Lesson Learned...
- White Stone
- 17 hours ago
- 16 min read
Ask of us our denomination and we say we are His election, purposefully
called to perfect obedience and the keeping of the faith of Jesus. God has
already bequeathed a portion of our inheritance to us in this world that we
become not disheartened at the complicated scenes of human misery that
awaits us. He has each of us right where He wants us at this time…we must
know this! We must be committed to living out God’s specific will for our life.
His provisioning for our past is to illuminate His purposes for
the overwhelming possibilities that will bring about our uniqueness. Do not
think too comfortably on this call. God will move us to a new place and
season in our calling to serve Him just as faithfully there. His ultimate purpose
is to glorify Himself. So long as we are glorifying God where we are, we are
where He wants us. In our contentment we are arriving at this “final stage” of
service to God.
There is this one thing that is worse than sin…worse in what way? In terms
of consequences. It is worse when you cause another person to sin than
when you sin yourself. Causing another to fall away is exceedingly grave.
Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but
woe to that person by whom the offense comes. One who incites another to
sin, bears the heaviest of judgment, which explains why a millstone should
be tied around his neck.
We need Jesus in more ways than language can express. Too many who
think themselves adventists are devoted to their gross ignorance. These will
go out from us but they are not of us. If our teachings are not core spiritual
principles, and reality reasoned orientation to the word of God, then we are
engaging in verbal proposition only. Every truth that we teach must be
centered on the personhood of Jesus. The truth of John 8:32 is the same
truth of John 14:6. May I suggest this; let’s make our discussions a way of
teaching “how to think”, rather than “what to think”. Have you ever heard this;
if you make people think they’re thinking, they will love you. But if you actually
make them think, they will hate you. What does that mean? When we think
we’re thinking, we’re really not thinking at all. We are mechanically repeating
the words or acts of others, frequently without full understanding, or
reproducing or repeating a passage or statement of another. Few people
reflect on, reason about, work out, and critically decide about something that
challenges the mind. The only authority we should defer to is God. When
you’re listening to what is written – think! When you’re reading – think! When
someone is stating a position – think! There is a role for trusting the judgment
and insight of another, especially when you discern wisdom and experience
are the guiding lights. There are times where choices are required in
situations where you can’t think it out alone. You know an important area
where this is the case? The bible, especially belief, faith, and trust. It’s not
inappropriate to act on faith and trust, if you have thought things out to the
limits of your ability and experience—but it may be inappropriate if you first
didn’t bother to think things out as best you could. God gave us eyes, ears,
and a brain to think with and intervenes in our lives more than we fully
realized or thought! Think about that!
Brothers and sisters…we must be sustained by theology, not ideology. We
must be appreciative rather than critical of the insightfulness offered by
reason. Love must be demonstrably indiscriminate and authentically felt. We
must access the head through the heart.
The question we absolutely must ask ourselves everyday is; “is everything
we are studying and is everything I am hearing the truth, based solely upon
the word of God and the spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus?
The testimony of Jesus means words spoken with authority, recognized as
characteristic of a prophet. Words spoken in the imperative, with the voice of
command and authority. Words that provoke. Words that make our Lord’s
truth, truth. We must keep our eyes opened to the ark of the testimony. To
the word of God, to the precepts of God, the law of God, the statutes of God,
the commandments of God. No theatrics. Jesus’ testimony sifts truth from
fiction. We make the case for Christ. This represents God’s heart desire,
God’s requirement - or may we say it…God’s standard revealing Himself.
And the testimony of which we have been given to speak cannot be given by
man: it has to come from God Himself. Hence to testify for God requires of
us that we touch God, so as to be able to speak the words which God bids
us to say. We can speak only after God is known, seen and revealed to us.
Only when we have touched this ultimate reality are we able to open our
voice and testify for God. If we have not touched this reality, we will have no
words to say and therefore no testimony to give. Now think on the question
we must ask ourselves everyday. To neglect asking, considering, and
examining the answer to this question is opening yourself up to deception
and to hinder your judgment. We cannot afford to be loose with any truth. Be
sure to evaluate all that is coming to you with eternal values, not temporal
values. The bible is an amazing wealth of testimony about the Lord. How
blessed we are to have the stories of the Lord at our very touch. We must
seek to turn all to righteousness. But let’s not settle there, let’s do even more.
God is still at work, and let’s never stop receiving additional light to the
testimony of the goodness of God. We make no attempt to supercede the
bible. But there are yet secret things that belong to God to be revealed to
whom He will. Let the bible speak for itself! Even a child can learn. If you
have not a prophetic reckoning in your heart, you are teetering on being lost.
We’re not all writers, but we should all have our testimonies on the tips of our
tongues. We should be ready in season and out of season to proclaim the
truths recorded in the bible.
Do you recall that verse in the bible that speaks to God’s purpose? Are we
really spiritually enlightened by what it is saying? God is trying to remove us
away from bad religion. If we don’t come to know God, misrepresentation of
the divine character is the inevitable result. Too many today are saying there
is no God. Let’s think on this. Certainly the idea that there is no God is a
discouraging thought. If there is no God, then we have no future beyond this
life. Worse yet, the here-and-now is basically meaningless. All there is to life
is an animalistic scratching and clawing for survival. But wait a minute. At
least when it’s over, it’s over. There is something more terrifying. What if there
is a God, an actual superior being out there somewhere, but he is not
completely good? If the universe is governed by an all-powerful being who
is anything less than perfectly good, that is horrifying news. But consider not
another possibility, but this certainty. What if there is a God…and what if He
is infinitely powerful and at the same time infinitely good? One cannot
imagine a more comforting and glorious reality! The character of God
matters. He happens to be the Person in charge of the universe, you and me
included in that vast domain. Eventually we are going to find ourselves in His
immediate presence…and He wants us to understand His purpose for His
election whom He calls.
The envisioned thought He gave me as I lay distraught, had me asking Him
why He purposed the opening text to point to the sorrow associated with
wisdom. He showed why His return was delayed; if our witness is prompted
to teach the words of the bible connecting people to a church rather than
teaching the life of Jesus, causing one to come to God, they will see
themselves instead of Jesus. They will follow America’s discourse, Isaiah
5:20-24. There are not yet a 144000 made ready because we believe too
much in our knowledge rather than faith, enabling the working of God to
occur where things seem impossible. Faith is stronger than our knowledge,
logic and all human abilities, because through faith we show we believe and
trust in God. That’s enabling faith. Where is our peculiarity? Hear what every
word of 9:11 is saying.
God assigns His reason for intensification to affirm the nature of a thing. His
purpose is the aggregation of many individuals of the same nature to come
into existence and made finished by any means, no matter how great, how
much, how many, because of the possibility of something undesirable
happening. That thing that is undesirable is that much too many are in the game
of life for temporal purposes, while God has determined life for eternal
purposes. Few are caused to arise and appear in history and as a further
matter neither undertaking or accomplishing anything themselves in order
that only significant renderings other than "the" counted are set forth to be
looked at as was the shewbread, as determined by God according to His free
will, by which before the foundation of the world He decreed His blessings to
certain persons. The decree made from choice by which He determined to
bless certain persons through Christ by grace alone. Choosing out for
Himself one out of many whom He judged fit to receive His favors and
separated from the rest of mankind, to be peculiarly His own and to be
attended continually by His gracious oversight. These He set apart from the
irreligious multitude as dear unto Himself, and whom He has rendered,
through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic kingdom: so that the ground
of the choice lies in Christ and his merits only. These He calls by name to
cause to speak, to teach, to exhort, to advise. These will continue to be
present, not to perish, but to endure and remain as one awaiting one. These
heard the utter in a loud voice call them by name to receive the name of and
to bear a name of commandment.
The faith of these is the end and perfection of the character of Christ. A
people with strong faith, confident in their knowledge that they can do
anything they set their minds to and weather the toughest times by the grace
of God. Their faith should be as much more perfect than the faith of those of
a good report; for their status and special consideration are more perfect
than the former, and are indeed the perfection and completion of those
before them. Only perfect beings are fit for the presence of the holy God, and
only perfect beings will come into the realization of that hope which is laid up
in heaven. Thrice holiness is our striving in Christ. This reasoning is strong,
and should be effectually prevalent with us all. Now hear the testimonies 9,
pages 11-18…
We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times
declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live
are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being
withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon
the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the
unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast
approaching events of the greatest magnitude.The agencies of evil are
combining their forces and consolidating. They are
strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place
in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.
The condition of things in the world shows that troublous times are right upon
us. The daily papers are full of indications of a terrible conflict in the near
future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common.
Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed of
demons are taking the lives of men, women, and little children. Men have
become infatuated with vice, and every species of evil prevails.
The enemy has succeeded in perverting justice and in filling men's hearts
with the desire for selfish gain.
"Justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot
enter." Isaiah 59:14. In the great cities there are multitudes living in poverty
and wretchedness, well-nigh destitute of food, shelter, and clothing; while in
the same cities are those who have more than heart could wish, who live
luxuriously, spending their money on richly furnished houses, on personal
adornment, or worse still, upon the gratification of sensual appetites, upon
liquor, tobacco, and other things that destroy the powers of the brain,
unbalance the mind, and debase the soul. The cries of starving humanity are
coming up before God, while by every species of oppression and extortion
men are piling up colossal fortunes.
On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called
upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These
buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify
their owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and
in them the most costly material was used. Those to whom these buildings
belonged were not asking themselves: "How can we best glorify God?" The
Lord was not in their thoughts.
I thought: "Oh, that those who are thus investing their means could see their
course as God sees it! They are piling up magnificent buildings, but how
foolish in the sight of the Ruler of the universe is their planning and devising.
They are not studying with all the powers of heart and mind how they may
glorify God. They have lost sight of this, the first duty of man."
As these lofty buildings went up, the owners rejoiced with ambitious pride
that they had money to use in gratifying self and provoking the envy of their
neighbors. Much of the money that they thus invested had been obtained
through exaction, through grinding down the poor. They forgot that in heaven
an account of every business transaction is kept; every unjust deal, every
fraudulent act, is there recorded. The time is coming when in their fraud and
insolence men will reach a point that the Lord will not permit them to pass,
and they will learn that there is a limit to the forbearance of Jehovah.
The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at
the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: "They are perfectly
safe." But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire
engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable
to operate the engines.
I am instructed that when the Lord's time comes, should no change have
taken place in the hearts of proud, ambitious human beings, men will find
that the hand that had been strong to save will be strong to destroy. No
earthly power can stay the hand of God. No material can be used in the
erection of buildings that will preserve them from destruction when God's
appointed time comes to send retribution on men for their disregard of His
law and for their selfish ambition.
There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who
comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those who
hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral
corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. They are struggling in
vain to place business operations on a more secure basis. If men would give
more heed to the teaching of God's word, they would find a solution of the
problems that perplex them.
The Scriptures describe the condition of the world just before Christ's second
coming. Of the men who by robbery and extortion are amassing great riches,
it is written: "Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the
hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept
back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered
into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth,
and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." James
5:3-6.
But who reads the warnings given by the fast-fulfilling signs of the times?
What impression is made upon worldlings? What change is seen in their
attitude? No more than was seen in the attitude of the inhabitants of the
Noachian world. Absorbed in worldly business and pleasure, the
antediluvians "knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away."
Matthew 24:39. They had heaven-sent warnings, but they refused to listen.
And today the world, utterly regardless of the warning voice of God, is
hurrying on to eternal ruin.The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the eleventh chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place.
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth
it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . Because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they
that dwell therein are desolate. . . . The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of
them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth." Isaiah 24:1-8.
"Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from
the Almighty shall it come. . . . The seed is rotten under their clods, the
garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down, for the corn is
withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed,
because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate."
"The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the
palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered:
because joy is withered away from the sons of men." Joel 1:15-18, 12.
"I am pained at my very heart; . . . I cannot hold my peace, because thou has
heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction
upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled." Jeremiah 4:19, 20.
"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens,
and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all
the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds
of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all the cities thereof were broken down." Verses 23-26.
"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's
trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 30:7.
Not all in this world have taken sides with the enemy against God. Not all
have become disloyal. There are a faithful few who are true to God; for John
writes: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus." Revelation 14:12. Soon the battle will be waged fiercely between
those who serve God and those who serve Him not. Soon everything that
can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may
remain.
Satan is a diligent Bible student. He knows that his time is short, and he
seeks at every point to counterwork the work of the Lord upon this earth. It
is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who
shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the
persecutions of the past are blended. They will walk in the light proceeding
from the throne of God. By means of the angels there will be constant
communication between heaven and earth. And Satan, surrounded by evil
angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds, to deceive, if
possible, the very elect. God's people will not find their safety in working
miracles, for Satan will counterfeit the miracles that will be wrought. God's
tried and tested people will find their power in the sign spoken of in Exodus
31:12-18. They are to take their stand on the living word: "It is written." This
is the only foundation upon which they can stand securely. Those who have
broken their covenant with God will in that day be without God and without
hope.
The worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by their regard for the
fourth commandment, since this is the sign of God's creative power and the
witness to His claim upon man's reverence and homage. The wicked will be
distinguished by their efforts to tear down the Creator's memorial and to exalt
the institution of Rome. In the issue of the conflict all Christendom will be
divided into two great classes, those who keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image, and
receive his mark. Although church and state will unite their power to compel
all, "both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive the mark
of the beast, yet the people of God will not receive it. Revelation 13:16. The
prophet of Patmos beholds "them that had gotten the victory over the beast,
and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,
stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God," and singing the song of
Moses and the Lamb. Revelation 15:2.
Fearful tests and trials await the people of God. The spirit of war is stirring
the nations from one end of the earth to the other. But in the midst of the time
of trouble that is coming,--a time of trouble such as has not been since there
was a nation,--God's chosen people will stand unmoved. Satan and his host
cannot destroy them, for angels that excel in strength will protect them.
God's word to His people is: "Come out from among them, and be ye
separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters." "Ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light." 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18; 1 Peter 2:9. God's people
are to be distinguished as a people who serve Him fully, wholeheartedly,
taking no honor to themselves, and remembering that by a most solemn
covenant they have bound themselves to serve the Lord and Him only.
"The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of
Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me
and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord
that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto
you: everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever
doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six
days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the
Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put
to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe
the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a
sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was
refreshed." Exodus 31:12-17.
Do not these words point us out as God's denominated people? and do they
not declare to us that so long as time shall last, we are to cherish the sacred,
denominational distinction placed upon us? The children of Israel were to
observe the Sabbath throughout their generations "for a perpetual
covenant." The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign
between God and His people, and it will be so forever.
📖 Applying the Study
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