To My Dear Friends Podcast

What Can You Give the God Who Has Everything?“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” How do you thank Someone who owns the universe?In this 1960 Thanksgiving-season message, W. D. Frazee begins with a visit to a county judge who asked, “What is the world coming to?” Opening Luke 21, he shows that while men’s hearts are failing them for fear, God’s people are told to look up—for their redemption draws near.Then he turns to the text that woke him in the night, Psalm 116:12, and David’s surprising answer:“I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”—Psalm 116:13Nothing we give could ever repay God. What makes our heavenly Father happiest is that we take what He offers, appreciate it, and tell Him and others how good He is. Like a child home for a holiday dinner, the best way to show gratitude is to come back for a second helping.Frazee then shows how praise affects four groups:God — “with a Father’s joy He watches the delight of His children in the things that He has made.”The angels — they are listening to the report we give of our Master.Those around us — our own testimony of God’s goodness is Heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world.Ourselves — recounting God’s blessings strengthens faith, drives back the power of Satan, and expels the spirit of murmuring.Praise, he says, is the language of Heaven, and we are to learn it here. The message closes with a tender appeal to anyone who feels like a hungry child on the outside of the window looking in, inviting them to take the cup of salvation tonight.Scripture ReferencesLuke 21:25–28Isaiah 8:11–14Exodus 15:26Psalm 116:12–14, 17–18Lamentations 3:22–23Hebrews 13:15Isaiah 43:12Luke 23:43Companion ReferencesEllen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, pages 100, 253, 370Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, page 119Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pages 299–300ThemesLooking up in a world of fearGod as our sanctuary and refugeGratitude and thanksgivingReceiving God’s gifts as the highest form of thanksPraise as the fruit of the lipsHow praise affects God, angels, others, and ourselvesPersonal testimony as a soul-winning powerLearning the language of HeavenAssurance of salvation and the thief on the crossMemorable Line“There is nothing that you and I can do that cheers the heart of God more than to just take what He’s offered.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0843 — Praise—Psalm 116:12Date Given: November 4, 1960W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org

Why Some Go Home From Church Blessed—and Others Don’tTwo men went up to the temple to pray. Both worshipped the same God, in the same place, at the same hour. Only one went home justified.In this 1978 Sabbath message, W. D. Frazee opens Christ’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican as the secret of true worship. The Pharisee came with a list of his attainments, looked into the mirror of his own good deeds, and went home with exactly what he came for—his own approval. The publican came with nothing but a deep sense of need, and went home with the mercy he asked for.“God be merciful to me a sinner.”—Luke 18:13Walking through Romans 2 and 3, Frazee explains what it means to be justified. Justification is not a whitewash or a cloak for cherished sin—it is the true righteousness of Jesus, credited to us and then worked out in our lives. Jesus did not die to save rebels who hang on to their rebellion, but He freely saves every sinner who casts himself, sin and all, upon a merciful God.He contrasts the Pharisee’s prayer with Daniel’s humble confession in Daniel 9—and notes that the angel Gabriel was sent while Daniel was praying from a place of need. Through the story of a visit to New Orleans’s Charity Hospital, he shows that the only qualification for receiving God’s grace is to have nothing and know it.The message closes with testimonies from the congregation and a heartfelt rendition of the hymn “Moment by Moment.”Scripture ReferencesLuke 18:9–141 Corinthians 11:28Romans 2:13Romans 3:19–24Daniel 9:3–5Daniel 9:20–21Isaiah 64:6Deuteronomy 6:24–25ThemesThe parable of the Pharisee and the publicanWhy we come to churchSelf-righteousness versus a sense of needJustification by faithThe righteousness of Christ—imputed and impartedCain’s offering and Abel’s lambDaniel’s prayer of confessionGrace for the unworthyFaith that believes God’s Word regardless of feelingsMemorable Line“Our confidence must not rest in what we are. It’s in what Jesus is.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0314 — Two WorshippersDate Given: January 28, 1978W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org

The Last Deception: Satan’s Attack on the Testimony of JesusWhat will the final battle inside God’s church be about?In this 1976 message—the closing night of a medical missionary seminar—W. D. Frazee opens with the war described in Revelation 12:17. The dragon is angry with three things: the woman (the church), the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus, which is the Spirit of Prophecy. While the conflict over the law will center on the Sabbath in the world around us, Frazee warns that much of the battle over the testimony of Jesus will be fought within the remnant church itself.“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”—Revelation 12:17He recalls the crisis of the early 1900s, when Dr. John Harvey Kellogg—once a strong supporter of the Testimonies—turned against them, and the prophet warned that the “alpha” of deadly heresy would be followed by an “omega.”At the heart of the study is a clear explanation of inspiration. Just as Christ is both divine and human, the Bible is a union of the divine and the human: God’s truth expressed in the words of men, yet “nonetheless from heaven.” Frazee shows why neither higher critics of the Bible nor critics of the Spirit of Prophecy have been appointed to dissect inspired writings and decide which parts are from God.He closes with an urgent appeal to doctors, nurses, ministers, teachers, and laymen alike: settle your faith on solid rock, refuse to feed on doubt, and gain a personal experience with Jesus through the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.Scripture ReferencesRevelation 12:17Revelation 19:10Proverbs 29:181 Corinthians 10:12John 6:41–42John 1:141 Timothy 3:16Matthew 16:172 Timothy 3:162 Timothy 4:13Companion ReferencesEllen G. White, The Great Controversy, Introduction (pages 6–7) and page 592Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, pages 16–18, 23, 48Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 2, page 166Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, pages 691, 747ThemesThe final conflict of Revelation 12:17The Sunday law and liberty of conscienceThe Spirit of Prophecy as the testimony of JesusThe alpha and omega of apostasyThe divine-human nature of inspirationHigher criticism and “lower criticism”Faith that does not wait on scientific proofGuarding the mind against doubtThe foundation of Adventist medical missionary workMemorable Line“It’s an easy thing to quote the Testimonies when there’s something we want to prove or promote. It’s another thing to accept them when they lay bare the need of our own hearts and the sins of our own lives.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0145 — Imminent CrisisDate Given: October 21, 1976W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org

He Is at the Door—So Why Hasn’t He Come In?Jesus said, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” So why, more than a century after the last sign, are we still waiting?Given on the eve of the 121st anniversary of the falling of the stars, this 1954 study by W. D. Frazee faces that question head-on. Walking through Matthew 24, he traces the three great signs in the heavens—the dark day and the darkened moon of May 19, 1780, and the falling of the stars on November 13, 1833—and shows from The Desire of Ages and The Great Controversy that the generation who saw the last sign was the one Jesus addressed.Frazee refuses to explain the problem away by revising the prophecy. Instead, he reads a moving 1930 appeal by Elder A. G. Daniells, longtime General Conference president, asking whether Christ’s coming has been delayed and whether His people can hasten it.The key, Frazee says, is in the words “even at the doors.” Prophetic time ended in 1844, and since then the only thing standing between us and the coming of Jesus is not time—it is a door. He sets Matthew 24:33 beside Christ’s message to the last church:“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.”—Revelation 3:20Jesus is coming for a prepared people, and He has been waiting at the door for them to let Him in. “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”Scripture ReferencesMatthew 23:38Matthew 24:29–35Daniel 8:14Revelation 10:6Revelation 3:20Companion ReferencesEllen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 632Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pages 333–334Ellen G. White, Early Writings, page 59Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, page 69A. G. Daniells, Ministry, November 1930ThemesThe signs in the sun, moon, and starsThe meaning of “this generation” in Matthew 24The end of prophetic time in 1844Christ at the door—and the Laodicean messageThe delay of the Second ComingHastening the coming of the LordThe danger of time-settingA people who perfectly reflect the character of ChristMemorable Line“It isn’t the passing of time that’s going to bring the coming of Jesus. It’s the opening of that door.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0184 — This GenerationDate Given: November 12, 1954W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org

Lambs Among Wolves: What It Means to Follow the Lamb Wherever He GoesCan a heart that by nature belongs among the wolves be changed into a lamb?In this 1964 message, W. D. Frazee turns to the heart of the book of Revelation—chapter 14—and the 144,000 who stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion with His name written in their foreheads. Since the name stands for the nature, Frazee asks a searching question: if Jesus is the Lamb, will those who bear His name be lambs too?“Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”—Luke 10:3With warmth and directness, he shows how to tell a lamb from a wolf:By the voice — lambs do not bark, bite, or join the pack in tearing down a brother’s character. Frazee pleads with families to stop criticizing ministers, teachers, and church workers at the dinner table, and to follow Christ’s counsel in Matthew 18 instead.By the clothing — Scripture sets apart modest apparel for the bride of Christ and gaudy adornment for the harlot.By the food — for the body, as Daniel chose pulse at Babylon’s table, and for the mind, as we choose what we watch, read, and hear—for as we behold, we are changed (2 Corinthians 3:18).Then he follows the Lamb from Bethlehem to Nazareth, where Jesus spent thirty years in just five places: the home, the shop, the synagogue, the neighborhood, and the secret place of prayer. Those who learn these lessons at Nazareth, Frazee says, will share in the power of the latter rain—and stand at last with the Lamb on Mount Zion.Scripture ReferencesRevelation 14:1–5Revelation 15:2–3Romans 9:28Exodus 34:5–7Luke 10:3Ezekiel 36:26Matthew 18:15–16Matthew 7:151 Timothy 2:9–101 Peter 3:3Genesis 1:29Isaiah 65:25Daniel 1:8–162 Corinthians 3:18Luke 4:16Companion ReferencesEllen G. White, Early Writings, page 14 (A Word to the Little Flock, page 14)Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 353; chapters “As a Child” and “Days of Conflict”William Blake, “The Lamb”ThemesThe 144,000 and the song of Moses and the LambGod’s name as His characterA change of nature—from wolf to lambCriticism, gossip, and fault-finding in the churchChrist’s method of helping an erring brotherChristian dress and modestyDiet and the food we feed the mindFollowing Jesus through the Nazareth yearsPreparation for the latter rain and the final crisisMemorable Line“Merely eating lamb food won’t make you a lamb, but I can tell you this, eating wolf food won’t help you be a lamb or keep you a lamb.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0672 — Following the LambDate Given: March 27, 1964W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org

The Counterfeit That Comes Before the Latter RainWhat if the most dangerous deception of the last days looks exactly like revival?In this 1975 study, W. D. Frazee reads two announcements side by side: a recent call to a convention promising a worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a prophecy written nearly a century earlier warning that, before the true latter rain falls, Satan will introduce a counterfeit revival. Multitudes, the prophecy says, “will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit.”Frazee shows from Scripture that miracles, prophecies, and powerful experiences do not prove that a movement is from God. Satan can bring fire down from heaven in the sight of men, and he can afflict people with sickness and then withdraw his power so that they believe they have been healed. The only safe test is the one God gave:“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”—Isaiah 8:20He explains why so many sincere people will be swept into the delusion—they want peace without repentance, a spiritual tranquilizer instead of a changed heart—and why God “sends” strong delusion only by withdrawing light from those who do not want it. The protection for God’s people is twofold: to be diligent students of the Scriptures and to receive the love of the truth.Frazee closes by pointing to Calvary, where beholding the love of Jesus makes us love His law and turn from every counterfeit, no matter how great its power.Scripture ReferencesIsaiah 8:20Revelation 12:9Revelation 13:13–14Matthew 24:242 Thessalonians 2:8–111 John 1:7John 12:35Matthew 7:21–23Companion ReferencesEllen G. White, The Great Controversy, pages 464, 593, 624, 625Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 2, page 53ThemesThe counterfeit revival before the latter rainMiracles as a test of truth—and why they failSatan’s power to work signs and apparent healingsTesting every movement by the law and the testimonyThe law and the gospel united at CalvaryPeace without repentanceStrong delusion and the love of the truthDiligent Bible study as protection in the final crisisMemorable Line“No matter how many miracles the Devil can work, and no matter how great is the power he exercises, I don’t want to do anything with him. The more power he has, the more I want to stay away from him.”Speaker: W. D. FrazeeOriginal Study: 0133 — False Latter RainDate Given: October 31, 1975W. D. Frazee Sermonswww.WDFsermons.org