Christ's Eternal Vigilance

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
patience. Rev. 2:1, 2. {LHU 318.1}

The picture reveals eternal vigilance. Christ is in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from congregation to
congregation, from heart to heart. He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers
nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to the care of human beings, how
often the light would flicker and go out! But God has not given His church
into the hands of men. Christ, the One who gave His life for the world, that
all who believe in Him may not perish but have everlasting life, is the
Watchman of the house. He is the Warder, faithful and true, of the temple
courts of the Lord.

"These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand." The
words are spoken to the teachers in the church--those entrusted by God with
weighty responsibilities. The sweet influences that are to be abundant in
the church are bound up with God's ministers, who are to reveal the precious
love of Christ. The stars of heaven are under His control. He fills them
with light. He guides and directs their movements. If He did not do this,
they would become fallen stars. So with His ministers. They are but
instruments in His hands, and all the good they accomplish is done through
His power. Through them His light is to shine forth. The Saviour is to be
their efficiency. If they will look to Him as He looked to His Father, they
will do His work. As they make God their dependence, He will give them His
brightness to reflect to the world.

Christ walks in the midst of His churches through the length and breadth of
the earth. He looks with intense interest to see whether His people are in
such a condition spiritually that they can advance His kingdom. He is
present in every assembly of the church. He knows those whose hearts He can
fill with the holy oil, that they may impart it to others. Those who
faithfully carry forward the work of Christ, representing in word and deed
the character of God, fulfill the Lord's purpose for them, and Christ takes
pleasure in them. {LHU 318.4}

"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience." Christ is acquainted
with the history and experience of every one who has accepted Him. To His
people He says, "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." He
cherishes carefully every act of love and endurance performed by them. . . .
Christ holds the stars in His right hand, and it is His purpose to let His
light shine forth through them to the world. Thus He desires to prepare His
people for higher service in the church above. . . . Let us show forth in
our lives what divine grace can do for humanity (Review and Herald, May 26,
1903).

>From Lift Him Up - Page 318

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Power of God, Not Self

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him. 2 Tim. 1:12.

To some who witnessed [Paul's] martyrdom, his spirit of forgiveness toward
his murderers and his unwavering confidence in Christ till the last, proved
a savor of life unto life. . . .

Until his latest hour the life of Paul testified to the truth of his words
to the Corinthians: "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of
Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Cor. 4:6-10). His sufficiency
was not in himself, but in the presence and agency of the divine Spirit that
filled his soul and brought every thought into subjection to the will of
Christ. The prophet declares, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa. 26:3). The
heaven-born peace expressed on Paul's countenance won many a soul to the
gospel.

Paul carried with him the atmosphere of heaven. All who associated with him
felt the influence of his union with Christ. The fact that his own life
exemplified the truth he proclaimed gave convincing power to his preaching.
Here lies the power of truth. The unstudied, unconscious influence of a holy
life is the most convincing sermon that can be given in favor of
Christianity. Argument, even when unanswerable, may provoke only opposition;
but a godly example has a power that is impossible wholly to resist. . . .
The few Christians who accompanied him to the place of execution he
endeavored to strengthen and encourage by repeating the promises given for
those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. He assured them that
nothing would fail of all that the Lord had spoken concerning His tried and
faithful children. . . . Soon the night of trial and suffering would end,
and then would dawn the glad morning of peace and perfect day.

The apostle was looking into the great beyond, not with uncertainty or
dread, but with joyous hope and longing expectation. . . . {LHU 317.5}

Ransomed by the sacrifice of Christ, washed from sin in His blood, and
clothed in His righteousness, Paul has the witness in himself that his soul
is precious in the sight of his Redeemer (The Acts of the Apostles, pp.
510-512).

>From Lift Him Up - Page 317

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The Light of Truth

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. 2 Tim. 2:19. {LHU 316.1}

God Himself will work for Israel. Every lying tongue will be silenced.
Angels' hands will overthrow the deceptive schemes that are being formed.
The bulwarks of Satan will never triumph. Victory will attend the third
angel's message. As the Captain of the Lord's host tore down the walls of
Jericho, so will the Lord's commandment-keeping people triumph, and all
opposing elements be defeated. Let no soul complain of the servants of God
who have come to them with a heaven-sent message. Do not any longer pick
flaws in them, saying, "They are too positive; they talk too strongly." They
may talk strongly; but is it not needed? God will make the ears of the
hearers tingle if they will not heed His voice or His message. He will
denounce those who resist the word of God. . . .

The purging and cleansing will surely pass through every church in our land
that has had great opportunities and privileges, and has passed them by
unheeded. More evidence is not what they want. They need pure and sanctified
hearts to gather up and retain all the light that God has given, and then
they will walk in that light.

We need not say, "The perils of the last days are soon to come upon us."
Already they have come. We need now the sword of the Lord to cut the very
soul and marrow of fleshly lusts, appetites, and passions. May it pierce and
divide in a far greater degree than it has ever yet done. . . .

I address the people of God who today are holding fast their confidence, who
will not depart from the faith once delivered unto the saints, who stand
amid the moral darkness of these days of corruption. The word of the Lord to
you is: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people." Can we not here
see the paternal love of God expressed to those who hold fast to the faith
in righteousness? The closest relationship exists between God and His
people. Not only are we objects of His sparing mercy, His pardoning love; we
are more than this. The Lord rejoices over His people. He delights in them.
He is their surety. He will beautify all who are serving Him with a whole
heart with the spirit of holiness. He clothes them with righteousness. He
loves those who do His will, who express His image. All who are true and
faithful are conformed to the image of His Son. In their mouth is found no
guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God (Testimonies to
Ministers, pp. 410-415).

>From Lift Him Up - Page 316

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The Church will Triumph

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the
Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just
and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Rev. 15:3.

Christ has given to the church a sacred charge. Every member should be a
channel through which God can communicate to the world the treasures of His
grace, the unsearchable riches of Christ. There is nothing that the Saviour
desires so much as agents who will represent to the world His Spirit and His
character. There is nothing that the world needs so much as the
manifestation through humanity of the Saviour's love. All heaven is waiting
for men and women through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity.

The church is God's agency for the proclamation of truth, empowered by Him
to do a special work; and if she is loyal to Him, obedient to all His
commandments, there will dwell within her the excellency of divine grace. If
she will be true to her allegiance, if she will honor the Lord God of
Israel, there is no power that can stand against her.

Zeal for God and His cause moved the disciples to bear witness to the gospel
with mighty power. Should not a like zeal fire our hearts with a
determination to tell the story of redeeming love, of Christ and Him
crucified? It is the privilege of every Christian, not only to look for, but
to hasten the coming of the Saviour.

If the church will put on the robe of Christ's righteousness, withdrawing
from all allegiance with the world, there is before her the dawn of a bright
and glorious day. God's promise to her will stand fast forever. He will make
her an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Truth, passing by
those who despise and reject it, will triumph. Although at times apparently
retarded, its progress has never been checked. When the message of God meets
with opposition, He gives it additional force, that it may exert greater
influence. Endowed with divine energy, it will cut its way through the
strongest barriers and triumph over every obstacle.

What sustained the Son of God during His life of toil and sacrifice? He saw
the results of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Looking into
eternity, He beheld the happiness of those who through His humiliation had
received pardon and everlasting life. His ear caught the shout of the
redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
. . .

By faith we may stand on the threshold of the eternal city, and hear the
gracious welcome given to those who in this life cooperate with Christ (The
Acts of the Apostles, pp. 600, 601).

>From Lift Him Up - Page 315

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 Always a Witness in the Church

The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire. Deut. 5:4.

God has never left His church without a witness. In all the scenes of trial and proving, of opposition and persecution amidst moral darkness, through which the church has passed, God has had men of opportunity who have been prepared to take up His work at different stages and carry it forward and upward. Through patriarchs and prophets He revealed His truth to His people. Christ was the teacher of His ancient people as verily as He was when He came to the world clothed in the garments of humanity. Hiding His glory in human form, He often appeared to His people and talked with them "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." He, their invisible Leader, was enshrouded in the pillar of fire and of cloud, and spoke to His people through Moses. The voice of God was heard by the prophets whom He had appointed to a special work and to bear a special message. He sent them to repeat the same words over and over again. He had a message prepared for them that was not after the ways and will of men, and this He put in their mouths and had them proclaim. He assured them the Holy Spirit would give them language and utterance. He who knew the heart would give them words with which to reach the people. . . .

There never will be a time in the history of the church when God's worker can fold his hands and be at ease, saying, "All is peace and safety." Then it is that sudden destruction cometh. Everything may move forward amid apparent prosperity; but Satan is wide awake, and is studying and counseling with his evil angels another mode of attack where he can be successful. The contest will wax more and more fierce on the part of Satan; for he is moved by a power from beneath. As the work of God's people moves forward with sanctified, resistless energy, planting the standard of Christ's righteousness in the church, moved by a power from the throne of God, the great controversy will wax stronger and stronger, and will become more and more determined. Mind will be arrayed against mind, plans against plans, principles of heavenly origin against principles of Satan. Truth in its varied phases will be in conflict with error in its ever-varying, increasing forms, and which, if possible, will deceive the very elect.

Our work must be an earnest one. We are not to fight as those that beat the air. The ministry, the pulpit, and the press demand men like Caleb, who will do and dare, men whose eyes are single to detect the truth from error, whose ears are consecrated to catch the words from the faithful Watcher (Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 404-407).

The world needs evidences of sincere Christianity (ibid., p. 416).

From Lift Him Up - Page 314