Gods Sabbath

O PPOSING P RINCIPLES OF O PERATION

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What a sad fate this will be for multitudes of earnest church workers who have sacrificed their lives doing what they be lieved was God’s will for them, when all the time the work was actually self-appointed. What a dreadful shock awaits them when they discover that God can classify them only as “evildo ers” or “workers of iniquity.” How careful each of us must be to day to ensure that correct principles are operative in our lives so that God’s way alone is known, trusted and practiced. He has given us ample warning of this danger, so that we will not be deceived and lost. Valuable indeed is the lesson of following God’s plans alone, as taught in the story of Lazarus of Bethany. It is well summarized in the following paragraph from the pen of Ellen G. White who observed the outworking of that principle in church history for more than 70 years: “Christ’s workers are to obey His instructions implicitly. The work is God’s, and if we would bless others His plans must be followed. Self cannot be made a center; self can receive no hon or. If we plan according to our own ideas, the Lord will leave us to our own mistakes. But when, after following His directions, we are brought into strait places, He will deliver us.” Desire of Ages , 369.1. The success of this principle of operation is clear. The account of Lazarus’ death and resurrection shows that there is no room for self; no place for human plan making in God’s work. The various courses followed by Christ, Lazarus, his sisters, and the disciples, reveal the sure truth that “... a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23. “We have not wisdom to plan our own lives. It is not for us to shape our future.” Ministry of Healing , 478.3. Even Christ did not plan His own life. He demonstrated this by refusing to trust in His own wisdom, depending instead on the counsels of the Almighty. Similarly Lazarus and his sisters followed God’s plans for them. They were rewarded for their loy alty to His ways with significant roles involving the fantastic Overcoming Self