We have Great Tribulation
John 16:33 In the world ye shall have tribulation
John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
John 14:1: Let not your heart be troubled:
John 16:3: And these things will they do unto you
John 16:22: And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice
John16:6: … sorrow hath filled your heart.
Philippians 4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Colossians 3:15: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts and be thankful
Matthew 27:31: And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Mark:15:27 And with him they crucify two thieves
Note– Renewal of the straight testimony
“The Lord calls for a renewal of the straight testimony borne in years past. He calls for a renewal of spiritual life. The spiritual energies of His people have long been torpid, but there is to be a resurrection from apparent death.”— (Test Vol. 8, p. 297)|.By prayer and confession of sin we must clear the King’s Highway. As we do this, the power of the Spirit will come to us; for the Lord has promised to send His Spirit as the all-conquering power.
Perilous times are before us. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should awake and place himself, body, soul and spirit under the discipline of God. The enemy is on our track. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must follow the directions given through the spirit of prophecy. We must love and obey the truth for this time. This will save us from accepting ‘strong delusions’ that God has spoken to us through his word (2Thes2:2).He has spoken to us through ‘the testimonies to the church’ and through the books that have helped make plain our present duty and the position that we should now occupy. The warnings that have been given, “line upon line, precept upon precept” should be heeded.
If we disregard them what excuse can we offer? I beseech those who are laboring for God not to accept the spurious for the genuine. Let not human reason be placed where divine, sanctifying truth should be. Christ is waiting to kindle faith and love in the hearts of His people.
Let not erroneous theories receive countenance from the people who ought to be standing firm on the platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to hold firmly to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.
(Seek the First Love)-Into the hearts of many who have been long in the truth there has entered a hard, judicial spirit.
They are sharp, critical, faultfinding. They have climbed upon the judgment seat to pronounce Sentence upon those who do not conform to their ideas; God calls upon them to come to come down and bow before Him in repentance, confessing their Sins. He says to them “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first work or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”-Rev 2:4-5.They are striving for the first place, and by their words and acts they make, many hearts sore. Against this spirit and against the false religion of Sentimentalism, which is equally dangerous- I bear my warnings. Take Heed Brethren and Sister. Who is your leader?-Christ or the angel that fell from heaven? Examine yourselves and know whether you are sound in the faith. (Testimony Treasures Vol 3 pg 274-276)
1Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you
1Corinthians:3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest….; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Peter:1:7 That the trial of your faith
James 1:12-13 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation
1Corinthians:10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
Job:5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
Hebrew 12:5: despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Revelation 3:19: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
Revelation 2:10: Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:
Matthew10:22: And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake
James 5:10-13 Take the prophets for an example of suffering affliction and patience
Note: Why the trouble will be permitted
Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of telling under the Power of Satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The Lessons of faith which they have neglected, they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement. “The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined; his delusions are terrible, but the Lord’s eye is upon his people and his ears listen to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected”. {GC 621.1}.
The people of God must drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay so painful to them is the best answer to their petitions. As they endeavor to wait trustingly for God to work they are led to exercise faith, hope and patience, which have been too little exercised during their religious experience.
Note: “The Lord has shown me in vision, REPEATEDLY, that it is contrary to the Bible to make any provision for our temporal wants in the time of trouble. I saw that if the saints have food laid up by them, or in the fields, in the time of trouble when sword, famine, and pestilence are in the land, it will be taken from them by violent hands, and strangers would reap their fields”.
I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before the time of trouble comes, and make covenant with God through Sacrifice. If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquired for duty, then God will teach them when to dispose of these things. Then they will be free in the time of trouble, and have no clogs to weigh them down. I also saw God had not required all of His people to dispose of their property at the same time; but if they desired to be taught, he would teach them, in a time of need when to sell and how much to sell”.(Preparation for this Final Crisis pg 137-138).
Matthew 5:12 so persecuted they the prophets:
Romans 5:3-4 We glory in tribulations, for it worketh patience
Acts 5:40-41 The apostles were beaten for speaking in the name of Jesus
2Chronicles 36:14-16 They mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words
Matthew 23:34-37 I (Jesus) send unto you prophets and wise men: and some of them you shall kill
Luke 11:49 God said “I will send them prophets and apostles, and some they shall slay and persecute
2 Corinthians 11: 23-27 I (Paul) five times received stripes, three times beaten with rods, stoned once, three times suffered shipwreck
Acts 7:51-52 They have slain them (the prophets) which showed before the coming of the Just One
1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 You have suffered things of your own countrymen… who both killed Jesus and their own prophets
Psalms 9:9-10 The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble
Note–” O that thou, a nation favored above every other, hadst known the time of thy visitation, and the things that belong unto thy peace! I have stayed the angel of justice; I have called thee to repentance, but in vain. It is not merely servants, delegates, and prophets, whom thou hast refused and rejected, but the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer. If thou art destroyed, thou alone art responsible. “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” Matthew 23:37; John 5:40.
Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God. The woes of a fallen race, pressing upon His soul, forced from His lips that exceeding bitter cry. He saw the record of sin traced in human misery, tears, and blood; His heart was moved with infinite pity for the afflicted and suffering ones of earth; He yearned to relieve them all. But even His hand might not turn back the tide of human woe; few would seek their only Source of help. He was willing to pour out His soul unto death, to bring salvation within their reach; but few would come to Him that they might have life. The Majesty of heaven in tears! The Son of the Infinite God troubled
in spirit, bowed down with anguish! The scene filled all heaven with wonder. That scene reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin; it shows how hard a task it is, even for Infinite Power, to save the guilty from the consequences of transgressing the law of God. Jesus, looking down to the last generation, saw the world involved in a deception similar to that which caused the destruction of Jerusalem. The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ; the great sin of the Christian world would be their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. The precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at nought. Millions in bondage to sin, slaves of Satan, doomed to suffer the second death, would refuse to listen to the words of truth in their day of visitation. Terrible blindness! Strange infatuation!
Two days before the Passover, when Christ had for the last time departed from the temple, after denouncing the hypocrisy of the Jewish rulers, He again went out with His disciples to the Mount of Olives and seated Himself with them upon the grassy slope overlooking the city. Once more He gazed upon its walls, its towers, and its palaces. Once more He beheld the temple in its dazzling splendor, a diadem of beauty crowning the sacred mount.(Great Controversy pg 22-23).
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you
Psalm 119: 71 It was good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes
Psalm 119: 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word
Hebrew 12:2-3 Jesus for the joy that was set before him endured the cross
Luke 24: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
Psalm 110: 1 Sit down at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool
Luke 24: 37-38 Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Job 5:17-18 Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty
Psalm 94: 12 Blessed is the man whom (the Lord) chastens, and teaches him out of thy law
Proverbs 13:24 He that spares his rod hates his son: but he that loves him chastens him at times
Proverbs 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying
Proverbs 23:13-14 Withhold not correction from the child…thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell.
Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning
Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he (Jesus) humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Matthew 26:39 Jesus prayed, saying, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt
John 12:27-28 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour
Matthew 20: 21-22 You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I baptized with?
Job 4:3-4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the weak knees
Isaiah 35:3-4 Strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees… God will come… he will come and save you
Job 13:15 Thou he slay me, yet will I trust in him
Psalm 23: 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
2 Corinthians 7:4-6 God comforts those that are cast down
Matthew 5: 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted
Isaiah 61:1-3 He hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to comfort all that mourn
Luke 6:21 Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh
John 16: 20 Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy
2 Corinthians 1: 4-11 As ye be partakers of suffering, so shall you be of the consolation
Revelation 21:4 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, there will be no more death, neither sorrow , nor crying
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep
1Corinthians 12:26 Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it
Job 6:14 To him that is afflicted pity should be shown from his friend
John 11:21,33-35 When Jesus saw her weeping… he groaned in his spirit and was troubled
Psalm 30:11 Turn for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness
Daniel 11:33-36 And they that understand among the people …shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword
2 Timothy 3:12 All that live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution
Hebrews 11:35-38 Others had trials of cruel mocking and scourging
Lamentations 3:31-37 The Lord does not afflict willingly, nor grieve …men
Luke 22: 31-33 Behold, satan has desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil…walketh about seeking whom he may devour
Revelation 12: 12 Woe to the inhabitants of the earth…the devil has come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time
Romans 8: 35-37 In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us
Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil
Genesis 32: 24-28 Jacob’s time of trouble
Revelation 2:7,11,17,26 To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God
Revelation 1:9 I John, who am also your brother, and companion in tribulation
Revelation 3:5-9 He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better
Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all
Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief
2 Timothy 4:2 Exhort with all longsuffering the doctrine
Lamentations 3: 31-36 For though he (The Lord) cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men
1 Thessalonians 4: 13 I would not have you ignorant … that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope
Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn the statutes
Luke 13:11-16 Ought not this woman…whom satan had bound these 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?
2 Corinthians 12:7 There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure
Romans 8:28 All things work together for good to them that love God
Job 34:28 The Lord heareth the cry of the afflicted
Job 35: 9 The multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty
Exodus 22:23 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child, if thou afflict them… I will surely hear their cry
Psalm 26:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble
Note: Testimonies for the church pg 54-55
Many in the world have their affections on things that may be good in themselves, but their minds are satisfied with these things and do not seek the greater and higher good that Christ desires to give them. Now we must not rudely seek to deprive them of what they hold dear. Reveal to them the beauty and preciousness of truth. Lead them to behold Christ and His loveliness; then they will turn aside from everything that will draw their affections away from Him. This is the principle of the Saviour’s dealing with men; it is the principle that must be brought into the church. Christ came into the world “to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound”(Isa 61:1). “The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings”(Mal 4:2)
The world is full of men and women who are carrying a heavy burden of sorrow and suffering and God sends His children to reveal to them who will take away the burden and give them the rest. It is the mission of Christ’s servants to help, to bless and to heal.
Note (Desire of Ages pg 300-302)-The worldling may pronounce this sorrow as weakness; but it is the strength which binds the penitent to the Infinitive One with links that cannot be broken
It shows that the angels of God are bringing back to the soul the graces that were lost through the hardness of heart and transgression. Tears of the penitent are only the raindrops that precede the Sunshine of holiness. This sorrow heralds a joy which will be a living fountain in the soul.
“Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful”, saith the Lord (Jer 3:13).And for those also who mourn in trials and sorrow there is comfort. The bitterness of grief and humiliation is better than the indulgences of sin. Through affliction God reveals to us the plague spots in our characters, that by his grace we may overcome our faults. Unknown Chapters in regard to ourselves are opened to us, and the test comes whether we will accept the testimony, the reproof and the council of God. When brought into trial, we are not to fret and complain. We should not rebel or worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways of the Lord are obscure to him who desires to see things in a light pleasing to himself. They appear dark and joyless to our human nature, but ‘God’s ways are ways of mercy and the End is salvation’. Elijah knew not what he was doing when in the desert he said that “he had enough of life, and prayed that he must die”. The Lord in his mercy did not take him at his word. There was yet a greater work for Elijah to do; and when his work was done, he was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness. Not for him the descent into the dust of death, but the ascent in Glory, with the convoy of Celestial Chariots, to the throne on high. God’s word for the sorrowing is, “I have seen his ways and will heal him: I will lead him also and restore comforts unto him and his mourners”. I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow (Isa 57:18, Jere 31:13). “Blessed are the meek”. The difficulties we have to encounter may be very much lessened by that meekness which hides itself in Christ. If we possess the humility of our Master, we shall rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed and they will cease to cast a gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is Self-Control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a calm and trustful spirit robs God of his right to reveal in him His own perfection and character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the followers of Christ, it is the token of their connection with the courts above. “Though the Lord be high, yea hath he respect unto the lowly” (Psalms 138:6).Those who reveal the meek and lowly spirit of Christ are tenderly regarded by God. They may be looked upon with scorn by the world, but they are of Great value in his sight. Not only the wise, the great, the beneficent, will gain a passport to the heavenly courts; not only the busy workers, full of zeal and restless activity. No; the poor in spirit who craves the presence of an abiding Christ, the humble in heart, whose highest ambition is to do God’s will, these will gain an abundant entrance. They will be among that number who have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
Ambassadors of Christ 