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Privileges of the Obedient, October 17
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
John 15:14
.
Those who live in close fellowship with Christ will be promoted by
Him to positions of trust. The servant who does the best he can for his
Master is admitted to familiar intercourse with the One whose commands
he loves to obey. In the faithful discharge of duty we may become one
with Christ, for those who are obeying God’s commands may speak to Him
freely. The one who talks most familiarly with his divine leader has the
most exalted conception of His greatness and is the most obedient to His
commands.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you.... Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever
I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth
not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I
have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” ...
The character of the one who comes to God in faith will bear witness
that the Saviour has entered into his life, directing all, pervading all. Such
a one is continually asking, “Is this Thy will and way, O my Saviour?”
Constantly he looks to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of his faith. He
consults the will of his divine Friend in reference to all his actions, for he
knows that in this confidence is his strength. He has made it a habit to lift
up the heart to God in every perplexity....
He who accepts God as his sovereign must take the oath of allegiance
to Him. He must put on the Christian uniform and bear aloft the banner
that shows to whose army he belongs. He must make an open avowal of
his allegiance to Christ. Concealment is impossible. Christ’s impress must
appear in the life in sanctified works.
“I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people....
Ye shall be holy unto me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from
other people, that ye should be mine” (
Leviticus 20:24-26
).... “This people
have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise” (
Isaiah 43:21
)
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21
Manuscript 96, 1900
.
306