Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain. Zechariah 10:1.

In the East the former rain falls at the sowing time. It is necessary in order that the seed may germinate. Under the influence of the fertilizing showers, the tender shoot springs up. The latter rain, falling near the close of the season, ripens the grain, and prepares it for the sickle. The Lord employs these operations of nature to represent the work of the Holy Spirit. As the dew and the rain are given first to cause the seed to germinate and then to ripen the harvest, so the Holy Spirit is given to carry forward, from one stage to another, the process of spiritual growth. The ripening of the grain represents the completion of the work of God’s grace in the soul….

The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection….

The work that God has begun in the human heart in giving His light and knowledge must be continually going forward. All of us must realize our own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now….

Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it.

At no point in our experience can we dispense with the assistance of that which enables us to make the first start. The blessings received under the former rain are needful to us to the end.—The Review and Herald, March 2, 1897.

From From the Heart

Let a man examine himself. 1 Corinthians 11:28.

This world is a training school, and the great object of life should be to obtain a fitness for those glorious mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare. Let us remember that this work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Each case must bear individual inspection. Each of us must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement. Jesus is now in the heavenly sanctuary, making reconciliation for the sins of His people, and the judgment of the righteous dead has been going on almost forty years [written in May 1884]. How soon the cases of the living will come in review before this tribunal we know not; but we do know that we are living in the closing scenes of earth’s history, standing, as it were, on the very borders of the eternal world. It is important that each of us inquire, How stands my case in the courts of heaven? Will my sins be blotted out? Am I defective in character, and so blinded to these defects by the customs and opinions of the world that sin does not appear to me to be as exceedingly offensive to God as it really is? It is no time now to allow our minds to be absorbed with the things of earth while we give only occasional thoughts to God and make but slight preparation for the country to which we are journeying.

In the typical Day of Atonement, all the people were required to afflict their souls before God. They were not to afflict the souls of others, but the work was between God and their own souls. The same work of self-examination and humiliation is required of each of us now…. Precious, golden moments which should be spent in seeking the inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit are frittered away in adorning the dress and in other trifling matters not at all essential to comfort….

We are living in an important and eventful age. We are almost home. Soon the many mansions that our Savior has gone to prepare will burst upon our sight…. We may now have in our hearts joy and peace that are unspeakable and full of glory; and soon, at the coming of Christ, the prize that lies at the end of the Christian race will be ours to enjoy throughout ceaseless ages.—Signs of the Times, May 29, 1884.

From From the Heart

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