In an age of consumerism, when secular values have made self the center, heaven’s appeal is to turn from the tyranny of self-centeredness and the bondage of self-inflated importance and to place God at the center of our lives. For some, money is the center of their lives. For others, it is pleasure or power. For some, it may be sports, music, or entertainment. Revelation’s message is a clarion call to fear, respect, and honor God as life’s true center.

Read Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:1-2, and Hebrews 12:1-2. What do these passages tell us about making God the true center of our lives?

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The central issue in earth’s final conflict is a battle for the mind. It is really one of allegiance, authority, and commitment to God’s will.

The final battle in the great controversy is between good and evil to control our thoughts. The apostle Paul gives us this admonition: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NKJV). The mind is the citadel of our being. It is the wellspring of our actions. The word “let” means to allow or to choose. It speaks of a volitional act of the will. The choice to have the mind of Christ is the choice to allow Jesus to shape our thinking by filling our minds with the things of eternity. Our actions reveal where our thinking process is. To fear God is to make Him first in our lives.

Think about how easy, in one sense, it is to control your thoughts, at least when you are conscious that you need to control them. Often the problem is that unless we make a conscious effort to dwell on the right things, the “things above, not on things on the earth,” our minds, fallen and sinful as they are, will naturally tend toward the base things, the things of the world. Hence, we need to, as Paul said, purposely and deliberately choose, using the sacred gift of free will, to dwell on the heavenly things.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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“Three Cosmic Messages” encourages us to 
Watch, Ye Saints – Hymn 598 as we near the end of this old world’s history to witness the Second Coming of our Lord, and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful hymn to give courage, dear people, and is our theme for this quarter.
We will be noting at times throughout the quarter that
‘Tis Almost Time For The Lord To Come – Hymn 212 and we should be proclaiming the message that
Jesus Is Coming Again – Hymn 213.

 Am I ready for Jesus’ soon return? is a question that pops up in Sunday’s study time: 
Hymn 212 – ‘Tis Almost Time For The Lord To Come, 
Hymn 604 – We Know Not The Hour, and 
Hymn 598 – Watch, Ye Saints. The study goes on to show our “submission to God”: 
Hymn 462 – Blessed Assurance.

Monday tells of “Revelation’s final appeal” to have faith in Jesus: 
Hymn 517 – My Faith Looks Up To Thee.

“Living a God-Centred Life” (Tuesday) shows we are to honour God: 
Hymn 35 – With Song And Honour and 
Hymn 230 – All Glory, Laud and Honour. We will then follow Philippians 2:5 and sing 
Hymn 273 – Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice.

 We may be “Giving Glory to God” in 
Hymn 230 – All Glory, Laud and honour, 
Hymn 228 – A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing and 
Hymn 341 – To God Be The Glory. At the end of our Bible study, a simple prayer in 
Hymn 660 – Glory Be To The Father.

Revelation 14:12 encourages us to have “faith in Jesus”: 
Hymn 523 – My Faith Has Found A Resting Place, 
Hymn 517 – My Faith Looks Up To Thee and 
Hymn 608 – Faith Is The Victory. The encouragement then continues on Thursday in “Trusting Him”: 
Hymn 279 – Only Trust Him, 
Hymn 524 – ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus, 
Hymn 510 – If You Trust In God To Guide You, and 
Hymn 535 – I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus.

 Friday is the grand finale stating 
Jesus Saves – Hymn 340.

So, dear people, be encouraged to go forward and
“Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring, Jesus IS coming again” – Hymn 213.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Key Thought: The call to fear God is the final message to choose Him as their almighty God. This fear for believers is not terror and trembling, but in loving submission and dedication.
April 22, 2023

1. Have a volunteer read Revelation 14:7.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. Why doesn’t fearing God mean to be afraid of Him? Doesn’t warning people about judgment and hell help keep them from doing things they otherwise wouldn’t do?
3. Personal Application: How is the message of the three angels both a call to obedience and a call to Godly living in this time of earth’s history? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why would anyone fear God today? People steal, kill, lie, commit all kinds of sexual immorality, and nobody sees any kind of retribution, and human laws seem to lean more to accepting and excusing crimes and immorality? How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 6:2, Eccl 12:13,14, Psalm 119:73.74..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these texts show about fearing God?
3. Personal Application: I understand that fearing God is honoring His commandments, but how does that relate to the judgment Solomon speaks about? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why does Revelation 21:7,8 say that the fearful will have part in the lake of fire which is the second death? I thought we were supposed to fear God?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read I Corinthians 3:16,17; Romans 12:1,2; I Corinthians 6:19,20..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these texts tell us about glorifying God?
   (Note: see also Philippians 3:18,19 – Whose God is his belly, whose glory is in his shame, who mind earthly things.)
3. Personal Application: How do we keep our minds and bodies under control? Pleasure, sports, music, entertainment all bombard us daily. How can we overcome our own selves? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “I thought in the New Testament it says we can eat anything we want if we pray over it. And what is eating too much? How does anyone determine that?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 7:2-5..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How does knowing Jesus is our High Priest and that we can come to Him boldly to find mercy and grace to help us in our walk in this world?
3. Personal Application: Are there things in your life you desire to overcome? How do we translate out desires into action? Share your thoughts?
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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What else does the Bible teach us about what it means to fear God?

Read Deuteronomy 6:2; Psalm 119:73-74; and Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. What do these texts reveal is the result of “fearing God”?

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These passages reveal a linkage between fearing God and keeping His commandments. Fearing God is an attitude of reverential respect that leads us to obedience. Heaven’s urgent appeal is for those saved by grace to be obedient to God’s commands (Ephesians 2:8-10). Grace does not free us from obeying the commands of God. The gospel sets us free from the law’s condemnation, not from our responsibility to obey it.

Grace not only delivers us from the guilt of our past, but it empowers us to live godly obedient lives in the present. The apostle Paul declares that “we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations” (Romans 1:5, NKJV).

There are some people who have the strange idea that salvation by grace somehow negates the law of God or minimizes the necessity for obedience. They believe that any talk about obedience is legalism. They have declared, All I want is Jesus. The question is, “Which Jesus?” A Jesus of our own making, or the Jesus of Scripture? The Christ of Scripture never leads us to downplay His law, which is the transcript of His character. The Christ of Scripture never leads us to minimize the doctrines of the Bible, which reveal more clearly who He is and His plan for this world. The Christ of Scripture never leads us to reduce His teaching to pious platitudes that are nonessential. Christ is the embodiment of all doctrinal truth. Jesus is truth incarnated. He is doctrine lived out.

Revelation’s final appeal calls us through faith in Jesus to accept the fullness of everything He offers. It calls us to “fear God,” which is expressed by faith in His redeeming power to empower us to live godly, obedient lives.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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The purpose of the book of Revelation for our generation is to prepare a people to be ready for Jesus’ soon return and to unite with Him in giving His last-day message to the world. Revelation reveals the plans of God and unmasks the plans of Satan. It presents God’s final appeal, His urgent, eternal, universal message for all humanity.

Read the apostle John’s urgent end-time appeal in Revelation 14:7. (See also Genesis 22:12; Psalm 89:7; Proverbs 2:5; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Ephesians 5:21.) What specific instruction does he give us?

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The Greek New Testament word for “fear” in Revelation 14:7 is phobeo. It is used here not in the sense of being afraid of God but in the sense of reverence, awe, and respect. It conveys the thought of absolute loyalty to God and full surrender to His will. It is an attitude of mind that is God-centered rather than self-centered. It is the opposite of Lucifer’s attitude in Isaiah 14:13-14, when he says in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High“ (NKJV).

Instead, it is the attitude of Christ, who, though “being in the form of God … humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6, Philippians 2:8, NKJV).

The essence of the great controversy revolves around submission to God. Lucifer was self-centered. He refused to submit to any authority except his own. Rather than submit to the One upon the throne, Lucifer desired to rule from the throne. Put simply, to fear God is to place Him first in our thinking. It is to renounce our self-centeredness and pride and to live a life wholly for Him.

And it obviously must be important because it’s the first words out of the mouth of the first angel of the three.

Hence, we must take heed.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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