Issue: 2016 May

Inspiration – Power in the Promises

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“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through

faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Hebrews 6:12

We must keep close to the word of God. We need its warnings and encouragement, its threatenings and promises.

The Scriptures are to be received as God’s word to us, not written merely, but spoken. When the afflicted ones came to Christ, He beheld not only those who asked for help, but all who throughout the ages should come to Him in like need and with like faith. When He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2, last part) … , He spoke to other afflicted, sin-burdened ones who should seek His help. 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. They are leaves from that tree which is “for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2). Received, assimilated, they are to be the strength of the character, the inspiration and sustenance of the life. Nothing else can have such healing power.

God loves His creatures with a love that is both tender and strong. He has established the laws of nature, but His laws are not arbitrary exactions. Every “thou shalt not,” whether in physical or moral law, contains or implies a promise. If it is obeyed, blessings will attend our steps; if it is disobeyed, the result is danger and unhappiness. The laws of God are designed to bring His people closer to Himself. He will save them from the evil and lead them to the good if they will be led, but force them He never will.

We are too faithless. Oh, how I wish that I could lead our people to have faith in God! They need not feel that in order to exercise faith they must be wrought up into a high state of excitement. All they have to do is to believe God’s word, just as they believe one another’s word. He hath said it, and He will perform His word. Calmly rely on His promise, because He means all that He says. Say, He has spoken to me in His word, and He will fulfill every promise that He has made. Do not become restless. Be trustful. God’s word is true. Act as if your heavenly Father could be trusted.

God’s Amazing Grace, 266.

Keys to the Storehouse – Provoked to Destruction

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Through the action of the masses, Satan attempted to provoke Jesus, through the mob, to lose the image of God. He continues using the same methods today hoping to destroy the image of God in Christ’s followers, thus causing them to be lost as he is.

“Satan instigated [provoked] the cruel abuse of the debased mob led on by the priests and rulers,

  • to provoke, if possible, retaliation from the world’s Redeemer, or
  • to drive Him to deliver Himself by a miracle from the hands of His persecutors, and
  • thus break up the plan of salvation.
  • one stain upon His human life,
  • one failure of His humanity to bear the terrible test imposed upon it,
  • would make the Lamb of God an imperfect offering, and the redemption of man would be a failure.” The Present Truth, January 7, 1886.

Is Satan provoking you? Be strong dear Christian! Do not join under the black banner! “I saw Satan planting his banner in the households of those who profess to be God’s chosen ones, but those who are walking in the light should be able to discern the difference between the black banner of the adversary and the bloodstained standard of Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 200.

Are your eyes open to any provocations of Satan? Ask for spiritual discernment! Look or lose!

“Each son and daughter of Adam chooses either Christ or Barabbas as his general. And all who place themselves on the side of the disloyal are standing under Satan’s black banner, and are charged with rejecting and despitefully using Christ. They are charged with deliberately crucifying the Lord of life and glory.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1107.

“The Holy Spirit is an effective helper in restoring the image of God in the human soul.” The Faith I Live By, 52.

On the other hand, Satan’s spirit is a destructive force and will do anything to place us under his black banner. “Satan had declared to his synagogue that not a single human soul would maintain his loyalty to God’s commandments. One soul saved would prove this statement to be false. One soul saved would demonstrate the righteousness of God’s government. Created in the image of God, man must not be left for Satan to rule and ruin.” The Upward Look, 223.

Here are just a few of Satan’s tricks of provocation. He provokes jealousy, opposition, a hasty reply, anger, children and adults to wrath, tempers, opposition, the divine displeasure, controversies, debate, the wrath of God, and much more. Is there anything in your character that responds to Satan’s provocation causing you to reflect his character and to enlist you under his banner?

Watch and pray! Learn to identify which spirit is working with you and around you by watching carefully. Learn to identify and distinguish the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your life from the fruits of Satan.

Father: Thank you for sending Thine only begotten Son to fight the battle with Satan. Thank you Jesus for remaining faithful through all of the provocations and attacks of Satan. Give me peace of mind and heart that I may remain focused on heavenly things and not be drawn away from Your presence by any attempt by Satan to enlist me under his black banner. Amen!

Current Events – The Elevated Character of Women

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The influence of the female character is now felt and acknowledged in all the relations of life. I speak not now of those distinguished women, who instruct their age through the public press. Nor of those devout strains we take upon our lips when we worship. But of a much larger class—of those whose influence is felt in the relations of neighbor, friend, daughter, wife, mother.

Who waits at the couch of the sick to administer tender charities while life lingers or to perform the last acts of kindness when death comes? Where shall we look for those examples of friendship that most adorn our nature, those abiding friendships, which trust even when betrayed, and survive all changes of fortune?

Where shall we find the brightest illustrations of filial piety? Have you even seen a daughter watching the decline of an aged parent and holding out with heroic fortitude to anticipate his wishes, to administer to his wants, and to sustain his tottering steps to the very borders of the grave?

But in no relation does woman exercise so deep an influence, both immediately and prospectively, as in that of mother. To her is committed the immortal treasure of the infant mind. Upon her devolves the care of the first stages of that course of discipline which is to form of a being, perhaps the most frail and helpless in the world, the fearless ruler of animated creation, and the devout adorer of its great Creator.

Her smiles call into exercise the first affections that spring up in our hearts. She cherishes and expands the earliest germs of our intellects. She breathes over us her deepest devotions. She lifts our little hands and teaches our little tongues to lisp in prayer.

She watches over us like a guardian angel and protects us through all our helpless years, when we know not of her cares and her anxieties on our account. She follows us into the world of men, and lives in us, and blesses us, when she lives not otherwise upon the earth.

What constitutes the center of every home? Whither do our thoughts turn, when our feet are weary with wandering and our hearts sick with disappointments? Where shall the truant and forgetful husband go for sympathy unalloyed and without design, but to the bosom of her who is ever ready and waiting to share in his adversity or his prosperity? And if there be a tribunal where the sins and the follies of a forward child may hope for pardon and forgiveness this side of heaven, that tribunal is the heart of a fond and devoted mother.

Finally, her influence is felt deeply in religion. If Christianity should be compelled to flee from the mansions of the great, the academies of philosophers, the halls of legislators, or the throng of busy men, we should find her last and purest retreat with woman at the fireside; her last altar would be the female heart; her last audience would be the children gathered round the knees of the mother; her last sacrifice, the secret prayer escaping in silence from her lips, and heard, perhaps, only at the throne of God.

The Moore McGuffey Readers, Carter, 64–66.

The Iron Wolf

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I conducted the services two months ago,” said a clergyman, “at the funeral of one of my parishioners. He had been a farmer. Forty years ago, as a young man, he commenced work for himself and his young wife with one hundred acres of land, and he ended with one hundred. He was a skilled, industrious workingman, but he laid by no money in the bank. I understood the reason, as I listened to the comments of his neighbors and friends.

“ ‘It was always a warm, hospitable house,’ said one.

“ ‘The poor man was never turned away from that door.’

“ ‘His sons and daughters all received the best education which his means could command. One is a clergyman, one a civil engineer, two are teachers; all lead useful, happy, and full lives.’ ”

“Said another neighbor, ‘Those children sitting there and weeping are the orphans of a friend. He gave them a home. That crippled girl is his wife’s niece. She lived with them for years. That young fellow who is also weeping so bitterly was a waif that he rescued from the slums of the city.’ ”

“And so the story went on, not of a miser who had heaped dollar on dollar, but of a servant of God, who had helped many lives, and had lifted many of them out of misery and ignorance into life and joy.

“On my way home from the funeral, I stopped at the farm of another parishioner, who said to me, in a shrill, rasping tone—

“ ‘So poor Gould is dead? He left a poor account. Not a penny more than he got from his father. Now I started with nothing, and look there pointing to his broad fields. I own down to the creek! D’ye know why? When I started to keep house, I brought this into it the first thing,’ taking an iron savings-bank in the shape of a wolf out of the closet. ‘Every penny I could save went into its jaws.’ ”

“ ‘It’s surprising how many pennies you can save when you’ve a purpose. My purpose was to die worth a hundred thousand dollars. Other folks ate meat; we ate molasses. Other men dressed their wives in merinoes; mine wore calico. Other men wasted money on schooling; my boys and girls learned to work early and keep it up late. I wasted no money on churches, or sick people, or paupers, or books, and’—he concluded, triumphantly—‘now I own to the creek, and that land with the fields yonder and the stock in my barns are worth one hundred thousand dollars. Do you see?’ and on the thin, hard lips was a wretched attempt to laugh.

“The house was bare and comfortless; his wife, worn out by work, had long ago crept into her grave; of his children, taught only to make money a god, one daughter, starved in body and mind, was still drudging in his kitchen; one son had taken to drink, having no other resource, and died in prison; the other, a harder miser than his father, remained at home to fight with him over every penny wrung out of their fertile fields.

“Yesterday I buried this man,” continued the clergyman. “Neither neighbor nor friend, son nor daughter, shed a tear over him. His children were eager to begin the quarrel for the ground he had sacrificed his life to earn. Of it all, he had now only earth enough to cover his decaying body.

“Economy for a noble purpose,” added the good old clergyman, “is a virtue; but in the houses of some of our farmers it is avarice, and like a wolf, devours intelligence, religion, hope, and life itself.” Selected.

The Youth Instructor, April 14, 1886.

How the Will of Man Can Overcome All Sin

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In my personal devotions with God one early morning, I discovered a most profound truth that I must share with you. I was reading the book Christ’s Object Lessons, 333, and found this mind boggling inspired quotation: “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent.” At first I found this difficult to comprehend, for only God is omnipotent. Could it be possible that God loves us so much that He is willing to share this unbelievable power of omnipotence with you and me? Since I am a firm believer that both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, I was overwhelmed with this revealed truth that God would share His omnipotent power with sinners like you and me so that we may overcome every temptation of Satan and live victoriously as Jesus did.

Let us keep in mind that there is no question concerning the eternal truth that is found in Romans 8:3: “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” It was thus that Christ as our example demonstrated for us how He in the likeness of our sinful flesh joined His will with God’s omnipotent power making it possible for Him to live on earth without committing one sin. This is why He could say, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin” (John 8:46, first part)? Only Christ could make such a statement, for in His daily life He fully surrendered His will to God’s will. We read of this dedication in John 6:38: “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” This was demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane in choosing death rather than life when He stated, “Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36).

Christ has revealed how He cooperated with God in joining His human will with God’s divine will. This is why the Bible pleads, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). If we will follow the example of Christ and place our will in the hand of God we too can have absolute victory over sin.

Now this brings us to a most important question. What is the will? I believe this can best be described by what it is not. Please let me illustrate. Most of you have no doubt experienced something similar to what I am about to tell you. You have been in someone’s home when it was bedtime for their children. I was making a pastoral call with my wife one evening in the home of one of our church members. Their little boy Johnny was excited to see the pastor. As we visited, the boy’s bedtime became past due so Mother said, “Johnny, it’s time for you to go to bed.” Instantly he shook his head, No! No! and he began to pout. Mother insisted, “Johnny, come now, let’s go to bed.” At these words he began to reveal his real nature. He stamped his feet, fell on the floor kicking and screaming. His mother picked the little fellow up as he struggled to resist. Mother blushed as she said, “My boy has such a strong willpower.” Now that was a misnomer. Johnny was not displaying his God-given willpower, but instead a disobedient “won’t” power. And what’s more, won’t power is not to be confused with want power.

Let me explain further. An old man in the jungle was in such pain that he walked ten miles to one of our dispensaries in a small town. The doctor took one look at his swollen jaw and told the man his tooth must be taken out. So the man got in the dental chair and watched the doctor make preparations. First he put on a white jacket and then placed the hypo with the long needle on it on a nearby table. The jungle man’s eyes grew bigger and bigger. Next the doctor placed a small lance and forceps next to the hypo. After rolling up his sleeves the doctor told the man, “Open your mouth.” Suddenly he yelled, “No! No!” You see this jungle man had never seen a dentist before in his entire life and he was scared to death. The doctor pleaded, “You will only feel a tiny prick and when the tooth is gone you will not have any more pain.” “No! No!” The man got up out of the chair and rushed to the door and ran back into the jungle with his terrible pain. Why? Because he was not willing. Now what have we learned thus far? The will of man is not won’t power. It is not want power. The will is the deciding power of man.

Let me give you the best definition of the will that I have ever found. “Pure religion has to do with the will. The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or unto disobedience.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 513. So we have arrived at the proper definition. The will is not won’t power. The will is not want power. The will is the deciding power. These words deciding power imply there is a counsel of judges.

Let us consider that your mind, your brain, is the chamber in which three judges sit. The first judge is called the voice of reason. This is why God pleads, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18). Only man has this power of reasoning. This ability leads to choice. It is not found in the animal kingdom. The greatest gift that God ever gave to mankind is His son Jesus Christ and the next gift is that of the power of choice. If man is to be saved to everlasting life he must accept this precious gift of Jesus and then properly use the gift of choice.

We read in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” Now let us consider this judge called reason. He is cold and factual. He will argue the pro and the con pointing out the good and the bad and he pays no attention as to whether you like it or not. Without question he points out the advantages or disadvantages.

Now what makes our reasoning power tick?

Point number 1: Reasoning power is developed by your home life, the teachings and example of your parents, Bible study and prayer, and how you use the television, the radio, [and the Internet].

Point number 2: Your reasoning power is determined by the school you attend. Are Christian standards taught and upheld? Are modern scientific theories to be accepted without question? Or, is the final answer found in God’s word?

Point number 3: The church you attend affects the power of choice. Are its teachings based on God’s word or on tradition? Do you attend for the excitement of its weekly drama and the beat of the Christian rock music, or to be quietly, spiritually fed by the Holy Spirit? There is one more point.

Point number 4: Do not forget the effect of your associations upon your reasoning ability. Are your close friends worldly with evil habits? Or are they the kind you love to discuss spiritual truths with?

Each of these four factors affects the reasoning ability of this judge called reason.

The second judge is your heart’s ideal. Some may call it your feelings. We are not talking about your mind of knowledge, but of your heart’s seat of affections. For God says in His word in I Kings 3:9, first part: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.” Our ideal judge is developed by the same four standards of our personal environment – the home life, the school, the church and your associates. The important question is Are these four factors Christ centered? The poet has stated, “Be like Jesus, this my song; in the home and in the throng. Be like Jesus all day long. I would be like Jesus” (James Rowe, 1911).

The third judge is the voice of conscience. As with the other two judges, the counsel of this judge is also developed by the home, school, church and our associates. We are not born with a conscience and we must not consider our conscience infallible. Take the example of Saul of Tarsus. It was his home life, schooling, church, and associates which all played a part in the development of his ungodly conscience. Keep in mind that he was taught that tradition was above the word of God, that he could work his way to heaven, that higher education should be trusted as above the counsel of God, that priestly teachings and commands were to be obeyed with a cadaver-like conscience. Is it any wonder that he acted as he did? He persecuted the people of God, believing he was doing God a favor. But on the road to Damascus he met Jesus and he was never the same again. As Saul looked into Christ’s face, He became his ideal. His conscience was renewed by the Holy Spirit enabling him to see the folly in fighting God’s truth. He immediately forsook his former associates. His reasoning power no longer was based on tradition but on God’s eternal word.

No longer do we talk of Saul the persecutor, but of Paul the apostle. Why? Because the three judges in his mind chamber now acted differently. His reasoning power was now based on Scripture. His heart’s ideal was no longer to be like the Jewish priests but to be like Jesus. His conscience followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. His new associates encouraged him to stand faithful to God. The Bible explains this in two words—born again.

We praise God for Paul’s new birth experience, but we must ever keep in mind that if this change of mind in us does not reveal a death of the old nature and a resurrection of a new Christ-like nature, this apparent change of character will not last but end in complete failure.

Consider the following: An individual may accept God’s word as the basis of his reasoning, but if he continues to make his ideal that of some TV movie star, the power of this worldly ideal will become so strong as to eventually overrule the word of God. Or if one permits the Holy Spirit to develop within him a godly conscience but he reasons to question God’s word because of the teachings of higher education, he will discover that doubt will become the master, actually destroying his faith in God. And what’s more, you may have good reasoning, heavenly ideals and a holy conscience, yet, if you accept as your closest friends the unconverted with evil habits, all of your godly counsel, high ideals, and saintly conscience will avail you nothing, for the power of evil associates is so great that it will overpower these Christian qualities. Thus you will never be able to join your human willpower with that of omnipotence. Victory over sin will be unattainable.

Consider once more this will chamber in man’s mind. Sometimes it often takes a few moments to make the right decision and this requires a porter called self-control to take control and give time for the three judges to take action. For instance, when a problem arises demanding a decision, this self-control porter opens the door to the will chamber stating, Just a minute; don’t be too hasty, for we expect the right decision.

Paul explains this action with these words: “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things” (I Corinthians 9:25, first part). Ellen White uses these words found in Messages to Young People, page 134: “The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who can stand unmoved amid a storm of abuse is one of God’s heroes. …

“It is God’s purpose that the kingly power of sanctified reason, controlled by divine grace, shall bear sway in the lives of human beings. He who rules his spirit is in possession of this power.”

So at the doorway to the council chamber of the will sits this porter of self-control. And whatever the source of impulse, be it habits, hereditary tendencies or some emotion, you name it, your mind chamber becomes alerted for action. Self-control gives the three judges of your will sufficient time to come to the right decision. It may take only a split second for reason, desire, and conscience to act. Then again it may take more time, but to act impulsively without the decision of these three judges can be a disaster – the difference between life or death, heaven or hell.

Let me make this practical. Take the example of hunger. This is a God given desire implanted at birth. As it follows the nerve pathway to the brain, if it is unhampered by reason, ideal, or conscience, the result is obvious – we will eat anything at any time, in any quantity to satisfy the impulse. This could lead us to become a glutton or a drunkard, but if we channel this desire to our will chamber, immediately the porter for the self-control says, Wait a minute, your three judges need to act. Instantly reason takes over. So you want to eat? Well, that’s perfectly all right, but remember, the work you are doing dictates the quantity you eat. And don’t forget – you should wait at least four to five hours between meals. And you will need some protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. What? You don’t like greens? That doesn’t matter. Eat it; it is good for you. Remember, you are what you eat. You want to be alert, don’t you? Clear eyed and quickly able to distinguish between truth and error. It is a known fact that the man who follows God’s prescribed diet of fresh fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables is found to be in the best of health, mentally as well as physically.

Then conscience speaks up. Everything that can be eaten shouldn’t be eaten. Some things are poison and God has declared some things are unclean. So in the will chamber of your mind you will have made a right decision: I will eat the right food, in the right quantity, at the right time. And the result – you’re a happy, contented, healthy, clear-minded thinker on the road to the best of health—all because of the correct action of your will.

Now what about passion? There are two paths that can be taken. One is controlled passion. The other is uncontrolled passion. God gave us passion and there is nothing wrong with this wonderful gift, but if uncontrolled by the will, it can lead to indiscretion, petting, lasciviousness, adultery, perversion, and even incest. What was true love can become lust, breaking the marriage vow and ruining the life. Uncontrolled passion is a curse and it is always promoted by the devil.

You may not like the comparison I am about to give but it’s absolutely true. A young woman with a proper willpower can become an unselfish mother, rearing her beautiful children for Christ in her Christ-like home, or she can become a harlot, roaming the streets like a dog in heat. Both are inspired by the same instinctive urge of passion. What makes the difference? It is the willpower. No wonder the wisest man that ever lived said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” And the apostle Paul added in Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” This fact remains as long as there is life on earth. Your will is the determining factor between eternal life or death. Inspiration makes this very clear in Messages to Young People, page 31: “O that every one might realize that he is the arbiter of his own destiny! Your happiness for this life, and for the future, immortal life lies with yourself.”

Now does this mean that God doesn’t have anything to do with your salvation? Of course not. What it means is that you must do the willing and then God can do the saving. Let me read further from this inspired book on page 212: “Remember, … that each day, each hour, each moment, you are weaving the web of your destiny. Each time the shuttle is thrown, there is drawn into the web a thread which either mars or beautifies the pattern. If you are careless and indolent, you spoil the life which God designed should be bright and beautiful. If you choose to follow your own inclinations, unchristlike habits will bind you with bands of steel.” Here again we discover what is the deciding factor. It is the will.

Now let me conclude with the profound truth I read to you in our introduction of this important message found in Christ’s Object Lessons, 333: “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent.” [Emphasis added.] What a tremendous thought! Omnipotent? Why, that is a power belonging only to God. What does this mean? Your will can become omnipotent when it is completely dominated by God’s will because your reasoning, your ideal, your conscience and your choice of associates are all in tune with God. This is how Jesus as a man made in the likeness of our flesh (Romans 8:3) was able to overcome every temptation of Satan and never sinned. God pleads with you and me to do likewise.

As we read before in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” As Christ gave His will completely to God, His willpower became omnipotent over every temptation, and praise the Lord, we too can live victoriously over sin when we can say as Christ said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done” (Luke 22:42, literal translation). God never forces the will. The power of choice was God’s original gift to man and it will always be as long as eternity lasts. When we willingly give our reasoning, ideal, and conscience to God, He shares His divine power with us. Praise His name! Oh what love! What a Savior! You can hear His voice calling now.

Isaiah 1:19, 20 says, “If ye be willing [there it is again, the power of the will] and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Praise God; it is so simple. Messages to Young People, 120: “Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is ‘dead in trespasses’ (Ephesians 2:1). He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.”

Don’t you like this kind of a God? Does He not appeal to your heart? With the help of His omnipotent power you can say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). So beloved, with God’s help I have laid before you life or death. Your will determines what your choice will be.

A missionary told me of an old man who walked into the mission hospital asking for some medicine to heal his broken finger. As the doctor unwrapped the dirty rag covering his hand he discovered the finger was dead. It was black, rotten to the bone. Alarmed, the doctor said, “There’s no medicine that I can give you to cure your finger. It must be amputated immediately or the blood poison of your dead finger will kill you.” But the man would have none of this. He insisted, “Doctor, if you won’t give me medicine to cure my finger, I’ll return to the jungle and find my old witch doctor. He will give me medicine. If it won’t work, I’ll come back in ten days.” Two weeks later the doctor inquired of a patient who knew this man. “Tell me, what happened to the man with the infected finger?” “Oh,” said the friend, “he died five days ago.”

Why did he die? Was it because there was no doctor to save him? No, he was not willing. When we shall soon see Jesus coming in the clouds of angels to bestow eternal life to the faithful, if any of us should find ourselves calling for the mountains to hide us from His glory, it will not be because God made no provision to share with us His omnipotent power to gain victory over every sin. It will be because we were not willing for Christ to save us.

So I beg of you – let your reasoning be developed by a daily study of God’s word; let your ideal be to become like Jesus. Keep friends with those who do likewise. Let your conscience be the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and you will be living day by day ready to meet Jesus. Remember, “You cannot control your impulses, your emotions, as you may desire, but you can control the will, and you can make an entire change in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, your life will be hid with Christ in God, and allied to the power which is above all principalities and powers.” Messages to Young People, 152. Beloved, that is omnipotent power. Praise God!

“As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333.

For more than fifty years Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to tell it “like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Though nothing could be found in his preaching that was contrary to the doctrines of the church he was considered divisive so Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry was born.

How Do We Compare – A Lowered Church Standard

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Consider where the Christian church started and how it has changed. The following article written over 100 years ago describes a move to secularism and a decline in spirituality. What about today; is Christ in the so-called Christian churches or have we been deceived?

A Lowered Church Standard

How the World Looks upon It

By C. L. Taylor

Under the heading, “The Church Penalized,” the Kansas City (Missouri) “Post,” in its issue of Sunday, May 29, 1910, took occasion, editorially, to say a few plain things concerning “the church of to-day.” I quote:

“Almost every church of Christendom began as did the apostolic church—down among the mudsills of society, the common people, so commonly despised. But without being able to detail the processes of each, the law of ecclesiastical evolution seems to have seized upon the spirit of the followers of the lowly Nazarene, and a few generations have been sufficient to develop a church pride and aristocracy which have caused the church to ‘forget the pit from which she was dug,’ and ‘the rock from whence she was hewn.’ ”

“Two or three illustrations prove the rule. The Methodists were a plain, homely folk, laying special stress upon plainness of dress, of meeting-houses, simplicity of worship, and a spirit on fire from a new Pentecost. Fifty years have seen this denomination grow into flattering numbers, highly educated clergy, fashionable congregations, colossal church buildings, cathedral-like in architecture, great pipe-organs, and cultivated choirs singing in an unknown tongue.”

The masses and the backwoods have all been left in the apparent race for an ideal of greatness. Seeing the needs of the hour, the Disciples’ church came to the rescue, and making better time, because living in a faster age than their Methodist brethren, have, within the recollection of the young man writing this article, grown from the four square wooden walls of the unpainted meeting-house, and as bald a service as it was possible to have, and a ministry which belonged to the common people, and which decried education, and with a prejudice against musical instruments often codified into a law of the congregation—these followers of Him who had nowhere to lay His holy head, have become spurring rivals of their pioneer Methodist brethren, and now worship God in imposing edifices, sometimes looking more like a heathen temple than a house of the manger Babe, and with poetical, philosophical, and logical orators in the pulpit, and the costliest organs in the loft, and also with choirs which seem to have been selected more because of their skillful use of Greek in singing than because of their superior soul power in song. They, too, have broken with their humble origin.

While some portions of this picture may be a little too highly colored, the fact remains that for years the church of Christ has notoriously violated her own principles of professed humility and simplicity in the very ways pointed out in the “Post” editorial. She has adopted and adapted the spirit of the age in her extravagance and love of display, this being especially true in our great cities. And it is a just reflection on the part of many, that as the cost of church buildings and equipment has gone up, the real value of the church service has gone down. The better the pew the poorer the religion.

A Non-Theological Creed

But sad as may be the fact that in outward display the church of to-day is so sadly lowering the standard of Christian profession, sadder still is the fact that she is finding it convenient to abrogate the very fundamentals of Christian doctrine. A clipping from the New York “Evening Telegram” of April 21, 1910, will serve to illustrate the trend of the times:

“New Haven, Connecticut, Thursday — A new confession of faith, which drops the Apostles’ Creed and requires no formal expression as to the divinity of Christ, has been adopted by the deacons and will be presented for adoption by the Center Congregational Church of this city.

“The significance of this action is that the church has strictly held to Puritan orthodoxy for more than two and a half centuries, having been founded in 1638. New members will only have to pledge themselves to believe in a higher life and to moral purposes. The old confession of faith will be spread upon the records of the church as a historical relic.

“As explained by the church officers, the purpose of the change is to make the confession of faith absolutely non-theological and to gather into membership those who have hitherto been debarred by slight theological scruples.”

It may be, indeed, that to many religionists “the divinity of Christ” is a matter of “slight theological” importance, and therefore may be advantageously omitted from church belief. To all true followers of the Lord Jesus, however, this doctrine of our Lord’s divinity constitutes the very foundation of all Christian living. As well may we believe in a Bible without inspiration, as a Jesus without divinity. Only because He was “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16), “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), was Jesus Christ worthy of our affection and worship. Only divinity can save from sin, and only faith in divinity can bring salvation into men’s lives.

Who cannot see that in this yielding up of fundamentals the church is veritably allowing her colors to trail in the dust? It is a deliberate surrender to those forces which would make the church only a social club, her faith a mere form of words, her work a purely esthetic quantity. Think of it! People want to join the church, but demand before doing so, that she eliminate those doctrines which are essential to her existence, but which are distasteful to their ideas!

Sensationalism

Along with this surrender of principle in matter of faith, there come practices quite foreign to the spirit of the pure Gospel of the Scriptures. The San Francisco “News Letter” of February 13, 1909, had this to say about present-day popular methods of carrying forward church work:

“A clergyman, either in the doctrines he preaches or the manner in which he presents them, must be in sore straits when he resorts to theatrical devices for luring people to his church. The tendency to sensationalism in the pulpit and to extraordinary musical programs, is quite prominent nowadays, and some pastors are even advertising, just as theaters do.”

Yes, advertising, and sensational advertising at that, has taken the place in many ministers’ work of the drawing power of the Spirit of God, as it was manifested in the work of an Elijah, a Paul, a Luther, or a Wesley. And not only have certain Protestant ministers adopted advertising schemes for themselves, but they have gone into print and boldly advocated their methods as models for their brethren to follow.

But would the ministry dare endorse theatrical plans if their congregations stood in open opposition? Is it not a case of “like people, like priest”? Do not the people “love to have it so”? Have not “extraordinary musical programs” and other mere entertainments been introduced because the majority of attendants upon church services really demand it? The fact is, church members, unreproved and unreprovable, are so largely in attendance upon and educated by the common theater through the six days of the week, that their tastes call for theatrical food the other one day.

Theatricals Planned for

That the church trend is toward the theatrical, toward loose plans which will draw the multitude, may be seen from the following clipping:

“Philadelphia, June 2 – Fairhill Baptist Church, one of the largest in the city, is to be so enlarged and reconstructed as to provide for a roof garden, upon which in warm weather vaudeville is to be presented in conjunction with Gospel services. When the weather is cold or it is raining a spacious auditorium, which the proposed roof garden will surmount, will be used instead.”

In justification of the scheme, the pastor, the Reverend Mr. McClellan, is reported to have said:

“It is time that Christians who would win unsaved men and women from the playhouse, cardtable, and saloon to the church should provide practical means of making the latter attractive. A radical departure in church work is needed, if we are to appeal successfully to non-churchgoers.”

But this is CHURCHianity instead of CHRISTianity. Men and women may indeed be drawn to the church by stage performances and kindred methods, but they are not drawn to Christ. They will find in the end and to their utter dismay that the church had lost her power, and had provided them only a deceptive substitute. It has long been known that plain, open, worldly vaudeville is demoralizing, worthy of all Christians’ severe condemnation; but what shall be said of it when it assumes a Christian name, masquerades in the sacred precincts of Jehovah’s church, and claims to be able to save people from their sins! No wonder that the theatrical world of nowadays seeks closer union with the church, and claims a place in the work of man’s moral uplift.

Boxing Matches

Note the following from the New York “Evening Telegram”

“BOXING IN CHURCH—Atlanta, GA, Friday.— Deacons of a church here have hit on a plan to induce delinquent members to attend services. A boxing contest was advertised to take place in the church last night, and long before the time for the bout to begin every pew was filled.

“Shortly afterward two of the deacons appeared gloved for the ring. The fighters faced each other and the fight was on, but after sparring a few minutes, both failing to land a blow, the bout was declared off and the usual services held.”

These things are painful. Gladly would all true followers of the Lord Jesus forget them and if possible bury them deep in oblivion. But that cannot be. God says, “Cry aloud” (Isaiah 58:1). Only because earth’s millions stand in danger of complete and eternal loss are the sins of God’s professed people to be plainly revealed. It may be, yea, it will be, that some will hear the warning and flee from the paths that lead to death.

Honest hearts, one here, another there, in this land and in that, are breathing earnest prayers to God that He will turn back the tidal wave of worldliness which seems about to engulf the church, and give back to them the days of Spirit power and Pentecostal preaching. Their petitions will be answered, but not as they expect. The Scriptures declare that the last days will be filled with mighty perils, summed up, as it were, in a church “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3: 5). The church, as a great whole, will not repent and reform. She will go on in her blindness and folly, lowering the standard more and more, until, as a part of great Babylon, she will finally become the rendezvous of evil men and wicked spirits (Revelation 18:2). But “out of her” God will call, His people (verse 4). Upon the platform of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12) they will take their stand, and triumph when the Master appears.

Our Greatest Need

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As a preacher I am often contacted by people with suggestions to preach about certain subjects that they are concerned about. These suggestions are always the pet subject of the people who think everyone should agree with their interpretation on the subject. Identifying the king of the north, the identity of the 144,000, or how to apply certain aspects of health reform are just a few. Though these are important issues, they are not salvational issues.

The most important question anyone can ask himself or herself is, Am I ready for Jesus to come and am I going to spend eternity in the kingdom of heaven?

So, whatever view you hold concerning the king of the north, or concerning what constitutes appropriate dress, it will not do you any good if the Lord should come and you are not ready to meet Him.

As I pondered the reason why many professed Christians will not be ready for the Lord to come, I finally narrowed it down to just one big reason that covers a multitude of other reasons.

The One Who Overcomes 

The Bible teaches that if you are going to be ready for the Lord to come, you must be an overcomer. In Revelation 2 and 3 to all seven churches, which represents the whole Christian world for all time, salvation is promised only to the overcomer.

Revelation 21:5–7: “Then He Who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega [the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet], the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.’ ” We see here that it is the one who overcomes who is going to inherit everything.

Salvation is for those who overcome. Today we are living in a pessimistic age, but the 19th century, in Ellen White’s time, was an age of optimism. I could hardly believe it and used to laugh as a child when my father would tell me how people used to talk. There were people who would actually stand in front of the mirror and say, “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.” They would repeat it believing that if they said it enough it would actually happen. It was believed that life would get better and better.

I thought, What trash! What craziness! How could people be so foolish in just one generation past? The fact of the matter is they lived in a time of optimism. Because of all the new inventions, they thought they could conquer disease and war and they thought they were going to live in a utopian society.

After a couple of world wars in the 20th century, confidence was destroyed. Since then we have become a very pessimistic people. Now people say to preachers, “I can’t overcome.” The preachers too are affected just like other people by the society in which they live and have adjusted their preaching to suit the tenor of what people think. This is where the doctrine of perfectionism came from. It is the idea that you just come to Christ and instantly you are perfect from that time on. Seventh-day Adventists do not believe in perfectionism, have never taught it, and Ellen White never endorsed that doctrine.

The pendulum has swung from the extreme view of the 19th century clear to another extreme wherein the people now say it is impossible to be perfect, although the Bible clearly teaches Christian perfection.

Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13)! All parents love to give good gifts to their children.

Why can’t People Overcome?

If that is the case, if indeed our heavenly Father wants to give His children the Holy Spirit, why is it then that these people cannot overcome? They have not received the Holy Spirit because they are unwilling to make an undivided commitment to God. Luke 14:33: “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Unless you are willing to make an unreserved, undivided commitment to God, to follow Him and to obey Him, you cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will continue pleading with you; however, cannot work in your life contrary to your will. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit will never work contrary to your will and in order to work in your life, your will has to be totally surrendered to God.

Without full surrender and total commitment, you become stuck. That is why people get discouraged in their Christian walk. They say, “I can’t overcome,” which is true without the Holy Spirit. Why don’t they have the Holy Spirit? Because they have not made an undivided, unreserved surrender to God. Now we could go one step further and ask why they have not made an undivided, unreserved surrender to God. If that is the way you get the Holy Spirit, why don’t people do it?

The reason people are not willing to make an undivided commitment, to give their undivided affections to God is because they don’t know Him. Therefore, they don’t love Him and they don’t trust Him. How can you make an unreserved surrender to somebody that you don’t know, and you don’t trust, and you don’t love?

Would you want to marry somebody you do not know, do not love and do not trust? Of course not. People do not know, love and trust God because they lack faith. Ellen White says, “Every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack of faith.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 657. It doesn’t matter how weak you are, how sinful you are, or whatever your problem is; if you have faith in God and understand the plan of salvation, He is going to make it work out in your life.

Every failure on the part of the children of God is because of their lack of faith. The disciples came to the Lord one time and they said, “… Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).

Romans 10:6–17 explains why there are some people that do not have any faith. If you do not have faith, then you do not know God and cannot make a commitment. You are stuck and cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

Verse 17 tells how to get the faith you need so that you can be saved. It says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

It is never the wrong time to decide that it is time to get serious about knowing God and learning how to get the faith that you need, so that you can make the commitment to Him and receive the Holy Spirit. Thus the plan of salvation can work out in your life.

Start by reading the Bible through. Maybe you have done this before, but each time you read, you will find some new treasure that you had previously missed. Learn the principles found in God’s word regarding life and then apply the principles to your own life.

Some people have read the whole Bible several times, concentrating on certain chapters. However, it is not enough just to read. The Bible says in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” David memorized Scripture passages that would come to his mind readily when they were needed.

Many people find temptations irresistible. When the devil comes at them with temptations they do not have any weapons with which to fight him. Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the weapons of Scripture.

When the devil came to Jesus in the wilderness of temptation, His only defense was the word of God. Scripture that He had previously committed to memory was His only weapon against His wily foe.

Scripture memorization Suggestions

If you want to win in your Christian life, it would be beneficial to have some scriptures memorized. Here are a few suggestions:

The Sermon on the Mount – The length of this passage may be scary for some people, being three chapters, but most people have memorized part of it anyway. Most people can say the Lord’s Prayer which is part of that sermon. The Golden Rule is also a part and can be found in Matthew 7:12. Jesus said, “… do to others the way you’d like them to do to you.” I think about that scripture often. I am convinced that if I do not learn to do to others the way I would like for them to do to me, I will not be in the kingdom of heaven. That same principle is also taught throughout the writings of Ellen White.

Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifies in very clear language that anyone can understand who will be saved and who will be lost. Jesus also spoke there about the ten commandments. It would do well to memorize the whole sermon.

Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. When you put the word of God (Romans 10:17) in your mind, it has an effect on the way you think and the way you feel, and it starts having an effect on the way you act. It enables you to make an unreserved surrender to the Lord and to receive the Holy Spirit. Thus you start having victory in your life over bad habits.

The Love Chapter – Another passage worth memorizing is I Corinthians 13. It is wonderful to recite to yourself these passages about love. Read them in different translations. Once while a guest in someone’s home I was asked to share for morning worship with them. I had my Greek New Testament with me so I just read to them a literal translation of I Corinthians 13 and we were all blessed. It is one of the most important chapters for a Christian to understand. Paul spells out 15 different characteristics of love, all of which should be manifest in the life of each Christian.

The Ten Commandments – These should be memorized with an understanding of every word. It is also beneficial to know where all 10 of them are repeated in the New Testament. Interestingly, each time they are mentioned they are repeated as a divine obligation. Someday we might have to answer to that in a court of justice.

The Three Angels’ Messages – These messages are the very reason that Seventh-day Adventists exist. It is these three final messages that have to be sounded to the world before the Lord can return. They contain God’s last invitation of mercy to a planet that is in rebellion. And as we approach the end of the world, the eternal destiny of every single person in the world will be determined by whether that person accepts or rejects the warnings therein.

Have you carefully noticed the final instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples before the crucifixion? This instruction is so important, so precious and so wonderfully recorded in John chapters 13 to 17 that it would do well to commit to memory. If you are feeling a little weak-minded at the length of the passage just remember that the Waldensian young people would memorize the whole gospels of Matthew and John.

John 17 is one of the clearest chapters in the whole Bible that describes the mediatorial work of Christ in our behalf in heaven. Here we get a preview of what He was going to do after His resurrection.

Make sure your life is in harmony with the divine commands given to Christians in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1. In a sermon recorded in Romans 12, Paul describes 40 different characteristics that identify Christian living. He also elaborates the practices that, if continued, will bar you from the kingdom of God. These can be found in I Corinthians 6:9, 10; Ephesians 5:3–6; Colossians 3:5, 6; Romans 1:28–32; Romans 2:8, 9 and Galatians 5:19–21.

Peter’s Ladder – 2 Peter 1:3–7 describes the Christian growth in the form of a ladder.

The disciple described as the one whom Jesus loved teaches the way to develop the grace of brotherly love in I John 2:2–5.

And finally, James admonishes in James 3 the importance of getting control of the littlest member of the body that often gets us in so much trouble. Whoever can control his tongue will be able to overcome other character defects. There will be a group of people who will overcome and be like those described in these scriptures. The Lord has promised to have a group of people at the end who are without fault before the throne of God. John said it in Revelation 14:5. Paul talked about it in Ephesians 5. Jesus talked about it and all the apostles talked about it and we are living in the time when it is going to happen. The question is, Am I going to be part of it?

Toward the end of James’ book, after he had given much instruction for being ready for judgment, he says to the people, especially for those who live in the last days: “… the Judge is standing at the door” (James 5:9)!

Dear friends, Jesus came to this world to save you, to save every member of the human race who is willing to be saved. He came to this world the first time as a Saviour and not a judge. But let me tell you something. When He comes the second time, He is not coming as a Saviour; He is coming as a judge. All cases will have been decided before He leaves the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. You will already have been saved or you will never be saved. There is no second chance. That time is rapidly approaching.

Before the door of mercy shuts, it would be well for us to say, “Lord, I am serious. I am going to pray every day. I am going to study Your word every day. I am going to seek to bring my life into harmony with what I read in Your Book. I am going to make an unreserved commitment. Lord, I want to receive the Holy Spirit so that I can have victory in my life.”

He is calling to us today, pleading with us to return into His fold where there is safety. The Lord never fails to do His part when we approach Him in sincerity and repentance.

(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 – When God Questions Man

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When God asks man a question, that man is required to answer. When God asked Adam in the garden of Eden “Where are you” (Genesis 3:9), Adam had to tell the Lord where he was. When God gave Job a science test (Job 38 and 39), Job said, “I am insignificant, what can I reply to you? I lay my hand on my mouth” (Job 40:3, 4, literal translation). After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said, “I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). But in the future the Lord is going to ask all of us to give an account to Him (Romans 14:12).

“The only question asked in the judgment will be, ‘Have they been obedient to My commandments?’ ” Gospel Workers, 315.

“Christ would have all understand that the end of all things is at hand, that the solemn scenes of the final judgment are soon to take place. In that great day, those whose characters the Judge of all the earth can vindicate will stand before the world glorified and honored. …

“The whole world will then receive sentence. Of all the question will be asked, ‘Have you diligently studied the word of God that you might know the will of God, that you might be enabled to understand the difference between sin and righteousness?’ Sad will be the fate of those who would not come to Christ that they might be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Then sinners see the character of God as it is. And they see, too, the sinfulness of the sins that have drawn souls away from Christ, and placed them under the banner of rebellion, to war against Him who gave His life for them.

“Because Christ was one with the Father, equal with Him, He could make an atonement for transgression, and save man—not in his sins, but from his sins. Those who have despised His grace will see what they have lost by treating with contempt the One who humbled Himself to stand at the head of humanity. They hear the words of condemnation, ‘Depart from Me. By your example you have caused many to err. You have led them astray from the commandments in obedience to which they would have found eternal life.’ ” The Upward Look, 272.

Inspired: “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, ‘Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ ” (Matthew 7:22, 23, literal translation).