Page 45 - Maranatha (1976)

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Will You Stand the Test?, February 4
Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee,
to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his
commandments, or no.
Deuteronomy 8:2
.
God will prove His people.... If the message [the 1844 proclamation]
had been of as short duration as many of us supposed, there would have
been no time for them to develop character. Many moved from feeling, not
from principle and faith, and this solemn, fearful message stirred them. It
wrought upon their feelings, and excited their fears, but did not accomplish
the work which God designed that it should....
God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different
points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point,
but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried
a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to
this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to
overcome.... Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings
them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because
they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have
opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize
something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive
Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will
sacrifice their idols.... Those who come up to every point, and stand every
test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of
the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for
translation.
God proves His people in this world.... Here, in this world, in these
last days, persons will show what power affects their hearts and controls
their actions. If it is the power of divine truth, it will lead to good works. It
will elevate the receiver, and make him noblehearted and generous, like his
divine Lord....
Young and old, God is now testing you. You are deciding your own
eternal destiny.
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