He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:10 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:7-10 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 The Jews had been wearily toiling to reach perfection by their own efforts, and they had failed. Christ had already told them that their righteousness could never enter the kingdom of heaven. Now He points out to them the character of the righteousness that all who enter heaven will possess. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount He describes its fruits, and now in one sentence He points out its source and its nature: Be perfect as God is perfect. The law is but a transcript of the character of God. Behold in your heavenly Father a perfect manifestation of the principles which are the foundation of His government. God is love. Like rays of light from the sun, love and light and joy flow out from Him to all His creatures. It is His nature to give. His very life is the outflow of unselfish love. Love is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it. The power of wealth has a tendency to corrupt and destroy; the power of force is strong to do hurt; but the excellence and value of pure love consist in its efficiency to do good, and to do nothing else than good. Whatsoever is done out of pure love, be it ever so little or contemptible (despised) in the sight of men, is wholly fruitful; for God regards more with how much love one worketh than the amount he doeth. Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly growth, which lives and flourishes only where Christ reigns. Love cannot live without action, and every act increases, strengthens, and extends it. Love will gain the victory when argument and authority are powerless. Love works not for profit nor reward; yet God has ordained that great gain shall be the certain result of every labor of love. It is diffusive (spreads) in its nature and quiet in its operation, yet strong and mighty in its purpose to overcome great evils. It is melting and transforming in its influence, and will take hold of the lives of the sinful and affect their hearts when every other means has proved unsuccessful. Wherever the power of intellect, of authority, or of force is employed, and love is not manifestly present, the affections and will of those whom we seek to reach assume a defensive, repelling position, and their strength of resistance is increased. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. He came into the world to bring resistance and authority into subjection to Himself. Wisdom and strength He could command, but the means He employed with which to overcome evil were the wisdom and strength of love. Suffer nothing to divide your interest from your present work until God shall see fit to give you another piece of work in the same field. Seek not for happiness, for it is never to be found by seeking for it. Go about your duty. Let faithfulness mark all your doings, and be clothed with humility. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:2 Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. Blessed results would appear as the fruit of such a course. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Here are strong motives which should constrain us to love one another with a pure heart, fervently. Christ is our example. He went about doing good. He lived to bless others. Love beautified and ennobled all His actions. We are not commanded to do to ourselves what we wish others to do unto us; we are to do unto others what we wish them to do to us under like circumstances. The measure we mete is always measured to us again. Pure love is simple in its operations, and is distinct from any other principle of action. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life and frequently a blameless conversation. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions, acknowledge the present truth, and express humility and affection in an outward manner, yet the motives may be deceptive and impure; the actions that flow from such a heart may be destitute of the savor of life and the fruits of true holiness, being destitute of the principles of pure love. Love should be cherished and cultivated, for its influence is divine. God is love is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green—all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy. part 2 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. Exodus 33:18-19 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-7 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Jonah 4:2 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. Micah 7:18 The word of God reveals His character. He Himself has declared His infinite love and pity. When Moses prayed, Show me Thy glory, the Lord answered, I will make all My goodness pass before thee. This is His glory. The Lord passed before Moses, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. He is slow to anger, and of great kindness,... because He delighteth in mercy. God has bound our hearts to Him by unnumbered tokens in heaven and in earth. Through the things of nature, and the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He has sought to reveal Himself to us. Yet these but imperfectly represent His love. Though all these evidences have been given, the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice,—one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men. If parents would feel the solicitude (concern) for the salvation of their own children that they should feel, if they would bear them in their prayers to the throne of grace and live out their prayers, knowing that God would co-operate with them, they might become successful workers for children outside of their own family, and especially for those who do not have parental counsel and guidance. The Lord calls upon every member of the church to do his duty to these orphans. In caring for the children we should not work from the standpoint of duty merely, but from love, because Christ died for their salvation. Christ has purchased these souls who need our care, and He expects us to love them as He has loved us in our sins and waywardness. Love is the agency through which God works to draw the heart to Him, for God is love. In every enterprise of mercy this principle alone can give efficiency; the finite (limited) must unite with the Infinite (limitless). For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. Habakkuk 3:6 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17 God is love. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose ways are everlasting, changeth not. With Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalm 89:13-18 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22 Every manifestation of creative power is an expression of infinite love. The sovereignty of God involves fullness of blessing to all created beings. It is through His power that summer and winter, seedtime and harvest, day and night, follow each other in their regular succession. It is by His word that vegetation flourishes, that leaves appear, and the flowers bloom. Every good thing we have, each ray of sunshine and shower of rain, every morsel of food, every moment of life, is a gift of love. The history of the great conflict between good and evil, from the time it first began in heaven to the final overthrow of rebellion and the total eradication of sin, is also a demonstration of God's unchanging love. part 3 The gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. God made to our world the wonderful gift of His only-begotten Son. In the light of this act, it could never be said by the inhabitants of other worlds that God could have done more than He did to show His love for the children of men. He made a sacrifice that defies all computation (logic). Thousands have a false conception of God and His attributes. They are as verily serving a false god as were the servants of Baal. Are we worshiping the true God as He is revealed in His Word, in Christ, in nature, or are we adoring some philosophical idol enshrined in His place? God is a God of truth. Justice and mercy are the attributes of His throne. He is a God of love, of pity and tender compassion. Thus He is represented in His Son, our Saviour. He is a God of patience and long-suffering. If such is the being whom we adore and to whose character we are seeking to assimilate, we are worshiping the true God. Christ is the greatest Teacher that the world has ever known. And what is the standard that He holds before all who believe in Him? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. As God is perfect in His sphere, so man may be perfect in his sphere. The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness. There is opened before us a path of constant advancement. We have an object to gain, a standard to reach, that includes everything good and pure and noble and elevated. There should be continual striving and constant progress onward and upward toward perfection of character. The word therefore implies a conclusion, an inference (reasoning) from what has gone before. Jesus has been describing to His hearers the unfailing mercy and love of God, and He bids them therefore to be perfect. Because your heavenly Father is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Luke 6:35, because He has stooped to lift you up, therefore, said Jesus, you may become like Him in character, and stand without fault in the presence of men and angels. The conditions of eternal life, under grace, are just what they were in Eden—perfect righteousness, harmony with God, perfect conformity to the principles of His law. The standard of character presented in the Old Testament is the same that is presented in the New Testament. This standard is not one to which we cannot attain. In every command or injunction that God gives there is a promise, the most positive, underlying the command. God has made provision that we may become like unto Him, and He will accomplish this for all who do not interpose a perverse will and thus frustrate His grace. You may be cheerful if you will bring even your thoughts into subjection to the will of Christ. You should make no delay, but closely search your own heart and die to self daily. You may inquire: How can I master my own actions and control my inward emotions? Many who profess not the love of God do control their spirit to a considerable extent without the aid of the special grace of God. They cultivate self-control. This is indeed a rebuke to those who know that from God they may obtain strength and grace, and yet do not exhibit the graces of the Spirit. Christ is our model. He was meek and lowly. Learn of Him, and imitate His example. The Son of God was faultless. We must aim at this perfection and overcome as He overcame, if we would have a seat at His right hand. https://egwwritings.org Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:6-12 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21 Lineage Journey: Season 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch? Lineage Journey: Season 1 - 48 Short Videos of the History of Christianity for Prayerful Study. Know YOUR History! A MUST WATCH FOR EVERYONE!!! Watch all 48 videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAortNXplLTgL7xXwlONUUC0i2pbH8QIE&app=desktop Lineage Journey: Season 2 - 53 Short Videos Join us for Season 2 as we continue our epic journey and see how God led His people after the Reformation. Travel with us to new frontiers as the light of the gospel increased and went to the whole world. Watch all 53 videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkbMAbJxkDQ&list=PLAortNXplLTgTIBeoaHA4epJ6i2MrID93 Lineage Journey: Season 3 - 13 Short Videos ‘In the beginning’—words so rich in meaning signify the start of the world that we know, but unfortunately plan A didn't work out as hoped; plan B and plan C needed to come into effect. From the creation of the world and through to the Flood, come on the journey with us as we go back in time to learn our heritage. Watch all here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehmiQUV7mHc&list=PLAortNXplLTh_cnGUD8EJ6TNttAbqqsHe&index=2 Lineage Journey: The 7 Churches of Revelation The messages to the seven churches of Revelation are timeless, applicable since the 1st century and to all generations of the church since. The counsel given in these two chapters of Revelation is broad enough to cover every type of church and every spiritual experience that we may go through. Join us as we rediscover the seven churches... Ephesus, Symrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea https://lineagejourney.com/episode_category/7-churches/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26YqRAPvk5w&list=PLAortNXplLTgOAztBGSIxNe_eOdW8LYyL&index=2 Coming Soon:... Timeline Of Church History https://lineagejourney.com/ Recommended Reading: *We recommend at the VERY LEAST - PLEASE READ THE LAST 5-8 CHAPTERS of The Great Controversy....then YOU can decide if you want to read the rest of it!!!... *Read The Great Controversy FREE online here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25833/25833-pdf.pdf ***Free Online Study Guide For The Great Controversy:*** https://adventistbookcenter.com/amfile/file/download/file/38/product/1927/ Order The Great Controversy for FREE Here: https://www.great-controversy.eu/order-for-free Or call: (618) 942-5044 Purchase Books Here: https://adventistbookcenter.com 3abn.org amazingfacts.org sabbathtruth.com lineagejourney.com panoramaofprophecy.com beholdthelambministries.com 3AngelsMessages.weebly.com ...The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 10:7
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