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Keys to the Storehouse – Heart-Wrenching

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  • It is a heart-wrenching experience to know a better way but to have loved ones turn away to the world in which the devil has usurped temporary ownership and has caused much loss of eternal life.
  • It is a heart-wrenching experience to give loved ones freedom of choice because you love them, even though you know it is the wrong road they are choosing to travel.
  • It is a heart-wrenching experience knowing that the decisions they make will turn into disaster, loss of health, or loss of life.
  • It is a heart-wrenching experience knowing that your help is not wanted.

Our Lord knows this heart-wrenching experience much more deeply than we can ever know. We must learn to turn our sorrow and heart-wrenching experiences over to Him. Before we leave this earth, our hearts will be wrung with sorrow and the only thing we will have to cling to is Jesus.

God knows our every tear and when He comes, these tears will be washed away. But until then we must be strong in the Lord and continue to pray for those who have shut their ears and their lives to heavenly wisdom and from heavenly paths.

Jesus stood upon Mount Olivet overlooking Jerusalem and with yearning heart, wept, knowing that many were to suffer and to die an eternal death because they had turned away from Him. We are to follow in our Master’s footsteps, which at times will be filled with heart-wrenching sorrow.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Psalm 40:31).

Waiting on the Lord is the key to our strength. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Isaiah 46:10).

Know that through each heart-wrenching experience, God may be exalted. God tells us to “be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:9). You gain that courage and strength for each day in His presence first thing in the morning and each step throughout the day.

We are also told to “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men” (1 Samuel 4:9). As we are standing in the Lord’s army, the army of Satan will try to distract you, dishearten you and break you through heart-wrenching experiences with family and friends! Are you bracing yourself in the strength of Jesus Christ? “Soon the last prayer for sinners will have been offered, the last tear shed, the last warning given, the last entreaty made, and the sweet voice of mercy will be heard no more.” In Heavenly Places, 312.

Pray to God who loves our families and friends more than we could ever love them. Ask Him to work on the hearts of family and friends to break satanic control over them. Remember, freedom of choice is given to us and is also given to them.

Heavenly Father, my family and friends will not hear of the heavenly paths which you have opened up for their safety. It is so hard to watch them turn away to walk in the paths of this world and to suffer the consequences. Father, the path they have chosen is so very dangerous and ends in eternal death. Please alert them to their danger—they will not listen to me. Save them Lord! Amen.

 

The Sabbath

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The Blessings of Sabbath Keeping

Marvelous blessings have been promised for each one who keeps the Sabbath holy.

When the Sabbath was instituted in the Garden of Eden after six days of creating this earth, there was great joy in heaven. The next day, the seventh day, was set aside as a day of rest, a weekly reminder given to man as a blessed day in which he could honor his Creator in the form of worship. In Job 38:4–6 God asks Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who determined its measurements? Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone?” God here is referring to the time when the Sabbath was instituted. Notice verse 7: “When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Here it is made plain that there are many intelligences in the universe beside those in this world. Revelation also gives reference to these intelligences in other worlds: “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!” Revelation 12:12.

This world is the only one in God’s creation that has fallen into sin and because of that, we are quarantined from the rest of the universe. God has put a wall of separation between us so that we cannot visit unfallen worlds. But the day is coming for those who are saved when it will be possible to travel all over the universe and visit unfallen worlds.

God’s Creative Power

At the conclusion of creation week, “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [made it holy].” Genesis 1:31; 2:1–3. God Himself marked the beginning of the first Sabbath which came at the end of the first week of creation. The Bible does not teach that this world came into existence through long ages of time but came into existence in the literal seven days of creation. Psalm 33 tells how the world was created: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Verses 6, 9. The creator God is the One we worship.

That same creative power was demonstrated when Jesus was here on earth. At the tomb of Lazarus when Jesus spoke, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43), and he who was dead came forth.

There are approximately one trillion cells in our body and each one of these cells has a spark of life, an electrical charge, which changes when a person dies. When Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth,” a trillion cells came to life. That same power was involved in the creation of the world, which the Sabbath commemorates.

The Christian religion is a miracle religion. The Sabbath is a sign, first of all, that you worship God as the Creator. Our world is marred by sin which has fractured our relationships, not only with God but also with each other. People are living in broken homes with broken hearts and with broken relationships. If there ever was a time when the human family needed a Creator, one Who can speak and change people’s lives, it is today. The Sabbath is a sign, a sign of a relationship. It is a sign of worshipping God as the Creator. All of the patriarchs kept the Sabbath—Adam, Noah and Abraham, even before the commandments were given to Moses on the mount. The Sabbath commandment begins with, Remember (Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath was not instituted at Sinai, but rather a reminder of something that was established at creation. God has placed a limit on human work. He says that six days are for you to do all your work, but you are not to work on the Sabbath. Verses 9, 10. In His wisdom, God knew there would be some workaholics who would work eight days a week if they could and expect the same of their children or employees, but no one could be happy spending all their life working. He, therefore, placed a limit on work and said to do it all in six days, but on the seventh day you need to rest.

Keeping the Sabbath changes homes and also marriages. There are many people today who never spend much time together. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence and He placed a check on the separation that selfishness would bring into families. In many families, the husband and father is gone from home all week and He said, There is one day a week that you are not to be out doing your work and gaining your livelihood—you are to rest.

What are we to do on this day of rest?

“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exodus 31:13–18.

The Sabbath is a sign of relationship, a sign that we worship God as the Creator and that we honor His law and government. It is also a sign that God will sanctify and make us holy and obedient. In the book of Numbers we see some of the blessings that God has promised to those who keep the Sabbath. If we are keeping the Sabbath, we can claim this promise for ourselves, and it is one of the most wonderful promises that God has ever laid in record in His holy book.

“This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.’ So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:23–27. That promise is only for Sabbath keepers. Another promise given to those who keep the Sabbath is, “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.” Deuteronomy 28:9–13.

In Psalm 95:1–7, we find a call to worship on the Sabbath. “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hand formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.” (Compare verses 7–11 with Hebrews 3 and 4.) If you keep the Sabbath, God is your Shepherd and you are the sheep of His pasture; He has promised to take care of you. Some of the most wonderful promises found in the Bible are given to those who keep the Sabbath.

The world, influenced by the man of sin, has sought to tear the Sabbath from its place in God’s law and replace it with a common working day. A breach has been made in God’s law, as was foreseen in Bible prophecy. Daniel 7, 8 and 11 make it very clear that it was the Roman power that made a breach in God’s law, but the Bible also predicts that there will be some people in the last days who will repair this breach. “Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The restorer of Streets to Dwell in.” Isaiah 58:12. Notice who is going to be the repairer of the breach: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Verses 13, 14. Those who keep the Sabbath and call it a delight will be the repairers of the breach. God wants the Sabbath to be a delight. We can never get out of the Sabbath that delight, if we are trampling on it; if we are doing our own ways, finding our own pleasure, or speaking our own words.

Relationships where little attention is shown to each other causes separation. Spend more time with the Lord and get to know Him. He has set aside one day in seven each week. The Bible says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11. If you want joy in your life look at the last part of verse 11: “At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” If you want joy and pleasure in your life then spend time with the Lord.

God has set His seal upon His royal requirement and the Sabbath is going to be the issue in the great conflict soon to take place in our world. Soon, Sabbath observance will be the sign of obedience to God’s government. The sign of rebellion or the mark of the beast will be Sunday observance. The Bible predicted thousands of years ago that Sabbath keeping will be the issue at the end of the world.

Blessing for Home and Family

The Sabbath is truly a test of faith. Many are concerned that they will not be able to provide for their families if they cannot work on the Sabbath, but Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:25–33.

If you keep the Sabbath and put God first, He has promised to supply your every need. This is not always accomplished in the way in which we expect, and many people have lost jobs or been threatened to lose them because of keeping the Sabbath, but God has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. He has access, not only to the resources of this world, but also to all the resources of the universe, and more. If necessary He can create resources to supply your need. Millions of Israelites were fed in the desert for forty years with Moses leading them. There were no gardens, no supermarkets, no stores, no orchards, no grain fields, no farms—nothing but desert, yet none of God’s people went hungry. God stands behind every promise that He has made and it is impossible for Him to lie (Hebrews 6:18).

Genesis 1:5 says that, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” So is the evening and the morning the commencement of the seventh day, the Sabbath. “From evening to evening [sunset to sunset], you shall celebrate your Sabbath.” Leviticus 23:32, last part. The idea that the day begins at midnight is not Biblical and came from the pagan Roman Empire.

How do we get ready for the Sabbath?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. The only person who can keep the Sabbath holy is a person who is holy. We do not have holy flesh, but we can develop a holy character—one that is in harmony with God’s law. Thus a spiritual preparation is involved in getting ready for the Sabbath, for we cannot keep it holy if we have any sin on our conscience.

Before the Sabbath, review your actions over the past week and confess any wrongs, encouraging family members to do the same. As any differences are confessed and forgiven, all grudges will be let go and love and acceptance will be experienced in the family circle benefiting all. Once you have chosen to obey God, to do His will and confess any sins, you can be certain there is One in heaven who is your Advocate. “These things I write unto you,” John said, “that you sin not, And if any man sin, we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous.” I John 2:1. He is willing to forgive and cleanse, making you clean and then you can keep the Sabbath holy. “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16.

In many of our families today, healing is needed because hearts are broken and relationships are fractured. The Sabbath was given as a sign that God is our Sanctifier, that He will re-create our lives and make us holy. It is when we are made holy that we become happy. Confessing sins done one to another before the Sabbath mends broken relationships and changes everything.

The Sabbath is a memorial of creation and a weekly reminder of the re-creation of the new man who has been born again. That, to my understanding, is the most important preparation for the Sabbath. We must be sanctified to keep the Sabbath holy and this must be prepared for by confessing our sins and praying for one another that we may be healed.

Friday, the sixth day of the week, is the special preparation day for the Sabbath. “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” Exodus 16:23. Cleaning homes and food preparation is to be done the day before. This does not mean that it is wrong to warm food on the Sabbath. God commanded a Sabbath rest for all and by preparing food beforehand allows all to worship freely without any burden.

How To Present Ourselves on the Sabbath

Sabbath, as we read in Psalm 95, is the day God ordained that we should come into His presence for worship. If one had an appointment to talk to the United States president or the British monarch at 9:30 in the morning they certainly would not wear the same clothes they had just worn while changing the oil in their car. In fact, they would put on the best and cleanest that they had available. So, when we come into God’s presence to worship, it is the most special event and we should be neat and trim, pure within and without.

“On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness and that all cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 355.

Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul before the Sabbath begins. The mind as well as the body should be withdrawn from worldly business. To keep the Sabbath holy means eternal salvation. By putting away all bitterness and malice and being reconciled to our brethren, either in the church or at home, we are coming into harmony with the God of creation. We are preparing for our eternal home where there will be no strife, or bitterness or malice. There will be no hatred, animosity, or cold, hardhearted feelings. Heaven is a place to be desired. The Sabbath was given even to sinful man as a reminder of what heaven is like and as an encouragement to prepare to be ready for that place. “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.’ ” 1 Samuel 2:30. This is a wonderful promise that you can claim. If you have ever been in trouble and had a problem in your home, in your marriage or with your children that seemed to be totally unworkable unless a miracle should happen then claim this promise, “Those who honor Me, I will honor.” Divine power will come to your rescue and heal your life. The Lord says, “Those who honor Me, I will honor.” That promise is for the Sabbath keepers.

The Sabbath a Family Day

The Sabbath was designed to be a family day, a time we spend with the Lord and with each other at home. First, as already mentioned, if we have sinned, we need to confess to each other. After this come together in family worship to begin the Sabbath. Worship can be one of the happiest times in your family. Read stories from the Bible, making it age appropriate, and sing praises to God. Encourage the playing of instruments if available. These special family worship times bond families together. When Jesus was on earth He was often found singing praises to His heavenly father. And don’t forget to pray; communication with heaven is the lifeline of power in the Christian.

On Friday nights, do not go to bed late so you will not wake up fresh and alert Sabbath morning for the special blessing that the Lord has for those who worship Him on His holy day. It is always easy and a temptation to lie in and have a lazy day on Sabbath but this is not what God intended. Consider Who is present when you come to the house of worship on the Sabbath day. The Lord of glory is present to bring His blessings, accompanied by His holy angels. How offensive would it be in the presence of Jesus to fall asleep and miss the blessing of the Word preached that day.

A Delightful Day for the Children

Children need to be helped to keep the Sabbath with enjoyment. Family worships should be kept interesting and not too long that they overrun the attention span of the children. Encourage them to bring their Bibles to worship, allowing them to read one, two or three verses. Sing a song that is familiar and that they enjoy, and have prayer together. By yourself, you can pray as long as you please, but if you have a family and children, keep prayers short and specific, not to weary the children, and should be no longer than the example that Jesus gave. Study this model prayer in Matthew 6:9–13 and pattern your prayer after it.

The Sabbath is a time to spend with our children and families, or if we do not have a family of our own, it is a time to spend with the family of God and with our friends. It can be one of the happiest and most blessed times of the week.

The Sabbath in Heaven

What a happy thought and one of my favorite topics to think about. Consider the number of relatives and friends who you cannot visit on Sabbath because they have died. In heaven all are going to come together, every Sabbath, to worship the Lord (Isaiah 66:22, 23). We are going to be organized there as families. It is going to be a wonderfully happy and blessed time.

When I was a child growing up, on Friday nights my father would pray for our family that we would all be saved without the loss of one. God wants to save all of our families, without any losses. For that to be the case we all must be there. It is important to be saved so that in heaven your family will not be short even one. The Sabbath is a family time to be together with those you love best and those who love you best and would just not be the same if one were missing.

Nature Study

God created the Sabbath after the six days of creation. A time was set aside for the study of what He had made. This is a wonderful occupation for the Sabbath, especially in pleasant weather to study creation and the Creator who made it.

There are many different aspects of nature to enjoy that appeal to each one’s interest. Some enjoy observing birds, while others enjoy studying the stars. Watch the new growth in spring and enjoy the fragrance and beauty of the flowers in summer. Point out the amazing diversity and describe to the children God’s great work of creation, that everything was created holy and beautiful for our enjoyment.

The Sabbath is a time when we can explain to our children the plan of salvation. Tell them that God so loved the world that when sin entered He had a plan already prepared so that we could be redeemed. He sent His only begotten Son to save us because He loved us so much. Tell the children the story of Bethlehem, the story of the child Jesus and how He behaved while still a child—that He was obedient to His parents and an example of obedience to all who will be saved in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 2:51). Teach them that Jesus knows about all of their trials, temptations and struggles and is ever ready to help them.

Children love stories, so tell them Bible stories and how Jesus has worked in your own life and family. We have nothing to fear for the future unless we forget the way the Lord has led us in the past. Make the Sabbath the most enjoyable day of the week for yourself and your family, a time of delight. In that way our homes and our hearts will be healed and we will have the joy that was given to the first human family.

This world at present with all its crime and debauchery is a nightmare. Sin has brought disaster and unbelievable unhappiness which has ruined everything, but God has a plan to remake this world the way He originally designed it to be.

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Isaiah 65:17.

Notice what Isaiah 65:18–20 says: “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.” These next verses refer to the new earth. “They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Verses 21, 22.

That is a place to be desired. “ ‘They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ Says the Lord.” Verses 23–25.

Do you want to be there? The Sabbath is a foretaste of what heaven will be like. “ ‘For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord.” Isaiah 66:22, 23.

I want to challenge you today to make a decision and say, “Lord, I am going to follow—I am going to obey You and I am going to be there.”

Sometime ago I was visiting a man in prison whose mother had died when he was very young. This man was not a Christian but I asked him the question, Would you like to see your mother again?

He said that he would and that his mother had been a Christian. I told him that someday soon Jesus is going to come in the clouds of the sky in the same way that He left. When He comes, He is going to look down on this world with His hands outstretched and say: “Awake, Awake, Awake, you that sleep in the dust and arise.” When He speaks those words every child of God who has died will come back to life. Millions and millions of people, from all generations all over the world, will instantly come to life. It will be one of the greatest demonstrations of divine power that has ever been displayed in all eternal ages. Jesus has already demonstrated that power once when He raised Lazarus.

I told this man that when Jesus speaks those words his mother will wake up and she will look for him.

Someday soon when Jesus comes, there is going to be somebody, maybe several people, looking for you. They are going to look for you and be so happy if you are there and you will be able to spend eternity together. You will keep the Sabbath forever with all of God’s children, but if you are not there, they will be sad.

God created us to be sociable creatures and not just to exist as separate little atoms. When one chooses to follow God in the way of obedience by keeping His Sabbath, it will have an effect on other people in the family, on friends and it will also influence other people to be obedient to God and to be ready for His soon appearing.

Who will be looking for you on that great day? Don’t disappoint them.

Remember, eternal salvation is involved in keeping the Sabbath holy. The Sabbath will be a time of great delight throughout eternity. Make sure you are there!

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: (316) 788-5559.

Honor your Parents

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The Ten Commandments are not a very popular topic these days. Judges get in trouble for trying to put the Ten Commandments in the courtroom. The Ten Commandments are not extremely popular. The truth is that the Ten Commandments are not a legalistic set of regulations for us. These commandments were written by the finger of God. He wrote them as an expression of His character so that we might know Him. It is more important to view the commandments in that way than any other.

What does this tell me about the Father? What does this tell me about God? I find that God is very interested in your relationship because the first four commandments have to do with your relationship with God. The fifth Commandment is where it turns. People say that the last six commandments have to do with our relationship with others. I would like to give a third division. The first four pertain to our relationship with God. The last five involve our relationships with others. But the fifth commandment is specifically focused on the home.

The fifth commandment is concerned with your relationship with father and mother, with children, with the family, because the family is the core of society. In fact, it is good to view this as concentric circles; it begins with our love for God in the inner circle. From there we expand to another circle which is family. We need to love God; we need to love family. Then we go one more circle and that is to love everyone else as well.

We see this same pattern in the gospel commission. Jesus told His disciples they were to start at Jerusalem (The Acts of the Apostles, 32) which is where they lived, where the first church was established. Start in Jerusalem and spread the word throughout the city. Then go to Judea, which is the country in which they live, and then to Samaria, their closest neighboring country, and then to the uttermost parts of the world. We start with God and then we move out like concentric circles. The gospel begins at home and then we move out. That seems to be God’s plan.

He asks how you could love others if you don’t even love the people He gave you to live with on a day-to-day basis. We have here God’s pattern for relationships. God says that good relationships have boundaries. A relationship without boundaries is codependent and extremely unhealthy. There are boundaries in my relationship with you.

All human relationships must have boundaries. My wife has commandments that I did not realize until I got married. One commandment is, Thou shalt have no other girlfriends before me. Another commandment is, Thou shalt not take my name in vain, either in my presence or away from me—talk nice about me is what she is saying. Those commandments are not a burden to me. I have more joy keeping those commandments because I love her and they are not a burden or a legalistic requirement of me at all.

Our relationship has boundaries. She has boundaries for me and I have boundaries for her and without those boundaries we would have an unhealthy relationship. There needs to be a set of expectations that we have in relationships. That is what the Ten Commandments are all about. God tells us that the Ten Commandments are boundaries for your relationship with me. There are boundaries for your family and boundaries for the rest of the world—it would be nice if you do not kill the people you love.

Don’t take from the people you love the things that belong to them; respect their property. These are boundaries for relationships. Don’t bear false witness; don’t trash their character. Every relationship must be governed by boundaries or the relationship becomes unhealthy. When you are raising children, you have boundaries for them. There are things you are trying to teach them because you want them to grow up and become responsible human beings. You want them to understand what a healthy relationship is all about.

One of those boundaries is found in Exodus 20:12. It says, “Honour your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God has given you.” One of the things God does is to put men and women on the same level. This was a new thought for that time because it was a very male dominated society.

In order to understand this passage better we need to understand a concept of the Eastern mind, especially the ancient Eastern mind, and it still exists today. This commandment could also be translated as, “Be sure you don’t shame your father and your mother.” A very strong motivating force in the Eastern mind is the idea of shame avoidance—saving face. It is difficult to understand any of the parables that Jesus taught without an understanding of this basic concept of shame avoidance. We will do anything to avoid shame personally and also collectively as a society. That was a key in the Eastern thought.

Remember the parable of the man who received guests into his home late, unexpectedly, and he had nothing in the house to feed them? He goes over to his neighbor and he bangs on the door and he says, “Give me some bread so I can feed my guests.” The man says, “Leave me alone; I am in bed; I have my children in bed with me” (Luke 11:5–7). We really don’t understand that parable here in the West. We think it means that God is reluctant to answer our prayers, but if we keep knocking on the door, eventually He will answer. That is not what the parable says.

In the East, when someone came to your home, not only were they the guests in your home but they were the guests in the entire community. It would be a point of shame, not just for the man who received him into his home, but for the entire community to not meet the needs of the guests. For this man to go to his neighbor and knock on the door and say I have a guest; I have nothing to feed him; help me out, Jesus was saying, Who would not get out of bed and give him the bread? After all, he would bring shame on himself, upon his neighbor and the entire community. Of course, he is going to defend his name; he is going to honor his reputation; he is going to honor his community by getting out of bed, getting the bread so that he will have something to feed his neighbor. By the way, what the man was asking for was primarily utensils. In those days the food was put into a common pot, usually a stew, and they would take flat bread and dip in the common pot, so the bread became the utensil. So for one man to refuse to do that would bring shame upon the entire community, and no one in their right mind would do that.

The point of Jesus’ parable was when you ask for something in His name, God will always honor His name. He would not think of doing otherwise because of the concept in the Eastern mind of shame avoidance. I am going to avoid shame. That is what the fifth Commandment is based on; do not allow your parents to experience shame. Do not shame your mother and your father.

One way in which your mother or father could be shamed in their old age is especially through poverty. Poverty was seen in that mindset as a point of shame. Don’t allow your mother or father to be impoverished in their old age; you take care of their needs. Do not bring shame upon their gray heads.

Do you remember when Saddam Hussein was captured? The allies understood the importance of villages, especially in the Eastern culture. They understood the importance of shame and shame avoidance. In the photographs we saw of him being examined by a doctor and checking his hair and beard for lice, he looked old and tired and he was opening his mouth as they peered in for opium. It was to make this god-like figure experience shame in the eyes of those people he ruled over. It was a mental image they wanted to place in the Eastern mind. They were very intentional about that because they understood the concept of shame avoidance because now he looked like an old, poor, haggard man, filled with vermin. It was all about shame avoidance.

How shameful would it be for your father or mother to not have enough food to eat or to live in poverty while you have enough to eat? The commandment is telling you that you have a responsibility for your father and mother. You are to take care of them in their old age and make sure they have exactly what they need. You do not shame them. Why do you do this? The family is the core of society, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God has given you. That promise does not mean that if you take care of them and be respectful to them that you will live to a ripe old age. It says that your community or your society will be established and you will keep the land that God has given you as a community. I will keep the core of your community strong as long as the family values are strong.

We see the disintegration of the family today. We can see that society is crumbling and standards are melting away. Anything seems to go and it starts with the home. This is why God said that the very first commandment that deals with human relationship is, “Honor your father and your mother.” Take care of the family relationships and make sure that they are in good shape and if you will do that, your society will remain strong. Your community will remain strong.

Another way in which we are to honor our father and our mother is by the way we talk to them. When our children were small, we wanted to make sure that we did not get any back talk. I have been to the store and I have seen children smart mouthing their mother and I want to go over and take the child by the nap of the neck. When our children were small, I remember one of them saying something smart to her mother and it was my job when I heard that to intervene and my wife would intervene when they spoke that way to me. When I heard her speak that way to her mother I told her to wait just a minute, that I would not allow any man on the street to speak to her mother in that way and why on earth would I allow my own daughter to speak that way. You will not speak to your mother in that way. We had no problems after that. I also spoke to her mother with gentleness and kindness and our children were respectful. They did not grow up with mother and father screaming at each other. We wanted our children to be able to emulate our response to each other. Everybody gets irritated but we need to choose our words well. Remember that every word you say trains someone else.

I wanted my children to learn to honor their mother, so I had to honor her. I wanted them to learn to honor their grandparents so I had to honor them. I wanted my children to honor men and women who are older than they and to treat them with gentleness and respect, which means that I have to model that. What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear a word you say. If you say one thing and do another, no one spots a hypocrite faster than a child. All of our children need to learn how to honor father and mother. That does not stop when they leave the house.

I have seen people treat their parents who are in their 50s, 60s and older as if they were children. I have seen them speak disrespectfully to them as if this was just a child with no sense. I have seen them roll their eyes when they take so long to get up or to move from one place to another. There was a time when you were pretty slow too. There was a time when you messed your britches and when you drooled and someone took care of you. We have a responsibility to care for father and mother and to show them dignity and respect regardless of their age.

A man and a woman live their lives searching for some manner of dignity and respect in the world. They do business, they hold a job, they raise a family, participate hopefully in church and at the end of their lives when they should have earned all of this respect, all of a sudden their children treat them as if they do not have a lick of sense. The parents have lost all of the respect they spent their lives trying to earn. This is a society that worships youth and hates old age.

I remember hearing an actor answer a question about who his hero was. He said his son, who was four years old, was his hero. His son had not battled some dread disease and survived or was not a child prodigy. He was just a normal four year old. He spoke of that child as being his ideal and he did not want to teach his child anything because he thought he might spoil that purity. He wanted to be like that child. This is life upside down. Your boy needs a hero and that should be you, dad, because you teach him values. You show him the way to live as a man. You show your daughter what it is to have a man love her appropriately. You don’t worship youth; you train youth.

We respect our elders by recognizing that they have something of value to give us. Honor your father and your mother.

We honor our father and mother by living lives of dignity, respect, purity, truth and honesty. When you are a man or woman of integrity, you give honor to your father and mother. I met a young man who was sharp, well-spoken and he seemed to live by good values. He seemed to have his head together and he seemed to know where he was going in this life. He knew what he wanted to do and what he wanted to accomplish. He knew who he was and what life was all about.

I was so impressed with him that I made a comment to my wife that someone had taught this young man well and that he must have come from a good home. When I had an opportunity to talk with this young man, particularly about his family, I found out just the opposite was true. His father, when he was a child, had been very abusive of the boy and before he had reached his teenage years, his father had abandoned him and he had not seen him in years. His mother was a drug addict and after his father left he saw a long procession of boyfriends move into the house and move out. They had taught him nothing but yet, somewhere along the line, someone had influenced him so that he had become a young man of integrity and dignity. Do you realize that the choices this young man made honored his father and mother who really did not deserve it or may not even be aware of it? And as you have chosen to live lives that honor God this will bring honor to your father and mother.

Honor comes from a root word for heavy or weighty, giving weight to. This can be taken in a positive way. When you consider a weighty matter, it would be something of significance, some substance or value. So when you add weight to this matter you are adding significance, substance and value. That is a positive way of looking at honor. The negative way of looking at honor is when it becomes a heavy burden to carry.

If you grew up in a home where father and mother did their best to care for you and raise you right and they made their mistakes along the way just like any other parent, then this matter of adding weightiness and substance to their lives is a positive command. Now you can respect them, their wisdom, their stories and their history and that becomes a part of your story and adds credence and value to your life, weight to your life. You are honored to give significance to their life at the time of anniversaries, birthdays, retirement and by visiting them. You are there to give honor to your father and your mother.

My family used to run a nursing home and there are a lot of people who were simply placed there and abandoned until they died. You never saw son or daughter or grandchildren; nobody came by until we sent the notice that they had died and they needed to pick up their things. To treat them positively is to add weight to their life and to show up, to be there and to love them and celebrate the moments with them and to thank them for what they have done for you. That is the positive way of looking at the commandment.

There is also a negative side to this. Not everybody grew up in a loving home. Many grew up in homes that were extremely abusive; they were abandoned or molested. This happens in American homes with far too great a frequency. What about those people whose lives have been negatively impacted by a dysfunctional family, a family that told them they were not good enough or abused them? What do you do with a father and mother in that circumstance? That is when the weight of honoring father and mother becomes heavy.

The commandment does not say to honor your father and mother unless your father was a louse, worthless or abusive. How do you honor that father? A work of reconciliation has to be done in your heart first. You need to not gloss over the pain in your life as though it never happened, but to acknowledge it. The only Christian option is to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean that what they did didn’t matter, or what they did was right, or that it did not hurt you. Forgiveness means that what you did was wrong, it hurt me and destroyed my life but I have chosen not to carry the resentment or anger around with me anymore. I lay it at the foot of the cross and I extend to you the same grace that was extended to me. I choose to forgive you. Forgiveness is not an emotion but a decision.

Ephesians 6:1–4 tells us that there is a second side to this: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise); That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Do you see the principle here? God never gives privilege without responsibility. Fathers and mothers have the privilege of having God command that our children honor us. The responsibility is that we live lives of integrity and be honorable people.

Jesus will give you the strength that is necessary to honor your father and your mother and to be a father or mother of integrity that your children can honor and love. This is God’s law, not a legalistic requirement. It is a glorious privilege that He wants us to have appropriate boundaries for healthy relationships, relationships with Himself, relationships with the greater community and relationships at home.

Michael Tucker’s sermon was taken from the Ten Commandment Weekend, 2008 series aired on 3ABN. For more information contact www.3ABN.org.

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

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How it All Began

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

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

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

Purchasing the School

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

Starting the School

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sanitarium Work

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

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

Progressing the Lord’s Work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Closing Years

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

The End

Bible Study Guides – Parenting

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June 5, 2011 – June 11, 2011

Key Text

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.

Study Helps: Fundamentals of Christian Education, 64–70; Testimonies, vol. 5, 36–45.

Introduction

“Parents, for Christ’s sake do not blunder in your most important work, that of molding the characters of your children for time and for eternity.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 39.

1 GOD’S PATTERN FOR CHILDHOOD

  • How is the childhood of Jesus our example? Luke 2:40.

Note: “As Jesus worked in childhood and youth, mind and body were developed. He did not use His physical powers recklessly, but in such a way as to keep them in health, that He might do the best work in every line. He was not willing to be defective, even in the handling of tools. He was perfect as a workman, as He was perfect in character. By His own example He taught that it is our duty to be industrious, that our work should be performed with exactness and thoroughness, and that such labor is honorable. The exercise that teaches the hands to be useful and trains the young to bear their share of life’s burdens gives physical strength, and develops every faculty. All should find something to do that will be beneficial to themselves and helpful to others. God appointed work as a blessing, and only the diligent worker finds the true glory and joy of life. The approval of God rests with loving assurance upon children and youth who cheerfully take their part in the duties of the household, sharing the burdens of father and mother. Such children will go out from the home to be useful members of society.” The Desire of Ages, 72.

2 THE YOUNG AT RISK

  • How does Scripture illustrate the predicament of many busy parents today? Song of Solomon 1:6; Proverbs 29:15.

Note: “Those who feel that they have an imperative call to labor for the improvement of society, while their own children grow up undisciplined, should inquire if they have not mistaken their duty. Their own household is the first missionary field in which parents are required to labor. Those who leave the home garden to grow up to thorns and briers, while they manifest great interest in the cultivation of their neighbor’s plot of ground, are disregarding the word of God. …

“Fathers and mothers should carefully and prayerfully study the characters of their children. They should seek to repress and restrain those traits that are too prominent, and to encourage others which may be deficient, thus securing harmonious development. This is no light matter. The father may not consider it a great sin to neglect the training of his children; but thus does God regard it. Christian parents need a thorough conversion upon this subject. Guilt is accumulating upon them, and the consequences of their actions reach down from their own children to children’s children. The ill-balanced mind, the hasty temper, the fretfulness, envy, or jealousy, bear witness to parental neglect.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 66, 67.

  • In what peril could many of our youth find themselves—and why? Proverbs 15:19; 18:9; 21:25; 26:13–16.

Note: “Parents have neglected to train their sons and daughters to the faithful performance of domestic duties. Children are permitted to spend their hours in play, while father and mother toil on unceasingly. Few young persons feel that it is their duty to bear a part of the family burden. They are not taught that the indulgence of appetite, or the pursuit of ease or pleasure, is not the great aim of life.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 65.

3 BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

  • What is the first duty of parents? Proverbs 22:6.

Note: “Let the foundation of a strong constitution be laid in early life. Parents should be the only teachers of their children, until they are eight or ten years of age. … The fields and hills—nature’s audience chamber—should be the schoolroom for little children. Her treasures should be their textbook.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 61.

“The school in the home should be a place where children are taught that the eye of God is upon them, observing all that they do. If this thought were deeply impressed upon the mind, the work of governing children would be made much easier. In the home-school our boys and girls are being prepared to attend a church-school when they reach a proper age to associate more intimately with other children.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 5.

  • What should parents teach their children in regard to appetite? Proverbs 23:1–3. Why is it so important to begin this instruction as early as possible?

Note: “Parents who have taught their children to eat unhealthful, stimulating food all their lives—until the taste is perverted, and they crave clay, slate pencils, burned coffee, tea grounds, cinnamon, cloves, and spices—cannot claim that the appetite demands what the system requires. The appetite has been falsely educated, until it is depraved. The fine organs of the stomach have been stimulated and burned, until they have lost their delicate sensitiveness. Simple, healthful food seems to them insipid. The abused stomach will not perform the work given it, unless urged to it by the most stimulating substances. If these children had been trained from their infancy to take only healthful food, prepared in the most simple manner, preserving its natural properties as much as possible, and avoiding flesh meats, grease, and all spices, the taste and appetite would be unimpaired. In its natural state, it might indicate, in a great degree, the food best adapted to the wants of the system.” Child Guidance, 381, 382.

4 EDUCATING FOR ETERNITY

  • What should we consider about many of the philosophies in the secular schools of today? Proverbs 6:28.

Note: “Can we … expect the youth to develop Christian character while their education is molded by the teaching of those who set at defiance the principles of the law of God?” The Ministry of Healing, 443.

“In planning for the education of their children outside the home, parents should realize that it is no longer safe to send them to the public school, and should endeavor to send them to schools where they will obtain an education based on a Scriptural foundation.” Child Guidance, 304.

  • Besides guarding their scholastic influences, of what else must we be watchful for our young? I Corinthians 15:33.

Note: “With what care parents should guard their children from careless, loose, demoralizing habits! Fathers and mothers, do you realize the importance of the responsibility resting on you? Do you allow your children to associate with other children without being present to know what kind of education they are receiving? Do not allow them to be alone with other children. Give them your special care. Every evening know where they are and what they are doing.” Child Guidance, 114.

  • Name one problem plaguing many youth. Proverbs 7:6–27.

Note: “The young are bewitched with the mania for courtship and marriage. Lovesick sentimentalism prevails. Great vigilance and tact are needed to guard the youth from these wrong influences. Many parents are blind to the tendencies of their children. Some parents have stated to me, with great satisfaction, that their sons or daughters had no desire for the attentions of the opposite sex, when in fact these children were at the same time secretly giving or receiving such attentions, and the parents were so much absorbed in worldliness and gossip that they knew nothing about the matter.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 60.

5 A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT

  • What should we keep in mind when our youth need to be corrected? Proverbs 3:11, 12; 12:25; 15:23, 24.

Note: “Children are what their parents make them by their instruction, discipline, and example.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 37.

“Parents must see that their own hearts and lives are controlled by the divine precepts, if they would bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They are not authorized to fret and scold and ridicule. They should never taunt their children with perverse traits of character, which they themselves have transmitted to them. This mode of discipline will never cure the evil. Parents, bring the precepts of God’s word to admonish and reprove your wayward children. Show them a ‘thus saith the Lord’ for your requirements. A reproof which comes as the word of God is far more effective than one falling in harsh, angry tones from the lips of parents.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 67, 68.

  • What environment is most conducive to the happiness and industry of our families? Song of Solomon 6:11, 12; Isaiah 65:21.

Note: “Parents can secure small homes in the country, with land for cultivation where they can have orchards and where they can raise vegetables and small fruits to take the place of flesh-meat, which is so corrupting to the lifeblood coursing through the veins. On such places the children will not be surrounded with the corrupting influences of city life. God will help His people to find such homes outside of the cities.” Medical Ministry, 310.

Review and Thought Questions

1 Where did Jesus go to school, and what did He learn?

2 Why do many parents need to change their priorities?

3 In what areas should we be living up to greater light?

4 What challenges may be overwhelming our youth today?

5 How can we improve our relationship with our youth?

Copyright © 2002 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Children’s Story – Almost

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The dictionary defines the word almost as “very nearly, but not exactly or entirely.” As strange as it may sound at first, almost is a word that we are trying to curtail from our family’s vocabulary. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the word itself; the almost mindset is the focus of our curtailing campaign.

Puzzled? I should probably illustrate our reasoning with an example.

We are blessed to be able to homeschool our two children in Montana. Homeschooling, though such a blessing, isn’t without its challenges. Some days they seem to have the perfect disposition. They seem to fly right through their schoolwork and can be finished by noon. Other times, we are forced back into … well, reality.

A few weeks ago, we were having one of those kinds of “real” days. The classes were needlessly dragging on due to lack of determined effort. Subjects that normally should take no more than thirty minutes were dragging on well past an hour. Instead of completing all the assignments, most were given just a half-hearted effort. When asked if they were finished yet, the regular reply from both children was “almost.”

Almost, almost, almost was repeated all the way until 5:00 p.m. when I needed to check out a house for rent in our area. The children had wanted to go with me all day, and now the moment had finally arrived. However, there was one big, glaring problem—their schoolwork still wasn’t finished!

“Can we go too, Dad?”

I thought, “Now is my opportunity to teach that lesson I’ve only inadequately conveyed during the day. Lord, help!”

“Well, it depends. Have you finished your schoolwork yet?”

“Almost,” was the duo’s expected response.

Without missing a beat, I said, “Good! Then you can almost go with me. Bye!”

I got in my car praying the whole way that the lesson would be understood. It was.

We don’t want our children to almost do their schoolwork and chores. Almost doesn’t count in any worldly activity. We get no points for almost making a soccer goal; there’s no presidency for almost winning an election.

This situation caused us to ponder—are we almost on the right path with God? Almost certainly isn’t good enough with God either!

Children, do you almost always obey your parents? Parents, are you almost always patient with your children? Are you almost all God’s, almost His completely? If that’s the case, then you will only almost be saved. Perhaps you might want to curtail the almost mindset in your family too.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Order

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July 24, 2011 – July 30, 2011

Key Text

“One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity.” I Timothy 3:4.

Study Help: The Adventist Home, 211–228, 231–243.

Introduction

“Never forget that you are to make the home bright and happy for yourselves and your children by cherishing the Saviour’s attributes. If you bring Christ into the home, you will know good from evil. You will be able to help your children to be trees of righteousness, bearing the fruit of the Spirit.” The Adventist Home, 17.

1 CHRIST AS OUR EXAMPLE

  • How are we to live if we claim to be followers of Christ? I John 2:6. How can we do this? John 15:4, 5.

Note: “Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness—all depend upon our union with Christ. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly—by abiding in Him—that we are to grow in grace. He is not only the Author, but the Finisher of our faith. It is Christ first and last and always. He is to be with us, not only at the beginning and the end of our course, but at every step of the way.” Steps to Christ, 69.

  • What should we realize about His help in our varying circumstances? Hebrews 2:17, 18; 4:15, 16; II Corinthians 3:18.

Note: “Christ came to this world to show that by receiving power from on high, man can live an unsullied life. With unwearying patience and sympathetic helpfulness He met men in their necessities. By the gentle touch of grace He banished from the soul unrest and doubt, changing enmity to love, and unbelief to confidence.” The Ministry of Healing, 25.

2 HUSBAND AS THE HEAD

  • Whom is the husband to represent to his family? Ephesians 5:25, 28, 29, 33.

Note: “Husbands should study the pattern and seek to know what is meant by the symbol presented in Ephesians, the relation Christ sustains to the church. The husband is to be as a Saviour in his family. Will he stand in his noble, God-given manhood, ever seeking to uplift his wife and children? Will he breathe about him a pure, sweet atmosphere?” The Adventist Home, 117.

  • How is the husband to show Christ’s character in the home? Matthew 20:26, 27.

Note: “All members of the family center in the father. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the sterner virtues: energy, integrity, honesty, patience, courage, diligence, and practical usefulness. The father is in one sense the priest of the household. …

“To the man who is a husband and a father, I would say, Be sure that a pure, holy atmosphere surrounds your soul. … You are to learn daily of Christ. Never, never are you to show a tyrannical spirit in the home. The man who does this is working in partnership with satanic agencies. Bring your will into submission to the will of God. Do all in your power to make the life of your wife pleasant and happy. Take the word of God as the man of your counsel. In the home live out the teachings of the word. Then you will live them out in the church and will take them with you to your place of business.” The Adventist Home, 212–214.

  • What Bible rule is necessary in order that the family can function in the best possible way? I Timothy 3:2. In what area must we be especially guarded?

Note: “Polygamy had become so widespread that it had ceased to be regarded as a sin, but it was no less a violation of the law of God, and was fatal to the sacredness and peace of the family relation.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 145.

“If those who profess to be the depositaries of God’s law become transgressors of its precepts, they separate themselves from God, and they will be unable to stand before their enemies.” Ibid., 457.

3 HOW SHALL HE LEAD?

  • What characteristics are needed by men? Psalm 103:13; II Timothy 2:24; I Peter 3:7.

Note: “The Lord has constituted the husband the head of the wife to be her protector; he is the house-band of the family, binding the members together, even as Christ is the head of the church and the Saviour of the mystical body. Let every husband who claims to love God carefully study the requirements of God in his position. Christ’s authority is exercised in wisdom, in all kindness and gentleness; so let the husband exercise his power and imitate the great Head of the church.” The Adventist Home, 215.

“In life’s toilsome way let the husband and father ‘lead on softly,’ as the companion of his journey is able to endure. Amidst the world’s eager rush for wealth and power, let him learn to stay his steps, to comfort and support the one who is called to walk by his side.” Ibid., 218.

  • How can we be sure that a father should nevertheless control his family? ITimothy 3:4, 5; I Samuel 3:13.

Note: “The children are to be taught that their capabilities were given them for the honor and glory of God. To this end they must learn the lesson of obedience; for only by lives of willing obedience can they render to God the service He requires. … Few parents begin early enough to teach their children to obey. … Wise parents will not say to their children, ‘Follow your own choice; go where you will, and do what you will’; but, ‘Listen to the instruction of the Lord.’ Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced, that the beauty of the homelife may not be spoiled.” Reflecting Christ, 172.

  • How do these principles correspond with the various functions within the church? I Timothy 4:12 (last part).

Note: “No man can bring into the church an influence that he does not exert in his home life and in his business relations.” Reflecting Christ, 179.

4 PUT ON KINDNESS

  • Of what must fathers and all of us be careful in our relationships with both our blood and church families? Colossians 3:21.

Note: “Those who profess to be followers of Christ and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous in words and deportment have not learned of Jesus. A blustering, overbearing, faultfinding man is not a Christian; for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. The conduct of some professed Christians is so lacking in kindness and courtesy that their good is evil spoken of. Their sincerity may not be doubted; their uprightness may not be questioned, but sincerity and uprightness will not atone for a lack of kindness and courtesy. The Christian is to be sympathetic as well as true, pitiful and courteous as well as upright and honest.

“Any negligence of acts of politeness and tender regard on the part of brother for brother, any neglect of kind, encouraging words in the family circle, parents with children and children with parents, confirms habits which make the character unchristlike.” The Adventist Home, 427.

  • Instead of provoking, what is a husband’s God-given responsibility? Ephesians 6:4.

Note: “If we would have our children practice kindness, courtesy, and love, we ourselves must set them the example. … No rude language should be indulged; no bitter words should be spoken. All may possess a cheerful countenance, a gentle voice, a courteous manner; and these are elements of power. … Your courtesy and self-control will have greater influence upon the characters of your children than mere words could have.” The Adventist Home, 421.

  • What must be the role of men in the task of training the children in the home and in the church? Proverbs 1:7; 4:1; 13:1; 15:5.

Note: “The father’s duty to his children cannot be transferred to the mother. If she performs her own duty, she has burden enough to bear. … The father should not excuse himself from his part in the work of educating his children for life and immortality. He must share in the responsibility.” The Adventist Home, 216.

5 CHOOSING OUR PRIORITIES

  • In today’s busy society, what should influence the daily decisions we make? Joshua 24:15.

Note: “The Christian’s first duty is in the home.” Reflecting Christ, 167.

“If you do only those things necessary to your temporal comfort and happiness, you will find time to read your Bible with prayerful interest and to perfect a Christian character.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 112.

  • What should be kept in mind regarding the responsibility of providing food, clothing and shelter for our families? Matthew 6:33; Mark 4:19; Luke 21:34.

Note: “Souls are looking at you, fellow Christians, to see whether you are drunken with the cares of this life, or are preparing for the future, immortal life. They will watch to see what the influence of your life is, and whether you are true missionaries at home, training your children for heaven.” Reflecting Christ, 167.

“If you have given yourself to God, to do His work, you have no need to be anxious for tomorrow. … When we take into our hands the management of things with which we have to do, and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us, and are trying to bear it without His aid. We are taking upon ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, and thus are really putting ourselves in His place.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 100.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Who should be the father’s example and guide? How do you learn from God?

2 Who is the husband to represent in the family?

3 Explain how the father is to rule in the home.

4 Whose principal responsibility is it to work for the spiritual development of the family?

5 In order to accomplish God’s plan, what must be your daily decision?

Copyright © 2002 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Description

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July 17, 2011 – July 23, 2011

Key Text

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” Genesis 18:19.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 125, 140–144.

Introductory

“One well-ordered, well-disciplined family is a greater power in demonstrating the efficiency of Christianity than all the sermons in the world.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1118.

1 THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM

  • How did Abraham order his household? Genesis 18:19; 26:5. What promise was given to him and to us if we follow the same guidelines? Genesis 28:14; Galatians 3:6–9.

Note: “Of Abraham it is written that ‘he was called the friend of God’ [James 2:23]. … It is God that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the right estimate upon men, says, ‘I know him.’ ” Patriarchs and Prophets, 140, 141.

  • What were Abraham’s and his wife’s attitudes? Hebrews 11:8–11.

Note: “Abraham’s unquestioning obedience is one of the most striking evidences of faith to be found in all the Bible. … Relying upon the divine promise, without the least outward assurance of its fulfillment, he abandoned home and kindred and native land, and went forth, he knew not whither, to follow where God should lead.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 126.

  • How did Abraham lead so many individuals in the right way? Psalm 145:18.

Note: “Abraham, ‘the friend of God,’ set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 128.

2 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WELL-ORDERED?

  • Describe heaven’s first law. I Corinthians 14:40.

Note: “Order is heaven’s first law, and the Lord desires His people to give in their homes a representation of the order and harmony that pervade the heavenly courts. Truth never places her delicate feet in a path of uncleanness or impurity.” Counsels on Health, 101.

  • How do we teach this? Romans 2:21.

Note: “Begin early to teach the little ones. … This work of teaching neatness and order will take a little time each day, but it will pay in the future of your children, and in the end it will save you much time and care.” Child Guidance, 111.

  • If we have not been taught these habits, how can we learn them? James 1:5; Psalm 25:9, 12.

Note: “Help must be given … to those who seem to have no sense of the meaning and importance of cleanliness. They are to be taught that those who are to represent the high and holy God must keep their souls pure and clean, and that this purity must extend to their dress and to everything in their home, so that the ministering angels will have evidence that the truth has wrought a change in the life, purifying the soul and refining the tastes. Those who, after receiving the truth, make no change in word or deportment, in dress or surroundings, are living to themselves, not to Christ.” The Adventist Home, 22.

  • What else is included in the concept of godly order? Psalm 108:2; I Thessalonians 5:5–8.

Note: “How prevalent is the habit of turning day into night, and night into day. Many youth sleep soundly in the morning, when they should be up with the early singing birds and be stirring when all nature is awake. …

“If the youth would form habits of regularity and order, they would improve in health, in spirits, in memory, and in disposition.” Child Guidance, 111, 112.

3 NEATNESS

  • What did Jesus teach us about the small details of life? Luke 16:10; 24:1–3, 12; John 20:7.

Note: “They [the disciples] saw the shroud and the napkin, but they did not find their Lord. Yet even here was testimony that He had risen. The graveclothes were not thrown heedlessly aside, but carefully folded, each in a place by itself. … It was Christ Himself who had placed those graveclothes with such care. … In His sight who guides alike the star and the atom, there is nothing unimportant. Order and perfection are seen in all His work.” The Desire of Ages, 789.

  • Where is this to be implemented? Numbers 24:5–7.

Note: “The home must be kept pure and clean. Unclean, neglected corners in the house will tend to make impure, neglected corners in the soul. …

“If parents desire their children to be pure, they must surround them with pure associations such as God can approve.” Child Guidance, 114.

“Remember that in heaven there is no disorder, and that your home should be a heaven here below. Remember that in doing faithfully from day to day the little things to be done in the home, you are a laborer together with God, perfecting a Christian character.” Ibid., 110.

“The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed to run about the house, play, talk, and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness, and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, ‘confusion.’ This is enough to bring God’s displeasure and shut His presence from our assemblies.” Ibid., 540.

“While we are to guard against needless adornment and display, we are in no case to be careless and indifferent in regard to outward appearance. All about our persons and our homes is to be neat and attractive. The youth are to be taught the importance of presenting an appearance above criticism, an appearance that honors God and the truth.” Counsels on Health, 102.

4 GOOD DISCIPLINE

  • What does discipline mean and what is its purpose? Hebrews 12:7–13.

Note: “If you want the blessing of God, parents, do as did Abraham. Repress the evil, and encourage the good. Some commanding may be necessary in the place of consulting the inclination and pleasure of the children.

“To allow a child to follow his natural impulses is to allow him to deteriorate and to become proficient in evil. Wise parents will not say to their children, ‘Follow your own choice; go where you will, and do what you will’; but, ‘Listen to the instruction of the Lord.’ Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced, that the beauty of the home life may not be spoiled.” Child Guidance, 234.

  • What is the difference between punishment and training? Deuteronomy 21:18–21; Proverbs 22:6.

Note: “Children are the heritage of the Lord, and unless parents give them such a training as will enable them to keep the way of the Lord, they neglect solemn duty.” Child Guidance, 229.

“Parents, you should commence your first lesson of discipline when your children are babes in your arms. Teach them to yield their will to yours. This can be done by bearing an even hand and manifesting firmness. Parents should have perfect control over their own spirits and, with mildness and yet firmness, bend the will of the child until it shall expect nothing else but to yield to their wishes.” Ibid., 230.

  • What is the result if we are unbalanced in our training? Proverbs 13:24.

Note: “The parent or teacher who … trains the child to self-control will be the most useful and permanently successful. …

“To direct the child’s development without hindering it by undue control should be the study of both parent and teacher. Too much management is as bad as too little. The effort to ‘break the will’ of a child is a terrible mistake. Minds are constituted differently; while force may secure outward submission, the result with many children is a more determined rebellion of the heart.” Child Guidance, 209, 210.

5 THE WAY TO GO

  • How do we know what to do? Jeremiah 33:3; Isaiah 30:21; Proverbs 3:5–7.
  • Why can we be sure we are not alone in following God’s counsels to train up our children both in the family and in the church? Isaiah 41:10; 40:28–31; Philippians 2:13.

Note: “Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you with love and sympathy, ready to hear your prayers and to render you the assistance which you need. …

“Parents may understand that as they follow God’s directions in the training of their children, they will receive help from on high. They receive much benefit; for as they teach, they learn. …

“Parents, are you working with unflagging energy in behalf of your children? The God of heaven marks your solicitude, your earnest work, your constant watchfulness. He hears your prayers. With patience and tenderness, train your children for the Lord. All heaven is interested in your work. … God will unite with you, crowning your efforts with success.” The Adventist Home, 204, 205.

“Even if the character, habits, and practices of parents have been cast in an inferior mold, if the lessons given them in childhood and youth have led to an unhappy development of character, they need not despair. The converting power of God can transform inherited and cultivated tendencies; for the religion of Jesus is uplifting. ‘Born again’, means a transformation, a new birth in Christ Jesus. …

“He knows that you are doing the best you can, and He will increase your power. He will Himself do the part of the work that the mother or father cannot do.” Ibid., 206, 207.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What can you learn from Abraham regarding family training?

2 What is heaven’s first law and what does it include?

3 Explain the relationship between the little details of daily life and your spiritual condition.

4 What is true discipline?

5 How can you accomplish God’s design in your family?

Copyright © 2002 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – What Is Needed

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July 10, 2011 – July 16, 2011

Key Text

“Let them [the children] learn first to shew piety at home.” I Timothy 5:4.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 7, 45–50.

Introductory

“Our work for Christ is to begin with the family in the home.” Maranatha, 102.

1 LIFE-LONG COMMITMENT

  • By His example, how did Christ show us what is needed in our relationships with one another? John 15:13; Philippians 2:2–8.

Note: “Let each give love rather than exact it. Cultivate that which is noblest in yourselves, and be quick to recognize the good qualities in each other.” The Adventist Home, 107.

“In your life union your affections are to be tributary to each other’s happiness. Each is to minister to the happiness of the other. This is the will of God concerning you.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 45.

  • Of what is marriage a symbol? Isaiah 54:5; Ephesians 5:25.

Note: “Christ honored the marriage relation by making it also a symbol of the union between Him and His redeemed ones. He Himself is the Bridegroom; the bride is the church, of which, as His chosen one, He says, ‘Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee’ [Song of Solomon 4:7].” The Adventist Home, 26.

  • How long is this relationship to last? Hosea 2:19; Romans 7:2, 3.

Note: “Marriage is a step taken for life.” The Adventist Home, 340.

“This vow links the destinies of the two individuals with bonds which nought but the hand of death should sever.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 507.

2 LOVE IN ACTION

  • What speaks even louder than our words? Titus 2:7; I John 3:7–11.

Note: “Divine truth exerts little influence upon the world, when it should exert much influence through our practice. The mere profession of religion abounds, but it has little weight. We may claim to be followers of Christ, we may claim to believe every truth in the word of God; but this will do our neighbor no good unless our belief is carried into our daily life. Our profession may be as high as heaven, but it will save neither ourselves nor our fellow men unless we are Christians. A right example will do more to benefit the world than all our profession.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 383.

“Actions speak louder than the most positive profession of godliness.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 579.

“Our words, our actions, our deportment, our dress, everything, should preach. Not only with our words should we speak to the people, but everything pertaining to our person should be a sermon to them, that right impressions may be made upon them, and that the truth spoken may be taken by them to their homes. Thus our faith will stand in a better light before the community.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 618.

  • What does Christ teach us regarding those to whom we are to extend our love? Matthew 5:44–48.

Note: “You should help those who stand most in need of help, those who are less favorably situated, who are erring and faulty, and who may have injured you and tried your patience to the utmost. It is just such ones that Jesus pities, because Satan has more power over them and is constantly taking advantage of their weak points and driving his arrows to wound them where they are least protected. Jesus exercises His power and mercy for just such pitiable cases.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 75.

“As Christ has borne, and continues to bear, with our errors, our ingratitude and our feeble love, so should we bear with those who test and try our patience. Shall the followers of the self-denying, self-sacrificing Jesus be unlike their Lord? Christians should have hearts of kindness and forbearance.” Ibid., vol. 3, 111.

3 THE REMNANT’S CHARACTERISTICS

  • What is the virtue so greatly needed in our lives? Hebrews 12:1.
  • How can we have the patience to exercise when circumstances and individuals test us? Luke 21:19; Matthew 7:7.

Note: “Self denial, self-sacrifice, benevolence, kindness, love, patience, fortitude, and Christian trust are the daily fruits borne by those who are truly connected with God. Their acts may not be published to the world, but they themselves are daily wrestling with evil, and gaining precious victories over temptation and wrong. Solemn vows are renewed, and kept through the strength gained by earnest prayer and constant watching thereunto.” The Sanctified Life, 11.

“Whenever little annoyances and trials arise, ask God in silent prayer to give you strength and grace to bear them patiently. There is a power in silence; do not speak a word until you have sent up your petition to the God of heaven.” Historical Sketches, 157, 158.

“The abuses of the stomach by the gratification of appetite, are the fruitful source of most church trials. Those who eat and work intemperately and irrationally, talk and act irrationally. An intemperate man cannot be a patient man.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 50.

“Impatient words are spoken and unkind deeds are done, dishonest practices are followed and passion is manifested, and all because the nerves of the brain are diseased by the abuse heaped upon the stomach.

“Some cannot be impressed with the necessity of eating and drinking to the glory of God. The indulgence of appetite affects them in all the relations of life. It is seen in their family, in their church, in the prayer meeting, and in the conduct of their children. … God has bountifully provided for the sustenance and happiness of all His creatures; and if His laws were never violated, and all acted in harmony with the divine will, health, peace, and happiness, instead of misery and continual evil, would be experienced.” Ibid., 53, 54.

“All should cultivate patience by practicing patience. By being kind and forbearing, true love may be kept warm in the heart, and qualities will be developed that Heaven will approve.” The Adventist Home, 106.

4 ANOTHER BUILDING BLOCK

  • What else is needed in order to be fit representatives of our gracious Lord? I Corinthians 9:26; 10:31.

Note: “A practical knowledge of the science of human life is necessary in order to glorify God in our bodies. It is therefore of the highest importance that among the studies selected for childhood, physiology should occupy the first place. …

“Parents should arouse and in the fear of God inquire, What is truth? A tremendous responsibility rests upon them. They should be practical physiologists, that they may know what are and what are not correct physical habits, and be enabled thereby to instruct their children. The great mass are as ignorant and indifferent in regard to the physical and moral education of their children as the animal creation. And yet they dare assume the responsibilities of parents.

“Every mother should acquaint herself with the laws that govern physical life. … To parents is committed the sacred charge of forming the characters of their children in childhood. They should be to their children both teacher and physician. They should understand nature’s wants and nature’s laws.” Counsels on Health, 38, 39.

  • How does caring for the physical body affect our character development and witnessing? III John 2; Psalm 67:2; I Corinthians 9:27.

Note: “Our habits of eating and drinking show whether we are of the world or among the number whom the Lord by His mighty cleaver of truth has separated from the world.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 58.

“Should we dress in plain, modest apparel without reference to the fashions; should our tables at all times be set with simple, healthful food, avoiding all luxuries, all extravagance; should our houses be built with becoming plainness, and furnished in the same manner, it would show the sanctifying power of the truth, and would have a telling influence upon unbelievers. But while we conform to the world in these matters, in some cases apparently seeking to excel worldlings in fanciful arrangement, the preaching of the truth will have but little or no effect. Who will believe the solemn truth for this time, when those who already profess to believe it contradict their faith by their works?” Ibid., 90.

5 WISDOM

  • What is necessary in order to rightly train a family and/or to relate properly to the church family and the world around us? Philippians 1:9; Colossians 1:9, 10.

Note: “Children are committed to their parents as a precious trust, which God will one day require at their hands. We should give to their training more time, more care, and more prayer. They need more of the right kind of instruction.” The Adventist Home, 161.

  • What should we consider with regard to having a family and the size of the family? I Timothy 5:8.

Note: “Parents should not increase their families any faster than they know that their children can be well cared for and educated.” The Adventist Home, 163.

  • What description is given of God’s wisdom, and how can we obtain it? James 3:17; 1:5.

Note: “Give the Word its honored position as a guide in the home. Let it be regarded as the counselor in every difficulty, the standard of every practice. Will my brethren and sisters be convinced that there can never be true prosperity to any soul in the family circle unless the truth of God, the wisdom of righteousness, presides?” Child Guidance, 509.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What type of commitment is necessary in your life?

2 What is the most effective way to witness?

3 Describe a most essential virtue you must have and how you gain it.

4 What is the connection between your physical well-being and your ability to share Christ with others?

5 How can you know how to accomplish the tasks before you?

Copyright © 2002 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – How Can We Be a Demonstration?

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July 3, 2011 – July 9, 2011

Key Text

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.

Study Helps: The Adventist Home, 279–302.

Introduction

“Before the world, God is developing us as living witnesses to what men and women may become through the grace of Christ.” The Signs of the Times, September 3, 1902.

1 PARTNERS IN THE CAUSE

  • Before we can help anyone else, what must take place in our own lives individually? Psalm 51:10, 13; Hebrews 8:10.

Note: “Not until parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with perfect hearts will they be prepared to command their children after them.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 143.

  • What commitment must be understood as we endeavor to work out God’s plan? Joshua 24:15.

Note: “The father’s duty to his children cannot be transferred to the mother. If she performs her own duty, she has burden enough to bear. Only by working in unison can the father and mother accomplish the work which God has committed to their hands.” The Adventist Home, 216.

  • What purpose are we to keep in mind as families and as a church? Isaiah 58:12; Jeremiah 6:16.

Note: “Like every other one of God’s good gifts entrusted to the keeping of humanity, marriage has been perverted by sin; but it is the purpose of the gospel to restore its purity and beauty.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 64.

2 CHILDREN AS HELPERS

  • How should we view children? Psalm 127:3.

Note: “Christ placed such a high estimate upon your children that He gave His life for them. Treat them as the purchase of His blood.” The Adventist Home, 279.

  • What should be the goal for the parents as well as for the children? Proverbs 20:11.

Note: “Children are the heritage of the Lord, and the plan of redemption includes their salvation as well as ours. They have been entrusted to parents in order that they might be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that they might be qualified to do their work in time and eternity. … They are God’s property; He loves them, and calls upon you to cooperate with Him in helping them to form perfect characters.” The Adventist Home, 280.

“Children as well as parents have important duties in the home. They should be taught that they are a part of the home firm. They are fed and clothed and loved and cared for; and they should respond to these many mercies by bearing their share of the home burdens and bringing all the happiness possible into the family of which they are members.” Ibid., 282.

  • When does respect and obligation to our parents end? Colossians 3:20.

Note: “There is no period in life when children are excused from honoring their parents. … The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age.

“God cannot prosper those who go directly contrary to the plainest duty specified in His word, the duty of children to their parents. … If they disrespect and dishonor their earthly parents, they will not respect and love their Creator.

“When children have unbelieving parents, and their commands contradict the requirements of Christ, then, painful though it may be, they must obey God and trust the consequences with Him.” The Adventist Home, 292, 293.

3 THE SINGLES’ POTENTIAL

  • Is it God’s will that all should be married? I Corinthians 7:8, 9.

Note: “In this age of the world, as the scenes of earth’s history are soon to close and we are about to enter upon the time of trouble such as never was, the fewer the marriages contracted, the better for all, both men and women.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 366.

  • What purposes can be effectively fulfilled by singles? I Corinthians 7:32–35; I Peter 2:21.

Note: “The salvation of souls will be the constant aim of those who are abiding in Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 367.

“In the name of Christ the chosen twelve went out, as He had gone, ‘to preach the gospel to the poor … to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord’ [Luke 4:18, 19].” The Desire of Ages, 358.

  • What should our greatest desire be, whether married or unmarried? Luke 22:42; Psalm 40:8.

Note: “To everyone there is given a work to do for the Master. To each of His servants are committed special gifts, or talents.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 282.

“Everyone who accepts Christ as his personal Saviour will long for the privelege of serving God. Contemplating what heaven has done for him, his heart is moved with boundless love and adoring gratitude. He is eager to signalize his gratitude by devoting his abilities to God’s service. He longs to show his love for Christ and for His purchased possession. He covets toil, hardship, sacrifice. …

“There is a picture representing a bullock standing between a plow and an altar, with the inscription, ‘Ready for either,’ ready to toil in the furrow or to be offered on the altar of sacrifice. This is the position of the true child of God—willing to go where duty calls, to deny self, to sacrifice for the Redeemer’s cause.” The Ministry of Healing, 502.

4 THE WHITE-HAIRED

  • How should the older members of our families be regarded? Proverbs 16:31; Leviticus 19:32.

Note: “In these last days children are so noted for their disobedience and disrespect that God has especially noticed it, and it constitutes a sign that the end is near. It shows that Satan has almost complete control of the minds of the young. By many, age is no more respected. It is considered too old-fashioned to respect the aged.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 217, 218.

“Let the members of every family minister to their own relatives. When this is not possible, the work belongs to the church, and it should be accepted both as a duty and as a privilege. All who have Christ’s spirit will regard the feeble and aged with special respect and tenderness.” Ibid., vol. 6, 272.

  • What unique responsibilities are especially appropriate for these men and women of experience? Titus 2:2, 3; Psalm 71:9, 17, 18.

Note: “They [aged persons] should lay aside anxiety and burdens, and occupy their time as happily as they can, and be ripening up for heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 424.

“The most tender interest should be cherished toward those whose life interest is bound up with the work of God. Notwithstanding their many infirmities, these workers still possess talents that qualify them to stand in their lot and place. God desires them to occupy leading positions in His work. …

“As those who have spent their lives in the service of God draw near the close of their earthly history, they will be impressed by the Holy Spirit to recount the experiences they have had in connection with His work. …

“The Lord desires the younger laborers to gain wisdom, strength, and maturity by association with the aged laborers who have been spared to the cause. …

“May the Lord bless and sustain our old and tried laborers. May He help them to be wise in regard to the preservation of their physical, mental, and spiritual powers. … ‘God has endowed you with the power of reason, and He desires you to understand and obey the laws that have to do with the health of the being. Do not be imprudent. Do not overwork. Take time to rest.’ ” Ibid., vol. 7, 287–289.

5 THE CHURCH FAMILY

  • What are the parallels between our blood family and our church family? Ephesians 4:11–16.

Note: “Teach the children and youth to respect themselves, to be true to God, true to principle; teach them to respect and obey the law of God.” The Adventist Home, 16.

“The family relationship should be sanctifying in its influence. Christian homes, established and conducted in accordance with God’s plan, are a wonderful help in forming Christian character.” Ibid., 19.

“On the church has been conferred the power to act in Christ’s stead. It is God’s instrumentality for the preservation of order and discipline among His people. …

“It may be that much work needs to be done in your character building, that you are a rough stone, which must be squared and polished before it can fill a place in God’s temple. You need not be surprised if with hammer and chisel God cuts away the sharp corners of your character until you are prepared to fill the place He has for you.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 263, 264.

  • What does God desire to do through both agencies? Colossians 1:26, 27; II Corinthians 2:14; 3:3.

Note: “Before the world, God is developing us as living witnesses to what men and women may become through the grace of Christ.” The Signs of the Times, September 3, 1902.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Before you can be a witness to the world, what must come first?

2 What part do children and youth have in this work?

3 How does God regard the unmarried?

4 How should you regard the advice and experience of the older members?

5 What is the purpose of the family and the church?

Copyright © 2002 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.