Issue: 2014 March

Keys to the Storehouse – Your Influence

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An idea that is not often thought about is how our actions affect God’s kingdom, either positively or cause it harm. Our adversary, as a roaring lion, is walking about looking for whom he can destroy (I Peter 5:8) and if we are not alert and on daily watch, he may push our actions to the point that injury or damage is done to the kingdom of Christ, causing a soul to be lost. Nothing could please the devil more.

“When Satan succeeds in tempting men whom God has especially honored to commit grievous sins, he triumphs; for he has gained to himself a great victory and has done harm to the kingdom of Christ.” Confrontation, 26.

In a moment of frustration, after dealing with the whining children of Israel for so many years, Moses lost control and “he spake unadvisedly with his lips” (Psalm 106:33). Because of that incident, damage was done to the kingdom and glory was taken away from God. Satan exulted! He has forfeited the kingdom himself because of his prideful attitude and his plan now is to keep as many of God’s people as he can out of the kingdom and away from the eternal glory that God has prepared for them.

John the Revelator said to anoint our eyes with eye salve (Revelation 3:18) that we may become aware of the devil’s deception and recognize the temptations that are laid before us. We want to “see” when the devil is antagonizing us and pushing us into sin. We need to plead for God’s grace to stand and resist the devil so he will flee from us (James 4:7) before we do harm to God’s kingdom. It is real joy to know that our actions can cause the devil to flee. Walk in that path of the overcomers and resist!

“Some few in every generation from Adam resisted his every artifice and stood forth as noble representatives of what it was in the power of man to do and to be—Christ working with human efforts, helping man in overcoming the power of Satan. Enoch and Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus Christ if they chose to be. Satan was greatly disturbed because these noble, holy men stood untainted amid the moral pollution surrounding them, perfected righteous characters, and were accounted worthy for translation to Heaven. As they had stood forth in moral power in noble uprightness, overcoming Satan’s temptations, he could not bring them under the dominion of death. He triumphed that he had power to overcome Moses with his temptations, and that he could mar his illustrious character and lead him to the sin of taking glory to himself before the people which belonged to God.” The Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

Be diligent and watchful and do not let the devil catch you off guard and he triumph over your actions. But, if this does happen, don’t despair; bow low before God and ask for forgiveness, for we have an advocate with the Father (I John 2:1). Claim the promise in I John 1:9 that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then stand up and smile with confidence, knowing that you have escaped from the devil’s kingdom and he has lost you!

Father: Anoint my eyes with heavenly eyesalve so that I may not give the devil any reason to smile. Grant me grace to walk the path that Enoch and Elijah walked and through that grace to cause much harm to Satan’s kingdom. I choose to be a representative, as they were, of the heavenly kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Current Events – The Third Drug

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The appetites of our animal natures ought to be kept in rigid subjection. These appetites were given us for important purposes, for good, and not to become the ministers of death by being perverted and becoming warring lusts. … An intemperate man cannot be a patient man. The almost imperceptible indulgence of the taste will create an appetite for stronger stimulants. … Call to your aid moral power, and abandon the use of tobacco [ and marijuana ] forever.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 244.

Colorado began allowing the sale of recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014, to anyone age 21 or older.

Residents can now buy marijuana like alcohol—except the cannabis purchase is limited to an ounce, which is substantial enough to cost about $200 or more.

It’s a big moment: Colorado became the first state in the nation to open recreational pot stores and became the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated from seed to sale. Pot, by the way, is the third most popular recreational drug in America, after alcohol and tobacco, according to the marijuana reform group NORML.

www.cnn.com/2013/12/28

Amsterdam has long been known as the most weed-friendly place in the world, but with the passage of Colorado’s new law legalizing the sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over, Amsterdam will have to take a back seat to Colorado’s capital city.

Here are five ways Denver is more weed-friendly than Amsterdam.

  1. You can buy way more weed legally in Denver than you can in Amsterdam.
  2. You can legally grow weed in Denver. In Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands, that’s against the law.
  3. Denver city law lets you blaze on your front porch or in your backyard. In Amsterdam, that’s a no-no.
  4. You can legally buy weed brownies, magic cookies and cannabis lollipops in Denver. In Amsterdam, that’s illegal.
  5. You can gift your friends up to 1 ounce of weed in Denver, but not in Amsterdam. www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08

Is Colorado’s newly-enacted cannabis law creating a new war between the states?

On January 1, 2014, Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults. And while supporters of cannabis have hailed the move, there are signs the new law has created some ill will in the seven states bordering Colorado, and beyond.

Despite the new laws, and the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana for medical use, cannabis remains illegal under federal law. Federal law also governs all civil aviation, so Colorado airports are cracking down and prohibiting cannabis on their grounds. www.cbsnews.com

A Lost World and a Saviour

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This world is not a place of peace, joy, or happiness. We all long for something better, a place where there is no anxiety, sorrow, suffering and death. There is a better place; a place of peace, joy, happiness and pure love. We find the promise of this better place through Jesus Christ and His plan to restore us to that place, called the kingdom of glory. Consider these practical steps on how to reach that kingdom.

Let’s begin with a brief history of how things changed from the kingdom of glory to a kingdom where sorrow, suffering and death reign. It is called the controversy between Christ and Satan. Long before the creation of the earth the universe was perfect, no taint of evil, sin, sorrow, pain or sadness. But slowly, subtly, a change took place in the angel standing in the highest rank, right next to Jesus Himself.

“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.

“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned …

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor …
“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading.”

Ezekiel 28:12–18 NKJV

Here we see from the Bible the fall of Lucifer, the covering cherub in the kingdom of glory; the angel second in command to Christ Himself. Isaiah records Satan’s fall like this: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” Isaiah 14:12.

Because this evil thing arose, God had to deal with it. A God of purity and love could not allow sin and rebellion to continue. In Revelation 12:7, 8 we read a very sad account of what happened in heaven. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” Lucifer, the covering cherub, with his followers no longer had a place in heaven. Rebellion had driven them from the presence of God. But Satan did not let his rebellion end there. It was his studied purpose to overthrow the government of God. Satan needed a headquarters, a place from which to run his program of rebellion. And he found just what he wanted.

Lucifer, now known as Satan, desired to ruin God’s work of creation and to cause the same misery and woe and unhappiness in this world that he himself was experiencing. So, in the form of a serpent, the most beautiful of all creation, he disguised himself, and through lies and deception succeeded in causing the fall of Eve and her husband Adam.

Now ruin, woe and misery were the lot of the human race. Satan was exultant. He was making progress in his plans to “dispute the supremacy of the Son of God, [attacking His kingdom of glory and its laws] thus impeaching the wisdom and love of the Creator.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 36.

But our God, our wonderful, loving, patient Creator did not stand by allowing Satan to retain rulership of this world. In Genesis 3:15 we find that immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them a promise. We know this promise by many different names, but in this article it will mostly be referred to as the new covenant. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” KJV.

Let’s do just a little outline here of this verse. First of all, who is speaking and who is being spoken to? If we go back one verse to Genesis 3:14, we find that God is speaking, and He is speaking to the serpent, or Satan. God says to Satan that He is going to put enmity between Satan and the woman. Then God concludes by giving a promise. He said “it,” that is, the seed (singular, meaning Jesus), would bruise the head of the serpent, and that the serpent would bruise the heel of Jesus. This promise, this covenant was given to Adam and Eve immediately after their fall. When God gave Adam and Eve this promise, this was the institution of the kingdom of grace. In this kingdom, Jesus, the innocent, the pure, the holy One would bear the guilt and sin of the sinner, and the penalty of that sin which is death, in order that the sinner, the guilty, the defiled, might have Jesus’ life, His eternal life. This is the new covenant. This is what the kingdom of grace is all about. There is a very clear definition of this new covenant and what it is to do. It is found in Patriarchs and Prophets, 370. “This covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.” In the book Education, 125, another definition is given. It is “the restoration in the human soul of the image of God.”

These two definitions for the covenant really say the same thing. If we are in harmony with the divine will and obeying God’s law, will we not again reflect the image of God?

So, how does this take place? What is involved with this work of being brought back into harmony with God’s will, obeying His law, having His image restored in us?

Before we answer these questions, let us first establish, through inspiration, that God is love. Why would that be necessary? It is necessary because Satan hates God. He hates Jesus. He hates anything that is good. He wants to do anything he can to get people to believe lies about God.

In speaking of the evidences of God’s love, Steps to Christ, 10, 11 says: “Though all these evidences have been given, the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice—one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them.”

How do we know that God is love? First of all, consider nature. Look up into the night sky and see the beauty in the massive space. It will awe you by the grandeur of what you see in the heavens. What about the beautiful flowers that grow on trees and shrubs and dot the landscape with their delicate, and often fragrant, beauty? The clouds that grace the blue of the sky and the rainbow that spans the heavens and the green of the hills, and the rich brown of the earth, all these speak of a loving Creator’s care for us.

There are problems and there is evidence of degradation and scarring. But friends, have you stopped to consider what people have done to this earth in six thousand years of wickedness and evil? It is a miracle that there is any beauty left at all, and that miracle is wrought only by God.

In addition, rather than blaming God for the suffering, let’s ask ourselves a question. If Satan had not rebelled in heaven and did not exist as Satan, would there be any of this evil, this wickedness, this pain and suffering and degradation? No, of course not; so then, we can truthfully say that God gives only beauty, joy, happiness, peace, and love.

But there is an even more mighty argument in favor of the belief that God is love. In spite of the goodness of God in the gifts He gave to Adam and Eve, in spite of the fact that He spent time with them daily, teaching them of creation and His love, they chose to follow another leader. They committed treason against the kingdom of glory and their Creator. The Bible tells us that God warned Adam and Eve to obey and that if they didn’t they would “surely die.” Genesis 2:17, and in Romans 6:23 we read that “the wages of sin is death.” When Satan was chosen as their ruler, misery and woe was the result.

For a person who commits treason or betrays the government, the penalty is death. It is a very serious act to commit treason. God had every right to simply cut off Adam and Eve and allow the just consequences of their choice to follow. But He did not do that. Instead, He instituted a plan whereby His enemies, the very ones who had betrayed and committed treason against His government and joined themselves to His worst enemy, might one day be brought back into harmony with Him. God the Father and Jesus, His only begotten Son, had a plan all prepared for this terrible emergency. It is called the new covenant. This plan has many other names, such as the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption, the covenant of grace, the covenant of mercy, the everlasting covenant, the irrevocable covenant, the mystery of God, the Abrahamic covenant, the second covenant, justification by faith, to name a few. This plan called for a change in government. You see, sin in this world could not exist in the kingdom of glory. In order to institute this plan immediately upon the entrance of sin, as we saw earlier, the kingdom of glory had to be interrupted. The kingdom of grace took its place.

What is this kingdom of grace? First of all, let’s look at what the word grace means. The definition of the word grace is unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification. So grace is divine assistance that is unmerited. What does unmerited mean? Unmerited means not deserved. So this kingdom is a kingdom where we receive divine assistance that we don’t deserve—in order to be regenerated! You may ask what regenerated means. It has several meanings that are applicable here. It means

  1. to effect a complete moral reform in,
  2. to re-create, reconstitute, or make over, especially in a better form or condition,
  3. to revive or produce anew; bring into existence again.

In this kingdom of grace, we can receive help from God, the very One that we have rebelled against and deserted. We can receive help from Him to be re-created, to be brought into existence again, to have a complete moral reform. Is that not beautiful?

But just how could this take place? How is it possible that God, divinity, could, 1) justly release us from the penalty of death? Remember, God is just, perfectly, unswervingly just, and the wages of sin is death. And 2) how could He effect a complete moral reform in a being who had through sin become “so depraved that in themselves they … had no power and no disposition to resist Satan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 53. It was a plan that only Divinity could conceive and only Divinity could carry out. Friends, here is the plan, and what it cost our Creator, and the whole universe to provide what was necessary for our restoration. We find this description in Patriarchs and Prophets, 63–65.

“The Son of God, heaven’s glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race. His heart was moved with infinite compassion as the woes of the lost world rose up before Him. But divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.

“Before the Father He pleaded in the sinner’s behalf, while the host of heaven awaited the result with an intensity of interest that words cannot express. Long continued was that mysterious communing—‘the counsel of peace’ (Zechariah 6:13) for the fallen sons of men. The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Revelation 13:8); yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race. But ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). Oh, the mystery of redemption! the love of God for a world that did not love Him! Who can know the depths of that love which ‘passeth knowledge’ (Ephesians 3:19)? Through endless ages immortal minds, seeking to comprehend the mystery of that incomprehensible love, will wonder and adore.

“God was to be manifest in Christ, ‘reconciling the world unto Himself’ (II Corinthians 5:19). Man had become so degraded by sin that it was impossible for him, in himself, to come into harmony with Him whose nature is purity and goodness. But Christ, after having redeemed man from the condemnation of the law, could impart divine power to unite with human effort. Thus by repentance toward God and faith in Christ the fallen children of Adam might once more become ‘sons of God’ (I John 3:2).

“The plan by which alone man’s salvation could be secured, involved all heaven in its infinite sacrifice. The angels could not rejoice as Christ opened before them the plan of redemption, for they saw that man’s salvation must cost their loved Commander unutterable woe. In grief and wonder they listened to His words as He told them how He must descend from heaven’s purity and peace, its joy and glory and immortal life, and come in contact with the degradation of earth, to endure its sorrow, shame, and death. He was to stand between the sinner and the penalty of sin; yet few would receive Him as the Son of God. He would leave His high position as the Majesty of heaven, appear upon earth and humble Himself as a man, and by His own experience become acquainted with the sorrows and temptations which man would have to endure. All this would be necessary in order that He might be able to succor them that should be tempted (Hebrews 2:18). When His mission as a teacher should be ended, He must be delivered into the hands of wicked men and be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could inspire them to inflict. He must die the cruelest of deaths, lifted up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner. He must pass long hours of agony so terrible that angels could not look upon it, but would veil their faces from the sight. He must endure anguish of soul, the hiding of His Father’s face, while the guilt of transgression—the weight of the sins of the whole world—should be upon Him.

“The angels prostrated themselves at the feet of their Commander and offered to become a sacrifice for man. But an angel’s life could not pay the debt; only He who created man had power to redeem him. Yet the angels were to have a part to act in the plan of redemption. Christ was to be made ‘a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death’ (Hebrews 2:9). As He should take human nature upon Him, His strength would not be equal to theirs, and they were to minister to Him, to strengthen and soothe Him under His sufferings. They were also to be ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who should be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). They would guard the subjects of grace from the power of evil angels and from the darkness constantly thrown around them by Satan.

“When the angels should witness the agony and humiliation of their Lord, they would be filled with grief and indignation and would wish to deliver Him from His murderers; but they were not to interpose in order to prevent anything which they should behold. It was a part of the plan of redemption that Christ should suffer the scorn and abuse of wicked men, and He consented to all this when He became the Redeemer of man.

“Christ assured the angels that by His death He would ransom many, and would destroy him who had the power of death. He would recover the kingdom which man had lost by transgression, and the redeemed were to inherit it with Him, and dwell therein forever. Sin and sinners would be blotted out, nevermore to disturb the peace of heaven or earth. He bade the angelic host to be in accord with the plan that His Father had accepted, and rejoice that, through His death, fallen man could be reconciled to God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 63–65.

It cost the Father and the Son dearly to put this plan into effect.

  • Christ would reach to the depths of misery
  • Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin
  • It must separate the Father and His Son
  • Cost their loved Commander unutterable woe
  • Descend from heaven’s purity and peace, its joy and glory
  • Come in contact with the degradation of earth
  • Endure its sorrow, shame, and death
  • He was to stand between the sinner and the penalty of sin
  • He did this though He knew that few would receive Him as the Son of God
  • He would leave His high position as the Majesty of heaven
  • Appear upon earth and humble Himself as a man
  • By His own experience become acquainted with the sorrows and temptations man would endure
  • He must be delivered into the hands of wicked men
  • He must be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could inspire them to inflict
  • He must die the cruelest of deaths
  • He must be lifted up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner
  • He must pass long hours of agony so terrible that angels could not look upon it
  • He must endure anguish of soul
  • He must endure the hiding of His Father’s face
  • While the guilt of transgression—the weight of the sins of the whole world—should be upon Him.

In addition, on the night of His betrayal He endured seven trials. He was betrayed by one of His twelve disciples, with a kiss!! All of His disciples deserted Him. The Desire of Ages, 687, portrays a heart-wrenching scene. “The human heart longs for sympathy in suffering. This longing Christ felt to the very depths of His being. In the supreme agony of His soul He came to His disciples with a yearning desire to hear some words of comfort from those whom He had so often blessed and comforted, and shielded in sorrow and distress. The One who had always had words of sympathy for them was now suffering superhuman agony, and He longed to know that they were praying for Him and for themselves.” But rather than finding them in earnest prayer as He had pled with them to do, He finds them asleep. They deserted Him in His hour of need. And when the mob came to arrest Him, they all fled. They ran away.

That same night He was scourged twice. A scourge is a handle with leather cords attached in which are affixed metal pieces with barbs. As this is brought down on the victim, the handle is pulled back in such a way that the barbs catch and tear the flesh. Twice that night Jesus endured scourging. Then with a back lacerated, torn, bleeding, He was crucified with His back to a rough wooden beam, and nailed there, through His hands and feet, all the while enduring scorn, mockery, abuse from the very ones He had come to rescue and save.

In spite of this we read of Him, “So devoted was our Redeemer to the work of saving souls that He even longed for His baptism of blood.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 132. Can you imagine a love greater than this? But it does get deeper, fuller.

Think on this. The Desire of Ages, 49, says, “Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.” God the Father and Jesus endured all these things, at the risk that Jesus would fail. If Jesus had sinned in the slightest thought, even by admitting that there might be an excuse for sin, He would have never seen the courts of heaven again, never seen His angel friends again or had their worship. He would have never been reunited with His Father, nor again been the Sovereign of the universe. All would have been over, forever.

Can there be any doubt of God’s yearning love and pity for us as we contemplate these themes? With such a costly sacrifice can there be any doubt of the love of God? “The Lord God of heaven collected all the riches of the universe, and laid them down in order to purchase the pearl of lost humanity. The Father gave all His divine resources into the hands of Christ in order that the richest blessings of heaven might be poured out upon a fallen race. God could not express greater love than He has expressed in giving the Son of His bosom to this world. This gift was given to man to convince him that God had left nothing undone that He could do, that there is nothing held in reserve, but that all heaven has been poured out in one vast gift.” Lift Him Up, 232.

After Jesus’ triumphant death, He was raised the third day and ascended to His Father to hear if His sacrifice had been enough, if the covenant was now secure. You see, up to that point, the covenant was simply a promise. Jesus had to actually pay the price of death that sin demanded. In addition, when Jesus ascended, He opened the heavenly sanctuary, the place where the real work of forgiveness and restoration takes place. He has been working there ever since.

Now, if sin caused all these terrible things, do you think that sin, or those who cling to their sin, will be restored to a relationship with God? Absolutely not! It was sin that caused the separation and the terrible sacrifice in the first place. God would not go to that extreme expense only to then allow what caused it to continue to exist. If we think this through, we have a response to make. We have a part to play in this restoration process.

“It is man’s part to respond to His great love, by appropriating the great salvation the blessing of the Lord has made it possible for man to obtain. We are to show our appreciation of the wonderful gift of God by becoming partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to show our gratitude to God by becoming a coworker with Jesus Christ, by representing His character to the world.” Ibid.

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

The Trials of the Christian

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True Christianity presupposes a total response to Jesus Christ and to His way of life. We must beware of lowering our moral and spiritual ideals. We need to behold again the glory of God’s character, the beauty of His moral law that stands far above the ways and codes of men. Insight into the narrow way and courage to take that road are required at a time when the world is distinguished by its departure from it. Jesus our wonderful Saviour talked about the Christian life in these words: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14.

Traveling the Narrow Way

In commenting on these verses of Scripture, the servant of the Lord says, “Those who travel in the narrow way are talking of the joy and happiness they will have at the end of the journey. Their countenances are often sad, yet often beam with holy, sacred joy. They do not dress like the company in the broad road, nor talk like them, nor act like them. A pattern has been given them. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief opened that road for them, and traveled it Himself.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 127. Why are their countenances often sad? Apart from other reasons, the Christian journey requires that every person enter through a gate that is strait or difficult, beset with distressing circumstances. Also the Christian must travel a pathway, which is narrow or one filled with trouble, trials and tribulation.

One of the greatest problems we face is that while we acknowledge that Christ has redeemed us, we live much of the time as if we own ourselves. We go off on our own to do “our own thing.” But there can be no separation from our Lord without Satan’s moving in to take over. Failure to let Christ own us completely is responsible for most spiritual problems and lapsing into sin. If Christ is not master at any point, He is not master at all. If He is not the master of our pleasures, He is not the master of us. If He is not the master of our money, He is not the master of our life. This is why the apostle Paul says, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” I Corinthians 9:27.

Why Trials?

There is something very significant in this text to which the apostle wishes every Christian to pay careful attention; listen to what he emphasizes, “… lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” I Corinthians 9:27. The Greek word that Paul used in this text, which means cast away, is taken from bad metal and properly denotes those which will not bear the test or not standing the test that is applied to them. A “castaway” is a metaphor derived from the testing of metals and the casting aside of those which are spurious. This word castaway also means rejected after testing or unapproved. This is what Paul wants every Christian to understand and bear in mind that trial management by the Christian demonstrates the sincerity or genuineness of his or her profession. II Corinthians 11:23–28.

The apostle Paul had subjected himself to trials. He had given himself to self-denial and toil; to persecution and want; to perils and cold, and nakedness, and hunger. He had done this, among other things, to give his religion a fair trial, to see whether it would bear all these tests; as metal is cast into the fire to see whether it is genuine, or it is base and worthless. In doing this he had endeavored to subdue his corrupt propensities, and bring everything into captivity to the Redeemer, that it might be found that he was a sincere, humble, and devoted Christian. The element of trial patiently borne in the Christian experience clearly reveals the real Christian from the counterfeit!

From the book Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 44, we read these words: “Trials patiently borne, blessings gratefully received, temptations manfully resisted, meekness, kindness, mercy, and love habitually revealed, are the lights that shine forth in the character in contrast with the darkness of the selfish heart, into which the light of life has never shone.” How well you and I manage trials and temptations as Christians will ultimately determine who we are, the impact we make on unbelievers and where we spend eternity. Paul understands that he is traveling a pathway that is beset by trials and temptations, which is designed to prove his worthiness to bear the Christian name and his fitness for the heavenly home. This is why he keeps under his body and brings it into subjection to Christ.

God’s Workmen to Develop Character

We are reminded by the servant of the Lord that, “The trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.” Ibid., 10.

In another place she states, “All our sufferings and sorrows, all our temptations and trials, all our sadness and griefs, all our persecutions and privations, in short, all things work together for our good. All experiences and circumstances are God’s workmen whereby good is brought to us.” Help in Daily Living, 30. Also, “Afflictions, crosses, temptations, adversity, and our varied trials are God’s workmen to refine us, sanctify us, and fit us for the heavenly garner.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 115.

So then, understanding the significance of trials and temptations why then do we murmur and give way to the devil so easily? This was not Jesus’ attitude neither was it Paul’s attitude! Jesus declared, “… for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” John 14:30. The narrative records, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to Him, He said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:1–10.

Trial Management

Paul elsewhere in Scriptures talks of the importance of trial management in the life of the Christian, because this is one outstanding way, which recommends Christ to the unbeliever. We read, “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” II Timothy 2:10. To the young Timothy, Paul wrote, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” Verse 3. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us.” Verse 12.

So let me share with you a few reasons why God allows trials and tests to come to His followers. First, character must be tested to help us see our true selves. This is what the Lord revealed to His servant: “Tests are placed all along the way from earth to heaven. It is because of this that the road to heaven is called the narrow way. Character must be tested, else there would be many spurious Christians, who would keep up a fair semblance of religion until their inclinations, their desire to have their own way, their pride and ambition, were crossed. When, by the Lord’s permission, sharp trials come to them, their lack of genuine religion, of the meekness and lowliness of Christ, shows them to be in need of the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s command, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me’ (Matthew 16:24), is the touchstone that discovers the quality of the experience. When a man’s inclinations or ambitious hopes are crossed, he reveals the spirit that governs him.” The Review and Herald, October 23, 1900.

Finding Strength in Trials

Second, the spiritual life is strengthened, reading from the book Christ’s Object Lessons, 61, the following: “Through conflict the spiritual life is strengthened. Trials well borne will develop steadfastness of character and precious spiritual graces. The perfect fruit of faith, meekness, and love often matures best amid storm clouds and darkness.” Also from The Review and Herald, August 6, 1889, we read, “It is coming in contact with difficulties that will give you spiritual muscle and sinew. You will become strong in Christ if you endure the testing process, and the proving of God. But if you find fault with your situation, and with everybody around you, you will only grow weaker.”

Patience in Trials

Third, the Christian needs to develop patience under tribulation and trials. From Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 345, we note, “Patience must have its perfect work or we cannot be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Troubles and afflictions are appointed unto us, and shall we bear them all patiently or shall we make everything bitter by our complaining? The gold is put into the furnace that the dross may be removed. Shall we, then, not be patient under the eye of the Refiner? We must refuse to sink into a sad and disconsolate state of mind, but show calm trust in God, counting it all joy when we are permitted to endure trials for Christ’s sake.”

Character Revealed

Fourth, through trials the glory or character of Christ is developed in His children. God’s servant points out that, “Through trials and persecution, the glory–character–of God is revealed in His chosen ones. The church of God, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk in narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of affliction. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of His glory.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 31.

Is it possible to be an effective preacher, pastor, evangelist, elder, church officer and church member and yet lose eternal life? It’s a serious question to ponder, but I am sure you know the answer! If your answer is yes, then let me ask you another question. Why is it possible? Paul gives the answer “… when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” I Corinthians 9:27. If we are unwilling to bring ourselves under the subjection of Jesus Christ, we will be unable to manage our own trials and tribulations and also fail the test.

The true Christian has the abundant life of Christ. We can be moving in a truth, in a religious body, and not really be of it. The church may enlist our services without our being a Christian. The outstanding quality of being converted to Jesus is enduring allegiance as a follower, a willingness to bring our whole lives permanently into line with Him and with His word. It involves unfailing love for God and man.

Never Give Up!

How are you coping under trials; are you failing often? Is your management of trials recommending your Saviour to a dying world? Have you given up because you are not able to endure, but just going through the rounds of Christianity? You don’t need to become discouraged, for Jesus says to you today, come unto Me. “I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed that thou might’st ransomed be and quickened from the dead.” Frances Ridley Havergal, 1858. Amen!

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

Satan’s Last Temptation

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Jesus Christ must come. We are living in the final generation, and we are going to see the appearing of Jesus Christ in the sky with glory. We yearn to see the Second Coming, for that is the only answer for all of the problems of this earth, including political and economical unrest. There is also a spiritual warfare within the churches and the worldwide corruption of morality. All of these events come together like a puzzle, making a picture of the final generation. Now is the time that we must finish the work of the gospel and hasten the coming of Jesus Christ.

The remnant church must be roused and ready to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to the world. At the time of the early church the gospel had been preached with such a power and many souls were convicted and converted. It seems like that kind of power has been lost for a long time.

Paul talks about the power of the gospel. He said, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” It was not the enticing words of man nor was it man’s wisdom, but it was the demonstration of God’s power. That is what is needed today to finish the gospel work in this world so Jesus Christ can come in this generation. Then Paul continues, “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” I Corinthians 2:4, 5.

We must become pure vessels imbued by God’s power, so that when we preach, our words will be simple, powerful, persuasive and will convert and convict many souls. The harvest is ready. God is waiting for the harvesters to be ready to anoint them with His Holy Spirit. Satan knows that at that time the work will be finished very quickly and he desperately sets a last temptation before us to make us an impotent people; a people who are not able to finish the work—not able to preach the gospel with the demonstration of the power of God. We must wake up, the world is waiting for the demonstration of the power of the gospel. “The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit.” The Great Controversy, 612.

We need the power of the gospel given back to the church as it was in ancient days. Satan knows that this power of godliness is going to be recovered, restored within the church and then the latter rain, the Holy Spirit will be poured out. At that time, God’s people are going to rise up and preach the gospel, as a demonstration of the power of God and the work will be finished. Satan knows that the power of the early church will be revived in this generation and he is trying to hinder it, trying to block it and to destroy it.

Why has this kind of power been lost? Is it because God does not want us to have that kind of power anymore? Why is not this kind of power manifested anymore within the church? We should have been in heaven a long time ago. If we believed and lived according to the Spirit of God and preached the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14, then God’s people who are still in the Babylonian churches would have already come out. We should have been in heaven a long time ago and are yearning for the power of the latter rain. We need to find the answer to this important question in the experience of ancient Israel.

After the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they came to the outskirts of Canaan, the Promised Land. They were so happy and ready to go in and occupy. They had longed for this moment. At the same time, Satan was preparing one last temptation for them. Just like the Israelites, we are standing at the border of the heavenly Canaan and we are about to enter in. Now, as Satan did to the ancient Israelites, he has prepared for us a snare—his last temptation for God’s church. He is making God’s church impotent so they cannot receive power to preach the gospel.

In I Corinthians 10:1–5, 11, it says, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat.” That spiritual meat symbolizes the word of God, the truth of God. This is something we cannot make for our own selves. We have to receive it. It must come down from heaven. That manna was round and white, which signifies the infinite love of God. The infinite truth of God, His righteousness was given to them by heaven. They had partaken of the manna every day and actually experienced the miracle of drinking water and of eating food every day. Verse 4 says, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” So they came out from Egypt and were all baptized together, “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” Verse 5. Even though they came out or overcame the Egyptians and they experienced the miracles of God, yet they were defeated in the wilderness. They were not able to overcome their own selves, their own intemperance, their own pride, their own selfishness. Their own enemy in their own souls defeated them. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Verse 11.

These experiences were written in the Bible for us to study and contemplate so not to make the same mistake. Satan attempts to block God’s people from receiving His power and experience a true miracle by spreading his last temptation before God’s church.

Our enemy is out to destroy God’s church, the souls of His people. He hates to hear about the soon coming of Jesus Christ. He has put a snare before us to numb our thoughts and our feelings and to make us disinterested in holy things. His temptations are very subtle and yet very powerful. He succeeded in defeating ancient Israel while they were standing right on the border before entering the land of Canaan and his plan is to defeat us too.

We need to do something quickly in order for us to stand against this final temptation. We need to pray and build our spiritual standard. Nothing should be allowed to come into our thoughts, hearts and souls that would benumb our spiritual senses and lower our spiritual stamina. The Israelites learned a lesson from this. The false prophet, Balaam, was enticed; Balak, the King of Moab, tempted him. Balaam attempted to curse Israel, but when he opened his mouth, the Spirit of God came upon him and caused him to speak blessings toward God’s people. He had failed three times and later on he devised a temptation, a devilish plan. Satan knew that the only way to destroy the Israelites was to separate them from God’s protection. If he could cause God’s people to break His law, His commandments, then they would be severed from His protection and that is exactly what he did. Balaam caused God’s people to commit adultery, to break God’s law, and he successfully uses that same technique today. The new interpretation of righteousness by faith, the new interpretation of the gospel, the new gospel, the liberal gospel, has been devised by Satan to cause God’s people to break His law and commit sin, yet still harboring a false hope of salvation in their hearts. That is the deception of Satan.

In Patriarch and Prophets, 455, we are told, “Their iniquitous practices did that for Israel which all the enchantments of Balaam could not do—they separated them from God.” Balaam’s plan had succeeded and caused them to be separated from the power and protection of God.

The Israelites committed adultery by participating in the heathen festivals of the Moabites. The first thing Balaam did was to invite them to come and see. They did not have to participate, but to come and watch and be entertained. Through this process, they finally committed fornication with the harlots of the Midianites.

“At Balaam’s suggestion, a grand festival in honor of their gods was appointed by the king of Moab, and it was secretly arranged that Balaam should induce the Israelites to attend. He was regarded by them as a prophet of God, and hence had little difficulty in accomplishing his purpose. Great numbers of the people joined him in witnessing the festivities.” Ibid., 454. Remember, the first time they did not have to participate, just to come and see and be entertained. God asks us to guard our five senses. Satan uses his cunning to penetrate the senses, sight, hearing, talk, smell and touch. He spreads before us heathen-like festivities and then excites our emotions and our feelings, which defile our thoughts, causing us to contemplate on evil things.

“They ventured upon the forbidden ground, and were entangled in the snare of Satan. Beguiled with music and dancing, and allured by the beauty of heathen vestals, they cast off their fealty to Jehovah. As they united in mirth and feasting, indulgence in wine beclouded their senses and broke down the barriers of self-control. Passion had full sway; and having defiled their consciences by lewdness, they were persuaded to bow down to idols. They offered sacrifice upon heathen altars and participated in the most degrading rites.” Ibid. They went so far as to commit fornication with the prophets and prophetesses, the harlots of this heathen worship ceremony.

First came the invitation to come and watch. Satan spreads out all of the things in the world, billboards, televisions, dramas and movies and all of these things. Satan attempts to come into our inner sanctuary and defile our feelings and thoughts and so benumb our holy senses and excite our passions so that we will lose the senses to understand between the holy and the unholy. He causes impotence to preach the gospel with power.

A new kind of gospel has been spread all over the church—Adventism is in crisis! Satan has introduced the wines of Babylon, the wrong gospels, wrong festivities, wrong programs, celebration worship styles. He has been spreading these wines into the church and invited God’s people to come, to sit and to be entertained—to watch and witness. Slowly and surely he began to benumb the spiritual senses and the hearts of God’s people. Through this process we have lost the power of the gospel; we have lost the power of the demonstration of God so that when we preach the three angels’ messages it has lost the power that was once demonstrated by the early church to convict and convert souls.

God’s servant, Ellen White, has told us that this power is going to be restored. Satan fears this knowing that when that time comes he will be defeated, so he increases his deceptions. By the decline of reverence and the rise of entertaining worship he benumbs spiritual senses. There is very little difference between the music in the Babylonian world and in the church. Why? Because we have been watching; we have been entertained, and our spiritual senses have been benumbed and our fleshly passions have been aroused.

We have a work to do to resist these kinds of temptations. Those who do not want to fall prey to Satan’s services must guard well the avenues to the soul. Our individual duty and responsibility is to overcome these things, guard our holy emotions and feelings, and understand the true gospel and the three angels’ messages. This is the best way to be prepared to receive the latter rain and to go out and to give the loud cry and hasten Jesus’ second coming.

The mind should not be allowed to wander at random on every subject that the adversary of souls may suggest. Satan is trying to suggest all kinds of things through the entertainments of the world, especially to young people.

“Satan seduced Israel into licentiousness before leading them to idolatry. Those who will dishonor God’s image and defile His temple in their own persons will not scruple at any dishonor to God that will gratify the desire of their depraved hearts. Sensual indulgence weakens the mind and debases the soul. The moral and intellectual powers are benumbed and paralyzed by the gratification of the animal propensities; and it is impossible for the slave of passion to realize the sacred obligation of the law of God, to appreciate the atonement, or to place a right value upon the soul.” Ibid., 458.

Because their senses are benumbed by entertainment and all the snares of Satan, many Adventists today do not understand the true meaning of the three angels’ messages or the true meaning of the everlasting gospel and the meaning of the most holy place, what it means to have a cleansing experience, what it means to have a blotting out of sin experience. The mental powers are paralyzed and they try to gratify their animal passions by entertainment.

It is about time to wake up and to pray and confess our sins and let our souls be cleansed and purified because Jesus Christ must come soon.

Goodness, purity and truth, reverence for God and love for sacred things, all of those holy affections and sacred desires that link man with the heavenly world are consumed in the fires of lust. The soul becomes a blackened and desolate waste, the habitation of the evil spirits and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Mrs. Ellen White used this expression to express the defiled soul. God’s people who had allowed their souls to be defiled by the temptations of Satan were described as every unclean and hateful bird. This is the description of Babylon. This is the habitation of the evil spirits and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

By introducing the wines of Babylon, compromised gospel of Babylon, into the souls of God’s people, he is trying to defile us. There is a possibility that we, God’s church in these last days, could become the habitation or cage of every hateful bird, evil spirits and Babylon. Satan has spread the last temptation before God’s people as he did so successfully before the Israelites, destroying so many on the banks of the Jordon while they waited to go in and occupy the land of Canaan. My friends, Satan is using the same tactic for God’s people and His church today hoping to jeopardize their entry into the promised heavenly Canaan.

Beings formed in the image of God are being dragged down to a level with the beasts. “It was when the Israelites were in a condition of outward ease and security that they were led into sin. They failed to keep God ever before them, they neglected prayer and cherished a spirit of self-confidence. Ease and self-indulgence left the citadel of the soul unguarded, and debasing thoughts found entrance. It was the traitors within the walls that overthrew the strongholds of principle and betrayed Israel into the power of Satan. It is thus that Satan still seeks to compass the ruin of the soul. A long preparatory process, unknown to the world, goes on in the heart before the Christian commits open sin.” Ibid., 459.

Sometimes we do not understand how a brother or a pastor or a deacon could fall and do such things as they do. But before that sin is committed, for a long time Satan has been preparing their souls and their hearts by introducing evil thoughts, evil pictures and evil imaginations. When the citadels of their souls are unguarded and they have allowed and even invited all of these temptations from Satan, when finally the opportunity comes, they commit sin, openly. “The mind does not come down at once from purity and holiness to depravity, corruption, and crime. It takes time to degrade those formed in the image of God to the brutal or the satanic. By beholding we become changed.” Ibid.

When you are tempted, when you feel weak and lose stamina, come to Jesus Christ; come to the foot of the cross and pray. Meditate upon the word of God. You have lost the battle many times and you have probably lost the spiritual stamina to stand up and fight, but have courage, there is power in the word of God. Read the Scriptures and pray. By faith contemplate on the Word. If you will chew and swallow and eat, the power of God will be manifested in your soul. Read, study, contemplate and live it.

Satan is out to get us. We must stand up and cleanse our camp and cleanse our heart and soul to hasten the coming of Jesus Christ.

We are living in the Day of Atonement. By faith we follow the high priest into the most holy place. On that day, God asked the Israelites to afflict their souls, which means to agonize with your souls. Search your souls for any hidden sins or desires for sin and confess it and pray to have a purification experience. This is the cleansing experience of the most holy place. Jesus Christ went into the most holy place—this is not just any theory. He went into the most holy place to open the books and start an investigative judgment. God is preparing a people in which God’s law cannot find fault. God is preparing a people through the experience of the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. He will produce a pure, spotless people—a cleansed people free from all defilement.

Let us search our hearts and guard our thoughts and afflict our souls and confess our sins so we can be cleansed. We are living in the most holy place period of this earth. Jesus Christ is not only thumbing through the pages of the books in heaven but in His ministry He is cleansing a people to be ready to receive the last resource of the power of God so that He can demonstrate the power of the gospel before the world and call them out of the Babylonian churches and from the world.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23. Every day be revived and renewed by the working of the Holy Spirit. We are living in a generation where it is very easy to be enticed, tempted and defiled.

My plea to you right now is to wake up, pray and meditate upon the word of God. We need to become the last warriors to stand up and become holy to defeat the enemy and hasten the coming of Jesus Christ. Only when we first come out of the practices and faults and teachings of Babylon will we be able to call God’s people out of the Babylonian churches and the world. God’s church is not Babylon, but many of God’s people became Babylonians by the defilement of the temptations Satan spread before them. As the Spirit of Prophecy declared, their minds and desires are defiled; they are a “cage of hateful birds.” Our church has been bringing the heathen idols into the camp for some time. What a sad situation we are in. Many people are baptized into the church without knowing and understanding the true Spirit of Prophecy and the meaning of the sanctuary message including the cleansing of sin.

In the time of the apostasy in ancient Israel, there was a warrior for God, Phinehas. When he saw one of the princes take one of the harlots of Midian into his tent, his anger for God and for righteousness arose, and he took the javelin, went into his tent and thrust down into the two bodies, and God’s wrath was stopped. Are there any modern Phinehas’ in our camps?

We are in the most holy place, the Day of Atonement. This should be our cleansing experience, a time to search our souls and our hearts to know what is wrong with us and what is preventing us from receiving the latter rain. What is preventing God’s church from preaching the gospel as it did in the early church? We have lost the demonstration of God’s power as individuals and as a church, because we have participated in idol worship and rites. We are standing before the heavenly Canaan and Satan is using the same tactic he used with such success with the Israelites on the border of Canaan causing many of God’s people to fall. For this reason we have lost the power of the gospel; the gospel that has power to convict and convert thousands in a day so the work can be finished and we can go home. We must pray and search our hearts as a church, as a group, as a family and as an individual. Let us truly have a cleansing of soul experience, a Day of Atonement experience—confess our sins and become holy.

“When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

Pastor David Kang is the director of Light for Life U.S. Ministry operation out of Ft. Lee, New Jersey. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang also frequently travels to Asia where he trains pastors who often work “underground.” 

Overcoming Impossible Odds

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There are many stories in the Bible about overcoming impossible odds. Some of these stories have to do with overcoming the number six, others with overcoming the number sixty, but in the final generation, the issue will be concerned with overcoming the number 666, the number of anti-christ.

A few hundred years after the children of Israel overcame their enemies and had settled in the land of Canaan, the time came when they demanded that they have a king, like all the other nations around them. So the Lord granted them a king in response to their request. Samuel the prophet anointed a man by the name of Saul as the first king of Israel. They found out later that they had been much better off when the Lord had been their only king, and having a human king turned out to be a real disaster. It is similar to starting down the road of socialism; once you begin that journey, it is very hard to retrace your steps. The time came when Saul had not only rebelled against the Lord, but he had committed the unpardonable sin. This caused much anxiety for Samuel, but the Lord told Samuel that he was to not fret about this anymore.

Now that Saul had been rejected, Samuel was directed to anoint another person as the king. The conversation went this way: “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.’ And Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.’ ” I Samuel 16:1–3.

Samuel did as the Lord had bidden him to do. He went to Bethlehem, where Jesse lived, and told him that they would have a sacrifice there. Not all of the plan was revealed, but Jesse was asked to call his sons who came to be seen of Samuel, who requested that they come to him in order of their age, beginning with the oldest. Eliab was so good-looking and had such a handsome stature that Samuel thought surely this was the one. However, when Samuel wanted to anoint Eliab, God told him something very interesting. “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ ” Verse 7.

There is no beauty of appearance, there is no outward manifestation of handsomeness, or beauty, or desirableness that can recommend any man or woman to God. What He is interested in is the character, a man’s inner worth, the excellency in his heart; that is what determines acceptance with the Lord of hosts. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 KJV.

We see in this story the mistake that Samuel, a very wise prophet, made; how vain it is for us to make estimations about a person because of the beauty of face or nobility of their stature. We also see how incapable we are of understanding the secrets of the heart, or of comprehending the counsels of God without special enlightenment from heaven.

After Eliab passed before Samuel, then Jesse had the second oldest son pass before him, and they kept this going until finally, seven of Jessie’s sons had passed before the prophet. The Lord did not consent for any of them to be anointed to be the king of Israel. Samuel was perplexed, for the Lord had told him specifically to go there because He had chosen for Himself a king from the sons of Jessie. But as they all passed before him, the Lord said no to each one.

Finally, Samuel asked Jessie: “ ‘Are all the young men here?’ Then he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.’ So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’ ” Verses 11, 12.

Samuel anointed David with the horn of oil in the presence of his brothers and “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” Verse 13. Samuel went back home and David, after being anointed as the king of Israel, went back to herding his sheep. He was not king yet. Saul was still king, and was determined that nobody else was going to be king except him.

A short time after this, a terrible crisis happened in the land of Israel, the Israelites and the Philistines went to war with each other. In this war, the Bible says that the Philistines had in their army a giant, a man by the name of Goliath; his height was six cubits and a span. A cubit is approximately eighteen inches, so this man was over nine feet tall. He was a very strong man and a trained warrior. He came out against the children of Israel and threatened them.

“And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.

“Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, ‘Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall 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.’ ” I Samuel 17:4–10.

He kept uttering this boastful charge and sneering accusation against the armies of Israel, saying, “You don’t have anybody. You don’t have anybody that can fight me. If you do, just send them out. We’ll fight, and whoever wins, the other side will be their servants.” Well, this went on day, after day, after day. There was no man of the children of Israel that wanted to venture to fight against the giant. In fact, the Bible says this went on for forty days, but before the forty days were over, God had in mind a way to deliver His people. God always has a plan and a way in mind to accomplish His purpose.

Often, though, we don’t understand what that plan is. We are bewildered because we cannot understand the outcome of affairs or events, and think everything is going to ruin. That is what Saul and his army thought. But God, as is always the case, had a plan in mind to defeat this boastful enemy. The person that He had in mind to defeat this giant was the boy, David, who was out herding his father’s sheep. David’s three oldest brothers were in the army; they were with Saul and listened to the defiant speech of Goliath day, after day, after day.

The time came when David’s father, Jesse, gave him food to take for his brothers and to check out if they were doing well and how the battle was going. “So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.’ ” Verses 20–25.

David was indignant when he heard the speech. He said, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Verse 26.

And so, the people began to talk about what David had said. He said, “Who is this man? He is not a follower of the Creator of the heavens and the earth; he is a worshiper of idols. Why should he defy the armies of people who worship the God of heaven?” Finally, the report reached King Saul. And Saul said, “Send that young man in to see me. I want to see him.”

When David came in to see King Saul, he told the king that he was willing to go and fight Goliath and they got into a little argument. The Bible records it this way: “Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.’ ” Verses 32, 33.

Then David gave his credentials. He told Saul why he believed he was qualified to go and fight with Goliath. “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’ ” Verses 34–37.

Saul did not really believe that David would be victorious. He thought he would end up being killed, but he was willing to let him give it a try. They had been enduring Goliath’s mockery for forty days. Saul put his own armor on David and sent him out to face the giant. After David had gone out a little ways, he came back. All those watching thought he had decided that it was just too dangerous a venture; he would not take his life in his hands and get killed trying to kill that giant!

But actually, that wasn’t what David had in mind at all. When he came back, “David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David took them off.” It’s not good to try to fight in armor with which you are unfamiliar. David took only what he was familiar with, what he knew. The Bible says, “He took his staff in his hand [used for herding the sheep]; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.” Verses 39, 40.

As the two unlikely contestants drew closer, the Philistine looked to see who it was that had come out against him expecting to see the most powerful warrior in the Israelite army. Instead, he sees what is apparently a teenager, a young man with no armor, no bow, no sword and no spear. “And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine [being quite insulted] said to David, ‘Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!’

“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.’ ” Verses 42–47.

When David had made such a speech, the rage of Goliath seemed to be intense. He became so outraged and so angry that the Bible says, “The Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.” Verse 48. Goliath was so angry and so outraged he failed to properly protect himself with his head armor. Approaching the giant whose face was exposed with his visor up, “David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” Verse 49.

The watching army expected that in just a moment, they would see David killed, decapitated by Goliath’s sword, but now everyone stood shocked, and in amazement as they watch the stone go whizzing through the air, straight to the mark. It hit the target in the forehead so hard, that it sank into his forehead. Goliath suddenly staggered, and fell to the ground. David did not hesitate. “Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” Verse 51. David prevailed over the Philistine giant with nothing more than a sling and a smooth stone that he picked up out of the brook.

David was faced with impossible odds against him yet he prevailed, because he had faith in God and he was prepared to do what he knew he could do. He’d had some experience. God had sent him some trials in life beforehand to prepare him for this very event. God had allowed him to meet up with a lion, and to meet up with a bear. He had successfully killed those ferocious animals to protect his flock. He knew that the same God Who delivered him from the lion and the bear could deliver him from Goliath. Perhaps you noticed that the number six appeared often in the description of Goliath, concerning his spearhead and also his height.

A deeper Bible study on Goliath reveals several other sixes related to him. Several hundred years later, three of God’s children, had to come to an image that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. This image was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. David had to meet a man that was six cubits and a span tall. The three Hebrew worthies, written about in Daniel 3, had to come with all the people gathered from all over the earth to a golden image that was sixty cubits high, and six cubits wide. They were commanded to kneel down and worship it at the sound of music. However, the second commandment says that you are not to worship, you are not to bow down before any image (Exodus 20:4–6). The second commandment is the second longest commandment in the law. God said that we are not to bow down or worship any graven image or anything we have made in His likeness.

The three Hebrew worthies refused to bow down, even under the threat of being thrown into the fiery furnace for disobeying the command of King Nebuchadnezzar to worship his image. They fearlessly remained standing when all others bowed. When brought before the king, they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:16–18. When they were thrown into the fiery furnace, the same God that delivered David out of the hand of Goliath, delivered the three Hebrew worthies. They walked out of the fiery furnace when Nebuchadnezzar asked them to, no longer bound and unharmed. God delivered them. With David it was six, with the three Hebrew worthies it was sixty. But, God’s children will have to meet a crisis at the very end of the world, having to do with the number 666, the number of anti-christ.

Christ can give you the grace to be an overcomer against impossible odds. Will you have the kind of faith that David had? Will you have the kind of faith that the three Hebrew worthies did so that you will able to say, “I know God is able to deliver me from your power, but if He does not, and whether you kill me or whatever you do, I will continue to worship the God of heaven. I will keep His commandments; I will do His will.” The time to develop that kind of faith is now. Now is the time to say, “Lord, I’m choosing to follow and obey You, and I pray that You will give me the strength to follow You, to be obedient to You, no matter the outcome.”

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – Walk Worthy of the Vocation

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From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the divine One.

God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building. They did not yield themselves as temples for the divine Spirit. In cleansing the temple from the world’s buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin—from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits that corrupt the soul.

No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul-temple. But He will not force an entrance. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20). He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and … they shall be My people” (II Corinthians 6:16). His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and “an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).

We ourselves must suffer the ills of violated law. We must answer to God for our habits and practices [sic]. Therefore the question for us is, how shall I, claiming to be a Christian, treat the habitation God has given me?

It is not he who merely enjoys righteousness, that is righteous, but he who does righteousness. Holiness is not rapture; it is the result of surrendering all to God; it is doing the will of our Heavenly Father. Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn God’s favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of His love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness.

To live by the word of God means the surrender to Him of the whole life. There will be felt a continual sense of need and dependence, a drawing out of the heart after God. Prayer is a necessity; for it is the life of the soul. It is secret communion with God that sustains the soul-life.

(Excerpts from A Habitation for the Spirit, The Review and Herald, December 31, 1908.)

Bible texts are from the New King James Version.