Treasure for Heaven

1
Treasure for Heaven
2
Stewards of the grace of God

• 1Peter 410
• As every man hath received the gift, even so
  minister the same one to another, as good
  stewards of the manifold grace of God.

3
The only treasure

• A character formed according to the divine
  likeness is the only treasure that we can take
  from this world to the next.. And in heaven we
  are continually to improve. How important, then,
  is the development of character in this life.
  CG 161

4
Our first duty

• Our first duty to God and our fellow beings is
  in self-development. Every faculty with which the
  Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to
  the highest degree of perfection, that we may be
  able to do the greatest amount of good of which
  we are capable. CG 164

5
Know how to be holy

• 1Thessalonians 41,4
• Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and
  exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have
  received of us how ye ought to walk and to please
  God, so ye would abound more and more.
• That every one of you should know how to
  possess his vessel in sanctification and honour

6
The Will

• The will is the governing power in the nature
  of man, bringing all the other faculties under
  its sway. The will is not the taste or the
  inclination, but it is the deciding power, which
  works in the children of men unto obedience to
  God, or unto disobedience.... The will is . . .
  the power of decision, or choice. CG 209

7

• Every human being possessed of reason has power
  to choose the right. In every experience of life
  God's word to us is, "Choose you this day whom ye
  will serve." Joshua 2415. Everyone may place his
  will on the side of the will of God, may choose
  to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with
  divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can
  force him to do evil. CG 209

8

• God has given us the power of choice it is
  ours to exercise. We cannot change our hearts, we
  cannot control our thoughts, our impulses, our
  affections. We cannot make ourselves pure, fit
  for God's service. But we can choose to serve
  God, we can give Him our will then He will work
  in us to will and to do according to His good
  pleasure. Thus our whole nature will be brought
  under the control of Christ. MH 176

9

• Through the right exercise of the will, an
  entire change may be made in the life. By
  yielding up the will to Christ, we ally ourselves
  with divine power. We receive strength from above
  to hold us steadfast. A pure and noble life, a
  life of victory over appetite and lust, is
  possible to everyone who will unite his weak,
  wavering human will to the omnipotent, unwavering
  will of God. MH 176

10

• 1 Peter 41,2
• Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us
  in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the
  same mind for he that hath suffered in the flesh
  hath ceased from sin
• That he no longer should live the rest of his
  time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the
  will of God.

11
What happened at the fall?

• Your will is the spring of all your actions.
  This will, that forms so important a factor in
  the character of man, was at the Fall given into
  the control of Satan and he has ever since been
  working in man to will and to do of his own
  pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of
  man.
• But the infinite sacrifice of God in giving
  Jesus, His beloved Son, to become a sacrifice for
  sin, enables Him to say, without violating one
  principle of His government "Yield yourself up
  to Me give Me that will take it from the
  control of Satan, and I will take possession of
  it then I can work in you to will and to do of
  My good pleasure." When He gives you the mind of
  Christ, your will becomes as His will, and your
  character is transformed to be like Christ's
  character. 5T 515

12
Gods solution

• The covenant of grace was first made with man
  in Eden, when after the fall, there was given a
  divine promise that the seed of the woman should
  bruise the serpent's head. To all men this
  covenant offered pardon, and the assisting grace
  of God for future obedience through faith in
  Christ. It also promised them eternal life on
  condition of fidelity to God's law. AG 131

13
Christs power to resist the devil

• It is the grace that Christ implants in the
  soul which creates in man enmity against Satan.
  Without this converting grace and renewing power,
  man would continue the captive of Satan, a
  servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new
  principle in the soul creates conflict where
  hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ
  imparts, enables man to resist the tyrant and
  usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of
  loving it, whoever resists and conquers those
  passions that have held sway within, displays the
  operation of a principle wholly from above.
  GC88 506

14
Need to yield the will

• The tempted one needs to understand the true
  force of the will. This is the governing power in
  the nature of man--the power of decision, of
  choice. Everything depends on the right action of
  the will. Desires for goodness and purity are
  right, so far as they go but if we stop here,
  they avail nothing. Many will go down to ruin
  while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil
  propensities. They do not yield the will to God.
  They do not choose to serve Him.
• MH 176

15
Put will on the right side

• The will is the governing power in the nature
  of man. If the will is set right, all the rest of
  the being will come under its sway. The will is
  not the taste or the inclination, but it is the
  choice, the deciding power, the kingly power,
  which works in the children of men unto obedience
  to God or to disobedience.
• You will be in constant peril until you
  understand the true force of the will. You may
  believe and promise all things, but your promises
  and your faith are of no account until you put
  your will on the right side. If you will fight
  the fight of faith with your will power, there is
  no doubt that you will conquer. Te 113

16
Holy Spirit does not do our part

• The Spirit of God does not propose to do our
  part, either in the willing or the doing. This is
  the work of the human agent in cooperating with
  the divine agencies. As soon as we incline our
  will to harmonize with God's will, the grace of
  Christ stands to cooperate with the human agent
  but it will not be the substitute to do our work
  independent of our resolving and decidedly
  acting. Therefore it is not the abundance of
  light, and evidence piled upon evidence, that
  will convert the soul it is only the human agent
  accepting the light, arousing the energies of the
  will, realizing and acknowledging that which he
  knows is righteousness and truth, and thus
  cooperating with the heavenly ministrations
  appointed to God in the saving of the soul.
• Lt 135, 1898. MCP 691

17
Sacrifice

• God is the fountain of life, and we can have
  life only as we are in communion with Him.... If
  you cling to self, refusing to yield your will to
  God, you are choosing death....
• It will require a sacrifice to give yourself to
  God but it is a sacrifice of the lower for the
  higher, the earthly for the spiritual, the
  perishable for the eternal. God does not design
  that our will should be destroyed, for it is only
  through its exercise that we can accomplish what
  He would have us do. Our will is to be yielded to
  Him that we may receive it again, purified and
  refined, and so linked in sympathy with the
  Divine that He can pour through us the tides of
  His love and power. 2MCP 693

18
What can hinder the will?

• Anything that lessens physical strength
  enfeebles the mind and makes it less capable of
  discriminating between right and wrong. We become
  less capable of choosing the good and have less
  strength of will to do that which we know to be
  right.
• By allowing ourselves to form wrong habits,
  by keeping late hours, by gratifying appetite at
  the expense of health, we lay the foundation for
  feebleness. By neglecting physical exercise, by
  overworking mind or body, we unbalance the
  nervous system. Those who thus shorten their
  lives and unfit themselves for service by
  disregarding nature's laws, are guilty of robbery
  toward God. COL 346

19
Mind/body connection

• The power of the will is not valued as it
  should be. Let the will be kept awake and rightly
  directed, and it will impart energy to the whole
  being, and will be a wonderful aid in the
  maintenance of health. It is a power also in
  dealing with disease. Exercised in the right
  direction, it would control the imagination, and
  be a potent means of resisting and overcoming
  disease of both mind and body. By the exercise of
  the will-power in placing themselves in right
  relation to life, patients can do much to
  cooperate with the physician's efforts for their
  recovery. There are thousands who can recover
  health if thy will. The Lord does not want them
  to be sick. He desires them to be well and happy,
  and they should make up their minds to be well.
  Often invalids can resist disease, simply by
  refusing to yield to ailments and settle down in
  a state of inactivity.
• MH 246

20
Knowledge of truth enough?

• Those who have learned the truth and do not
  have works corresponding with their profession of
  faith are subject to Satan's temptations. They
  encounter danger at every step they advance. They
  are brought into contact with evil, they see
  sights, they hear sounds, that will awaken their
  unsubdued passions they are subjected to
  influences that lead them to choose the evil
  rather than the good, because they are not sound
  at heart. Just at the time when the power of the
  will is to be exercised, when firmness is
  required to resist the first approach of
  temptation, you find them easy subjects of
  Satan's devices, a mere plaything of the devil.
• HP 196

21
Condition to understanding truth

• John 717
• If any man will do his will, he shall know of
  the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
  speak of myself.

22
Are you yielding the will?

• Every temptation is now at work to lead those
  who claim to keep God's commandments, to break
  them. . . .
• .Now, in probation, is the time God has given
  us for the formation of pure and holy characters.
  If this time is not improved, if the thoughts are
  impure, if the heart is not sanctified, if unholy
  practices are indulged, be sure that the portion
  of such will be with the unholy, the debased, the
  abominable. HP 196

23
Conflict after conflict

• But Christ has given us no assurance that to
  attain perfection of character is an easy matter.
  A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It
  does not come to us by accident. A noble
  character is earned by individual effort through
  the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the
  talents, the powers of the mind we form the
  character. It is formed by hard, stern battles
  with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged
  against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to
  criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one
  unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.
• COL 331

24
The real difficulty

• Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of
  character for if you come to this decision, you
  will certainly fail to obtain everlasting life.
  The impossibility lies in your own will. If you
  will not, then you can not overcome. The real
  difficulty arises from the corruption of
  unsanctified hearts, and an unwillingness to
  submit to the control of God. YI, Jan 28, 1897

25
Determined effort

• All are free moral agents, and as such they
  must bring their thoughts to run in the right
  channel. Here is a wide field in which the mind
  can safely range. If Satan seeks to divert the
  mind to low and sensual things, bring it back
  again and place it on eternal things and when
  the Lord sees the determined effort made to
  retain only pure thoughts, He will attract the
  mind, like the magnet, purify the thoughts, and
  enable them to cleanse themselves from every
  secret sin. ..

26
Control the thoughts

• The first work of those who would reform is to
  purify the imagination. If the mind is led out in
  a vicious direction, it must be restrained to
  dwell only upon pure and elevated subjects. When
  tempted to yield to a corrupt imagination, then
  flee to the throne of grace and pray for strength
  from Heaven. In the strength of God the
  imagination can be disciplined to dwell upon
  things which are pure and heavenly.
  2MCP 595

27
Choose based on principle

• If you fight the fight of faith with all your
  willpower, you will conquer. Your feelings, your
  impressions, your emotions, are not to be
  trusted, for they are not reliable.
  5T 513

28
God will provide the power

• As the will of man co-operates with the will of
  God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be
  done at His command may be accomplished in His
  strength. All His biddings are enablings. COL
  333

29

• Revelation 2217
• And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let
  him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
  athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
  the water of life freely.