If I Am Lifted Up

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. (John 12:32)

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me. (GNB)

Even so, provided that I be elevated, exalted abundantly above this earth, that will thoroughly draw everyone in my direction. (Transliteration from Strong's)

I have a number of questions that come to mind when I read this.

This verse starts out with a condition – if or when this event occurs, then... It reminds me of computer programming and what is called an if/then statement: If a condition is met then the result will happen.

So in that context, what is the condition that will trigger the resultant drawing? Jesus says that it has something to do with Him being lifted up. Of course everyone generally associates this primarily with His upcoming execution on the cross and I agree. But looking at the original language it appears to me that it also allows for even more than simply that, or at least a broader application than simply a one-time occurrence. Not that Jesus would be crucified more than once, but being lifted up could certainly occur more than once particularly if the exalting part of the definition is taken into account.

This lifting up or exalting is stated to be relative to something else; it is a relative term linked in the original word to literally the soil or more broadly the earth, the world. But it also includes all the inhabitants of the world as well. Thus it may be seen that Jesus may not have only been referring here to the literal lifting up of His body above the ground on the cross but beyond that the elevating of what He had come to represent and reveal about the nature of His Father and how God actually views us. Jesus is saying here that until we view Him above everything at our ground level and all the ideas and opinions and feelings of men on this earth to see Him as above all of this, we will not experience the drawing power inherent in His revelation of the real truth about God's love for us.

The original word for being lifted up also includes the notion of heaven as well as being above our landscape. It is only from the perspective of heaven that truth and reality can be discerned. From where we live and think and perceive it is impossible to feel drawn toward God or Jesus effectively. Only by Jesus coming to this earth from heaven to reveal to us heaven's perspective and attitudes towards us can we begin to feel the true drawing power that holds all of the rest of the universe in perfect harmony with the love that is the governing influence holding all in unity and peace. From the perspective of this world, all we know is rebellion, disharmony, tension, violence and confusion. The only way we can gain a higher perspective and begin to experience a drawing power to rescue us from this miasma of selfishness and death is to catch a proper view of the real truth about God and how He feels towards us in the lifting up of His Son who came to show us that truth in person.

Another question that comes to mind here relates to this act of lifting up. Jesus does not spell out who is going to do the lifting up, but in the way this is worded it is evident He is not talking about doing it Himself. He is not going to be the one doing the lifting up but rather it will be done to Him. And even that is stated conditionally in this verse, leaving open the possibility that it might be possible that it would not happen. The condition at the beginning of this verse certainly leaves open the possibility of an alternative to Him being lifted up or exalted as well as this action necessarily happening to Him to be initiated by others and not Himself.

The two Greek words translated draw and all infer some interesting dynamics. Many Bible translators have assumed the all to mean only men or peoples. But it is clear from other passages both in the Old and New Testaments that God has a far greater purpose in mind for this drawing. We are a spectacle, a stage for the entire universe where this great drama has been unfolding far longer than this earth has even been in existence. The trial over God's character has been going on far longer than the drama between good and evil has been playing out on this earth; but God chose this planet to demonstrate what needed to be revealed about His own character and nature as the pivotal place from which to draw all intelligent beings into a deeper knowledge of His true nature of love. Thus the reason for this drawing power extends far beyond simply the humans who would be drawn toward God and His Son Jesus by this lifting up; the whole watching universe would become far more deeply attached in their loyalty to God themselves after witnessing what would take place on this earth through the revelation of the heart of God exposed in the death of Jesus on the cross.

At this point in the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the vast majority of those who have been most affected by His drawing power are clearly outside the realm of this planet. The watching universe appreciates far better than anyone here the distinct issues at stake in the accusations against God and in the actions and spirit that Jesus demonstrated. Under the greatest duress it was made plain that God was nothing like what Satan had accused Him of being. But this understanding is far less appreciated at this point in humans. We are the only ones left that still need to perceive in our minds what is really going on and who still need to grasp the spectacular truth about God's character that Jesus revealed at the cross. Because Satan moved so swiftly after that event to distort and subvert the true meaning of that display of love by introducing false religious interpretations of the cross, most people today see the cross in very different terms than how the rest of the universe views it. Men have been led largely to embrace lies of Satan about God in the way religion has typically presented the message of the death of Jesus.

Because of this tragic distortion of the truth intended to be revealed at the cross, God is assembling a group of people in these last days of this earth's history to once again reveal in their lives the truth about God's character that will be unmistakable and will once again unmask the drawing power of God's love in its purity. In essence, God will again be manifested in the flesh as Jesus richly dwells within the lives and hearts of true believers who finally grasp the truth about God's perfect and unconditional love and forgiveness and who will allow Him to live through them these principles under the most severe persecution and wickedness that will pressure them just like what happened to Jesus. One last time the universe and the world will witness humans who act like God under the worst of circumstances, people who will cling to the principles of God's character and are filled with the same trusting spirit in the heart of God that kept Jesus faithful and forgiving all the way to the point of death.

Revelation describes these people in the end of time as ones who live in the love of God so thoroughly that they prefer Him to their natural love for staying alive; people who are not contaminated by false beliefs about Him represented in the Bible as adultery with women.

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. (Revelation 12:11 NRSV)

These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:4-5 NIV)

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12 NRSV)

Casting Out

Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. (John 12:31-32)

I just happened to be reading a book that discusses this very subject that peaked my interest and sent me into research mode to see what and when this casting out took place. The author of the book asserted from good biblical evidence that it took place at the time of the cross as implied in this passage. However, upon closer investigation I am coming to the conclusion that in fact there may be references in the Bible to three different events involved in the casting out or casting down of Satan.

By what I can gather it still seems evident that there was a time before the creation of this earth that Satan was in some way cast out of heaven with his angels down to this earth. But it was not a complete evacuation as evidenced by the record from Job where Satan is seen strutting around in heaven's courts asserting himself as the legitimate representative for this earth.

To understand the nature of how he and his followers were cast out of heaven is key to perceiving the nuances of what took place. It is important to realize that the war in heaven referred to in Revelation 12:7-9 was not a physical war in any respect. Rather it was an intense battle of ideas, of beliefs, of claims about what is true and who is trustworthy. The Greek word used to describe this makes it clear that this was a battle for the minds, hearts and allegiance of intelligent beings who were compelled to choose sides of allegiance for the first time in the history of the universe.

After the sides had formed and each one had made an initial decision whom they were going to follow and emulate, a massive realignment became necessary in the society of the universe. One third of the angels of God were so convinced by Lucifer's compelling logic and promises of a better system of government than what God had been using that they threw in their lot with the accuser of God. Because of the incompatibility of the two belief systems of how to run things, Satan and his angels had to find another place to hang out, for the Bible says there was no room found for them to live in heaven any longer. Evidently in heaven's ways of living one must have permission from those around them to remain long-term and to live together with others. Without this permission there is evidently no place to live and so Satan and his loyal angels evacuated to an as yet uninhabited region of the universe which apparently was the precursor of this earth before it was formed into an organized creation as described in the first chapter of Genesis.

The Bible refers to this planet before creation as being a formless void or more accurately in a state of chaos. The Hebrew text there has significant inferences as to the chaotic nature of the effects of Satan's attempts to organize and govern. It was not only the fact of disorganized material on this planet but was also a description of this formless void as an illusion to the chaos that resulted from the kind of government that Satan was proposing the whole universe should adopt in place of God's government. The great war that was still heating up revolved around which form of governance was a better one, the more viable and useful one that should be used to operate social systems, not just on this planet after its creation but all throughout the universe. Satan had asserted that he had come up with revisions and improvements that needed to be implemented to compensate for God's apparently weak and faulty reliance on love alone as the underlying principle upon which everything should operate. Satan insisted that these new elements must be introduced to make things more secure; that force and fear were necessary when the limits of love might be exceeded and would then surely fail to keep order.

Because of the extreme subtlety of this wisest of all of God's created beings, even those angels who had initially rejected Satan's notions and remained loyal to God still had lingering sympathies for some of Lucifer's ideas and implications about God's character and ways of governing. As long as there were any questions unresolved in their minds a place remained open for Satan to return to heaven and carry on dialog with those still entertaining questions about these issues. This is an amazing revelation of God's grace and tolerance and fairness that should impress anyone aware of this. God is so respectful of the freedoms and rights of every individual that He never imposes restrictions on their ability to entertain doubts about Him but wants them to fully investigate to the very fullest every question they have in their mind so that their loyalty will be based on their own conclusions rather than on any arbitrary claims.This exposes the lying accusations of Satan that God is not that way.

Because of these lingering doubts and sympathies and questions in the minds of some who had chosen God's side, Satan and possibly some of his followers still had access to the heavenly councils and those involved there until the climatic event that took place at the time of the cross of Jesus. The death of Jesus dramatically exposed the true diabolical nature of Satan in a way never before seen and clearly revealed him to be a murderer at heart and a fraud through and through. It was not until Jesus allowed Satan to exercise his influence to take the life of the innocent Son of God that the universe saw clearly the utter depravity of Satan's character and the complete falsity of his accusations against God. From that point onward Satan was banned from access to heaven because he had lost all credibility to claim representation of this world in the heavenly councils. From that point on Jesus has exercised His right to be humanity's representative in heaven and this restored the peace and joy that had up till then been disturbed every time Satan showed up to continue his disruptive accusations in heaven.

Jesus was fully aware of this bigger picture and his role in fully resolving the conflict. The main purpose for Him coming to this earth was to wrest from Satan his claim as humanity's representative and to adopt into Himself all the fallen race whom He had originally created in His own image. By living with us as a human being, taking on our weakened nature and yet demonstrating the true character of God through all the abuse and outrage that Satan could heap upon Him, Jesus not only vindicated the truth about what God is really like but in the process exposed all the violence, deceit and evil in the heart of Satan. By exposing Satan fully before the universe by the humility of Jesus under the most harsh conditions, Jesus won the complete and unconditional allegiance and affections of those who had up to this point entertained lingering questions about Satan's ideas. Now all agreed that Jesus was the legitimate owner of this earth and was the only one to be recognized in heaven for us because He had humbled Himself to become a human Himself which even Satan would not do.

Thus in His great act of removing the mask of Satan and fully exposing his evil character, Jesus effectually cast out Satan as the ruler of this world as far as heavenly intelligences were concerned. This was the pivotal point in the great war and solidified God's loyal followers in heaven behind His methods and His government. But the war is not over on earth as Revelation 12:12 points out. When Satan had his mask torn away in being fully exposed by the horrific death of the innocent One, he then knew that his own demise was now unavoidable.

Up to this point Satan had counted on his own eternal existence as secure so long as he could keep questions and doubts about God's character alive in the minds of anyone. He knew God well enough that he was assured of his own continued life as long as there were any doubts that could spring up again and reinfect the universe with sin. Because God values freedom even more than salvation, as much as He longs to save everyone, Satan had been confident that he could continue his own existence indefinitely based on this attribute of God. It was the loophole that Satan had figured out in the character of God in which Satan continued to hide as an exception to the principle of sin producing death.

But Satan destroyed his own loophole by his hatred of the Son of God that compelled him to cause the death of Jesus; he in essence cut off the very branch that he had relied on to maintain his own existence. Satan permanently destroyed the reason that had caused God to preserve him alive and now the clock was counting down to the inevitable termination of Satan's own life.

Because of this new awareness of his own sudden mortality that he had never experienced previously, Satan became infuriated with rage at the thought of his own impending doom. From that point on his tactics and attitude shifted dramatically and his only thought since that time has been to seek destruction and promote disloyalty toward God of as many humans as he possible can affect. His attempts to misrepresent God's character that was so clearly revealed at the cross kicked into high gear as he knew he had to do everything possible to distort this revelation of God or it would draw nearly everyone into God's loving kingdom. Satan then bent all his powers to come up with even more diabolical misrepresentations of what actually occurred at the cross to obscure the beauty of God's character of self-sacrificing love and unconditional forgiveness. He had to place God in the worst possible light in the minds of all through false teachings by those who would claim to represent Him.

This casting out of Satan at the cross was the second casting event that terminated his influence over the minds of the rest of the universe. This is why the first part of Revelation 12:12 invites the universe to rejoice at this event for they are now finally in full agreement with God without any dissent and are fully united behind the government of God that is based on pure love alone. But there is a third and final casting down to take place that will go even further than removing doubts from the minds of heavenly intelligences. The Bible speaks of a final time when Satan's influence and lies about God will be completely exposed to the minds and hearts of every living being in the universe, human or otherwise. This is revealed in the prophesy from Isaiah and its context.

But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?" (Isaiah 14:15-16 NIV)

It will be at this point that Satan will be fully unmasked for the fraud that he has been. Up to this point there will still be many who have sympathies for the validity of the system he introduced to compete with the government of God. But when all the facts of the history of the great war are finally laid bare for all to see clearly, none, even among those who are lost with him, will have any more sympathy for his assertions and accusations against God. Thus God will be at last fully vindicated and seen as right, fair and loving in the minds of every creature in heaven and on earth. Significantly, this last time Satan will be cast out of the minds of everyone, both saved and lost. His credibility will be completely destroyed and in this way the safety of God's universe will be eternally secured without His ever resorting to the use of force, intimidation or any other of the false methods of His enemy. Love will be proven to be the most powerful and effective means of unity, and life and freedom will be secured forever.

Desire to Meet Jesus

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. (John 12:20-22)

I see a number of things I want to look into here.

Greeks – non-Jews – were coming to worship the God of the Jews at the most important festival in the Jewish religion. Were these just Jews living in Greece or were they actually Greeks? I tend to believe that they were really gentiles who had become influenced by Jews they knew and were genuinely interested in learning more about their religion and wanted to know their God better. They saw validity in the teachings of the Jews and were coming to sense the superiority of the Jewish religion over all others. They had decided to come to Jerusalem possibly along with their Jewish friends to see first-hand the religion of the Jews, but in the process they became aware of reports about a radical Jewish teacher who was rocking the whole country with His teachings and miracles. They became so intrigued by these reports that they decided to seek Him out for themselves and investigate Him personally.

These Greeks had not just come as casual observers of a different religion; they had come with the purpose of personally worshiping God. What they didn't know was that they were about to encounter God personally in a way that not even the disciples had experienced. Their honesty of heart, their sincerity, their openness to truth unlike that of the prejudiced Jews allowed Jesus to in turn open up to them new revelations about God that He could not share with the unbelieving religious people around Him. Like the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus could be more transparent and direct with these Greeks because they were not seeking to distort everything He said and taught about His Father.

These Greeks found Philip likely as part of their process of trying to track down Jesus. How did they know that Philip could lead them to Jesus? Very likely someone else had steered them in his direction informing them that this man was one of Jesus' disciples. Obviously Philip was not with Jesus at the time but was somewhere alone when these Greeks introduced themselves to him. I find this to be interesting as well as instructive.

Philip did not immediately take these men to Jesus but went to look up his partner and friend Andrew. Andrew is most known for being a person who loved to introduce people to Jesus. Philip is more known for asking questions than for bringing people to Jesus, but he also had learned from Jesus that it is important to work in teams, especially when it comes to working with souls. Jesus had sent out His disciples several times to do evangelism and He always sent them out in pairs. He did this for their benefit and protection so that they could compliment each other's weaknesses with their own strengths. Just as God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone He knows that it is not good for us to work for Him in the rescuing of lost souls alone. A lone disciple is too vulnerable to work with deceived minds and darkened hearts and it is very important that we learn this lesson ourselves.

“We wish to see Jesus.” I looked up the Greek word for wish and found something interesting. This word implies that they may have really said, “We would be delighted to meet Jesus! We would love to see Jesus.”

This really grabs my attention. I experience those same feelings myself many times. It is a symptom of the drawing power of Jesus and His reputation working on the heart when anyone expresses this kind of urge to meet Jesus personally. It is the main purpose of true evangelism to awaken in hearts this very desire. But it is also important to connect with another friend of Jesus in order to successfully escort such a hungry, curious person to meet Jesus in person for themselves rather than offering to answer their questions ourselves.

How often we spoil or dampen the hunger of people yearning to meet Jesus and to experience His power in their own lives by directing attention to ourselves, our opinions, our answers rather than leading them to Jesus directly to let Him teach them. How sad that churches and religious leaders tend to get people to depend on them to find truth and direction in life rather than showing people how to form a direct connection with Jesus and learn from Him personally. Imagine what would have been lost to these men and to all of us if Philip and Andrew had not taken them to Jesus but had rather tried to answer their questions themselves. One of the most surprising affirmations of the divinity of Jesus would not have occurred if these disciples had treated these seekers like we too often do today.

I notice as well that when the disciples arrived with these men in Jesus' presence they did not tell the men about Jesus but talked to Jesus about these seekers. How does this translate into our own practices in religion? Do we find ourselves talking to people about God more than we talk to God about people? Why do we find it so hard to encourage others to talk to God themselves without us interfering and trying to stay in the center of their attention? The reason God is drawing all unto Himself is to have a personal relationship with each one, not to have us act as constant intermediaries for others.

Certainly there is a period of time when we need to act our part in bringing people to Jesus. They usually meet one of God's friends first in their quest to know Him better and we certainly can share our own testimony as we are guiding them to meet Him in person. But if we fail to take them directly to Jesus and instead try to nurture them ourselves, we in essence are replacing Jesus in their lives and may actually be endorsing a false form of religion that has all the appearances of piety and truth.

We must learn the lesson that we have failed to learn for so long, that Jesus is to be the main focus of attention in every true believer's life. It is essential that we get this straight or we will fall into the scheme of the enemy who is always waiting to enhance our pride and make us the center of attention. God and the truth about His character is the focal point of all true religion. Anything other than this is a needless distraction and can easily lead all of us into a subtle form of religion while denying its power; and the true power of genuine religion can only be found in a personal encounter with the Son of God.

It is not enough that we may know Jesus personally and have a long-term relationship with Him. We must learn the importance of duplicating ourselves by teaching and modeling to others how they can know Him personally themselves. Philip and Andrew modeled the right way to lead people to Jesus and we could learn a great deal from their example. I am saddened by how far from this model we act in relating to those around us who are hungry and seeking to meet Jesus too.

I confess that I am often guilty of drawing too much attention to myself instead of focusing on helping others know Jesus for themselves. It is so easy to want to display how much I am learning about God without taking the time and carefulness to help others get into right relationship with Him so they can be taught of God too. I also need to team with other disciples in order to be more balanced and be more successful in leading curious hearts to know Jesus for themselves.

But the wonderful benefits of getting it right is that we can then share even greater joy as more and more people become personal disciples of our best friend. We do not lose these new friends by making them intimate friends with Jesus; rather, as we encourage them to connect with Jesus directly they become even better friends with us than if we had tried to tell them all about the truth ourselves.

I have been learning that the true nature of the rewards Jesus talks about that we will enjoy in heaven, and even here today, have to do with the joy we experience as we bond with those we have helped to encounter Jesus personally for themselves. This is the kind of investment that will last for eternity and is how we can store up fuel for our ever-increasing joy forever. It is up to us now how much fuel we are willing to invest in to produce these future and even present joys.

Perspective After Death

The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

Things in my life seem to be transitioning over the past few months. And although I don't know what the future looks like exactly, I sense more and more that trouble is looming ahead for me because of the things I have been learning and sharing with those around me. The more truth that I learn about God and about the revelation of God through the life and teachings of Jesus, the more out of sync I find myself with those whom I once shared harmony with in confused beliefs about God.

I keep seeing more clearly how mistaken ideas about religion have kept me from really knowing God and from being able to worship Him in both spirit and truth. I now find myself repeatedly confronted with decisions as to whether I will continue to believe things I have been taught all of my life about religion or whether I will embrace fresh revelations of truth that are more consistent with the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And as I keep embracing increased light as the Spirit reveals it to me from His Word and from others who are likewise discovering truth, the Spirit confirms these revelations in various ways. At the same time I sense growing resistance from those who once supported me and with whom I shared more traditional views about reality and religion.

It truly is our perception of reality, not just about religion but about how God really relates to sinners that defines how we react to circumstances. As my internal perceptions of God continue to be transformed through the renewing of my own mind I find that my feelings and my interpretations of events and God's messages in written form are becoming very different than ever before. I also see that my view of reality is becoming more and more of a minority view, that very few people are really willing to embrace the real truth about God for fear of what their church will think of them or how their friends and family will treat them.

I feel the same growing pressures myself as I share these exciting, liberating truths that I have been learning and experiencing with those around me. A few are becoming fascinated, intrigued and are starting to explore these things for themselves. But sadly many, even those who are well respected and who have been given positions of trust and leadership over the spiritual direction of others too often react to these new things with fear and suspicion. Rather than choosing to investigate these things through prayer and careful examination of the evidence from the Word of God they often use Scripture simply to reinforce their own dogmas and traditions. They rely on the long established technique of proof-texting which is itself sometimes heavily dependent on using only one version of the Bible to arrive at rather shaky conclusions.

As I read again this passage about Jesus and Lazarus this morning I wondered what might have been going on in the mind of Lazarus as he began to hear about the threats against his life because of his close association with Jesus. I find it rather confusing to even have a clue as to how the mind of a person might operate if they had already died once and been buried for several days to the point of their body beginning to rot away. Then they had been raised to full, vibrant life again and viewed reality and all their relationships through totally different context than any of us have ever experienced. How can I wrap my mind around what that might feel like?

The contrast between the unmistakable joy in the last chapter surrounding the resurrection of Lazarus and the dark forebodings created by the hatred of the religious leaders in this passage is unavoidably clear. Yet how does a person feel who has already died once and who is now being threatened with death again at the hands of others? Does fear have the same power over such a person as it does with us or do they have a unique perspective of reality through their connection and experience with Jesus that insulates them against the petty threats of those who refuse to embrace the truth about God and who see them as the problem rather than themselves? Maybe there are wonderful advantages to having died and being resurrected to give one a completely different frame of reference.

As I opened a devotional book this morning with some of these thoughts of impending trouble ahead circulating through my mind, I found words directed at me from the Spirit confirming that I need to more intentionally embrace these truths in my own life. I must not waver from the direction God has been directing me toward out of fear of those who feel threatened by my testimony about a God who loves us in contrast to the fearful, arbitrary, intimidating God that they believe in. As I read I listened and asked God to impress these instructions and affirmations deep into my heart and mind so that they can provide strength and courage for me when I do face more open opposition to my testimony for Him.

Possibly one of the most important things I have been learning lately is God's attitude of always respecting each person's freedom. God insists that each person needs to be fully convinced in their own heart and mind about what is true without any coercion or threats of punishment on His part if they fail to view things His way. While He gives abundant warnings as to the consequences of choosing other versions of reality or religion, those consequences are in no way to be viewed as arbitrary punishments imposed by an angry God in retaliation for not believing in Him. Rather they are the natural consequences of living out of harmony with the underlying principles of true reality as created by God. Only in harmony with Him can be found true safety and life.

I am becoming increasingly amazed at the grace of God and the perfect harmony of His principles and how merciful He is in holding back so many consequences already that should be destroying our lives. He is seeking in every way possible to get us to know the truth about Him and allow Him to heal our perverted minds and hearts. The dark views of God that pervade the whole world including most people in my own church are full of misconceptions about Him that we have inherited from others and some of these ideas have even been woven into every translation of His Word over the years. Yet we are not left without true witnesses of the real truth about God for it still glows through the pages of Scripture, from nature and particularly from the life of Jesus Christ when it is properly understood and appreciated.

I will close with the message that God gave me this morning as I meditate on the implications of how taking this to heart will influence my future and my destiny.

We need now to arise and shine, for our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us. We have no time to talk of self, no time to become like the sensitive plant, that cannot be touched without shrinking. In Jesus Christ is our sufficiency. Will we talk faith? Will we talk of the glorious hope, of the full and abundant righteousness of Jesus Christ, provided for every soul? . . .

The whole heavenly universe is interested, and the love of God is exercised in behalf of His faithful, commandment-keeping people. It is God in whom we must trust. . . . God has the world in His hand. We have God on our side. All heaven is waiting and longing for our cooperation. The Lord is supreme. Why then should we fear? The Lord is almighty; why should we tremble? In the past God has delivered His people, and He will be our helper if we will arise in His strength and go forward.

The Bible and the Bible only is to be our refuge. God is in His Word. {TMK 342}