Notes of Affection

While sorting through all my earthly possessions in an attempt to minimize unnecessary “stuff,” I came across a box containing cards and notes from old friends and acquaintances, many with which, regrettably, I have lost touch. It made me realize there must be something special about written affections that makes us hang onto these things long after their authors are gone.

Walk into any greeting card shop during this time of the year, and you will surely see young and old searching for just the right card that will express their sentiments of love to someone special in their lives. Millions of such cards will be purchased and given out, but is it possible the most important messages of love will be overlooked?

Notes of Affection

God has written notes of affection to you and to me—for us to read over and over, to cherish, and to find strength, hope, and the reassurance that we are loved.

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”Jeremiah 31:3. “The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father’s house. . . . A golden chain, the mercy and compassion of divine love, is passed around every imperiled soul.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 202.

“His banner over me [was] love.” Song of Solomon 2:4. “Arise and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off. If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten to enfold you in His arms of infinite love.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 206.

“But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou [art] mine. . . . Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee.” Isaiah 43:1, 4. “The same power that Christ exercised when He walked visibly among men is in His word.

. . . The Scriptures are to be received as God’s word to us, not written merely, but spoken. . . . So with all the promises of God’s word. In them He is speaking to us individually, speaking as directly as if we could listen to His voice. It is in these promises that Christ communicates to us His grace and power.” The Ministry of Healing, 122.

“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.” Isaiah. 54:10. “Human love may change, but Christ’s love knows no change. When we cry to Him for help, His hand is stretched out to save.” The Ministry of Healing, 72.

“How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Psalm 36:7. “O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.” Psalm 40:11. “Because thy lovingkindness [is] better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” Psalm 63:3.

“But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:5, 6. “I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.” Psalm 31:6, 7. “But thou, O Lord, [art] a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86:15.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” 1 John 3:1. “Such love is without a parallel. Children of the heavenly King! Precious promise! Theme for the most profound meditation! The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him!” Steps to Christ, 15.

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” 1 John 4:16–21. “God is love. Like rays of light from the sun, love and light and joy flow out from Him to all His creatures. It is His nature to give. His very life is the outflow of unselfish love.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 77.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35–39.

Never has man written such words of affection as these! They all are sent to you, because God loves you more than you can know. If you ever forget that, just open your collection of God’s love notes and read any one of them.

Gift of Love

Quite often when we are sending a card to someone to express our love for them we also send a gift, like flowers—fragrant and beautiful flowers for those who have brought beauty into our lives—or a box of sweets, for those who have brought sweetness into our lives.

God was not satisfied with just words on paper either. No, God gave us the best, the sweetest, the most wondrous gift of all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16, 17. “What language could so forcibly express God’s love for the human family as it is expressed by the gift of His only-begotten Son for our redemption?” Testimonies, vol. 8, 208. The greatest of all gifts of love comes from the very heart of God—overflowing with love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and life abundant and eternal.

These words of affection and the Gift of love from God are not just for a few people on one day of the year. They are for everyone, every day of the year! May Christ “dwell in your hearts 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 we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:17–21.

Anna Schultz writes from her home near Sedalia, Colorado. She may be contacted by e-mail at JSchu67410@aol.com.

Faith vs. Feeling

We have probably heard the story of David and Goliath numerous times, but it is a story that contains significant lessons for us today. I would like to focus on one aspect of this story—faith versus feeling. In the story, the Philistines were going to wage war against the Israelites. (See 1 Samuel 17.) The Israelites were on one mountain, and the Philistine army was on another mountain, with a valley between them. (Verse 3.) Goliath would come out of the Philistines’ camp and taunt the Israelites. He was a pretty good-sized man at “six cubits and a span.” (Verse 4.) There are different estimates of how tall he really was, but it was somewhere between 9 and 11 feet!

Goliath

Goliath would taunt the Israelites by asking them to send one of their mightiest warriors down to him so they could fight. The challenge was, if I (Goliath) win, you are going to be our servants. If you win, the Philistines will be your servants. The devil had a definite purpose for this. The devil has always liked to ridicule God’s people, and if he could put them in servitude to the Philistines,he could use them as sport, ridicule them, and do whatever he wanted with them. Goliath said, “If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” Verses 9–11.

Put yourself in their position. How would you like to fight someone who was 11 feet tall, who had armor on from head to toe? If you shot an arrow at him, it would not penetrate through his armor. He had a helmet of brass, and there was no space upon him that was not covered. (Verses 5–7.) It would be a discouraging situation would it not? Israel was greatly afraid. Goliath challenged the Israelite nation for 40 days, every morning and evening, ridiculing and taunting them—Come on, just bring out your best warrior to fight me! Day in and day out he taunted them. (Verse 16.)

David Arrives

David was sent by his father, Jesse, to give food to the army. Jesse’s three eldest sons were fighting with Saul in this battle. So here comes David; he gives his food to the captain of their thousand, as his father bid him do. (Verses 17, 18.) Then he went out to the battle lines to see his brothers. As he approaches the scene, he hears the commotion. He sees the two armies lined up ready for battle. He sees Goliath step forward to taunt the Israelites again, and they all turn and run for cover. David discovers that Goliath has been taunting the Israelites for 40 days, and no one has yet answered the challenge. “For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard [them]. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.” Verses 21–24.

Saul had let it be known that if anyone wanted to challenge Goliath that he would give that person a lot of wealth. He said he would set their families free, and the soldier would have Saul’s daughter as a wife—great rewards for going out to do battle with Goliath! But the Bible says, “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Verse 26. David said, forget about the rewards,we want to take the reproach away from us. This Philistine is coming out here, and we are not even answering the challenge.

Goliath’s stature did not intimidate David as it did all of Israel. David could care less how big he was. So David began going around the camp of Israel saying, We need to take care of this guy. He’s defying Israel, so in essence he is defying the God of heaven. He is taunting and ridiculing us, and no one is answering the challenge. Not even Saul. Remember, Saul was head and shoulders above his brothers —he was a big man, too. (See 1 Samuel 9:2.) Saul should have been the one answering the challenge, since he was the biggest. He should have been out doing battle with this Philistine, but the Bible tells us that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and if we depart from the Spirit of the Lord, we have no courage of our own. That is what happened to Saul. Saul departed from the Spirit of the Lord and an evil spirit took control of him. Now he had no confidence that God would save him. (See 1 Samuel 16:14–16.)

David Accepts the Challenge

David continues talking to the camp of Israel, trying to get them to do something about Goliath. Word gets around to Saul that there is a shepherd boy making noise about taking care of this Philistine and that he would do it. Saul tells them to bring the shepherd boy to him. David comes up, with no armor on, and he says, “I will take care of this Philistine.”Saul said, “I do not think you understand who you are up against. This man is 11 feet tall, and you are nothing but a little shepherd boy.” David replies, “Yes, so what? I am going to take care of him. Who’s on my side?”

Notice David’s credentials: “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” 1 Samuel 17:36, 37.

No Presumption

David is not being presumptuous here. He is not rushing into something of which he has no foreknowledge. An angel had appeared to David and told him he was going to win a battle. “David is not careful to explain to his [eldest] brother [Eliab] that he had come to the help of Israel; that God had sent him to slay Goliath. God had chosen him to be a ruler of Israel; and as the armies of the living God were in such peril, he had been directed by an angel to save Israel.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 371. David was not rushing headlong into something presumptuously; he was not being reckless. God had already told him this would happen and what he was to do.

But David, humble and unassuming, just said to Saul, I herd my father’s sheep, and when I am out in the field and a bear comes to take my lamb away, I chase that bear down and kill him and I take that lamb right out of his mouth. The same with the lion, but it is the Lord who helped me. You see, he had an experience with the Lord before, and now the Lord trusted him with something big like this.

Prepared for Battle

Saul brought out his entire armor, which probably weighed over 100 pounds, and put it on David, this little shepherd boy. Can you imagine the sight? His sword was probably dragging the ground; the coat was down past his knees, and the helmet was over his eyes. As David walks out of Saul’s tent, all of the curious spectators are watching him go out to do battle with Goliath. David thinks about how he had just told Saul that it was the Lord that had delivered him from the lion and the bear. I cannot use this stuff, he says to himself. I have not even tested it; I do not know if it even works. How can I fight with the weight of all of this armor on me? So he turns and begins to retrace his steps. (Verses 38, 39.)

The curious spectators are sure that David has become afraid and changed his mind, but that was not the thoughts of David. He returned to the king and humbly said, “Saul, I have never worn armor before; I want to take it off.” So he laid off the armor, and with a staff in one hand and a sling in the other, he walked down to the brook and picked up five smooth stones. He put the stones in his shepherd’s bag and went out to meet Goliath. Verse 42 tells us that when the Philistine saw David he disdained him because he was but a youth. Goliath was insulted. He was expecting to see the greatest warrior of Israel come out against him with all of his armor on, and here is a little shepherd boy with a staff in his hand standing before him. Goliath said, “[Am] I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?” Verse 43. “What are you going to do,” Goliath bellowed, “herd me around like you do your dog or your sheep?” He was ready to do battle, and here was a little shepherd boy.

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” Verses 45, 46.

David is standing in the valley, and there are thousands of spectators, on either side of the valley, from the armies of Israel and Philistine. The whole, entire assembly heard what David said. He was not only going to take Goliath, he said, but the entire Philistine army would be defeated that day. “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.” Verse 47.

“There was a ring of fearlessness in his [David’s] tone, a look of triumph and rejoicing upon his fair countenance. This speech, given in a clear, musical voice, rang out on the air, and was distinctly heard by the listening thousands marshaled for war. The anger of Goliath was roused to the very highest heat. In his rage he pushed up the helmet that protected his forehead and rushed forward to wreak vengeance upon his opponent. The son of Jesse was preparing for his foe.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 648.

Goliath was so furious he started coming for David. Instead of turning to run, David ran right for Goliath, and while he was running he took one of the five smooth stones from his bag. He put the stone in his sling; he flipped that sling, and the stone flew through the air and imbedded itself right in the forehead of Goliath. Immediately Goliath’s hands flew up as if groping in darkness; blindness overtook him, and he stood there wavering as the thousands of the two armies looked on. All of a sudden this big giant fell, as though he was a mighty oak struck by lightning. David wasted no time. He jumped upon Goliath, drew Goliath’s own sword and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Israel was ready to fight—now that the giant was gone! They chased the Philistines all the way to Ekron. (Verses 48–52.)

Lessons for us

What lessons can we learn from this story? I see a man of faith here—a little shepherd boy. “The mind should be educated to exercise faith rather than to cherish doubt, suspicion, and jealously. We are too prone to regard obstacles as impossibilities.” Review and Herald, March 17, 1910. Is that not what we are prone to do? We see something ahead of us, and we always say it is too big. We do not have enough money; we do not have enough resources, etc., etc. God expects us to use our minds, of course, but we are too prone to look at obstacles as impossibilities.

Govern the Circumstances

Let us look at our characters for a moment. We look at defects in our character, and they appear as big mountains in front of us, but we should never cherish doubt in our minds of what can happen. Ellen White says that we are too prone to look at obstacles as impossibilities. Just like Israel. That giant probably looked twice as big to them because of their doubt. “To have faith in the promises of God, to go forward by faith, pressing on without being governed by circumstances is a lesson hard to learn. Yet it is a positive necessity that every child of God should learn this lesson.” Ibid. What does it say? To walk forward by faith, pressing on without being governed by circumstances—how many of us allow the circumstances around us to govern us instead of us governing the circumstances and trusting in the Lord?

This is a lesson that is hard to learn, Mrs. White says, but it is absolutely necessary that we learn it; that we do not allow the circumstances to govern us, no matter what they are. We must learn to trust the Word of God explicitly, just like David did. He had been warned that morning by an angel that he was to fight a battle that day for the Lord. When God tells us to do something, we often stall in doing it. What does the devil do then? He creates circumstances where we will not be able to fulfill the duty. If we do not act, the devil is going to act for us, and when God tells us to do something, we had better act, instead of allowing the circumstances to govern us. “Faith is simple in its operation and powerful in its results.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 322. Did God defeat Goliath with something very simple? A sling and a stone! Very simple. Faith is simply taking what God’s Word says and acting upon it. But many times we are like Israel of old—we allow the circumstances to govern us. What happens then? We have wrong feelings. Oh, they were afraid; they were dismayed. How often does that happen to us? We begin to be governed by our feelings instead of by faith.

Do not let Feelings Control

Feelings take control, and faith is out the window. “Faith and feeling are as distinct as the east is from the west. Faith is not dependent on feeling. We must earnestly cry to God in faith, feeling or no feeling, and then live our prayers.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1073. Do not wait for a certain feeling. It does not make any difference; we need to move forward by faith.

“Faith is not dependent on feeling. Daily we should dedicate ourselves to God and believe that Christ understands and accepts the sacrifice, without examining ourselves to see if we have that degree of feeling that we think should correspond with our faith. Have we not the assurance that our heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him in faith than parents are to give good gifts to their children? We should go forward as if to every prayer that we send to the throne of God we heard the response from the One whose promises never fail.” Our High Calling, 120.

We are to move forward as though that prayer is lodged at the throne of heaven and has already been answered. Too many times we allow our feelings to get in the way. We want to have some feeling to know that we are right with God, that our sins are forgiven. We want to have some degree of feeling, but faith is not dependent upon what we feel. Faith simply takes what God’s Word says and acts upon it. (See The Signs of the Times, September 9, 1889.) When we pray we are to pray as though that prayer is already lodged at the throne of heaven and has already been answered. Move forward!

“Genuine faith is founded on the Scriptures; but Satan uses so many devices to wrest the Scriptures and bring in error, that great care is needed if one would know what they really do teach. It is one of the great delusions of this time to dwell upon feeling.” Review and Herald, November 25, 1884. One of the greatest delusions of Satan is to get us to dwell upon our feelings. How many of us go on what we feel instead of what God’s Word says? We need to increase our faith, should we not? Just like the disciples, we need to pray, Increase our faith, Lord.

“Feelings, whether encouraging or discouraging, should not be made the test of the spiritual condition. [Whether you are depressed, like the Israelite nation, or elated, does not make any difference; move by faith.] By God’s Word we are to determine our true standing before him. Many are bewildered on this point. When they are happy and joyous, they think that they are accepted by God. When a change comes, and they feel depressed, they think that God has forsaken them.” Ibid., February 28, 1907.

How many of us have gone through that experience? Perhaps we have gone through some depressing times, and automatically we think that God has forsaken us. In such a case we need to claim Hebrews 13:5: ” . . . For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We need to have such promises in store, because if we ever feel depressed and feel that the Lord has forsaken us, we can point to these promises and say, Lord you promised you would never forsake us. We are to determine our standing with God by studying His Word and by seeing what our true standing is before Him. If there is correction that needs to be made, we need to make that correction, but never are we to rely upon our feelings.

Here is another startling statement.

“Faith is not feeling. ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ [Hebrews 11:1.] The religion that takes the position of secluded enjoyment, that is satisfied to contemplate the religion of Jesus Christ, and that keeps its possessor from an experimental knowledge of its saving power, is a deception.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 10, 1898.

Increase Faith

How can we have our faith increased? If you had been in a hospital bed for three or four weeks,do you think you would feel strong? What happens to the muscles? They begin to weaken and to lose their tone. Our faith is no different. If we do not exercise faith, we are going to be spiritually weak. Every day we have an opportunity to exercise our faith. It must be exercised from day to day. Just read the story of David and let it encourage your heart. God will fight for His people. The battle is not ours; it is the Lord’s, but we need to cooperate with Him just as David did, not by backing down, but going forward, meeting the circumstances as they are and not allowing them to shake us.

Faith becomes strong by coming into conflict with doubts and opposing them. What is the counsel? You have today to exercise your faith. If we begin doubting and allow darkness to fill our hearts and we become discouraged, it is then time to lift up a prayer unto the Lord and sing a melody unto Him. That is what David did. He took out his harp and began playing praises to the Lord on his harp. The longer we allow our feelings of discouragement to take control of us, the worse we will become. We cannot allow it.

I know it is easy to say, but this is the only way that our faith will grow. When we are faced with these discouraging situations and we are full of doubt, then is the time to exercise faith! “The experience gained in these trials is of more value than the most costly jewels.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 555. We will have our reward in heaven, but faith is what is going to be needed to endure until the end. If we do not have it, we are not going to make it.

Do you want to have David’s experience—moving forward, not allowing the circumstances to govern you, taking control of the circumstances through the arm of the Lord? Remember the story of David and Goliath. The more we dwell upon our problems, the bigger they get, like Goliath; but the faster we exercise faith and trust in the Lord, those doubts and discouragements are going to vanish away.

We can lift one another up; we can come together and edify one another; we can build one another up in faith, but this is an individual experience between you and God. First of all you must learn not to trust yourself. All trust in self must be eradicated from the life before you can have true faith. “By faith—faith that renounces all self-trust—the needy suppliant is to lay hold upon infinite power.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 159.

Mike Bauler pastors the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be contacted by e-mail at mbauler@molalla.net.

Remember The Sabbath Day . . . Part VI

In the first five parts of this series (Click for part I), we have studied from the Bible and from the Spirit of Prophecy the importance of reverencing the Sabbath. We have looked at different aspects of reverence and at ways we can prepare our hearts, minds, lives, and families to respect God’s holy day. We have also considered instruction from God on the reverence to be shown to things associated with His Sabbath, such as His representatives, the ministers and leaders in the church; His Holy Book; and the church, whether it be a formal church building or a home church. All of this instruction is vitally important to us, because a judgment is coming. The following excerpt from Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White says it much better than could I.

Preparing for the Judgment Hour

“He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.”

“And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” Ezekiel 9:1, 3–6.

Jesus is about to leave the mercy seat of the heavenly sanctuary, to put on garments of vengeance, and pour out His wrath in judgments upon those who have not responded to the light God has given them. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11. Instead of being softened by the patience and long forbearance that the Lord has exercised toward them, those who fear not God and love not the truth, strengthen their hearts in their evil course. But there are limits even to the forbearance of God, and many are exceeding these boundaries. They have overrun the limits of grace, and therefore God must interfere and vindicate His honor.

Of the Amorites, the Lord said, “In the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” [Genesis 15:16.] Although this nation was conspicuous because of its idolatry and corruption, it had not yet filled up the cup of its iniquity, and God would not give command for its utter destruction. The people were to see the divine power manifested in a marked manner, that they might be left without excuse. The compassionate Creator was willing to bear with their iniquity until the fourth generation. Then, if no change was seen for the better, His judgments were to fall upon them.

With unerring accuracy, the Infinite One still kept an account with all nations. While His mercy is tendered, with calls to repentance, this account will remain open; but when the figures reach a certain amount which God has fixed, the ministry of His wrath commences. The account is closed. Divine patience ceases. There is no more pleading of mercy in their behalf. . . .

The crisis is fast approaching. The time for God’s visitation has about come. Although loath to punish, nevertheless He will punish, and that speedily. Those who walk in the light will see signs of the approaching peril; but they are not to sit in quiet, unconcerned expectancy of the ruin, comforting themselves with the belief that God will shelter His people in the day of visitation. Far from it. They should realize that it is their duty to labor diligently to save others, looking with strong faith to God for help. “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”James 5:16.

The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church, because its members are doing after the manner of the world.

The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity, and kept themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them.

The day of God’s vengeance is just upon us. The seal of God will be placed upon the foreheads of those only who sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Those who link in sympathy with the world are eating and drinking with the drunken, and will surely be destroyed with the workers of iniquity. “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry;” but “the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” Psalm 34:15, 16.

Our own course of action will determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God, or be cut down by the destroying weapons. Already a few drops of God’s wrath have fallen upon the earth; but when the seven last plagues shall be poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, then it will be forever too late to repent, and find shelter. No atoning blood will then wash away the stains of sin.

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. When this time of trouble comes, every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people.

This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do in such a fearful conflict without His assistance!

Courage, fortitude, faith, and implicit trust in God’s power to save, do not come in a moment. These heavenly graces are acquired by the experience of years. By a life of holy endeavor and firm adherence to the right, the children of God were sealing their destiny. Beset with temptations without number, they knew they must resist firmly or be conquered. They felt that they had a great work to do, and at any hour they might be called to lay off their armor; and should they come to the close of life with their work undone, it would be an eternal loss. They eagerly accepted the light from Heaven, as did the first disciples from the lips of Jesus. When those early Christians were exiled to mountains and deserts, when left in dungeons to die with hunger, cold, and torture, when martyrdom seemed the only way out of their distress, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ, who was crucified for them. Their worthy example will be a comfort and encouragement to the people of God who will be brought into the time of trouble such as never was.

Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master’s will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom, should have acted their faith. They should have commanded their households afterthem, that by a well-ordered family they might present to the world the influence of the truth upon the human heart.

Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul-temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.

We are too easily satisfied with our attainments. We feel rich and increased with goods, and know not that we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17. Now is the time to heed the admonition of the True Witness: “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Verse 18.

In this life we must meet fiery trials and make costly sacrifices, but the peace of Christ is the reward. There has been so little self-denial, so little suffering for Christ’s sake, that the cross is almost entirely forgotten. We must be partakers with Christ of His sufferings, if we would sit down in triumph with Him on His throne. So long as we choose the easy path of self-indulgence, and are frightened at selfdenial, our faith will never become firm, and we cannot know the peace of Jesus, nor the joy that comes through conscious victory. The most exalted of the redeemed host that stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clad in white, know the conflict of overcoming, for they have come up through great tribulation. Those who have yielded to circumstances rather than engage in this conflict, will not know how to stand in that day when anguish will be upon every soul, when, though Noah, Job, and Daniel were in the land, they could save neither son nor daughter, for everyone must deliver his soul by his own righteousness. [See Ezekiel 14:14.]

No one need say that his case is hopeless, that he cannot live the life of a Christian. Ample provision is made by the death of Christ for every soul. Jesus is our ever-present help in time of need. Only call upon Him in faith, and He has promised to hear and answer your petitions.

Oh, for living, active, faith! We need it; we must have it, or we shall faint and fail in the day of trial. The darkness that will then rest upon our path must not discourage us, or drive us to despair. It is the veil with which God covers His glory when He comes to impart rich blessings. We should know this by our past experience. In that day when God has a controversy with His people, this experience will be a source of comfort and hope.

It is now that we must keep ourselves and our children unspotted from the world. It is now that we must wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is now that we must overcome pride, passion, and spiritual slothfulness. It is now that we must awake, and make determined effort for symmetry of character. “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7. We are in a most trying position, waiting, watching for our Lord’s appearing. The world is in darkness. “But ye, brethren,” says Paul, “are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4. It is ever God’s purpose to bring light out of dark ness, joy out of sorrow, and rest out of weariness, for the waiting, longing soul.

What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world, are receiving the worldly mold, and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth,—these are receiving the heavenly mold, and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth, and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.

Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or should woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God,—candidates for heaven. Search the Scriptures for yourselves, that you may understand the fearful solemnity of the present hour. Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 185–191.

May God strengthen and bless you as you each day make ready for His Sabbath and for the coming judgment. [All emphasis supplied.]

Benjamin S. Brown writes from Madisonville, Tennessee. He may be contacted by e-mail at brown@lanier.com or by telephone at 423-420-0393.

God’s Farmacy, Part I

Know ye that the LORD, he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3. As we study from the Great Owner’s Manual—the Bible—the greatest medical book that has ever been written, we find even the diseases that we suffer with today. There is nothing new; the Egyptians suffered from the same diseases. A book written by Moses 4,000 years ago shows the same diseases. (See Deuteronomy 28.) Here we live in such a modern, technological society, with more sophisticated apparatus, more education, but we still have not won the battle with cancer and other chronic diseases, because we are shooting in the wrong direction. The only way we can prevent sickness and preserve integrity of the body is through what God ordained 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden. Man thinks he is wiser than God, but God has given us instruction. He wants us to not only have theory or facts, but He wants us to have understanding—how to apply that which we know.

Eight Doctors

There are eight doctors at work for us. They are:

  1. Dr. Trust,
  2. Dr. Air,
  3. Dr. Exercise,
  4. Dr. Sunshine,
  5. Dr. Rest,
  6. Dr. Water,
  7. Dr. Temperance, and
  8. Dr. Nutrition.

As we go through this study, we will find these eight principles used exclusively. I use nothing outside of these eight principles. I do not care if it works; if it is not “to the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah 8:20), I do not use it. I do not use iridology; I do not use reflexology; I do not use acupuncture; I do not use the pendulum,and I do not use muscle testing, because they are not “to the law and to the testimony.” Those things are wrought in spiritualism. We can prove that God has given us a simple plan.

“There are many ways of practicing the healing art; but there is only one way that Heaven approves.” Counsels on Diets and Foods, 301. The writer who penned those words does not leave us in darkness. She, Ellen White, goes on to talk about the eight laws. If we are asking for and looking for the Latter Rain to fall on us, we must be in harmony with God’s principles. There is no way we are going to get the Latter Rain if we are not in harmony with the health principles. We find that these principles are simple.

The devil takes the gospel and the health message and he enshrouds them in mystery where only a few people have the so-called expertise and know-how to follow God’s simple principles. But this plan is accessible to all of us. I have no advantage to anyone reading this. We have access to the same power—the Holy Spirit. If God can take a person like me from the streets of Chicago and put His Word in me, He can do it for you.

Disease is an Effort

I want to give you one of the most profound definitions of disease that I have found in any book—whether you went to Loma Linda, Harvard, or Yale, the definition given in The Ministry of Healing is the most profound that I have read in my 54 years. When I picked this book up 27 years ago, I was not a Seventh-day Adventist, and I did not know who wrote it, but I knew it was inspired. It says, “Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health.” The Ministry of Healing, 127.

“Disease is an effort of nature . . . .” When we look at the word effort, it comes to mind that the body is putting forth some work or energy, what we call vital force. Nature is expending energy to maintain what we call homeostasis or balance. God created the body to maintain balance. The temperature of the body, hot or cold; the pH of the body—God created the body to maintain harmony. But when we interfere with the delicate mechanisms of the body, we disrupt its function and sickness takes place.

But notice what it says. “Disease is an effort that means that the body is expending energy to get rid of the problem that we have brought upon it through the violation of law. When someone gets sick, it does not mean that God is punishing that person. We live in a sinful world that has come about as the result of my father and your father, Adam, disobeying God. If there were no sin, there would be no disease. Therefore, my warfare is not against cancer. The Bible does not say that the wages of sin is cancer. The wages of sin is eternal death. My purpose is to lead people back to the cross, back to the Great Physician, Who not only can heal them from cancer, but Who can heal their soul. If a person gets well from cancer and does not have a relationship with Jesus, I have not done the work of God. All I have done is to produce another soldier for the devil to use against God’s people. God is not in the business of producing healthy sinners.

Our Effort vs. Nature

“Disease is an effort of nature.” Some of you realize that a common cold or chronic cough is something that you want to get rid of, so you go to the pharmacist, and you purchase what is called a cough suppressant. As you take this cough suppressant, you are now suppressing nature’s effort to free itself of the condition that has been brought about as a result of the violation of the laws of health. You take the cough suppressant; you are no longer coughing, and you feel good because the cough is gone. Six months later you end up with bronchitis. Now you take another drug to rid yourself of bronchitis. Six months later you may end up with pneumonia, and you take another drug to suppress nature. A year later you may end up with lung cancer.

The more you interfere with nature, the more you are changing one form of a disease into another form, which is more severe. At a later date, nature is so weak it cannot rally to deal with the problem. Then you come to God and want Him to work a miracle, but you have been interfering with nature’s process all along. When you end up with a headache, you may take Tylenol. Your body is not deficient of Tylenol! You need to get to the cause of the problem.

When you sneeze, the body expends energy to get rid of a foreign organism. This involves the immune system. It goes through a histamine reaction—it is trying to get rid of the problem. That is good news! You start breaking out with a rash, and you think you are dying. That is good news! You have pain, and you think you cannot handle it, but that is good news! That is nature, working in your behalf, trying to save your life, and you are trying to interfere with nature. Nature is the voice of God, and when you interfere with nature, you are saying, God, be quiet. When all the mucus begins coming out in the morning, do you really want to take something to snuff that stuff back into your body?

God Wants to Cleanse You

Like Adam and Eve trying to cover themselves with fig leaves when they realized they were naked, you cannot hide your sin in your methods. You cannot mask sickness with your own methods. God wants to cleanse you, to purge you, and to get rid of all the sin in your body. He wants to get rid of the poison in your body, so God created the body in such a way to fight these diseases.

Fever is the way the body was created to deal with infection. Fever raises the body’s temperature—and you put it out with some aspirin. Instead of learning how to do water treatments or fasting to work with nature to free the system of the infection, you treat the symptom. Treating the symptom is like mopping the floor while the water continues to pour from an overflowing sink. What should you do when the floor is covered with water and it continues to pour out onto the floor—keep mopping? No, you need to turn off the water. High blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer are nothing but symptoms! Proverbs 26:2 says, “The curse causeless shall not come.” For every curse there is a cause; for every effect there is a cause; for every symptom there is a cause. The reason that you are not well is because the doctors are treating you for symptoms.

For ten years I did not get well because the doctor was treating my symptoms. He was treating arthritis. I went to the Word of God, and there I found that the cure was in the cause. Remove the cause, and you will get rid of the problem. That is what I did, and the Lord blessed. If He chooses not to heal you, He will give you grace to endure. If you are chronically ill, He may put you to sleep until the indignation passes, so you can rise in the first resurrection. God’s plan does not fail!

Four Steps

The Ministry of Healing mentions four things that should be done in case of sickness:

1 Ascertain the cause. (See The Ministry of Healing, 234, 235.) “The cause [which] I knew not I searched out.” Job 29:16. Where do you go? Romans 3:20 says that the knowledge of the law reveals sin. Without the law there can be no knowledge of sin. You find the cause of sickness by going to the law. To what law? The eight laws of health. If you have a headache, you may ask yourself why. Are you under a lot of stress? Are you drinking enough water? Maybe it was the 10:00 p.m. meal that you ate, or maybe you are not getting enough exercise. The law will reveal to you why you are sick.

2 Unhealthful conditions—the environment in which we live—need to be changed. (See The Ministry of Healing, 127.) The environment might not be conducive for a healthy lifestyle. Why? You might live in a home that has mildew and dampness, with no sunlight. Or perhaps you are sleeping with the animals—with the cats and dogs. Maybe they are running around all over your kitchen counter. Did you know that cats and dogs are susceptible to a number of different parasites that are communicable to humans? Except for service animals, such as those used for the blind, you do not need to be sleeping with animals. They should not be in your kitchen or even in your house.

Well, you might say, they are good for older folks. No, the Holy Spirit is good for older folks; you do not need animals in the house. I remember, on the way to a camp meeting several years ago, my wife and I stopped to use the restroom at the “golden arches.” They had a clean restroom and a little picnic area. My wife says I am a nosey person, but I say that I am observant, and there is a difference. (When you are nosey you get in other people’s business. Observant means you are learning for educational purposes.) As I walked out of McDonald’s, I observed a family with a wonderful dog, a German shepherd. It was eating ice cream. As I was observing, the mistress gave the dog the ice cream and it licked; then she took the cone back, and she licked from the same cone! Animals are wonderful creatures, and I love them, but you have to be hygienic with them.

If you are living in a home where there is second-hand smoke, you are in an unhealthy environment. Maybe you are working in a job where you are breathing chemical fumes. A friend who has been an auto mechanic for over 25 years had lungs filled with fumes; his hand was black with fungus. When he quit that job his hand started turning back to its normal color. Sometimes we work in hazardous situations that are not conducive to our health. Ask God to deliver you from such a situation. He will provide you with another job.

3 Wrong habits need to be corrected. (See The Ministry of Healing, 234.) That means simply that we need to change our lifestyle habits—our sleeping, eating, and exercise habits, etc.

4 Nature is to be assisted in its effort. (See The Ministry of Healing, 127.) Perhaps sometimes when you are sick and the stomach is aching, you keep feeding the stomach. The body may say, Wait a minute; give me a rest! Maybe you need to fast for 24 hours to assist nature; maybe you need to do a dry brush rub; a hot and cold shower; perhaps a sitz bath, or a foot bath. That is what it means to assist nature.

All of this comes from that wonderful book, The Ministry of Healing. It is a great medical book. So you need to find the cause, change unhealthful conditions, and follow the eight laws of health.

God Provides Everything

Under God’s plan you will find everything you need in the eight laws of health. Under the water law you will find that you are benefited by using it internally as well as by using hydrotherapy. Under the law of exercise you can find passive exercise, physical therapy, or massage. Under the law of nutrition you not only find good food, but you also find God’s Farmacy. Food is your medicine. God’s Farmacy is found in your back yard garden and in your grocery store. Genesis 1:11, 12 and Genesis 2:5–8, 15 tell us that God planted vegetation before He put man in the Garden. Everything Adam needed was in that Garden.

God gave man an original diet. Genesis 1:29 says that God gave man fruits, grains, and nuts in the beginning. Before sin, man did not eat green herbs; man did not eat green plants. He ate from the trees; he ate seeds; he ate grains; he ate fruit. There was no vegetation in his diet at all. This was God’s plan. In Genesis 3:18, after sin, God added the herbs of the field.

Genesis 1:11, 12 describes three types of vegetation—grass, herb-bearing seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit with the seed in itself—that God made. Of the three vegetations, in the beginning, God gave man two of them. (See Genesis 1:29.) God gave animals the vegetation from the grass. (See Genesis 1:30.) God said to Adam, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of it] all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:17, 18. Then He mentioned the sweat. Why did He do that? God is associating sweating with eating these plants, because sweating eliminates toxins out of the body. The body went through a metamorphosis. The Bible records the warning given that in the day that man would eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die. (See Genesis 2:9, 17.) In that day he began to die, but God had an antidote. Therefore God gave man permission to eat fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables.

The Bible says, “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” Psalm 104:14. God provided the herbs for the service of man.

Grow Your Own Food

To have a healthy body, you have to have healthy food; if you are going to have healthy food, you need to have healthy soil. When we began to work with our soil years ago, we discovered that we have clay soil. The pH was something like 3.5; there were no worms in our soil. Now a few things will grow in clay, but there is no way you are going to grow healthy food where there are no worms. After a year or two of building up that soil, the food grown on it is so sweet it melts in your mouth. You can become accustomed to store-bought vegetables, but if you are in the country, you need to have a garden. If you are in the city, get some grow boxes. Even in the city you can grow some food.

Out of the Cities

Those who have the resources should get out of the cities! With all we hear about end time events, it is really interesting to me that so many of us are still in the cities. Those who can get out of the city, get more than one acre, because there are refugees coming. We have 75 acres of land. We would never use that much land. Why do we have it? Because those acres can be converted, in the future, for those individuals who cannot financially afford to get out of the city now. We got out of the city without any money—God provided. Purpose in your heart—resolve; do not say that you do not have money; God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Purpose in your heart; start getting out of debt; start getting your tools together; begin making preparation just as the Israelites had to make preparation before leaving Egypt. Resolve, and watch God honor your resolve!

To be continued . . .

Thomas Jackson is a Health Evangelist and Director of Missionary Education and Evangelistic Training (M.E.E.T.) Ministry in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He may be contacted by e-mail at godsplan@meetministry.org or by telephone at 731-986-3518.

The Important Factor of Love

“Wilt thou be angry with us forever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.” Psalm 85:5–7.

I have been in the ministry for 30 years, and as far back as I can remember, as we would gather< together in evangelistic meetings or in camp meetings, the theme invariably would have some form of revival and reformation included. Many may remember these things. There is nothing wrong with revival and reformation. It is a good theme, a good direction in which we need to be heading, but the question that I have to ask myself is, Why has it not worked? It seems there are basically two reasons why it has not worked: There has either been a wrong approach or we have had wrong ideas about revival and reformation.

An Approach

There are Adventists all over the world who are wanting to respond to revival and reformation. When I have traveled, invariably I come in contact with people who express their desire for revival and reformation in Adventism. They want it; they long for it; they look for it to happen. There is a great personal need for revival and reformation, but there is also a great need for the church as a whole to experience revival and reformation.

How can you approach revival and reformation if you are a member of a small historic group? First of all, individual seeking for revival and reformation needs to take place. Then, as you have influence within the group with whom you are meeting, it is perfectly appropriate that the suggestion be made that revival and reformation be approached from a church point of view. Is your group out of harmony with other historic groups or other ministries? Approach revival and <=”” that=”” from=””

The Church’s Greatest Need

“A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all of our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our Heavenly Father is more willing to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. [See Luke 11:13.] But it is our work . . . .”Review and Herald, March 22, 1887. A lot of times there is confusion in the minds of Seventh-day Adventists as to the place of faith and works. How do these two operate? In what sphere are they to operate? Where is the balance between these two?

If you read the Spirit of Prophecy, that aspect of confusion disappears, because Sister White makes it very plain as to where our responsibilities lie and where God’s responsibilities lie. Notice what she says here. It is our work. Do we have something to do? Absolutely! Mrs. White continues, “It is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us his blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer. While the people are so destitute of God’s Holy Spirit, they cannot appreciate the preaching of the word; but when the Spirit’s power touches their hearts, then the discourses given will not be without effect. Guided by the teachings of God’s word, with the manifestation of his Spirit, in the exercise of sound discretion, those who attend our meetings will gain a precious experience, and returning home will be prepared to exert a healthful influence.” Ibid.

I do not think she is talking about soybeans, here. I think she is talking about something entirely different when she talks about exerting a healthful influence. Is it possible that the opposite has been taking place? What is the opposite of healthfulness? It is sickness, is it not? Has there been a sickly influence exerted as far as revival and reformation is concerned? That is probably the case, otherwise she would not have said that we need to exert a healthful influence after we have been to meetings where the blessings of the Lord have been poured out.

Reformation Must Accompany Revival

“A revival and a reformation must take place, under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. [Notice the distinction that she makes.] Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. [Could this be directed to the condition of Laodicea?] Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the Spirit.” Last Day Events, 189, 190. You can have ideas and theories and habits and practices, but if they are not accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are worse than useless. It has to be connected with the revival of the spirit. The quote continues, “Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend.” Ibid., 190.

Balance

As I have read the Spirit of Prophecy, I have noticed that it is always balanced. Another word that she uses here is blend. A lot of Seventh-day Adventists are unbalanced. They are not blending as they should, and as a result there is a sickliness that will not allow revival and reformation to come.

Balance, revival and reformation, has to start with each one of us. Mrs. White outlines the formula for us to use so the work of God can take place—”confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer.” All of the ingredients are there, and it becomes incumbent upon us to take all of those ingredients and put them in their proper increments so that they will work right.

I am not a cook, nor am I a baker, but I do know that in order to bake a cake you have to have certain ingredients in certain amounts in order for the formula to work right. You have to have flour, sugar, and salt . . . I do not know everything that goes into a cake, but I do know that if you leave out one of the ingredients, you will either have a flat cake, a bad tasting cake, or a heavy cake, a cake that you would not want to eat or serve. The question that we have to ask ourselves as Seventh-day Adventists, who are wanting revival and reformation to come, is, Have we left out some of the ingredients along the way? Over all the years that we have wanted to bake a cake of revival and reformation, have we left out some of the ingredients so the cake always flopped? It is kind of like Ephraim—the Bible says that he was a cake that was half-turned, doughy, without taste. (Hosea 7:8.)

Needed Ingredients

So what are the ingredients of revival? Ellen White says that revival needs to first have repentance —individual and corporate—before it can come. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 590.) Repentance is a turning away from sin; repentance is a sorrow for sin, and repentance is a change of direction. Revival must have repentance. Revival needs to have as its focus the cross of Christ. Revival needs to have, as its theological basis, the Bible, not some philosophy, not some theory that someone comes along with that sounds great but that is only a wind of doctrine that is blowing an ill wind. We need to have a theological basis, not just a philosophy.

Revival needs to have prayer. Revival needs to have humiliation. It needs to have confession of faults one to another and restitution, as far as possible. There are some instances where restitution is not possible. The person whom we have had fault against may no longer be alive, so we have to leave that with God. But if there is the possibility that we can make restitution for wrongs that we have done, we need to do that.

When I became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, I worked for an employer with whom I had not been totally honest. I had not thought there was anything wrong with what I did. I thought if it was my due, and if I could pinch something from him and he did not know about it, that was all right. But when I became a Christian, the pastor who gave me Bible studies taught me about restitution. I will never forget the day that I tremblingly drove to my employer’s home. I told him what I had done. I told him I was willing to pay back everything that I had taken that I should not have taken. He looked at me with a smile and said, “I never missed it. I am glad you came and told me, and I am glad that you have found God.” We need to make restitution as far as possible.

One More Ingredient

We can have all of the things outlined above and still not have revival. There is one more ingredient that needs to be in the mix. That is the ingredient of love. Some say if you have all the others, you do not need love, but that is not necessarily true. Sincere Adventists, for several decades now, have felt this ingredient has been absent from the concept of revival. What can we do to change the mix so the cake of revival and reformation will be right?

One of the reasons we have left out the ingredient of love is because we have left out some of the other ingredients, in terms of having a right theological basis, including Ellen White. She says, “If you have the Spirit of Christ you will love every soul for whom Christ died. Not with a love-sick sentimentalism. Not with base affection. Nothing like that. You will love as Christ loved. You will want to carry that burden for souls, oh how carefully, that there shall not be any occasion given to the youth, or to those of mature age, that shall bring in or make occasion of their stumbling or being turned out of the way, or a channel for an impure thought. Create an atmosphere where the soul can be kept open and clean before God our Maker.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 186.

So often we, as Seventh-day Adventists, have read this quotation and have gotten hung up on the negativism of the phrase “love-sick sentimentalism.” We have felt that if somehow we express the love that Christ has, and it comes through this clay channel, that it will manifest itself in a love-sick sentimentalism that we have strong counsel to avoid. As a result, we have set love on the back burner. We do not want to get caught up like other churches that only preach about love, love, love.

We do not want to be associated in that way, because actually the only thing that is important is for us to have a correct theology. A correct theology will cover a multitude of sins, right? So we have focused on, and we have magnified, our teaching as Seventh-day Adventists on correct theology—Saturday is the Sabbath; when you die you are dead; Jesus is in the heavenly sanctuary ministering, and on the list goes. We have all of the correct theology, but revival still has not come.

The Greatest of These

Ellen White has always had the proper balance to this issue. It has been there all along, but somehow we have missed it. She says, “The Lord desires me to call the attention of his people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. [Is it important when the Lord directs her to call our attention to something?] Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1091. She penned those words in 1904. Sixty years she had been involved in ministry, and now, as she draws near the end of her ministry, into the sunset years, she reflects back to the direction that the ministry of Adventism has taken, and the instruction that the Lord gives her is, Tell the people to read this chapter every day.

Chapter of Love

Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13. The King James Version of the Bible uses the word charity for the word love, and I have substituted love wherever the word charity appears, because that is exactly what it means.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have [the gift of ] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, [and] is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.”

New Theology

Several years ago the new theology came into its own. There had been seeds planted early on, but under the ministry and teaching of Desmond Ford the new theology sprung into existence. Only a few rejected it. Many accepted it. The reason the new theology came into being, and was so readily accepted by most people, is that it came in a package that had three words written on it: love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Basic elements of revival and reformation! Celebration churches sprang into existence by the multitudes. Why? Because many had not felt love within their former congregations; many attended their churches for years and never really felt Christlike love from those with whom they worshiped.

So when this new concept came into being with the new theology, the people accepted the love, the acceptance, and the forgiveness. They really did not care about the theology. When people arrived at the church on Sabbath morning, they enjoyed being greeted in the parking lot by a deacon and being escorted into church. They enjoyed the accolades and praise they received and the thank you for being there. They liked being acknowledged for who they were; people fell for that head over heels.

The unbalance came with theology problems; a lot of trash doctrine came with it. But the people were not hurting for theology. They had the theology; they did not have the love. Celebration is still growing, because it is meeting the basic needs of human beings.

On the other hand, we have kept the good theology, but we have thrown out the caring and the love that should carry the balance of revival and reformation. We have overreacted and ignored love for the most part, because it is a part of the celebration acceptance, and we do not want celebration cluttering up our pure theology!

I remember early in my ministry the Brimsmead controversy. Robert Brimsmead was a man at odds with the denomination. His theology was bad. He attacked the sanctuary, and I can remember as clear as a bell that, in that critical era of the rejection of Robert Brimsmead and all that he stood for, the word sanctuary was not mentioned from the pulpit nor in the Sabbath School classes. Anyone who would even entertain this idea of the sanctuary certainly would have to be tied up with Robert Brimsmead theology. We did not want to be branded as a Brimsmead, so we just left out that part of our church belief. We certainly did not want to have any little study groups in the afternoon that would deal with the truth of the sanctuary, so we just left it out totally, and we have suffered tremendously for that.

What goes around, comes around, and if something worked well for the devil once, he will use it again. He has done exactly that with the celebration movement. It has come in with its theme of love, acceptance, and forgiveness, and it has taken that which is good and right and bound it up with a bogus philosophy.

As we stop and think about these things, I do not believe that any of us want to continue to repeat history again and again and again. If we do not learn the lessons of the past, we are destined to repeat history again. Somehow, if the awareness does not come to us that the devil would take that which is right and good and attach it to something that is extremely questionable and cause us to be in a position of rejection, we have to surmount that and get beyond it. He has stolen that which is right and good; it does not belong to him, and we cannot afford to repeat history when we are seeking for revival and reformation. We need to examine what is right and good and use it for the Lord.

Fruit of the Spirit

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:15–20.

If we are going to be fruit inspectors, at what kind of fruits will we be looking? Fruit of the Spirit. Fruit of the Spirit can be classified always as good fruit. Paul has already outlined the corrupt fruit in Galatians 5:17–21, when he says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Verses 22, 23. It is interesting that Paul devotes a whole chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, to the subject of love; then as he lists the fruit of the Spirit, love is listed first. Why? Because it is the greatest. It is number one; it is first in Paul’s mind. It was not always that way, reviewing Paul’s life, but now Paul is converted, and he sees love as the important factor.

Jesus was Love

Why did the Pharisees hate Jesus? It was not because of what He did; it was because of who He was. He was love. He displayed love everywhere He went. Who would heal the people that He healed? Nobody. Nobody wanted to touch the dirty leper; nobody wanted to deal with a harlot; nobody wanted to deal with those who had corrupted themselves, and nobody wanted to deal with the poor, but Jesus did. Why? Because Jesus was love.

Matthew 9:1–13 tells how Jesus related to people. Why did Matthew record the stories found here? It was to reveal attitude. How are we relating to those who really need help? Do we pass by like the Levite and the priest? Or are we the Samaritan who will take the flask of oil and pour it into the wound. I would hope that we will take these examples and so apply them in our own lives that revival and reformation can come for us.

Neat Little Packages

Could it be that one of the reasons revival has not come is that we do not yet have all of the ingredients of revival in one basket? We have had everything wrapped up in neat, tidy, little packages, but we do not have it all together. We think that because we are so well organized and our theology is so straight that that is all in which God is really interested. But God says, I want you to give Me your heart, and I want to be able to love people through you.

Could it be that we have the correct theology, but we do not have the fruit of the Spirit? Ellen White said, “Unless this converting power shall go through our churches, unless the revival of the Spirit of God shall come, all their profession will never make the members of the church Christians.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 366. Revival will not come except through the Spirit. The Spirit is going to work through the fruits!

The Answer

If you are wondering how all of this can change in your life, Jesus has the answer. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” 1 John 3:18–23.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” 1 John 4:7–11.

The necessary items for revival that are on our ingredients list must begin with the important factor of love. If it does, revival can indeed take place. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? It has to start with us! [All emphasis supplied.]

Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker of Steps to Life Ministry. He may be reached by e-mail at mikebaugher@stepstolife.org

As We Near the End of Time, Part II

I need to share with you about something which I do not want to address, but which I must address. It concerns something that snared the children of Israel just before they entered the Promised Land. The Bible says, “And these happened to them for examples, and it is written for our warnings, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. These things happened to them as types of things that would happen again at the end of the world.

One of the things that brought them to the position of committing fornication with the daughters of Moab was that they were “allured by the beauty of heathen vestals.” Their consciences were defiled by lewdness. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 454.)

Defiled by Lewdness

I am going to go directly, very pointedly, to the subject at hand. The consciences of the children of Israel were defiled by lewdness—they were allured by the beauty of these heathen vessels. What was going on? After Adam and Eve had sinned, the Bible says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:7. The Hebrew word used in this text for coverings, kahgoroth, means a loin covering. Loin coverings are still being made, and people are still wearing them. Just go anyplace where people are sunbathing or swimming and you will see men and women clothed in the loin covering.

When God came to the Garden, did Adam tell God that he was clothed, or did he tell God that he was naked? He was wearing the fig leaves, but what did he tell God? He said he was naked. Even he knew it. We live in the blindest generation. Let me put it very, very simply. People think when the Bible uses the word naked it means someone is not wearing any clothes. It does not mean that at all. In the Bible, a person was called naked if they did not have on sufficient clothing. Adam had the fig leaves on, but he knew that he was naked. God also knew he was naked. The Bible says that God clothed them. If God clothed them, it means they were naked before that.

Another literal definition of the Hebrew word kahgoroth is a belt. That is what Adam and Eve made, they made little belts. Such belts are still being made today. They are called mini-skirts. Those are the two most literal definitions of this Hebrew word. It is also translated as girdle or apron. Neither one of those would make you think you were fully dressed, would they?

An Outer Garment

In Bible times both men and women, before they went out in public, put on an outer garment, and that garment covered them from their shoulders to almost their ankles. If they did not have on this garment, they were called naked. When Isaiah 20 speaks of Isaiah walking about barefoot and naked among God’s people for three years, he was not talking about the prophet going about without any clothing. No, God never asked any prophet to do something obscene such as that. But Isaiah did not wear the outer tunic, and that was a sign that the children of Israel would be similarly dressed as they entered into captivity.

In John 21, when Peter was fishing about 300 feet from shore with the other disciples after the resurrection, Jesus appeared on the shore, and it says that Peter put on his outer garment and cast himself into the sea, because he was naked. (Verse 7.) That does not mean that he was fishing all night without any clothes on but that he did not have on his outer garment. He was not afraid for the Lord to see him with his clothing wet, because he swam in, but he did not want the Lord to see him without his outer garment on, being naked.

Immodesty

We need to understand what the Bible says about the subject of modesty. The next time you study Exodus 20, notice very carefully what it says in the last verse. And in Revelation an account of the seven last plagues is given, and right in the middle of the discussion the Creator of the universe issues a warning, a call to all of the peoples of this world, and He says, “I am coming like a thief. Watch and keep your garments lest you walk naked and they see your shame.” Revelation 16:15. If you understand what the word naked means in the Bible, you will realize that we have congregations full of naked people every Sabbath, according to the Bible definition; we have people coming into our churches everywhere, naked. But we do not understand what it means. We are so blind; we think it means you do not have on any clothes. That is not what the Bible is talking about. In the Bible, anyone who is clothed immodestly is called naked.

Sometimes we fall on our face before the Lord, and we ask for the Holy Spirit to come upon us, like Joshua, after the Israelites were defeated at Ai. Joshua fell on his face, and he said, “Lord, if you do not go with us, we cannot do anything.” The Lord said, “Get up, and go clean up the camp!” (See Joshua 7:6–15.) Friends, we need to get on our knees and ask the Lord to help us clean up our camp. God is not going to pour out the latter rain upon a naked people. God did not accept the fig leaves in Adam’s day—and those fig leaves were probably more modest than some of the fig leaves people wear today. He is not going to accept a kahgoroth now, because God does not change. This is one of the things that brought Israel into terrible apostasy. Ask the Lord to deliver you from the curse of nakedness that is afflicting professed Christians all over the world, especially in the western countries.

Sensual Indulgence

“All along through the ages there are strewn wrecks of character that have been stranded upon the rocks of sensual indulgence. As we approach the close of time, as the people of God stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan, Satan will, as of old, redouble his efforts to prevent them from entering the goodly land. He lays his snares for every soul.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 457.

The Bible says, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37–39.

I used to read those verses and I would ask myself the question, What is Jesus talking about? Even as a boy I had gone to many weddings in Seventh-day Adventist churches, conducted by Seventh-day Adventist ministers. We ate every day, and we drank water and other healthful beverages every day. But what is the problem with the things that Jesus mentioned there? Ellen White comments on these verses in Matthew: “Very plainly Christ saw what the condition of society would be in the future. He saw that selfindulgence would control men and women. What of the marriage relation today? Is it not perverted and defiled, made even as it was in Noah’s day? Divorce after divorce is recorded in the daily papers. This is the marriage of which Christ speaks when He says that before the flood they were ‘marrying and giving in marriage.’ Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 56.

“As it was in the days of Noah, every kind of evil is on the increase. Divorce and marriage is the order of the time.” Ibid., vol. 10, 261.

Marriage after Divorce

What we are studying is very sensitive material. With this subject, it is possible that people will get wrong impressions, and there are ditches on both sides of the road. We need to study this completely. We must be clear about what the Bible teaches, or we can go into the ditch on one side or the ditch on the other side. We can become part of Babylon, or we can become part of the Pharisees. The Bible says, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, like this it shall be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage until that day Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26, 27.

After Ellen White quoted the verses from Matthew 24:37–39, she said, “How true a description this is of the condition of the world today. The daily papers are full of notices of divorce and marriage after divorce —the marriage condemned in the words of the Saviour.” Letter 153,1901 (unpublished). What was Jesus talking about in Matthew 24? Jesus was talking about marriage after divorce! Ellen White wrote to the general conference president and said: “We must, as a people, arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy,and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors’ wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 380.

So, you can be a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, even if you get divorced and remarried three, four, or five times. That is what Jesus was talking about happening in the last days, just like it happened in the days just before the flood. Ellen White says if we do not do something about this, if we just let it go and do not do anything about it, we will become a sister of Babylon. Do you want to become part of Babylon? Do you want your church to become part of Babylon?

She says, “The Lord is soon to come; there must be a refining, winnowing process in every church, for there are among us wicked men who do not love the truth. . . . Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments?” Review and Herald, March 19, 1895.

She also said, “When God works so wondrously, man, the human agent, should become intelligent in regard to the machinery of his body, that this temple of God shall not be misused, and become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 364, 365.

“Today the nominal churches are full of every foul spirit, the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. The work is becoming confusing because the converted and the unconverted have united in them.” Ibid., vol. 20, 252. Ellen White said to the general conference president, If we do not do something about this, we are going to become a sister of fallen Babylon. Babylon is a system that allows for the full development of sensuality, while at the same time condemning it.

If you read the public notices, the Pope is against divorce. The Catholic Church is against fornication, and they have lots of publications against it. They are against adultery. If you go to almost any Babylonian church, they will tell you that they are against divorce, fornication, and

adultery, but they allow it, just the same. You can be a member while doing all those things. Yes, they have a little trouble once in awhile. Somebody in the choir goes to bed with the organist, and then they have a little upheaval in the church. Things have to be ironed out, and there may be a switch with some people going to a church on the other side of town. Things like that happen all of the time. That is what happens in Babylon. And friends, I am sorry to tell you that it has come into Adventism, even into historic Adventism.

Unscriptural Marriage

There are people throughout Adventism who are unscripturally married. There are two ways that a person can be unscripturally married. One is if a Christian decides to marry a non-Christian. That is forbidden in the Bible. (See Deuteronomy 7:1–4; 2 Corinthians 6:14.) It is forbidden for a person who is in the faith to marry a person who is not in the faith.

Another example of an unscriptural marriage is a person whose wife or husband did not commit adultery against them, but they divorced and remarried someone else. (See Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18.) That practice is the very essence of Babylon. There is a reason why, in the Scriptures, Babylon is referred to over and over and over again as a harlot, and that she commits fornication, because she administers the communicants committing fornication. She administers the whole process.

The Church Debates

When I was a young minister, Adventism was in the process of making the changes that have come to pass now. We used to have debates about whether you should be able to divorce your spouse when there is no adultery and go and marry someone else and stay in the church with nothing happening. This was a big debate when I was a young minister. Vehement arguments would occur in these debates. One time this debate came up among a group of seminary students in the Andrews University Field School of Evangelism. The teacher said, “We have studied that, but Romans 7 still says the same thing.”

We, as Seventh-day Adventists, used to believe and use Romans 7 as one of our proof texts that such things should not be allowed. “Do not be ignorant, brothers, for we know the law says that the law is lord over a man as long as he is alive. For the woman having a living husband, is bound by the law to that husband. But if the husband is dead, she is released from the law of the husband. Therefore, then, if the husband is alive, she shall be called an adulterous if she be [married] to another man. But if the husband is dead, she is free from the law so that she shall not be called an adulterous if she be [married] to another man.” Romans 7:1–3.

God’s Moral Standard

After the teacher read this text, there was still some arguing, but there was not much to say. The Scripture says, this is the way that it is. Ellen White says the same thing. She wrote to a physician one time, “Your ideas in regard to the marriage relation have been erroneous. Nothing but the violation of the marriage bed can either break or annul the marriage vow. . . . “Men are not at liberty to make a standard of law for themselves, to avoid God’s law and please their own inclination. They must come to God’s great moral standard of righteousness. . . . God gave only one cause why a wife should leave her husband, or the husband leave his wife, which was adultery. Let this ground be prayerfully considered.” “A woman may be legally divorced from her husband by the laws of the land and yet not divorced in the sight of God and according to the higher law. There is only one sin, which is adultery, which can place the husband or wife in a position where they can be free from the marriage vow in the sight of God. Although the laws of the land may grant a divorce, yet they are husband and wife still in the Bible light, according to the Laws of God.” The Adventist Home, 341, 342, 344.

This is a problem that the church has been wrestling with for a long time. The Catholic Church has also been wrestling with it for a long time. The conclusion is, if your spouse has not committed adultery against you and you divorce, or your spouse divorces, and you marry somebody else, you are committing adultery. Our ministers thought that through, and they said, “All right, that means that you are living in sin for the rest of your life.” So, there were many Adventists that came to the conclusion that these unscriptural marriages should be broken up, because these people are living in sin. They said that anybody who stayed in such a marriage, since he was constantly living in sin, should not be allowed to be a member of the church, let alone a teacher or a pastor, unless they separated.

Standards Relaxed

Over a period of several decades, this literal understanding was relaxed a little bit so that by the time I was a young man, growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a person who was unscripturally married was allowed to be a member of the church but was forbidden to be a pastor, minister, or leader in the church. I remember one of the first times I saw this happen in the church of which I was a member. A man, who was a leader in the church, left his wife and children and married another woman. He faced the potential of being disfellowshipped. So he moved to another state, was rebaptized, and became a leader in that church. Have you ever heard of that happening? That is the way it was in the 1950s or 1960s. By the time the 1980s arrived, instead of moving to another state, a person in such a situation just went to another church 20 to 30 miles away and started over again. Soon they were again teaching a Sabbath School class and taking up church leadership.

There has been an internal fight going on in the Adventist Church over what to do about these situations, because we have had the same thing develop in Adventism that happened with the Hebrew people just before they entered Canaan. This problem has gotten worse and worse. There are churches that say they have no one in the church that can meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 to hold the office of an elder or a deacon.

Approaching the Problem

How should the problem of unscripturally married individuals holding church office be approached? There are two common ways of dealing with this problem. One is that you talk against it, say you are against it, but let it happen. You allow the people to stay in the church as teachers and leaders, even ministers. That is what happens in Babylon, and Ellen White told the general conference president that, if we did not step up and do something, we would become a sister of Babylon.

The other way Seventh-day Adventists have approached this issue is to become very strict. Some, in Ellen White’s day, decided they were going to break up some of these unscriptural marriages so that these people quit living in sin. They became so strict in enforcing their ideas, that Ellen White accused them of becoming like the Pharisees. As you read the context, you see that she is talking about people who have been involved in sexual sins and unscriptural marriages. She said, “I am more pained than I can express to see so little aptitude and skill to save souls that are ensnared by Satan. I see such a cold Phariseeism, holding off at arm’s length the one who has been deluded by the adversary of souls, and then I think: What if Jesus treated us in this way? Is this spirit to grow among us? If so, my brethren must excuse me; I cannot labor with them. I will not be a party to this kind of labor.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 242. That is a very strong statement in regard to what the church was doing.

The question that I suppose we have never yet answered in Adventism is this: Can we avoid becoming a sister of Babylon and at the same time avoid becoming Pharisees? You see, there is a ditch on both sides of the road. In my opinion, we have not succeeded yet. But when Jesus comes, would you want to be found a Pharisee even if you were not in Babylon? [All emphasis supplied. Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

To be continued . . .

Editorial – The Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit

Could we receive the latter rain of the Holy Spirit if we pray long enough and hard enough?

Many people think so. The problem is that the latter rain does not do any good for a plant that has not received the former rain.

“As the dew and the rain are given first to cause the seed to germinate, and then to ripen the harvest, so the Holy Spirit is given to carry forward, from one stage to another, the process of spiritual growth. The ripening of the grain represents the completion of the work of God’s grace in the soul. By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ.

“The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of Man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection.” Review and Herald, March 2, 1897.

So no matter how much we pray, even if we fast and pray, we will not receive the latter rain of the Holy Spirit unless we have received the former rain. What is involved in receiving the former rain? The following nine points summarize the requirements. (Unless otherwise cited, for all statements see Review and Herald, March 2, 1897.)

  1. The heart must be emptied of every defilement.
  2. The heart must be cleansed for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
  3. All sin must be confessed to God and to any others whom we have injured.
  4. All sin must not only be confessed but forsaken.
  5. Not only must we confess, repent, and forsake our sins but, as far as possible, make restitution. (See Ezekiel 33:15; Selected Messages, Book 3, 181.)
  6. There must be earnest prayer and consecration of ourselves to the Lord. We must daily be seeking God by faith.
  7. We must live up to all the light that we have, daily walking with God in His light and not in the sparks of our own kindling.
  8. We must daily be advancing in the practice of Christian virtues, keeping ourselves separate from the iniquity in the world.
  9. There must be perseverance, a firm continuance in acts of faith; untiring effort is required in fighting the fight of faith. (See 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Luke 18:1.)

If these things do not happen in our lives, then we will not be among those receiving the latter rain. If these things do not happen in our church, then our church will not be one of the churches receiving the latter rain.

A group of people will receive the latter rain. We must fulfill the conditions to be part of this group. Are our thoughts and feelings right? Is there bitterness, animosity, jealousy, contention, anger, or backbiting in our hearts? Are they finding expression, or are we gaining victories? Are our thoughts pure, honest, loving, gentle and in every respect a manifestation of love to God and love to man?

“You should keep off from Satan’s enchanted ground and not allow your minds to be swayed from allegiance to God. Through Christ you may and should be happy and should acquire habits of self-control. Even your thoughts must be brought into subjection to the will of God and your feelings under the control of reason and religion. . . .If the thoughts are wrong the feelings will be wrong, and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 310.