Do We Want the World ?

John 17 is the great high priestly prayer of Jesus. He prayed this prayer just before He went into dark Gethsemane and just before His great battle with the powers of darkness. He prayed it just before they beat Him and just before the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill. Jesus prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.” There is something about the glory of Jesus that He longs for us to see. Someday, you are going to see it. Sooner than you think, and with your own eyes, you are going to see the face of God. Can you comprehend that? It is an awesome thought. The Bible teaches that without holiness no man shall see God. (See Hebrews 12:14.)In order that we might be holy, Jesus prayed, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world , but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Jesus refused to pray for his disciples to be taken out of the world. It must have been very important or He would not have mentioned it. We are going to look at this aspect of Jesus’ prayer. Why did Jesus refuse to pray to take us out of this world? We know that eventually we are going to be taken out of the world, but in A.D. 31, He would not pray that for His disciples.

There are two parts to the answer. Part one is that Jesus would not pray for them to be taken out of the world because the world needed them. If Jesus had taken His disciples out of the world, it would have been lost because that was the beginning of His church. Not only that, at the moment Jesus prayed that prayer, those disciples were not ready to be taken out of this world.

Do We Need the World?

Part two is a surprise—God’s people needed the world! How do God’s people need the world? Look at part one again. The world needs the message of Jesus, His love, His law, His grace, His Sabbath. The world needs the message of the warning against the mark of the beast, against the beast, against the anti-Christ power, against the image of the beast, against the national Sunday law. For all of this, the world needs God’s people.

It is easy to see that the world needs us, yet how do we need the world? First of all, let me state that the disciples needed the world because they needed its discipline, its reproach, and its ridicule. They needed its persecution to develop their characters, to cling to God in total surrender so that they would be ready for God to take them out of the world.

Do we also need the world to pound on us? Someone says, “I don’t need any persecution. I love the Lord. I don’t need to be persecuted, reproached, ridiculed, lied about, put in jail and lose my home.” Do I really need all that?

Jesus said, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Jesus would not take them out of the world because the world needed God’s people and God’s people needed the world.

The Bible says, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. If we need to be pounded on, is that part of what God is going to give us before He takes us out of the world? Yes, that is part of what He is going to give us. We do need it.

Does God tell us that nothing can touch us without His permission? Yes He does. “The Father’s presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defense. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord’s permission.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 71. This shows that our mighty God gives permission for evil to come to us.

If God were to take every Seventh-day Adventist out of the world right now, what would happen? The same thing would happen if He had taken the disciples out of the world when He prayed that prayer. Most of us would die. We are not ready. Not only that, but are we willing to go now? That is a hard question, isn’t it?

An Example

“The Hebrews had expected to obtain their freedom without any special trial of their faith or any real suffering or hardship. But they were not yet prepared for deliverance.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 260. Many of us have expected that God would take us to heaven without any special trial, suffering, or hardship. But, like the Hebrews, we are not ready. “They had little faith in God, and were unwilling patiently to endure their afflictions until He should see fit to work for them.” Ibid. It is the same with us. We also have little faith in God and we are basically unwilling to patiently endure our afflictions until God sees fit to work for us. “Many were content to remain in bondage rather than meet the difficulties attending removal to a strange land.” Ibid. We also are content to remain in the bondage of sin “rather than to meet the difficulties attending removal to a strange land. The habits of some had become so much like those of the Egyptians that they [actually] preferred to dwell in Egypt.” Ibid. Could we say that our habits have become so much like the Egyptians that we prefer to dwell in this world?

“Therefore the Lord did not deliver them by the first manifestation of His power before Pharaoh. He overruled events more fully to develop the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian king and also to reveal Himself to His people. Beholding His justice, His power, and His love, they would choose to leave Egypt and give themselves to His service. The task of Moses would have been much less difficult had not many of the Israelites become so corrupted that they were unwilling to leave Egypt.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 260. Could we say that the task of God would be much less difficult now had not many of us become so corrupted that we are unwilling to leave this world?

If we really wanted to leave this world, we would be doing what God said to do. Not only would we be drawing close to God and have a character like Jesus, but we would be going door to door, reaching people with God’s message. Working for God earns nothing, but those who want to go out of this world and want Jesus to come soon, will be seen working to save souls.

We may say, “Won’t it be wonderful when the Lord comes!” But we like our nice home, car and job, and so we say one thing and live another. That is why God will allow the taskmasters to pound on us. Just as He also allowed the king to say, “I’ll give you no more straw, gather it for yourself.”

Not only did He let the taskmasters pound on them, but God’s prophet says that God did not deliver them by the first, or even after, the first of the plagues. It is the same with us. God is not going to deliver us after the first of the plagues either. After the first plague, we still will not be ready to leave this world. Even though probation is closed, and we are sealed to never sin again, God still has more to do for us. God did not deliver them after just the first plague, but He would manifest all of His power through ten of those plagues. After the tenth terrible plague, then they were ready to leave Egypt. After the seventh plague we too, will be fully ready to leave this world.

You might say, “I never thought of such a thing. I thought we were ready to leave right now.” No, we are not. These things are going to come very rapidly and we are going to have to grow up fast. Many of you reading this will not go through the time of trouble. Your death bed may be your time of trouble, so I am pleading, please make a full, total surrender to God now. We do not know, only God knows.

Finishing the Work

Actions speak louder than words. When you see God’s people ready to be taken out of this world, you will see them going door to door and hear them praying, “Oh God, use me for souls.” However, they will not be taken out of the world until their work is finished. If Jesus came now, millions would be lost that could be saved.

Most people looking at Jesus the day He comes—those that will be God’s faithful Seventh-day Adventists, are now keeping Sunday. That is a shocking thought. Millions of them now keeping Sunday are going to join us soon. It is also true that millions who are sitting in Seventh-day Adventist pews now, will soon be honoring Sunday. There is going to be a big shift, very quickly after persecution comes. But we must not wait until then. We need to pray, “Oh God, give us Your souls. Give us Your tender love, the love that Jesus had. A love that loves the unlovely. Dear Father give us Thy love for souls.”

When you pray like that, God will perfect you in His love. When you are perfected in the love of God, you will be ready to be taken out of this world. And when you are perfected in the love of God you will be seen reaching souls continually, every day. Jesus said, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” That is why God is going to allow us to lose everything and suffer persecution. The lovely Jesus is in control and He knows just what He is doing.

Be careful how you judge and condemn other people. That is what the disciples were doing, trying to see who was the greatest. When you have that attitude you are absolutely unfit for heaven. We think we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, but we are really poor, blind and naked. We need to examine our own heart and not judge or condemn other people. We need to pray, “God be merciful to me the sinner.” When persecution pounds on us, we are going to press together and present to the enemy a united front. We will not then think about who is the greatest.

God’s People in the End

Joel tells what is going to happen. We will study a number of verses from the second chapter. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain.” Joel 2:1. The trumpet in Zion, where is that? It is in God’s church. If you sound an alarm in the church, wouldn’t you be an alarmist? Yes. If you have been accused of being an alarmist, say, “Thank you, Lord, for helping me to do what You said for me to do in Joel 2:1.” When you do it, be sweet, kind, humble, and loving. We need to blend the beautiful meekness of Jesus with the powerful message of God. It is hard to fight against love.

“Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: [Why?] for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1. While the devil is trying to get people to sing, swing, sin and celebrate, God says we need to be trembling because Jesus is coming. The day of the Lord is at hand. Every person will stand or fall individually. It is just you and God.

“Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping . . . Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” Joel 2:12, 13. God is in control. He is going to give victory to His people. You are going to be with God’s people. Or, are you going to be without them? I want to be with Jesus and His people around the world.

Joel 2:21, says, “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field.” It continues on in this language in verse 23, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately.” You can be like Jesus. You can receive the latter rain. You can be in heaven very soon. Jesus said, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but should deliver them from the evil.” John 17:15. God is going to do it. Whatever it takes, it will be worth it. “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God.”

The End