Question 1: Through whom will the Lord reveal His power?
- Through people who are converted and devoted to Him and trust Him and not the arm of flesh:
“God is waiting to see revealed in His people a faith that works by love and purifies the soul; for this alone will fit them for the future, immortal life. There is a great work to be accomplished, and little time in which to do it. The cause needs converted, devoted men who will make the Lord their dependence. Through such workers the Lord will reveal the power of His grace.” Review and Herald, August 26, 1909.
- Through those who are seeking for spiritual light and accept every instruction from inspired writings. (They do not profess to believe the Spirit of Prophecy and then not obey its instruction.): “To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy Word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 729.
- Those who reveal the spirit and character of Jesus: “There is nothing that the Savior desires so much as agents who will represent to the world His Spirit and His character. There is nothing that the world needs so much as the manifestation through humanity of the Savior’s love. All heaven is waiting for men and women through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity.” Acts of the Apostles, 600.
God wants to use you and your local, even if it is only two or three, to reveal His power to save lost humanity. The church is “the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.” Acts of the Apostles, 12. However, there are roadblocks that can be set up in your church or in your heart that will prevent this most wonderful power from being displayed.
Question 2: What conditions will prevent the power of the Lord from being manifested in the church or in the church-members’ lives?
- If sin is cherished in church-members’ lives the power of God cannot work for them: “There was a time when Israel could not prevail against their enemies. This was because of Achan’s sin. . . . God is the same today. If defiling sins are cherished by those who claim to believe the truth, the displeasure of God rests upon the church, and He will not remove it until the members do all in their power to show their hatred for sin, and their determination to cast it out of the church. God is displeased with those who call evil good and good evil. If jealousy, evil surmising, and evil-speaking are allowed to have a place in the church, that church is under the frown of God. It will be spiritually unhealthy until it is cleansed from these sins, for till then God cannot reveal His power to strengthen and elevate His people and give them victory.” 1888 Materials, 144.
- When the church trusts to human wisdom and brings herself under the control of men: “The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 493.
“Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 366.
- Until every faulty and unlovely trait of character is transformed, God’s power cannot be revealed: “Unless this converting power shall go through our churches, unless the revival of the Spirit of God shall come, all their profession will never make the members of the church Christians. There are sinners in Zion who need to repent of sins that have been cherished as precious treasures. Until these sins are seen, and thrust from the soul, until every faulty, unlovely trait of character is transformed by the Spirit’s influence, God cannot manifest Himself in power. There is more hope for the open sinner than for the professedly righteous who are not pure, holy, and undefiled.” Review and Herald, February 7, 1857.
It is evident from these statements that God’s power cannot be revealed in the church, where it is supposed to be revealed, until the church is cleansed and purified. Since we are living in the days of the purification of the church, we plan to look at how that is to be accomplished, next month.