WHO ARE YOU? WHOSE ARE YOU?
Did you know that our character, that is, our behavior, attitude, and values are indicators of who we are and whose we are? We either belong to God or we belong to Satan. Who are you? To whom do you belong?
In this series of videos, we have been looking at fearing God in the context of the times in which we are living. As we consider fear, we must remember that our orders for the present day are centered in the three angels’ messages of Revelation chapter 14.
These messages make up the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are the present truth for our time. Therefore, in this series, we are studying the messages surrounding the three angels of Revelations 14 and their relevance to the gospel and the times in which we are living.
If you want to review any of our previous videos, you can find them at SabbathSchoolDaily.com. Additionally, you can obtain the study guide for these lessons at Sabbath.School or ssnet.org.
Inviting God’s Presence
Heavenly Father, we yield our hearts and mind to you. Transform our characters so that we may glorify you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Our character is revealed in our behaviors, attitudes, and values. It defines who we are, and it guides our actions and decisions. Our characters are shaped by our upbringing, life experiences, and personal beliefs, and it is strengthened or weakened by the choices we make.
Ultimately how we treat others and live our lives is an indicator of the type of character we have. It is an indicator of whether we are living for God or living for Satan. When we live our lives in a manner that pleases God, we glorify Him.
The First Angel’s Message in Revelation 14:7 calls for us to give Glory to God. In other words, this angel or messenger is calling for us to praise and worship God.
Why does God deserve our praise and worship? Why are we called to glorify Him?
See if you can recognize why from the following scriptures:
Joshua 7:19
19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” (Joshua 7:19)
I Samuel 6:5
5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. (I Samuel 6:5)
Jeremiah 13:15-16
15 Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. (Jeremiah 13:15-16)
Malachi 2:2
2 If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart. (Malachi 2:2)
Revelation 14:7
7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7)
Why should we give him glory? Because He is our Judge.
This we see in Revelation 19:1, 2:
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” (Revelation 19:1-2)
Then the question is, how then do we give God glory? The following text indicates some ways we glorify God.
I Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (I Corinthians 3:16-17)
I Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)
I Corinthians 10:31
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (I Corinthians 10:31)
What is Paul saying in these verses?
He is saying our bodies are the same as temples. Our bodies are temples. They are to be a place in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Thus, when we glorify God, the Holy Spirit lives in our temples, and we are made Holy (We are set apart to be used by God) because of the presence of the Holy Spirit living in our temples.
Therefore, we are called to glorify God in every aspect of our lives. Glorifying God means we put him first. We consider Him and what He wants from us in everything we do.
It becomes our desire to honor Him with what we eat, with the clothes we wear, in our entertainment, and in those we chose as our closest friends. For in all these things, our character is being developed for eternity. (Split)
When we become totally committed to doing God’s will, we glorify Him. We also glorify Him when we show His love to others and be of service to them and be of service to Him.
It is through serving others that we reveal his character of love to the world.
The revelation of His character of love is even more important now in the light of Earth’s soon-coming judgment. We now live in the end times when God does His work as Judge.
So, our showing God’s love to other people takes the terror out of judgment. It lets them know that whatever God does is not to harm us. As Jeremiah expresses in Jeremiah 29:11,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11 Berean Standard Bible)
God does not desire to harm us. He loves us and desires nothing more than to have us live eternally with him. But it is our choice.
Knowing this, Paul in Romans 12:1, 2. makes this appeal.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1, 2)
The Greek word for “bodies” in these verses is “somata.” This word means “everything you are,” which includes your body, mind, and heart. Your heart is your emotions. When we choose to praise God and honor Him, we give Him everything.
We choose to serve Him with all of our thoughts, feelings, and body. When we serve God in this way, we worship Him. Our worship also includes obeying Him.
The Phillips translation of the Bible translates the expression “reasonable service” as an “act of intelligent worship.”
In other words, when we make a total commitment to “fear God” and “glorify Him” in all we do, we give our minds, body, and emotions to Him. This is an act of intelligent worship.
You might say this is hard. I want to do this, but it is a struggle. How, then, can we dethrone Satan and welcome the Holy Spirit into our body temple?
Continue watching. View Part 6 of this Video. Revelation’s Overcomers
Revelation 14:12 describes God’s end-time people. They are overcomers. They are loyal. They keep the commandments of God, and they have the faith of Jesus.
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)
Keep in mind that the only way anyone can obey or keep God’s commandments then and even now is through the faith that Jesus gives us.
Let me point out that the King James Version and the New King James Version do not say “faith in Jesus.”
This is because the “faith of Jesus” has a deeper meaning than “faith in Jesus.”
The faith of Jesus suggests that the overcomes have the quality of faith that Jesus had. This faith helped Jesus win the war against sin and Satan. Jesus was victorious over Satan’s strongest temptations.
God wants to put this same faith in our hearts so that we may overcome as Jesus overcame. When we practice putting our faith in God, our faith grows. Our faith is a gift from God. It is offered to every believer. But the one thing we must do with a gift is to accept it. This gift of faith, with Jesus’ help, gives us the power we need to win the battle against sin.
It is this faith that helps us to be overcomers. But overcoming is not accomplished by human willpower but by the power of Christ living and working through us.
We are thus overcomers not because of some special power we have but because of who lives in us. We overcome not because of who we are but because of whose we are.
It is our total surrender to Jesus that we overcome as Jesus overcame. Thus, through the faith of Jesus, we are able to say no to sin because Jesus said no to sin. We can overcome because He overcame.
We can be victorious because He was victorious. We can triumph over temptation because He triumphed over temptation.
Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 7:25 lets us know that because of Jesus, we can be overcomers.
Hebrews 4:14-16 says:
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Hebrews 7:25 says
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
Who is Jesus? He is God’s Son. Jesus won the fight against the devil’s lies and tricks. What is the secret to Jesus overcoming Satan’s temptations? He claimed and trusted in the promises found in the scriptures.
He faced every temptation trusting totally in the promises of God. He completely surrendered His will to the will of His Father and depended completely on His Father’s power. Jesus trusted His Father!
When we look to God and believed in God, we do the same. And we will be overcomers. We will win the war against sin and Satan.
Jesus is our all. He is our all and all. He is everything to us. Without him, we can do nothing.
Hence, the Three Angels’ Messages in Revelation 14 are all about Jesus and his power to help us be overcomers. The message in the book of Revelation is all about winning, not losing. It is a message of victory.
In it, we learn about how God’s people win the terrible fight against sin. Revelation lets us know that it is through God’s grace and by His power that we become overcomers.
The word “overcomer” found in Revelation 21:7 is used 11 times in the book of Revelation. This lets us know just how important it is for us to be overcomers.
We are not in this war alone. Christians from John’s time, the writer of Revelation to our time, have won the fight against sin. They were overcomers.
But this victory is not won by simply human power. It is human effort united with divine power that we become overcomers.
Revelation 21:7 tells us that at the end time, those who win will get everything God promises:
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7).
However, they do not win because of their own good behavior. They win because they have faith in God’s mercy and everything that Jesus does for them.
It is what is called faith in action. It is transforming; it is life-changing, miraculous grace found in the life of every believer.
Are there things in your life you desire to overcome? If there are sins in your life that you wish to win the fight against, through the faith of Jesus Christ, you can be an overcomer! Unit your effort with Jesus’ divine power, and through the faith of Jesus, you will overcome!
Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church
7902 Wheatly Street
Houston, TX 77088
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