Basic HTML Version
Without Excitement, November 7
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And
he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,
which the Father hath put in his own power.
Acts 1:6, 7
.
The disciples were anxious to know the exact time for the revelation of
the kingdom of God; but Jesus tells them that they may not know the times
and the seasons; for the Father has not revealed them. To understand when the
kingdom of God should be restored was not the thing of most importance for
them to know. They were to be found following the Master, praying, waiting,
watching, and working. They were to be representatives to the world of the
character of Christ.
That which was essential for a successful Christian experience in the days
of the disciples is essential in our day. “And he said unto them, It is not for
you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own
power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you.” And after the Holy Ghost was come upon them, what were they to do?
“And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (
Acts 1:7, 8
).
This is the work in which we also are to be engaged. Instead of living in
expectation of some special season of excitement, we are wisely to improve
present opportunities, doing that which must be done in order that souls may
be saved. Instead of exhausting the powers of our mind in speculations in
regard to the times and seasons which the Lord has placed in His own power,
and withheld from men, we are to yield ourselves to the control of the Holy
Spirit, to do present duties, to give the bread of life, unadulterated with human
opinions, to souls who are perishing for the truth.
Satan is ever ready to fill the mind with theories and calculations that
will divert men from the present truth, and disqualify them for the giving of
the third angel’s message to the world.—
The Review and Herald, March 22,
1892
.
[321]
332