If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 12:28.

In Christ’s mighty works there was sufficient evidence to convince anyone. But the Jewish rulers did not want the truth. They could not but acknowledge the reality of the works of Christ, but they cast condemnation upon them all. They were forced to acknowledge that supernatural power attended His work, but this power, they declared, was derived from Satan. Did they really believe this? No, but they were so determined that the truth should not lead to their conversion that they charged the work of the Spirit of God to the devil….

All-compassionate Redeemer! What love, what matchless love, is Thine! Charged by the great men of Israel with doing His works of mercy by the power of the prince of devils, He was as one who saw and heard not. The work He came from heaven to do must not be left undone. Truth must be unfolded to humanity. The Light of the world must flash His beams into the darkness of sin and superstition. The truth found no place in the hearts of those who should have been foremost to receive it, because they were barricaded with prejudice and wicked unbelief. Among those who had not such exalted privileges, Christ prepared hearts to receive His message. He made new bottles for the new wine.

Every truth is invested by the God of heaven with an influence proportionate to its character and importance. The plan of redemption, which means everything to a lost and ruined world, was to be proclaimed, and the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus was brought into vital contact with the heart of the world….

By Christ the truth was proclaimed. The hearts of those who professed to be the children of God were barricaded against it, but those who had not been so highly privileged, those who were not clothed with the garments of self-righteousness, were drawn to Christ….

Today Satan endeavors to keep hidden from the world the great atoning sacrifice, which reveals the love of God and the binding claims of His law. He wars against the work of Christ…. But while he is carrying on this work, heavenly intelligences are combining with God’s human instrumentalities in the work of restoration.—The Review and Herald, April 30, 1901.

From From the Heart

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36, 37.

It is the place of the followers of Christ to acknowledge their dependence upon God in everything and to carry out the principles of their faith in all the relations of life, including business transactions. They cannot otherwise correctly represent the religion of Christ. And they should be honest with God as well as with others. Can someone be dishonest with God? Read the prophet’s answer: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.” …

Tithes and offerings belong to God. The means in our possession should be regarded as a sacred trust, to be used to the glory of the Giver. Self-denial is the condition of salvation. The charity that seeketh not her own is the fruit of that disinterested love that characterized the life of our Redeemer. Those who for love to Christ deny themselves will find the happiness which the selfish seek in vain, but those who make their own pleasures and selfish interests the chief object of life will lose the happiness they think to enjoy.

The apostle Paul has something to say on the subject of system in giving: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.”

God’s rule of giving, as expressed in His Word, excludes no one, and it presses heavily on no one. It touches the poor but lightly, and is not really felt by the rich….

Said Christ, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If we lay up our treasure in heaven, our hearts will be in heaven; if our treasure is on the earth, our hearts will be set on things of the earth, worrying about losses, and anxious about gains and riches….

As in the balances of the sanctuary the offering is estimated in accordance with the spirit of love and sacrifice that prompted it, the promises will just as surely be fulfilled to the liberal poor man or woman who has little to offer but gives that little freely, as to the wealthy who give largely of their abundance….

Christ’s kingdom should be superior to every other interest…. [God] feeds the sparrow and clothes the lily; will He be less mindful of the needs of His children?—Bible Echo (Australia), December 9, 1895.

From From the Heart

I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. John 13:15.

The symbols of the Lord’s house are simple and plainly understood, and the truths represented by them are of the deepest significance to us. In instituting the sacramental service to take the place of the Passover, Christ left for His church a memorial of His great sacrifice for sinners. “This do,” He said, “in remembrance of me.” This was the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. The one was to close forever; the other, which He had just established, was to take its place, and to continue through all time as the memorial of His death….

With the rest of the disciples, Judas partook of the bread and wine symbolizing the body and blood of Christ. This was the last time that Judas would be present with the twelve; but that the scripture might be fulfilled, he left the sacramental table, Christ’s last gift to His disciples, to complete his work of betrayal….

The children of God are to bear in mind that God is brought sacredly near on every such occasion as the service of feet washing….

The object of this service is to call to mind the humility of our Lord and the lessons He has given in washing the feet of His disciples. There is in us a disposition to esteem ourselves more highly than our brothers and sisters, to work for ourselves, to serve ourselves, to seek the highest places; and often evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit spring up over mere trifles. This ordinance, preceding the Lord’s Supper, is to clear away these misunderstandings, to bring us out of our selfishness, down from our stilts of self-exaltation to the humility of spirit that will lead us to wash one another’s feet….

The ordinance of feet washing has been especially enjoined by Christ, and on these occasions the Holy Spirit is present to witness and put a seal to His ordinance. He is there to convict and soften the heart. He draws the believers together and makes them one in heart. They are made to feel that Christ indeed is present to clear away the rubbish that has accumulated to separate the hearts of the children of God from Him.—The Review and Herald, June 22, 1897.

From From the Heart

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:14, 15.

In humility Christ began His mighty work for the uplifting of the fallen race. Passing by the cities and the renowned seats of learning, He made His home in the humble and obscure village of Nazareth. In this place, from which it was commonly supposed that no good could come, the world’s Redeemer passed the greater part of His life working at His trade as a carpenter. His home was among the poor; His family was not distinguished by learning, riches, or position. In the path which the poor, the neglected, the sorrowing, must tread, He walked while on earth, taking upon Him all the woes which the afflicted must bear.

It was the proud boast of the Jews that the Messiah was to come as a king, conquering His enemies and treading down the heathen in His wrath. But it was not the mission of Christ to exalt men and women by ministering to their pride. He, the humble Nazarene, might have poured contempt upon the world’s pride, for He was commander in the heavenly courts; but He came in humility, showing that it is not riches or position or authority that the God of heaven respects, but that He honors a humble, contrite heart made noble by the power of the grace of Christ.

Christ closed His life of toil and denial in our behalf by a crowning sacrifice for us…. Christ is a living Savior. Today He sits at the right hand of God as our Advocate, making intercession for us; and He calls upon us to look unto Him and be saved. But it has ever been the tempter’s determined purpose to eclipse Jesus from the view, that we may be led to lean upon the arm of humanity for help and strength; and he has so well accomplished his purpose that we, turning our eyes from Jesus, in whom all hope of eternal life is centered, look to our fellow men for aid and guidance….

As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness by Moses, that all who had been bitten by the fiery serpents might look and live, so must the Son of Man be lifted up before the world by His servants. Christ and Him crucified is the message God would have His servants sound through the length and breadth of the world.—The Review and Herald, September 29, 1896.

From From the Heart

For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. John 5:46.

[Jesus] spoke with assurance and revealed a depth of knowledge far exceeding that of the most learned of the scribes and rabbis. It was evident that He had a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures and that He presented truth that was unmingled with human sayings and maxims. The old truths fell upon their ears like a new revelation….

Jesus presented His lessons to the people, but He did not make a practice of asserting His high and authoritative claim. He had come to save the lost world, and His words and works, His whole life in humanity, was to speak of His divinity. He left it to His own dignity, to His life, to His course of action, to witness to the people that He worked the works of God. He left it to them to draw their own conclusion concerning His claims while He expounded to them the prophecies concerning Himself. He directed them to search the Scriptures, for it was essential that they should interpret correctly the mission and work of the Son of God. He pointed out the fact to them that He was fulfilling the prophecies that had hitherto been given by holy men who were moved upon by the Holy Spirit. He declared plainly that they wrote of Him, and brought the clear rays of the light of prophecy to illuminate His words and works…. He stood forth in His ministry as one distinguished from every other teacher. He Himself had inspired the prophets to write of Him. His life work had been planned in the eternal counsels of heaven before the foundation of the world…. His life was the light of the world, and He presented His life before the people, that their faith might lay hold upon it, and that they might become one with Him.

Though He presented infinite truth, He left many things unsaid that He might have said, because even His disciples were not able to comprehend them. He said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” The burden of His teaching was obedience to the commandments of God, that would work transformation of character and inculcate moral excellence, shaping the soul after the divine similitude. Christ had been sent to earth to represent God in character. Jesus was the Life-giver, the Teacher sent of God to provide salvation for a lost world and to save us in spite of all Satan’s temptations and lying deceptions. He Himself was the gospel. In His teachings He clearly presented the great plan devised for the redemption of the race.—The Review and Herald, July 7, 1896.

From From the Heart