Our Firm Foundation

1Volume 17, Number 11

2 Our Firm Foundation

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Four Causes of Persecutiont is with great sadness werecognize that many of God’sfaithful people around the

world, who love the truth and areobedient to it by the power of theHoly Spirit, are now subjected tochurch discipline. Yes, some areeven disfellowshiped for giving thestraight testimony to the church.The causes of this tragic situationare: worldliness, liberalism, legal-ism, and fanaticism.

For 6,000 years, Satan hassuccessfully used these fourdetours to destroy millions ofsouls. The first two are closelyrelated. Worldliness always gener-ates liberalism. Legalism andfanaticism are many times alsorelated. All four can be summa-rized in these verses of scripture:

“Love not the world, neither thethings that are in the world. If anyman love the world, the love of theFather is not in him. For all that isin the world, the lust of the flesh,and the lust of the eyes, and thepride of life, is not of the Father,but is of the world. And the worldpasseth away, and the lust thereof:but he that doeth the will of Godabideth for ever.” 1 John 2:15–17.

The remedy for all of the fourcauses is true conversion accompa-nied by ongoing study of the Wordof God.

What is conversion?—The Spiritof Prophecy gives the answer tothis very important question:

“Conversion is a work that mostdo not appreciate. It is not a smallmatter to transform an earthly, sin-loving mind and bring it to under-stand the unspeakable love ofChrist, the charms of His grace, andthe excellency of God, so that thesoul shall be imbued with divinelove and captivated with theheavenly mysteries. When heunderstands these things, his

former life appears disgusting andhateful. He hates sin, and, breakinghis heart before God, he embracesChrist as the Life and Joy of thesoul. He renounces his formerpleasures. He has a new mind, newaffections, new interest, new will;his sorrows, and desires, and loveare all new. The lust of the flesh,the lust of the eye, and the pride oflife, which have heretofore beenpreferred before Christ, are nowturned from, and Christ is theCharm of his life, the Crown of hisrejoicing. Heaven, which oncepossessed no charms, is nowviewed in its riches and glory; andhe contemplates it as his futurehome, where he shall see, love, andpraise the One who hath redeemedhim by His precious blood.

“The works of holiness, whichappeared wearisome, are now hisdelight. The Word of God, whichwas dull and uninteresting, is nowchosen as his study, the man of hiscounsel. It is as a letter written tohim from God, bearing the inscrip-tion of the Eternal. His thoughts,his words, and his deeds arebrought to this rule and tested. Hetrembles at the commands andthreatenings which it contains,while he firmly grasps its promisesand strengthens his soul by appro-priating them to himself. Thesociety of the most godly is nowchosen by him, and the wicked,whose company he once loved, heno longer delights in. He weepsover those sins in them at which heonce laughed. Self-love and vanityare renounced, and he lives untoGod, and is rich in good works.This is the sanctification which Godrequires. Nothing short of this willHe accept.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 294–295.

Faithful, obedient Christianshave been persecuted,

disfellowshiped, yes, martyredduring Satan’s 6,000-year reign ofterror by civil and religiousleaders who were not converted,and who led the church intoworldliness, liberalism, legalism,and fanaticism. See Isaiah 30:9–11;Micah 3:9–11.

Therefore, many Seventh-dayAdventist leaders and membershave adopted worldly methodsand evangelical doctrines whichare an abomination to our lovingCreator and Redeemer JesusChrist.

Several articles in this issue ofOur Firm Foundation address thisproblem. I highly recommend acareful study of this issue, espe-cially the article, “Gospel Gim-micks” by Judi Wentland.

In the light of the existingapostasy, how many Seventh-dayAdventists will be saved?—Jesusgives the sobering answer inMatthew 22:14: “For many arecalled, but few are chosen.”

Let us see how Ellen Whiteresponds to this important ques-tion:

“God now calls upon you torepent, to be zealous in the work.Your eternal happiness will bedetermined by the course you nowpursue. Can you reject the invita-tions of mercy now offered? Canyou choose your own way? Willyou cherish pride and vanity, andlose your soul at last? The Word ofGod plainly tells us that few will besaved, and that the greater numberof those, even, who are called willprove themselves unworthy ofeverlasting life. They will have nopart in heaven, but will have theirportion with Satan, and experiencethe second death.” Ibid., 293–294.

Let us devote ourselves to beamong the few who heed the call ofChrist to follow Him. !

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Volume 17, Number 11 November 2002

It is the mission of Hope International and theeditors of Our Firm Foundation to clearly presentChrist and His truth. The days remaining forthis world are few, and we must work quickly.We must boldly proclaim the historic truths ofAdventism that place us on so firm a founda-tion in the midst of this troubled world.

–EditorsExecutive Editor: Ron SpearAdministrative Editor: Bill HumeniukManaging Editor: Harvey SteckLayout & Design: Kevin H. Patterson

Our Firm Foundation is a monthly publication of:

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Copyright © 2002 Hope InternationalArtwork and photos in this publication are the property of

their respective owners, and are used with permission.Other items are © Hope International.

Cover CG Composition: © Kevin H. Patterson

Newswatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

departments

4 Gospel GimmicksJudi WentlandWhat about those “harmless” little adventures in gospelentertainment?

8 A Protest and AppealHarvey SteckAn open letter regarding the GraceLink Sabbath schoolcurriculum

16 The Omega of ApostasyRobert PiersonKnowing what is ahead should keep us alert and on ourknees.

17 Evangelism and the Holy SpiritJohn KorponayCould we be giving the right message at the wrong time?

20 How to Meet DiscouragementEllen G. White“When Satan tempts you, breathe not a word of doubt ordarkness.”

24 Feeding Sheep or Amusing GoatsCharles H. SpurgeonCan we win more souls to the Lord through entertainmentand amusements?

13 The Exodus and the Latter RainRon SpearAre we ready to receive the latter rain just before enteringthe Promised Land?

25 Consulting With GodTom WatersGod wants to help us avoid needless, costly mistakes in ourdecisions

28 The Heavenly FriendEllen G. WhiteWill you make Jesus your closest Companion and Friend?


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s I studied my Sabbath schoollesson today (July 21, 2002),I read about the downfall of

Israel. “It is not hard to imagine therationale used by those who startedbringing these gods into theHebrew worship: We need to beprogressive. We need to keep up withthe times. We need to advance in faith.Times are changing. We should not beso closed-minded. What makes us thinkthat we have a monopoly on truth? Letus try to draw as close to these peopleas we can; that way we can betterreach them.” Rebellion and Reforma-tion Adult Sabbath School BibleStudy Guide (July-September 2002,31, italics in original). Have youheard any of these things recently?

Right Observation, WrongAnalysis

Over and over I hear about howdead and boring our church hasbecome. “All the youth are leav-ing” they say. “What we need is tohave a more up-beat contemporaryworship style. We need moregospel-skits, gospel-clowns,gospel-magicians, gospel-rock,gospel-puppets and, oh yes, moreentertaining gospel(?) sermons.” Bythe way, does putting the label“gospel” in front of somethingmean that it came from God?(“gospel sin”?)

As is many times the case, theobservation may be correct whilethe analysis is not. The example isused of the dishwasher that brokewhen the whistle blew with theconclusion being drawn thatblowing whistles cause dishwash-ers to break. Similarly, when weobserve many bored churchmembers slipping out the backdoor, we may inaccurately con-clude that the church is not excitingenough. It is important to deter-mine the true cause of the boredombefore applying a remedy. There-fore, let us look at several possiblecauses:

• It might be due to a lack ofconversion (love of the world). SeeRomans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22–24;1 John 2:15; James 4:4; Ezekiel36:26–27.

Our desire for an entertainingworship style may be due to anunregenerate, world-loving heartthat has no appetite for straighttruth. Paul reminds us in2 Corinthians 13:5 that we need tohave routine heart checkups.“Examine yourselves, whether yebe in the faith; prove your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is inyou, except ye be reprobates?”

The Faith I Live By, 139, gives thefollowing insight into the boredom

issue: “Conversion is a work thatmost do not appreciate. It is not asmall matter to transform anearthly, sin-loving mind and bringit to understand the unspeakablelove of Christ, the charms of Hisgrace, and the excellency of God, sothat the soul shall be imbued withdivine love and captivated with theheavenly mysteries. When heunderstands these things, hisformer life appears disgusting andhateful. He hates sin, and, breakinghis heart before God, he embracesChrist as the Life and Joy of thesoul. He renounces his formerpleasures. He has a new mind, newaffections, new interest, new will;his sorrows, and desires, and loveare all new. . . . Heaven, which oncepossessed no charms, is now viewedin its riches and glory; and hecontemplates it as his future home,where he shall see, love, and praisethe One who hath redeemed himby His precious blood. The worksof holiness, which appearedwearisome, are now his delight. TheWord of God, which was dull anduninteresting, is now chosen as hisstudy, the man of his counsel. It isas a letter written to him from God,bearing the inscription of theEternal. His thoughts, his words,and his deeds are brought to thisrule and tested. He trembles at the

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commands and threatenings whichit contains, while he firmly graspsits promises and strengthens hissoul by appropriating them tohimself.” (All emphasis suppliedunless otherwise noted.)

Analysis: If the boredom is dueto lack of conversion, the answer isnot a more entertaining approach.

• It might be due to legalism.What is legalism?—Webster tells

us that it is the doctrine of salvationby good works. If worldliness is oneditch, legalism is the other. How-ever, contrary to popular belief,legalism is not synonymous withobedience.

We know, of course, that we donot get to heaven by our goodworks—nor, by the way, do we getto heaven without them: “Whilegood works will not save even onesoul, yet it is impossible for evenone soul to be saved without goodworks.” Selected Messages, book 1,377. Let us make sure we under-stand what legalism really is.

An excellent definition oflegalism can be found in Matthew,chapter 23. The Pharisees werereproved by Jesus, “But all theirworks they do for to be seen of men.”Verse 5. “Even so ye also outwardlyappear righteous unto men, butwithin ye are full of hypocrisy andiniquity.” Verse 28. Basically,legalism is acting out a lie.

It is no more possible to look atsomeone and diagnose legalismthan to determine that someoneneeds a heart bypass operation byjust looking at them. Legalism isindeed a heart problem and onlyGod can read the motives of theheart. When the heart is not inagreement with the actions (orworks) you may have a critical,dry, harsh religion. A legalist, forexample, may strictly keep theSabbath while all the time checkinghis watch, anxiously waiting for theSabbath to be over. He is legallykeeping the law, but in his heart hehates it. The Bible tells us thatobedience takes place in the heart.By the same token, we can be heldaccountable for sin committed onlyin the heart. See Matthew 5:28;Proverbs 23:7; 1 John 3:15.

Analysis: If legalism exists inyour church, conversion, notentertainment, is the answer.Dead formalism must be replacedby vital godliness. Dead formal-ism, by the way, can be found inboth ditches—not just on thelegalism side. The presence andpower of God will be found withhumble worshipers, who arewilling to obey the teachings ofthe sacred Word. A Christian whois alive with love for God andwho longs to obey Him—both inhis heart and in his actions—willdo more to attract the uncon-verted than all the entertainmentthat the world has to offer.

• It might be due to a lack ofunity.

Lack of unity will discouragemany who are not grounded. Thisis an agonizing issue of the ChurchMilitant. The wheat and the taresare struggling (see Ephesians6:12)—locked in mortal combat.

Unification is often thought tobe reached by compromise. Wehave been told, however, that “ifunity could be secured only by thecompromise of truth and righteous-ness, then let there be difference,and even war.” The Great Contro-versy, 45.

Unity is the state of God’spurified Church Triumphant. Weare always to seek unity. What if,however, the divisive issues repre-sent two different paths: one leadingto eternal life; and one leading toeternal death?—“I am instructed tosay to our people, ‘Unify, unify.’ Butwe are not to unify with those whoare departing from the faith, givingheed to seducing spirits and doc-trines of devils.” Selected Messages,book 3, 412.

Analysis: Many churches havebecome divided and even split over

worship issues. On the surface thisseems silly. The “politically cor-rect” solution that is frequently putforward is tolerance. It is deemed asure sign of Christian maturity if anindividual can tolerate sin.

God, on the other hand, tells usthat the real solution to our unityproblem is just the opposite: “Unityis the sure result of Christianperfection.” The Sanctified Life, 85.

As we steadfastly behold Christ,we will be changed into His image(see 2 Corinthians 3:18) and willoperate in His simple ways withoutany sensational or entertainingprops. Paul tells us that the spiri-tual gifts are for the perfecting of

the saints: “Till we all come in theunity of the faith, and of the knowl-edge of the Son of God, unto aperfect man, unto the measure ofthe stature of the fulness of Christ.”Ephesians 4:13.

• It might be a problem ofmixing common with sacred fire.

There may be spiritual confu-sion caused by imagining that wemust compete with the world,using the world’s entertainingtechniques in order to keep ourmembers.

God is very particular about Hisworship services. For an example,see Leviticus 10:1–11 and Numbers26:61 regarding Nadab and Abihu.When secular methods are mixedwith sacred, not only is Goddishonored, but the truth of God isnot magnified in His people. Nowonder many do not understandthe joy of the Christian walk. Nowonder they leave.

“The truth of God has not beenmagnified in His believing peoplebecause they have not brought itinto their personal experience.They conform to the world anddepend upon it for their influ-

A Christian who is alive with love for God and who longs to

obey Him . . . will do more to attract the unconverted than all

the entertainment that the world has to offer.


ence. They allow the world toconvert them and introduce thecommon fire to take the place ofthe sacred that they may, in theirline of work, meet the world’sstandard.” Mind, Character, andPersonality, vol. 2, 557.

Analysis: “Conformity toworldly customs converts thechurch to the world; it neverconverts the world to Christ.” TheGreat Controversy, 509.

The world already has worldlythings. Searchers want somethingthat they do not already have.1 Corinthians 3:19 says, “For thewisdom of this world is foolishnesswith God.” See also Proverbs 14:12;Proverbs 3:5; 1 Corinthians 2:13.

• It might be due to a lack ofdiscernment.

Since I was out of the church formore than 20 years, my perspectiveof the big picture seems to besomewhat different from that ofthose who have never left—andhave subsequently been conditionedto the gradual changes—and thosewho have come into the church inits current condition.

When I came back to God in1991, I did not recognize thechurch as the same one that I hadleft in the late 60’s. It seemed thateverything had changed. The lineof demarcation that had onceproudly separated the Seventh-day Adventist Church from theworld was now blurred. In theplace of “right” or “wrong,” todaythose classed as either liberal orconservative are often described bywords like “tolerant” (a politicallycorrect stance of turning a blindeye to sin) and “legalistic” (a termexpressing disapproval of thosewho condemn sin).

“Woe unto them that call evilgood, and good evil; that put

darkness for light, and light fordarkness; that put bitter for sweet,and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20.

Analysis: Lack of discernmentcan cause confusion and insecurity.The safety of right and wrong hasbeen removed. There are no moreboundaries, and everything is“relative,” a view that has beenpopularized by the New Agephilosophy that “what is wrong forone may not be wrong for an-other,” or, more simply stated as“I’m okay; you’re okay.”

What brings a church back intounity is not more freedom fromcondemnation but, conversely,freedom from sin. Discernmentcomes to a consecrated heart fromGod (see 1 Corinthians 2:13)—notfrom any university.

“What’s Wrong With It?”

Satan has a way of turningthings around. Sometimes, itseems that by using his methods(and we must concede that heoften mixes much that appears to begood with even his worst ideas)we can attract the most people,and then, the end justifies themeans. However, the reality is,more is less and less is more. It isa paradox. You can attract thou-sands of people with entertain-ment, fill all the seats, appeal totheir senses, yet, when the enter-tainment is done, the thousandsare gone. With a diet of entertain-ment they lose their appetite forstraight truth.

When questions come up, thetendency seems to be to focus on“What’s wrong with it?” ratherthan “What is God’s ideal?” We arelosing our discernment. God says,“That which is highly esteemedamong men is abomination in thesight of God.” Luke 16:15.

Joe Crews wrote a compellingbook called Creeping Compromise,which addresses this concept. Thedevil is very subtle. The changesthat have taken place in the churchhave been gradual. They are likethe frog in the pot of water. If he isthrown into a pot of boiling water,he will recognize the danger andjump out. If, however, having beenput into comfortable, warm water,then the heat of the water is turnedup very slowly, he will adjust andsimply change his definition of what is“right.” Each degree that he com-promises costs him more discern-ment. If he focuses on ‘what iswrong with one more degree’ insteadof ‘what is the ideal temperature,’ hewill eventually become totallydeceived and end up being cooked.It is a process, not an event.

“In whom the god of this worldhath blinded the minds of themwhich believe not, lest the light ofthe glorious gospel of Christ, whois the image of God, should shineunto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4.

Principles To Consider

Along with the technologicaladvances of this age has comeincreased hunger for sensorystimulation. The world—and, sadto say, a large portion of thechurch—have subsequentlybecome mental dyspeptics. Thosewho live vicariously—absorbedmindlessly in movies, novels, videogames, and competitive sports—lose their spiritual appetite fortruth and their capacity for deeper,soul-searching thought. Gospelgimmicks came about to accommo-date the dulled intellect and appealto the already overstimulatedemotions. “Harmless” little adven-tures in gospel entertainmentbegan parading into the Sabbathschool, the divine service andpersonal ministries—gospel-skits,gospel-clowns, gospel-magicians,gospel-rock, gospel-puppets. Voicesraised to question their appropri-ateness were hushed and labeled asnarrow minded.

Let us seek counsel that God hasgiven us to ferret out the principlesinvolved. “Those who make use of

“Conformity to worldly customs converts the church to the

world; it never converts the world to Christ.”


devices that are theatrical in nature,to hold the attention of the people,lose the realization of the presence ofChrist. Those who use so much timein preparing for their meetings,depending to a large extent onoutward appearance to impress thepeople, give Jesus no opportunityto work on hearts. They mingle thecommon with the sacred.” ManuscriptReleases, vol. 9, 387.

• The time utilized to preparefor the theatrical effects is wasted.

“Our time belongs to God.Every moment is His, and we areunder the most solemn obligationto improve it to His glory. Of notalent He has given will He requirea more strict account than of ourtime.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 342.

• The focus is on the humaninstrument rather than Jesus.

The more entertaining thepresentation, the less truth that is“fastened upon the mind. . . . It hasa stimulating effect, but does nottransform the character.” The Voicein Speech and Song, 284.

• Strange Fire: Sacred andcommon are not to be mixed.

“Some ministers make themistake of supposing that successdepends on drawing a largecongregation by outward display,and then delivering the message oftruth in a theatrical style. But this isusing common fire instead of thesacred fire of God’s kindling. TheLord is not glorified by this mannerof working. Not by startling noticesand expensive display is His workto be carried to completion, but byfollowing Christlike methods. “Notby might, nor by power, but by myspirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”Zechariah 4:6. It is the naked truth,which, like a sharp, two-edgedsword, cuts both ways, arousing tospiritual life those who are dead intrespasses and sins. Men willrecognize the gospel when it isbrought to them in a way that is inharmony with God’s purposes.”Evangelism, 136.

• Theatrics of any naturetrivialize the message, stimulate thesenses, and distract from the truth.

“Too many illustrations do nothave a correct influence; they

belittle the sacred dignity thatshould ever be maintained in thepresentation of the Word of God tothe people.” Ibid., 209.

“Unless men are led to value thetruth as a choice possession, toreceive it as that which will sanctifythe soul, no lasting good has beenaccomplished. He who presentseloquent words simply causes thepeople to forget the truth that ismingled with his oratory. When theexcitement passes away, it is foundthat the Word of God has not beenfastened upon the mind; nor have thesimple gained in understanding. . . .People should not be encouraged

to prize oratorical display. Thiskind of sermonizing has the samekind of effect upon the mind asdoes the reading of an excitingstory. It has a stimulating effect, butdoes not transform the character.” TheVoice in Speech and Song, 283–284.

• God’s way of reaching peopleis through the mind; Satan’s way isthrough the emotions.

“It is through the Word—notfeeling, not excitement—that wewant to influence the people toobey the truth. On the platform ofGod’s Word we can stand withsafety. The living Word is repletewith evidence, and a wonderfulpower accompanies its proclama-tion in our world.” Selected Mes-sages, book 3, 375. (Emphasis inoriginal.)

• Fiction encourages habits oflazy thinking and destroys thepower of deep thought.

“Even fiction which contains nosuggestion of impurity, and whichmay be intended to teach excellentprinciples, is harmful. It encour-ages the habit of hasty and superfi-cial reading, merely for the story.Thus it tends to destroy the powerof connected and vigorous thought;

it unfits the soul to contemplate thegreat problems of duty and des-tiny.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers,and Students, 383.

• Entertainment is addictive.“If the Sanitarium shall retro-

grade as rapidly in the future as ithas done in the past, in introducingworldly amusements and theatricalperformances, the Lord will with-draw His protecting care from thatinstitution. His frown is upon allthese things. They are not essentialfor the prosperity of the Sanitariumor for the health of the patients. Themore they have of this kind ofamusements, the less will they be

pleased, unless something of thekind shall be continually carriedon. The mind is in a fever of unrestfor something new and exciting—the very thing it ought not tohave.” Testimony for the Physiciansand Helpers of the Sanitarium (Pam-phlet 100), 69.

If God would “withdraw Hisprotecting care” from a sanitariumbecause of amusements, how musthe view the presence of suchamusements in our churches?

• Success depends on simplicitywithout display.

“Our success will depend oncarrying forward the work in thesimplicity in which Christ carried itforward, without any theatricaldisplay.” Evangelism, 139.

• God said, “I have a messagefor those in charge of our work.Do not encourage the men whoare to engage in this work tothink that they must proclaim thesolemn, sacred message in atheatrical style. Not one jot or tittleof anything theatrical is to bebrought into our work. God’s causeis to have a sacred, heavenly

“When the excitement passes away, it is found that the Word

of God has not been fastened upon the mind; nor have the

simple gained in understanding.”

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ear Seventh-day Adventistchurch leaders andmembers:

Since the time our GeneralConference introduced the newGraceLink Sabbath schoolchildren’s curriculum, I have beenmade aware of parents, teachers,and other loyal church membersthat are concerned that the newmaterials do not rightly reflect thecharacter of the gospel God hasgiven us to proclaim to the world.Many of these concerns have beencommunicated to the leaders at theGeneral Conference and the NorthAmerican Division, and manyparents and local churches haverecognized their duty to safeguardthe salvation of their children andhave rejected the new materials.

After some letters of concernwere circulated by mail and by theInternet, the General Conferencerequested that all letters of concernbe addressed through one person atthe North American DivisionChildren’s Ministries Department(Sharon Wright / NAD Children’sMinistries Dept. / 12501 Old Colum-bia Pike / Silver Spring, MD 20904).She would then share them with theappropriate responsible parties.

Since the time that concernsbegan to circulate, I have noticedthat a few pictures have been

changed—apparently in responseto objections. Some may plead thatit is a complex process to produceSabbath school materials for aworldwide church. In view of thegravity of the problems that stillexist, however, I am disappointedto see how little has been correctedthus far. I continue to hear ofchurches that are wrestling withthe decision whether or not tocontinue using the GraceLinkmaterials.

It is past time that each respon-sible church member shouldevaluate the GraceLink materials inthe light of the principles andguidelines found in the Bible andthe Spirit of Prophecy. It is myprayer that this open letter willhelp to identify the problems thatexist in this new Sabbath schoolcurriculum.

Our Responsibility

As a church member, elder,Sabbath school teacher, and parentof two young girls, I believe it ismy responsibility to presentconcerns that extend beyond merehuman imperfections. Thesematerials will influence many ofour children and youth to take thebroad road to destruction.

Please consider the responsibil-ity that God has given us to feed

our flock the pure spiritual foodfrom Heaven:

“There is a wide field for theelders and the helpers in everychurch. They are to feed the flock ofGod with pure provender, thoroughlywinnowed from the chaff, the poison-ous mixture of error. You who haveany part to act in the church ofGod, be sure that you act wisely infeeding the flock of God; for itsprosperity much depends upon thequality of this food.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol.7, 942. (All emphasis supplied bythe author unless otherwise noted.)

“The papers that have so wide acirculation should contain moreprecious instruction than appearsin the ordinary publications of theday. ‘What is the chaff to thewheat?’ Jeremiah 23:28. We wantpure wheat, thoroughly winnowed.”Testimonies, vol. 7, 153.

“When existing evils are not metand checked, because men have toolittle courage to reprove wrong, orbecause they have too little interestor are too indolent to tax their ownpowers in putting forth earnestefforts to purify the family or thechurch of God, they are accountablefor the evil which may result inconsequence of neglect to do theirduty. We are just as accountable forevils that we might have checked in

A Protestand Appeal

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others, by reproof, by warning, byexercise of parental or pastoral authority,as if we were guilty of the acts our-selves.” Ibid., vol. 4, 516.

Even if all who are involved inpreparing the GraceLink materialsare sincerely, prayerfully doingwhat they believe is the best, wemust still evaluate the materials forourselves.

I encourage each reader to reviewCounsels on Sabbath School Work to seewhat the Lord has told us shouldcharacterize our Sabbath schoolmaterials. There are at least fourmajor areas in which the GraceLinkmaterials fall short:

1. The Bible stories should befree from fiction andspeculation.

2. Illustrations must notcheapen the stories.

3. They should make a bal-anced, correct presentationof Bible facts and theology.

4. They should recommendactivities that show properreverence for the Sabbathand for God’s house.

If our materials fail in theseareas, the materials should berejected until they are brought upto the standard.

1. Biblical Stories, Free FromFiction / Speculation

We often use our imagination todescribe a scene from the Bible. Wemight say, for example, “Jesussmiled at the children as He placedthem on His knee”—even thoughthe Bible may not specificallymention His smile. Such a minimaluse of imagination may be quiteappropriate in relating Bible storiesto the children.

When whole lessons are writtenaround an imaginary character,however, or when fictitious pas-sages are interwoven with Biblefacts, we must ask ourselves howthe children will discern what isfact and what is fiction. Followingis a portion of what God has saidon this subject:

We are to follow Paul’s ex-ample, not “handling the word of

God deceitfully; but by manifesta-tion of the truth commendingourselves to every man’s con-science in the sight of God.”2 Corinthians 4:1–2.

“Let the teachers show that theyhave thoroughly learned the lesson,and are intensely interested in it. Letthere be no frivolous or superficialinterpretations of the Scriptures, but leteach be prepared to go to the bottomof the subject presented.” Counsels onSabbath School Work, 182.

“Even fiction which contains nosuggestion of impurity, and which maybe intended to teach excellent prin-ciples, is harmful. It encourages thehabit of hasty and superficialreading merely for the story. Thusit tends to destroy the power of

connected and vigorous thought; itunfits the soul to contemplate thegreat problems of duty and des-tiny.” The Ministry of Healing, 445;see also Testimonies, vol. 8, 308–309.

In the current materials, charac-ters and names are added as iffactual, making it difficult for theyoung reader—or new convert—todistinguish truth from fiction. Whenwe nurture our church on thesekinds of stories, what will happen totheir faith when they discover sometime later that some of the “facts”they recall from a story were theproduct of someone’s imagination?Furthermore, what reverence do weshow for Scripture—and to itsAuthor—when we add large por-tions of speculation or imagination toa Bible story, even adding to thewords of Christ in His conversationwith the disciples? Are we teachingrespect for the Scriptures by addinglarge amounts of speculative details?Cannot our young people thinkdeeper—or must they be entertainedby fiction? If the Word of God isuninteresting to our children, could

it be because we excite our childrenwith worldly, sensational entertain-ment during the week?

2. Illustrations

We say we are presenting thegospel to our young people. Dothe profuse cartoon-style illustra-tions used depict the vital natureof Bible truths? Do they conveyreverence? What do they “say” tothe children about what they arestudying? Will not the surrealisticillustrations place the Bible storieson the same level as a cartoon orfairy tale?

Television, video and computergames, and other media offer stiffcompetition with our own publica-tions. As long as we are feeding our

children a mental diet centeredaround such empty entertainmentduring the week, our children will notbe interested in learning about theBible—even if we try to mimic theworld in our manner of illustration.

God’s way of captivating ourinterest is not by imitating theworld, but by showing somethingsuperior to what the world offers.Let us convey through our illustra-tions that the lessons are notChristian fiction—they are from theholy Word of God.

Regarding illustrations, Godsays, “Care should be exercised inthe matter of illustrating. Muchmoney should not be invested inthis line. When there are lessons inthe pictures which lead to a studyof the book itself, it is well; butwhen the pictures draw the atten-tion from the truth contained in thebook to themselves, the effort tohelp the book by illustrations is afailure. . . .

“Pictures to represent Biblescenes must be no cheap designs. . . .The knowledge which God imparts

Even if all who are involved in preparing the GraceLink

materials are sincerely, prayerfully doing what they believe is

the best, we must still evaluate the materials for ourselves.


is not of a character to belittle ourideas of sacred things. The glory ofGod must be kept before the mind’seye, not the cheap, earthly representa-tions that imprint in the memoryscenes which give a false conceptionof Christ and heavenly things. Aproper illustration of Bible scenesrequires talent of a superior quality.With these cheap, common productions,the sacred lessons of the Bibledisdain1 comparison. . . . God forbidthat we should please the devil bylowering the standard of eternaltruth by using illustrations that men,women, and children will make sportof.” Counsels to Writers and Editors,167–168.

“Many of the pictures made aregrossly false as far as truth isconcerned. Do not pictures so far

removed from the truth give voiceto falsehoods? We want to be truein all our representations of JesusChrist. . . . The ideas of many inreference to the matters pertainingto God’s work are too cheap. In theselection of pictures to illustrateholy things, a deficiency of wisdomhas been shown that God cannotapprove.” Ibid., 171.

“I hope our publications will notcome to resemble a comic almanac. Iwould not altogether condemn theuse of pictures, but let fewer beused, and only such as are goodillustrations of the subject. . . . Ifyou choose to have a few picturesand good ones, I do not object. Letillustrations be choice rather thannumerous.” Ibid., 172.

3. A Balanced Presentation ofBible Facts and Theology

This aspect may be the mostdifficult area for some to evaluate;however, I believe the GraceLinkSabbath school materials seriouslysuffer in this area. Following are a

few passages from the Spirit ofProphecy that illustrate our need tomaintain a balance between faithand works, the law and the gospel,and so on:

“Some will not make a right useof the doctrine of justification byfaith. They will present it in a one-sidedmanner, making everything of faith, andbelittling works. Others will seize thepoints that have a leaning toward error,and will ignore works altogether. Now,genuine faith always works by love;it supplies a motive power. Faith isnot an opiate, but a stimulant.Looking to Calvary will not quietyour soul into nonperformance ofduty, but will create faith that willwork, purifying the soul from allselfishness.” Review and Herald,January 24, 1893.

“While God can be just, and yetjustify the sinner through themerits of Christ, no man can coverhis soul with the garments of Christ’srighteousness while practicing knownsins, or neglecting known duties. Godrequires the entire surrender of theheart, before justification can takeplace; and in order for man to retainjustification, there must be continualobedience, through active, livingfaith that works by love andpurifies the soul.” Selected Messages,book 1, 366.

“While it [spiritualism] formerlydenounced Christ and the Bible, itnow professes to accept both. . . .Love is dwelt upon as the chiefattribute of God, but it is degradedto a weak sentimentalism, makinglittle distinction between good andevil. God’s justice, His denunciationsof sin, the requirements of His holylaw, are all kept out of sight.” TheGreat Controversy, 558.

“The soul must first be con-victed of sin before the sinner willfeel a desire to come to Christ.

[1 John 3:4 and Romans 7:7quoted.] . . . The sinner cannot beconvinced of his guilt unless heunderstands what constitutes sin. It isimpossible for an individual toexperience Bible sanctificationwhile he holds that if he believes inChrist it is immaterial whether heobeys God’s law or disobeys it.”Faith and Works, 31.

In the current materials theauthors seem to emphasize theirunderstanding of grace and justifi-cation, omitting the balance ofsanctification and principled living.The philosophy page on “Grace:Jesus Loves Me” (on thewww.gracelink.net web site, lastaccessed September 2002) states,“we want to impart the full impactof a grace orientation. Discussionsabout salvation will emphasize theactions of God toward us.” On thesurface, it appears that they aretrue to their goal. However, Ibelieve that the editors do notpresent a “grace orientation” that isgenuinely Seventh-day Adventist—as God has described it throughInspiration. Of the many inspiredpassages that illustrate the intimaterelationship of grace and obedi-ence, here are just two:

“As we look into the divinemirror, the law of God, we see theexceeding sinfulness of sin, and ourown lost condition as transgressors.But by repentance and faith we arejustified before God, and throughdivine grace enabled to render obedi-ence to His commandments.” TheSanctified Life, 81.

“While our salvation is whollydependent upon Jesus, yet we have awork to do in order that we shall besaved. The apostle says, ‘Work outyour own salvation with fear andtrembling. For it is God whichworketh in you both to will and todo of his good pleasure.’ Philippians2:12–13. The work that we are to dois not independent of what God is todo, but a work of cooperation with God.The power and the grace of God is to bewrought into the heart by the divineWorker, but some go astray here,claiming that man has a work to dothat is wholly independent of anywork of God. Another class take the

“With these cheap, common productions, the sacred lessons

of the Bible disdain comparison.”


other extreme, and say that man is freefrom all obligation, because Goddoes the whole work—both thewilling and the doing. But the trueground to take is that the human willmust be in subjection to the divinewill. The will of man is not to beforced into cooperation with divineagencies, but must be voluntarilysubmitted. Man has no power ofhimself to work out his own salva-tion. Salvation must be the result ofcooperation with divine power, andGod will not do that for man whichhe can do for himself. . . .

“The work to be done is aunited work. The divine and thehuman are to work together, andthe sinner is to depend upon grace,while rendering willing obedience tothe dictates of the Spirit of God.” Signsof the Times, February 12, 1894.

4. Reverent, AppropriateActivities in Teachers’ Quar-terly

Chapter 79 of Child Guidanceteaches us our responsibility toguard the sacredness of the Sab-bath while seeking to make it themost delightful day of the week forour children. I urge you to read itprayerfully.

Many of the suggested activitiesin the GraceLink teachers’ quarter-lies (particularly the Junior quarter-lies) are shallow entertainment,irreverent, or otherwise inappropri-ate on the Sabbath or in the Sabbathschool classroom. God says, “Ifthou turn away thy foot from thesabbath, from doing thy pleasureon my holy day; and call thesabbath a delight, the holy of theLORD, honourable; and shalt honourhim, not doing thine own ways, norfinding thine own pleasure, norspeaking thine own words: thenshalt thou delight thyself in theLORD; and I will cause thee to rideupon the high places of the earth,and feed thee with the heritage ofJacob thy father: for the mouth ofthe LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah58:13–14.

Other Concerns

Lessons are planned so thatchildren will not study the lesson

in advance. Thus, we are told, allthe students will arrive at Sabbathschool with no knowledge of theBible story, so that some childrenwill not know all the answers whilethe other children are made to feelinferior.

In reality, any primary or juniorchildren who have been properlyinstructed by their parents willsoon be familiar with most of theBible stories they hear at Sabbathschool and will remember much ofwhat happened in the story—evenif they did not study it the weekbefore. Therefore, rather thanhelping all the children to feel goodabout themselves, we are actually

only reducing our expectations ofthem and decreasing their incentiveto study.

Contrary to the above approach,the Lord has told us that we shouldhelp our children study theirlessons during the week, so thatthey will have learned the lessonfor the coming Sabbath:

“As a means of intellectualtraining, the opportunities of theSabbath are invaluable. Let theSabbath school lesson be learned,not by a hasty glance at the lessonscripture on Sabbath morning, butby careful study for the next week onSabbath afternoon, with dailyreview or illustration during theweek. Thus the lesson will becomefixed in the memory, a treasurenever to be wholly lost.” Counselson Sabbath School Work, 43; see alsoibid., 54. How much better it wouldbe to encourage parents to helptheir children study their lessons!

The teacher’s quarterly alsorecommends that much of the classtime be spent in games, dialogue,crafts, role plays, and other exer-cises, leaving little time for actualstudy and exploration of the Bible.

Because of this plan, there is afrequent consultation of feelings andpersonal experience rather than afocus on consulting God’s Word toknow His principles. We have muchcounsel from the Spirit of Prophecythat when we are making decisionsbetween right and wrong, we are notto rely upon our own feelings orexperience in the place of a “thussaith the Lord.” See Faith and Works,52–53; The Seventh-day Adventist BibleCommentary, vol. 5, 1147; The UpwardLook, 37.

In the GraceLink program, thereis little or no expectation that thechildren will learn their memorytext. How sad! Today, it is as

important as ever to fix the Wordof God in our mind:

“Parents, set apart a little time eachday for the study of the Sabbath schoollesson with your children. Give up thesocial visit if need be, rather thansacrifice the hour devoted to theprecious lessons of sacred history.Parents, as well as children, willreceive benefit from this study. Letthe more important passages of Scriptureconnected with the lesson be committedto memory, not as a task, but as aprivilege. Though at first the memorymay be defective, it will gainstrength by exercise, so that after atime you will delight thus to treasureup the precious words of truth. Andthe habit will prove a most valuableaid to religious growth.” Ibid., 41–42.

Standing By Principle

I have a great burden for ouryoung people. I am not appealingfor us to retain a “tradition;”neither am I one who “thrives oncriticism and complaining” (as theGraceLink web site’s FAQs pagedescribes those who oppose theGraceLink material). I look at it thisway: if I am aware that someone

Many of the suggested activities in the GraceLink teachers’

quarterlies . . . are shallow entertainment, irreverent, or

otherwise inappropriate on the Sabbath or in the Sabbath

school classroom.


has served you a delicious dessertwith just a drop or two of strych-nine, it does not matter how manypositive things that I can say aboutthe dessert, I must warn you thatyou are in mortal danger if you eatit. See The Great Controversy, 587.That is why I have focused on thenegative aspects of the GraceLinkcurriculum.

Our youth need godly parentsand teachers, and solid, Bible-basedinstruction to prepare them forSatan’s overwhelming delusions.We need to prepare our youth toreceive the latter rain and to standvictorious, without fault beforeGod, in His divine power. It isurgent that our Sabbath schoolmaterials contribute to this end.When our church leaders produce

curriculum that we believe meetswith God’s approval, we willpraise the Lord.

Dear reader, if you are convictedthat these materials are dangerous tothe salvation of our children, I urgeyou to express your concerns to yourlocal church, conference leaders, andto the General Conference. Let us notbe guilty of silence while our chil-dren are being led down the broadroad to destruction.

I pray that the Lord will guideour leaders and members as eachperson influences the decisionsregarding the Sabbath schoolmaterials provided to God’sremnant church. !

Note:1

To deem unworthy.

mold. Let everything connectedwith the giving of the message forthis time bear the divine impress.Let nothing of a theatrical nature bepermitted, for this would spoil thesacredness of the work.” Ibid., 137.

Looking For Answers in WrongPlaces

“My people have committedtwo sins: They have forsaken me,the spring of living water, andhave dug their own cisterns,broken cisterns that cannot hold

water.” Jeremiah 2:13, NIV. “Nowwhy go to Egypt to drink waterfrom the Shihor? And why go toAssyria to drink water from theRiver?” Verse 18.

Why do we go to the world tolearn how to preach the gospel? Dowe not have counsel from God?—As a matter of fact, we havefabulous counsel—and an abun-dance of it! You really would nothave to look any further than thebook Evangelism, but the manyother Spirit of Prophecy books alsoaddress every issue in principle—ifnot specifically. Yes, times have

continued from page 7...

This open letter is adapted from a letterthat was sent to the General Confer-ence March 17, 2002, which listedexamples of the various problems. Acopy of the full letter is available uponrequest.

While we await the neededchanges in the GraceLink materials,some churches have chosen to useappropriate alternative materials intheir Sabbath schools. Some timeago someone shared with us a listof more than a dozen sources ofchildren’s Sabbath school lessons,teachers’ aids, and other helpfulresources. If you would like a copyof this list, please request it fromHope International.

changed, but the principles Godgave Moses are still valid today.Likewise, the Spirit of Prophecy,inspired by God, has life-givinginformation that, if internalized,would transform our lives andsubsequently our worship services,our evangelism techniques and ourpersonal ministries.

“When Christ is in us the hopeof glory, we are constantly directedto think and act in reference to theglory of God. The questions willarise, ‘Will this do honor to Jesus?Will this be approved of by Him?’ ”That I May Know Him, 193. !

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All of us should be determined to understand howdiet relates to health.

“Our bodies are constructed from what we eat;and in order to make tissues of good quality, wemust have the right kind of food, and it must beprepared with such skill as will best adapt it to the

wants of the system. It is a religious duty for thosewho cook to learn how to prepare healthful food ina variety of ways, so that it may be both palatableand healthful.” Child Guidance, 373.

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fter Israel wandered almost40 years in the wilderness,God called them to enter

the Promised Land. The call wasidentical to the one given to thechurch in the wilderness at MountHoreb more than 38 years before.It was time for the test to berepeated.

“The LORD our God spake untous in Horeb, saying, Ye have dweltlong enough in this mount: Turnyou, and take your journey, and goto the mount of the Amorites, andunto all the places nigh thereunto,in the plain, in the hills, and in thevale, and in the south, and by thesea side, to the land of theCanaanites, and unto Lebanon,unto the great river, the riverEuphrates. Behold, I have set theland before you: go in and possessthe land which the LORD swareunto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob, to give unto them and totheir seed after them.”Deuteronomy 1:6–8.

It is evident that God was readyto cut short the 40-year sentence.

“Then we turned, and took ourjourney into the wilderness by theway of the Red sea, as the LORDspake unto me: and we compassedmount Seir many days. And the

LORD spake unto me, saying, Yehave compassed this mountainlong enough: turn you northward.”Deuteronomy 2:1–3.

38 Years of Preparation

Let us remember, it took 40years in the wilderness to prepareMoses for his work as a leader andprophet:

“Moses did not merely think ofGod, he saw Him. God was theconstant vision before him. Neverdid he lose sight of His face.

“To Moses faith was no guess-work; it was a reality. He believedthat God ruled his life in particular;and in all its details he acknowl-edged Him. For strength to with-stand every temptation, he trustedin Him.

“The great work assigned himhe desired to make in the highestdegree successful, and he placedhis whole dependence upon divinepower. He felt his need of help,asked for it, by faith grasped it, andin the assurance of sustainingstrength went forward.

“Such was the experience thatMoses gained by his forty years oftraining in the desert. To impartsuch an experience, Infinite Wis-dom counted not the period too

long or the price too great.” Educa-tion, 63–64.

“And there arose not a prophetsince in Israel like unto Moses,whom the LORD knew face to face.”Deuteronomy 34:10.

The Test Repeated

Israel returned to Kadesh,where they had rebelled 38 yearsbefore, and, shortly before theirarrival, God tested them by dryingup the river of water that hadsupplied their needs:

“And there was no water for thecongregation: and they gatheredthemselves together against Mosesand against Aaron.” Numbers 20:2.

Before God would allow themto possess the land, they mustshow their faith in His promises toAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Theymust walk by faith rather than bysight.

“When the poor and needy seekwater, and there is none, and theirtongue faileth for thirst, I the LORDwill hear them, I the God of Israelwill not forsake them.” Isaiah 41:17.

“Just before the Hebrew hostreached Kadesh, the living streamceased that for so many years hadgushed out beside their encamp-ment. It was the Lord’s purpose

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The Exodus and theLatter Rain

The Exodus and theLatter Rain


again to test His people. He wouldprove whether they would trustHis providence or imitate theunbelief of their fathers.

“They were now in sight of thehills of Canaan. A few days’ marchwould bring them to the borders ofthe Promised Land. They were buta little distance from Edom, whichbelonged to the descendants ofEsau, and through which lay theappointed route to Canaan. Thedirection had been given to Moses,‘Turn you northward. And com-mand thou the people, saying, Yeare to pass through the coast ofyour brethren the children of Esau,which dwell in Seir; and they shallbe afraid of you. . . . Ye shall buymeat of them for money, that yemay eat; and ye shall also buy

water of them for money, that yemay drink.’ Deuteronomy 2:3–6.These directions should have beensufficient to explain why theirsupply of water had been cut off;they were about to pass through awell-watered, fertile country, in adirect course to the land of Canaan.God had promised them an unmo-lested passage through Edom, anopportunity to purchase food, andalso water sufficient to supply thehost. The cessation of the miracu-lous flow of water should thereforehave been a cause of rejoicing, atoken that the wilderness wander-ing was ended. Had they not beenblinded by their unbelief, theywould have understood this. Butthat which should have been anevidence of the fulfillment of God’spromise was made the occasion ofdoubt and murmuring. The peopleseemed to have given up all hopethat God would bring them intopossession of Canaan, and theyclamored for the blessings of thewilderness.

“Before God permitted them toenter Canaan, they must show thatthey believed His promise.”Patriarchs and Prophets, 413–414.

Israel must first thirst for thespiritual water. They had no desirefor the Water of Life. This was thecause of the first rebellion atKadesh. Had the 38 years ofwandering in the wilderness giventhem the understanding of God’srequirements—His conditions—fortheir entry into Canaan?

The Second Failure

“And the LORD spake untoMoses, saying, Take the rod, andgather thou the assembly together,thou, and Aaron thy brother, andspeak ye unto the rock before theireyes; and it shall give forth his

water, and thou shalt bring forth tothem water out of the rock: so thoushalt give the congregation andtheir beasts drink. And Moses tookthe rod from before the LORD, as hecommanded him. And Moses andAaron gathered the congregationtogether before the rock, and hesaid unto them, Hear now, yerebels; must we fetch you water outof this rock? And Moses lifted uphis hand, and with his rod hesmote the rock twice: and the watercame out abundantly, and thecongregation drank, and theirbeasts also. And the LORD spakeunto Moses and Aaron, Because yebelieved me not, to sanctify me inthe eyes of the children of Israel,therefore ye shall not bring thiscongregation into the land which Ihave given them. This is the waterof Meribah; because the children ofIsrael strove with the LORD, and hewas sanctified in them.” Numbers20:7–13.

As we noted earlier, the cessa-tion of the flow of the river of water

should have been a sign to themthat their wandering was over. Thissign should have brought greatrejoicing in the camp; however,they were blinded by their unbelief.In their spiritual blindness they hadlost all hope of the vision of theirinheritance. In their blindness, theynow clamored for the wilderness,the river of water, and the mannato supply their physical needs.“Where there is no vision, thepeople perish.” Proverbs 29:18.

“The water ceased before theyhad reached Edom. Here was anopportunity for them, for a littletime, to walk by faith instead ofsight. But the first trial developedthe same turbulent, unthankfulspirit that had been manifested bytheir fathers. No sooner was the cryfor water heard in the encampmentthan they forgot the Hand that hadfor so many years supplied theirwants, and instead of turning toGod for help, they murmuredagainst Him, in their desperationexclaiming, ‘Would God that wehad died when our brethren diedbefore the LORD!’ (see Numbers20:1–13); that is, they wished theyhad been of the number who weredestroyed in the rebellion ofKorah.” Ibid., 414.

Because of the second failure atKadesh, Israel must suffer furtherdelay. They must make a longdetour around Edom. God’s churchmust now wait the full 40 years.

The Advent Movement

The tragic history of the Exodusmovement has a counterpart—anantitype—in the Advent move-ment. The same test given in theExodus movement came to ourbeloved church at Minneapolis in1888. Our rejection of theLaodicean message in 1888 resultedin a long delay:

“The long night of gloom istrying; but the morning is deferredin mercy, because if the Mastershould come, so many would befound unready. God’s unwilling-ness to have His people perish hasbeen the reason for so long delay.But the coming of the morning tothe faithful, and of the night to the

Israel must first thirst for the spiritual water. They had no

desire for the Water of Life. This was the cause of the first

rebellion at Kadesh.


unfaithful, is right upon us. Bywaiting and watching, God’speople are to manifest their pecu-liar character, their separation fromthe world. By our watching posi-tion we are to show that we aretruly strangers and pilgrims uponthe earth. The difference betweenthose who love the world and thosewho love Christ is so plain as to beunmistakable. While worldlings areall earnestness and ambition tosecure earthly treasure, God’speople are not conformed to theworld, but show by their earnest,watching, waiting position thatthey are transformed; that theirhome is not in this world, but thatthey are seeking a better country,even a heavenly.” Testimonies, vol.2, 194.

Only as we repent, confess, andwalk in humility before the Lordwill He heal our spiritual blindnessand purify the Advent movement.

“God takes men upon trial; Heproves them on the right hand andon the left, and thus they areeducated, trained, disciplined.Jesus, our Redeemer, man’s repre-sentative and head, endured thistesting process. He suffered morethan we can be called upon tosuffer. He bore our infirmities andwas in all points tempted as we are.He did not suffer thus on His ownaccount, but because of our sins;and now, relying on the merits ofour Overcomer, we may becomevictors in His name.

“God’s work of refining andpurifying must go on until Hisservants are so humbled, so dead toself, that, when called into activeservice, their eye will be single toHis glory. He will then accept theirefforts; they will not move rashly,from impulse; they will not rush onand imperil the Lord’s cause, beingslaves to temptations and passionsand followers of their own carnalminds set on fire by Satan. Oh, howfearfully is the cause of Godmarred by man’s perverse will andunsubdued temper! How muchsuffering he brings upon himself byfollowing his own headstrongpassions! God brings men over theground again and again, increasing

the pressure until perfect humilityand a transformation of characterbring them into harmony withChrist and the spirit of heaven, andthey are victors over themselves.”Ibid., vol. 4, 86.

Will the Advent movement failanother test as did Israel atKadesh? The Seventh-day Adven-tist Church has again arrived attheir Kadesh. Our long wanderingin the wilderness of this sinfulworld is about over. The faithfuland loyal Seventh-day Adventistscan now see the hills of the Prom-ised Land. The evidence in theworld and in the church is over-whelming. We are almost home!

Let us remember, only thefaithful in Israel could enterCanaan, and only the faithful,loyal, and obedient Seventh-dayAdventists will enter the heavenlyCanaan.

The Latter Rain

The experience God offeredthe church in the Laodiceanmessage—righteousness byfaith—in 1888 was the opportu-nity to receive the latter rain. SeeTestimonies to Ministers, 89–104;Selected Messages, book 1, 234–235,363; The Seventh-day AdventistBible Commentary, vol. 7, 985.

Instead of entering the heavenlyPromised Land soon after 1888, wehave been wandering in thewilderness. Again God is offeringthe leaders, pastors, and laity of thechurch the opportunity to preparefor and to receive the latter rain.Who will respond? Jesus said,“Many are called, but few arechosen.” Matthew 22:14.

“Already the judgments of Godare abroad in the land, as seen instorms, in floods, in tempests, inearthquakes, in peril by land and

by sea. The great I AM is speakingto those who make void His law.When God’s wrath is poured outupon the earth, who will then beable to stand? Now is the time forGod’s people to show themselvestrue to principle. When the religionof Christ is most held in contempt,when His law is most despised,then should our zeal be the warm-est and our courage and firmnessthe most unflinching. To stand indefense of truth and righteousnesswhen the majority forsake us, tofight the battles of the Lord whenchampions are few—this will beour test. At this time we mustgather warmth from the coldness of

others, courage from their coward-ice, and loyalty from their treason.The nation will be on the side of thegreat rebel leader.

“The test will surely come.Thirty-six years ago I was shownthat what is now transpiringwould take place, that the obser-vance of an institution of thepapacy would be enforced uponthe people by a Sunday law,while the sanctified rest day ofJehovah would be trampledunderfoot. . . . Now is the timewhen we should closely connectwith God, that we may be hidwhen the fierceness of His wrathis poured upon the sons of men.We have wandered away from theold landmarks. Let us return. Ifthe Lord be God, serve Him; ifBaal, serve him. Which side willyou be on?” Testimonies, vol. 5,136–137; see also ibid., 77–83.

God has offered us another callafter our long delay in the wilder-ness of the world. Will we re-spond? The latter rain is comingsoon. Let us prepare now to meetour loving, patient Redeemer, JesusChrist! !

Again God is offering the leaders, pastors, and laity of the

church the opportunity to prepare for and to receive the latter

rain. Who will respond?


uring the first decade of this[twentieth] century, theSeventh-day Adventist

Church experienced the Kelloggapostasy. It was described by EllenWhite as “the alpha of deadlyheresies.” Selected Messages, book 1,200. Assessing not only the damagewrought by this subtle insurrec-tion, but also an even more devas-tating one yet to come, the servant

of the Lord wrote: “Be not de-ceived; many will depart from thefaith, giving heed to seducingspirits and doctrines of devils. Wehave now before us the alpha ofthis danger. The omega will be of amost startling nature.” Ibid., 197.

In the August [1977] issue of TheMinistry we restated some of theidentifying marks of the alpha withits “deadly heresies.” It perhapswas somewhat of a prototype ofwhat we may expect will threatenthe unity of the church again in thenot-too-distant future. It would bewell for every Seventh-dayAdventist leader to prayerfully

study the subtle plans of theapostate “angel of light” as heseeks to thwart the triumph of theAdvent movement. Get out yourBibles and the Spirit of Prophecy(especially Selected Messages, book1, 193–200). On your knees con-sider these startling facts faithfullychronicled by the Lord’s servant.By following the warnings of theSpirit of Prophecy the church was

saved some seven decades ago.Following the same inspiredcounsel may well save the churchagain before the work is finished.

Note well what Ellen Whitewarns could mark the work of theomega:

1. “The principles of truth thatGod in His wisdom has given tothe remnant church, would bediscarded.” Ibid., 204.

2. “The truth will be criticized,scorned, and derided.” Ibid., 201.

3. It will “make of no effect thetruth of heavenly origin.” Ibid., 204.

4. “Our religion would bechanged.” Ibid.

5. “The Sabbath of course,would be lightly regarded, as alsothe God Who created it.” Ibid., 205.

6. “The fundamental principlesthat have sustained the work forthe last fifty years [1850–1900]would be accounted as error.”Ibid., 204.

7. There would be a “supposi-tion that a great reformation was totake place among Seventh-dayAdventists, and that this reforma-tion would consist in giving up thedoctrines which stand as the pillarsof our faith.” Ibid.

8. “A system of intellectualphilosophy would be introduced.”Ibid.

9. The new philosophy would“rob the people of God of their pastexperience, giving them instead afalse science.” Ibid.

10. It would seek to weaken thepreaching of the Second Advent byteaching “that the scenes justbefore us are not of sufficientimportance to be given specialattention.” Ibid.

11. “Books of a new orderwould be written.” Ibid.

12. “A new organization wouldbe established.” Ibid.

13. “Nothing would be allowedto stand in the way of the newmovement.” Ibid., 205.

Now go back over these thirteenpoints. Study them carefully andprayerfully. You may have to meetthem sooner than you expect. Theseeds of such apostasy are in thechurches of Christendom allaround us. Before Jesus returns, theSeventh-day Adventist Churchmay well be confronted with acrisis that will exceed in magnitudethe Kellogg alpha apostasy. It “willbe of a most startling nature.”

Knowing what is ahead for thepeople of God should keep us asleaders on our knees and alert forevery subtle move of the evil one.This is God’s church and the gatesof hell shall not prevail against it,but God’s leaders must be eternallyvigilant. !

Originally published in The Minis-try, October 1977.

R o b e r t P i e r s o n

By following the warnings of the Spirit of Prophecy the church

was saved some seven decades ago. Following the same

inspired counsel may well save the church again before the

work is finished.

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The Omegaof

Apostasy

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y the time Jesus gave thedisciples the great commis-sion in Matthew 28:19–20,

they all believed and understoodthe prophecies relating to Jesus,His ministry, and His being theLamb of God to take away our sin.We can imagine that they wereeager to go and share the goodnews (the gospel) with everyone.

Jesus gave the eager disciplesdirection, followed by a mildcaution: they were to wait for“power from on high.” Luke 24:49.“The Saviour knew that no argu-ment, however logical, would melthard hearts or break through the

crust of worldliness and selfish-ness. He knew that His disciplesmust receive the heavenly endow-ment; that the gospel would beeffective only as it was proclaimedby hearts made warm and lipsmade eloquent by a living knowl-edge of Him Who is the Way, theTruth, and the Life. The workcommitted to the disciples wouldrequire great efficiency; for the tideof evil ran deep and strong againstthem.” Acts of the Apostles, 31.

When the power of the HolySpirit came, they preached so thatHe could convict the listeners’hearts; and success followed

because they cooperated with theSpirit. “In Jerusalem were manywho secretly believed Jesus ofNazareth to be the Messiah, andmany who had been deceived bypriests and rulers. To these thegospel must be proclaimed. Theywere to be called to repentance. Thewonderful truth that throughChrist alone could remission ofsins be obtained, was to be madeplain. And it was while all Jerusa-lem was stirred by the thrillingevents of the past few weeks, thatthe preaching of the discipleswould make the deepest impres-sion.” Ibid., 31–32.

Evangelism

and the Holy Spirit

J o h n K o r p o n a y

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Evangelism

and the Holy Spirit


Normally the Spirit speaks toall through the conscience andother avenues such as the Bible ornature. See Romans 2:15. How-ever, when someone is unwillingto listen through these avenues,the Spirit does not abandon thesinner right away. He continuesto try to warn him of his condi-tion some other way, often usingwords from somebody theycannot claim not to hear. Thus,God sent prophets so that peoplecould not claim ignorance andtherefore place the blame uponGod, saying they were notwarned about coming events.

Two examples from thegospel of this way of workingby God to save sinners are: 1.Jesus opening up to Nicodemusthe real need of his life; and 2.Jesus exposing the rich youngruler’s well-concealed sin of theheart. We have also been giventhis counsel:

“And because the Spirit is tocome, not to praise men or tobuild up their erroneous theories,but to reprove the world of sin,and of righteousness, and ofjudgment, many turn away fromit. They are not willing to bedeprived of the garments of theirown self-righteousness. They arenot willing to exchange their ownrighteousness, which is unright-eousness, for the righteousness ofChrist, which is pure, unadulter-ated truth. The Holy Spirit flattersno man, neither does it workaccording to the devising of anyman. Finite, sinful men are not towork the Holy Spirit. When itshall come as a reprover, throughany human agent whom Godshall choose, it is man’s place tohear and obey its voice.” Testimo-nies to Ministers, 65.

The First Step

According to Jesus, the firstwork of the Holy Spirit is to convictof sin: “And when he is come, hewill reprove the world of sin, andof righteousness, and of judg-ment.” John 16:8.

“The first step in reconciliationto God is the conviction of sin. ‘Sinis the transgression of the law.’1 John 3:4. ‘By the law is theknowledge of sin.’ Romans 3:20.”The Great Controversy, 467.

Why is it necessary to followthis order?—The answer is reallysimple: because sin is what causes

the separation between God andus. The worst part of the separationis that we do not even recognize abreach being there! “The soul mustfirst be convicted of sin, before thesinner will feel a desire to come toChrist.” Review and Herald, March8, 1881.

“Those who have not humbledtheir souls before God in acknowl-edging their guilt, have not yetfulfilled the first condition ofacceptance. . . .

“When sin has deadened themoral perceptions, the wrongdoerdoes not discern the defects of hischaracter nor realize the enormityof the evil he has committed; andunless he yields to the convictingpower of the Holy Spirit he re-mains in partial blindness to hissin.” Steps to Christ, 37–38, 40.

“If men would only give uptheir spirit of resistance to the HolySpirit—the spirit which has longbeen leavening their religiousexperience—God’s Spirit wouldaddress itself to their hearts. Itwould convince of sin. What a work!”Testimonies to Ministers, 393.

Sometimes the Spirit is able toconvict a person of his lost condi-

tion without the aid of a humanpreacher. However, the case ofmany people is different—as withthe woman at the well. She thoughtshe was all right, as good as anyothers she saw in her “church;” butshe needed conviction of sin. Jesushad to point out the specific sins inher life so that she could see hertrue condition—sinful. She thenknew what she must do to acceptand live Christ’s righteousness, inorder to be ready for the judgment.

According to Paul, it is throughthe law that we become aware ofthe sinfulness of sin, hence our lostcondition. “What shall we saythen? Is the law sin? God forbid.Nay, I had not known sin, but bythe law: for I had not known lust,except the law had said, Thou shaltnot covet.” Romans 7:7. “Whereforethe law is holy, and the command-ment holy, and just, and good.”Verse 12. Also in Galatians 3:24, hesays that the law is to “bring usunto Christ.” See above reference,margin NKJV. And after the sinneris convicted of his sin, he trulydesires the salvation that Godoffers, and has the initial incentiveto walk in the Spirit, doing right-eousness, making him ready for thejudgment. See Romans 7:24–25; 8:1.

So, we see that God’s way toget the attention of sinners is byhelping them to see the sinful-ness of their ways and theircondemnation in the judgment;then He offers His love, mercy,and grace to all who will repent.“For godly sorrow workethrepentance to salvation not to berepented of: but the sorrow of theworld worketh death.”2 Corinthians 7:10.

For another example in this wayof evangelizing, read the story ofPeter’s sermon on the day ofPentecost, which was blessed withgreat success, in Acts 2:22–40.

Skipping the First Step

However, Satan has thwartedthis process in a very cunning way.To short circuit or bypass the stepsthe Holy Spirit uses to get people’sattention, he offers another way, acounterfeit of the real.

The voice of the Spirit, who is trying to bring conviction to the

hearer, is quieted by a soothing message that is true, but

which is given at a wrong time.





In contrast to the biblical way ofwitnessing, some are telling us weshould get attention another way—by only presenting how much Godloves us and that He died for usjust as we are. Now, these are verywonderful truths, but humannature being how it is, when we donot have a changed heart, we hearthis and think, “I really should tryto be better, but I can’t; but Jesusloves me as I am anyway, so all Ihave to do is believe, which I do, soI am ready for Jesus to come.” Youhear this way of preaching, more orless, by the other denominations,and sadly, even in our own Sev-enth-day Adventist churches.

This is how the voice of theSpirit, who is trying to bringconviction to the hearer, is quietedby a soothing message that is true,but which is given at a wrong time.That which should have been acertain, trumpet-sound of warning,Satan managed to turn into a“peace and safety” message,settling people into a deadly, carnalsecurity when destruction is aboutto come upon them. “Love is dweltupon as the chief attribute of God,but it is degraded to a weaksentimentalism, making littledistinction between good and evil.God’s justice, His denunciations ofsin, the requirements of His holylaw, are all kept out of sight. Thepeople are taught to regard theDecalogue as a dead letter. Pleas-ing, bewitching fables captivate thesenses and lead men to reject the

Bible as the foundation of theirfaith. Christ is as verily denied asbefore; but Satan has so blinded theeyes of the people that the decep-tion is not discerned.” The GreatControversy, 558.

Suppose you are sick and needa doctor to diagnose your problem,but you are told to see a lawyerfirst. Although this advice could bevery sincere and good, if followed,by the time you get to a doctor youmight be dead if the conditionneeded immediate attention. This isan example of good counsel givenat the wrong time, and in this sameway the false prophets of thechurches of Babylon have beenadvising people for a long time.

“The office of the Holy Spirit isdistinctly specified in the words ofChrist: ‘When he is come, he willreprove the world of sin, and ofrighteousness, and of judgment.’John 16:8. It is the Holy Spirit thatconvicts of sin. If the sinner respondsto the quickening influence of theSpirit, he will be brought to repentanceand aroused to the importance ofobeying the divine requirements. . . .

Having brought conviction ofsin, and presented before the mindthe standard of righteousness, theHoly Spirit withdraws the affec-tions from the things of this earthand fills the soul with a desire forholiness. ‘He will guide you into alltruth’ (verse 13), the Saviourdeclared. If men are willing to bemolded, there will be broughtabout a sanctification of the whole

being. The Spirit will take thethings of God and stamp them onthe soul. By His power the way oflife will be made so plain that noneneed err therein.” The Acts of theApostles, 52–53.

It is obvious by the state ofChristianity today what the fruitsof such deceptive “soul winning”bring. This is why Jesus warned usthat “if it were possible, they shalldeceive the very elect.” Matthew24:24.

It is very disheartening that weas Seventh-day Adventists, whohave been called to preach thethird angel’s message—to warnpeople of impending doom, andto come out of Babylon—haveadopted the same methods andtheology of evangelism andpreaching. The fruits of thismethodology and way of thinkingare also very apparent in ourchurch’s inability to stand as apeculiar people, as we once were.

The reason I write this is toencourage you not to be afraid tocall sin by its right name, then offerthe salvation Jesus has to experi-ence the power of the Holy Spirit toovercome, making us ready forjudgment. And in this way, youcan cooperate with the Holy Spiritto give the third angels’ message;and as it swells into a loud cry, youwill be prepared and ready to givethe final call out of Babylon.

May God help us to do this forour lost world and our waywardchurch. !

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ur light affliction, which isbut for a moment, workethfor us a far more exceeding

and eternal weight of glory; whilewe look not at the things which areseen, but at the things which arenot seen: for the things which areseen are temporal; but the thingswhich are not seen are eternal.”2 Corinthians 4:17–18. If our mindsare fixed upon the things that areeternal, and not on the things ofearth, we shall grasp the hand ofinfinite power, and what can makeus sad? What can make us doubt?What can separate our souls fromthe Lord? Paul says, “I am per-suaded, that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, norpowers, nor things present, northings to come, nor height, nordepth, nor any other creature, shallbe able to separate us from the loveof God, which is in Christ Jesus ourLord.” Romans 8:38–39.

I am thankful that we need notbe left a prey to Satan’s power. Weneed not be left to be driven thisway and that. We need not beblinded by the delusions of Satan,but may have our eyes anointed so

that we may see things as theyreally are. The children of Godshould not permit Satan to placehimself between them and theirGod. If you permit him to do this,he will tell you that your troublesare the most grievous, the soresttroubles that any mortal ever bore.He will place his magnifyingglasses before your eyes, andpresent everything to you in anexaggerated form to overwhelmyou with discouragement.

You should have your eyesanointed with the heavenly eye-salve. You should take the Word ofGod as the man of your counsel,and humble your doubting soulbefore God, and with contrition ofheart say, “Here I lay my burdendown. I cannot bear it. It is tooheavy for me. I lay it down at thefeet of my compassionate Re-deemer.”

We must not think that we shallescape trials; for the apostle says,“That the trial of your faith, beingmuch more precious than of goldthat perisheth, though it be triedwith fire, might be found untopraise and honor and glory at the

appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter1:7. Gold is tried in the fire, that itmay be purified from dross; butfaith that is purified by trial, ismore precious than refined gold.Then let us look upon trials in areasonable way. Let us not comethrough them with murmuring anddiscontent. Let us not make mis-takes in getting out of them. Intimes of trial we must cling to Godand His promises.

Some have said to me, “Do younot get discouraged at times whenyou are under trial?” And I haveanswered, “Yes, if by discourage-ment you mean sad or cast down.”“Didn’t you talk to anyone of yourfeelings?” “No; there is a time forsilence, a time to keep the tongueas with a bridle, and I was deter-mined to utter no word of doubt ordarkness, to bring no shade ofgloom upon those with whom Iwas associated. I have said tomyself, I will bear the Refiner’s fire;I shall not be consumed. When Ispeak, it shall be of light; it shall beof faith and hope in God; it shall beof righteousness, of goodness, ofthe love of Christ my Saviour; it

“O

How to MeetDiscouragement

How to MeetDiscouragement

E l l e n G . W h i t eE l l e n G . W h i t e


shall be to direct the minds ofothers toward heaven and heav-enly things, to Christ’s work inheaven for us, and our work uponearth for Him.”

Christ is cleansing the temple inheaven from the sins of the people,and we must work in harmonywith Him upon the earth, cleansingthe soul temple from its moraldefilement. If we will work thus,we shall find that the sweet influ-ence of God’s Spirit will bewrought into our life. Grace andpeace and strength will take theplace of strife and weakness, andinstead of talking of discourage-ment and gloom, we shall speak ofGod’s light and love and joy. Weshall be looking at the things thatare not seen, which are not tempo-ral, but eternal. When we engage inthis work, the angels of God willdraw near to communicate divinepower, and combine heavenlystrength with human weakness.Then we shall grow into the imageof our Lord.

We shall be learning how tobelieve in Him, learning how tocommit our souls to Him, as unto afaithful Creator. The apostle says,“It is God that worketh in you bothto will and to do of his goodpleasure.” Philippians 2:13. And asa result, our mental and spiritualpowers increase. As we learn ofChrist, we shall understand how tokeep our spiritual strength, weshall feed on the Word of God, andwe shall have the blessed experi-ence described by the apostle inthese words: “Whom having notseen, ye love; in whom, thoughnow ye see him not, yet believing,ye rejoice with joy unspeakable andfull of glory.” 1 Peter 1:8.

The children of God may rejoicein all things and at all times. Whentroubles and difficulties come,believing in the wise providencesof God, you may rejoice. You neednot wait for a happy flight offeeling, but by faith you may layhold of the promises, and lift up ahymn of thanksgiving to God.When Satan tempts you, breathenot a word of doubt or darkness.You may have your choice as to

who shall rule your heart andcontrol your mind. If you choose toopen the door to the suggestions ofthe evil one, your mind will befilled with distrust and rebelliousquestioning.

You may talk out your feelings,but every doubt you utter is a seedthat will germinate and bear fruitin another’s life, and it will beimpossible to counteract theinfluence of your words. You maybe able to recover from your seasonof temptation, and from the snareof Satan, but others that have beenswayed by your influence may notbe able to escape from the unbeliefyou have suggested. How impor-tant it is that we speak to thosearound us only those things whichwill give spiritual strength and

enlightenment! Let us seek to liftsouls to Jesus, whom having notseen we may love, and be filledwith joy unspeakable and full ofglory.

Memory’s hall should be hungwith sacred pictures, with views ofJesus, with lessons of His truth,with revealings of His matchlesscharms. If memory’s hall were thusfurnished, we would not look uponour lot as intolerable. We wouldnot talk of the faults of others. Oursouls would be full of Jesus andHis love. We would not desire todictate to the Lord the way that Heshould lead. We would love Godsupremely, and our neighbor asourselves.

When the joy of the Lord is inthe soul, you will not be able torepress it; you will want to tellothers of the treasure you havefound; you will speak of Jesus andHis matchless charms. We shoulddevote all to Him. Our mindsshould be educated to dwell uponthose things that will glorify God;

and if our mental powers arededicated to God, our talents willimprove, and we shall have moreand more ability to render to theMaster. We shall become channelsof light to others.

We can have a close connectionwith God and with our Saviour;and when we are connected withGod, we shall be all light in theLord, for in Him is no darkness atall. But if we connect with Satan,we shall have only darkness, for Heis the ruler of the darkness of thisworld. We shall be filled withmurmuring and complaining andevil surmising. You will have onlythe spirit of accusation against yourbrethren, and your soul will beseparated from the Source of yourstrength.

We should be thankful that it isnot too late in the day to makewrongs right. We still have theprivilege of coming to the Source oflight and power. We still may growup unto the full stature of men andwomen in Christ Jesus. But in orderto grow in grace and in the knowl-edge of our Lord Jesus, you mustmeditate upon His love, you musttalk of His power and extol Hisgrace.

While I was in England, one daythere was a great parade in thestreets. It was the Queen’s Jubilee.Everyone was talking about it. Theshop windows were filled with herpictures, and all were extolling theQueen of England.

Could we have taken from theshop windows the pictures of thequeen, and the signs of her glory,and placed instead expressions ofthe glory and majesty of Jesus,would not the people have re-garded us as religious fanatics?

You may talk out your feelings, but every doubt you utter is a

seed that will germinate and bear fruit in another’s life, and it

will be impossible to counteract the influence of your words.



Another Triumph for JohnPaul II—12 Million Cheer Popein Mexico City

News Item: “ ‘I saw the Pope withan amazing inner strength—aninvincible willpower—but at thesame time he was very serene andpeaceful, in a manner which onlysomeone close to God can be,’[David] Margáin said. ‘After thePope’s testimony, we cannot beafraid of the things life throws atus. We have to keep going, fight tillour last breath to fulfill God’splan.’ . . .

“ ‘I felt as if I could breathe thespirituality in the air,’ he [GerardoGonzález Cantú] added. ‘Therewere people who stood on theirknees for the whole ceremony. Thegroup my wife and I were with waspraying the rosary. I’m absolutelysure Our Lady of Guadalupe wasright there with us.’ . . .

“Amid the millions of faithfultrying to be near the Holy Father,cheering and applauding for him,there was a sense of spiritualityand hope, a sensation of peacefulenergy to strengthen Mexico’sfaith.” National Catholic Register,August 11–17, 2002.

End-Time Perspective: “And theyworshipped the dragon which gavepower unto the beast: and theyworshipped the beast, saying, Whois like unto the beast? who is ableto make war with him?” Revelation13:4. (All emphasis supplied unlessotherwise noted.)

“And all that dwell upon theearth shall worship him, whosenames are not written in the book oflife of the Lamb slain from thefoundation of the world.” Verse 8.

“The beast that thou sawestwas, and is not; and shall ascendout of the bottomless pit, and gointo perdition: and they that dwell onthe earth shall wonder, whose nameswere not written in the book of lifefrom the foundation of the world,when they behold the beast thatwas, and is not, and yet is.”Revelation 17:8.

What Wages and BenefitsSatan’s Kingdom Offers

News Item: “Fifty-five-year-oldSandy Cox of Hernando, Miss.,stands silently with her youngnieces and nephews over the graveadorned with plastic roses, a ‘LoveMe Tender’ votive candle and aheadstone that reads ELVISAARON PRESLEY. Cox figuresshe’s made the pilgrimage toGraceland ‘at least 200 times.’ . . .

“Even as 70,000 fans descend onMemphis, Tenn., this week for the25th anniversary of Elvis’s deathAug. 16, the corporate types whoview the late King as a $35 millionannuity can’t get away from ahaunting reality: Presley’s biggestadmirers now qualify forGraceland’s senior discount.”Newsweek, August 19, 2002.

End-Time Perspective: Thesedays, more than ever it seems,Satan comes as an angel of light.He claims to be a goodpaymaster—that those who servein his cause will receive fame,popularity, power, money, looks,and talent. Elvis is the best exampleof this in our lifetime. He had allthe above in one package. He is oneof the first notable stars who “hadit all.” We must keep in mind whatthe scripture says in Romans 6:23:“The wages of sin is death.”

At the age of about 42, hereportedly died of a drugoverdose—an illustration of thedeceptive glitter Satan puts on hiskingdom to allure us. Let us watch,anoint our eyes with eyesalve, andbe painfully honest with ourselves,lest, not seeing through the glitterand money, we fall for his

deceptions and receive his finalwages, death.

Feminism’s Victims

News Item: “Feminism has createda generation of lonely, childlesswomen. So argues Australian TVreporter Virginia Haussegger in theAustralian newspaper The Age. Shecontends that feminist role modelssteered her down the wrong path:‘The point is that whileencouraging women in the ’70s and’80s to reach for the sky, none ofour purple-clad, feminist mothersthought to tell us the truth aboutthe biological clock.’

“By putting career aboveeverything else, Ms. Hausseggersays women gave up more thanthey realize. ‘We are the ones, nowin our late 30s and early 40s, whoare suddenly sitting before asheepish doctor listening to thewords: “Well, I’m sorry, but youmay have left your run too late.Women at your age find it verydifficult to get pregnantnaturally.” ’ ” World, August 10,2002.

End-Time Perspective: “Becausethat, when they knew God, theyglorified him not as God, neitherwere thankful; but became vain intheir imaginations, and theirfoolish heart was darkened.”Romans 1:21. Contrary to theworld’s philosophy of learning bytrial and error, in the Christian walkwe learn by trusting and obeying.One of the great blessings intrusting and obeying is that we aresaved from looking back withsorrow and disappointment onhow it could have been. It keeps usfrom the kinds of mistakes thatmany times cannot be reversed. Byconsistently trusting and obeying,we can, by the Lord’s grace, seewhat sorrow and trouble we wereable to avoid.

When worldly success, honor,and respect are held up asincentives to depart from God’sstatutes and principles, you canknow for certain that it is not theway the Lord would have you


They would have thought that wewere carrying religion too far, andthat we did not know what wewere about. But did not our Masterlay aside His royal robes, Hiscrown of glory? Did He not clotheHis divinity with humanity, andcome to our world to die man’ssacrifice? Why should we not talkabout it? Why should we not dwellon His matchless love? Oh, that ourtongues might lose their paralysis,that we might speak forth Hispraise! Oh, that the spiritual torpor1

which has come upon the souls ofmen, might be removed, that wemight discern the glory of God inthe face of Jesus Christ!

proceed in your life. RememberJesus’ temptations in the wilderness!

On the Broad Road

News Item: “There’s no questionthat the seventh day is holy time.But when you’re hungering forsomething more, there’s nothingwrong with worshiping on Sundaytoo. Just don’t give up one for theother. Plus, it’s a great way towitness to others about the Bibletruth you’ve found.” AdventistReview, May 2002.

End-Time Perspective: Has itreally come to this? This advicewas given by Kay Kuzma to

continued from page 21...We are to be the representatives

of our Lord upon earth. Is it nottime to change the order of things?You who have lived only for self,will you not make haste to connectwith Christ, the light of the world?He can communicate heaven’s lightthrough you to those who sit indarkness. You that have claimed toknow the Lord, you who profess tohave tasted and seen that the Lordis good, reveal it to those aroundyou. Show forth the praises of Himwho has called you out of darknessinto His marvelous light.

If men can make so much adoover the Queen’s Jubilee, if theycan manifest so much enthusiasmover a finite being, can we notspeak to the glory of the Prince ofLife, who is soon to come in

someone who was not getting thelift they were looking for in theAdventist Church they attend.Here is the advice given to us bythe servant of the Lord:

“I was shown the necessity ofthose who believe that we arehaving the last message of mercy,being separate from those who aredaily imbibing new errors. I sawthat neither young nor old shouldattend their meetings; for it iswrong to thus encourage themwhile they teach error that is adeadly poison to the soul and teachfor doctrines the commandments ofmen. The influence of suchgatherings is not good. If God has

delivered us from such darknessand error, we should stand fast inthe liberty wherewith He has set usfree and rejoice in the truth. God isdispleased with us when we go tolisten to error, without beingobliged to go; for unless He sendsus to those meetings where error isforced home to the people by thepower of the will, He will not keepus. The angels cease their watchfulcare over us, and we are left to thebuffetings of the enemy, to bedarkened and weakened by himand the power of his evil angels;and the light around us becomescontaminated with the darkness.”Early Writings, 124. !

majesty to take His weary, wornfollowers to Himself; to unlock theprison bars of death, and set thecaptives free; to give His lovedones who sleep, a glorious immor-tality?

Why cannot Christ be intro-duced into our conversation? Weare almost home. Let us speakcourage to the weary soldiers of thecross. Let us cheer the toilingtravelers. Let us tell the pilgrimsand strangers of earth that we shallsoon reach a better country, even aheavenly. !

Note:1 Inactivity; lethargy; apathy

Review and Herald, February 11,1890.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the BibleJames Strong

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n evil is in the professed campof the Lord, so gross in itsimpudence, that the most

short-sighted can hardly fail tonotice it. During the past few yearsit has developed at an abnormalrate, even for the evil. It hasworked like leaven until the wholelump ferments. The devil has

seldom done a cleverer thing thanhinting to the church that part ofher mission is to provide entertain-ment for the people, with a view towinning them. From speaking outas the Puritans did, the church hasgradually toned down her testi-mony, then winked at and excusedthe frivolities of the day. Then shetolerated them in her borders. Nowshe has adopted them under theplea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is thatproviding amusement for thepeople is nowhere spoken of in theScriptures as a function of thechurch. If it is a Christian work,

why did not Christ speak of it? “Goye . . .” into all the world and speakthe gospel to every creature. SeeMark 16:15. That is clear enough.So it would have been if he hadadded, “and provide amusementfor those who do not relish thegospel.” No such words, however,are to be found. It did not seem to

occur to Him. Then again “he gavesome, apostles; and some, proph-ets; and some, evangelists; andsome, pastors and teachers . . . forthe work of the ministry.”Ephesians 4:11. Where do enter-tainers come in? The Holy Spirit issilent concerning them. Were theprophets persecuted because theyamused the people or because theyrefused? The concert has no [placein the] honor roll [listed above].

Again, providing amusementsis in direct antagonism to theteaching and life of Christ and allHis apostles. What was the attitudeof the church to the world? “Ye are

the salt” (Matthew 5:13), not thesugar candy—something the worldwill spit out, not swallow. Shortand sharp was the utterance: “Letthe dead bury their dead.” Mat-thew 8:22. He was in awful earnest-ness!

Had Christ introduced more ofthe bright and pleasant elementsinto His mission, He would havebeen more popular when He andHis disciples went back, because ofthe searching nature of His teach-ing. I do not hear Him say, “Runafter those people, Peter, and tellthem we will have a new kind ofservice tomorrow, something shortand attractive with little preaching.We will have a pleasant evening forthe people. Tell them they will besure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter; wemust get the people somehow!”

Jesus pitied sinners, sighed andwept over them, but never soughtto amuse them. In vain will theepistles be searched to find anytrace of the gospel of amusement.Their message is, “Come out, keepout, keep clean out!” Anythingapproaching fooling is conspicuousof its absence. They had boundlessconfidence in the gospel andemployed no other weapon. AfterPeter and John were locked up for

C h a r l e s H . S p u r g e o n

“Ye are the salt,” not the sugar candy—something the world

will spit out, not swallow.

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ost likely any professingChristian would heartilyagree that we need to

consult with God a lot. We saythat we love God and want to doHis will, yet, one of the greatesthindrances to our real walk withGod is our tendency to leave Himout of our decisions in real, dailylife. Too often when makingdecisions we use all the normalresources we can find; we makephone calls, weigh circumstances,consider the pros and cons; then,if we are still having troubledeciding, we ask God.

Do not get me wrong. Godgave us our mental capacity tothink and reason. But the problemis, we too often leave God out ofthe process too long—or some-times completely. Our heavenlyFather wants an ongoing, unbro-ken consultation with us throughthe day. Our “devotions” or“quiet time” should be the specialbeginning of an all-day commit-ment, not just something we do aspart of a routine.

One day I was going throughthe process of making a decisionregarding a special arrangementfor my daughter Emily. Our familywas going to be conducting meet-ings in California, and Emily hadbeen invited to spend a few dayswith a pastor and his family wherewe had previously conducted aseminar. She was excited about the

opportunity to help out with theirchildren and at the same timereceive some personal Spanishtutorage from the pastor’s wife.

The problem was gettingEmily from the location whereour meetings were to be held tothe pastor’s home. We had nar-rowed the choices down to eitherhaving her take the Greyhoundbus or having the pastor make along, tedious drive in Californiatraffic to pick up Emily, only toturn around and repeat the drive.I knew the pastor was very busyand the bus would save time aswell as the drive. However, I didnot really like the thought of mydaughter riding the bus either. So,I was weighing these options,pondering the pros and cons, andtrying to come up with a reason-able solution.

While I was going through thistypical human thought process, theLord prompted me with, “Whydon’t you ask Me?” Why had I notthought of that earlier? That was agreat idea! So, I got up from mydesk, walked into my prayer closet,and began to talk with the Lordabout the situation. The Lord wantsus to consult with Him about bigthings and little things. He wantsus to discuss our real-life perplexi-ties and decisions with Him. So Iasked, “Lord, what do You wantme to do?” He impressed me, “Donot have her take the bus.” I said,

“Thank you, Lord.” I had myanswer and could now make thearrangements with the pastor withthe assurance of the clear counselof my heavenly Father.

The Danger of Self-Reliance

Our counseling with God doesnot mean that we stop the processof thinking things through andweighing decisions. Neither does itmean that we will always, immedi-ately get a clear answer to everyquestion that we may pose to theLord. But notice that the Lordprompted me to come to Him andconsult with Him. The importantpoint is that God wants to partici-pate in our decision-makingprocess. He wants to help us avoidneedless, and in some cases, costlymistakes in our decisions.

Even God’s great men, likeJoshua, struggled in the same waywe do, sometimes consulting Godand other times falling into self-reliance. When there were humanlyimpossible problems, like crossingthe Jordan and overthrowingJericho, Joshua was in steadyconsultation with God. The resultwas a complete accomplishment ofthe will of God for His people. Butwhen it came to taking a little citylike Ai, or making a league with theGibeonites, who had cunninglydisguised themselves to look likedistant travelers, Joshua felt hecould handle these situations

Consulting With God

T o m W a t e r s

M


without consulting with God. Theresults were the unnecessary loss oflife and a permanent treaty withanother nation that was not inharmony with God’s purpose.

Could things have been differ-ent?—Yes! However, self-confi-dence, a lack of dependence uponGod, along with forgetting Hispromise that they would inherit theland, led Joshua to lay his planswithout counsel from God.

While it can be an encourage-ment to us that even the great menand women of Bible historystruggled with the same weak-nesses that we have and thenbecame victorious, let us be surewe are really gleaning for ourselvesthe practical lessons that theyteach.

Often, as we look back onpoorly-made decisions, we canrecognize that God was trying toget through to us in some way. Ifdecisions are made based uponcircumstances, the way thingsappear, or in haste, without con-sulting God, we are liable to createneedless trials and difficulties forourselves and others.

This is why Joshua ended upgetting into the league—or peaceagreement—with the Gibeonites.Their shoes were worn out, theirbread was moldy, their wineskinswere cracked; therefore, they mustbe telling the truth, right?

If Joshua had consulted withGod, everything would have beenrevealed very quickly and simply.

Is God Really Interested in Me?

Some people do not consultwith God because they do notreally believe that they will getanswers from Him. Some feelinadequate, unworthy, and dis-couraged. For many there is no

personal intimacy with God,therefore, it is more of a mechani-cal, religious transaction to “say myprayers.”

However, what does the om-nipotent God, our heavenly Father,say to us?—“Come now, and let usreason together, saith the LORD:though your sins be as scarlet, theyshall be as white as snow; thoughthey be red like crimson, they shallbe as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.

How far He reaches down tous—right to where we are! Evenwhile our sins are as scarlet Heoffers to reason with us andtransform us. Do we not havesufficient evidence that He lovesus, and that we can put our trust inHim?

When we come to God toconsult with Him we must believethat He is God. Oh, yes, we mightsay we believe that He is God. Yet,do we believe that this theoreticallyall-powerful God is really able totake care of each of us in oursituations right now? Do webelieve that the God who openedthe Jordan and toppled the walls ofJericho has the solutions to ourpresent questions, perplexities, orcrises? We must believe that He isGod, and that He will personallyreward us if we diligently seekHim. See Hebrews 11:6.

Surrendered to God’s Direc-tion

When we consult with God weare really allowing Him to openour understanding and adjust ourthinking and perspective. That iswhy the more we consult with Godthe more His will and His waymake sense to us, and we becomemore willing to allow Him to workin us. When our wills are surren-dered to His will, when His will for

us is accepted as our will, we areletting this mind be in us that wasalso in Christ Jesus. See Philippians2:5. This is what the apostle Paulmeant when he said, “Work outyour own salvation. . . . For it isGod which worketh in you both towill and to do of his good plea-sure.” Verses 12–13.

When we are truly consultingwith God, allowing His will tobecome our will, His power tobecome our power, then it is Godworking in us to will and to do ofHis good pleasure. So, in reality,working out our salvation is ourchoosing to cooperate with God asHe guides and transforms us.

When Joshua commanded thesun to stand still in the heavens, hewas operating in the mind ofChrist. It was God working in himto will and to do of His goodpleasure. Joshua boldly com-manded the sun to do somethingthat it was impossible for a man tomake it do. But the Bible says,“And there was no day like thatbefore it or after it, that the LORDhearkened unto the voice of aman.” Joshua 10:14. That is power-ful; it is inspiring! But friends, thepower in the man was the power ofGod. It was God—with whomJoshua had consulted before hewent to battle, and was continuingto stay in communion with duringthe battle—that inspired the boldrequest.

That same powerful, loving Godwants to consult with you and me.He wants to guide us continually.

We may never be inspired toask the sun to stand still; however,I know that the other day I wasdefinitely directed to have mymouth stand still. Has God con-sulted with you about your mouth?You see, I had asked God to put awatch upon my lips—to really bemy God for the day. I still marvel athow His Spirit is able to flash thosekinds of messages through theavenue of the mind.

I was having quite a lively, face-to-face conversation with someone.We were not arguing, we were notangry; however, this individualhad some strong opinions that I

Do we believe that the God who opened the Jordan and

toppled the walls of Jericho has the solutions to our present

questions, perplexities, or crises?


could not entirely agree with. Theperfect opportunity came for me toshare my perspective—at least Ithought it was the perfect opportu-nity—when the Lord clearly brokethrough my train of thought andsaid, “No, this is not the time.” Oh,but everything inside of me (I thinkthat is spelled SELF) just wanted tosay it, and I thought it needed to besaid, and you know how that storyusually ends. Yet, I knew that Godwas doing just what I had askedHim to do that morning, so I choseto maintain my connection withHim. I know that when by faith Iaccept His counsel I am alwaysblessed in the yielding and con-firmed in my reflection. The pointhere is not that we cannot evershare our perspective. Rather, arewe really willing to let God haveus, direct, and keep us? Are wereally willing to obey when Godsays this is not the time?

Counseling With Our BestFriend

Friends, are you taking time toconsult with God? Do you onlyconsult with Him on the things thatare obviously too big for you?Remember, Joshua thought Ai wassuch a little city, and that league heentered into with a heathen na-tion—their story just had to be true.God wants to have us consultingwith Him about everything thathas to do with our daily decisions,not because He is controlling and

dictatorial; rather, because Hereally longs to restore us and helpus live more productive andfulfilling lives.

Our daughter Allison is nearly20 years old; yet, she loves toconsult with us on the decisionsand transitions she is making inlife. She highly regards our experi-ence and respects our judgment.She is making important decisions,and, although she is very self-

motivated and mature, thankfullyshe has not picked up the attitudeof superior wisdom and resistanceto parental guidance and instruc-tion so prevalent among the youthtoday.

Parents, what a responsibilitywe have to be there for our youngpeople, to provide them withsupport, godly counsel, andencouragement! We need to becareful that we ourselves do notharbor the self-sufficient, do-it-my-way attitude toward our need ofcounsel from our heavenly Father.If we want our children and youthto have confidence to come to us,they need to recognize our depen-

dence upon God in our interactionswith them.

I want to challenge you today tocommit yourself to truly seekcounsel from God in everything.Ask Him to call often to your heartand to remind you that He iscalling because you have asked.Take the next 30 days, and startdeveloping a new habit. Startconsulting with God about yourchoices, and do not give up if you

fail. As you read His Word, ask theHoly Spirit to bring the stories andprinciples into practical applicationto fit your daily needs. Today,make your response to God as youwish would be your child’s re-sponse to your loving instruction.Respond to Him just as you longfor some friend or loved one thatyou have been praying for torespond to Him.

God is the Mighty Counselor.Let us choose to take His personalcounsel for us today. We will beglad we did at the end of today—and we will be especially glad inthe judgment day! !

God wants to have us consulting with Him . . . because He

really longs to restore us and help us live more productive and

fulfilling lives.

preaching, the church had aprayer meeting, but they did notpray, “Lord, grant unto Thyservants that by a wise anddiscriminating use of innocentrecreation we may show thesepeople how happy we are.” Ifthey had ceased not for preachingChrist, they had not time forarranging entertainments. Scat-tered by persecution, they wenteverywhere preaching the gospel.They “turned the world upsidedown.” Acts 17:6. That is the onlydifference! Lord, clear the churchof all the rot and rubbish the devil

has imposed on her, and bring usback to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amuse-ment fails to effect the end desired.It works havoc among youngconverts. Let the careless andscoffers, who thank God becausethe church met them halfway,speak and testify. Let the heavy-laden who found peace through theconcert not keep silent! Let thedrunkard to whom the dramaticentertainment had been God’s linkin the chain of his conversation,stand up! There are none to an-swer.1 The mission of amusementproduces no converts. The need ofthe hour for today’s ministry is

believing scholarship joined withearnest spirituality, the one spring-ing from the other as fruit from theroot. The need is biblical doctrine,so understood and felt that it setsmen on fire. !

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892) was a Baptist preacher inEngland.

Notes:1 Today someone might stand up and claim

that he can trace his conversion to a formof empty entertainment. However, justbecause one of Satan’s methods arrestedus in our downward course does notmean that God places His stamp ofapproval upon that method.—EDITORS.

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E l l e n G . W h i t e have set the LORD always before

me: because he is at my righthand, I shall not be moved.”

Psalm 16:8. “Nevertheless I amcontinually with thee: thou hastholden me by my right hand. Thoushalt guide me with thy counsel,and afterward receive me to glory.Whom have I in heaven but thee?and there is none upon earth that Idesire beside thee.” Psalm 73:23–25. “I will instruct thee and teachthee in the way which thou shaltgo: I will guide thee with mineeye.” Psalm 32:8.

We are living in an age of peril,when ungodliness is common.Even professed Christians do notbelieve their Bibles. The truth of theWord of God is too plain andpointed for them, and they say totheir teachers, “Prophesy not untous right things, speak unto ussmooth things, prophesy deceits:get you out of the way, turn asideout of the gate, cause the Holy Oneof Israel to cease from before us.”Isaiah 30:10–11. They do not wishto retain the thoughts of God intheir knowledge. We are now at the

ebb-tide of faith in the world.Antichristian ideas, customs, andpractices prevail, and they are evenconstrued to be Christian; but thatwhich is of most value, that whichGod esteems most highly, is treatedwith contempt. Well may the God-fearing inquire, What shall the endof these things be? Love for Christand love for one another is fastdying out of the hearts of men.

It is true that there are somesteadfast souls like Abraham,David, and Daniel, who can say, “Ihave set the Lord always beforeme: because he is at my right hand,I shall not be moved.” Amid theperplexities that will press uponthe soul, there is only one who canhelp us out of all our difficulties,and relieve all our disquietude. Weare to cast all our care upon Jesus,and bear in mind that He ispresent, and is directing us tocommune with Him. We are tokeep our minds staid upon God;and in our weakness, He will beour strength; in our ignorance, Hewill be our wisdom; in our frailty,He will be our enduring might.

We may be assured that weneed not go into the heavens tobring Jesus down to us, neither intothe deep to bring Him up; for He isat our right hand, and His eye isever upon us. We should ever seekto realize that the Lord is very nearus, to be our Counselor and Guide.This is the only way in which wemay have confidence toward God.

We need to educate and trainthe mind so that we shall have anintelligent faith and have anunderstanding friendship withJesus. Unless we continuallycherish friendship between Godand our souls, we shall separatefrom Him, and walk apart fromHim. We shall make friends ofthose around us, and place ourtrust in humanity, and our affec-tions will be diverted from the trueobject of worship. We must notallow coldness to chill our love forour Redeemer. If we have fellow-ship with Him, we must ever setthe Lord before us, and treat Himas an honored Friend, giving Himthe first place in our affections. Weshould speak of His matchless

TheHeavenly

Friend

“I


charms, and constantly cultivatethe desire to have a better knowl-edge of Jesus Christ. Then HisSpirit will have a controlling powerupon life and character. But howoften is the Lord neglected for thesociety of others, and for things ofno value!

Jesus says, “If any man thirst, lethim come unto me, and drink.”John 7:37. “The water that I shallgive him shall be in him a well ofwater springing up into everlastinglife.” John 4:14. Never let amuse-ments, or the companionship ofothers, come between you andJesus, your best Friend. Set theLord always before you. Whennatural inclination draws you inthe direction of fulfilling someselfish desire, set the Lord beforeyou as your Counselor, and ask,Will this please Jesus? Will thisincrease my love for my bestFriend? Will this course grieve mydear Saviour? Will it separate mefrom His company? Will Jesusaccompany me to the pleasureparty, where all will be lightnessand gaiety, where there will benothing of a religious nature,nothing serious, no thought of thethings of God? If Jesus sends methere as a missionary to warn somesoul of his danger, then I am sureJesus will not separate from me;but if I go simply to please myself, Icannot be sure of my Saviour’spresence. If I choose to go whereJesus cannot enter, where Hecannot make His abode, where thehearts of those present are saying,“Cause the Holy One of Israel tocease from before us,” I chooseanother counselor than Jesus.

The great aim and purpose ofthis life is to form characters so thatwe shall be accounted worthy ofeternal life. We shall act as rationalbeings, and make religion a practi-cal matter. We need to keep ourSaviour ever before us, and educateourselves in such a way that ourdesires shall continually flow outtoward Him, that we shall meditateupon His promises, and addressHim in confiding faith. Before youengage in any important work,remember that Jesus is your

Counselor, and that it is yourprivilege to cast all your care uponHim; for He invites you to do so,and is at your right hand, that youshall not be moved. Each day bedetermined that you will keep nighto God, looking unto Jesus, theAuthor and Finisher of your faith.Do not neglect and slight Jesus; forthis you would not do to any ofyour cherished friends. Do notkeep Jesus in the background andnever mention His name, never callthe attention of your friends to Himwho is at your side to be yourCounselor. Would not your

friends look upon you as disre-spectful were they at your side,and you never spoke to them orof them? “A son honoreth hisfather, and a servant his master: ifthen I be a father, where is minehonor? and if I be a master, whereis my fear? saith the LORD ofhosts.” Malachi 1:6.

Many complain that Jesus seemsa long way off. Who has placedHim a long way off? Has it notbeen your own course of actionthat has separated you from Jesus?He has not forsaken you, but youhave forsaken Him for other lovers.But the Lord says, “Return, yebacksliding children, and I willheal your backslidings. Behold, wecome unto thee; for thou art theLORD our God.” Jeremiah 3:22.“Seek ye the LORD while he maybe found, call ye upon him whilehe is near: let the wicked forsakehis way, and the unrighteous manhis thoughts: and let him returnunto the LORD, and he will havemercy upon him; and to our God,for he will abundantly pardon.”Isaiah 55:6–7.

Pray in faith, and trust yourSaviour. Make every effort neces-sary to keep the channel of commu-

nication open between Christ andyour soul. Seek every opportunityto be present where prayer is wontto be made, rather than to go toplaces where the tendency is of acharacter to make you forget God.We want Bible religion, practicalgodliness, free from all pretensionand sophistry. Unless you maintainBible religion, you will find your-self separated from Jesus Christ. Byunbelief and carelessness, youbreak up your tender fellowshipwith Jesus. Why trifle so much withyour heavenly Friend? Why feel atliberty to serve God at will, and to

neglect His worship at pleasure? Itis when you wander from His side,and are charmed with the voice ofthe seducer, and fasten youraffections upon some trifling thing,that you are in danger of losingyour peace and trust and confi-dence in God. Then it is that youseem to have lost your wisdom asto how to find Jesus. Then it is thatSatan presents to you the thoughtthat Jesus has forsaken you; but isit not that you have forsaken Jesus?Satan will seek still more to alienateyour mind from your best Friendby his lying devices; for he wantsyou to deny Christ.

You have forsaken the fountainof living waters, and have hewedyou out broken cisterns that canhold no water. We dare not let Hisname languish on our lips, and Hislove and memory die out of ourhearts. “Well,” says the cold,formal professor, “this is makingChrist too much like a humanbeing;” but the Word of Godwarrants us to have these veryideas. It is the want of these practi-cal, definite views of Christ, thathinders so many from having agenuine experience in the knowl-edge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Do not neglect and slight Jesus; for this you would not do to

any of your cherished friends.


Christ. This is the reason that manyare fearing and doubting andmourning. Their ideas of Christand the plan of salvation are vague,dreary, and confused. If they had,like David, set the Lord ever beforethem, keeping Him at their righthand that they should not bemoved, their feet would be uponsolid rock. Behold Jesus crucifiedfor you. Behold Him grieved withyour sins; and when you pray,repent, and earnestly desire to seeHim as your sin-pardoning Re-deemer, ready to bless you, and tohear your acknowledgment of Him.Keep close to His side; for you needHis presence with you.

Wickedness prevails on everyhand; for Satan has come downhaving great wrath, knowing thathe hath but a short time. He is apersevering, diligent, untiringworker, and if ever there was atime when men needed the pres-ence of Christ at their right hand, itis now, so that when the enemyshall come in like a flood, the Spiritof the Lord shall lift up a standard

against him. We need the Captainof our salvation continually by ourside. There is, and will continue tobe, agitation all around us; for thekingdoms of the world will not beat rest. Never was there a timewhen the temptation to deny Christin spirit and in deportment, wasstronger, and this temptation willincrease in power as we near theend. Strong and overpoweringtemptations will come upon men.False doctrines and fables will bepresented as Bible truth, for men’sacceptance; and if it were possible,they will deceive the very elect. Butis it a time for our love to growcold, when iniquity abounds? Is

this a time to be at ease? Is this thetime to separate from God, ourCounselor?

The end of all things is at hand.The day of God is hastening onapace. The world is full of crimeand anguish and sorrow. There arecalamities by land and by sea.Storm and tempest make it unsafefor us to be separated from God forone single moment. Only those

Is it a time for our love to grow cold, when iniquity abounds?

Is this a time to be at ease? Is this the time to separate from

God, our Counselor?

who live by faith in this probation-ary life, will be able to stand in theday of test, when everything thatcan be shaken will be shaken; butthey shall dwell in safety and beunmoved. The children of Godmust place themselves trustinglyand quietly in the hands of God,and commit the keeping of theirsouls unto Him as unto a faithfulCreator. As it was in the days ofNoah, so shall it be in the days ofthe Son of man. In the days ofNoah, the wickedness of menreached unto heaven, and Godsent Noah with a warning that Hewould destroy the world with aflood of water; but they had solong given themselves up toselfish and demoralizing prac-tices, glorifying themselves, thatthey had put God and His claimsand His honor out of sight andmind. They lived without Godand without hope in the world.They mocked at Noah’s message,but their unbelief did not preventhim from proclaiming God’s wordsto them. They cared for none ofthese things; but their indifferenceand unbelief did not hinder theevent that had been foretold. Therain descended in floods, andswept the earth clean of their moralpollution. “Even thus shall it be inthe day when the Son of man isrevealed.” Luke 17:30. !

The Youth’s Instructor, July 19, 1894.

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This year I have a greatresponsibility to sponsor four poorstudents who are now attending atthe Adventist High School. I alwaysneed your special prayers that Godwill provide me some funds for mynew vast mission fields.

LB, Kachinland

I’m thankful for good articles inOur Firm Foundation magazines.When I opened and read, I wasblessed very much. Words fail me toexpress my heartfelt appreciation.I’m a member of the Seventh-dayAdventist Church. Many of us hereare in a great crisis. Even though thecrisis is a worldwide phenomenon,it is worst in Ethiopia. We have beencanceled from the church’s recordsand chased by unfaithful leaders andmembers because of the straighttestimony against their cherished sin.We have scattered here and there asprey—flock which have not ashepherd. But now we areattempting to organize thesescattered members and to proclaimthe truth for this time. We have greatzeal; however, we know not how toadvance this ministry. We do nothave Spirit of Prophecy references:Desire of Ages, Great Controversy, Stepsto Christ, large volumes of Spirit ofProphecy, 1888 message. We haveheard they are in the hands of somepastors and brothers, but thesebrothers neither use them nor givethem to us. Please, we need theseScriptures. Leave us not in crisis. Ibeseech you therefore, brethren, bythe love of the true God, open to usyour magazines so as to sustain ourspiritual life. Reach us urgently asmuch as possible.

LB, Ethiopia

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We are excited about our new brochure on “The Law of God.” This tractpresents the Ten Commandments as found in Exodus 20:2–17 in comparisonwith the Ten Commandments as changed by man. The simple gospel is alsopresented to the readers, and they are encouraged to submit their request fora free copy of the book Final ConflictBetween Truth and Error, a free Biblecourse, and/or a free Panorama ofProphecy CD.

There are two ways you candistribute this brochure:

1) You may give out thebrochures individually. Trysending them with your billpayments, giving them out at fleamarkets and fairs, or visiting yourneighbors door-to-door. Ordersome today!

1-49 brochures: 20¢ eachPackets of 50: $5 per packet (10¢ each)Cases of 1000: $80 per case (8¢ each)5000 or more: Please inquire.Catalog # TEHI-LOGOSee page 3 for shipping and sales-tax information.

2) You can sponsor a bulk mailing to every home in a given postal route orZIP code area, which is an excellent tool to uplift the law of God. The cost tosend this colorful tract out, including postage, is about 20¢ each. Call us todayif you would like more information.

If you need a free sample of this brochure, please contact us, and we willbe happy to send you one.

The Law of God

Date post:	09-Dec-2015
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