Read Matthew 27:45-50. What does this teach us about what Christ had experienced on the cross? What did Jesus mean by asking God why He had forsaken Him, and how does this scene help us understand what it means to have “the faith of Jesus”?

Hanging on the cross, enshrouded in darkness, bearing the guilt, shame, and condemnation of the sins of the world, and shut off from the sense of His Father’s love, Jesus depended on the relationship that He had with the Father throughout His life. That is, through a life of complete dependence upon the Father, even in good times, Jesus had been prepared for the worst times, even the cross.

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The Savior trusted, even when all around Him the circumstances cried out for Him to doubt. Even when it seemed that God had forsaken Him, Jesus didn’t give up.

“Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. … By faith, Christ was victor.” — Ellen G. White, Christ Triumphant, p. 277.

The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep, so trusting, so committed, that all the demons in the cosmos and all the trials on earth cannot shake it. It is a faith that trusts when it cannot see, believes when it cannot understand, hangs on when there is little to hang on to. This “faith of Jesus” is itself a gift we receive by faith and will carry us through the crisis ahead. It is “the faith of Jesus” dwelling in our hearts that enables us to worship Christ as supreme and steadfastly endure when Revelation’s mark of the beast is enforced.

And yet, it is not something that out of nowhere suddenly appears. God’s people have been learning to live by faith, day by day, now. In good times, in bad times, when God feels close, when God seems far away — it doesn’t matter. “The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11; see also Habakkuk 2:4). The time for preparation is now. Every trial now, if endured in faith, can bear precious fruit in our lives.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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As we have seen in Revelation 14:7-8, God calls all people to worship the Creator. This is the first angel’s message. In , God warns people about “Babylon,” a false religious system with roots back to ancient Babylon. This is the second angel’s message.

In Revelation 14:9-10, the third angel warns against worshiping the beast. The angel declares in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God“ (NKJV).

Read Revelation 14:12. What two characteristics do we discover in this passage about God’s last-day people? Why are both important?

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The Greek word for “patience” is hupomone, which is better translated “steadfast endurance.” God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him in the face of opposition and fierce persecution. Through His grace, they stand with steadfast endurance, living God-centered, grace-filled, obedient lives.

Worshiping the Creator (Revelation 14:7) stands in direct opposition to worshiping the beast (Revelation 14:9) and finds its expression in a people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12). This final conflict over allegiance to Christ or allegiance to the beast power revolves around worship, and at the heart of this great controversy between good and evil is going to be the Sabbath.

Read Romans 8:1-4, Ephesians 2:8-10, and Colossians 1:29. What do these passages teach us about the result of living by faith?

Living by faith, we receive His grace, and our lives are changed. The committed followers of the Savior will not only have faith “in” Jesus, they will have the faith “of” Jesus. Jesus’ quality of end-time faith will be theirs, and they will remain faithful, even unto death, as Jesus did.

How faithful are you in the little things? What might that tell you about how you will be when the real trial comes? (See Luke 16:10.)

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Revelation 14:12, Ephesians 2:8-10, Matthew 27:45-50, Revelation 13:15-17, Revelation 14:4, Luke 5:18-26.

Memory Text: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ’Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’”(Revelation 7:2-3, NKJV).

As we study end-time events in regard to the mark of the beast, one crucial point that comes through is the difference between how God operates and how the enemy of souls does.

As we have been studying, the central issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan focus on loyalty, authority, and worship. The prophecies describing the beast power in Revelation 13:1-18, the little horn in Daniel 7:1-28, and the “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 all speak of a power that usurps God’s authority, commands loyalty, and introduces a counterfeit system of worship. And they do so through the use of force, coercion, and at times bribes and rewards — all in order to compel worship.

In contrast, love is the great motivating force of the kingdom of God. Rather than worshiping the beast, God’s people find their greatest joy and highest delight in worshiping Him. They are committed to Him because they know how committed He is to them. There is only one thing that will keep any of us from receiving the mark of the beast in the end time &mdash a love for Jesus so deep that nothing can break our hold upon Him.

In this lesson, we will explore these themes further.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 10.

Sunday–>

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The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf-V0Z8N4U&w=560&h=315]

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Join the Hit the Mark Panel as they discuss Lesson 10, Satan’s Final Deceptions.

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