Many Afflictions
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
Psalms 34:19
"Escape for Thy Life"
“The same angel who visited Sodom is sounding the note of warning, "Escape for thy life." The bottles of God's wrath cannot be poured out to destroy the wicked and their works until all the people of God have been judged, and the cases of the living as well as the dead are decided. And even after the saints are sealed with the seal of the living God, His elect will have trials individually. Personal afflictions will come; but the furnace is closely watched by an eye that will not suffer the gold to be consumed. The indelible mark of God is upon them. God can plead that His own name is written there. The Lord has shut them in. Their destination is inscribed--"God, New Jerusalem." They are God's property, His possession.
Will this seal be put upon the impure in mind, the fornicator, the adulterer, the man who covets his neighbor's wife? Let your souls answer the question, Does my character correspond to the qualifications essential that I may receive a passport to the mansions Christ has prepared for those who are fitted for them? Holiness must be inwrought in our character.
God has shown me that at the very time that the signs of the times are being fulfilled around us, when we hear, as it were, the tread of the hosts of heaven fulfilling their mission, men of intelligence, men in responsible positions, will be putting rotten timbers in their character building--material which is consumable in the day of God, and which will decide them to be unfit to enter the mansions above. They have refused to let go the filthy garments; they have clung to them as if they were of precious value. They will lose heaven and an eternity of bliss on account of them.
TM 446
“Let the tempted and tried souls remember that when chastisement comes upon them, it is the Lord who would save them from death. Let the souls to whom reproof comes, remember that "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." The human agent imbued with the Spirit of Christ will watch for souls as they that must give an account.
The claims of Christ are upon us, and we must understand our duty, and do it in the fear of God, with an eye single to his glory, and not prove unfaithful. Let no thought of self or of natural feelings be cherished to keep the lips silent. Speak, and be not afraid, with the heart full of tenderness and love for souls, care, exhort, and entreat. Never cease to labor for a soul while there is one ray of hope. Your words may cut to the soul. Oh, then be cautious and clothe them with the love and tenderness of Jesus. Soften every accent with love and sympathy, remembering that you are not to be ignorant of the plague of your own heart, and that if Christ should mark your every word and action, there would be an array of figures written in his book, showing that you yourself are greatly out of harmony with his holy will. As you deal with others, as you judge others, so the Lord will judge and deal with you. Let the agent who claims to be a child of God, practise the lessons of Christ. If he is compelled to wound, let him feel the duty of healing as compulsory upon him. The truth is ever to be spoken in love, with the Spirit of God abiding in the soul.
PC 393