THE DAY OF THE GREAT CRISIS
They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Amos 8:12.
At the very end of time, just before Jesus comes, there is going to be a great crisis. People at that time will have revealed that they are going one way or the other--fast. The difference between this great crisis and the smaller ones preceding it is that when the winds really blow with hurricane force, there is no time to change direction. The changes will need to have been made before the storm. If that's true, then God would be exceedingly anxious to have us understand ourselves before that time ever came. In Amos 8 is a prediction of the day coming when people will be running from sea to sea, from coast to coast, looking for a faith that they have neglected and that they can no longer find. They will realize that nothing counts except this, and they will throw their riches to the moles and the bats, desperate, panicky, seeking with fear that which they could have had earlier but refused.
How can we know if we are safe from the storms that are about to blow? There are two clues as to how to know whether you are going in the right direction. Matthew 7:21, are you doing the will of God, and Matthew 25:12, do you know Him? "When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience."--The Desire of Ages, p. 668. This places knowing God as the cause, and doing God's will as the result. Both are equally significant and important, but one is completely the cause of the other. How can I know if I am going toward God, if I am going up the mountain instead of down? The important factor is, Do I have a personal, meaningful relationship with God day by day?
When I know Him as it is my privilege to know Him, my life will be a life of continual obedience. If I am having trouble with the continual obedience, it isn't because I'm not trying hard enough to obey. It's because I don't know God as it is my privilege to know Him. That's where the trouble is. If I will continue to seek fellowship with God, continue to take advantage of the privilege given me to know Him, then He will complete the work that He has started in my life, and bring me into the final great crisis with security and assurance.
They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Amos 8:12.
At the very end of time, just before Jesus comes, there is going to be a great crisis. People at that time will have revealed that they are going one way or the other--fast. The difference between this great crisis and the smaller ones preceding it is that when the winds really blow with hurricane force, there is no time to change direction. The changes will need to have been made before the storm. If that's true, then God would be exceedingly anxious to have us understand ourselves before that time ever came. In Amos 8 is a prediction of the day coming when people will be running from sea to sea, from coast to coast, looking for a faith that they have neglected and that they can no longer find. They will realize that nothing counts except this, and they will throw their riches to the moles and the bats, desperate, panicky, seeking with fear that which they could have had earlier but refused.
How can we know if we are safe from the storms that are about to blow? There are two clues as to how to know whether you are going in the right direction. Matthew 7:21, are you doing the will of God, and Matthew 25:12, do you know Him? "When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience."--The Desire of Ages, p. 668. This places knowing God as the cause, and doing God's will as the result. Both are equally significant and important, but one is completely the cause of the other. How can I know if I am going toward God, if I am going up the mountain instead of down? The important factor is, Do I have a personal, meaningful relationship with God day by day?
When I know Him as it is my privilege to know Him, my life will be a life of continual obedience. If I am having trouble with the continual obedience, it isn't because I'm not trying hard enough to obey. It's because I don't know God as it is my privilege to know Him. That's where the trouble is. If I will continue to seek fellowship with God, continue to take advantage of the privilege given me to know Him, then He will complete the work that He has started in my life, and bring me into the final great crisis with security and assurance.
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