How to Receive God’s Blessing

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«Harken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you.»

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In order for the blessing of God to rest upon us, we must not only hear His Word; we must carry it out in the daily life.

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«Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord are alive every one of you unto this day.»

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«Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.»

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You may think that it shows great wisdom to associate closely with worldlings, that you may receive their favor. But we can not afford to do this. The world will discern the wisdom and the understanding possessed by those who keep all God’s commandments, and will say, «Surely this is a wise and understanding people.» It is in this position that God has always wanted us to stand.

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«For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for.» If we will draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us, and His glory will go before us. He will indite our petitions, teaching us to ask for the very things that He has pledged Himself to bestow on us.

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«And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?» Shall we heed this law? Or shall we cover up the message, and hide the law of Jehovah? God forbid!

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«Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently.» I spoke yesterday of the individuality that we must maintain. It must be a sanctified individuality. Take heed to thyself. Do not talk of the faults of others. If you have anything against any one, go to him, and tell him all about it. Pray with him and for him. If all would do this, how many souls would be saved to the work of God!

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«Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen.» God has sent us reproofs and warnings. Forget not the things that you have seen. Forget not the history of the past, when God revealed His power and His grace, giving victory after victory, when He let His blessing and mercy rest upon us, and when He reproved our errors and our wrongs. Do not repeat the wrongs that He has reproved. Do not wait for Him to tell you every day what you must do. When He commands you once, it is forever. Establish your confidence in God. Come to Him with a living faith. He has said to you, «Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me.»

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Moses spoke of the day when the people stood before God in Horeb, when He said, «Gather Me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.»

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My brethren and sisters, what is the matter with your children? Why is it that they do not obey God? It is because you yourselves do not obey Him. You hurry here and you hurry there; and your attention is so taken up with common things that you have no time to pray, no time to train your children. This is the way that it is in our institutions. Those in positions of trust in our publishing houses and our sanitariums have no time to educate the youth connected with these institutions as they should be educated. These youth are to be trained by precept and example to work for God. Do not speak to them harshly. You can not afford to do this. When you speak harshly or discouragingly, Satan is speaking through you.

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Place yourselves in right relation to God. Ask Him to cleanse you from all iniquity, and to heal you of your backsliding and your forgetfulness of Him. He says, «Draw nigh to Me, and I will draw nigh to you.» He asks you to teach His lessons to your children. This is your work. Your children are God’s property. He sent His Son to die for them. He has redeemed them. He wants you to begin to work for the church in your own house. Teach your children to keep the way of the Lord, to walk humbly before Him. Teach them to be His missionaries in the church and in the world.

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«Confess your Faults One to Another.» Brethren and sisters, do not let this meeting pass by this morning without doing the work that God wants you to do. If there are any differences between you and your brethren, for Christ’s sake clear them away. Take up the stumbling-blocks. Clear the King’s highway. If you have done your neighbor a wrong, go to him, and try to make the matter right. Talk with God, and when you have done this, you will be able to talk in a Christlike manner to your brother.

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If you have made mistakes or errors in judgment or in speech, or if you have used the precious talent of speech to proclaim the wrong-doings of others, may God help you to make a change. Humble your hearts before the Lord. Do not feel that your brethren will lose confidence in you if you make confession of sin. We are all finite. We are God’s little children. Do not feel that it would lower your dignity to confess your sins. Christ says, «Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.» We have separated ourselves from God. Let us draw near to Him. Let us confess our sins, and let us be sure that we go to the bottom, and make thorough work for repentance. Will you do this? Will you prepare the way for God to bless you? Shall we not see of the salvation of God in this meeting? We may see it; we may have it. Let us not do anything that will hinder it from coming to us.

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Do not use the talent of speech to talk of your troubles and difficulties or of the wrong that some one has done you. Live in the confidence and love of Christ. He is with you. He will give you strength. Remember that when you are irritated, silence is eloquence. Keep still. The strongest rebuke that you can give to a faultfinder is to return no answer to his criticism.

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May the salvation of God be manifest among us this morning. May the Lord help us all. I felt thankful that God gave me strength to talk to you yesterday. Then I thought, What good has it done? I felt a wave of discouragement coming over me. But I said, No, I can not afford that. I have done my duty, and I leave the result with God. I slept for about fifteen minutes, and when I awoke, it seemed as if the glory of God was all around me. My heart was filled with praise and thankfulness. And I feel thankful this morning. Oh, shall we not clear away the rubbish that is filling our hearts, and invite Christ to enter as an abiding Guest? Then He will richly bless us, and we shall receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. —