[Jesus] takes men as they are, with all their faults and weaknesses, and trains them for His service, if they will be disciplined and taught by Him. Education, p. 91.
Selfishness is a hindrance to believing in Christ
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
The last six (6) commandments are unto fellow men
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”
“You shall not murder.”
“You shall not commit adultery.”
“You shall not steal.”
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
All of the commandments are summed up into two
‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’
It is of the highest importance that Sabbath keepers live out their faith in every particular. They should be prompt and neat, and keep their business matters all straight….
None should be so fearful of being like the world that it will lead them to be careless in their houses, leaving things in disorder and uncleanness. It is not pride to be neat in dress, cleanly in person, orderly and tasteful in their household arrangements…. These outside appearances tell the business character of those living in the house, and not only this but the religious character of its inmates. It is impossible for a slack, disorderly person to make a good Christian. Their lives, in temporal and religious things, are just as disorderly as their dress, houses, persons, and premises.
There is order in heaven. There are rules and regulations which govern the whole heavenly host. All move in order. All there is cleanly, all in perfect harmony. And everyone who will be counted worthy to enter heaven will be thoroughly disciplined and will be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The uncultivated have spots and wrinkles upon them now. They had better lose no time in commencing the work of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord.
God loves purity, cleanliness, order, and holiness. God requires all His people who lack these qualifications to seek them and never rest until they obtain them. They must commence the work of reform and elevate their lives, so that in conversation and deportment their acts, their lives, will be a continual recommendation of their faith and will have such a winning, compelling power upon unbelievers that they will be compelled to acknowledge that they are the children of God.
The truth as it is in Jesus will not degrade but elevate the receiver, purify his life, refine his taste, sanctify his judgment.
God is our Father, who loves and cares for us as His children; He is also the great King of the universe. The interests of His kingdom are our interests, and we are to work for its upbuilding. Heaven, p. 22.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: And in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me: Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
The end of all things is at hand. What we have done must not be allowed to place the period to our work.
Many are losing the right way, in consequence of thinking that they must climb to heaven, that they must do something to merit the favor of God. They seek to make themselves better by their own unaided efforts. Heaven p. 11.
King Artaxerxes had a surname that translates to “Longimanus” in Latin, supposedly because he had a right hand that was noticeably longer than his left hand. Artaxerxes, ruler of Persia, displayed compassion that amazed the prophet Ezra, who gave praise to God for putting it in the king’s heart to be merciful to him and to the Jewish people.
The king commissioned Ezra to return to Jerusalem, taking with him as many people as wanted to return, and to continue work on the temple of God. He even gave Ezra generous gifts of silver and gold for the temple and advised him to buy many offerings to sacrifice to God. He told him to take from the king’s treasury anything else he might need to help with the temple, and he gave Ezra the power to collect from his treasurers “beyond the river.” He also advised him and empowered him to enforce the law of God and the law of the king and to teach anyone in his region who didn’t know the law.
This was all quite astonishing; apparently God had blessed this heathen king with wisdom from above. Artaxerxes recognized the supreme authority of God and didn’t hesitant to bow to that authority, even in front of his counselors and princes. Because of his respect for the true God, the people of the Lord were greatly blessed.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: Ezra 7:27 And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me. Ezra 7:28
The end of all things is at hand. What we have done must not be allowed to place the period to our work. The Captain of our salvation says, “Advance. The night cometh, in which no man can work.” Constantly we are to increase in usefulness. Our lives are always to be under the power of Christ. Our lamps are to be kept burning brightly…. He who places himself where God can enlighten him, advances, as it were, from the partial obscurity of dawn to the full radiance of noonday.
How is it possible that we may grow in grace? It is possible to us only as we empty our hearts of self, and present them to Heaven, to be molded after the Divine Pattern. We may have a connection with the living channel of light; we may be refreshed with the heavenly dew, and have the showers of heaven descend upon us. As we appropriate the blessing of God, we shall be able to receive greater measures of His grace.
As little children we are to sit at the feet of Christ, learning of Him…. We should not allow a day to pass without gaining an increase of knowledge in temporal and spiritual things. We are to plant no stakes that we are not willing to take up and plant further on, nearer the heights we hope to ascend. The highest education is to be found in training the mind to advance day by day. The close of each day should find us a day’s march nearer the overcomer’s reward. Day by day our understanding is to ripen. Day by day we are to work out conclusions that will bring a rich reward in this life and in the life to come. Looking daily to Jesus, instead of to what we ourselves have done, we shall make decided advancement in temporal as well as spiritual knowledge.
The unseen is illustrated by the seen. On everything upon the earth, from the loftiest tree of the forest to the lichen that clings to the rock, from the boundless ocean to the tiniest shell on the shore, they may behold the image and superscription of God.
As Christians, we must never forget that we are in the midst of a cosmic drama. The great controversy between Christ and Satan is unfolding all around us. The battle takes many shapes and is manifested in many ways. And though much is hidden, we can understand that, as followers of Christ, we have a part to play in this drama and can bring honor to Christ through our lives.
Robert Wadlow (1918 – 1940) was the tallest person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was known as the Alton Giant (or Giant of Illinois) because he was born in and grew up in Alton, Illinois. He reached a height of 8 feet, 11.1 inches and weighed 485 pounds at the time of his death at age 22.
How did Wadlow grow to be so large? Doctors believe it was caused by hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. Robert showed no end to his growth, even at his death. His shoe size was 37AA. Unfortunately, his height had its drawbacks. He needed leg braces in order to walk and had little feeling in his legs and feet. Ten days before his death, while traveling on a tour, his ankle became infected because of a faulty leg brace. On July 15, 1940, he died in his sleep.
The Bible tells us that David fought against a giant named Goliath, who stood about 9-½ feet tall. His staff was “like a weaver’s beam,” which is the bar to which the long threads are fastened in a cloth-making loom, probably two inches in diameter. The iron spearhead weighed about 15 pounds.
Saul’s army stood shaking in their boots every time Goliath came out and defied the God of Israel. But David knew that while the weapons of man are no match for giants, he also understood that God’s power can save man. That’s true for you as well as you face your own giants.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 1 Samuel 17:45
Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the objects that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible the similitudes drawn from nature. They should search out, both in nature and in Holy Writ, every object representing Christ, and those also that He employed in illustrating truth. Education, p. 120.
For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. ‘Good evening,’ said the man of the house. ‘I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting ten years to meet you.
A burglar can steal from you once. Anxiety can steal from you for decades.
One of the worst things about anxiety is that it gives us spiritual amnesia: We forget who we are in Christ. We forget that as His coheirs, we have access to His power and glory, that when our priorities line up with His, He will meet our needs. This doesn’t mean we go from miracle to miracle in life. Rather, it means that whatever we are facing, we can rest assured that our heavenly Father is aware of it and will stick with us through it all, no matter what. He will even give us the grace and courage to face our challenges.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Doubters are tempted to dismiss those verses in Philippians, thinking that sort of approach to anxiety is nice, but our problems are just more complex than that. Though these verses may be simple, they are not simplistic. They are grounded in God’s unchanging character and nature, which means they are very needful for us today.
We know we’re sinners who fall short of God’s glory, and we know that Jesus died to save us from our sin, but somewhere along the way, we’ve failed to embrace what that means for our outlook on life. To be a Christian means to be adopted by God as His child—to have access to His not-worldly love, power, strength, and peace.
If we can come to embrace and trust God’s promise in Philippians 4:6-7, it will revolutionize our life.
Many of us live huge chunks of our lives trying not to worry but worry anyway. We tell God what we need, and doubt whether He will provide. We believe He exists, but we’re often not convinced He loves us enough to really help us. We hold on to only certain bits and pieces of the truth, leaving us stuck in a world of anxiety where it’s tempting to believe that failure, uncertainty, and worrying is all there is in life.
Many things can cause anxiety—health, the holidays, unexpected hardships, current events—and our reasons for worrying are often multi-faced and complex. Add to that the fact that most people in the world see life without any real purpose, believing that they live in a universe that has no rhyme, reason, or God – A lonely, frightening place to be.
The unbelieving world recognizes that anxiety is rampant, and a lot of well-meaning psychologists, doctors, therapists, and counselors are trying to help stem the tide. It’s not hard to find advice about how to cope with anxiety. One article stated that: “Our goal shouldn’t be to dismiss anxiety entirely—just to make it a healthy, manageable part of our lives.”
We are left with the seemingly reasonable idea that the best we can do is manage our anxiety and keep it from overwhelming us. But if we belong to Christ, is that enough? Are we satisfied with that answer?
Because God offers us a way to eliminate anxiety, as impossible as that may sound. We can ask Him to open our hearts and minds to the truth that He is enough to help us face whatever problems we are facing now.
God is seeking to purify us, to refine us like gold, to transform us into His image. That’s an astonishing goal, and it seems even more astonishing that a Christlike character is developed in us only as we pass through life’s crucibles.
Christ came to demonstrate the value of the divine principles by revealing their power for the regeneration of humanity. He came to teach how these principles are to be developed and applied. Education, p. 77.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20, 21.
Here is portrayed the value of eternal riches, in contrast with the treasures of earth. If the purpose and aim of your life is to lay up treasure in heaven, you will be lifted above the base, sordid, demoralizing influence of an inordinate desire to obtain wealth in this life. Laying up treasure in heaven will give nobility to the character; it will strengthen benevolence, encourage mercy; cultivate sympathy, brotherly kindness, and charity. It will unite the soul of man with Christ, by links that can never be broken. You may lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven by being rich in good works—rich in imperishable and spiritual things.
The instruction is to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” It is for our own interest that we secure heavenly riches. God is not benefited by our benevolence. The cattle upon a thousand hills are His. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” Psalm 24:1. But in using the gifts that He has entrusted to our care for the salvation of souls, we transfer our wealth to the treasury of heaven. When we are seeking the glory of God, and hasting unto the day of God, we are co-laborers with Christ, and our joy is not a base and fleeting emotion; but it is the joy of our Lord. We are elevated above the corroding, perplexing cares of this frail, fickle world.
While we are in this world, we are subject to losses and disappointments. Thieves break through and steal; moth and rust corrupt; fire and storm sweep away our possessions…. How many have devoted life and soul to acquiring wealth, but were not rich toward God; and when adversity came upon them, and their possessions were swept away, they had nothing laid up in heaven. They had lost all—both temporal and eternal riches….
Everything that is laid up upon earth may be swept away in a moment; but nothing can disturb the treasure that is laid up in heaven.12The Review and Herald, September 18, 1888.
Though we tend to think of “knowledge” in and of itself as good, why is that not always the case? What are some things that we are better off not knowing?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: God confronted Adam in Eden and asked him questions in order not only to establish his guilt but also to lead him to repentance. This motif reappears with Cain (Gen. 4:9, 10), the Flood (Gen. 6:5–8), the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:5), and Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:21). How is the idea of an investigative judgment revealed in these incidents?
Why did Eve think that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would give her wisdom?
God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden to give Adam and Eve a choice to obey or disobey Him. Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. The results—evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death—have plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve’s decision results in every person being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve’s decision is what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin’s consequences, and ultimately free from sin itself.
How could we avoid, in our context, making a similar mistake; that is, openly defying God’s Word in hope of something “better” than what God has offered us?
