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Bible Study Guides – The True Vine

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September 7, 2008 – September 13, 2008

Key Text

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” John 15:5.

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 674-678; Christ’s Object Lessons, 139-149.

Introduction

“Do not disappoint Him who so loved you that He gave His own life to cancel your sins. He says, ‘Without Me ye can do nothing.’ John 15:5. Remember this. If you have made mistakes, you certainly gain a victory if you see these mistakes and regard them as beacons of warning. Thus you turn defeat into victory, disappointing the enemy and honoring your Redeemer.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 332.

1 How can one profess to be “in Christ,” yet bear no fruit? John 15:1, 2, 6.

Note: “Since Christ has paid the price for all the service that we should give Him, we are His servants by purchase. Although we are in Christ Jesus by His covenant of promise, yet if we stand in a position of perfect indifference, without acknowledging Him as our Saviour, we bear no fruit. If by failing to be a partaker of His divine nature we bear no fruit, we are taken away. Worldly influences take us away from Christ, and our portion is the same as that of the unfruitful branch.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1143.

2 What is the work of Christ in behalf of those who bear fruit? John 15:2.

Note: “If we do not bear any fruit, the powers of darkness take possession of our minds, our affections, our service, and we are of the world, though we profess to be children of God. This is neither a safe nor a pleasant position, because we lose all the beauty and the glory and the satisfaction that it is our privilege to have. By abiding in Christ, we may have His sweetness, His fragrance, His light. Christ is the Light of the world. He shines in our hearts. His light in our hearts shines forth from our faces. By beholding the beauty and the glory of Christ, we become changed into the same image.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1143.

3 How can we have our character purified? John 15:3.

Note: “The truths of the word of God meet man’s great practical necessity—the conversion of the soul through faith. These grand principles are not to be thought too pure and holy to be brought into the daily life. They are truths which reach to heaven and compass eternity, yet their vital influence is to be woven into human experience. They are to permeate all the great things and all the little things of life.

“Received into the heart, the leaven of truth will regulate the desires, purify the thoughts, and sweeten the disposition. It quickens the faculties of the mind and the energies of the soul. It enlarges the capacity for feeling, for loving.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 100, 101.

4 What changes will be revealed in the life of true believers? Isaiah 1:16, 17.

Note: “The selfish, money-loving man lives only to secure for himself the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world. He loses the eternal world from his reckoning. But with the follower of Christ these things will not be all-absorbing. For Christ’s sake he will labor and deny self, that he may aid in the great work of saving souls who are without Christ and without hope in the world. Such a man the world cannot understand; for he is keeping in view eternal realities. The love of Christ with its redeeming power has come into the heart. This love masters every other motive, and raises its possessor above the corrupting influence of the world.

“The word of God is to have a sanctifying effect on our association with every member of the human family. The leaven of truth will not produce the spirit of rivalry, the love of ambition, the desire to be first. True, heaven-born love is not selfish and changeable. It is not dependent on human praise. The heart of him who receives the grace of God overflows with love for God and for those for whom Christ died. Self is not struggling for recognition. He does not love others because they love and please him, because they appreciate his merits, but because they are Christ’s purchased possession. If his motives, words, or actions are misunderstood or misrepresented, he takes no offense, but pursues the even tenor of his way. He is kind and thoughtful, humble in his opinion of himself, yet full of hope, always trusting in the mercy and love of God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 101, 102.

5 How can we live a fruitful spiritual life? John 15:4, 5.

Note: “A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness—sin in all its forms—must be overcome if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols. Testimonies, vol. 5, 231.

6 How is it possible to preserve our union with Christ? Hebrews 12:1, 2.

Note: “After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory.

“Believers become one in Christ, but one branch cannot be sustained by another. The nourishment must be obtained through the vital connection with the vine. We must feel our utter dependence on Christ. We must live by faith on the Son of God. That is the meaning of the injunction: ‘Abide in Me.’ The life we live in the flesh is not to the will of men, not to please our Lord’s enemies, but to serve and honor Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. A mere assent to this union, while the affections are not detached from the world, its pleasures and its dissipations, only emboldens the heart in disobedience.

“As a people we are sadly destitute of faith and love. Our efforts are altogether too feeble for the time of peril in which we live. The pride and self-indulgence, the impiety and iniquity, by which we are surrounded have an influence upon us. Few realize the importance of shunning, so far as possible, all associations unfriendly to religious life.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 231, 232.

7 What are the key conditions for obtaining answers to our prayers? John 15:7; I John 2:3–5.

Note: “Many are forfeiting the condition of acceptance with the Father. We need to examine closely the deed of trust wherewith we approach God. If we are disobedient, we bring to the Lord a note to be cashed when we have not fulfilled the conditions that would make it payable to us. We present to God His promises, and ask Him to fulfill them, when by so doing He would dishonor His own name. …

“One of Christ’s last commands to His disciples was ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 13:34). Do we obey this command, or are we indulging sharp, unchristlike traits of character? If we have in any way grieved or wounded others, it is our duty to confess our fault and seek for reconciliation. This is an essential preparation that we may come before God in faith, to ask His blessing.

“There is another matter too often neglected by those who seek the Lord in prayer. Have you been honest with God? By the prophet Malachi the Lord declares, ‘Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.’ Malachi 3:7, 8.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 143, 144.

8 With what other conditions must we comply before God can answer our prayers? Psalm 66:18; Mark 11:24.

Note: “If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. When all known wrongs are righted, we may believe that God will answer our petitions. Our own merit will never commend us to the favor of God; it is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, His blood that will cleanse us; yet we have a work to do in complying with the conditions of acceptance.” Steps to Christ, 95.

“The beloved John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks with great plainness and assurance: ‘If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.’ I John 5:14, 15. Then press your petition to the Father in the name of Jesus. God will honor that name.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 148.

9 On what condition can we abide in Christ’s love? John 15:9, 10.

Note: “Always kind, courteous, ever taking the part of the oppressed, whether Jew or Gentile, Christ was beloved by all. By His perfect life and character, He answered the question asked in the fifteenth Psalm: ‘Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.’ [Verses 1, 2.] In childhood and youth His course was such that when engaged in work as a teacher, He could say to His disciples, ‘If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love: even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.’ [John 15:10.]” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 402.

10 How did Christ summarize the law and reveal its essence? John 15:12, 13.

Note: “Christ has given us an example of pure, disinterested love. You have not as yet seen your deficiency in this respect, and your great need of this heavenly attainment, without which all your good purposes, and your zeal, even if it be of that nature that you could give your goods to feed the poor and your body to be burned, is nothing. You need that charity which suffereth long, is not easily provoked, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Without the spirit of love, no one can be like Christ. With this living principle in the soul, no one can be like the world.

“The conduct of Christians is like that of their Lord. He erected the standard, and it is left for us to say whether or not we will rally around it. Our Lord and Saviour laid aside His dominion, His riches and glory, and sought after us, that He might save us from misery and make us like Himself.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 169, 170.

Additional Reading

“Jesus and the disciples were on the way to Gethsemane, at the foot of Mount Olivet, a retired spot which He had often visited for meditation and prayer. The Saviour had been explaining to His disciples His mission to the world, and the spiritual relation to Him which they were to sustain. Now He illustrates the lesson. The moon is shining bright, and reveals to Him a flourishing grapevine. Drawing the attention of the disciples to it, He employs it as a symbol.

“ ‘I am the true Vine,’ [John 15:1] He says. Instead of choosing the graceful palm, the lofty cedar, or the strong oak, Jesus takes the vine with its clinging tendrils to represent Himself. The palm tree, the cedar, and the oak stand alone. They require no support. But the vine entwines about the trellis, and thus climbs heavenward. So Christ in His humanity was dependent upon divine power. ‘I can of Mine own self do nothing,’ He declared. John 5:30.

“ ‘I am the Vine, ye are the branches,’ [John 15:5] Christ said to His disciples. Though He was about to be removed from them, their spiritual union with Him was to be unchanged. The connection of the branch with the vine, He said, represents the relation you are to sustain to Me. The scion is engrafted into the living vine, and fiber by fiber, vein by vein, it grows into the vine stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So the soul dead in trespasses and sins receives life through connection with Christ. By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner unites his weakness to Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fullness, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. The humanity of Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched divinity. Thus through the agency of the Holy Spirit man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.

“This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained. Christ said, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’ [John 15:4] This is no casual touch, no off-and-on connection. The branch becomes a part of the living vine. The communication of life, strength, and fruitfulness from the root to the branches is unobstructed and constant. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. No more, said Jesus, can you live apart from Me. The life you have received from Me can be preserved only by continual communion. Without Me you cannot overcome one sin, or resist one temptation.” The Desire of Ages, 674, 675.

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

Editorial – Without Knowing It

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God’s people are affected more than they realize by the topics in the public press and media. There are topics being promoted by various individuals on the Internet with YouTube videos and other communications that are designed to raise alarm. As Adventists, we know that the end of the world is coming, but we need to be rational in our decisions and not act on the latest Internet gossip.

For several years now the Adventist people have been troubled by the frenzy that develops over these rumors. This barrage of messages are claimed to be directly from God. Of course, the “inside” or “secret” information cannot be documented, leaving no way for validation. The people distributing these communications worldwide cannot substantiate any evidence that the original source people actually had visions in the Biblical sense. (See Numbers 12:6; Isaiah 8:19, 20.)

It is not the part of prudence to believe any e-mail that comes around claiming to have as its source any secret society. This is not the way that God communicates the truth to His people. It is time for us to pray. It would be well if God’s people, in the face of these uncertain times, would go to the Lord, in prayer and say, “Lord you know what is going to happen and I earnestly pray that you will teach me, not only how I can serve you today, but also what you would have me do with my money, time, and every resource that you have placed in my hand. I am opening my heart to you, Lord, to be directed as you see fit; please lead me in just the way you would have me go today.”

Editorial – Prayer Calendar

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What are you praying for this year? Often our prayers tend to be quite self-centered. We pray for healing from a physical or emotional problem or for a better financial situation or some other personal desire. But if we are going to become Christlike, we must ask ourselves, “How did Jesus pray?” It is true that He prayed for Himself, but even these prayers were so that He could gain the victory over His temptations and win the right to give eternal life to you and me. When Jesus prayed, it was for the benefit of others. (See John 17.)

Below is a list of a few things that we should be praying for this year.

  1. Although we should pray for all men (I Timothy 2:1), we should especially pray for “kings and all who are in authority.” I Timothy 2:2. Some people seem to be so busy making judgments about the government that prayer for our leaders is far from their minds. We cannot be criticizing and deriding government and praying for those very same people simultaneously, can we? Christians are to be praying for all those burdened with the responsibility of governing. This would include all legislators, judges, juries, and leaders of government services.
  2. We should pray for our enemies and those who spitefully use us. (Luke 6:27, 28.) It is true that in the final generation the devil is going to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9; 14:13, 14; 16:13, 14; 18:23), but vengeance is not our job. Our job for those who persecute us and attempt to destroy us is to pray for them—that God perhaps might grant them repentance so that they might know the truth and escape from the snare of the devil.
    (II Timothy 2:25, 26.)
  3. Pray for every person who is attempting to communicate the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19; Hebrews 13:18.)
  4. Pray for professed Christians who do not yet give evidence that they are converted. (Luke 22:31, 32.)
  5. Pray for more gospel workers. (Matthew 10:37, 38.)
  6. Pray for mercy. (Luke 18:13.)
  7. Pray that you will not fall into temptation. (Luke 22:40.)
  8. Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:13.)
  9. Pray for God’s professed people and for those whom you know individually. (II Thessalonians 1:11; James 5:16.)

Ever Watchful

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“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”
Mark 13:35-37.

Both Jesus and most of the writers of the New Testament share a common motif, which is the need for watchfulness, especially as the earth moves toward its close. Matthew says, “Watch therefore …” Matthew 25:13; Mark records, “Watch ye therefore …” Mark 13:35; Doctor Luke documents, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always …” Luke 21:36; Acts 20:31; John, recording the words of the true witness, says, “Be watchful …” “If therefore thou shalt not watch …” Revelation 3:2, 3; The apostle Paul counsels, “Watch ye, stand fast …” I Corinthians 16:13; “Continue in prayer, and watch … .” Colossians 4:2; “… watch and be sober.” I Thessalonians 5:6; “But watch thou in all things …” II Timothy 4:5; Peter states, “… watch unto prayer.” I Peter 4:7.

So, in this message I desire to address the urgency that is placed upon a Christian to watch, within the context of the end of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

If ever there was a time for every Christian to watch and be ready, it is now! What did Jesus mean when he admonished us to watch? Let’s read again Jesus’ words found in Mark 13:35–37: “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”

The Greek word gregoreuo is word number 1127 in the Strong’s Concordance and means “watch,” “to keep awake,” “be vigilant,” “be awake,” “be watchful.” This word, gregoreuo, comes from word number 1453 which is egeiro, which means “to waken from sleep, sitting or lying, from disease, from death, from inactivity,” etc. Hence, we understand that this is a call to soberness and constant alertness on the part of the Christian; a constant state of readiness!

In commenting on the meaning of Mark’s account to “watch ye therefore,” God’s servant states, “Jesus has left us word, ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ We are waiting and watching for the return of the Master, who is to bring the morning, lest coming suddenly He find us sleeping. What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance, and when the mandate goes forth: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’

“When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants. To those who have neglected the preparation of purity and holiness, which fits them to be waiting ones to welcome their Lord, the sun sets in gloom and darkness, and rises not again. Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping. They became weary of waiting and watching; they became indifferent in regard to the coming of their Master. They longed not for His appearing, and thought there was no need of such continued, persevering watching. They had been disappointed in their expectations and might be again. They concluded that there was time enough yet to arouse. They would be sure not to lose the opportunity of securing an earthly treasure. It would be safe to get all of this world they could. And in securing this object, they lost all anxiety and interest in the appearing of the Master. They became indifferent and careless, as though His coming were yet in the distance. But while their interest was buried up in their worldly gains, the work closed in the heavenly sanctuary, and they were unprepared.

“If such had only known that the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary would close so soon, how differently would they have conducted themselves, how earnestly would they have watched! The Master, anticipating all this, gives them timely warning in the command to watch. He distinctly states the suddenness of His coming. He does not measure the time, lest we shall neglect a momentary preparation, and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think He will come, and defer the preparation. ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 2, 190, 191.

To whom is this warning addressed? We read in the following gospels these words: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” Matthew 24:4; “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any [man] deceive you.” Mark 13:5; “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived.” Luke 21:8.

We are told, “The Saviour’s instructions to His disciples were given for the benefit of His followers in every age. He had those in view who were living near the close of time, when He said: ‘Take heed to yourselves.’ It is our work, each for himself, to cherish in the heart the precious graces of the Holy Spirit.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 102, 103.

“To illustrate the importance of being alert, Jesus spoke six parables: the Porter, which is here condensed into one verse, the Master of the House, the Faithful and Unfaithful servants, the Ten Virgins, the Talents, and the Sheep and the Goats. Christians are not to await their Lord’s return in idle expectancy. While waiting and watching they are to be vigilant in purifying their own souls by obedience to the truth, and to be earnest in working for others. It is their privilege ‘not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God.’ ” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 504, 505.

Jesus uses three phrases in admonishing us to alertness; they are: “take heed,” “watch,” and “be ready.” He who is sincerely looking for the coming of Jesus will be ready whenever his Lord may appear.

We can then conclude that Christ’s warning to “watch therefore,” although applicable to the whole world, is especially addressed to His end-time church—Laodicea.

So why is it addressed to the Laodicean church? The Scripture tells us concerning the Laodicean Christians. Revelation 3:14–17: “Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” The Laodiceans’ problem is self-deception, and as a consequence of this attitude they have failed to follow the counsel of Jesus—to watch. Thus they have become blinded and deluded by Satan to their true spiritual condition. Luke tells us the warning that Christ left the Laodiceans: “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34–36.

“When the Saviour pointed out to His followers the signs of His return, He foretold the state of backsliding that would exist just prior to His second advent. There would be, as in the days of Noah, the activity and stir of worldly business and pleasure seeking—buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, and giving in marriage—with forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this time, Christ’s admonition is: ‘Take heed to yourselves … watch and pray always.’

“The condition of the church at this time is pointed out in the Saviour’s words in the Revelation: ‘Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.’ And to those who refuse to arouse from their careless security, the solemn warning is addressed: ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’ Revelation 3:1, 3.” The Great Controversy, 309, 310.

The beloved apostle John, writing verily to us, emphatically pleads: “Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” I John 2:15, 16.

The messenger to the remnant church points out that “the love of the world and the deceitfulness of riches eclipse our faith, and we do not long for, and love, the appearing of our Saviour. We try too hard to take care of self ourselves. We are uneasy and greatly lack a firm trust in God. Many worry and work, contrive and plan, fearing they may suffer need. They cannot afford time to pray or to attend religious meetings and, in their care for themselves, leave no chance for God to care for them. And the Lord does not do much for them, for they give Him no opportunity. They do too much for themselves, and believe and trust in God too little.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 196.

“Men and women professing to be waiting and loving the appearing of their Lord are shut up to self. The noble, the godlike, they have parted with. The love of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, have so fastened upon them that they are blinded. They are corrupted by the world and discern it not.” Ibid., 197.

Here we see four problem areas that cause Christ to give warning to Laodicea—His church living in the period just before the end of the world.

  • The love of the world
  • The lust of the flesh
  • The lust of the eyes
  • The pride of life.

Let us take a closer look at these four areas [table below]:

  1. The love of the world—this has to do with those things that are alien and hostile to God, or worldly affairs that lead away from God. It has to do with everything and anything that is contrary to the words of God, its teaching and lifestyle.

Accordingly, when John bids his readers, ‘Love not the world,’ he is not thinking of the earth as it came from the hand of God, but of the earthly elements, animate and inanimate, that Satan has marshaled in rebellion against God. John knows how attractive these things can appear, and bids Christians to beware of them and to resist their seductive power.

  1. The lust of the flesh—this has to do with the sensuous nature of man, in which, “dwelleth no good thing” and which lusts to evil. The lust of the flesh is the craving of the flesh for indulgence in evil. It includes all strong desires for indulgence contrary to the will of God. Those strong desires may very well include perverted sexual desires, perverted appetite, crave for power or fame, excessive desire to control, diabolical motivation to make self prominent, etc.
  2. The lust of the eyes—If “lust of the flesh’ applies particularly to sins arising from the body, ‘lust of the eyes’ may be understood to refer to mental pleasure stimulated through sight. Much of the sinful pleasure of the world is experienced through the eyes. Many who would hasten to disclaim and intention of indulging in open sin themselves are eager to read about sin, to study it in a picture or to watch it depicted upon a screen. The word of God declares, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:27, 28. Also, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.” Proverbs 6:25.
  3. The pride of life—This has reference to boastful display. It implies a materialistic satisfaction with worldly goods, a state of mind that substitutes the material for the spiritual. Some take pride in their work, other in their possessions, still others in their own beauty of their children. Some other pride themselves with educational and academic accomplishments.

The warning of Christ is relevant for us living in these closing days of probation to take heed, watch therefore, and be ready. This is so because we who are called by God’s name are totally absorbed in worldliness and are unaware that probation is about to be closed forever. These words stand as an indictment against us: “The cares of the world engross the mind to that degree that self-examination and secret prayer are neglected. The armor is laid off and Satan has free access to them, benumbing their sensibilities and causing them to be unsuspicious of his wiles.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 126. “Many have partaken so largely of the spirit and influence of the world that they act like the world.” Ibid., 127.

What should the remnant people be doing now as evidence that they are watching? As a people of prophecy we know that we are now living in the antitypical day of atonement. As it was in the sanctuary system of the Old Testament that on the day of atonement the people were required to afflict their souls, they were to do serious self-examination, confessing and repenting of all sin in order to be in oneness with God. So now we must be doing the same work, for our sins must be blotted out or our names will be blotted out of the book of life forever. So we have a work of watching to do!

The prophet Isaiah declares, “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isaiah 13:9.

“In view of that great day the word of God, in the most solemn and impressive language, calls upon His people to arouse from their spiritual lethargy and to seek His face with repentance and humiliation: ‘Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.’ ‘Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children … let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar.’ ‘Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.’ Joel 2:1, 15–17, 12, 13.” The Great Controversy, 311.

“When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the choice of man himself. Satan will constantly present allurements to induce us to break this tie—to choose to separate ourselves from Christ. Here is where we need to watch, to strive, to pray, that nothing may entice us to choose another master; for we are always free to do this. But let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand. In constantly beholding Him, we ‘are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ II Corinthians 3:18.

“It was thus that the early disciples gained their likeness to the dear Saviour. When those disciples heard the words of Jesus, they felt their need of Him. They sought, they found, they followed Him. They were with Him in the house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They were with Him as pupils with a teacher, daily receiving from His lips lessons of holy truth. They looked to Him, as servants to their master, to learn their duty. Those disciples were men ‘subject to like passions as we are.’ James 5:17. They had the same battle with sin to fight. They needed the same grace, in order to live a holy life.” Steps to Christ, 72.

The warning is clear: “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” Mark 13:35, 36.

The pen of inspiration states, “The church of God is required to fulfill her night watch, however perilous, whether long or short. Sorrow is no excuse for her to be less watchful. Tribulation should not lead to carelessness, but to double vigilance. Christ has directed the church by His own example to the Source of their strength in times of need, distress, and peril. The attitude of watching is to designate the church as God’s people indeed. By this sign the waiting ones are distinguished from the world and show that they are pilgrims and strangers upon the earth.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 205.

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-822-3900.

Communing With God

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Through nature and revelation, through His providence, and by the influence of His Spirit, God speaks to us. But these are not enough; we need also to pour out our hearts to Him. In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with our heavenly Father. Our minds may be drawn out toward Him; we may meditate upon His works, His mercies, His blessings; but this is not, in the fullest sense, communing with Him. In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life.

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.

When Jesus was upon the earth, He taught His disciples how to pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God, and to cast all their care upon Him. And the assurance He gave them that their petitions should be heard, is assurance also to us.

Jesus Himself, while He dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Our Saviour identified Himself with our needs and weakness, in that He became a suppliant, a petitioner, seeking from His Father fresh supplies of strength, that He might come forth braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, “in all points tempted like as we are;” [Hebrews 4:15] but as the sinless one His nature recoiled from evil; He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege. He found comfort and joy in communion with His Father. And if the Saviour of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer.

Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love. What a wonder it is that we pray so little! God is ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of His children, and yet there is much manifest reluctance on our part to make known our wants to God. What can the angels of heaven think of poor helpless human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little and have so little faith? The angels love to bow before God; they love to be near Him. They regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet the children of earth, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence.

The darkness of the evil one encloses those who neglect to pray. The whispered temptations of the enemy entice them to sin; and it is all because they do not make use of the privileges that God has given them in the divine appointment of prayer. Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence? Without unceasing prayer and diligent watching we are in danger of growing careless and of deviating from the right path. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain grace and power to resist temptation.

There are certain conditions upon which we may expect that God will hear and answer our prayers. One of the first of these is that we feel our need of help from Him. He has promised, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” Isaiah 44:3. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, who long after God, may be sure that they will be filled. The heart must be open to the Spirit’s influence, or God’s blessing cannot be received.

Our great need is itself an argument and pleads most eloquently in our behalf. But the Lord is to be sought unto to do these things for us. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” And “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Matthew 7:7; Romans 8:32.

If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. When all known wrongs are righted, we may believe that God will answer our petitions. Our own merit will never commend us to the favor of God; it is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, His blood that will cleanse us; yet we have a work to do in complying with the conditions of acceptance.

Another element of prevailing prayer is faith. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. Jesus said to His disciples, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24. Do we take Him at His word?

The assurance is broad and unlimited, and He is faithful who has promised. When we do not receive the very things we asked for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers. We are so erring and short-sighted that we sometimes ask for things that would not be a blessing to us, and our heavenly Father in love answers our prayers by giving us that which will be for our highest good—that which we ourselves would desire if with vision divinely enlightened we could see all things as they really are. When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. But to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust Him, even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon His sure promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” Matthew 7:7.

If we take counsel with our doubts and fears, or try to solve everything that we cannot see clearly, before we have faith, perplexities will only increase and deepen. But if we come to God, feeling helpless and dependent, as we really are, and in humble, trusting faith make known our wants to Him whose knowledge is infinite, who sees everything in creation, and who governs everything by His will and word, He can and will attend to our cry, and will let light shine into our hearts. Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite. We may have no remarkable evidence at the time that the face of our Redeemer is bending over us in compassion and love, but this is even so. We may not feel His visible touch, but His hand is upon us in love and pitying tenderness.

When we come to ask mercy and blessing from God we should have a spirit of love and forgiveness in our own hearts. How can we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” and yet indulge an unforgiving spirit? Matthew 6:12. If we expect our own prayers to be heard we must forgive others in the same manner and to the same extent as we hope to be forgiven.

Perseverance in prayer has been made a condition of receiving. We must pray always if we would grow in faith and experience. We are to be “instant in prayer,” to “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2. Peter exhorts believers to be “sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7. Paul directs, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6. “But ye, beloved,” says Jude, “praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God.” Jude 20, 21.

Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God, so that life from God flows into our life; and from our life, purity and holiness flow back to God.

There is necessity for diligence in prayer; let nothing hinder you. Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. Seek every opportunity to go where prayer is wont to be made. Those who are really seeking for communion with God will be seen in the prayer meeting, faithful to do their duty and earnest and anxious to reap all the benefits they can gain. They will improve every opportunity of placing themselves where they can receive the rays of light from heaven.

We should pray in the family circle, and above all we must not neglect secret prayer, for this is the life of the soul. It is impossible for the soul to flourish while prayer is neglected. Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid open to the inspecting eye of God. Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the soul is free from surrounding influences, free from excitement. Calmly, yet fervently, will it reach out after God. Sweet and abiding will be the influence emanating from Him who seeth in secret, whose ear is open to hear the prayer arising from the heart. By calm, simple faith the soul holds communion with God and gathers to itself rays of divine light to strengthen and sustain it in the conflict with Satan. God is our tower of strength.

Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God.

There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in the soul.

Although there may be a tainted, corrupted atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its miasma, but may live in the pure air of heaven. We may close every door to impure imaginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the soul into the presence of God through sincere prayer. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth and will have constant communion with heaven.

We need to have more distinct views of Jesus and a fuller comprehension of the value of eternal realities. The beauty of holiness is to fill the hearts of God’s children; and that this may be accomplished, we should seek for divine disclosures of heavenly things.

Let the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may grant us a breath of the heavenly atmosphere. We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.

Steps to Christ, 93–100.

Secret Prayer

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“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37

The warning of Jesus is to be diligent and watch. He is referring here to the close of probation, the time when there will be no more interceding on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary before our Father. This time will come on the world unawares and if we are not watching, then we will be found wanting.

Jesus said, “Watch and pray.” Matthew 26:41. It is in the secret prayer, the quiet times spent alone with God, that God is able to communicate with you. “The Lord speaks, enter into your closet and in silence commune with your own heart. Listen to the voice of truth and conscience. Nothing will give such clear views of self as secret prayer.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 163. It is secret prayer that keeps a soul alive. Mrs. White says, “Family prayer, public prayer, have their place, but it is secret communion with God that sustains the soul life.” Education, 258.

Jesus understood the value in communicating with His Father, and we are told in the Scriptures that He got up a long time before morning and He went out into a solitary place and there He prayed, often spending long hours and sometimes nights in prayer.

In the book Steps to Christ, 98, we are told that we should pray in the family circle and above all we must not neglect secret prayer, for this is the life of the soul. God’s servant says in this little book, “It is impossible for the soul,” your soul and my soul, spiritually speaking, “to flourish while prayer is neglected.” Now what we are talking about here, contextually, is while you and I disregard or neglect secret communion with God it is impossible for us to live a Christian life. Impossible! And that’s the reason why we see so many good Christians slowly fall away, leave the church, leave the message. It has not much to do with years in the church; it has to do with our connection with Jesus, whether I am spending time with God in prayer, in communion with Him.

The issue of secret prayer carries a certain quality and purpose. The purpose is that God would reveal to me, myself, which is something that many of us do not want to discover, our true self. We live in an age of accolades. In other words, we live in a time when we only want to be patted on the shoulder, but do not want to be rebuked or to be corrected, so staying away from secret prayer allows us to truly misunderstand who we really are. God is struggling with us to bring us to the point where He can sit us down and say, look, you have this problem and you need to work on it. I am here to help you, and give you the power to overcome all of these problems. When our spouses or our relatives or when our friends or church members tell us that we have a certain problem, we become offended and we don’t want to hear. Maybe we think that it is because they don’t like us, or they are jealous of us. But God sits us down and God says, “Look, you may not want to hear what I’m saying, but I’m telling you, this is your problem. Work on it. I’m here to help you. I’m telling you this in love with no one else around.” You see, the Lord loves us so much that He wants to polish us, rub us down, use the hammer and the chisel to get the rough edges off us, so that we can make heaven our home. That is what the real issue is, but it will never happen until we get into our closets and pray. “It is impossible for the soul to flourish while prayer is neglected.” Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. Did you get that? Not sufficient! Did you take time out, alone? Charlie Pride, who sang this song many years ago, “E’re you left your room this morning,”—I’m sure you know that song.—“Did you think to pray?”

There is a story of a Christian who got up out of bed and was so busy that he didn’t pray. The day was chaos, and as he retraced his steps he agreed that the reason why things went the way they did is because he just did not have time to pray. Satan is working to get us so busy with daily cares that we neglect secret prayer. Now, more than any human being, Satan knows the value of one on one communion with God. Therefore, what he does is put forth extra effort to devalue prayer in the life of the Christian. He makes us become so absorbed in worldly affairs that we neglect that special time with God.

He makes us become so absorbed in business transactions, educational pursuits, family life, money making—all at the expense of spending time with God in secret prayer. He makes us overwork ourselves. It amazes me sometimes when I see people come to church and they fall asleep. And I understand being tired, doing two, and sometimes three jobs, to barely hold on. Sometimes we become so tied up in the Lord’s work as ministers and Bible workers and elders and whatever our capacity may be in the work of the Lord, we become so absorbed, so busy doing the work of the Lord, that we neglect secret prayer, that time with God that is so critical.

The devil knows that in secret prayer we will see ourselves through God’s eye, our defects of character, our secret sins, and sins which do so easily beset us. The devil knows that. Satan knows that in secret prayer, the Christian will confess his or her sins and will receive strength to forsake them. Thus we’ll be in a state of constant watchfulness and readiness as we are reminded that “Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the scriptures will be overcome by his attacks.” Colporteur Ministry, 82. Satan not only just knows, but he well knows—my dear sister, my dear brother, young people, Satan knows who we are. He has been working on us for over 6,000 years—he knows who we are. He knows the material we are made of and what button to press to get us so mad, so angry, to fall away from the Lord, to give up. Satan well knows that his key is to get us to neglect prayer, because once you and I neglect prayer, we have no strength. There’s a statement that says, seven prayerless days makes one weak. Not w-e-e-k, but w-e-a-k.

The devil does not want you to hear this. He knows that if we neglect prayer, and the searching of the Scriptures, we’ll be overcome by his attacks. He knows that, so listen to what he does; “He invents every possible device to engross the mind.” Great Controversy, 519. And we have all kinds of excuses why we have no time to pray and have no time to study the word of God, why we have no time to commune with God. Let me ask you something. What is most important in your life? Is heaven on your mind? Then do you really think you’re going to get there just like that? “It will serve his [Satan’s] purpose well if we neglect the exercise of prayer. For then his lying wonders are more readily received.” Messages to Young People, 59.

“Neglect of prayer causes the Christian to become weak, to lose self control.” Don’t we see this happening? “To give rein to impure thoughts and impulses.” Pamphlet 066, 36.

“There is a mighty power in prayer. Our great adversary is constantly seeking to keep the troubled soul away from God.

“An appeal to heaven, by the humblest saint, is more to be dreaded by Satan than the decrees of cabinets or the mandates of kings.” The Signs of the Times, October 27, 1881.

When you and I, in trouble, fall on our knees, it doesn’t matter what the issues may be in our lives; when we fall on our knees and telephone glory and call upon our Lord for power, for deliverance, for strength, God regards it more than decisions of cabinet and earthly kings. Yes, more, and Satan dreads it, for he knows the power of secret communion with God.

Now, considering all that Satan is doing to keep us from a sweet communion with God, we should readily heed the following counsel: “Let no one in these days of peril neglect prayer.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 403. Don’t neglect it! Jesus, while He was on earth, understood the value of secret prayer, and that it is the life of the soul, and He knew the effort of His enemy, Satan. Consequently, He placed secret prayer as the priority in His life; it became the bulwark against the devil, and that is precisely how Jesus won the victory—secret communion with His Father.

Ellen White tells us that a storm is coming. She says that pen cannot describe what is coming on God’s people. God’s people need to be prepared. Before Jesus went to the cross, He prepared Himself every day through private communion with His Father, and when that ultimate test came, He had self control. His body was kept under subjection so that even when He stood before Pilate, who was being motivated by Satan to cause Him to become irritated, He stood erect, completely self possessed. This control takes a constant connection with Jesus Christ. By beholding we become changed, and self is lost sight of. Let us pray that we may say, “I am completely lost to myself, and Jesus Christ and His wonderful character has been reproduced in me, so that under the most trying circumstances I can reflect my Lord.” It is coming, dear brothers and sisters. We must ask God to reveal any self—“Lord, I don’t want to be a surprise to anyone.”

The test is coming for all of us. We are so easily annoyed and we are so easily affected. One of the easiest statements that comes out of the mouth of Adventists today is, I’m going to leave the church—simply because something doesn’t go your way, or you are not satisfied about something. It is as if to say that being in the church you were doing God a favor, but the Christian who has been seeking the Lord and spending time with Jesus has learned to forget self, and has learned to endure hardship, as a good soldier. So whatever comes, let it come. You will only be kept as our Saviour was kept—by secret prayer.

There is a difference between public prayer and private or secret prayer. Often times when people are called upon to pray in public, their prayers are either very long or inappropriate. This action reflects a lack of secret prayer in the life of the individual, or a lack of understanding. Speaking concerning this matter, God’s servant states that prayers should be short and to the point, and that even angels are weary with long public prayers. When you are in your private devotion with God, you can spend one hour or you can spend two if you have the time. It is no problem with God.

“Tell the Lord just what you want without going all over the world. In private prayer all have the privilege of praying as long as they desire, and of being as explicit as they please. They can pray for all their relatives and friends. The closet is the place to tell all their private difficulties and trials, and temptations.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 578.

The worship service is not the place to talk to the Lord about Grandma and Auntie and cousin and the dog, and the cat, and to talk about the private issues that are affecting us in our lives. The closet is for that purpose. When we come together to worship and we are going to pray in public, we should address that which pertains to the worship. “A common meeting to worship God is not the place to open the privacies of the heart. What is the object of assembling together? Is it to inform God, to instruct Him by telling Him all we know in prayer?” Ibid.

Peter and the disciples’ experience illustrates how important it is to watch and pray. Upon entering Gethsemane Jesus counseled them to watch and pray. “At first they had been much troubled to see their Master, usually so calm and dignified, wrestling with a sorrow that was beyond comprehension. They had prayed as they heard the strong cries of the sufferer. They did not intend to forsake their Lord. But they seemed paralyzed by a stupor which they might have shaken off if they had continued pleading with God. They did not realize the necessity of watchfulness and earnest prayer in order to withstand the temptation.” The Desire of Ages, 688.

When Jesus said, watch with Me, just watch with Me. I’m going to go yonder to pray, but watch with Me, please. Now, that wasn’t too important to them. Their eyes were heavy. They fell asleep. Just before He bent His footsteps to the garden, Jesus said to the disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night.” Matthew 26:31. They had given Him the strongest assurance that they would go with Him to prison and to death. And poor self-sufficient Peter added, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” Matthew 26:33. So even if the other disciples should turn their backs upon you, Lord, I am promising You, I will not leave You.

But the disciples trusted to themselves. They did not look to the mighty Helper as Christ had counseled them to do, and this problem of self-sufficiency in the church needs to go. We are no match for Satan and as long as we depend upon ourselves we will be defeated. Thus when the Savior was most in need of their sympathy and prayers, they were found asleep.

Are you sleeping? In your spiritual life, are you asleep? Even Peter was asleep, the one who promised that he would be with the Lord, no matter what. We may want to reflect and ponder the following questions. I ask you, and this is a question I ask myself, and I need you to ask yourself; Am I like Peter and the other disciples, trusting to myself? Am I unwilling to follow God’s counsels? Am I willing to know my true spiritual condition? Am I? Am I so engrossed in worldly affairs that I have no time for secret prayer? Do I truly love the time of prayer alone with my Savior, or am I self-deceived like Peter and the other disciples in believing that I am watchful and ready while probation may very well be closed or is closing, and possibly I may be forever locked out?

It is due to this awareness that the apostle Paul counseled the Thessalonian Christians, “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Pray! In your bathroom, lift up a prayer. While driving along the freeway or the highway, you can commune with God. While you’re on the job at the desk, wherever you are, take a moment to send up a little prayer. When you are faced with temptations, just remember, a little prayer coming from a sincere heart, seeking for strength, will not be turned back.

Why are we failing as Christians? Why are we apostatizing? Why is it that our hearts are saying something different from our lips? Why is it that there is envy, jealousy, selfishness, resentment, hatred, and an unforgiving spirit in our hearts? You see, this is what Jesus wants us to come to Him to deal with. When you kneel before the Lord in the closet, ask that He will reveal self to you. And then He has the remedy to uproot that unforgiving spirit. Oh yes, you may be in church every Sabbath singing and praying. Nobody knows what you are struggling with, but God knows. Maybe I have a resentful spirit or a malicious spirit, but I do not portray that publicly. Jesus knows, and because He knows, He pleads with you and me, “Come into the closet.”

I like what He says in Isaiah: “Come now and let us reason together.” Isaiah 1:18. You know, let’s talk it over. You don’t have to feel bad about the situation if it is plaguing your life, because we serve a Saviour who understands. He understands our situation and He wants to help us, but the only way we can be helped from our maladies is as we spend time with Him alone.

“Christ came to our world to engage in single-handed combat with this enemy of man, and thus to wrest the race from Satan’s grasp. In the accomplishment of this object He withheld not His own life. Now in the strength that Christ will give, man must stand for himself a faithful sentinel against the wily plotting foe. Says, the great apostle, ‘Walk circumspectly.’ [Ephesians 5:15.] Guard every avenue of the soul. Look constantly to Jesus the true and the perfect pattern and seek to imitate His example. Not in one or two points merely, but in all things. We shall then be prepared for any and every emergency.” That I May Know Him, 240.

Unceasing watchfulness, and not of the brother or sister in the church. Far too often we spend too much time looking at other people in church. What the Lord is asking us to do is to watch ourselves.

“Unceasing watchfulness is a great help to prayer. It keeps the mind from drifting away from right principles. It shuts out that vanity and trifling which prevails in the world everywhere and to an alarming extent among professed Christians. He whose mind loves to dwell upon God has a strong defense. He will be quick to perceive the dangers that threaten his spiritual life, and a sense of danger will lead him to call upon God for help and for protection.” The Review and Herald, October 11, 1881.

Just as our Jesus prepared Himself daily through secret prayer for the ultimate test and succeeded, so we are to daily prepare ourselves through spending quality time with Him in deep self-examination, confession, repentance, reconciliation, because our ultimate test is coming. Each and every one of us will be tested. Every one of us will be tested individually. It is coming. It is coming, so watch unto prayer; only as we keep that daily intimate connection with Jesus will we succeed and finally triumph. We have no time to lose, for we know not how soon our probation may close. Eternity stretches before us. The curtain is about to be lifted and Christ is soon to come. The angels of God are seeking to attract us from ourselves and from earthly things, so let us not labor in vain, ladies and gentlemen.

“A storm is coming, relentless in its fury.” Reflecting Christ, 311.

Are we prepared to meet that storm? Are we prepared? May God help us to make heaven our first goal; may God help us to value the time for prayer. May God help us, even if we have to shift up our program, our daily schedule, shift it up, but put some time in it for God. Do not become so busy that Jesus is left out of your program. I can tell you if we allow that to happen, as prominent as we are, as committed as we say we are, we are going to slowly, slowly, slowly move ourselves away from the source of life. And one day, we will die spiritually. Jesus admonishes us, He says, “Come now and let us reason together.” “Though your sins be as scarlet,” [Isaiah 1:18] whatever it may be, it doesn’t matter how dark or how crimson, whatever it might be, we have a Savior who understands. He wants to do something for you and me that only He can do so, why not give Him the chance? Take time to pray, and if we take time to pray, He has promised to listen. Victory will be our experience, and we will become a united force, such that Satan, when he thinks about us, will tremble. What a wonderful, loving God we serve. Praise and honor all go to Him!

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-822-3900.

Keys to the Storehouse – Personalizing God’s Word

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What do I say to the Lord? How do I talk to Him? Would you like to sit in His presence where you will find fullness of joy? Come, let us “talk” with our Lord. Let us transform the word of God into personalized prayers which will draw our hearts heavenward and which will cause us to sit in heavenly places.

Do you really want to know what God’s will is for you so that you may walk worthy of Him? Then let’s look at one of the many “keys” in God’s word that will cause your heart to plead for such a knowledge with such heart yearning, that the Holy Spirit will carry it heavenward and you will receive the thing you ask for if it truly is your heart’s desire and your heart is in unison with the Father’s will. This key is very appropriate to use when you come to spend time with Him in His word.

Open the word of God to Colossians 1:9–11. Read these three verses as they are in your Bible. My KJV reads: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”

Beginning at the word desire, add I and personalize these verses:

Father in heaven, I desire to be filled with the knowledge of Thy will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that I may walk worthy of Thee unto all pleasing; being fruitful in every good work and increasing in a knowledge of Thee. It is my desire to be strengthened with all might according to Thy glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

“How complete this prayer is! There is no limit to the blessings that it is our privilege to receive. We may be ‘filled with the knowledge of his will.’ The Holy Ghost would never have inspired Paul to offer this prayer in behalf of his brethren, if it had not been possible for them to receive an answer from God in accordance with the request. Since this is so, we know that God’s will is manifested to His people as they need a clearer understanding of His will.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 906.

What did you just pray for? Is this the desire of your heart? Do you delight yourself in the Lord? If this is so, turn to Psalm 37:4 and claim that most wonderful promise. My KJV version reads: “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” What a promise! Send up a prayer right now claiming that promise:

Oh Lord, I do delight myself in Thee and You have promised to give me the desires of my heart if I delight myself in Thee. I know that it is Thy will that I be filled with a knowledge of Thy will that I may walk worthy of Thee unto all pleasing and be fruitful in every good work. Lord, I want to be strengthened with all might unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. I claim this promise right now that you will give me the desires of my heart because I delight myself in Thee and this is my heart’s desire.

Turn the words of God into your prayer, your “key to the storehouse,” and then claim the promise found in Psalm 37:4. Just remember that if you truly delight thyself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart because your heart is pleading to be one with His. May God bless you tremendously as you use this “key.”

Keys to the Storehouse – Lord, Give Me Strength

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We have no strength except what comes from God. We need to ask Him for that strength daily. I have a hard time finding just the right words to speak to God. I know what is in my heart, but I cannot find the right words. Yes, I know He knows my heart, but I want to talk to my Father in heaven, as I am sure you do also. I want to commune with Him personally, and I want Him to commune with me. Sometimes as I sit searching for words, He inspires me with exactly what I need to say because He already knows what is in my heart.

In the morning hours, especially when I see everything that needs to be done, I tend to feel overwhelmed. My Lord shared this prayer with me one day while I was reading and the words were just what my heart yearned for, but had been unable to verbalize. Now I can speak what my heart wants to say and I know that He hears me. He will hear you also as you lift up your heart to Him.

O Lord, give me strength to fulfill the duties of this day and to meet its temptations and trials. Help me to bring into my work Christ’s sweetness of character. Help me to speak words that will draw those around me nearer to Christ.

You will see the answers to this heartfelt prayer throughout the day. Lift your heart heavenward and plead with your Father to give you strength. Plead for the sweetness of Christ’s character to flow through you and touch others that their hearts also may be lifted to Him. If Christ’s sweetness of character is working in and through you, other hearts will be lifted up because you first reached for the Lord’s inspiration.

We are told that “character is the great harvest of life. And every word or deed that through the grace of Christ shall kindle in one soul an impulse that reaches heavenward, every effort that tends to the formation of a Christlike character, is laying up treasure in heaven.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, 90.

It is my desire to lay up treasure in heaven. Is it yours? Is it the desire of your heart that the words you speak may cause another person’s heart to be lifted heavenward? Then ask for it. He will give you words to speak that will draw those around you to Him. He will give you strength to fulfill your duties today, if you ask Him.

God has promised you that if you delight yourself in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4.) Tell Him that this is the desire of your heart for today.

May God bless you and those hearts you touch as you use this Key to the Storehouse.

Bible Study Guides – Contrition and Confession

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November 29, 2009 – December 5, 2009

Key Text

“O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.” Daniel 9:18.

Study Help: Selected Messages, Book 1, 164–168; The Great Controversy, 409–432; Testimonies, vol. 5, 635–650; Steps to Christ, 37–41.

Introduction

“What a prayer was that which came forth from the lips of Daniel! What humbling of soul it reveals! The warmth of heavenly fire was recognized in the words that were going upward to God.” That I May Know Him, 271.

1 What had Jeremiah prophesied of the Babylonian captivity? Jeremiah 25:8–13.

Note: “Jeremiah declared that they [the Israelites] were to wear the yoke of servitude for seventy years; and the captives that were already in the hands of the king of Babylon, and the vessels of the Lord’s house which had been taken, were also to remain in Babylon till that time had elapsed. But at the end of the seventy years God would deliver them from their captivity and would punish their oppressors and bring into subjection the proud king of Babylon.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 169.

2 What did Daniel understand through study of the prophetic Scriptures? Daniel 9:1, 2; Isaiah 44:24–28; 45:1–3.

Note: “The year that Cyrus succeeded Darius the Mede to the throne of Medo-Persia marked the completion of seventy years since the first company of Hebrews had been carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, who was familiar with the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah regarding the duration of the captivity, and with the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the restoration by decree of Cyrus, was still living, and was occupying a position of leading responsibility in the Medo-Persian court.” The Review and Herald, March 28, 1907.

3 As the prophesied time neared its fulfillment, what did Daniel see as the most urgent need? Daniel 9:3.

Note: “For nearly seventy years, Israel had been in captivity. The land which God had chosen for His own possession was given into the hands of the heathen. The beloved city, the recipient of heaven’s light, once the joy of the whole earth, was now despised and degraded. The temple that had contained the ark of God’s covenant and the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat, was in ruins. Its very site was desecrated by unholy feet. Faithful men who knew of the former glory were filled with anguish at the desolation of the holy house that had distinguished Israel as God’s chosen people. … Daniel knew that the appointed time for Israel’s captivity was nearly ended; but he did not feel that because God had promised to deliver them, they themselves had no part to act. With fasting and contrition he sought the Lord, confessing his own sins and the sins of the people.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1172.

4 What factors must we realize about genuine prayer? Proverbs 28:13.

Note: “Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! how few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God.” The Great Controversy, 621.

“Daniel did not seek to excuse himself or his people before God; but in humility and contrition of soul he confessed the full extent and demerit of their transgressions, and vindicated God’s dealings as just toward a nation that had set at nought His requirements and would not profit by His entreaties. …

“Confession of sin, whether public or private, should be heartfelt and freely expressed. It is not to be urged from the sinner. It is not to be made in a flippant and careless way or forced from those who have no realizing sense of the abhorrent character of sin. The confession that is mingled with tears and sorrow, that is the outpouring of the inmost soul, finds its way to the God of infinite pity.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 636, 637.

5 What did Daniel declare in his prayer? Daniel 9:4–6.

Note: “Daniel does not proclaim his own fidelity before the Lord. Instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored prophet humbly identifies himself with the really sinful of Israel. The wisdom which God had imparted to him was as far superior to the wisdom of the great men of the world as the light of the sun shining in the heavens at noonday is brighter than the feeblest star. Yet ponder the prayer from the lips of this man so highly favored of Heaven. With deep humiliation, with tears and rending of heart, he pleads for himself and for his people. He lays his soul open before God, confessing his own unworthiness and acknowledging the Lord’s greatness and majesty.” The Sanctified Life, 46, 47.

6 What qualities of Daniel do we need to adopt? Isaiah 57:15.

Note: “That God who heard Daniel’s prayer will hear ours when we come to Him in contrition. Our necessities are as urgent, our difficulties are as great, and we need to have the same intensity of purpose, and in faith roll our burden upon the great Burden Bearer. There is need for hearts to be as deeply moved in our time as in the time when Daniel prayed.” That I May Know Him, 271.

“What earnestness and fervor characterize his [Daniel’s] supplications! The hand of faith is reached upward to grasp the never-failing promises of the Most High. His soul is wrestling in agony. … If we as a people would pray as Daniel prayed, and wrestle as he wrestled, humbling our souls before God, we should realize as marked answers to our petitions as were granted to Daniel.” The Sanctified Life, 47.

7 What did Daniel declare of his nation and why? Daniel 9:7–12. How did Christ later summarize the situation? Matthew 23:34, 35.

Note: “For ages Judah had been the repository of sacred truth. Here the knowledge of Jehovah had been cherished and preserved, when God had not been acknowledged among the nations, and His worship was lost in the earth. The streets of Jerusalem had been trodden by angel feet, and its very soil had been sacred to God. From its temple prayer and praise had ascended to God. From its altar the bleeding sacrifice had testified to human guilt, pointing to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. The Lord had sent them messages of warning and reproof, of consolation and promise, by His prophets, rising up early and sending them, but they had beaten one and stoned another.” The Review and Herald, April 18, 1893.

8 Why had woes come upon Judah? What was Daniel’s main concern? Daniel 9:13–19. What should this make us consider today?

Note: “When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrong-doer does not discern the defects of his character nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. To every acknowledgment of his guilt he adds an apology in excuse of his course, declaring that if it had not been for certain circumstances, he would not have done this or that for which he is reproved. But the examples in God’s word of genuine repentance and humiliation reveal a spirit of confession in which there is no excuse for sin or attempt at self-justification.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 641.

9 Name some important points of contrast between true and false confession. II Corinthians 7:10; James 5:16.

Note: “This scripture has been interpreted to sustain the practice of going to the priest for absolution; but it has no such application. Confess your sins to God, who only can forgive them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God because the brother whom you wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you sinned against his Creator and Redeemer. The case is not brought before the priest at all, but before the only true mediator, our great High Priest, who ‘was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,’ and who is ‘touched with the feeling of our infirmities’ [Hebrews 4:15] and is able to cleanse from every stain of iniquity.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 639.

10 Why is true confession so important for us today? Psalm 34:18.

Note: “If ever a people needed to offer a prayer such as Daniel offered, it is our people. There is among them such self-confidence, such presumption! The Lord has been sending light to them, but the testimonies of His Spirit have not been heeded.” Selections from the Testimonies for the Church, 70, 71.

“Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance and reformation. There must be decided changes in the life; everything offensive to God must be put away. This will be the result of genuine sorrow for sin.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 640.

Additional Reading

“When a crisis finally comes, as it surely will, and God speaks in behalf of His people, those who have sinned, those who have been a cloud of darkness and who have stood directly in the way of God’s working for His people, may become alarmed at the length they have gone in murmuring and in bringing discouragement upon the cause; and, like Achan, becoming terrified, they may acknowledge that they have sinned. But their confessions are too late and are not of the right kind to benefit themselves, although they may relieve the cause of God. Such do not make their confessions because of a conviction of their true state and a sense of how displeasing their course has been to God. God may give this class another test, another proving, and let them show that they are no better prepared to stand free from all rebellion and sin than before their confessions were made. They are inclined to be ever on the side of wrong. And when the call is made for those who will be on the Lord’s side to make a decided move to vindicate the right, they will manifest their true position. Those who have been nearly all their lives controlled by a spirit as foreign to the Spirit of God as was Achan’s will be very passive when the time comes for decided action on the part of all. They will not claim to be on either side. The power of Satan has so long held them that they seem blinded and have no inclination to stand in defense of right. If they do not take a determined course on the wrong side, it is not because they have a clear sense of the right, but because they dare not.

“God will not be trifled with. It is in the time of conflict that the true colors should be flung to the breeze. It is then that the standard-bearers need to be firm and let their true position be known. It is then that the skill of every true soldier for the right is tested. Shirkers can never wear the laurels of victory. Those who are true and loyal will not conceal the fact, but will put heart and might into the work, and venture their all in the struggle, let the battle turn as it will. God is a sin-hating God. And those who encourage the sinner, saying, It is well with thee, God will curse.

“Confessions of sin made at the right time to relieve the people of God will be accepted of Him. But there are those among us who will make confessions, as did Achan, too late to save themselves. God may prove them and give them another trial, for the sake of evidencing to His people that they will not endure one test, one proving of God. They are not in harmony with right. They despise the straight testimony that reaches the heart, and would rejoice to see everyone silenced who gives reproof.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 272, 273.

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

Pen of Inspiration – Prayer for the Sick

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The Scripture says that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1); and if ever there is a time when they feel their need of prayer, it is when strength fails and life itself seems slipping from their grasp. Often those who are in health forget the wonderful mercies continued to them day by day, year after year, and they render no tribute of praise to God for His benefits. But when sickness comes, God is remembered. When human strength fails, men feel their need of divine help. And never does our merciful God turn from the soul that in sincerity seeks Him for help. He is our refuge in sickness as in health. “Like as a father pitieth his children, So the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” Psalm 103:13, 14.

“Because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, men are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of food; And they draw near unto the gates of death.” Psalm 107:17, 18, A.R.V. “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And He saveth them out of their distresses. He sendeth His word, and healeth them, And delivereth them from their destructions.” Verses 19, 20, R.V.

God is just as willing to restore the sick to health now as when the Holy Spirit spoke these words through the psalmist. And Christ is the same compassionate physician now that He was during His earthly ministry. In Him there is healing balm for every disease, restoring power for every infirmity. His disciples in this time are to pray for the sick as verily as the disciples of old prayed. And recoveries will follow; for “the prayer of faith shall save the sick.” We have the Holy Spirit’s power, the calm assurance of faith, that can claim God’s promises. The Lord’s promise, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18), is just as trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles. It presents the privilege of God’s children, and our faith should lay hold of all that it embraces. Christ’s servants are the channel of His working, and through them He desires to exercise His healing power. It is our work to present the sick and suffering to God in the arms of our faith. We should teach them to believe in the Great Healer.

The Saviour would have us encourage the sick, the hopeless, the afflicted, to take hold upon His strength. Through faith and prayer the sickroom may be transformed into a Bethel. In word and deed, physicians and nurses may say, so plainly that it cannot be misunderstood, “God is in this place” to save, and not to destroy. Christ desires to manifest His presence in the sickroom, filling the hearts of physicians and nurses with the sweetness of His love. If the life of the attendants upon the sick is such that Christ can go with them to the bedside of the patient, there will come to him the conviction that the compassionate Saviour is present, and this conviction will itself do much for the healing of both the soul and the body.

And God hears prayer. Christ has said, “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Again He says, “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” John 14:14; 12:26. If we live according to His word, every precious promise He has given will be fulfilled to us. We are undeserving of His mercy, but as we give ourselves to Him, He receives us. He will work for and through those who follow Him.

But only as we live in obedience to His word can we claim the fulfillment of His promises. The psalmist says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18. If we render to Him only a partial, halfhearted obedience, His promises will not be fulfilled to us.

In the word of God we have instruction relative to special prayer for the recovery of the sick. But the offering of such prayer is a most solemn act, and should not be entered upon without careful consideration. In many cases of prayer for the healing of the sick, that which is called faith is nothing less than presumption.

Many persons bring disease upon themselves by their self-indulgence. They have not lived in accordance with natural law or the principles of strict purity. Others have disregarded the laws of health in their habits of eating and drinking, dressing, or working. Often some form of vice is the cause of feebleness of mind or body. Should these persons gain the blessing of health, many of them would continue to pursue the same course of heedless transgression of God’s natural and spiritual laws, reasoning that if God heals them in answer to prayer, they are at liberty to continue their unhealthful practices and to indulge perverted appetite without restraint. If God were to work a miracle in restoring these persons to health, He would be encouraging sin.

It is labor lost to teach people to look to God as a healer of their infirmities, unless they are taught also to lay aside unhealthful practices. In order to receive His blessing in answer to prayer, they must cease to do evil and learn to do well. Their surroundings must be sanitary, their habits of life correct. They must live in harmony with the law of God, both natural and spiritual.

The Ministry of Healing, 225–227.