pride of display, with a garment of pretended righteousness. The Lord’s cause is made a cloak to hide the deformity of injustice, but it makes the sin of tenfold greater enormity.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1017.

Review and Thought Questions:

1 To what is Christian love an index?

2 What are the characteristics of self-love?

3 How are seeds of bitterness scattered by self-righteous believers?

4 What are often the far-reaching ill effects of walking in the sparks of your own kindling?

5 What is often used as a cloak to hide injustice?

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – A Little Leaven

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February 27, 2011 – March 5, 2011

Key Text

“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” I Corinthians 5:6.

Study Help: Christ’s Object Lessons, 198–211; 272–283.

Introduction

“It is not only by resistance but by neglect that the soul is destroyed.” The Desire of Ages, 323.

1 How did Pharaoh destroy himself? Exodus 4:21.

Note: “There was no exercise of supernatural power to harden the heart of the king. God gave to Pharaoh the most striking evidence of divine power, but the monarch stubbornly refused to heed the light.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 268.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened.” The Desire of Ages, 322.

2 How do sinners destroy themselves? Galatians 6:7; Romans 2:5.

Note: “Just what took place in Pharaoh’s heart will take place in every soul that neglects to cherish the light and walk promptly in its rays. God destroys no one. The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence. When a person once neglects to heed the invitations, reproofs, and warnings of the Spirit of God, his conscience becomes seared, and the next time he is admonished, it will be more difficult to yield obedience than before. And thus with every repetition. Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions; when it is resisted, the Spirit of God is grieved.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 120.

“He who has once yielded to temptation will yield more readily the second time.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 268.

3 Why is it so dangerous to resist the first impressions of the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 4:30; John 16:13.

Note: “We want all to understand how the soul is destroyed. It is not that God sends out a decree that man shall not be saved. He does not throw a darkness before the eyes which cannot be penetrated. But man at first resists a motion of the Spirit of God, and, having once resisted, it is less difficult to do so the second time, less the third, and far less the fourth. Then comes the harvest to be reaped from the seed of unbelief and resistance.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 120.

4 Why is the process of apostasy almost unnoticed to those yielding to the power of Satan? Isaiah 44:18; Jeremiah 5:21.

Note: “A knowledge of the state of the backslider from God seems to be hidden from him. Has the candlestick been removed out of its place? I call upon all who are resting unconcerned in their present state of spiritual deadness, to arouse and arise from the dead, and Christ will give them light. Many rest as content as though the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night were sheltering and guiding them. Many profess to know God, and yet deny Him in their works. They reckon themselves among God’s peculiar, chosen people, who have a special, solemn message entrusted to their keeping to sanctify their lives and to give to the world, and yet the power of the truth is scarcely felt or manifested in our midst in zealous work for God. How great is our darkness, and we know it not! The light has not diminished, but we walk not in its rays.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 451.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul.” The Desire of Ages, 322.

5 What is the relationship between little things and big things? Luke 16:10.

Note: “The children of God should cultivate a keen sensitiveness to sin. Here, as well as elsewhere, we should not despise the day of small things. It is one of Satan’s most successful devices, to lead men to the commission of little sins, to blind the mind to the danger of little indulgences, little digressions from the plainly stated requirements of God. Many who would shrink with horror from some great transgression, are led to look upon sin in little matters as of trifling consequence. But these little sins eat out the life of godliness in the soul. The feet which enter upon a path diverging from the right way are tending toward the broad road that ends in death. When once a retrograde movement begins, no one can tell where it may end.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1017.

6 How does the neglect of little things affect our lives? The Song of Solomon 2:15.

Note: “It is the little foxes that spoil the vines; the little neglects, the little deficiencies, the little dishonesties, the little departures from principle, that blind the soul and separate it from God.

“It is the little things of life that develop the spirit and determine the character. Those who neglect the little things will not be prepared to endure severe tests when they are brought to bear upon them. Remember that the character building is not finished till life ends. Every day a good or a bad brick is placed in the structure. You are either building crookedly or with the exactness and correctness that will make a beautiful temple for God. Therefore, in looking for great things to do, neglect not the little opportunities that come to you day by day. He who neglects the little things, and yet flatters himself that he is ready to do wonderful things for the Master, is in danger of failing altogether. Life is made up, not of great sacrifices and wonderful achievements, but of little things.” The Review and Herald, December 29, 1910.

“They [the truths of the word of God] will brighten the common life, supplying motives for obedience and principles for the formation of a right character.” The Adventist Home, 189.

7 How may we be in danger of playing into the hands of Satan in a careless moment? Matthew 12:34, second part.

Note: “Men are influenced by their own words. Often under a momentary impulse, prompted by Satan, they give utterance to jealousy or evil surmising, expressing that which they do not really believe; but the expression reacts on the thoughts. They are deceived by their words, and come to believe that true which was spoken at Satan’s instigation. Having once expressed an opinion or decision, they are often too proud to retract it, and try to prove themselves in the right, until they come to believe that they are. It is dangerous to utter a word of doubt, dangerous to question and criticize divine light.” The Desire of Ages, 323.

8 What often triggers the downward spiral of apostasy? Luke 11:24–26. How does a neglect of prayer and Bible study hasten this? Mark 4:19.

Note: “It is not only by resistance but by neglect that the soul is destroyed.” The Desire of Ages, 323.

“Many become so absorbed in business that they have no time for prayer, no time for the study of the Bible, no time to seek and serve God. At times the longings of the soul go out for holiness and heaven; but there is no time to turn aside from the din of the world to listen to the majestic and authoritative utterances of the Spirit of God. The things of eternity are made subordinate, the things of the world supreme. It is impossible for the seed of the word to bring forth fruit; for the life of the soul is given to nourish the thorns of worldliness.

“And many who are working with a very different purpose, fall into a like error. They are working for others’ good; their duties are pressing, their responsibilities are many, and they allow their labor to crowd out devotion. Communion with God through prayer and a study of His word is neglected.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 51, 52.

“When secret prayer and reading of the Scriptures are neglected today, tomorrow they can be omitted with less remonstrance of conscience. There will be a long list of omissions, all for a single grain sown in the soil of the heart. On the other hand, every ray of light cherished will yield a harvest of light.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 120.

9 What shows that professed believers may unwittingly join the ranks of Satan without leaving the church? Matthew 7:22, 23.

Note: “One safeguard removed from conscience, the indulgence of one evil habit, a single neglect of the high claims of duty, may be the beginning of a course of deception that will pass you into the ranks of those who are serving Satan, while you are all the time professing to love God and His cause. A moment of thoughtlessness, a single misstep, may turn the whole current of your lives in the wrong direction. And you may never know what caused your ruin until the sentence is pronounced: ‘Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity’ [Matthew 7:23].” Testimonies, vol. 5, 398.

10 What happens when church members fail to make a complete surrender to Christ? Romans 6:16.

Note: “He who does not give himself wholly to God is under the control of another power, listening to another voice, whose suggestions are of an entirely different character. Half-and-half service places the human agent on the side of the enemy as a successful ally of the hosts of darkness. When men who claim to be soldiers of Christ engage with the confederacy of Satan, and help along his side, they prove themselves enemies of Christ. They betray sacred trusts. They form a link between Satan and the true soldiers, so that through these agencies the enemy is constantly working to steal away the hearts of Christ’s soldiers.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 94.

Review and Thought Questions:

1 What will take place in every soul who neglects to walk in the light received?

2 How do people get their eyes blinded and their hearts hardened?

3 If the little digressions from the path of truth and righteousness continue, what is the unavoidable result?

4 Name two seeds from which self-destruction is reaped.

5 What things mark the beginning of the road that ends in damnation?

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Recipe – Marinated Baked Tofu

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1 16 oz. brick tofu

1 Tbsp. chicken-like seasoning

2 Tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Dice the tofu and place in a bowl with the seasoning. Toss to coat evenly. Place the seasoned tofu on an oiled cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. This can be frozen; if frozen it becomes more the texture of meat.

Submitted by Blythe Hoppe and used by permission of Best Gourmet Recipes from the chefs of Five Loaves Deli & Bakery (Neva Brackett, Published December 1, 1999, by Jim Bracket).