PROMINENT among the prophetic utterances setting forth the religious movement in which we are engaged, and to which we have given our lives, is that found in Mal. 4:5, 6—the last Old-Testament prediction: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
SUBSTITUTING THE COMMANDMENT OF MEN FOR THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
This Scripture met a partial fulfilment in the work of John the Baptist, who came “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” preparing the way for the first coming of Christ; but it can only be completely fulfilled in the message which will prepare the world for his second coming; for that day alone could be properly called “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” It is “the great and terrible day” spoken of by Joel, before which the sun should be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. Joel 2:31. It is the day when all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, as they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30), when “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every free man,” shall flee from his presence, calling for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, because “the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:15-17.
But previously to the coming of this “great and dreadful day,” God, in mercy, sends a message to prepare the world for the great consummation. In every crisis of the conflict, as earth’s history has unfolded, the lines between truth and error have been clearly drawn, and God’s messengers have been clothed with great power in calling men to the supreme decision. In this last great crisis the focused light of all generations will be shed upon the world, and the mighty power of God to save from sin and to defend his truth will be displayed. And so the mighty work done through Elijah in the days of Israel’s greatest apostasy is given as the prototype of the advent message.
This being true, would it not be well for us, as a people who are giving this message, to make a special study of the life and times of Elijah? He stands out as one of the grandest characters of all history, and is a marvelous example of what God can do through frail humanity, when yielded to his guidance.
He was a man of prayer. “He prayed earnestly.” And not only that, but he had a burden to do something.
He was “very jealous for the Lord God of hosts.” His righteous soul was stirred within him as he observed the terrible inroads of heathenism among his people, and saw how God’s law was being trodden under foot. He was a man of courage, seeming to fear none but God, and to hate nothing but evil. From seasons of seeking God in solitude, he came forth to do God’s bidding, whether to deliver the commands of the Lord to an apostate king, or to minister to the wants of a poor widow.
The life and deeds of Elijah are a demonstration of the truth that God’s work is to be accomplished “not by might, nor by power” of men, but by the Lord’s Spirit. This is the great lesson for us. The work in which we are engaged is to go “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” and this week of12prayer has been set apart to the end that we should seek for more of this spirit and power in our own lives and in our work. This is our greatest need. With Elijah’s spirit of faith and prayer, with his burden for souls upon us, we may have the power that he had. Will we take it? “The Spirit of God awaits our demand and reception.”
“Remember, Lord, the ancient days;
Renew thy work, thy grace restore;
And while to thee our hearts we raise,
On us thy Holy Spirit pour.”
A Special Work for Children and Youth
As the curtain was lifted, and Malachi was permitted to look upon the last great spiritual reformation, that which seems to have especially attracted his attention was the turning of the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. We would expect, therefore, to see in the movement which fulfils this prediction a special work for the children and youth. We would expect to see the hearts of parents and children being melted together in love, and old and young working unitedly for the salvation of a sinful world.
Do we see it? Any observer of the movement being carried forward by Seventh-day Adventists would recognize at once that the educational work in behalf of the youth of the denomination constitutes a very prominent feature of it. Great light has shone upon us in regard to the education and training of our children, that they may have the image of God restored in their souls, and that they may take their place in the giving of the message. For the accomplishment of this work there are four important means—the home, a system of Christian schools, the Sabbath-school, and the Missionary Volunteer work. All these means are essential, each in its own field.
Our Sabbath-school organization, reaching as it does every company of Sabbath-keepers throughout the world, and, by means of the home department, even the isolated believers, is a most powerful agency in the development of the whole church. We ought to make the most of it, and determine that, by the Lord’s help, our Sabbath-school work shall count for more during the year 1909 than ever before.
The necessity of church-schools has been set before us again and again; and through the blessing of God, we have an excellent system of schools. We have fallen far short in this matter, especially in the maintenance of primary schools. We are told that “the church is asleep, and does not realize the magnitude of this matter.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 197. Surely the thought that our children are to have a part in the sacred work of God, even when older ones are not permitted to present the truth, and that our church-schools are ordained by God to prepare them for this work, ought to stir us to more vigorous activity in the school work.
Home Influences
But it is of the home and the Missionary Volunteer work that I desire especially to speak. The home is the foundation of all training; and unless the plans for our youth shall begin in the homes of our people, they will amount to but little. Father, mother, and child form a trinity of the most sacred relationships on earth; and the genuine Christian home is the most perfect earthly example of what heaven will be.
PUKEKURA TRAINING-SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE, NEW ZEALAND
It is “the father’s kingdom, the mother’s world, the child’s paradise.” However perfect may be all other agencies for the proper development of the rising generation, the home yields the greatest influence of them all. Here the child receives its first and most lasting impressions; here our boys and girls receive most of their education.
Yet how often the home lacks that warm tenderness and love, coupled with a wholesome discipline, that makes for the development of strong Christian character. How often does “the burning heat of an exciting and ever-driving household life wither the more delicate and sensitive tendrils of the young hearts being trained there.” How often do the storm-bursts of passion make the home a place of peril to the children for the time being, and leave scars on their souls that no fondling can erase. Power and wisdom from God are needed in this most delicate work, the training of youthful minds. Yet how little time or attention is given to a preparation for these sacred responsibilities!
Dear parents, do we feel our children slipping away from us and from God? Let us invite Jesus anew into our homes, that our hearts may be turned to our children, and that sweet companionship with them may be restored. During this week shall we not pray for a revival of genuine home religion? In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VII, page 11, we read: “Parents, do not neglect the work waiting for you in the church in your own family. This is your first field of missionary effort. The most important work you can do is to place your children on the Lord’s side. When they err, deal with them tenderly, yet firmly. Let them unite with you in opposing the evil by which Satan seeks to destroy the souls and bodies of human beings. Share with them the secret of the cross, the secret that to you means sanctification, redemption, and eternal victory. As you take your children with you into the service of the Lord, what a victory you gain.” When this work is done, thousands of souls will be saved.13
Responsibility of the Church
Responsibility for our young people begins in the home, but it does not end there. We are told that “the work that lies nearest to our church-members is to become interested in our youth. . . . Where are the fathers and mothers in Israel? There ought to be a large number who, as stewards of the grace of Christ, would feel not merely a casual interest, but a special interest, in the young. There ought to be many whose hearts are touched by the pitiable situation in which our youth are placed, who realize that Satan is working by every conceivable device to draw them into his net. God requires the church to arouse from its lethargy, and see what manner of service is demanded in this time of peril.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 196. “Very much has been lost to the cause of God by lack of attention to the young.” The overseers of the church, the older members and the ministers, are all called upon to devise ways and means of enlisting the co-operation of the young people in missionary effort.
The Call to Organize for Service
A few weeks ago I visited the lighthouse and life-saving station at Watch Hill, R. I. While there, I heard again, from an eye-witness, the awful story of the sinking of the “Larchmont” off that coast on the cold, wintry night of Feb. 11, 1907. There is one incident connected with the disaster that, to me, is a forcible illustration. A father and son, drenched with the ice-cold waves, by some means procured a boat, and set out for the shore. The son wanted to help row, but the father insisted on doing the work. When the shore was reached, the boy was found to be frozen to death. Rowing would have saved him. Not only for the sake of souls who know not this truth, but for the sake of our boys and girls themselves, they must be put to work. In “Desire of Ages,” page 640, we read: “It is because this work is neglected that so many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. . . . The restless energy that is so often a source of danger to the14young, might be directed into channels through which it would flow out in streams of blessing.” The enlistment of our young people in the work, and the wise direction of their energies, is the work that lies before us. Children are full of life, and will be active; those who are approaching the age of young manhood and womanhood, and are beginning to feel their individuality, desire to do something on their own initiative. It is a time of great possibilities, and it is a critical time. Wise and loving leadership is needed now.
To these young people, full of hope and courage, and with ability to execute, the message has come: “Young men and young women, can not you form companies, and, as soldiers of Christ, enlist in the work, putting all your tact and skill and talent into the Master’s service, that you may save souls from ruin? Let there be companies organized in every church to do this work. . . . Will the young men and young women who really love Jesus organize themselves as workers, not only for those who profess to be Sabbath-keepers, but for those who are not of our faith?”—Signs of the Times, May 29, 1893.
These and other messages constitute a definite call to our young people to organize for service.
The Response
The prophecy of Malachi is being fulfilled. From the homes of our people up to the General Conference, such an interest as was never seen before is being manifested in our young people. School facilities are being provided, Missionary Volunteer secretaries are being appointed in local and union conferences; more attention is given this work at our camp-meetings; young people’s conventions and institutes are being held; Missionary Volunteer societies are being organized, after careful work with and for our young people; even the isolated are being enlisted, and missionary work is being done. The reports show a steady increase in missionary interest and in missionary endeavor. Only a beginning, it is true, has been made; but there are evidences that the church is awakening from its lethargy; there are tokens of a coming revival. This means that the stream of our dear youth that has been drifting out into the worldly current, is being checked, and the numbers largely increased of those whose energies will be consecrated to the giving of “the advent message to all the world in this generation.” And “with such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world.”—Education, page 271.
“As the children sang in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,’ so in these last days, children’s voices will be raised to give the last message of warning to a perishing world. When heavenly intelligences see that men are no longer permitted to present the truth, the Spirit of God will come upon the children, and they will do a work in the proclamation of the truth which the older workers can not do, because their way will be hedged up.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. VI, pages 202, 203.
Reference may be made to experiences related in “Great Controversy,” pages 366, 367. Ask children to speak of their personal desires to be used of God in his work.
Witnessing for Jesus
Children’s Lesson—No. 4
Witnessing for Jesus
Memory Verse: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord.” Isa. 43:10.
To bear witness is to tell what one knows. A judge or jury often decides very important matters by the testimony of one witness. Any one who knows about Jesus can be a witness for him.
Everybody is witnessing either for or against Christ. Matt. 12:30; 6:24.
How we witness:—
By our words.
By our lives.
Make practical applications to home and school life.
The whole world will hear those who witness for Jesus. Matt. 24:14.
A missionary was climbing a mountain range where were a number of homes, though somewhat scattered. Desiring to preach at least one sermon to the people, he asked how he could let them all know of the appointment. “O, just tell the first one you meet up there,” was the answer, “and he will tell all the others.” It would not take long to tell the whole world the gospel of Christ, if only each one would tell all the others in his vicinity.
“I am too young.” If you can tell of the love of mother or father, you can tell of Jesus’ love.
“I am not good enough.” Ask Jesus to give you a new heart, and help you to be good. He will do it.
“I am afraid.” Prov. 28:1. The apostles were not afraid even when threatened with imprisonment. They said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29.
“I don’t know enough.” J. Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, talking to a youthful Christian, said, “Does a candle become useful only after it has burned down?” “No,” was the reply; “just as soon as it is lighted.” “Then,” said the missionary, “imitate the candle, and let your light shine right at the start.”
A promise to those who witness for Jesus publicly. Matt. 10:32.
“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”
God has appointed his children as stewards over his household. According to the Scriptures, the Lord does not appoint some as stewards, and leave others without stewardship; but he calls “his servants,” each and every one, and delivers to them his goods. In this appointment, the Lord does not necessarily give to each man the same responsibility. In the parable of the talents, he gave to one servant five talents, to another two, and to another one,—to every man according to his several ability. So the Lord entrusts his children with responsibility somewhat in proportion to their natural ability.
This appointment is not received from man, nor is it given by man: it comes from the Lord himself. He makes each servant of his, whom he calls to accept of his grace and mercy, his steward. The Master delivers to his servant a portion of his goods, over which he expects him to exercise stewardship, until the time that God calls him to make final settlement. This stewardship is a trust committed to man, and is one of the highest and noblest appointments he can receive in this world.
This stewardship will ever remain a sure test of character. Faithfulness in the performance of the plain, simple duties of life, is proof of one’s love and loyalty to God. One’s stewardship begins at the very time when he enters the Lord’s service. The individual does not have to continue with the Lord for a series of years to demonstrate his ability, or to give evidence of his integrity, before the Lord appoints him to his stewardship; but whom the Lord accepts, he appoints at once as a steward.14
Paul says, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” You will recall that in the parable of the rich steward, it had been reported to the rich man that his steward had wasted his goods. “And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.”
From all the teachings of God’s Word, it is expected that faithfulness, strict integrity, and loyalty to the Master will be found in all who retain their stewardship. One may ask the question, Over what am I made steward? The answer is: Over all that the Lord has committed to your keeping. You are the steward of your time, the steward of all the means which God has committed to you. Neither the Christian’s time nor his means is his own, to do with as he may wish. Each is a trust received from the Lord, to whom the Christian must be responsible for the use that he makes of these gifts. The Lord takes cognizance of every act, every word, all our dealings with one another, and our deportment before our fellow men.
The steward of the Lord can never say that this or that is of no importance to him. Apparently small things constitute the very pillars and foundation stones of true Christian character. Nothing can be regarded lightly. The Lord notices the dropped stitch; he sees the slightest task; he observes the spirit of faithfulness or unfaithfulness in the smallest matters; and to his vision these small things are the true index of what we really are. They either fit or unfit us for the society of heavenly beings. In all the teachings of Christ, faithfulness in small matters is upheld as all-important. “These,” says the Great Teacher, “ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
God himself claims ownership to all the riches of earth. This world and all its treasures belong to God. Speaking through the psalmist, he declared, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” On another occasion, he says: “I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
All the temporal blessings that we enjoy are gifts from God. They are not obtained by our wisdom or by our human strength: they are treasures committed to our keeping, over which we are to exercise stewardship, and for which stewardship we are accountable to the Lord.
A GROUP OF INCA INDIAN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OF PERU
It is a great privilege for one to be God’s steward. Even in earthly courts to be a steward over the king’s household is an honor much sought after. The greatest, the noblest, count it a high privilege to be appointed steward by an earthly sovereign. But no earthly stewardship can approximate the glory and service of our heavenly King. We are his stewards, chosen and appointed by himself over his own household. The treasures and riches are his, and he entrusts them to us for our keeping. He expects us to return to him that which he claims as holy unto the Lord,—tithes and offerings. That portion of his goods which we use wisely and well in his cause is that which gives evidence of our faithfulness in our stewardship. If a man, by accepting the gifts of the Lord, accepts the office of steward, but refuses to return to him that which he claims as his own in either tithes or offerings, it can not be said of such a one that he is a steward faithful in all things.
God requires his people to bring tithes and offerings to him; these are his by right, for all we have is God’s. As if it were a thing too strange for belief, he asks, “Will a man rob God?” Then follows the fearful indictment: “Yet ye have robbed me.” Those stewards of his who have betrayed their trust ask, “Wherein have we robbed thee?” Then God answers, in terms too plain to be misunderstood, “In tithes and offerings.” Listen to God’s denunciation of such stewardship: “Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” Then in yearning love and pity he pleads with his people, and promises these blessings to such as will be faithful stewards: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.”
The year 1907 saw the largest ingathering of tithes and offerings in the history of the third angel’s message. According to the statistical reports, the tithe paid was $1,064,753.43. Offerings for home and foreign missions were made to the amount of $639,964.69. All this means has been devoted to the cause of God through the faithful stewardship of his children.
Doubtless many who listen to this reading to-day have been faithful to the last cent which belongs to God. Surely there is not one who feels that he has given too much to God’s cause in the earth. There may be others who have given only a portion of that which belongs to the Lord, and which he claims as his own. There may be some, even, who have not conscientiously endeavored to return to the Lord that which belonged to him. These are all matters of very great importance to every soul here to-day. There is no surest test of character than faithfulness in bringing tithes and offerings to the Lord. No one but God knows the exact amount of each individual’s tithe. No church-member can know it; no one in the conference can possibly know it. Even the members of one’s own family do not have a true knowledge of just the amount of tithe he should pay. A true tithe is known only to the individual and to God.
God not only claims a full tithe, but he claims offerings as well. “Ye have robbed me . . . in tithes and offerings.” Who among us can claim that we have no offerings to bring to the Lord? He who gave his only begotten Son to redeem15us from sin and its awful curse, is entitled to the best that we can give. One dear believer writes, in a letter received while this reading is being prepared: “I do believe if I owned the wealth of all this, God’s footstool, I could, and would, really give it all, just as fast as it could be used, and then feel as if I had done nothing more than I ought to do.” This is the spirit of every true steward of Christ. He not only is willing, but anxious, to render to the Master everything that it is possible for him to give, to be used to the Master’s glory.
While we are blessed with health and life, it is well for us to think of the day of final settlement. We shall have to give an account to the Lord of our stewardship. Each of us must stand before Almighty God, and render to him an account of our use of the means and the time which he entrusted to us in this life. Christ said: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
The rewards which God has promised to his faithful children are beyond all calculation. They are infinite in value. They are eternal in time. Nothing of earth can compare with what we shall have in eternity with the Lord. Neither will our reward be all of a material nature; for we shall find spiritual blessings of which we have only had a foretaste here. To live and reign with Christ through all eternity, to share with him his throne, to walk upon the sea of glass, to stand before the throne of God,—these are rewards which ought to encourage us to earnest Christian effort, to faithful stewardship, to holy living, in this present life.
Moreover, God takes the means which we put into his cause, and uses it in bringing souls to his kingdom. The results of the use of this means he credits to the steward who paid the tithes or offerings, though the amounts given were already the Lord’s. Thus the giver is doubly blessed,—blessed in giving to the Lord his own, and rewarded with what his gifts have accomplished in the work of saving souls. These ransomed, redeemed ones are reckoned to the account of the stewardship of God’s people; and they will shine as stars in the crowns of God’s children throughout endless ages.
On that glad day when the Master comes to call to himself the purchase of his blood, and to reward his faithful children, there will stand before him a countless throng who have come from “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” We shall meet all the faithful stewards of God’s household around his throne. The touch of immortality will be in every face; the life of God will be stamped on every brow. Then with his own hand the Master will crown with glory and honor those who have been true to him.
It will not be the honors which men have given us, nor the treasures of earth which we have heaped together here, that will be our pride and joy in that day. No, no! Our joy will be to have done what we could to save our fellows from sin and ruin. In that glad day there will be some in glory, clothed in the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, who have been saved, by God’s grace, through our stewardship.
To-day is a good day for us to redeem the past. Let not the enemy deceive your soul. What God requires of one he requires of all,—faithfulness in stewardship. If God has been wronged by us in tithes and offerings, let us restore this day that which is the Lord’s, and make a covenant of peace with God. Forget not the standard of acceptable stewardship: “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful;” remember also the words of the Master: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
To-day is the accepted time. To-day bring your tithes and offerings to God, and prove him now, if he will not pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. May all here to-day heed this call, and be among those faithful stewards to whom our Lord will say, on his return: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
This ladder has five rounds—five “shalls.” The first is a statement; the other four are questions we are to answer, keeping the first one in mind.
First round. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Nobody is left out. Anybody and everybody may call. A child may call, a poor man may call, a heathen may call.
Second round. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” Nobody sends for a doctor in whom he has no confidence. The heathen do not believe in Christ, because they have no chance to believe.
Third round. “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” No one will wish to try a remedy of which he has not heard. Millions have never heard of Christ, and so can not believe.
Fourth round. “How shall they hear without a preacher?” Where there are ears to hear, there must be voices to speak. In some places there are many, many ears, and only one or two voices. Many are telling those who have already heard again and again, while millions have not heard once. Some are looking at these heathen countries, and saying, “Here am I; send me.”
Fifth round. “How shall they preach, except they be sent?” It is Jesus who puts in men’s hearts a desire to go to the dark places of earth, and “preach the gospel.” Jesus sends them; he gives them a message of joy and peace to carry to those in darkness; and he allows us to have a part in their work.
What can we do? (Let the children themselves answer. Emphasize the need of self-denial.)
“Children and youth have given their pennies, that, like little rivulets, have supplied a stream of beneficence. Children should be educated in such a way that they may perform unselfish acts which heaven will rejoice to see. When the dew of youth is upon them, children should be trained how to do service for Christ. They should be taught self-denial.”—“Testimonies on Sabbath-school Work,” page 113.
