[From a sermon at Oakland, Cal., November 7, 1891.] EGW
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” I would that we all could continually bear in mind what Christ is to us, and what we are to him. If we could constantly realize this relation between Christ and our souls, we would rejoice in hope of the glory of God, even in the midst of tribulation. But when tribulation comes upon us, how hard it seems to rejoice; for we are like Peter, and look upon the troublous waves about us instead of keeping the eye fixed upon Jesus. But I would have you see the importance of keeping the eye fixed upon him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith; for when we take our eyes off the difficulties and trials and fix them upon our Helper, we shall see his matchless charms, and know that “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 1)
The Lord would not have us depreciate ourselves, or think that he has forsaken us, when tribulation comes upon us; for we are of value in his sight. He declares, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” He places upon us a value equal to the sufferings of Christ, who died for us upon Calvary's cross; he clothes us with his righteousness; and when trial comes upon us, his eye is upon the purchase of the blood of his only-begotten Son. In this we are to rejoice.
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 2)
The Lord will have a tried people. We are to be tested and proved, to see whether we are worthy of an entrance into the city of God, to have right to the tree of life. If we gain eternal life, we gain everything; and if we lose it, we lose everything; it would be better for us had we never been born than to lose heaven. It is only as we depend upon the strength and righteousness of Christ that we can stand the testing of God. We shall have to educate the mind, and again and again bring to our remembrance the fact that Christ has his hand upon us. With his own divine lips he has said, “Without me ye can do nothing,” but through Christ we can do all things. It is not for us to mark out the way in which we shall walk; but if we take everything that comes to us as in the providence of God, even our tribulation will work patience, and we need not sink in discouragement while we look by faith to Jesus. When the fogs and mists rise here in Oakland, you cannot see the sun, but you do not despair of ever seeing the sun again. You know that behind the clouds the sun is still shining. And by and by the mists roll back, and the sun shines forth, and gladdens the hearts of men by its radiant beams. Then why should we despair when our spiritual sky is clouded? Can we not have faith that the Sun of Righteousness is still shining? Can we not say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth”? We should let our faith penetrate the darkness. It is Satan that casts his dark shadow between our souls and God so that we may not see Jesus; but by living faith we may keep him in view, and let nothing interpose between the soul and God. Then you will be in a position where you can rejoice in tribulation.
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 3)
If I had given way to the attacks of the enemy, I should long ago have been out of the work; for Satan has been on my track ever since I started in the service of the Lord. But after all the trials and conflicts through which I have had to pass, I have only this testimony to bear: There is help for every soul in God. There is no respect of persons with God; for every soul for whom Christ has died is precious in his sight. Jesus loves every soul, from the least to the greatest. The entire family circle is precious before him, and whatever he permits to come upon us is for the purpose of perfecting our characters. He desires that we shall bring the solid timbers into our character building in this life, that nothing may mar our religious experience, or unfit us for the future immortal inheritance. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.”
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 4)
We may gain a better knowledge of God through tribulation than through any other experience; for we may then learn to trust God in the dark. Paul says: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Can we measure such a reward as is promised in these words, an exceeding and eternal weight of glory?
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 5)
We are living in the last days, and we read that “the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The powers from beneath are moving the people to take the measures that will bring the people of God into tribulation. Satan is ever seeking to weaken the church by bringing in dissension and discord, that we shall not fulfill the words of Christ, and be one as he and the Father are one, and so bear a decided testimony to the world of the divinity of Christ. But we must look by faith to Jesus, and the trial will lose its force, and no art of the enemy can avail to cripple our hope in Christ; for we shall realize that we have a Saviour who is mighty to save. Through the darkness of trial and sorrow, we shall be able to distinguish the marks of the crucifixion in his hands and feet and side, and shall hear the voice of the Lord of glory saying: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Our whole future eternal life depends on whether we shall so live that our names may remain graven upon the palms of his hands.
(ST March 28, 1892, Art. A, 6)
We are to follow our Lord in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice. We are not to choose the easiest path. The way that we shall be required to walk will necessitate the exercise of living faith; for it is by faith that we are to rejoice in tribulation, and send forth steady beams of light into the moral darkness that surrounds us. There are about us many who have not an experience in the things of God, and we are to be to them as living epistles to be known and read of all men. The Lord would have us receive that mould of character which will make us fit to be living members of the heavenly family. We are to shed forth light to those who are in darkness and the shadow of death. We are to put out our talents to the exchangers, using, to the best of our ability, the power that God has given us. Jesus is looking to see how you behave yourselves now, that he may judge you worthy of a place in the mansions above; that he may gather you home as children of his family, subjects of the Heavenly King. You are to clothe yourselves now with the garment that has been woven in the loom of heaven, even with the glorious righteousness of Christ, that you may be prepared to stand at his appearing, and be found worthy of a place at his right hand.
(ST March 28, 1892, 1)
The Father in the Family
EGW
The meaning of “husband” is “houseband.” All members of the family center in the father. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the sterner virtues of energy, integrity, honesty, patience, courage, diligence, and practical usefulness.
(ST March 28, 1892, 2)
His children are the younger members of the Lord's family,—brothers and sisters intrusted to his care by his Heavenly Father, to be trained and educated for heaven.
(ST March 28, 1892, 3)
He should never correct his children while impatient or fretful, or while under the influence of passion. If correction is demanded, he should punish them in love, manifesting the unwillingness he feels to cause them pain. He should never raise a hand to give them a blow unless he can, with a clear conscience, bow before God and ask his blessing upon the correction he is about to give. He should encourage love in the hearts of his children, ever presenting before them high and correct motives of self-restraint. He should not give them the impression that they must submit to his control because it is his arbitrary will, because they are weak and he is strong, but because it is for their highest and lasting good and happiness.
(ST March 28, 1892, 4)
The father is in one sense the priest of the household, laying upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice. The wife and children should be encouraged to unite in this offering, and also to engage in the song of praise. Morning and evening the father, as priest of the household, should confess to God the sins committed by himself and his children through the day. Those sins which have come to his knowledge, and also those which are secret, of which God's eye alone has taken cognizance, should be confessed. This rule of action, zealously carried out by the father when he is present, by the mother when he is absent, will result in blessings to the family.
(ST March 28, 1892, 5)