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“Unto the church… in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:1). I pray that you are prospering in the Lord this month. My family and I are on a six month missionary trip across the United States holding meetings. We look forward to seeing some of you on this journey. Please do all in your power to attend these meetings, and especially the camp meetings. I certainly hope each of you have been reading the articles on Romans by Waggoner. Each of them has been a blessing to me, and they seem to be successively getting better as he progresses through the book of Romans.

The Power of the Will

by Lynnford Beachy

(Much of the material for this article was based on a sermon preached by Jay Gallimore entitled, “Using the Force and Power of Your Will,” which is available to download for free at hopevideo.com/media_with_jay_gallimore.htm.    Editor)

Your character at this moment is the sum total of the choices you have made. What you become will be made up by the choices you make.

If you had a new born baby and you discovered a button on the back of it’s ear that said, “If you push this button, this child will always make the right choices in life, and will be unable to do anything wrong.” Would you push the button? If you push that button that would mean that every time that baby said, “I love you,” it would say it like a robot. It wouldn’t mean anything because that baby did not choose to tell you, “I love you.” Would you be happy with that type of obedience? Would you want a child like that? This type of obedience would not be voluntary, but forced. Without the ability to choose, without a free will, there can be no true obedience.

God could have made us this way, but He didn’t. He gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose to serve Him, or choose to go their own way.

Joseph used his will for good. When he was confronted by a woman who wanted him to commit adultery, he replied, “How… can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). He didn’t try to weigh how much he could get out of it. His mind went directly to God, and the fact that he had dedicated his will to Him.

Solomon used his will for evil. He allowed his passions to control him and he accumulated an extreme number of wives. He then yielded his will to his wives and began worshiping false gods. Sadly, the whole nation followed his wicked example. This was the beginning of Israel’s downfall, all because of the wrong choices of the will.

Many people think that we have three choices: 1) we can serve God, 2) we can serve Satan, or 3) we can just do our own thing and be independent. We say, “God, I want to serve you, so I will give you a big portion of my life, but there are some things I want to reserve for myself.” We think that we can serve God this way, and still maintain our independence and make our own choices.

Friends, that is not how it is. We only have two choices. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24). The only choice you have is to whom you will surrender your will. Either you surrender your will to God, or you are automatically surrendering your will to the devil. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me.” (Matthew 12:30). You might say, “Woe, wait a minute! I am not going to serve the devil.” But if you serve yourself, your are serving a selfish life, which is really serving the devil. You might say, “Well I am a good person.” That doesn’t matter. If you are serving a selfish purpose, you are serving the devil, and he doesn’t care. In fact the devil would prefer that you think you are not serving him. You only have two choices, either serve God, or serve the devil.

When you choose to serve the Lord you give up the right to make any decisions. Christ makes all the decisions, and you do not have any right to make your own decisions.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1, 2).

The Carnal Nature

According to statistics, one out of every ten people are predisposed to alcoholism. If you are one of these people, it doesn’t mean that you have to become an alcoholic. This just means that the genes you inherited from your ancestors make you predisposed to this tendency. You were born with a tendency to practice many bad habits, but you do not have to yield to them. As you nourish those tendencies, that becomes your old man, your carnal nature. This nature prompts you to do or say things, and you think that it is you who originate these things. But, by nature your will has been yielded to the devil, and he suggests that you will like certain things, or that they will make you feel good. You think you came up with these things, but the devil is calling the shots.

Paul exclaimed: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve [be a slave to] sin.” (Romans 6:6). Your “old man” has been crucified. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4). In this new life, you no longer make the decisions. That life is dead. The new life is Christ living in you. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). Your life is to be “hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3). If it is hidden, it is no longer visible. Christ is to be seen, not you. If you are seen, then you are living the wrong life; you are alive, not Christ living in you.

When Paul said our old man is crucified so that we should no longer serve sin, he used the word that means “slave.” Get this straight, when you were in the world you were a slave to sin. Your only choice is whose slave you are going to be. You cannot maintain your independence.

In the Hebrew economy the only way a Hebrew could become a slave was if he chose to be a slave. If he owed you money, you could have him work for you to pay off the debt, but after seven years he would be free. If he enjoyed being your slave he could choose to serve you for the rest of his life, signifying it before witnesses by putting a hole in his ear. You must choose whose slave you will be.

If you become somebody’s slave, do you have any rights left? No! Can you make any decisions? No! Who makes the decisions? Your master! Does he make the decisions only in the morning, or all day long? Your whole life revolves around his decisions.

Paul admonished, “Likewise reckon [consider it to be so] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11). If you consider yourself to be dead to the old man, to sin and the devil, does the devil still talk to you? How many of you still feel the pull of the old nature? How many of you still hear the devil’s temptations? You have yielded your will to God, so when the devil says, “Hey, we have this thing over here we used to enjoy together.” You say, “I have my orders, I am not taking orders from you anymore, you are dead to me.”

If you are in the military, and a superior officer gives you an order, how negotiable is that?

Sometimes people say they have a weak will, that they do not have any will power. Notice what Paul said next: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:12, 13). Your members are any part of your body, from your head to your feet. If you submit your will to the devil, your hands become the tools of the devil. If you surrender your will to God, every part of your body is to be a tool for the Lord. Paul says that you should no longer present the members of your body to the devil, but to the Lord. That means you have a choice.

I do not control your hands. The only way I can control your hands is if you surrender your will to me. If you work for General Motors, when you go to work in the morning, do you surrender your will to General Motors for that eight hours? General Motors will tell you that you will stand in a certain place, and when a car comes by, you are to put a screw in a particular spot on the car. You are to do it every time, and you are to do it perfectly. How long will GM put up with you saying to them, “You told me to put the screw in this spot, but I am going to put it in two inches over here, and you told me to stand in this place, but I want to stand over there”? They will not put up with that at all. If you work for GM, you must surrender your will to them while you are on the job.

How many of you like gadgets that don’t work? Isn’t it irritating to have a power window that won’t work? You push the button harder than normal, and maybe bang on it a little bit. You are trying to get that window to yield to your will. Don’t tell me you don’t have any will power. You exercise your will every day.

Paul admonished us, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants [slaves] to obey, his servants [slaves] ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). If you become the slave of somebody, and he gives all the directions, and you lose all your rights, are you living your life or his? You are living his life. That is righteousness by faith, not righteousness by works. If I yield my will to the one I trust, then I now live His life because I have no more choices: He makes all the choices. Many of us struggle with this, because we don’t want to say that the Lord has all the choices. Your only choice is to give Him your entire will, or you will end up giving your entire will to the devil.

Paul continued, “For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” (Romans 6:19). You  must yield your will to the God.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). Do you think there is anyone in heaven now that resists the will of God? The centurion understood this very well. He told Jesus that He understood that Jesus had many angels at His command, that all He had to do was speak the word, and those angels who have great power would obey His word and his servant would be healed (Matthew 8:8, 9).

Doing the will of God

Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Not everyone that says Jesus is wonderful is going to be saved. Jesus was saying, “People can say they believe in me, and they love me, and that I am the most wonderful thing that ever happened, and they can sing all the songs they want to sing to me, they can worship at my feet, they can even raise the dead and heal the sick in my name, they can say glorious things about me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to heaven. The only way that you are going to be saved is if you do the will of my Father.”

When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to where Jesus was, and Jesus was informed that they were there, He answered, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:50). Jesus counts as family only those who do the will of His Father.

When Jesus was on this earth He was a slave to His Father. He said, “I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29). “I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49). “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38). Jesus did nothing without His Father’s direction.

Every miracle that Jesus wrought, was not by His own power, which He had laid aside, but the power of His heavenly Father working through His angels. Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” (John 5:30). At Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus simply said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.” Then He said, “Lazarus, come forth.” (John 11:41, 43). The Father heard the prayers of His Son, and worked miraculously with Him.

A slave master has certain responsibilities to you. He has to take care of you, to feed you, and give you directions, or else he can’t get any work out of you. Jesus’ Father supplied every necessity that Jesus needed. Just as Jesus is the slave of His heavenly Father, so we are to be slaves of Jesus. And just as His heavenly Father supplied all of His needs, He will supply all of our needs.

Trust your master

Sometimes we want to maintain our independence because we do not trust that Jesus will supply all of our needs. If you really trust the slave master, and you have yielded to Him your will, the only question you ask is, “What is it that you want? What are my orders?” If He says to you, “Walk into the fiery furnace,” what do you do? If He says to you, “I have chosen suffering for you at this time,” what do you do? If He says, “I have chosen a martyr’s death for you,” what do you do? If you are in the army, and you are ordered to charge a hill full of machine guns, what do you do? Isn’t Jesus more trustworthy? The army doesn’t have the power of resurrection, but Jesus does.

You have a will, but that will is yours to give, not to keep and do with it as you wish.

Jesus told a parable, “A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:28-31). The rhetoric doesn’t matter. The bottom line is, will you surrender your will to your heavenly Father. You may come to a situation and say, “I really don’t want to do that but, I am going to surrender my will to my Father, He knows what is best. He owns my will.”

Here is where we have so much trouble. This is the reason that so many of us never come to a full, strong Christian experience, is because we keep playing around with our will, instead of surrendering it to our Lord Jesus.

Did Jesus want to bear the sins of the world to the cross? Three times He pleaded with His Father to allow Him to bypass that experience, to find another way to save man, and three times He surrendered His will to the will of His Father (Matthew 26:39-44). Do you think the Father loved Him at that moment? Do you think the Father still had His best interests in mind?

Often we only see the outward sufferings of Christ, the whips, the crown of thorns, the nails, but Jesus could see that His closeness with His Father was about to be ripped apart with an agony we cannot understand. It cost something to become our substitute, to stand in our place. If Jesus followed His feelings that night, would we have a Saviour? If He would have done it His way, would He have gone to calvary? No! Three times the answer to Jesus’ prayer was “No.” His orders were to go to the cross. The struggle with His feelings, with His own will, was so awful that He fell to the ground dying. “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:43, 44).

Do you think you will have to struggle to decide whether or not to yield your will to the Father? Do you think that the Father would send an angel to strengthen you? Surely, He will! Your struggle is not going to be easy. You have to understand that if you have decided to yield your will to God, then the devil is going to try everything in the world to try to get you to switch your loyalty, to switch your will to the devil. The proof that you have switched your will to the devil is your disobedience. Just as the proof that you have yielded your will to God is that you do His will.

You can say, “I love Jesus, Jesus is so wonderful,” if you are disobedient, the devil doesn’t care. You can say, “I love Jesus” all you want, but the devil just smiles because he has you. That is why it is so important to make an irrevocable decision to yield your will to God. David said, “My heart is fixed [to be securely determined, to be steadfast —Brown Driver and Brigg’s Hebrew Lexicon], O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” (Psalms 57:7). I cannot maintain my independence, a little here, and a little there. Why would I want to go serve the devil?

If you yield your will to God as a slave would yield his will to his master, giving up all your rights, then when God takes you as His slave, He makes you His son/daughter. God would rather send every angel from heaven rather than to allow you to be overcome, once you have given Him your will.

Satan’s tricks

The devil appeals to us through our lusts that we were born with, and that we have accumulated by what we do, or what we have seen on television, etc. The devil says, “If you give me your will, you can do all those things, and it just feels so nice.” The only problem is that he lies. He draws you in, and he finally controls you, and you will always be his slave until he is finished with you, and you are dead for eternity. And he doesn’t care, because he never cared to start with.

Do you know why Christ our righteousness is not a popular subject? There is a false “Christ our righteousness” that says, “The grace of Christ saves you, and everything is all right, you can do what you want to do.” That is the reason so many “Christian” religions are so popular, because they allow people to continue to be their old carnal self, while giving lip service to the Lord, and going through a few rituals, and everybody thinks they are all right. True righteousness by faith makes no compromise with the devil. Jesus covers you with His righteousness, and He has fought your battles. There is not a battle that you will ever face that He has not already fought and doesn’t know how to fix. His life is already your life. His death is already your death. He is already your substitute. He is stronger than the devil and all his angels You give your life to Him, and He gives you all the resources to be successful. He is not going to let Satan take you without a fight. Only you can make that decision.

I read some things recently that I would like to share because I thought they expressed things very well.

Satan assailed Christ with the fiercest and most subtle temptations; but he was repulsed in every conflict. Those battles were fought in our behalf; those victories made it possible for us to conquer. Christ will give strength to all who seek it. No man without his own consent can be overcome by Satan. The tempter has no power to control the will or force the soul to sin. He may distress, but he can not contaminate. He can cause agony, but not defilement. The fact that Christ has conquered should inspire his followers with courage to fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan (The Review and Herald, December 17, 1908).

Many are inquiring, “How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?” You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him (Steps to Christ, p. 47).

Just because a bad thought crosses your mind that is not sin. It only becomes sin when you indulge and nurse it, when you dwell upon it and choose to let it become a part of you. “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14, 15).

When an evil thought flashes in your mind, you need to say, “I don’t choose you, you are dead to me, I am not going there.” And then appeal to Jesus to whom you have yielded your will. You say, “Jesus, I have yielded my will to you, now remove these thoughts from my mind.” Give this answer no matter how many times it flashes. There is no temptation, no matter how strong, that the Lord doesn’t have the power to reverse. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

You have to be willing. You have to use your will. You exercise your will everyday to try to make things work out the way you want them to. Then you can use your will on the side of Christ.

Most of the world today live their whole religious life in their feelings. They say, “The song really moved me, or the story the pastor told really touched my heart, and I had this wonderful feeling, so I must be a Christian.” No, you are not a Christian just because you had a nice feeling. You are only a Christian when you surrender your will to Christ. You don’t have to even feel like surrendering, you must choose to surrender. You say to yourself, “I know where that is going to take me, but I also know where Jesus is going to take me.” You don’t need to have warm fuzzy feelings to make that decision.

Adding knowledge upon knowledge is not going to help you if you refuse to apply the knowledge you already have. It is what you do with that knowledge that counts. If you do no allow that knowledge to be applied in your life, you may very well be one of the most educated people in the lake of fire. If that is the case, all of that knowledge will be useless to you.

Everything must be yielded

If you belong to a slave master, does he control just a little bit of your life? Does he just control the morning, or does he control all day long? Does he control our appetites. Does the slave master tell the slave what he is going to eat? You might say, “Oh, can’t I just keep a few things to myself.” Paul wrote, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate [self controlled] in all things.” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Self must be controlled by Christ in all things, including what we eat.

I want to remind you that you should not let preachers be your conscience. The Word of God is to be your conscience, or revelation from God. The preachers are only there to bring you to the Word of God, not to become your conscience for you. Otherwise you go down the road of fanaticism. Do not let any man or woman be your conscience. That should be controlled by the Word of God, or by revelation.

If the slave master controls me, and there is a whole apple pie in front of me, is the slave master going to let me eat half of it? Not likely. Everything must be brought under the control of Christ. The scriptures say, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). There is no part of my life that is off limits to the slave master.

You only have two choices. You can either give your will to the evil one, or you can give your will to the one who loves you. If you give your will to God, who gave His Son to die for you, He will make you His son.

Fundamental Principles of Health

by Curtis Kline

A Proactive Approach to Health

Picking up where we left off last month, let us look at what I believe is the best way to cooperate with God in maintaining our health, and that is a Proactive and Preventive approach to good health.

Did you ever stop to consider how many assaults our bodies are attacked with each day. They say that the average person today is exposed to more toxicity in one day than a person 100 years ago was exposed to in a year. Everything from air pollution to water pollution, radiation, cell phones, microwave ovens, chemical preservatives, and the list can just go on and on. I think you would be truly amazed to find out how many toxins come into your environment every day.

Now, understanding this, we should be able to understand that if we allow our bodies to take all these attacks, and just wait for acute symptoms to arise as a result (usually when acute symptoms appear, the situation is already to a point where the body is already losing the fight) then I would compare this to driving your car without ever changing the oil until the engine starts smoking or some other drastic symptom. Most of us are smart enough to know that if we don’t change the oil and do the tune ups, then it’s going to cost us much more somewhere in the not so distant future. Understanding this, I wonder why it is so hard for so many to see the same cause and effect relationship concerning our bodies.

Let us therefore, by God’s grace start making changes for the better and supply our bodies with the opportunity to achieve better health. Many ask where they can start, well without getting into all the specifics let us start with two fundamental principals.

• Get the bad out (and keep it out)

It might do each one of us well to sit down and do an inventory on how many toxins our bodies are exposed to on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, and then see where we can make improvements. We can also do a cleanse to help our bodies get out all the junk.

• Get the good in

It would also be well to take a close look at our diets and see if we are providing ourselves with all the nutrition we need. If this is not the case, one good place to start is with a good whole food supplement. Remember, when the body is lacking nutrition it does not have the raw material to do what it needs to do.

This may all sound kind of simple, but I believe with all my heart, based upon my experience in the field of health, that this would be a good starting point. Little changes can start to make us feel better and give us momentum to make other changes that will prove to our benefit in the long run. So, until next month, here’s to your health.

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(The above article was provided by Curtis Kline, Director of Bible Health Solutions. For more in-depth information he can be contacted at (661) 392-8153 or curkli@yahoo.com. The above information is for informational purposes only and are the opinions and religious belief’s of the author, they are not intended to treat diagnose or cure any disease.    Editor)

Waggoner on Romans — The Gospel in Paul’s Great Letter     (Part 15)    by Ellet J. Waggoner

(We are continuing a series of articles commenting on Paul’s epistle to the Romans. We pray that they will be a blessing to you.    Editor)

GLORIOUS FREEDOM FROM A BAD “MARRIAGE”

Chapter 8

We now come to the conclusion of the whole matter. In the eighth chapter of Romans the epistle reaches its highest point. The seventh has presented to us the deplorable condition of the man who has been awakened by the law to a sense of his condition, bound to sin by cords that can be loosened only by death. It closes with a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who alone can set us free from the body of death.

Freedom from Condemnation—Romans 8:1-9

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

“No Condemnation”—There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ. Why? Because he received the curse of the law, that the blessing might come on us. Nothing can come to us while we are in him, without first passing through him; but in him all curses are turned to blessings, and sin is displaced by righteousness. His endless life triumphs over everything that comes against it. We are made “complete in him.”

“Looking unto Jesus” Some say, “I do not find this scripture fulfilled in my case, because I find something to condemn me every time I look at myself.” To be sure; for the freedom from condemnation is not in ourselves, but in Christ Jesus. We are to look at Him, instead of at ourselves. If we obey His orders, and trust Him, He takes the responsibility of making us clear before the law. There will never be a time when one will not find condemnation in looking at himself.

The fall of Satan was due to his looking at himself. The restoration for those whom he has made to fall, is only through looking to Jesus. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” (John 3:14). The serpent was lifted up to be looked at. Those who looked were healed. Even so with Christ. In the world to come the servants of the Lord “shall see his face,” and they will not be drawn away to themselves. The light of his countenance will be their glory and it is in that same light that they will be brought to that glorious state.

Conviction, Not Condemnation—The text does not say that those who are in Christ Jesus will never be reproved.

“Do you think he ne’er reproves me?
What a false friend he would be
If he never, never told me
Of the faults that he must see!"

Getting into Christ is only the beginning, not the end, of Christian life. It is the entrance to the school where we are to learn of Him. He takes the ungodly man with all his evil habits and forgives all his sins, so that he is counted as though he never had sinned. Then He continues to give him His own life, by which he may overcome his evil habits.

Association with Christ will more and more reveal to us our failings, just as association with a learned man will make us conscious of our ignorance. As a faithful witness, he tells us of our failings. But it is not to condemn us. We receive sympathy, not condemnation, from Him. It is this sympathy that gives us courage, and enables us to overcome.

When the Lord points out a defect in our characters, it is the same as saying to us, “There is something that you are in need of, and I have it for you.” When we learn to look at reproof in this way, we shall rejoice in it, instead of being discouraged.

Law of Life in Christ—The law without Christ is death. The law in Christ is life. His life is the law of God; for out of the heart are the issues of life, and the law was in His heart. The law of sin and death works in our members. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ gives us freedom from this. Mark that it is the life in Christ that does this. It does not give us freedom from obedience to the law, for we had that before, and that was bondage, and not freedom. What He gives us freedom from is the transgression of the law.

Christ’s Work—This is made very plain in verses 3 and 4. God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” There is no fault to be found with it but with us, because we have transgressed it. Christ’s work is not to change the law in any particular, but to change us in every particular. It is to put the law into our hearts in perfection, in place of the marred and broken copy.

The Weakness of the Law—The law is strong enough to condemn, but it is weak, even powerless, with respect to what man needs namely, salvation. It was and is “weak through the flesh.” The law is good, and holy, and just, but man has no strength to perform it. Just as an ax may be of good steel, and very sharp, yet unable to cut down a tree because the arm that has hold of it has no strength, so the law of God could not perform itself. It set forth man’s duty; it remained for him to do it. But he could not, and therefore Christ came to do it in him. What the law could not do, God did by His Son.

Likeness of Sinful Flesh—There is a common idea that this means that Christ simulated sinful flesh; that He did not take upon Himself actual sinful flesh, but only what appeared to be such. But the Scriptures do not teach such a thing. “In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17). He was “born of a woman, born under the law,” that he might redeem them that were under the law (Galatians 4:4, 5).

He took the same flesh that all have who are born of woman. A parallel text to Romans 8:3, 4 is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21. The former says that Christ was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” The latter says that God “made him to be sin for us,” although He knew no sin, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

“Compassed with Infirmity”—All the comfort that we can get from Christ lies in the knowledge that He was made in all things as we are. Otherwise we should hesitate to tell Him of our weaknesses and failures. The priest who makes sacrifices for sins must be one “who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” (Hebrews 5:2).

This applies perfectly to Christ; “for we have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). This is why we may come boldly to the throne of grace for mercy. So perfectly has Christ identified Himself with us, that He even now feels our sufferings.

The Flesh and the Spirit—“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5). Note that this depends on the preceding statement, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4). The things of the Spirit are the commandments of God, because the law is spiritual. The flesh serves the law of sin. (See the preceding chapter, and Galatians 5:19-21, where the works of the flesh are described.) But Christ came in the same flesh, to show the power of the Spirit over the flesh. “They that are in the flesh can not please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.”

Now no one will claim that the flesh of a man is any different after his conversion from what it was before. Least of all will the converted man himself say so; for he has continual evidence of its perversity. But if he is really converted, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in him, he is no more in the power of the flesh. Even so Christ came in the same sinful flesh, yet He was without sin, because He was always led by the Spirit.

The Enmity—“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7). The flesh never becomes converted. It is enmity against God; and that enmity consists in opposition to His law. Therefore, whoever opposes the law of God is fighting against Him. But Christ is our Peace, and He came preaching peace. “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight.” (Colossians 1:21, 22). In His own flesh He abolishes the enmity, so that all who are crucified with Him are at peace with God; that is, they are subject to His law, which is in their hearts.

“Life and Peace”—“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6). To be spiritually minded is to have a mind controlled by the law of God, “for we know that the law is spiritual.” “Great peace have they which love thy law.” (Psalm 119:165). “Being justified [made righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1). The carnal mind is enmity against God. Therefore, to be carnally minded is death. But Christ “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10). He has abolished death by destroying the power of sin in all who believe in Him; for death has no power except through sin. “The sting of death is sin.” (1 Corinthians 15:56). So that even now we may joyfully say, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

The eighth chapter of Romans is full of the glorious things that God has promised to them that love Him. Freedom, the Spirit of life in Christ, sons of God, heirs of God and with Christ, glory and victory, are the words that outline the chapter.

Sons of God—Romans 8:9-17

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

Opposing Forces—The flesh and the Spirit are in opposition. These are always contrary the one to the other. The Spirit never yields to the flesh, and the flesh never gets converted. The flesh will be of the nature of sin until our bodies are changed at the coming of the Lord. The Spirit strives with the sinful man, but he yields to the flesh, and so is the servant of sin.

Such a man is not led by the Spirit, although the Spirit has by no means forsaken him. The flesh is just the same in a converted man that it is in a sinner, but the difference is that now it has no power, since the man yields to the Spirit, which controls the flesh. Although the man’s flesh is precisely the same that it was before he was converted, he is said to be not “in the flesh,” but “in the Spirit,” since he through the Spirit mortifies the deeds of the body.

Life in Death—“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10). Here we have the two individuals of which the apostle speaks in 2 Corinthians 4:7-16. “For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” Then he says that “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” Though our body should fail and be worn out, yet the inward man, Christ Jesus, is ever new. And He is our real life. “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3).

This is why we are not to fear them that can kill only the body, and after that have no more that they can do. Though the body be burned at the stake, wicked men can not touch the eternal life which we have in Christ, who can not be destroyed. No man can take His life from Him.

The Surety of the Resurrection—“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Romans 8:11). Jesus said of the water that He gave, which was the Holy Spirit, that it should be in us a well of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:14; compared with John 7:37-39). That is, the spiritual life which we now live in the flesh by the Spirit is the surety of the spiritual body to be bestowed at the resurrection when we will have the life of Christ made manifested in immortal bodies.

Not Debtors to the Flesh—“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.” (Romans 8:12). We are indeed debtors, but we do not owe anything to the flesh. It has done nothing for us, and can do nothing. All the work that the flesh can do avails nothing, for its works are sin and therefore death. But we are debtors to the Lord Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for us.” (Titus 2:14). Consequently, everything must be yielded to His life. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:13).

Sons of God—Those who yield to the strivings of the Spirit, and continue so to yield, are led by the Spirit; and they are the sons of God. They are taken into the same relation to the Father that the only-begotten Son occupies. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1, 2). If we are led by the Spirit of God, we are now just as much the sons of God as we can ever be.

We Are Sons Now—There is a notion held by some people that no man is born of God until the resurrection. But this is settled by the fact that we are now sons of God. “But,” says one, “we are not yet manifested as sons.” True, and neither was Christ when He was on earth. There were but very few that knew Him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. And they knew it only by revelation from God. The world knows us not, because it knew Him not. To say that believers are not sons of God now because there is nothing in their appearance to indicate it, is to bring the same charge against Jesus Christ. But Jesus was just as truly the Son of God when He lay in the manger in Bethlehem, as He is now when sitting at the right hand of God.

The Spirit’s Witness—“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16). How does the Spirit witness? This is answered in Hebrews10:14-17. The apostle says that by one offering he hath perfected them that are sanctified, and then says that the Holy Spirit is a witness to this fact when he says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16, 17). That is to say, the Spirit’s witness is the word. We know that we are children of God, because the Spirit assures us of that fact in the Bible. The witness of the Spirit is not a certain ecstatic feeling, but a tangible statement. We are not children of God because we feel that we are, neither do we know that we are sons because of any feeling, but because the Lord tells us so. He who believes has the word abiding in him, and that is how “he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” (1 John 5:10).

No Fear—“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15). “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7). “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:16-18).

Christ gave Himself to “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:15). He who knows and loves the Lord can not be afraid of Him; and he who is not afraid of the Lord has no need to be afraid of any other person or thing. One of the greatest blessings of the gospel is the deliverance from fear, whether real or imaginary. “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4).

Heirs of God—What a wonderful inheritance that is! It does not merely say that we are heirs of what God has, but that we are heirs of God Himself. Having Him we have everything, as a matter of course; but the blessedness consists in having Him. “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup.” (Psalm 16:5). This is the fact; it is a thing to be meditated upon rather than talked about.

Joint-heirs with Christ—If we are sons of God, we stand on the same footing that Jesus Christ does. He Himself said that the Father loves us even as He loves Him (John 17:23). This is proved by the fact that His life was given for ours. Therefore the Father has nothing for His only-begotten Son that He has not for us. Not only so, but since we are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, it follows that He can not enter upon His inheritance before we do. To be sure, He is sitting at the right hand of God. But God in His great love for us “hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places.” (Ephesians 2:4-6). The glory which Christ has He shares with us (John 17:22). It means something to be a joint-heir with Jesus Christ! No wonder the apostle exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” (1 John 3:1).

Suffering with Him—“If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:17). “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18). Suffering with Christ means, therefore, enduring temptation with Him. The suffering is that which comes in the struggle against sin. Self-inflicted suffering amounts to nothing. It is not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh (Colossians 2:23). Christ did not torture Himself in order to gain the approval of the Father. But when we suffer with Christ, then we are made perfect in Him. The strength by which He resisted the temptations of the enemy is the strength by which we are to overcome. His life in us gains the victory.

In the preceding verses of the eighth chapter of Romans we have seen how we are adopted into the family of God as sons, and made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit establishes the bond of relationship. It is the “Spirit of adoption,” the Spirit proceeding from the Father as the representative of the Son, that proves that we are accepted as brethren of Jesus Christ. Those who are led by the Spirit must be even as Christ was in the world, and are therefore assured of an equal share in the inheritance with Christ. For “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16).

Glorified Together—Romans 8:17-25

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Why Suffering?—Christ’s life on earth was one of suffering. He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3). He “suffered, being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18), but His sufferings were not all in the mind alone. He knew physical pain; “himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17). He suffered hunger in the wilderness; and his works of love were done at the expense of much bodily pain and weariness. The sufferings which He endured at the hands of the rough soldiers in connection with His mock trial, and His crucifixion, were simply a continuation in another form of what He had endured throughout His whole life on earth.

Glory Following Suffering—In all the prophets, the Spirit of Christ was witnessing and testifying of “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1 Peter 1:11). When Christ, after His resurrection, talked with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, He said. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:26, 27). We know that the first part of those prophecies was fulfilled, and therefore must know that the rest are as sure. As surely as Christ suffered, so surely will the glory follow.

Suffering Together—Our suffering is to be “with him.” We are not to suffer alone. But we could not suffer eighteen hundred years ago, before we were born. Therefore it follows that Christ still suffers. Otherwise we could not suffer with Him. Read what is said of His connection with ancient Israel: “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” (Isaiah 63:9). So in Matthew 25:35-40 we learn that Christ suffers or experiences relief whenever His disciples suffer or are relieved. He is the head of the body.

Now if when one member suffers all the members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26), how much more must that be true of the Head! So we read of Christ that even now, as high priest, He is “touched with the feeling our infirmities.” (Hebrews 4:15). A high priest must be one “who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” (Hebrews 5:1, 2). So we learn that Christ has never divested Himself of the human nature which He took upon Himself, but that He is still identified with suffering, sinful men. It is a glorious truth, to be recognized and confessed, that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” (1 John 4:2).

Glorified Together—“If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:17). Christ does not have anything that is not for us equally with Him. His prayer was, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” (John 17:24). And He says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” (Revelation 3:21). Whatever He has, we have, and we have it when He has it, since we are joint-heirs with Him.

There is Glory Now—The above statement may at first sight seem to be untrue. It is the common idea that Christ is glorified long before those who are fellow-heirs with Him. One text is sufficient to settle this matter: “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.” (1 Peter 5:1). Peter declared himself to be a partaker of the glory. This was because he believed the saying of Christ, in His prayer for His disciples, “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” (John 17:22). If Christ has glory now, His disciples share it also. Again we have the words of the apostle Peter. Speaking of Christ, he says, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:8).

Grace and Glory Where Unexpected—The apostle John tells us that although we are now the sons of God the world knows us not, because it knew not Christ. There was nothing in the appearance of Christ on earth to indicate that he was the Son of God. Flesh and blood did not reveal that fact to anybody. To all appearance He was but an ordinary man. Yet all the time He had glory.

We read that when He turned the water into wine He “manifested forth his glory.” (John 2:11). His glory was manifested in the form of grace. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). The grace with which God strengthens His people is “according to the riches of his glory.” (Ephesians 3:16). Whoever is in Christ is chosen “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:6). Grace is glory, but glory veiled so that mortal eyes may not be dazzled by it.

Glory Yet to be Revealed—“The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). The glory is for us to possess now, but it will be revealed only at the coming of Christ. It is then that His glory will be revealed (1 Peter 4:13), and then our trials will “be found unto praise and honor and glory.”

Christ’s glory has not yet been revealed, except to the chosen three on the mount of transfiguration. At that time the glory that Christ already possessed was allowed to shine forth. He appeared then as He will appear when He comes. But to the mass of mankind there is no more evidence now that Jesus is the Son of God than there was when He was before Pilate’s judgment seat.

Those however who see it by faith and who are not ashamed to share His sufferings, also share His hidden glory; and when He shall appear in His glory, “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43). That will be “the manifestation of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19). Then for the first time Christ will be manifested to the world as the Son of God, and those who are His will be manifested with Him.

The Hope of Creation—The word “creature” in verses 19-21 means the creation; this may be seen from verse 22 where we read of the whole creation as groaning, waiting to be delivered from that to which it has been made subject. When man sinned, the earth was cursed on His account. (See Genesis 3:17.) The earth had done no sin, but it was made to share the fall of man, to whom it had been given. A perfect earth was not the dwelling-place for sinful man. But it was made subject to vanity in hope. God made the earth perfect. “He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” (Isaiah 45:18). And He “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Ephesians 1:11). Therefore the earth is sure to be glorified as it was in the beginning. “The creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21 ASV).

Adoption and Redemption—Both the earth and we are “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23). The earth waits for it, because it can not be relieved of its curse until we are set forth as sons of God, and therefore lawful heirs. The Holy Spirit is the pledge of this heirship. The Spirit seals us as heirs, “unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30).

It is to us a witness that we are children of God, but the witness is not accepted by the world. They know not the children of God. But when that glory which He has given us is revealed, and our bodies are redeemed from destruction and made to shine like His glorious body, then there will be no doubt in the minds of any. Then even Satan himself will be obliged to acknowledge that we are God’s children, and therefore rightful heirs of the glorified earth.

Hope and Patience—Hope, in the Bible sense, means something more than mere desire. It is certainty, because the ground of the Christian’s hope is the promise of God, which is backed by His oath. There is nothing that our eyes can see to indicate that we are the sons of God. We can not see our own glory, and that is why we are charged not to seek it here. We can not see Christ, yet we know that He is the Son of God. That is the assurance that we are also sons of God. If there were any uncertainty, then we could not wait with patience. We should be uneasy, and should worry. But, although the natural eye can not see any indication that we are owned as God’s children, faith and hope assure us of it, and so we with patience wait for that which is unseen.

(To be continued)

(This article was taken from a series of articles printed in The Signs of the Times from October, 1895 through September, 1896. Some editing has been done for this publication.    Editor)

Upcoming Meetings in Your Area

Here is the currently-planned 2007 itinerary for Lynnford Beachy:

May 25, 26    Kansas City, Kansas, contact Tim Kritzell, (913) 626-2683.

June 12-16    West Virginia Camp Meeting at Smyrna, 304-732-9204.

June 22, 23    Indianapolis, Indiana, contact Oscar Cortez, 317-243-8754.

June 30    Newark, Ohio, contact Steve or Lorinda Sutton, 740-763-0155.

July 6, 7    Cleveland, Ohio, contact Willis Smith, 216-271-9045.

July 11-15    Northwestern Pennsylvania Camp Meeting, contact Calvin Bickel, 814-676-8660.

July 20, 21    Cadillac, Michigan, contact Rick Jaroh, 231-862-3344.

July 27, 28    Wilson, Michigan (UP), contact Jim Pierce, 906-639-2166.

Aug. 4    Bemidji, Minnesota, contact Bob Talios, 352-219-8503.

Aug. 17-19    Joliet, Montana, contact George Kerr, 406-446-1414.

Aug. 24, 25    Eureka, Montana, contact Colette Konschuh, 406-889-3242.

Sep. 1    Wenatchee, Washington, contact Eldon Noyes, 509-782-3192.

Sep. 15    Ontario, Oregon (in a prison), contact Lynnford Beachy, 304-633-5411 (Cingular Cell Phone).

Sep. 28-Oct. 1    Rainier, Oregon Camp Meeting, contact Kristen Dreyer, 503-556-4190.

Between these meetings we will be available to visit people in their homes and to have additional meetings. Check upcoming issues of Present Truth (available on our website) to keep informed about these meetings and others in your area. If you would like to host meetings in your area, please contact us. (See contact information on page 12).

Many of these meetings will be broadcast live over the Internet and by telephone conference. To listen to these sermons go to www.skype.com, download and install the free software, then click on the “Explore the skypecasts directory” link on the Skype homepage. You will see a list of all of the skypecasts available at that particular time. You can also check those “Starting soon,” in case you arrive early. Look for the broadcast entitled “God’s Love on Trial.” Often we will be broadcasting at  seven o’clock Friday evening, eleven o’clock Sabbath morning, and Sabbath afternoon and evening at three and seven o’clock.  (These are local times for wherever I am scheduled to speak, currently mountain time. You can also call from any phone (long distance charges may apply). In the US call: 605-475-8500, Austria: 0820 4000 1572, Belgium: 070 35 9987, Spain: 0902 88 60 48, Switzerland: 0848 560 152, Ireland: 0818 270 032, Italy: 0848 390 172, France: 0826 100 275, Germany: 01805 00 76 46, Australia: 283 078 824, UK: 0870 738 0760. You will be prompted to dial this room number: 5225823. You can dial directly from Skype at: +99008275225823. (When you use Skype, it is a free call from anywhere in the world.) I often will be broadcasting using my cell phone, and while I am still able to broadcast our meetings over the Internet, they will not be listed in the Skype directory unless someone can help me do this. If you have a highspeed Internet connection, and would like to help with these broadcasts, please let me know (you do not need to be at the meetings to help). You can call me at 304-633-5411.

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