GC 458

“It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the wilderness; He desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But ‘they could not enter in because of unbelief.’ Hebrews 3:19. Because of their backsliding and apostasy they perished in the desert, and others were raised up to enter the Promised Land. In like manner, it was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long delayed and His people should remain so many years in this world of sin and sorrow. But unbelief separated them from God. As they refused to do the work which He had appointed them, others were raised up to proclaim the message. In mercy to the world, Jesus delays His coming, that sinners may have an opportunity to hear the warning and find in Him a shelter before the wrath of God shall be poured out.” GC 458.1

I spent some time reading the Great Controversy book this week. It’s such an important book that when I try to read it I take my time as much as I can. I try to read the paragraphs over and over again because I want to make sure I understood what I read and that I don’t miss out on any important information. My eyes stopped at the above passage. It really spoke to me and I hope that it speaks to you as well.

You remember my last sermon on part one of the “#40days series.” One of the main focus was our willingness to obey God and go out to tell about Jesus. I believe the above text encourages us. I pray that it will motivate us to stand up to work for Jesus. The one thing we all want is the second coming of Jesus. Ellen White encourages us to ‘believe.’ As we believe, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit that we can go and tell about Jesus to the people around us.