by Richard Myers
 

As we near the end, we are all more motivated to hasten the soon coming of Jesus. We are also concerned about the spirituality of our loved ones. Time is running out. Not that probation has not been closing for multitudes every day. But, when we consider that soon there will be only two groups, those who love the Lord our God with all of the heart, and those whose hearts have been so hardened that they cannot hear that still small voice pleading with them any more, we become more motivated to do all we can to help all, but most especially those we love dearly.

We see in the world the results of God removing His Spirit from it. At the same time we also see that God is pouring out His Spirit upon those who love Him and those who still can hear Him calling to them. Some in His church have become discouraged because they thought Jesus

God is pouring out His Spirit

would come long ago. Did we all not think many years ago, He would soon come? How many times did we say, it won't be long now as we saw the world sinking lower and lower. But, never has it been as it is now. Since I am preaching to the choir, there is no need to point out how far removed is the world from where it was when God created it. Jesus warned us what this world would be like just before His second coming. "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  " Luke 17:26-30.

We hear too often some rejecting the soon coming of Jesus because we have been saying He is coming for many many years. What can we say, but that the signs are being fulfilled right before our eyes. And, it was  not that Jesus did not want to come in the past, but it was because we failed to do what needed to be done. It is not the Catholics, nor the Baptists that have failed, but it is we who have been entrusted with the sacred oracles of God. We have not done that which God has asked us to do. And what might that be? To take the gospel message to the whole world, and to rightly represent the character of our God and Savior.

Satan has charged God with being unfair before the angels in heaven and now again he  charges God as being unfair because He  requires us to keep His law which he says is impossible for fallen man to do. Every time I sin, Satan laughs and points to me as evidence he is right. All who sin support Satan's charges against God. Does this failure on our part to rightly represent God have anything to do with the delay of the second coming of our Lord? Absolutely. Where is Jesus today? What is He doing? When will He stand up and leave the Most Holy Place in heaven? The Bible tells us what must happen first. The King of the North must "plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain........and at that time shall Michael stand up...." Daniel 11:45, 12:1.
 

Jesus cannot finish His work

That is very true. Jesus cannot finish His work in the Most Holy Place until this prophecy takes place. Well....that prophecy is in the process of being fulfilled before our very eyes. But, Jesus cannot stand up until He finishes His work in the Most Holy Place.  What must happen before Jesus can finish His work there? What is His work? He is cleansing the sanctuary from sin. Every time one of His children whose name has been written in the Book of Life sins, the record of that sin goes into the heavenly sanctuary. Then the sin is either blotted out or it remains in the books of heaven to be carried away by Satan. Thus, as long as sins are being transferred into the sanctuary, Jesus cannot finish His work. He has another sin to remove one way or the other. We need to quit making more work for Him.

Let us not be discouraged, but continue to pray that we cease sinning and glorify our Savior and hasten His soon coming. He cannot come until His people cease dirtying the heavenly sanctuary with our sins. While pouring clean water upon His people, He is removing His Spirit from the world. Good is called evil and evil called good. National apostasy is bringing national ruin to all nations in the world. Let His people be a light in this dark spot in the universe that He may be glorified. Many are offended by such talk. God is offended when the truth is attacked and counsel is denied.

"I was shown that if God's people make no efforts on their part, but wait for the refreshing to come upon them and remove their wrongs and correct their errors; if they depend upon that to cleanse them from filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and fit them to engage in the loud cry of the third angel, they will be found wanting. The refreshing or power of God comes only on those who have prepared themselves for it by doing the work which God bids them, namely, cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."  Yes, God does not do it all. He is calling unrepentant sinners to Himself. His grace surrounds us as thick as the air we breathe, but many do not take advantage of it. It would be very good if we would spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus. Then we would see His grace, then we would be transformed in nature, and in character. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.

We will not obtain holy flesh until by God's grace we meet Jesus at His second coming. But, we may become a partaker of His divine nature.

Partakers of the divine nature

Then, like Jesus, we would have two natures, a fallen nature and a divine nature. No, it is not blasphemy to repeat what the Bible says. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4. Like 2 Cor. 3:18, this is a well kept secret except to those who study for themselves.

God wants us to perfect holiness of heart and mind, not of the flesh. It has to be kept "under." And that can only be done when we are fully surrendered to God and  filled with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the godhead. Then we are a partakers of His divine nature. Paul clearly states that he keeps his flesh under lest He be lost. "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."  1 Cor. 9:27. Before we go to Jesus for cleansing of heart and mind, we must see how filthy we are and understand God's promises to cleanse our heart and mind.

"Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure, and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, 'I know in whom I have believed; nothing can shake my faith in God and in His word.' But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects. Only through realizing our own weakness and looking steadfastly unto Jesus can we walk securely."

It is a hard lesson to learn, and a painful one, for when we forget Jesus and sin, we hurt the One we love. We crucify Jesus afresh when we sin. And when we sin, Satan laughs in Jesus' face.  And, we delay His coming. Jesus knows all this, yet He is patient with us. We still have an Intercessor who stands between us and death. What is He doing today? He is pouring clean water upon His church.  Those who doubt His love for His organized church need to study to show themselves approved. Whether it is the wind or water, He is revealing His grace to those who still have opportunity to be cleansed from sin. From the lips of Ezekiel:

 36:22   Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not [this] for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy

From all your idols, will I cleanse you

name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
 36:23   And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
 36:24   For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
 36:25   Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

 37:5   Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
 37:6   And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
 37:7   So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

Put my spirit in you, and ye shall live

 37:8   And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but [there was] no breath in them.
 37:9   Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
 37:10   So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
 37:11   Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
 37:12   Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
 37:13   And ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
 37:14   And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the LORD.

Yes, God has a denominated people, an organized church for world-wide evangelism. And, yes it is filthy. And not until we recognize the church is in a Laodicean condition because most of its members are not converted, but believe they are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, will we seek a solution. That solution is given in the message to the Laodicean Church by Jesus. Let us read the rest of the message that we be encouraged. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:18-21.

Where is Jesus when He says "I stand at the door"? He is standing at the door of the heart, knocking, wanting in. God's part in our salvation is immeasurably large, our part is immeasurably small. If we do not open the door, we shall not be saved. Those who still can hear that still small know what is being said. Do not put off doing what you know is right. Today is the day of salvation. Today Jesus wants us to hasten His soon coming. He is taking the reins into His own hands and cutting the time short lest none be left alive. We need to not only be praying for each other and our loved ones, but for those who despitefully use us. We need to be witnesses of the power of grace to transform sinners into saints. Then the heathen will know there is a God in heaven whose greatest miracle is transforming sinners into saints. When His people awake to their privilege and their great responsibility, then by His grace we shall finish the work that was set before us over 179 years ago. "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Daniel 8:14. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, yet we have been wandering for many more. If we had done what we ought to have done, then the suffering would have ceased long ago. Think about it. No WWI, no WWII, and many other wars and much sorrow and suffering in the last 135 years. Yes, Jesus wanted to come in 1888, but the church had been preaching the law, the law, the law until she was as dry as the Hills of Gilboa (Review and Herald, March 11, 1890).

 

It is the gospel message that the world needs. And, in order to share the gospel, we need to understand it and live it. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people..." Rev. 14:6. This is not "meat," but the "milk" of the Word. We ought to be feeding upon meat, but have yet to understand the milk. " I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet

When for the time ye ought to be teachers..

carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Cor. 3:2,3. Yes, to be a Laodicean is to be "carnal."

 

Thus, we must continue to study the foundation of our faith, the milk. What is that? "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." 1 Cor. 5:12-6:2