Sabbath Afternoon - March 18
Memory Text:
“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” KJV — Matthew 25:21
“It is the faithfulness, the loyalty to God, the loving service, that wins the divine approval. Every impulse of the Holy Spirit leading men to goodness and to God, is noted in the books of heaven, and in the day of God the workers through whom He has wrought will be commended. COL 361.3
“They will enter into the joy of the Lord as they see in His kingdom those who have been redeemed through their instrumentality. And they are privileged to participate in His work there, because they have gained a fitness for it by participation in His work here. What we shall be in heaven is the reflection of what we are now in character and holy service. Christ said of Himself, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” Matthew 20:28. This, His work on earth, is His work in heaven. And our reward for working with Christ in this world is the greater power and wider privilege of working with Him in the world to come.” COL 361.4
Sunday - March 19
Reward of Faithfulness
Read Hebrews 11:6. What should this verse mean to us? How should we respond to what it says? Also read Revelation 22:12, Isaiah 40:10, and Isaiah 62:11. What do all these texts teach us?
“Faith is an essential element of prevailing prayer. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 5:14, 15. With the persevering faith of Jacob, with the unyielding persistence of Elijah, we may present our petitions to the Father, claiming all that He has promised. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word.” PK 157.2
Isaiah 12:5, 6 – “Sing unto the Lord; for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
You certainly will not let anything hinder or stifle your voice now that God commands to cry out and shout.
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in Judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isa. 32:1, 2.
No, this is not what popular theology teaches, but you admit that this is what the Bible teaches, and that It we must believe rather than men.
Thus far faith in God’s promises has not failed us, and why will He fail us now? – Never. Faith mixed with works will bring everything in due season. The adversaries of Truth shall fail, but Truth shall triumph, and the faithful with It.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Monday - March 20
Everlasting Life
Read Romans 6:23 and John 3:16. What options are presented to us?
“‘The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Romans 6:23. While life is the inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked. Moses declared to Israel: ‘I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.’ Deuteronomy 30:15. The death referred to in these scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all mankind suffer the penalty of his transgression. It is “the second death” that is placed in contrast with everlasting life.” GC 544.1
If we fail to profit by what God tells us we shall fail as badly as, if not worse, as any who have failed before us. I think some of you who have had personal contact with God, know these things through experiences of your own. Doubtless you have found that you cannot long prevent explosion while keeping fire and gunpowder in the same room; that you cannot serve the Devil and yet have peace and security. Let me illustrate this by an actual incident:
A certain man dreamed that a horse killed him by kicking him. To safeguard his life he ever after kept his distance from all horses. Nevertheless one windy day as he was walking down a street, he passed a blacksmith’s establishment in front of which was hanging a sign with a horseshoe painted on it. The sign suddenly fell on his head and he died from the impact.
We can no more avoid the consequences of sin and of isolation from God, than could the dreamer avoid death by dodging it. We never know what the day will bring forth, and we cannot afford to isolate ourselves from God even for a moment. Neither can we say definitely that we will or will not do this, that, or the other.
Read John 14:1–3. What is the Lord’s counsel to us in verse 1, and what does He promise to us in verses 2 and 3?
Still further, as both the living and the resurrected saints are taken to “live and reign with Christ,” and as all those who are judged at the Great White Throne, are judged while dead, the truth stands out more and more clearly that there are no wicked living during the thousand years. Indeed not, for the earth and heaven have by then fled away, moved out of their original sphere, become empty of life and void (Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-26), a “bottomless pit” (Rev. 20:1) on which no one can stand. Necessarily, the saints, those who are left, live and reign a thousand years with Christ in the Heaven of heavens, where the “many mansions” are. At the termination of the thousand years, descends the Holy City, the mansions, the New Jerusalem, and the saints with it (Rev. 21:2). From then on the saints do not live with Christ but He lives with them (Rev. 21 :3).
Tuesday - March 21
The New Jerusalem
Read Revelation 21. What are some of the things that we are promised?
“We are homeward bound. He who loved us so much as to die for us hath builded for us a city. The New Jerusalem is our place of rest. There will be no sadness in the city of God. No wail of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections, will evermore be heard. Soon the garments of heaviness will be changed for the wedding garment. Soon we shall witness the coronation of our King. Those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer's glory in the kingdom of God.” 9T 287.1
As The Revelation says that “they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4), Christ does not therefore, live with them on the earth, but rather they live with Him in “the place” which He prepared for them, and of which John says (after seeing “the first heaven and the first earth were passed away” and replaced with “new heaven and a new earth” – Rev. 21:1): “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:2.
The New Jerusalem, the city of God, spreading and rising outward and upward beyond human ken, in inexpressible, prodigious, staggering proportions and magnificence, in wordless glory!
“And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: … twelve thousand furlongs.” Rev. 21:16.
The city is 375 miles on each side, making a perfect square. Its area, therefore, is 140,625 square miles, or 90,000,000 acres, or 3,920,400,000,000 square feet – approximately 430 times greater than the area of New York City! Allowing 100 square feet to each person, or a space 10 feet square, the city would hold 39,204,000,000 persons, or nearly 20 times the population of the earth.
And “the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal” (Rev. 21:16) – 375 miles on each side, and 375 miles high, its soaring majesty rising to heights undreamt of by mortal mind!
And its walls (“an hundred and forty and four cubits,” or 216 feet high) are made of jasper, and “the city” of “pure gold, like unto clear glass.” Its twelve gates are “twelve pearls: every several gate… of one pearl.” And on them is written the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. And the street of the city is “pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
The foundation of the wall of the city is “garnished with all manner of precious stones.”
Indeed is language beggared to describe the Holy City. Truly, “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9.
Wednesday - March 22
The Settling of Accounts
Read Matthew 25:14–23. Who is the one traveling into a far country? To whom does He entrust His goods? What does it mean to “settle accounts” (see Matt. 25:19, NKJV)?
“The man traveling into a far country represents Christ, who, when speaking this parable, was soon to depart from this earth to heaven. The “bondservants” (R.V.), or slaves, of the parable, represent the followers of Christ. We are not our own. We have been “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), not “with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18, 19); “that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).” COL 325.3
“To His servants Christ commits “His goods”—something to be put to use for Him. He gives “to every man his work.” Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.” COL 326.4
“The talents that Christ entrusts to His church represent especially the gifts and blessings imparted by the Holy Spirit. “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. All men do not receive the same gifts, but to every servant of the Master some gift of the Spirit is promised.” COL 327.1
“The special gifts of the Spirit are not the only talents represented in the parable. It includes all gifts and endowments, whether original or acquired, natural or spiritual. All are to be employed in Christ's service. In becoming His disciples, we surrender ourselves to Him with all that we are and have. These gifts He returns to us purified and ennobled, to be used for His glory in blessing our fellow men.” COL 328.2
“Mental Faculties
“God requires the training of the mental faculties. He designs that His servants shall possess more intelligence and clearer discernment than the worldling, and He is displeased with those who are too careless or too indolent to become efficient, well-informed workers. The Lord bids us love Him with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and with all the mind. This lays upon us the obligation of developing the intellect to its fullest capacity, that with all the mind we may know and love our Creator.” COL 333.2
“Speech
“The power of speech is a talent that should be diligently cultivated. Of all the gifts we have received from God, none is capable of being a greater blessing than this. With the voice we convince and persuade, with it we offer prayer and praise to God, and with it we tell others of the Redeemer's love. How important, then, that it be so trained as to be most effective for good.” COL 335.2
“Influence
“The life of Christ was an ever-widening, shoreless influence, an influence that bound Him to God and to the whole human family. Through Christ, God has invested man with an influence that makes it impossible for him to live to himself. Individually we are connected with our fellow men, a part of God's great whole, and we stand under mutual obligations. No man can be independent of his fellow men; for the well-being of each affects others. It is God's purpose that each shall feel himself necessary to others’ welfare, and seek to promote their happiness.” COL 339.2
“Time
“Our time belongs to God. Every moment is His, and we are under the most solemn obligation to improve it to His glory. Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time.” COL 342.1
“Health
“Health is a blessing of which few appreciate the value; yet upon it the efficiency of our mental and physical powers largely depends. Our impulses and passions have their seat in the body, and it must be kept in the best condition physically and under the most spiritual influences in order that our talents may be put to the highest use.” COL 346.2
“Strength
“We are to love God, not only with all the heart, mind, and soul, but with all the strength. This covers the full, intelligent use of the physical powers.” COL 348.3
“Money
“God also entrusts men with means. He gives them power to get wealth... COL 351.1
“Our money has not been given us that we might honor and glorify ourselves. As faithful stewards we are to use it for the honor and glory of God. Some think that only a portion of their means is the Lord's. When they have set apart a portion for religious and charitable purposes, they regard the remainder as their own, to be used as they see fit. But in this they mistake. All we possess is the Lord's, and we are accountable to Him for the use we make of it. In the use of every penny, it will be seen whether we love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves.” COL 351.2
“Kindly Impulses and Affections
“Kindly affections, generous impulses, and a quick apprehension of spiritual things are precious talents, and lay their possessor under a weighty responsibility. All are to be used in God's service…” COL 352.4
Thursday - March 23
Eyes on the Price
Read Romans 8:16–18. How was the knowledge that he was a child of God a factor in his faithfulness?
Micah 6:5 – “O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.”
Here we are told that to know the righteousness of the Lord is to remember God’s dealings with our forefathers, for His love toward us is not less than it was toward them. He reminds us of the incident when Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel, and how He caused Balaam to speak for Him and to bless His people, that for their sake He brought the king’s aim to nought and caused Balaam to proclaim to Balak: “And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.... There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies: and Israel shall do valiantly.” Num. 24:14, 17, 18.
In effect Balaam said to the king of Moab: “I have tried my best to obtain your favor and to curse Israel, but God has prevailed. Israel has won; you and I have lost. And further, let me tell you what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days: He that is to rule Israel shall smite Moab on all sides, and Israel shall do valiantly.”
Thus was Balaam impelled to predict Christ’s birth and His ruling, causing Israel to do valiantly against Moab and his neighboring peoples in the latter days.
To know all this is to know the Lord our righteousness; that if He is for us then no one can win a thing against us; that the battle is the Lord’s; that we have no need to fear our enemies; that whatever we do shall prosper regardless who is for or against us.
Read 1 Timothy 6:6–12, which we have looked at already but is worth coming back to. What is the crucial message in these verses, espe- cially for us as Christians?
If our hearts are set on wealth, if our love of money becomes greater than our love to help set up the Kingdom, then there is no hope. Such shall find themselves magnetically drawn down into Babylon. We must remember that the love of money is the root of all evil; that it is easier for a camel to go through the needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom. But, sad to say, in spite of this solemn warning, we see even the most informed in the things of God fall victims to such filthy lucre.
If we have the dollar when we need it, also are certain from day to day of our clothing, food, and a bed to sleep in, we should feel rich. We should feel as if we had a million dollars in the bank. Yes, if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and mind the Lord’s business, being slothful in nothing and conscientious in everything, then we shall have all these added unto us (Matt. 6:31-33).
Friday - March 24
Further Study
The “certain nobleman” in this parable [Luke 19:12-27] is Christ, Himself, Who, soon after His resurrection, departed to the heaven of heavens, “the far country,” to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. His ten servants, who are to occupy till His coming, represent, manifestly, the ministry at the closing of the gospel dispensation. And His citizens, accordingly, represent the laity – the subjects of His kingdom. Together, then, His servants and His citizens make up His entire kingdom – church.
As they “sent a message after Him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us,” the only conclusion admissible is that shortly before His return, Christ shall inform His “citizens” that He is taking “the reins in His own hands” to set up His kingdom, and that they, upon hearing the announcement, shall refuse to submit themselves to the one through whom He is to rule.
Observe that in the message which they “sent after Him,” his servants did not say, “We will not have You to reign over us,” but rather, “we will not have this man to reign over us.” What they objected to was Christ’s reigning over them through someone else. Clearly, then, before He is coronated, and prior to His return to reckon with His servants, He appoints a “man” to reign over them in His stead. Whereupon they say to Him, by their attitude and stand toward His message, “We will not have this man to reign over us.”
Thus when Christ returns and reckons with His servants, He rewards the faithful ones in proportion as they have increased the principal with which they started, but condemns those who have had no burden to work for souls and to advance His kingdom, and who have been content to let Him do without their services. For this unfaithfulness, He takes from them the “pound,” (light of truth), with which He had entrusted them, showing thereby that all are to be held responsible “for every ray of light,” for every lost moment, for every neglected opportunity. And those who will not have Him thus reign over them, shall, at His return, be slain before Him as were those who rebelled against God’s government in olden times.