General Conference Bulletin, vol. 4

OUR PRIVILEGE IN GIVING

I. H. Evans

Reading for Thursday, December 26.

“And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:12. GCB October 1, 1901, page 577.10

The second coming of Christ is one of the most precious messages of the gospel. To it the heart clings with longing desires, and once having tasted the sweetness of full assurance, “earth’s joys grow dim, its pleasures pass away.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 577.11

The advent of our Lord has been the hope of God’s people since the reign of sin began. Sin defrauded our first parents of their dominion, and GCB October 1, 1901, page 577.12

Satan usurped the throne as earth’s sovereign lord. With the knowledge of evil, the heart’s cry of God’s people has ever been, “Come, Lord Jesus, come and reign.” Earth’s long, dark night of woe and bondage in sin pleads most pitifully for the kingdom to be restored. Crime and lawlessness, broken hearts and blighted lives, poverty and pain, all are petitions for “him to come whose right it is to reign.” The vast citadels of the dead in every land and every clime, holding the untold millions who have fallen before, cry for him to come who said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.1

Prophet and seer, with the eye of vision, looking down the ages, have seen the saints in glory and Satan’s reign forever ended. They have heard the exultant cry, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.2

Isaiah’s eye, in seraphic vision, caught a panoramic view of the earth made new, and he cried, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.3

What heart has not been thrilled with the promised inheritance—life, full and complete? “And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing:...And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” And he who wrote these promises, when he could add no more cried out. “Men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen. O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.4

All the promised rewards hinge upon our Lord’s return. Death is not the gateway to our inheritance. The advent of the Messiah brings the reward. “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me.” “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Hasten, O glad day, when we shall receive from our Saviour’s own hands the priceless crown of immortality! when we can hear from his own lips those joyful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; ...enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!” when “we shall be as angels are,” and the universe of God shall be our sphere! when time shall be eternity, and space shall be no more. Hasten, hasten, O glad day! GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.5

As we gaze into the vaulted skies on a clear, dark night, and behold the myriads of worlds above, and know that they are God’s, we can but fancy that in the eternity of the past, Jesus feet have trod their shores. We look into the eternity of the future, and there we behold the saints of God winging their flights from sphere to sphere. The Captain of our salvation leads the way. As he introduces the blood-washed throng to the holy, sinless beings, he says. “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.6

Do you ever pause to think that that great day of rewards is near at hand? Permit me to ask, How near? Look not at your own needy heart, but just take God’s Word to settle that question. Where are we now in the fulfillment of the great lines of the prophecy of Daniel?—Their fulfillment is nearly completed. Daniel two is waiting only for the great stone to smite the image on the feet, and to become the great mountain that fills the whole earth. Daniel seven has come and gone, and now we are waiting for the glorious promise, “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” The long prophetic period of Daniel eight is all but past; and we are waiting in the expectation that any year may add the finishing touch to Daniel eleven, when the next event is the standing up of Michael, and the time of trouble such as never was. GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.7

Christ’s own prophecies leave scarcely anything to be fulfilled but his own advent. The signs in the sun, and moon, and stars are long since past. Upon the earth is distress of nations with perplexity, and the hearts of men failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. Only two things in all of Christ’s prophecies of his advent can yet be future—the shaking of the powers of heaven and “the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 578.8

Where remains an unfulfilled prediction in all the writings of the apostles? Is Second Timothy, with its long catalogue of sins, ready to be closed? Answer for thyself. Does James five demand still more to meet its fulfillment? Is there not enough heaping together of treasures for the last days? GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.1

Revelation comes and goes as quickly and as surely as the rest. Where are we in these great chains of prophecy?—Down in the close of chapters thirteen and fourteen, just between verses thirteen and fourteen of chapter six. The third angel’s message is yet to go with a loud cry, and its warning notes are yet to sound forth the message against worshiping the beast and his image and receiving his mark in the forehead or in the hand, when, lo! the prophet cries: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his sharp sickle...And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.2

Thus every chain of prophecy lands us in the time of waiting for the advent of our coming Lord. There is but one thing yet to be fulfilled, and that is the warning message of Revelation 14:9-12. This is the message which we as a people are to give to the world. Every man, woman, and child has a part in it; and those who go through with the people of God must be active workers in rescuing and saving souls. The whole world is living in darkness, not knowing that the end is upon them. Busied with the cares of life, drunken with its pleasures, and lured on by sin, they are plunging down into the awful cataract of eternal ruin. God has fleshed his light into our hearts; he has opened to warn the world concerning his second advent. GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.3

Every Seventh-day Adventist must have a part in this great work. How can he receive the reward from his coming Lord, if there is no service for which to be rewarded? Says the Master: “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me.” A reward to come implies a service gone before. True, God gives us eternal life; but still, the Lord speaks again and again of the reward of his servants for their faithful performance of duty. If one has never sacrificed for God,—has never spent his life for others, has never done anything but to live for himself and his family,—what reward can be expect from the Master? It appeals to every one of us that if we receive from the Lord a reward for our services, there must be something done. The great question arises then, What can we do in the Lord’s work, so that when he comes he may bring our reward with him? GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.4

We cannot all go to foreign fields to preach. We are not all qualified for this; nor, if we were, is there a sufficiently large fund in the treasury with which to sustain every Seventh-day Adventist. Some of us must be producers. We can give the earnings of our hands, and of our brains, to sustain those who have been called of God to labor in a more public way. GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.5

There are tremendous demands made upon this people for advanced movements to aggressive work in every field. As surely as the Lord’s coming is to be in this generation, just so surely there must be an intense activity on our part such as has never characterized the people of God before. There must be an awakening in every church, in every heart, to these great and solemn truths, and the importance of giving this message to the world. Instead, therefore, of enlarging and increasing our borders, adding to our homes, we should study to economize so that we may have funds with which to give to the cause of God. In this last time, with this great message, there is an imperative demand upon every one of us to give all beyond our living to sustain this work; to take from this cause the smallest amount possible with which to support ourselves and our families, and to give the rest, that other workers may go into the field and be sustained. GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.6

There should be definite planning on the part of every Seventh-day Adventist, both to produce money and to economize, that he may be able to give more for the Lord. One’s work is not done in simply being good, and refraining from evil in these last days; but he must be a positive factor in doing good. He must be a producer in the cause of God; one who adds strength and energy, hope and confidence, in order that the work of God may succeed. GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.7

Sometimes we hear it said. “It is always an appeal for money;” that there are continual calls coming for more funds, and more funds. This is literally true. Calls are continually coming for more funds, and we suppose that there will be more and more calls from this time forward until the work of the gospel is closed triumphantly. This has been the case in nearly every generation of men. It is impossible for God’s work in the earth to go forward without men and without funds. Instead of the total annual contributions being but the paltry sum of one hundred thousand dollars with which to operate, there should be at least three hundred thousand dollars this coming year. This would be but a trifle for every one, if every Seventh-day Adventist would take hold and give liberally to the cause of God. With seventy thousand Sabbath-keepers scattered throughout the world, there would have to be but five dollars per capita to raise three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for mission work. GCB October 1, 1901, page 579.8

Surely, if we believe the Lord’s coming is at hand, and that we shall not live many more years upon this earth in its present condition, we would all be willing to give, and give more liberally than ever before. If we believe the Master’s coming is at hand, I cannot fancy that we will weary of hearing of calls for funds with which to meet openings in which to erect the standard of truth. Suppose God should tire of hearing our continual prayers and petitions for help. Every day we have to come to him asking him for more—more of his grace and loving-kindness, begging his forgiveness, and confessing our mistakes to him. Should the Master weary of our continual coming and our repeated requests, we would all be lost, and there would be no hope for our salvation. But he opens wide his loving heart, and welcomes us, and receives every petition, granting us those things that are best for us. Seeing that the Lord, in his mercy, is so good to us, and wearies not with our frequent petitions, when he calls in return for us to sacrifice for our fellow-men, can it be that we shall not respond with liberal and joyous hearts? GCB October 1, 1901, page 580.1

Christ gave himself for us—life, riches, honor, and glory. Paul says he beggared himself to enrich us. Though he was in the form of God, “he thought it not robbery, or a thing to be eagerly held to, to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and tasted death for every man.” So it seems that in these last days, when the work of God is closing up, with new fields opening up on every side, and a thousand petitions coming from every land, we as a people ought to bind about us our wants, and liberally sustain the cause of God. Surely, it is the man who sacrifices for God here that will receive his reward, if he be faithful to the end. Christ is going to bring his reward with him, and then he will reward every man according to his work. GCB October 1, 1901, page 580.2

I would ask this question, and would make a personal application of it: What service have you rendered to the Master that will entitle you to this reward? Were you the judge, and God should say to you, “Look at the life of Christ; look at what I have done for you, with all his sufferings, his want, his poverty, his self-denial, giving up of self, and all for others. Compare your life with his; think of all the good, and all the just and righteous acts that you have done, and you decide yourself upon the reward, the real reward that you should have at the hand of my Son as he appears in the clouds of heaven,”—what would you say? Could you say with an honest heart, “I consecrated all, I gave my life, I gave my children, I gave what little I had, whether it were thousands or the widow’s mite—I freely gave it all, as Christ gave his life for me, that others may be saved”? Surely, if we can say this, we can claim a reward at our Master’s hand. Not that we deserve anything, because when we have done all, we have but done our duty; but because he has promised to reward the one who is faithful to him. GCB October 1, 1901, page 580.3

My brother, my sister, let us press the question home to our hearts to-day: “What have I sacrificed for Christ?” Some, perhaps, can say, “I have sacrificed friendship; I have sacrificed earthly position, social standing.” Some can say, “I have sacrificed of my means;” and some can say one thing, and some another, undoubtedly; but ever if we have sacrificed everything that we have ever had since we came into the world, all that we are, all that we ever hope to be in this world what is our sacrifice compared with the Master’s? Let us, my brethren and sisters, during this week of prayer, make a sacrifice to God that will bring to us a keep appreciation of the want, the poverty, and the self-denial of our blessed Master. Could this people but once realize what Christ endured for them, and endeavor to show their love and appreciation of this great sacrifice by returning to the Lord a liberal donation, such as will be a real sacrifice, it would bring to them one of the richest blessings in their experience. GCB October 1, 1901, page 580.4

Can anything be done to awaken us from our sleep? What can be said to arouse us from our lethargy to real, earnest, intense activity in God’s work? Surely the dying cries of lost millions ought to stir our hearts; surely, the warning message which God has committed to us ought to burn in our souls; surely, an intrusted message, such as the third angel’s, to give to the world ought to lie heavily upon our hearts until every soul of us has sacrificed his all for Christ. Should we but once realize our great obligation in view of the times in which we live, the mission treasury would be liberally supplied, and the work of God in foreign fields could be doubled. GCB October 1, 1901, page 580.5

Let us consecrate, consecrate, consecrate, until we know that we have consecrated all our powers, all our facilities, to God; and let us not fail, at the same time, to consecrate our means to God, and then let us give liberally, as we know will be well pleasing in the sight of our Maker and our Redeemer. Not only let us give, but let us sacrifice in our giving; and, having given as liberally as God would have us,—every one of us individually.—let us not stop with that, but let us follow our gifts with earnest prayers and pleading with God, that he will accompany the gift with his Spirit and his richest blessings. Let us seek our God earnestly that he will give blessing and wisdom to those whom he has chosen to distribute of the means given to the needy fields, that it may be used only to the glory of God; let us pray earnestly that the schemes of Satan to divert the funds into wrong channels and to wrong uses may be thwarted, and that as a result there may be an abundant harvest of souls redeemed from sin and the curse, to the eternal praise and glory of God the Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.1

Let us consecrate ourselves to the service of God. It cannot be but that there are some in nearly every church who will be able, by God’s help, to go into some field, there to labor for the salvation of souls. If those in middle life, or more advanced years, cannot go, there are young men and children who are growing up into the cause of God, who must be educated and qualified to take upon themselves service for the Master. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.2

This day should be a consecration day—a day when we give our hearts anew to God by covenant, by a rededication, by taking hold upon God and his precious promises, and giving our lives completely to his service as never before. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.3

We ask, What has come in between you and God? Has your soul lost its interest in prayer, in the study of God’s Word, in the furtherance of his cause in the earth? Have you become cold and listless? Have you thought of binding in your gifts and donations, thinking that the cause of God can get along well enough without you and your means? Why not, to-day, come to the Lord with fullness of heart, and give him your heart and life and soul, and make this coming year a year of service for God, whether it be in the shop, in the ministry, or on the farm? Let it be a year of labor for God, making Christ your partner and brother, and God your counselor and friend. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.4

If we all could only lay hold by faith upon the promises of God,—that he loves us, and cares for us, and will help us,—we certainly would have more wisdom in planning for the advancement of his work. And surely, when we think of the promised rewards, the soon coming of the Saviour; that soon this earth, upon which we now tread, will be a seething mass of molten lava, we can only say that it will pay us well to spend our days in the service of God. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.5

Can we not sing from the depths of our inmost being:— GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.6

“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.7

“See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.8

“Since I, who was undone and lost,
Have pardon through his name and word;
Forbid it, then that I should boast,
Save in the cross of Christ, my Lord. GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.9

“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all.”
[Hymn Book, No. 315.] GCB October 1, 1901, page 581.10

I. H. Evans.