Friday, August 31, 2012

Chap. 244 Preparing to Meet Jesus


"And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may
have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28.
Only by knowing God here can we prepare to meet Him at His coming.... In
His lessons and His mighty works Christ is a perfect revelation of God. This Christ
declares through the inspired evangelist. “No man hath seen God at any time,” He
says; “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him” (John 1:18). “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any
man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.”
These words show the importance of studying Christ’s character. Only by knowing
Christ can we know God.
As our representative, Christ stands on the highest possible ground. When He
came to the world as God’s messenger, He held the salvation of God in His hand.
All mankind was delivered to Him, for in Him was the fullness of the Godhead....
So fully did Christ reveal the Father that the messengers sent by the Pharisees to
take Him were charmed by His presence.... As they beheld the soft light of the
glory of God that enshrouded His person, as they heard the gracious words that fell
from His lips, they loved Him. And when ... they were asked by the Pharisees,
“Why have ye not brought him?” they answered, “Never man spake like this man”
(John 7:45, 46).
As we behold Christ we shall be changed into His image and made fit to meet
Him at His coming. Now is the time to prepare for the coming of our Lord.
Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained in a moment’s time. Preparatory to
that solemn scene there must be vigilant waiting combined with earnest work. The
union of these two makes us complete in Christ. The active and devotional must
be combined as were the human and divine in Christ. So God’s children glorify
Him. Amid the busy scenes of life their voices will be heard speaking words of
encouragement, hope, and faith. The will and the affections will be consecrated to
Christ. Thus they prepare to meet their Lord; and when He comes, they will say,
with joy: “This is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.”
p. 250

Chap. 243-The Investigative Judgment


"Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men
they follow after. 1 Timothy 5:24.
The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be
accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead are to be judged
out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should
be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated....
When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will be
with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.
All are to be judged according to the things written in the books, and to be
rewarded as their works have been. This judgment does not take place at death.
In the typical service the high priest, having made the atonement for Israel, came
forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at the close of His work as mediator,
will appear, “without sin unto salvation,” to bless His waiting people with eternal
life. As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the
head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator
and instigator of sin. The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away “unto
a land not inhabited;” so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused
God’s people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to the earth, which
will then be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the full penalty of
sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked.
A few, yes, only a few, of the vast number who people the earth will be saved
unto life eternal, while the masses who have not perfected their souls in obeying the
truth will be appointed to the second death.
While the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there
is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people
upon earth."
251

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chap. 247 In Heavenly Places

Chap. 241 - No Place for Discouragement
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Colossians
1:12, 13.
How full is this language! If you attempted to measure it, you would find that
in these words are measureless depths of meaning. We are now being fitted up to
dwell in the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.” If this is true, what
excuse then have we for talking discouragement and unbelief and doubt—drawing
darkness around us as a mantle? ...
If I should look at the dark clouds—the troubles and perplexities that come to
me in my work—I should have time to do nothing else. But I know that there is
light and glory beyond the clouds. By faith I reach through the darkness to the
glory. At times I am called to pass through financial perplexities. But I do not
worry about money. God takes care of my affairs. I do all that I can, and when the
Lord sees that it is best for me to have money, He sends it to me.
The more you talk faith, the more faith you will have. The more you dwell
upon discouragement, talking to others about your trials and enlarging upon them,
to enlist the sympathy which you crave, the more discouragements and trials you
will have. Why mourn over that which you cannot avoid? ...
We are preparing for promotion from the school in this world, in which we
are forming characters for the future, immortal life, to the higher grade, the school
of heaven. But man is not to depend upon his own finite strength to wrestle with
difficulty. In faith he is to look to God, believing that all the resources of heaven
are at his command to help him overcome. Thousands upon thousands and ten
thousand times ten thousand of heavenly angels are ministering unto those who
shall be heirs of salvation.
God is inviting us to close the windows of the soul earthward and open them
heavenward, that He may flood our hearts with the glory which is shining across
the threshold of heaven.
247

He Multiplies My Talents, April 19

Improving My Talents Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many...