NOTES: |
Sabbath, October 31, 2009
1 |
Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 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." |
2 |
“When men are willing to become intelligent in regard to the cause of God because they have invested faith and means in it, God will help them to understand, and they will be steadfast in the faith; but when they have merely a theory, a shallow faith they cannot explain, a sudden temptation will cause them to drift away with the current bearing toward the world. . . . {OHC 332.4} |
3 |
Exodus 20:17, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." |
4 |
“Everyone
will be held responsible for the grace given him through Christ. Life is
too solemn to be absorbed in temporal or earthly matters. The Lord desires
that we shall communicate to others that which the eternal and unseen
communicates to us. { Every year millions upon millions of
human souls are passing into eternity unwarned and unsaved. From hour to
hour in our varied life opportunities to reach and save souls are opened to us.
These opportunities are continually coming and going. God desires us to make
the most of them. Days, weeks, and months are passing; we have one day, one
week, one month less in which to do our work. A few more years at the
longest, and the voice which we cannot refuse to answer will be heard saying,
"Give an account of thy stewardship."
{ Christ calls upon every one to consider.
Make an honest reckoning. Put into one scale Jesus, which means eternal
treasure, life, truth, heaven, and the joy of Christ in souls redeemed; put
into the other every attraction the world can offer. Into one scale put the
loss of your own soul, and the souls of those whom you might have been
instrumental in saving; into the other, for yourself and for them, a life that
measures with the life of God. Weigh for time and for eternity. While you are
thus engaged, Christ speaks: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain
the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark God desires us to choose the heavenly in
place of the earthly. He opens before us the possibilities of a heavenly
investment. He would give encouragement to our loftiest aims, security to our
choicest treasure. He declares, "I will make a man more precious than
fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12.
When the riches that moth devours and rust corrupts shall be swept away,
Christ's followers can rejoice in their heavenly treasure, the riches that are
imperishable. { Better than all the friendship of the
world is the friendship of Christ's redeemed. Better than a title to the
noblest palace on earth is a title to the mansions our Lord has gone to
prepare. And better than all the words of earthly praise will be the
Saviour's words to His faithful servants, "Come, ye blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world." Matthew 25:34. { To those who have squandered His goods,
Christ still gives opportunity to secure lasting riches. He says,
"Give, and it shall be given unto you." "Provide yourselves bags
which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief
approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." Luke Then let your property go beforehand to
heaven. Lay up your treasures beside the throne of God. Make sure your
title to the unsearchable riches of Christ. "Make to yourselves friends by
means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it shall fail, they may
receive you into the eternal tabernacles." R.V. { |
5 |
Daniel |
6 |
“Enoch walked with the unseen God. In the busiest places of the earth, his Companion was with him. Let all who are keeping the truth in simplicity and love, bear this in mind. The men who have the most to do have the greatest need of keeping God ever before them. When the tempter presses his suggestions upon their mind, they may, if they cherish a "Thus saith the Lord," be drawn into the secret pavilion of the Most High. His promises will be their safeguard. Amid all the confusion and rush of business, they will find a quiet resting place. {TDG 232.2} |
7 |
Matthew 10:37, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." |
8 |
Revelation |
9 |
All who
would have their names retained in the book of life, should now, in the few
remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for
sin, and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The
light, frivolous spirit indulged in by so many professed Christians must be put
away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil
tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an
individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one
will not offset the want of these qualities in another. . . . Every one must
be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {SD 355.2}
Solemn are the scenes connected with the
closing work of the atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein.
The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. . . . In the awful presence
of God our lives are to come up in review. . . . {SD 355.3}
When the work of the investigative
judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death.
Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds
of heaven. . . . Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of
their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of
business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure-lover is
seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments,
--it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the
sentence, "Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting." {SD 355.4}
Silently, unnoticed as the |