ung men and women, you are accountable to God for the light that He has given
you. This light and these warnings, if not heeded, will rise up in the judgment against
you. Your dangers have been plainly stated; you have been cautioned and guarded on every
side, hedged in with warnings. In the house of God you have listened to the most solemn,
heart-searching truths presented by the servants of God in demonstration of the Spirit. What
weight do these solemn appeals have upon your hearts? What influence do they have upon
your characters? You will be held responsible for every one of these appeals and warnings.
They will rise up in the judgment to condemn those who pursue a life of vanity, levity, and
pride....
After this light has been given, after your dangers have been plainly presented before
you, the responsibility becomes yours. The manner in which you treat the light that God
gives you will turn the scale for happiness or woe. You are shaping your destinies for
yourselves. You all have an influence for good or for evil on the minds and characters of
others. And just the influence which you exert is written in the book of records in heaven.
An angel is attending you and taking record of your words and actions. When you rise in
the morning, do you feel your helplessness and your need of strength from God? And do
you humbly, heartily make known your wants to your heavenly Father? If so, angels mark
your prayers, and if these prayers have not gone forth out of feigned lips, when you are
in danger of unconsciously doing wrong and exerting an influence which will lead others
to do wrong, your guardian angel will be by your side, prompting you to a better course,
choosing your words for you, and influencing your actions....
Immortal glory and eternal life is the reward that our Redeemer offers to those who
will be obedient to Him. He has made it possible for them to perfect Christian character
through His name and to overcome on their own account as He overcame in their behalf.
He has given them an example in His own life, showing them how they may overcome.
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.”—Testimonies for the Church 3:363-365.
27
By Prayer, Prepare for Convocations
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:8-10, NKJV.
Here is a work for families to engage in before coming up to our holy convocations. Let
the preparation for eating and dressing be a secondary matter, but let deep heart-searching
commence at home. Pray three times a day, and, like Jacob, be importunate. At home is
the place to find Jesus; then take Him with you to the meeting, and how precious will be
the hours you spend there. But how can you expect to feel the presence of the Lord and see
His power displayed when the individual work of preparation for that time is neglected?
For your soul’s sake, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of others, work at home. Pray
as you are not accustomed to pray. Let the heart break before God. Set your house in order.
Prepare your children for the occasion. Teach them that it is not of so much consequence
that they appear with fine clothes as that they appear before God with clean hands and pure
hearts. Remove every obstacle that may have been in their way—all differences that may
have existed among themselves or between you and them. By so doing you will invite
the Lord’s presence into your homes, and holy angels will attend you as you go up to the
meeting, and their light and presence will press back the darkness of evil angels....
Oh, how much is lost by neglecting this important work! You may be pleased with the
preaching, you may become animated and revived, but the converting, reforming power of
God will not be felt in the heart, and the work will not be so deep, thorough, and lasting as
it should be. Let pride be crucified and the soul be clad with the priceless robe of Christ’s
righteousness, and what a meeting will you enjoy. It will be to your soul even as the gate
of heaven.
The same work of humiliation and heart-searching should also go on in the church, so
that all differences and alienations among the members may be laid aside before appearing
before the Lord.... Set about this work in earnest ...; for if you come up to the meeting with
your doubts, your murmurings, your disputings, you bring evil angels into the camp and
carry darkness wherever you go.—Testimonies for the Church 5:164, 165.
28
Look to Jesus in Prayer
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man
be lifted up. John 3:14, NKJV.
Throughout the camp of Israel there were the suffering and the dying who had been
wounded by the deadly sting of the serpent. But Jesus Christ spoke from the pillar of
cloud, and gave directions whereby the people might be healed. The promise was made
that whosoever looked upon the brazen serpent should live; and to those who looked the
promise was verified. But if anyone said: “What good will it do to look? I shall certainly
die under the serpent’s deadly sting”; if they continued to talk of their deadly wound, and
declared that their case was hopeless, and would not perform the simple act of obedience,
they would die. But everyone who looked lived....
Our attention is now called to the Great Physician. “Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world.” Just as long as we look at our sins, and talk of and
deplore our wretched condition, our wounds and putrefying sores will remain. It is when
we take our eyes from ourselves, and fasten them upon the uplifted Savior, that our souls
find hope and peace. The Lord speaks to us through His Word, bidding us “look and live.”
“He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God
hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life.”
There is every reason why we should be encouraged to hope for the salvation of our
souls. In Jesus Christ every provision for our salvation has been made. No matter what
may have been our sins and shortcomings, there is a fountain open in the house of David
for all sin and uncleanness. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.” This is the word of the Lord. Shall we accept it? Shall we believe
on Him?—The Signs of the Times, April 2, 1894.
29
Prayers of a Godly Woman Answered
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of
Him. 1 Samuel 1:27, NKJV.
Elkanah, a Levite of Mount Ephraim, was a man of wealth and influence, and one who
loved and feared the Lord. His wife, Hannah, was a woman of fervent piety. Gentle and
unassuming, her character was marked with deep earnestness and a lofty faith.
The blessing so earnestly sought by every Hebrew was denied this godly pair; their
home was not gladdened by the voice of childhood; and the desire to perpetuate his name
led the husband—as it had led many others—to contract a second marriage. But this step,
prompted by a lack of faith in God, did not bring happiness. Sons and daughters were added
to the household; but the joy and beauty of God’s sacred institution had been marred and the
peace of the family was broken. Peninnah, the new wife, was jealous and narrow-minded,
and she bore herself with pride and insolence. To Hannah, hope seemed crushed and life a
weary burden; yet she met the trial with uncomplaining meekness....
The burden which she could share with no earthly friend she cast upon God. Earnestly
she pleaded that He would take away her reproach and grant her the precious gift of a son
to nurture and train for Him. And she made a solemn vow that if her request were granted,
she would dedicate her child to God, even from its birth....
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
Hannah’s prayer was granted; she received the gift for which