What have they seen in your house? 2 Kings 20:15.

Study the case of Hezekiah. He had been sick unto death. He had appealed to the Lord, and God had added to his life fifteen years. “At that time … [the] king of Babylon sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? … What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them….”

The visit of the ambassadors to Hezekiah was a test of his gratitude and devotion…. God had raised him from a bed of death, giving him a new lease of life. The Babylonians had heard of his wonderful recovery. They marveled that the sun had been turned back ten degrees, as a sign that the word of the Lord should be fulfilled. They sent messengers to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery. The visit of these messengers gave him an opportunity to extol the God of heaven. How easy it would have been to point them to the God of gods. But pride and vanity took possession of Hezekiah’s heart, and in his self-exaltation he laid open to their covetous eyes the treasures with which God had enriched His people…. His indiscretion prepared the way for national disaster. The ambassadors carried to Babylon the report of Hezekiah’s riches, and the king and his counselors planned to enrich Babylon with the treasures of Jerusalem.

Had Hezekiah improved the opportunity given him to bear witness to the power, the goodness, the compassion, of the God of Israel, the report of the ambassadors would have been as light piercing darkness. But he magnified himself above the Lord of hosts and failed to give God the glory….

Oh, that those for whom God has done marvelous things would show forth His praises and tell of His mighty works. But how often those for whom God works are like Hezekiah—forgetful of the Giver of all their blessings.—Signs of the Times, October 1, 1902.

From From the Heart

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14.

If we would enter heaven we should strive to bring all that we can of heaven into our lives on earth. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver. It exerts a heavenly influence upon the minds and manners of men and women. When the Word of God finds access to the hearts of the rough and coarse, it commences a process of refining upon the character, and those who endure it become humble and teachable, like little children…. They are to be living stones in the temple of God, and are hewed, and squared, and chiseled, to fit them for God’s building. Those who are naturally full of self-esteem become meek and lowly of heart. They have a change of character, and are transformed by the renewing of their minds and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

God said in the beginning, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” but sin has almost obliterated the moral image of God in humanity. This lamentable condition would have known no change or hope if Jesus had not come down to our world to be our Savior and Example. In the midst of a world’s moral degradation He stands, a beautiful and spotless character, the one model for our imitation. We must study, and copy, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ; then we shall bring the loveliness of His character into our own life and weave His beauty into our daily words and actions…. Through Christ we may possess the spirit of love and obedience to the commands of God. Through His merits it may be restored in our fallen natures; and when the judgment shall sit and the books be opened, we may be the recipients of God’s approval.

John saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, with its twelve gates of pearl and twelve foundations of precious stones, coming down from God out of heaven…. Everyone who shall enter those gates and walk those streets will here have been changed and purified by the power of the truth; and the crown of immortal glory will adorn the brow of the overcomer.

The nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, and the voice of the Son of God will pronounce the glad welcome, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.”—Signs of the Times, December 22, 1887.

From From the Heart

Do business till I come. Luke 19:13.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we have a work to do in witnessing for Christ…. If the Lord is soon to come, begin to act decidedly and determinedly and with intense interest to increase the [institutional] facilities, that a great work may be done in a short time.

Those who have been allied to the world should heed the invitation of the Lord. He says, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.” … The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness are to shine upon you, that you may be beautified with holiness.

Shall we now say there is no need of facilities? that faith is all we need? Genuine faith is a working principle, and works will appear as a proof of this agent in the soul. You should redouble your efforts, redouble your working forces….

A great work must be done all through the world, and let none flatter themselves that because the end is near, there is no need of making special efforts to build up the various institutions as the cause shall demand…. All are to be workers, but the heaviest burden of responsibility rests upon those who have the greatest talent, the largest means, the most abundant opportunity. We are to be justified by faith and judged by our works.

When the Lord shall bid us to lay off the armor and to make no further effort to establish schools, to build institutions for the care of the sick, for the shelter of the orphans and the homeless and for the comfort of the worn-out ministers, it will be time to fold our hands and let the Lord close up the work, but now is our opportunity to show our zeal for God….

Besides all this, God calls for home missionaries. Let every soul deny self, lift the cross, and expend far less means for the gratification of self, that there may be living, working agents in all the churches. A faith that comprehends less than this is one that denies the Christian character. The faith of the gospel is one whose power and grace are of divine authorship. Then let us make it manifest that Christ abides in us, by ceasing to expend money on dress and on needless things, when the cause of Christ is crippled for want of means, when debts are left unpaid on our meeting houses, and when the treasury is empty. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Shall we not follow the example of Him who for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich?—General Conference Bulletin, fourth quarter 1896, pp. 765-768.

From From the Heart

It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. Acts 1:7.

[The disciples could not know the time of the second coming of Christ.] There was one thing that they might understand, and that was that they were to receive power after that the Holy Ghost should come upon them, and that they were to be witnesses of Christ. All this itching curiosity to know the set time is rebuked. This has not been given to us to know, and we are not to feel anxious about these things which the Lord has never committed to us but has kept in His own possession, unrevealed. But the endowment of His Spirit is for us; this we may confidently expect and freely receive; for we can do nothing for the salvation of souls without this heavenly agency. Because of the shortness of human life, every event should be made an occasion for enriching souls with the truths of the gospel.

As time is fast closing, we should keep before the mind the spirituality of the law and the utter worthlessness of a formal, ceremonial obedience to the commandments involved in a legal religion. The eternal principles of truth should be extolled. The holy and paternal character of God should be presented to all. Our obligation in our daily actions should be laid bare, that we may understand our relation to God and to each other; for we are to watch for souls as they who must give an account. We must present to the people not the imaginations of men, not their schemes and conclusions, but the grace of God in the gift of His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We are to lift up Jesus, that He may draw men and women unto Himself….

How hard for them to realize the necessity of constant prayer, of sincere repentance, of attaining to more and more perfection of character, which is the salt of Christian experience and the evidence of the operation of the Holy Spirit on the heart. The Holy Spirit is to enlighten, renew, and sanctify the soul….

Let all now do their duty, laboring actively with Jesus Christ. Represent Jesus by your example of Christian piety, that the grace of Christ may appear as it is—beautiful, attractive, harmonious, and always consistent. A life beautified with holiness is not a life of idle contemplation, but a life filled up with earnest work for the Master, whose light shineth more and more unto the perfect day.—Conference Bulletin, fourth quarter 1896, pp. 764, 765.

From From the Heart

Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11.

The present duty of every true child of God is to wait patiently, to watch vigilantly, to work faithfully, until the coming of the Lord, that we may be prepared for the solemn event. The characteristics of the true follower of Christ, the perfect man and woman in Christ Jesus, will be manifested in working, watching, and waiting for the Lord. They will not be wholly given up to contemplation and meditation or be so engrossed in some busy works that they will neglect the exercise of personal piety; but in the symmetrical Christian, personal devotion will be blended with earnest work, and the followers of Christ will be “not slothful in business” but “fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” The lamps must be kept trimmed and burning, that they may send forth bright rays of light into the moral darkness of the world….

The Lord is soon coming, and for this very reason we need our schools, not that we may be educated after the order of the world, but that our institutions of learning may be more like the schools of the prophets—places where we may learn the will of God and reach to the very highest branches of science, that we may better understand God and His works and the character of Jesus Christ whom He has sent…. The people of God must be gaining more and more skill and experience; for there will be increased work for all, and especially for those in positions of trust. As we near the end, Satan will be moved to make a desperate effort to overthrow all those who dispute his claim to supreme authority on earth, and the people of God must be prepared for the struggle. God requires the full exercise of all the ability He has given to men and women, that they may do to the extent of their natural and cultivated powers all that is possible for them to do…. The followers of Christ cannot leave their posts of duty without betraying sacred trusts, without endangering the salvation of their own souls and the souls of others. You are to be true to your entrusted work and not to be seeking after something new and strange.

As Christ opened before the disciples the great work that was to be done, and promised to them the gift of the Holy Spirit, they were anxious to know if they should then see the fulfillment of their long-cherished hope. They asked, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The Lord rebuked their curiosity and said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”—General Conference Bulletin, fourth quarter 1896, p. 764.

From From the Heart