COMMUNITY

Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Sunday

God Wants a People

Review Genesis Chapters 11 & 12

Genesis 11:1-4 NKJV 1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."

Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Monday

The Privilege of Belonging

Ephesians 1:1 NKJV 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

Philippians 1:1 NKJV 1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Colossians 1:2 NKJV 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NKJV 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Tuesday

The Responsibility of Belonging

1 John 3:1 NIV 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 NKJV 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
Ephesians 4:1-13 NKJV 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended" --what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Ellen G. White, My Life Today, p. 276
Dwell Together in Unity Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1{ML 276.1}
Christian unity is a mighty agency. It tells in a powerful manner that those who possess it are children of God. It has an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to be one with our fellow men and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of us can be spoken the words, "Ye are complete in Him." {ML 276.2}
In the plan of redemption a place is allotted to every soul. To each man is given his work. No one can be a member of Christ's body and yet be inactive. . . . The work of God's people may and will be varied, but one Spirit is the mover in it all. All the work done for the Master is to be connected with the great whole. The workers are to labor together in concert, each one controlled by divine power, putting forth undivided effort to draw those around them to Christ. All must move like parts of a well-adjusted machinery, each part dependent on the other part, yet standing distinct in action. And each one is to take the place assigned him and do the work appointed him. God calls upon the members of His church to receive the Holy Spirit, to come together in unity and brotherly sympathy, to bind their interests together in love. {ML 276.3}
Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit. . . . {ML 276.4}
He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body. (p. 277) {ML 276.5}

1 Corinthians 16:2 NKJV 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 NKJV 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV 17 pray without ceasing,

1 Thessalonians 5:25 NKJV 25 Brethren, pray for us.

Hebrews 10:25 NKJV 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Wednesday

Unity in Diversity

John 14:6 NKJV 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Ephesians 4:3 NKJV 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:13 NKJV 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Review Revelation chapters 21 & 22

Revelation 22:1-6 NKJV 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. 6 Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

Revelation 21:12-14 NKJV 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 21:19 NKJV 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

Revelation 21:26 NKJV 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

Revelation 22:2 NKJV 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 5:9 NIV 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Revelation 5:9 NKJV 9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

Revelation 7:9 NKJV 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

Ellen G. White, General Conference Bulletin, April 25, 1901
April 25, 1901 Remarks by Mrs. E. G. White Mrs. E. G. White: I know what it means to leave home and friends, and I would say to those who are going forth to foreign fields, You have a Helper who will always be with you. I have been reading in Isaiah some words which I wish to read to you:-- {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 1}
"Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he called them all by names by the greatness of his might: for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary; and the young men shall utterly fall; but 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." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 2}
"Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing;
(p. 462) and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 3}
I feel the strongest assurance that all who go forth in the name of the Lord will be blessed and sustained. Remember that if you hang your helpless soul on Jesus Christ, you will constantly have his divine efficiency and sufficiency. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 4}
God said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." Abraham heard and obeyed; and as he journeyed, he built altars and offered sacrifice to God, that those who afterward passed by that way might know that he had not forgotten God, that as he went forth from his home, he held communion with his Maker. He sought the Lord, and God met with him and was his friend. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 5}
And God will be a friend to every one who goes from this Conference to foreign fields. He will be your Helper, your front guard and your rereward. Do not feel that as you go away you will be severed from God. Remember that the closer you keep to him, the more successful your work will be. Cling to the mighty One. Do not allow the enemy to interpose between you and your God. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 6}
I earnestly hope that those laboring in the fields to which you are going will not think that you and they can not labor together, unless your minds run in the same channels as theirs, unless you view things exactly as they view them. This is a very wrong idea. Are there any two leaves on a tree alike? You can find no two precisely alike? So it is with us. None of us have exactly the same experience, and yet each one of us may have a very precious experience. Let each worker remember that he has an individuality of his own, and that this individuality is not to be submerged in any other human being. That individuality is to be sanctified, purified, refined, but it is not to be lost in the individuality of some one else. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 7}
Christ compares his followers to the branches of a vine. "I am the vine, ye are the branches," he says. In the branches of a vine there is diversity, and yet in this diversity there is unity. Every branch is united to the parent stalk. Every branch draws its nourishment from the same source. When we are branches of the true Vine, there will be no quarreling among us, no strife for the supremacy, no disparaging of one another. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 8}
Let not those who go forth to work for God measure their fellow workers with their human measurement, to see if they are in all things as they think they ought to be. God alone is able to measure men. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 9}
Christ compared the kingdom of heaven to a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers. In the morning and at different hours through the day he hired men and sent them into his vineyard. "And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 10}
And at even, when the laborers came for their wages, they all received the same. Those who had labored all day were paid the same amount as those who had worked but one hour. Thus God would teach us that during the time that we work, we are to do our very best, be that time long or short. We are to serve him to the best of our ability. He will reward all who work faithfully for him, those who have labored but one hour, as it were, as well as those who have labored all the day. This is the spiritual lesson we are to learn from this parable. Let us remember it. Let those who audit the accounts of the workers in the field gain as clear an understanding as possible of each individual case. God desires them to learn what is right to do, and then do it. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 11}
Some men in our Conferences have not had the advantages of education that others have had. Shall the Auditing Committee measure their work by the number of sermons they have preached? {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 12}
One man has gone into a new place, where the work had to be started. He has worked with his hands in erecting buildings. He has labored hard, under great difficulties, and he has souls to show for his labor. He has erected buildings where those who have accepted the truth can meet to worship God. And then the question may be asked him by the Auditing Committee, "How many sermons have you preached?" The sermons are counted up, and he is paid accordingly. But every blow he struck in constructing buildings was a sermon. Not only did he work with his hands,--he prayed as he labored, and this does far more to fasten the truth in the minds of the people than if he had merely stood in the desk and sermonized. There are several such laborers as this, and we would like to see thousands more of them. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 13}
As men go out into new fields, the Spirit of God will indicate the way in which they should work. They will visit, they will hold meetings, but their usefulness is not to be measured by the number of sermons they preach. From the light God has given me, if our ministers would preach about one quarter as many sermons, and devote their energies more to perseveringly educating and training young workers, opening the Scriptures to them, showing them just what they need to do, thus fitting them to take a place in the ranks of God's army, more would be accomplished. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 14}
We shall see things that are wrong, things that we want to correct. Ask yourself whether you can do this discreetly. There is a better way of correcting errors than by rebuking them abruptly. Some persons are so sensitive in regard to being in any way reproved that you will need to be very careful. Do not feel that it is your special duty to criticise. That is a mean business. Do not take it up. Leave it for Satan. He delights in such work. If you think a person is in error, and wish to tell him, go to him in love and tenderness. Speak to him kindly, and in this way you will help him. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 15}
We need an abiding Christ. The angels of God are near us to help us in our work. We are co-laborers with God, and we need the Spirit of Christ. Let us walk with Christ, and then we shall always be in connection with heaven. The sweet Spirit of the Saviour will fill our hearts, enabling us to help one another. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 16}
You need not think you can convert the young by trying to impress them with this dignity, making them feel that they must give you all the attention, while you give them no special attention. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 17}
The Lord has given every one of us a sense of self-respect, and this must not be opposed too abruptly. God wants us to respect ourselves. In our families, (p. 463) and in the church, we too often seek to destroy self-respect. Do not do it. Do not do it in our schools. Do not do it in our offices. The Lord has said that every one of these institutions are to be educational in character. The students and workers will follow the example set by those who have charge over them. The teacher is to be a pattern to the learner. If he wants the youth to respect him, he must respect them. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 18}
When the youth do wrong, do not be rough with them. Take them apart. Christ did not correct his disciples before the multitude. He said, "Come ye apart." They had just returned from their first missionary tour, and had made many mistakes. They came to him and told him what they had done. One said, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us." Christ told him that that was not the way to do. "Forbid him not," he said; "for he that is not against us is for us," although he may make no definite profession. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 19}
Keep your hands off one another. Examine yourselves just as closely as you please. When night comes, talk of where you have failed through the day, and repent that you have given an example to the youth that you would not wish them to follow. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 20}
When a student has erred, think of how you wish God to deal with you when you err, and how you wish your brethren to treat you when you have done wrong. Deal with the student accordingly. By harsh words, or by taking pains to make his deficiency known to every one else, you may turn his head from you, and drive him from Jesus Christ. If a student acknowledges his fault, the teacher has no right to make that fault known to a single soul. God does not want wrong to be magnified and the enemy glorified. When you proclaim a wrong, Satan says, That is just as I want it to be, just as I would have it. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 21}
Wrongs--serious wrongs--have been committed in Battle Creek. I did not know how we would get along at this meeting. The Lord gave me instruction regarding this. I was referred to an incident in the life of the prophet Elisha. The prophet was in Dothan, and thither the King of Syria sent horses and chariots and a great host, to take him. "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 22}
"And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite them those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 23}
God presented this to me, and I did not know what it meant. I did not understand it. I pondered over it, and then, as the lesson was fulfilled, I began to grasp its meaning. I do not know that I would ever have seen the significance had it not been fulfilled right here. Who do you suppose has been among us since this Conference began? Who has kept away the objectionable features that generally appear in such a meeting? Who has walked up and down the aisles of this Tabernacle?--The God of heaven and his angels. And they did not come here to tear you in pieces, but to give you right and peaceable minds. They have been among us to work the works of God, to keep back the powers of darkness, that the work God designed should be done should not be hindered. The angels of God have been working among us. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 24}
If any people have reason to praise God, we have. Angels of God have been at work here. The Lord knew our needs, and sent us food which has given spiritual strength and light, showing us how we should work. We have been trying to organize the work on right lines. The Lord has sent his angels to minister unto us who are heirs of salvation, telling us how to carry the work forward. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 25}
Remember that there is a much better way to get along than to have controversy. When I was upon the waters of the Pacific amidst the confusion and noise, the Lord spoke to me: Do not enter into any controversy. Speak to the people that they be of one mind. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 26}
When you are all in Christ, there can be no variance. Your brother may not have just the same manners and ways of speech as you have, but God does not require this of him. He may be able to reach a class that you can not reach. The very word which you wish he had not spoken may be the word which will bring conviction to hearts. Christ has made none of you church tinkers. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 27}
My brethren and sisters who are going to foreign fields, perhaps you will be connected with those whose habits and customs are not like yours. Do not let this hinder your work for the Master. Do all in your power to come into Christian relation with those for whom you shall work. May it not be that your ideas need changing? Remember that there is as much room in the world for one as for another. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 28}
Let us every one strive to be assimilated to the likeness of Christ. There are those in the church who have made mistakes. But because of this, do not tear yourselves apart from them. Where is Brother Henry today? Who during this meeting has labored for him? Who has gone to him as a friend and brother, and endeavored to remove from his mind the wrong impression he has had regarding his brethren? I hope some one has done this work. I wish to ask, "Is it not best for us to do all in our power to heal the souls that are wounded nigh unto death. Is it not best for us to try to prevent the enemy from gaining the victory over those for whom Christ died? Shall we not do the work Christ did?" He said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." If any of you should have a sheep, and it should fall into a hole, would you not take it out, even on the Sabbath day? And shall we not think as much of a man as we do of an animal? {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 29}
The moral image of God is to be restored in man. It was to make it possible for this to be done that Christ came from the heavenly courts to this (p. 464) earth, full of heaven's compassion and heaven's love, to stand at the head of humanity. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 30}
Christ was ever kind and merciful, but he gave the most scathing rebukes to the hypocritical Pharisees. I hope that such rebukes as these will never have to fall on our leaders. Let these men remember the temptations which come to the young, and do all in their power to help them. Christ is spoken of as a tender Shepherd, who lovingly cares for the young, carrying them in his arms. If one hundred times more of this work were done by our leading men, they would be carrying out the plan of God. And by this work, the rough edges would be removed from their characters. They would be polished after the similitude of a palace. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 31}
After this meeting has closed, and we have separated, Satan will come to you with his temptations. He will bring up before you the errors and mistakes that have been made in the past. Remember that God has buried these, and he does not want you to think any more about them. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 32}
I was never more astonished in my life than at the turn things have taken at this meeting. This is not our work. God has brought it about. Instruction regarding this was presented to me, but until the sum was worked out at this meeting, I could not comprehend this instruction. God's angels have been walking up and down in this congregation. I want every one of you to remember this, and I want you to remember also that God has said that he will heal the wounds of his people. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 33}
Press together, press together. Let us be united in Christ. God is dishonored by disunion. I shall not keep you much longer, but I wish to say a few more words; for I feel that perhaps I shall never again see those who are going from us. I want to read you a few words, that you may see what God is willing to do for his people. Christ is praying to his Father, and he says, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou has sent them into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; and that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 34}
Is this possible? It must be, or Christ would not have said it. He is ready to give us all the preciousness there is in the virtue of his character. There is joy in the Lord, joy in sanctification, in unity, receiving Christ as our Saviour. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 35}
To those who are about to take up the work in new fields, I would say, Remember that Christ is by your side. He says, My right hand will uphold you. His blessing will rest upon you. If you will walk in the light of his countenance, you will be lights in the world. Regarding this, Christ says, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light to all [that] are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 36}
You are going forth to carry the torch of truth. Kindle your taper from the divine altar, and bear the truth to those who are in darkness. You may be sure that angels of God will be round about you. As you impart to others, you will realize that the life of Christ in you is as a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 37}
The word of God is to be your daily food. Christ says, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Talk the truth wherever you go. There is more power in visiting families, talking to them of the truth and praying with them, than there is in all the sermons that can be given. This does not mean that you are not to speak from the desk. You are; but you are to take time also for house-to-house labor. As you do this work, angels of God will be by your side and will give you words to speak. Thus you will become all-round, efficient gospel workers, of whom people will say, "They have nothing but the truth on their lips." God help us to be Christians in every sense of the world. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 38}
I may never meet you again on this earth. I feel that my life is almost over. I may meet you again; God knows; I do not. But if we meet no more here below, God grant that we may meet around his throne, each wearing on his brow a crown of immortality. O, what a time of rejoicing that will be, and we tell the story of our trials and difficulties on this earth--tell it, not with sorrow, but with joy. {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 39}
God knows that we have only just begun the study of his Word. He knows that many have only a surface knowledge of the truth. When in the redeemed family above we follow him whithersoever he goeth, he will open to us the mysteries of his word. When this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible shall put on incorruption, he will say, "Child, come up higher." We shall be caught up to meet our Lord in the air. The Saviour will welcome us with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,"--the joy of seeing souls redeemed. Then he will lead us by the living waters and escort us through the paradise of God. He will show us the beauty and loveliness of his word, which now we do not half understand. Then we shall cast our glittering crowns at his feet, and touching our golden harps, fill all heaven with rich music, singing, "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb, who died, and who lives again, a triumphant conqueror." {GCB, April 25, 1901 par. 40}

Thursday

The Church’s Foundation: Jesus Christ

Matthew 16:18 NKJV 18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:16 NKJV 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Ephesians 2:20 NKJV 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

Ephesians 4:15-16 NKJV 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Revelation 1:12-16 NKJV 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

Revelation 1:20 NKJV 20 "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:12-20 NKJV 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

Revelation 1:20 "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:1 NIV 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Revelation 1:1 NKJV 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

Friday

Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 410-418
Chap. 45 - The Foreshadowing of the Cross The work of Christ on earth was hastening to a close. Before Him, in vivid outline, lay the scenes whither His feet were tending. Even before He took humanity upon Him, He saw the whole length of the path He must travel in order to save that which was lost. Every pang that rent His heart, every insult that was heaped upon His head, every privation that He was called to endure, was open to His view before He laid aside His crown and royal robe, and stepped down from the throne, to clothe His divinity with humanity. The path from the manger to Calvary was all before His eyes. He knew the anguish that would come upon Him. He knew it all, and yet He said, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Psalm 40:7, 8. {DA 410.1}
Ever before Him He saw the result of His mission. His earthly life, so full of toil and self-sacrifice, was cheered by the prospect that He would not have all this travail for nought. By giving His life for the life of men, He would win back the world to its loyalty to God. Although the baptism of blood must first be received; although the sins of the world were to weigh upon His innocent soul; although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon Him; yet for the joy that was set before Him, He chose to endure the cross, and despised the shame. {DA 410.2}
From the chosen companions of His ministry the scenes that lay before Him were as yet hidden; but the time was near when they must (p. 411) behold His agony. They must see Him whom they had loved and trusted, delivered into the hands of His enemies, and hung upon the cross of Calvary. Soon He must leave them to face the world without the comfort of His visible presence. He knew how bitter hate and unbelief would persecute them, and He desired to prepare them for their trials. {DA 410.3}
Jesus and His disciples had now come into one of the towns about Caesarea Philippi. They were beyond the limits of Galilee, in a region where idolatry prevailed. Here the disciples were withdrawn from the controlling influence of Judaism, and brought into closer contact with the heathen worship. Around them were represented forms of superstition that existed in all parts of the world. Jesus desired that a view of these things might lead them to feel their responsibility to the heathen. During His stay in this region, He endeavored to withdraw from teaching the people, and to devote Himself more fully to His disciples. {DA 411.1}
He was about to tell them of the suffering that awaited Him. But first He went away alone, and prayed that their hearts might be prepared to receive His words. Upon joining them, He did not at once communicate that which He desired to impart. Before doing this, He gave them an opportunity of confessing their faith in Him that they might be strengthened for the coming trial. He asked, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" {DA 411.2}
Sadly the disciples were forced to acknowledge that Israel had failed to recognize their Messiah. Some indeed, when they saw His miracles, had declared Him to be the Son of David. The multitudes that had been fed at Bethsaida had desired to proclaim Him king of Israel. Many were ready to accept Him as a prophet; but they did not believe Him to be the Messiah. {DA 411.3}
Jesus now put a second question, relating to the disciples themselves: "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." {DA 411.4}
From the first, Peter had believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Many others who had been convicted by the preaching of John the Baptist, and had accepted Christ, began to doubt as to John's mission when he was imprisoned and put to death; and they now doubted that Jesus was the Messiah, for whom they had looked so long. Many of the disciples who had ardently expected Jesus to take His place on David's throne left Him when they perceived that He had no such intention. But Peter and his (p. 412) companions turned not from their allegiance. The vacillating course of those who praised yesterday and condemned today did not destroy the faith of the true follower of the Saviour. Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." He waited not for kingly honors to crown his Lord, but accepted Him in His humiliation. {DA 411.5}
Peter had expressed the faith of the twelve. Yet the disciples were still far from understanding Christ's mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. The influence of their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition, still intercepted their view of truth. From time to time precious rays of light from Jesus shone upon them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, before they were brought face to face with the great trial of their faith, the Holy Spirit rested upon them in power. For a little time their eyes were turned away from "the things which are seen," to behold "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God. {DA 412.1}
Jesus answered Peter, saying, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." {DA 412.2}
The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of the believer's faith. It is that which Christ Himself has declared to be eternal life. But the possession of this knowledge was no ground for self-glorification. Through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter. Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. "It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?" Job 11:8.
Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man." "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him;" and the fact that Peter discerned the glory of Christ was an evidence that he had been "taught of God." Psalm 25:14; John 6:45. Ah, indeed, "blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee." {DA 412.3}
Jesus continued: "I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail (p. 413) against it." The word Peter signifies a stone,--a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail. {DA 412.4}
Centuries before the Saviour's advent Moses had pointed to the Rock of Israel's salvation. The psalmist had sung of "the Rock of my strength." Isaiah had written, "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation." Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 62:7; Isaiah 28:16. Peter himself, writing by inspiration, applies this prophecy to Jesus. He says, "If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house." 1 Peter 2:3-5, R. V. {DA 413.1}
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11. "Upon this rock," said Jesus, "I will build My church." In the presence of God, and all the heavenly intelligences, in the presence of the unseen army of hell, Christ founded His church upon the living Rock. That Rock is Himself,--His own body, for us broken and bruised. Against the church built upon this foundation, the gates of hell shall not prevail. {DA 413.2}
How feeble the church appeared when Christ spoke these words! There was only a handful of believers, against whom all the power of demons and evil men would be directed; yet the followers of Christ were not to fear. Built upon the Rock of their strength, they could not be overthrown. {DA 413.3}
For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ. For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved. {DA 413.4}
Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church's faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers. He said, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." {DA 413.5}
"The keys of the kingdom of heaven" are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut heaven. They declare the conditions (p. 414) upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who preach God's word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Theirs is a mission weighted with eternal results. {DA 413.6}
The Saviour did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to the church. And the same in substance was spoken also to the twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest. They would have submitted to the wish of their Master, and honored the one whom He had chosen. {DA 414.1}
Instead of appointing one to be their head, Christ said to the disciples, "Be not ye called Rabbi;" "neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ." Matthew 23:8, 10. {DA 414.2}
"The head of every man is Christ." God, who put all things under the Saviour's feet, "gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22, 23. The church is built upon Christ as its foundation; it is to obey Christ as its head. It is not to depend upon man, or be controlled by man. Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim God does not sanction. The Saviour declares, "All ye are brethren." All are exposed to temptation, and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can we depend for guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Upon this the weakest may depend, and those who think themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." The Lord "is the Rock, His work is perfect." "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." Jeremiah 17:5; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 2:12. {DA 414.3}
After Peter's confession, Jesus charged the disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ. This charge was given because of the determined opposition of the scribes and Pharisees. More than this, the people, and even the disciples, had so false a conception of the Messiah that a public announcement of Him would give them no true idea of His character or His work. But day by day He was revealing Himself to them as the Saviour, and thus He desired to give them a true conception of Him as the Messiah. {DA 414.4}
The disciples still expected Christ to reign as a temporal prince. Although He had so long concealed His design, they believed that He would not always remain in poverty and obscurity; the time was near when He would establish His kingdom. That the hatred of the priests and rabbis would never be overcome, that Christ would be rejected by His own nation, condemned as a deceiver, and crucified as a malefactor,--such a thought the disciples had never entertained. But the hour of the power of darkness was drawing on, and Jesus must open to His disciples the conflict before them. He was sad as He anticipated the trial. {DA 415.1}
Hitherto He had refrained from making known to them anything relative to His sufferings and death. In His conversation with Nicodemus He had said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. But the disciples did not hear this, and had they heard, would not have understood. But now they have been with Jesus, listening to His words, beholding His works, until, notwithstanding the humility of His surroundings, and the opposition of priests and people, they can join in the testimony of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Now the time has come for the veil that hides the future to be withdrawn. "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." {DA 415.2}
Speechless with grief and amazement, the disciples listened. Christ had accepted Peter's acknowledgment of Him as the Son of God; and now His words pointing to His suffering and death seemed incomprehensible. Peter could not keep silent. He laid hold upon his Master, as if to draw Him back from His impending doom, exclaiming, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee." {DA 415.3}
Peter loved his Lord; but Jesus did not commend him for thus manifesting the desire to shield Him from suffering. Peter's words were not such as would be a help and solace to Jesus in the great trial before Him. They were not in harmony with God's purpose of grace toward a lost world, nor with the lesson of self-sacrifice that Jesus had come to teach by His own example. Peter did not desire to see the cross in the work of Christ. The impression which his words would make was directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of His followers, and the Saviour was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes (p. 416) that ever fell from His lips: "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." {DA 415.4}
Satan was trying to discourage Jesus, and turn Him from His mission; and Peter, in his blind love, was giving voice to the temptation. The prince of evil was the author of the thought. His instigation was behind that impulsive appeal. In the wilderness, Satan had offered Christ the dominion of the world on condition of forsaking the path of humiliation and sacrifice. Now he was presenting the same temptation to the disciple of Christ. He was seeking to fix Peter's gaze upon the earthly glory, that he might not behold the cross to which Jesus desired to turn his eyes. And through Peter, Satan was again pressing the temptation upon Jesus. But the Saviour heeded it not; His thought was for His disciple. Satan had interposed between Peter and his Master, that the heart of the disciple might not be touched at the vision of Christ's humiliation for him. The words of Christ were spoken, not to Peter, but to the one who was trying to separate him from his Redeemer. "Get thee behind Me, Satan." No longer interpose between Me and My erring servant. Let Me come face to face with Peter, that I may reveal to him the mystery of My love. {DA 416.1}
It was to Peter a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. The disciple shrank from fellowship with his Lord in suffering. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its blessing. Long afterward, when his active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he wrote, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." 1 Peter 4:12, 13. {DA 416.2}
Jesus now explained to His disciples that His own life of self-abnegation was an example of what theirs should be. Calling about Him, with the disciples, the people who had been lingering near, He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." The cross was associated with the power of Rome. It was the instrument of the most cruel and humiliating form of death. The lowest criminals were required to bear the cross to the place of execution; and often as it was about to be laid upon their shoulders, they resisted with desperate violence, until they were overpowered, and (p. 417) the instrument of torture was bound upon them. But Jesus bade His followers take up the cross and bear it after Him. To the disciples His words, though dimly comprehended, pointed to their submission to the most bitter humiliation,--submission even unto death for the sake of Christ. No more complete self-surrender could the Saviour's words have pictured. But all this He had accepted for them. Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult, and a death of shame. He who was rich in heaven's priceless treasure, became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich. We are to follow in the path He trod. {DA 416.3}
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God. {DA 417.1}
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And "what is a man profited," said Jesus, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" {DA 417.2}
Beyond the poverty and humiliation of the present, He pointed the disciples to His coming in glory, not in the splendor of an earthly throne, but with the glory of God and the hosts of heaven. And then, He said, "He shall reward every man according to his works." Then for their encouragement He gave the promise, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom." But the disciples did not comprehend His words. The glory seemed far away. Their eyes were fixed upon the nearer view, the earthly life of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. Must their glowing expectations of the Messiah's kingdom be relinquished? Were they not to see their Lord exalted to the throne of (p. 418) David? Could it be that Christ was to live a humble, homeless wanderer, to be despised, rejected, and put to death? Sadness oppressed their hearts, for they loved their Master. Doubt also harassed their minds, for it seemed incomprehensible that the Son of God should be subjected to such cruel humiliation. They questioned why He should voluntarily go to Jerusalem to meet the treatment which He had told them He was there to receive. How could He resign Himself to such a fate, and leave them in greater darkness than that in which they were groping before He revealed Himself to them? {DA 417.3}
In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Christ was out of the reach of Herod and Caiaphas, the disciples reasoned. He had nothing to fear from the hatred of the Jews or from the power of the Romans. Why not work there, at a distance from the Pharisees? Why need He give Himself up to death? If He was to die, how was it that His kingdom was to be established so firmly that the gates of hell should not prevail against it? To the disciples this was indeed a mystery. {DA 418.1}
They were even now journeying along the shores of the Sea of Galilee toward the city where all their hopes were to be crushed. They dared not remonstrate with Christ, but they talked together in low, sorrowful tones in regard to what the future would be. Even amid their questionings they clung to the thought that some unforeseen circumstance might avert the doom which seemed to await their Lord. Thus they sorrowed and doubted, hoped and feared, for six long, gloomy days. {DA 418.2}
Matthew 16:17 KJV 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:17 NKJV 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Job 11:8 NKJV 8 They are higher than heaven-what can you do? Deeper than Sheol-what can you know?
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 412
Peter had expressed the faith of the twelve. Yet the disciples were still far from understanding Christ's mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. The influence of their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition, still intercepted their view of truth. From time to time precious rays of light from Jesus shone upon them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, before they were brought face to face with the great trial of their faith, the Holy Spirit rested upon them in power. For a little time their eyes were turned away from "the things which are seen," to behold "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God. {DA 412.1}
Jesus answered Peter, saying, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." {DA 412.2}
The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of the believer's faith. It is that which Christ Himself has declared to be eternal life. But the possession of this knowledge was no ground for self-glorification. Through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter. Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. "It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?" Job 11:8. Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man." "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him;" and the fact that Peter discerned the glory of Christ was an evidence that he had been "taught of God." Psalm 25:14; John 6:45. Ah, indeed, "blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee." {DA 412.3}
Jesus continued: "I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail (p. 413) against it." The word Peter signifies a stone,--a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail. {DA 412.4}

COMMUNITY: Face to Face

by David Birkenstock
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Psalm 42:1-4 (RSV): “As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’ These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.”

INTRODUCTION

From the very beginning, creation was filled with sound, and every possible means of communication. In His desire to communicate with His children, God met them in the cool of the day to educate and guide them. He had placed Adam and Eve in a splendid garden and declared that all was good. “The book of nature, which spread its living lessons before them, afforded an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. On every leaf of the forest and stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and sea and sky, God's name was written. With both the animate and the inanimate creation—with leaf and flower and tree, and with every living creature, from the leviathan of the waters to the mote in the sunbeam—the dwellers in Eden held converse, gathering from each the secrets of its life” (Education, p. 21). God, who created human beings in His image, loved to communicate with them and to share with them the wonders of creation.

Today we find that animals, insects, and all living creatures have ways to communicate. The dancing bee indicating to his fellow workers where the nectar can be found; a young bird’s song that is learned from his parents; all of nature is abuzz with the sounds, smells and colors of communication. The herring gull, for example, communicates with its hungry chick by the red spot on its beak, and in response the chick tries to peck at the red spot, thus causing the mother gull to regurgitate food for it. Communication is indeed the common bond that holds all nature together.

Karl Jaspers, the German philosopher, wrote, “Man’s supreme achievement in the world is communication from personality to personality” (The Way to Wisdom). All our successes in our careers, family, friendships, and companionships depend on communication. The fact is that we need contact with others, want contact with other people, and must have contact with fellow human beings if we are to become fully human. We have an inborn need to be in contact with other people and to communicate with them.

One of the most distinctive aspects of being alive is our potential for joy, fun, excitement, caring, and showing warmth; and this is only possible through communication. Just imagine what life would be like if we suddenly lost all the inventions that have to do with communication: the written word, newspapers, radio, TV, faxes, telephones, cell phones, the internet. Without communication our world would grind to a halt! Communication is vital for human existence, and if communication is so vital to us, how important it must be to God. God’s preferred means of communication is face to face; this is the way God instituted His initial communication with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Our heavenly Father personally directed their education” (Education, p. 21)—it was that important to Him! So it was that God met them in the cool of the evening and educated them in all the secrets of the created world. What a joy and delight that must have been, to hold face-to-face communion with God! Ellen White reminds us of how heaven viewed this matter: “All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order. They were made ‘in the image of God,’ and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth” (Review and Herald, February 11, 1902).

Adam and Eve were the rulers of the Garden. Adam had been crowned king in Eden and was given dominion over everything that God had created (God’s Amazing Grace, p. 40). For Adam to be the king of this perfect domain, God had to instruct him in what was expected of him in caring for the garden and all the animals that God had created. Although angels were also sent to instruct him, it was God himself who taught Adam what he needed to know. Adam and Eve had to learn how to care for the garden, and as they worked they learned the secrets of the plants and flowers. There was perfect harmony on earth, and God was very pleased with His creation; in fact, He pronounced it very good. (Gen. 1:31). Then came sin, and the perfect harmony was lost—including the face-to-face communion with their Creator.

COMMUNICATION AND THE FALL

God’s desire to guide and save us is so strong that He designed a way to communicate His plans to us after sin entered the picture. Amos 3:7 tells us, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” We have the assurance that God will make His plans for the affairs of this world known to us, and therefore we need not fear the future.
The purpose of this sermon is to explore how God continued to communicate with humanity and how that in the planning and providence of God the time will come when the perfect mode of face-to-face communication will again be restored.

The entrance of sin brought separation between God and His children; no longer could there be face-to-face communion. As Isaiah 59:2 reminds us, “Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Sin is the great separator between people and between us and God. This was a crisis moment in the history of the world, and we need to take a closer look at how God solved this problem. Along with the sentence that God pronounced over mankind because of sin came also the promise that a Savior would come and restore us to our rightful place in the universe. This promise of hope implied that God would continue to communicate with mankind on a different level. Time revealed how he would do this. God would communicate with us through a Mediator, Jesus Christ. Christ was now Jacob’s ladder, bringing heaven and earth together. Through a system of worship and sacrifices, God would teach fallen human beings that a Substitute would take their place. God would communicate with us through the Substitute and the angels. No longer would He speak to us face to face but through Christ and His angels, His Spirit, and His chosen servants. (See passages below: CC 20, CON20, CON21, GC v1, PP 184.)

COMMUNICATION DURING PATRIARCHAL TIMES

During the time of the Patriarchs, God continued to speak to humanity through the system of sacrifices He instituted; He also sent His Son and His angels to be His messengers and spoke directly to His people. God now called certain people to be His voice in the world. After Adam and Eve left the garden they started to see the results and effects of sin, not only in nature but also in their own family. Despite even the powerful ministry of Enoch, people became progressively more wicked until God decided to destroy the earth by water. Before bringing this destruction on the world, He called Noah to be His spokesman and preacher for 120 years! Evil had made such inroads into their lives that God thought it best to destroy humanity and all their works and to start anew with the family of Noah.

God’s call to Abram demonstrated a new strategy in His communication with His fallen creatures. He not only called a man, but He promised him descendants and gave him the prospect of being the father of a great nation. This new nation would evangelize others and keep alive God’s purposes in the world. Now it was no longer just a single leader or person that was called to be God’s mouthpiece, but an entire nation was to do His bidding (Gen. 12:1-3). Thereby God illustrated His will for all people, namely that they should be a blessing in the world where they are (Gen. 12:2).

As this nation of faith grew, God chose to speak to His people in various ways. He spoke to Joseph through dreams, to the High Priest by means of the Urim and Thummim, and then through visions to the prophets who were called to be God’s spokespersons. During the time of the Judges the Lord continued to speak through the leaders, and especially through His messengers, including people like Deborah, Samuel, and others. After settling in the Promised Land, the people desired to be ruled by a king like the nations around them; it was then that the role of prophets came into greater prominence.

Why did God continue to care and try to communicate with His people despite their rebellion and sinfulness? In 2 Chronicles 36:15 we are given an insight into how God felt about His people: “He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.”

Prophets are not only spokesmen for God but are also known as the foretellers of things to come. During the time of the kings the prophets played a very important role in the affairs of the nation. In the days of the prophet Samuel we hear of the Schools of the Prophets—special schools that trained the nation’s spiritual leaders. These prophets had the responsibility of keeping the kings and the royal family on track, even having to rebuke kings who were not living in harmony with God’s requirements for the nation. It is from this time that we come across the well known text from 2 Chronicles 20:20, when King Jehoshaphat said to the people, “‘Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.’”
The work of the prophet was two-fold: to receive the Lord’s messages, and to deliver them. The Hebrew language has three words for the word “prophet: “chozeh” which means seer, akin to seeing or vision. The second word is “nabi” which is most frequently used for prophet and means “one who speaks for God.” The third word is “roeh” which is also translated as a seer, or one who discerns God’s will, one who receives visions in guiding the nation. The New Testament Greek word is “prophetes” which means one who speaks forth. God used various methods to transmit His message to the prophet, and the prophet was to interpret and transmit the message to the people.

By the time the nation was being established there were already some criteria for testing a prophet. False prophets have often plagued the people of God. Moses gave one of the first criteria of a true prophet: The predictions a prophet makes should come to pass, otherwise the Lord has not spoken (Deut. 18:21, 22). (The Bible does allow, however, for some prophecies to be conditional. These may not be fulfilled if the conditions are not met or the situation has changed; see Jer. 18:7-10 and the Book of Jonah.) Another important criterion is that the prophet teaches truth and obedience, as noted by Moses in Deuteronomy 13:1-4. A prophet does not deny truth previously given by another prophet but teaches obedience to God and His will. A similar thought is given in Isaiah 8:20: genuine prophets speak in harmony with the word and revealed will of God. With the passage of time it became very clear that a prophet also had to be a man or woman of God, whose life was in harmony with his or her beliefs and thus their lives would produce fruit in line with their profession (Matt. 7:15-23).

In compassion for His people, God reveals Himself during periods of crisis. The appearance of prophets is often linked with a major crisis in the history of the world. Think of the flood, before which God sent Noah to warn the world of the impending doom. Think of Israel in bondage in Egypt, to whom God sent Moses to take them to the Promised Land. Think of the severe oppression during the time of the Judges, and people such as Deborah and later Samuel who were sent to bring relief and courage to the people. Think of the periods of dark apostasy during the reign of the kings of Israel, when God sent men like Elijah to save the nation. Think of the time of national decline, and God’s grace in sending Isaiah and Jeremiah to encourage the people. During their captivity we find Daniel and Ezekiel, who brought messages of courage to the remnant.

It is clear from Scripture that God used prophets and that His choice of spokesperson was not limited by gender or genealogy, as in the choice of priests and the High Priest; but God used both men and women to be His spokespersons. In times of crisis for the nation of Israel God sent His prophets to give guidance, to rebuke, and to lead the nation. At some of these crucial points God had a number of prophets working to guide the people, but after the captivity of Israel there came a period of nearly 500 years when the prophetic office was silent. When the time was ripe in the history of Israel and in the history of the world, God sent the greatest of the prophets in the person of His Son with the true messages about God (Heb. 1:2).

TEACHING IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The prophetic voice was heard again when the time had come for the Messiah to be born and the Christian church to be established. We see the prophetic voice in the amazing work of John the Baptist who alerted the people of the coming Messiah, finally baptized Him, and pointed Him out to the people as the Lamb of God (John 1:36). John was God’s means of communicating hope to His people and calling them to repentance. The ministries of both John and Jesus were accompanied by signs and miracles, confirming their messages in the minds of a skeptical Jewish nation.

Jesus gave His message into the hands of a special community. This community, made up of apostles, leaders and believers, were to go into the whole world. It was up to them, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to tell the world about the price that was paid for their redemption, and that salvation was now freely available to all humanity. They were to voice God’s intention of bringing heaven and earth together again after a final showdown between Good and Evil. At the Cross, Satan knew he was a defeated foe, but he would continue trying to deceive the world into following him in opposition to God. Jesus, by His life and ministry, had given the greatest revelation of who God is; He was indeed the greatest of the prophets (Heb. 1:2, 3).

God raised up great and mighty prophets in the ministry of Paul, Peter, John, and many other leaders. They clearly taught that the prophetic gift was to continue to the end of time in the church. In His compassion and care for His church, God would again raise up prophets to lead the church in time of crisis. The apostle Paul expected the prophetic gift to be with God’s people till the end of time, and so in his writings he admonished the Corinthian church not to come short in any gift (1 Cor. 1:7). Paul assured the Galatians that the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) were for the Christian, and that besides this God gives the gifts of the Spirit to various ones whom He selects (1 Cor. 12:11), for the blessing of the church. In looking down the passage of time, Jesus expected the prophetic gift to continue to the end of time, for He warned the end-time church to beware of false prophets (Matt. 24:24). A warning against false prophets implies that there should also be genuine prophets, from whom the false ones must be distinguished, or else the warning would be against any prophets. Therefore we need to heed carefully the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:20, “Do not despise prophecies.”

It is clear that God’s last church on earth would have the prophetic gift. In fact, this gift would be one of the marks of the remnant church as recorded in Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 19:10. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were dismayed as they walked in the shadow of the crucifixion, thinking all was lost. Then Jesus came near and opened their minds to the events of their day and brought them hope and comfort. In a similar way, after the confusion and despair following the October 22 disappointment of 1844, God came close to His people by means of the prophetic gift, to encourage them, warn them of what was coming, and to prepare a people to meet their God.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND THE PROPHETIC GIFT

The Seventh-day Adventist Church that arose after the great disappointment of October 22, 1844, came to believe strongly in the role and place of the prophetic gift in the church. The great disappointment shattered the faith of many who had believed that Christ would return in October of that year. Many gave up their faith. Various groups emerged from the disappointment, all seeking to find a way through the events that had so devastated them. One of these groups became the forerunners of the Seventh-day Adventist church. It was to this group that Ellen Gould Harmon, at the age of 17, revealed what God had shown her.
She was sickly, shy, and by no means one to promote herself, but she had a message for the people that God had shown her in vision. She saw herself as the weakest of the weak and a handmaiden of the Lord. She never made a claim for herself to the prophetic office but saw her role as a lesser light leading others to the Word of God and to the Savior. Through His communication with this shy teenager, who encouraged the people to restudy the Bible and pray for God’s revelation of the truth, God once again came close to His people. Perplexity and gloom changed to hope and courage. Soon these early Adventists were sharing their joy and hope in the present truth with the entire world.

Young Ellen had to contend with the prevailing sentiment among Millerite leaders that all charismatic phenomena, such as visions and trances, were to be rejected (Douglass, Messenger of the Lord, p 39). Equally troubling were the widening divisions and fearsome fanaticisms within the Millerite movement after the disappointment (ibid.). Ellen was a frail and sickly teenager who could barely speak above a whisper. Yet she was given a vision in December, 1844, which she was told to share with early believers. In time, because of her humble, unswerving fidelity to God’s will for her to be His messenger, she became the rallying point for earnest Bible students who wanted to know what was right and wrong about the 1844 disappointment. From this humble beginning came the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist church in the years 1860-1863.

The pioneers of the church were very watchful for anything that would indicate that these manifestations of the prophetic gift were not genuine. Ellen Harmon was therefore subjected to rigorous tests by doctors, ministers, and other leaders; however, she passed the biblical tests of a genuine prophet with flying colors, and her experience corresponded to the Bible’s descriptions of the prophets’ physical condition in vision. There are numerous eyewitness accounts of those who observed her and became convinced that she was a genuine spokesperson for God. The guidance she gave in the early days of the church, confirming the doctrinal positions of the church, and also her personal work in the church gave credence to her words and testimony. She married James White, a minister, in 1846, and therefore became known to members of the church as Ellen G White.

Faced with this manifestation of the Spirit of prophecy in the church, the church had to develop an understanding of the role of spiritual gifts in the church, especially that of the Spirit of prophecy. The early believers did so with much prayerful searching of Scripture, and their findings have remained largely unchanged as one of the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church. This belief recognizes the biblical view of the Spirit of prophecy in the church and how the gift was manifested through the life and work of Ellen G. White and her writings. For seventy years her ministry and writings guided the church, and today, 93 years after her death, her writings still continue to point God’s church to the Bible and the Savior that it presents, the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

In the history of mankind God has revealed Himself through the prophetic gift in times of great crisis, in times of need, in times when God had something special to share with humanity. This type of communication through the prophets was not limited to just some biblical periods of history but was manifested throughout human history. Though there were periods when the prophetic voice was silent and we have little knowledge of what happened during these periods, God’s Word assures us in Amos 3:7 that God will do nothing in our world without first revealing it to His prophets. With every new initiative, every new epoch in sacred history, God informs us of His intentions for the future.

After giving His Son to pay the price on the cross for our salvation, God will not abandon us in these last days, but will continue to seek and to save all who accept Jesus and come into harmony with Him. With the Bible writers we also exclaim, “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus, Come!” Come and restore the original mode of communication with all mankind—face to face!
David Birkenstock is the Director of the Ellen G. White Research Center, Helderberg College, South Africa
Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotations are from the New King James Version.

APPENDIX. – ELLEN G. WHITE QUOTATIONS

1. CHRIST THE NEW WAY OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MAN AND GOD

{CC 20} After the fall Christ became Adam's instructor. He acted in God's stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon him the office of mediator. Adam and Eve were given a probation in which to return to their allegiance, and in this plan all their posterity were embraced.
Without the atonement of the Son of God there could have been no communication of blessing or salvation from God to man. God was jealous for the honor of His law. The transgression of that law had caused a fearful separation between God and man. To Adam in his innocence was granted communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression, God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels. (Conflict and Courage, p. 20)

2. MAN’S SIN—IMPOSSIBILITY OF COMMUNION WITH GOD

{Con 20} The holy and infinite God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, could no longer talk with man. No communication could now exist directly between man and his Maker.
God forbears, for a time, the full execution of the sentence of death pronounced upon man. Satan flattered himself that he had forever broken the link between heaven and earth. But in this he was greatly mistaken and disappointed. The Father had given the world into the hands of His Son for Him to redeem from the curse and the disgrace of Adam's failure and fall. Through Christ alone can man now find access to God. And through Christ alone will the Lord hold communication with man. (Confrontation, p. 20)

3. MAN SAVED BY THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM

{Con 21} Fallen man, because of his guilt, could no longer come directly before God with his supplications; for his transgression of the divine law had placed an impassable barrier between the holy God and the transgressor. But a plan was devised that the sentence of death should rest upon a Substitute. In the plan of redemption there must be the shedding of blood, for death must come in consequence of man’s sin. The beasts for sacrificial offerings were to prefigure Christ. In the slain victim, man was to see the fulfillment for the time being of God’s word, "Thou shalt surely die." And the flowing of the blood from the victim would also signify an atonement. There was no virtue in the blood of animals; but the shedding of the blood of beasts was to point forward to a Redeemer who would one day come to the world and die for the sins of men. And thus Christ would fully vindicate His Father's law. (Confrontation, pp. 21, 22)

4. AFTER ENTRANCE OF SIN GOD COMMUNICATES BY HOLY SPIRIT

{GC v} Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker; but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race has been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption, however, a way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may still have connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine light has been imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21. (The Great Controversy, Introduction, p. v)

5. JESUS AS MEDIATOR AND THE LADDER BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

{PP 184} Up to the time of man's rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker. Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power. (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 184)

6. COMMUNION WAS TO BE FOREVER.

Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator's glory. (Education, p. 15)

7. GOD COMMUNICATED THROUGH CHRIST—INCARNATION IN CHRIST

Ever since Adam's sin, the human race had been cut off from direct communion with God; the communication between heaven and earth had been through Christ; but now that Jesus had come "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3), the Father Himself spoke. He had before communicated with humanity through Christ; now He communicated with humanity in Christ. Satan had hoped that God's abhorrence of evil would bring an eternal separation between heaven and earth. But now it was manifest that the connection between God and man had been restored. (The Desire of Ages, p. 116)

8. IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Power to Communicate--The extent of a Christian's usefulness is measured by his power to communicate that which he has received, and which has become experience to him. Education falls short if students do not obtain a knowledge of how to use the faculty of speech, and how to use to the best advantage the education they have obtained. The youth are to commence when young to learn the proper manner of speech.--Ms 74, 1897. (The Voice in Speech and Song, p. 43)

9. THE WORD A CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION WITH GOD.

The Word of God is a channel of communication with the living God. He who feeds upon the Word will become fruitful in all good works. He . . . will be the discoverer of rich mines of truth which he must work to find the hidden treasure. When [he is] surrounded with temptations, the Holy Spirit will bring to his mind the very words with which to meet the temptation at the very moment when they are most needed, and he can use them effectually. (The Faith I Live By, p. 8)

STEWARDSHIP

Sabbath Afternoon

Memory Text: Matthew 25:29 NIV 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.


Sunday

Talents

Matthew 25:14-30 NKJV 14 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 'So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Matthew 25:30 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Matthew 25:30 NIV 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Matthew 25:30 NKJV 30 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'


Monday

Time

Matthew 4:23 NKJV 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Mark 1:29-31 NKJV 29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Luke 4:16 NKJV 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

John 2:1-11 NKJV 1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

John 12:2 NKJV 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.


Tuesday

Stewards of Our Body

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.


Wednesday

Our Material Possessions

Leviticus 27:30 NKJV 30 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S. It is holy to the LORD.

Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV 18 "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Psalms 50:12 NKJV 12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

Malachi 3:8-10 NKJV 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Matthew 6:31 NKJV 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

Matthew 23:23 NKJV 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Acts 20:35 NIV 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Acts 20:35 NKJV 35 "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"


Thursday

While We Are Waiting

Matthew 25:19 NIV 19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

Matthew 25:12 NIV 12 "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

Matthew 25:15 NIV 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Matthew 25:19 NKJV 19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Matthew 25:12 NKJV 12 "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

Matthew 25:15 NKJV 15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
Matthew 24:42-46 NKJV 42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 23

Vigilance and Diligence to Be Blended.--When we give ourselves unreservedly to the Lord, the simple, commonplace duties of home life will be seen in their true importance, and we shall perform them in accordance with the will of God. We are to be vigilant, watching for the coming of the Son of man; and we must also be diligent; working as well as waiting is required; there must be a union of the two. This will balance the Christian character, making it well developed, symmetrical. We should not feel that we are to neglect everything else, and give ourselves up to meditation, study, or prayer; neither are we to be full of bustle and hurry and work,
to the neglect of personal piety. Waiting and watching and working are to be blended. "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." {AH 23.1}

Provide Laborsaving Facilities.--In many a home the wife and mother has no time to read, to keep herself well informed, no time to be a companion to her husband, no time to keep in touch with the developing minds of her children. There is no time or place for the precious Saviour to be a close, dear companion. Little by little she sinks into a mere household drudge, her strength and time and interest absorbed in the things that perish with the using. Too late she awakes to find herself almost a (p. 24) stranger in her own home. The precious opportunities once hers to influence her dear ones for the higher life, unimproved, have passed away forever. {AH 23.2}

Matthew 25:21 NIV 21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Matthew 25:21 NKJV 21 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

Friday

Ellen G. White, Counsels on Stewardship, pp. 195-206

Chap. 39 - The True Motive in All Service In the days of Christ the Pharisees were continually trying to earn the favor of Heaven, in order to secure the worldly honor and prosperity which they regarded as the reward of virtue. At the same time they paraded their acts of charity before the people in order to attract their attention, and gain a reputation for sanctity. {CS 195.1}
Jesus rebuked their ostentation, declaring that God does not recognize such service, and that the flattery and admiration of the people, which they so eagerly sought, was the only reward they would ever receive. {CS 195.2}
"When thou doest alms," He said, "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly." {CS 195.3}
In these words Jesus did not teach that acts of kindness should always be kept secret. Paul the apostle, writing by the Holy Spirit, did not conceal the generous self-sacrifice of the Macedonian Christians, but told of the grace that Christ had wrought in them, and thus others were imbued with the same spirit. He also wrote to the church at Corinth and said, "Your zeal hath stirred up very many." {CS 195.4}
Christ's own words make His meaning plain,--that in acts of charity the aim should not be to secure praise and honor from men. Real godliness never prompts an effort at display. Those who desire words of praise and flattery, and feed upon them as a sweet morsel, are Christians in name only. {CS 195.5}
By their good works, Christ's followers are to bring glory, not to themselves, but to Him through whose grace and power they have wrought. It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accomplished, and (p. 196) the Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver. When the light of Christ is shining in the soul, the lips will be filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, your performance of duty, your benevolence, your self-denial, will not be the theme of your thought or conversation. Jesus will be magnified, self will be hidden, and Christ will appear as all in all. {CS 195.6}
We are to give in sincerity, not to make a show of our good deeds, but from pity and love to the suffering ones. Sincerity of purpose, real kindness of heart, is the motive that Heaven values. The soul that is sincere in its love, wholehearted in its devotion, God regards as more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir. . . . We are not to think of reward, but of service.--MB 120, 121. {CS 196.1}
Motive for Giving Is Chronicled I was shown that the recording angel makes a faithful record of every offering dedicated to God, and put into the treasury, and also of the final result of the means thus bestowed. The eye of God takes cognizance of every farthing devoted to His cause, and of the willingness or reluctance of the giver. The motive in giving is also chronicled. Those self-sacrificing, consecrated ones who render back to God the things that are His, as He requires of them, will be rewarded according to their works.--2T 518, 519. {CS 196.2}
Higher Motives Than Sympathy The moral darkness of a ruined world pleads to Christian men and women to put forth individual effort, to give of their means and of their influence, that they may be assimilated to the image of Him who, though He possessed infinite riches, yet for our sakes became poor. The Spirit of God cannot abide with those to whom He has sent the message of His truth, but (p. 197) who need to be urged before they can have any sense of their duty to be coworkers with Christ. The apostle enforces the duty of giving from higher grounds than merely human sympathy, because the feelings are moved. He enforces the principle that we should labor unselfishly with an eye single to the glory of God. --3T 391. {CS 196.3}
Love the Principle of Action Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlying principle of God's government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian's character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation. {CS 197.1}
And love will be revealed in sacrifice. The plan of redemption was laid in sacrifice,--a sacrifice so broad and deep and high that it is immeasurable. Christ gave all for us, and those who receive Christ will be ready to sacrifice all for the sake of their Redeemer. The thought of His honor and glory will come before anything else. {CS 197.2}
If we love Jesus, we shall love to live for Him, to present our thank offerings to Him, to labor for Him. The very labor will be light. For His sake we shall covet pain and toil and sacrifice. We shall sympathize with His longing for the salvation of men. We shall feel the same tender craving for souls that He has felt. {CS 197.3}
This is the religion of Christ. Anything short of it is a deception. No mere theory of truth or profession of discipleship will save any soul. We do not belong to Christ unless we are His wholly. It is by halfheartedness in the Christian life that men become feeble in purpose and changeable in desire. The effort to serve both self and Christ makes one a stony-ground hearer, and he will not endure when the test comes upon him. --COL 49, 50. {CS 197.4}
Chap. 40 - Freewill Offerings All that we do is to be done willingly. We are to bring our offerings with joy and gratitude, saying as we present them, Of Thine own we freely give Thee. The most costly service we can render is but meager compared to the gift of God to our world. Christ is a gift every day. God gave Him to the world, and He graciously takes the gifts entrusted to His human agents for the advancement of His work in the world. Thus we show that we recognize and acknowledge that every thing belongs to God, absolutely and entirely.--MS 124, 1898. {CS 198.1}
The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.--DA 65. {CS 198.2}
Thank and Trespass Offerings Come to the Lord with hearts overflowing with thankfulness for past and present mercies, and manifest your appreciation of God's bounties by bringing to Him your thank offerings, your freewill offerings, and your trespass offerings.--R. & H., Jan. 4, 1881. {CS 198.3}
Grudging Gift a Mockery to God God has made men His almoners, copartners with Himself in the great work of advancing His kingdom on the earth; but they may pursue the course pursued by the unfaithful servant, and by so doing lose the (p. 199) most precious privileges ever granted to men. For thousands of years God has worked through human agencies, but at His will He can drop out the selfish, the money-loving, and the covetous. He is not dependent upon our means, and He will not be restricted by the human agent. He can carry on His own work though we act no part in it. But who among us would be pleased to have the Lord do this? {CS 198.4}
It were better not to give at all than to give grudgingly; for if we impart of our means when we have not the spirit to give freely, we mock God. Let us bear in mind that we are dealing with One upon whom we depend for every blessing. One who reads every thought of the heart, every purpose of the mind.-- R. & H., May 15, 1900. {CS 199.1}
The Cheerful Giver Accepted "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." If we act in the spirit of this counsel, we may invite the Divine One to audit the accounts of our temporal matters. We may feel that we are only giving offerings from that which is our Lord's entrusted gift. {CS 199.2}
All our offerings should be presented with cheerfulness; for they come from the fund which the Lord has seen fit to place in our hands for the purpose of carrying forward His work in the world, in order that the banner of truth may be unfurled in the highways and byways of the earth. If all who profess the truth would give to the Lord His own in tithes and gifts and offerings,
there would be meat in the house of the Lord. The cause of benevolence would no longer be dependent (p. 200) on the uncertain gifts of impulse, and vary according to the changing feelings of men. God's claims would be welcomed, and His cause would be considered as justly entitled to a portion of the funds entrusted to our hands. {CS 199.3}
How much more eager will every faithful steward be to enlarge the proportion of gifts to be placed in the Lord's treasure house, than to decrease his offering one jot or tittle. Whom is he serving? For whom is he preparing an offering?--For the One upon whom he is dependent for every good thing which he enjoys. Then let not one of us who is receiving the grace of Christ, give occasion for the angels to be ashamed of us, and for Jesus to be ashamed to call us brethren. {CS 200.1}
Shall ingratitude be cultivated, and made manifest by our niggardly practices in giving to the cause of God?--No, no! Let us surrender ourselves a living sacrifice, and give our all to Jesus. It is His; we are His purchased possession. Those who are recipients of His grace, who contemplate the cross of Calvary, will not question concerning the proportion to be given, but will feel that the richest offering is all too meager, all disproportionate to the great gift of the only-begotten Son of the infinite God. Through self-denial, the poorest will find ways of obtaining something to give back to God.--R. & H., July 14, 1896. {CS 200.2}
Chap. 41 - Popular Methods of Appeal We see the churches of our day encouraging feasting, gluttony, and dissipation, by the suppers, fairs, dances, and festivals gotten up for the purpose of gathering means into the church treasury. Here is a method invented by carnal minds to secure means without sacrificing. {CS 201.1}
Such an example makes an impression upon the minds of youth. They notice that lotteries and fairs and games are sanctioned by the church, and they think there is something fascinating in this way of obtaining means. A youth is surrounded by temptations. He enters the bowling alley, the gambling saloon, to see the sport. He sees the money taken by the one who wins. This looks enticing. It seems an easier way of obtaining money than by earnest work, which requires persevering energy and strict economy. He imagines there can be no harm in this; for similar games have been resorted to in order to obtain means for the benefit of the church. Then why should he not help himself in this way? {CS 201.2}
He has a little means, which he ventures to invest, thinking it may bring in quite a sum. Whether he gains or loses, he is in the downward road to ruin. But it was the example of the church that led him into the false path. {CS 201.3}
Lame and Diseased Offerings Let us stand clear of all these church corruptions, dissipations, and festivals, which have a demoralizing influence upon young and old. We have no right to throw over them the cloak of sanctity because the (p. 202) means is to be used for church purposes. Such offerings are lame and diseased, and bear the curse of God. They are the price of souls. The pulpit may defend festivals, dancing, lotteries, fairs, and luxurious feasts, to obtain means for church purposes; but let us participate in none of these things; for if we do, God's displeasure will be upon us. We do not propose to appeal to the lust of the appetite or resort to carnal amusements as an inducement to Christ's professed followers to give of the means which God has entrusted to them. If they do not give willingly, for the love of Christ, the offering will in no case be acceptable to God. {CS 201.4}
Characters Wrecked Death, clad in the livery of heaven, lurks in the pathway of the young. Sin is gilded over by church sanctity. These various forms of amusement in the churches of our day have ruined thousands who, but for them, might have remained upright and become the followers of Christ. Wrecks of character have been made by these fashionable church festivals and theatrical performances, and thousands more will be destroyed; yet people will not be aware of the danger, nor of the fearful influences exerted. Many young men and women have lost their souls through these corrupting influences.--R. & H., Nov. 21, 1878. {CS 202.1}
Giving for Selfish Considerations In professedly Christian gatherings, Satan throws a religious garment over delusive pleasures and unholy revelings to give them the appearance of sanctity, and the consciences of many are quieted because means are raised to defray church expenses. Men refuse to give for the love of God; but for the love of pleasure, (p. 203) and the indulgence of appetite for selfish considerations, they will part with their money. {CS 202.2}
Is it because there is not power in the lessons of Christ upon benevolence, and in His example, and the grace of God upon the heart to lead men to glorify God with their substance, that such a course must be resorted to in order to sustain the church? The injury sustained to the physical, mental, and moral health in these scenes of amusement and gluttony is not small. And the day of final reckoning will show souls lost through the influence of these scenes of gaiety and folly. {CS 203.1}
It is a deplorable fact that sacred and eternal considerations do not have that power to open the hearts of the professed followers of Christ to make freewill offerings to sustain the gospel, as the tempting bribes of feasting and general merriment. It is a sad reality that these inducements will prevail when sacred and eternal things will have no force to influence the heart to engage in works of benevolence. {CS 203.2}
Moses Did Not Institute Lotteries The plan of Moses in the wilderness to raise means was highly successful. There was no compulsion necessary. Moses made no grand feast. He did not invite the people to scenes of gaiety, dancing, and general amusement. Neither did he institute lotteries or anything of this profane order to obtain means to erect the tabernacle of God in the wilderness. God commanded Moses to invite the children of Israel to bring the offerings. Moses was to accept gifts of every man that gave willingly from his heart. These freewill offerings came in so great abundance that Moses proclaimed it was enough. They must cease their presents; for they had given abundantly, more than they could use. (p. 204) {CS 203.3}
Satan's temptations succeed with the professed followers of Christ on the point of indulgence of pleasure and appetite. Clothed as an angel of light, he will quote Scripture to justify the temptations he places before men to indulge the appetite, and in worldly pleasures which suit the carnal heart. The professed followers of Christ are weak in moral power, and are fascinated with the bribe which Satan has presented before them, and he gains the victory. {CS 204.1}
How does God look upon churches that are sustained by such means? Christ cannot accept these offerings, because they were not given through their love and devotion to Him, but through their idolatry of self. But what many would not do for the love of Christ, they will do for the love of delicate luxuries to gratify the appetite, and for love of worldly amusements to please the carnal heart.--R. & H., Oct. 13, 1874. {CS 204.2}
Repeating the Sin of Nadab and Abihu Professed Christians reject the Lord's plan of raising means for His work; and to what do they resort to supply the lack? God sees the wickedness of the methods they adopt. Places of worship are defiled by all manner of idolatrous dissipation, that a little money may be won from selfish pleasure lovers to pay church debts or to sustain the work of the church. Many of these persons would not of their own accord pay one shilling for religious purposes. Where, in God's directions for the support of His work, do we find any mention of bazaars, concerts, fancy fairs, and similar entertainments? Must the Lord's cause be dependent upon the very things He has forbidden in His word--upon those things that turn the mind away from God, from sobriety, from piety and holiness? (p. 205) {CS 204.3}
And what impression is made upon the minds of unbelievers? The holy standard of the word of God is lowered into the dust. Contempt is cast upon God and upon the Christian name. The most corrupt principles are strengthened by this un-Scriptural way of raising means. And this is as Satan would have it. Men are repeating the sin of Nadab and Abihu. They are using common instead of sacred fire in the service of God. The Lord accepts no such offerings. {CS 205.1}
All these methods for bringing money into His treasury are an abomination to Him. It is a spurious devotion that prompts all such devising. O what blindness, what infatuation, is upon many who claim to be Christians! Church members are doing as did the inhabitants of the world in the days of Noah, when the imagination of their hearts was only evil continually. All who fear God will abhor such practices as a misrepresentation of the religion of Jesus Christ.--R. & H. Dec. 8, 1896. {CS 205.2}
Liberality With No Depth of Principle The minister may be the special favorite of some wealthy man, and he may be very liberal with him; this gratifies the minister, and he in turn lavishes praise upon the benevolence of his donor. His name may be exalted by appearing in print, and yet that liberal donor may be entirely unworthy of the credit given him. {CS 205.3}
His liberality did not arise from a deep, living principle to do good with his means, to advance the cause of God because he appreciated it, but from some selfish motive, a desire to be thought liberal. He may have given from impulse, and his liberality have no depth of principle. He may have been moved upon by listening to stirring truth, which for the time being loosed his purse strings; yet, after all, his liberality has no deeper motive. He gives by spasms; his purse opens spasmodically, and closes just as securely, spasmodically. He deserves no commendation, for he is in every sense of the word a stingy man; and unless thoroughly converted, purse and all, will hear the withering denunciation, "Go to, now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten." {CS 205.4}
Such will awake at last from a horrible self-deception. Those who praised their spasmodic liberalities, helped Satan to deceive them, and make them think that they were very liberal, very sacrificing, when they know not the first principles of liberality or self-sacrifice. --1T 475, 476. {CS 206.1}
Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1100
14, 15 (Luke 19:12, 13; see EGW on John 17:20, 21). Talents Not Restricted to a Few.--To every man is committed individual gifts, termed talents. Some regard these talents as being limited to certain men who possess superior mental endowments and genius. But God has not restricted the bestowal of His talents to a favored few. To every one is committed some special endowment, for which he will be held responsible by the Lord. Time, reason, means, strength, mental powers, tenderness of heart--all are gifts from God, entrusted to be used in the great work of blessing humanity. {5BC 1100.1}
Some apparently have but few talents, but by diligent trading on their Lord's goods their endowments will be greatly increased. . . . {5BC 1100.2}
The Lord is watching every one to see whether he will use his talents wisely and unselfishly, or whether he will seek his own advancement. The talents are distributed to every man according to his several ability, that he may add to them by wise investment. Each one must give an account to the Master for his own actions. {5BC 1100.3}
The Lord will not require from those who are poor that which they have not to give; He will not require from the sick the active energies which bodily weakness forbids. No one need mourn because he cannot glorify God with talents that were never entrusted to Him. But if you have only one talent, use it well, and it will accumulate. If the talents are not buried, they will gain yet other talents. {5BC 1100.4}
The goods we receive are not our own. The entrusted capital is to be used, and when the returns are made, they are still the Lord's property. We have no right to hoard these talents; when the Lord Jesus returns He expects to receive His own with usury (Letter 180, 1907). {5BC 1100.5}
21. See EGW on 1 Corinthians 15:51-55. {5BC 1100.6}
Chapter 26 2 (Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1, 2). Attention Called to Sacrifice.-- Christ was crowned with thorns. His hands and feet were pierced by nails. Every step onward in the shameful scene was one of intense suffering. But it was God's purpose that publicity should be given to the whole transaction, point after point, scene after scene, one phase of humiliation reaching into another. It was appointed that these events should take place on the occasion of the Passover (MS 111, 1897). {5BC 1100.7}
3 (Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54; John 18:13). A Corrupted Priesthood.-- The priesthood had become so corrupt that the priests had no scruples in engaging in the most dishonest and criminal acts to accomplish their designs. Those who assumed the office of high priest prior to, and at, the time of Christ's first advent, were not men divinely appointed to the sacred work. They had eagerly aspired to the office through love of power and show. They desired a position where they could have authority, and practice fraud under a garb of piety, and thereby escape detection. The high priest held a position of power and importance. He was not only counselor and mediator, but judge; and there was no appeal from his decision. The priests were held in restraint by the authority of the Romans, and were not allowed the power of legally putting anyone to death. This power rested with those who bore rule over the Jews. Men of corrupt hearts sought the distinguished office of high priest, and frequently obtained it by bribery and assassination.
The high priest, clad in his consecrated and expensive robes, with the breastplate upon his breast, the light flashing upon the precious stones inlaid in the breastplate, presented a most imposing appearance, and struck the conscientious, true-hearted people with admiration, reverence, and awe. The high priest was designed in an especial manner to represent Christ, who was to become a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec (RH Dec. 17, 1872). {5BC 1100.8}
No High Priest.--With Caiaphas the Jewish high priesthood ended. The service had become base and corrupt. It had (p. 1101) no longer any connection with God. Truth and righteousness were hateful in the eyes of the priests. They were tyrannical and deceptive, full of selfish, ambitious schemes. Such ministration could make nothing perfect; for it was itself utterly corrupt. The grace of God had naught to do with it. {5BC 1100.9}

FROM GOD, WITH LOVE

By Kenneth H. Wood


“Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8, NRSV).
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).*
These passages from Scripture set forth two major truths about God. The first is, God is a God of love. The second grows out of the first: God gives gifts—not just ordinary gifts but “good” and “perfect” gifts.


Satan has endeavored to obscure the truth about God. Throughout the centuries and in every part of the world he has pictured God as a God of anger, a God who wants to harm His earthly children, a God who watches their every move in order to catch them in some mistake, and punish them. He has portrayed God as being far more interested in justice than in mercy. But here is the truth about God:


“Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill, and ev’ry man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”—F. M. Lehman.


More than we do, we need to spend time focusing on our heavenly Father as a God of love. We need to be clear in our own minds why God watches us. He watches us closely not to judge us but because He loves us and is interested in our welfare. It is said that when Isaac Watts was but a child he was visiting in the home of an elderly Christian woman who asked him to read a framed Bible text hanging on the wall. The text was Genesis 16:13 as it reads in the King James Version: “Thou God Seest Me.” After Watts had read it, the saintly woman said: “When you are older, people will tell you that God is always watching you to see when you do wrong, in order to punish you. I don’t want you to think of it that way. I want you to take the text home and remember all your life that God loves you so much He can’t take His eyes off you.”


I am grateful that my own mother had this concept. Once in early childhood I went to her in tears with the comment, “I’m afraid I’ll never get to heaven!” She took me in her arms and talked to me about God’s love. Then she said, “I don’t think of God as Someone who’s trying to keep people out of heaven. I think of Him as Someone who’s trying to let everyone in that He possibly can.” Yes, though He is a God of justice, He also is a God of mercy. He is a God of love.


God Loves to Give


And because He is a God of love, He loves to give. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:11). What an understandable comparison! How easy to identify with! Parents enjoy finding “just the right” gifts for their children, especially for the little ones. Their hearts leap with pleasure as their children tear open the bright wrappings and squeal with delight at sight of the gift. Using this joyful experience as a base, Jesus continued, “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Truly, God gives “to those who ask.” But He does more. He gives some gifts to everybody! Jesus highlighted this when He said: “Your Father in heaven . . . makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).


God is a giver! Whatever we have—whether little or much—it has come to us as a gift from God. The apostle Paul highlighted this well when he wrote: “We brought nothing into this world” (1Tim. 6:7). And David, the Psalmist, declared: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Ps. 24:1).


I like the story of the little girl who told an older friend that she was going to buy her father a pair of slippers for his birthday. “Where will you get the money?” the friend asked. Opening her eyes wide, the little girl responded, “Why, Daddy will give me the money.” And so it is with us. We receive everything from God. Nothing is truly ours. Our “giving” to God is merely “returning.”

“We give Thee but Thine own, Whatever the gift may be; All that we have is Thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”—Selected.
Ellen White tells us that God “loads us with His benefits. We are indebted to Him for the food we eat, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe. . . . He is a bountiful benefactor and preserver.

“The sun which shines upon the earth, and glorifies all nature, the weird, solemn radiance of the moon, the glories of the firmament, spangled with brilliant stars, the showers that refresh the land, and cause vegetation to flourish, the precious things of nature in all their varied richness, the lofty trees, the shrubs and plants, the waving grain, the blue sky, the green earth, the changes of day and night, the renewing seasons, all speak to man [us] of his [our] Creator’s love.”—Counsels on Stewardship, p. 17.

Other Gifts

Beyond doubt the gift that most people prize above all others is the gift of life itself. Of this gift Ellen White wrote: Young people “are holding God’s gift of life. He makes the heart beat; He gives strength to every faculty” (The Adventist Home, p. 497). This precious gift God asks us to return to Him. His invitation is, “?My son, give Me thine heart; I will keep it pure; I will satisfy its longings with true happiness’” (ibid.).

In The Acts of the Apostles (p. 71), Ellen White mentions other gifts—“money, time, influence,” all of which are to be used “as a means of advancing the work of the gospel.”
Two of God’s gifts were first bestowed on the human race in Eden—the Sabbath and marriage. Of marriage as a gift Mrs. White has written: “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.”—The Adventist Home, p. 100. And of the Sabbath she says: “It was a gift to all his [Adam’s] posterity.”—Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, p. 233. Every believer who understands and embraces the many spiritual dimensions of the Sabbath truth will welcome its weekly appearance as a gift of love from the Creator and Redeemer of the human family. They will prize its sacred hours as a priceless opportunity to become better acquainted with the great God of the universe and His Son who died for them on the cross.

In this end-time of the world’s history, one of God’s special gifts is the three-fold message of Revelation 14. Of this gift God’s servant declares: “We knew that this present light was the special gift of God. The impartation of this gift was the prerogative of God.”—Selected Messages, book 2, p. 110. Embodied in this gift is the everlasting gospel, the judgment hour message, the true Sabbath, and a call to separate from the traditions and confusion of modern Babylon (Rev.18:4). What a great gift this is! It is a gift not only to be received and enjoyed but to be shared with the entire world.

God’s Best Gift

In this overview of God’s gifts, let us now place the gift of Jesus in its rightful place—at the top. This is the gift that reveals the infinite dimensions of God’s love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

If a little child asks mother or father, “How much do you love me?” the parent sometimes responds by extending both arms and spreading them out as far as possible, saying, “This much!” followed by a hug and a kiss. But when we as a lost race of sinners ask God how much He loves us, He points to Jesus dying in agony on the cross, and says, “This much!” “The gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that, having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of the work.”—Counsels on Stewardship, p. 14.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

In a message urging Christians at the Christmas season to recall “the rich gifts which Providence has so bounteously bestowed,” Ellen White urged that above all they “remember the priceless Gift of God’s dear Son. Here is an exhaustless theme for thought.”—Signs of the Times, Dec. 8, 1887.

To me, one of the most moving passages in all of Mrs. White’s writings is her description of Christ on the cross. After recounting the fact that Jesus had been arrested at midnight in Gethsemane, “dragged to and fro from palace to judgment hall, . . . mocked, scourged, [and] condemned,” she wrote: “Heaven viewed with grief and amazement Christ hanging upon the cross, blood flowing from His wounded temples, and sweat tinged with blood standing upon His brow. From His hands and feet the blood fell, drop by drop, upon the rock drilled for the foot of the cross. The wounds made by the nails gaped as the weight of His body dragged upon His hands. His labored breath grew quick and deep, as His soul panted under the burden of the sins of the world. . . . What a sight for the heavenly universe!”—The Desire of Ages, p. 760.
But out of the Gift of the life and death of Jesus came another great gift—justification for repentant sinners. “Christ, coming to earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. They have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ.”—Ibid., p. 762.

And, unbelievable though it may seem, God loves His redeemed earthly children as much as He loves His own Son. Jesus made this clear in His final prayer to His Father in Gethsemane when He said: “You have . . . loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:23).

Spiritual Gifts

When Jesus returned to heaven, did God cease to love His people? Did He stop giving them gifts? No. But in addition to the numberless gifts that He had already bestowed, He gave a special kind of gifts—gifts of the Spirit, gifts often referred to as spiritual gifts. In First Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul wrote: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed” (v. 1, NRSV). Then, in verse 11 he said: “These are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses” (NRSV).

“The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11, NRSV). The purpose of the gifts was “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (v. 12, NRSV).

In this same chapter—First Corinthians 12—the apostle compares the church to a body. He states that the church is the body of Christ (vs. 12, 27) and that every person in the church is important, just as every part of the human body is essential. He declares that Christ is the Head (Eph. 4:15) and that each member fills an essential role in making the body function successfully. The work that each member is to do is determined by the Holy Spirit. The “Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:11).

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (vs. 4-10).

Let us note two facts: 1) These spiritual gifts are not merely natural talents that come through physical inheritance, and 2) the Holy Spirit decides who is to receive them. The Spirit may take into account the natural aptitudes or abilities of the one on whom the spiritual gift is to be bestowed, but not necessarily. The Spirit knows the overall needs of the body, Christ’s church, and makes the choice based on that need. Chaos would result if spiritual gifts were distributed randomly or in response to personal request. The human body is not all eyes, ears, arms, or legs. Neither can the church body be all pastors, administrators, healers, or prophets.

The Gift of Prophecy

As we have already noted, the gift of prophecy is among the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:10, 28; Eph. 4:11). The importance of this gift becomes clear when we remember that in Old Testament times prophets were called “seers.” This is mentioned in First Samuel 9:9: “Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, ?Come, let us go to the seer’; for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer” (NRSV). Using Paul’s illustration, we might say that prophets are the eyes of the church, which is the body of Christ. They see what others do not see. They see behind the scenes in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. They see dangers from false doctrines and false teachers, and by revealing Satan’s plans they enable the church to avoid retreat or defeat. No wonder the writings of prophets often contain the expression, “I saw.” As the prophet Amos wrote: “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
The Scriptures abound with incidents that reveal how God has given His prophets special “eyes,” and has worked through these inspired messengers for the benefit of His people. In the days of Elisha the king of Syria was conducting war against Israel. Hoping to ambush the king of Israel, “he consulted with his servants, saying, ‘My camp will be in such and such a place’” (2 Kings 6:8). But the prophet sent a warning to the king, “‘Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there’” (v. 9).

Several times the secret, evil plans of the Syrian king were frustrated in this way by Elisha. “Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, ‘Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?’ And one of his servants said, ‘None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom’” (vs. 11, 12). What a blessing it was for God’s people to have a seer! And among the spiritual gifts promised to the church this side of the cross, the gift of prophecy is one of the most valuable.

The prophetic witness becomes increasingly important as the church approaches the world’s final crisis. John the Revelator described Satan’s attack against the church by saying, “The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17). Of this time Jesus said, “False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

“Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His Word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 593, 594.

In a very real sense, the Holy Scriptures in their entirety are the testimony of Jesus and are a product of the Spirit of prophecy. This is clear from Revelation 19:10 that records the response of the angel when John fell at his feet to worship him. The angel protested, saying, “‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”

But in addition to the written Word, throughout past ages when God’s people faced new challenges, trials, or dangers, the Holy Spirit inspired men and women and gave them the “testimony of Jesus” to meet the unique needs of the hour. Uriah Smith, well-known pioneer of the Advent movement, likened the role of these prophets to that of a pilot who boards a ship as it approaches the port of its destination. While on the high seas the captain, with his experience and general expertise, is capable of guiding the ship safely. But as the ship enters the narrow channel of a foreign port, with giant rocks possibly concealed beneath the surface of the sea, the captain slows his ship and welcomes a pilot aboard. He recognizes that the specialized situation requires someone with added skill and more complete knowledge of the dangers and challenges that lie ahead. By accepting the pilot, the captain is cooperating with the owner of the ship who arranged for this special help before the ship began its voyage. (Editorial in the Review and Herald, Jan. 13, 1863.)

Special Help in the End-time

Thus, when God’s last-day church needed special help to meet Satan’s final attacks successfully, God gave visions to a young woman named Ellen Harmon. Beginning immediately after the Great Disappointment of 1844, Jesus inspired young Ellen to help His people regain confidence in the way the Lord had led them. She joined with them in careful study of the Bible, the “testimony of Jesus” that God had provided for seekers of truth. Often they spent whole nights in prayer and study, endeavoring to understand God’s will as found in the Scriptures. And God rewarded them with additional light and a wonderful sense of His presence. At times, however, when the group could not agree on the meaning of a Bible passage, God used Ellen to define what was error and what was truth. The usual result was unity. In 1846 Ellen married James White, a young man who had been much involved in proclaiming the soon coming of Christ. Gradually, under the urging of the Holy Spirit, Ellen White wrote out the messages and counsel she received from the Lord. These messages helped the early Adventists avoid fanaticism, unite on doctrine and organization, and attempt to reach the entire world with the message of Revelation 14.
Of her experience she testified: “The Spirit of God rests upon me with power, and I cannot but speak the words given me. I dare not withhold one word of testimony. . . . I speak the words given me by a power higher than human power, and I cannot, if I would, recall [retract] one sentence. In the night season the Lord gives me instruction in symbols, and then explains their meaning. He gives me the word, and I dare not refuse to give it to the people.”—The 1888 Materials, pp. 578, 579.

During her 70-year ministry Mrs. White wrote approximately 25 million words, resulting in 100,000 printed pages. Her writings included letters, diaries, books, and articles in periodicals. Among her best-known works are The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan and Steps to Christ, which has been translated into more than 140 languages. Not surprisingly, the theme of the first chapter of Steps to Christ is God’s great love for our world and the human race. Both in writing and in speaking she emphasized this theme, ever pointing to Jesus and His matchless charms as the greatest evidence of God’s love. The overall theme of her writings is the great controversy between Christ and Satan, which began in heaven and has increased with ferocity here on earth. In line with this theme, she made clear that every human being is involved in the controversy. “To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized—this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.”—Education, pp. 15, 16.

Burdened to win souls and give guidance in character development, she wrote books on a wide range of subjects—education, healthful living, family life, temperance, evangelism, sacred history, medical ministry, and other subjects that might help advance the cause of truth and prepare a people for the return of Christ.

At times students of the Bible compare the Advent movement to the experience of Israel in leaving Egypt and journeying to the Promised Land. In this connection they quote Hosea 12:13: “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.” We all know how God used Moses to guide His people from Egypt to Canaan. Every Adventist should know also the exciting story of how God used Ellen White during the seven decades of her ministry, and how He is still using her today through her writings. There is much truth in the statement that is commonly repeated: “Without Ellen White there would be no Adventist church as we know it today.” God knew that His last-day church would need special help, and, like the great Gift-giver that He is, He provided it in what Adventists often speak of as the “Spirit of prophecy.”

Like the early church in the city of Corinth, it can be said of the remnant church: “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.1:4-7).

As the apostle Paul considered the gift of Jesus and the wonderful evidences of God’s grace in the Corinthian church, he exclaimed: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15). And today, as we review God’s infinite love and the countless gifts that flow from that love, we can well borrow Paul’s language and say, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gifts, especially the Gift of Jesus and the testimony of Jesus, which is the Spirit of prophecy!”