|
I am willing to venture a guess that most Seventh-day Adventists are at least familiar with the following passage from the book “Early Writings”, page 270:
“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God's people.” I like to analyze things--to take machines, gadgets and even sentences apart and “see how it works”. Letʼs take that passage apart a little: 1)The shaking is CAUSED by the straight testimony. 2) The “straight testimony” is called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. (Rev 3:14-21) (Did you know that this straight testimony includes the health message? See: Counsels for the Church 235) 3) When received, the receiver will exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. 4) This will result in some people rising up against this truth. 5) And, back full circle, this is what will CAUSE the shaking. Of course the counsel of the True Witness is found in Revelation 3:14-21, and is what we know as the Laodicean message. This counsel essentially says, “You think youʼre this, but youʼre really that, and hereʼs what you need to fix it.” What Iʼd like to analyze now is what I believe was Peterʼs experience with “the Laodicean message”. Jesus knew what was coming--His own personal great tribulation! The disciples were blind to this reality, though Jesus had been trying to teach them about it for some time. Mark 14:29-31. Jesus had also warned them to watch and pray, but we know the results! The disciples had been given a “straight testimony” back in John 6:53-58, when the Lord presented the true standard of Christianity. They had apparently accepted it fully. But when Jesus put the finger directly on them in Matthew 26:31, “...all ye shall be offended because of Me this night...”, “In their self-confidence they denied the repeated statement of Him who knew”, especially Peter! Desire of Ages 673. Tragically as a result, when Jesus most needed them they not only fell asleep, they abandoned Him. Peter denied even knowing Him--with swearing! Poor Jesus! How would you have felt? What will it be like to be abandoned by all your friends, and perhaps even have your best friend deny knowing you? And this, just when you most needed support! Watch how Peter set himself up for this fall: “When Peter said he would follow his Lord to prison and to death, he meant it, every word of it; but he did not know himself. Hidden in his heart were elements of evil that circumstances would fan into life. Unless he was made conscious of his danger, these would prove his eternal ruin. The Saviour saw in him a self-love and assurance that would overbear even his love for Christ. Much of infirmity, of unmortified sin, carelessness of spirit, unsanctified temper, heedlessness in entering into temptation, had been revealed in his experience. Christ's solemn warning was a call to heart searching. Peter needed to distrust himself, and to have a deeper faith in Christ. Had he in humility received the warning, he would have appealed to the Shepherd of the flock to keep His sheep. When on the Sea of Galilee he was about to sink, he cried, "Lord, save me." Matthew 14:30. Then the hand of Christ was outstretched to grasp his hand. So now if he had cried to Jesus, Save me from myself, he would have been kept. But Peter felt that he was distrusted, and he thought it cruel. He was already offended, and he became more persistent in his self-confidence.” Desire of Ages 673 And so, Peter-the stone-was shaken out. He was shaken out because he rose up against the straight testimony! Peter, one of Jesusʼ closest friends, who had been used by God to cast out demons, heal the sick, preach “present truth”. Are we stronger than Peter? Thank God there was time for him to be let back in by repentance. We may not have that luxury should we choose to follow his example. He didnʼt know himself, ”faithful” as he was! Sound familiar? “Thou knowest not...” Can we not learn from Peter about what will come next in this parade if we keep marching? We must learn from his mistake to listen to the counsel of the True Witness and cry to Jesus to save us from ourselves. May we learn to plead for Jesus to search us! Psalm 139:23,24 I encourage a careful study of John 6, along with the chapter “The Crisis at Galilee” in the book Desire of Ages This will reveal, as mentioned earlier, that Jesus caused a shaking among his disciples well before Calvary. He did this, we are told, to strengthen His disciples for the crisis of Calvary. Consider: “When Jesus presented the testing truth that caused so many of His disciples to turn back, He knew what would be the result of His words; but He had a purpose of mercy to fulfill. He foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of His beloved disciples would be severely tested. His agony in Gethsemane, His betrayal and crucifixion, would be to them a most trying ordeal. Had no previous test been given, many who were actuated by merely selfish motives would have been connected with them. When their Lord was condemned in the judgment hall; when the multitude who had hailed Him as their king hissed at Him and reviled Him; when the jeering crowd cried, "Crucify Him!"--when their worldly ambitions were disappointed, these self-seeking ones would, by renouncing their allegiance to Jesus, have brought upon the disciples a bitter, heart-burdening sorrow, in addition to their grief and disappointment in the ruin of their fondest hopes. In that hour of darkness, the example of those who turned from Him might have carried others with them. But Jesus brought about this crisis while by His personal presence He could still strengthen the faith of His true followers.” Desire of Ages 394 The purpose of the present shaking is the same as what Jesus did in John 6! And really, the straight testimony back then is the same as now. We must take the standard and life of Christ as our own. He is the essential ingredient to successful navigation through the experience of the shaking. I believe we need to learn to pray like this: “Lord, I am blind and I donʼt know it--open my eyes. Lord, Iʼm wretched and I donʼt know it! Help me understand my wretchedness! Lord, I am poor. Please give me Your riches. Jesus, I am naked. Please clothe me!” You know what will happen if we will learn to pray this way? Iʼll tell you what will happen! We will switch places in this story! We will no longer be identified with Peter, but with Jesus. We can then be among those who fill up the measure of His sufferings! (Colossians 1:24) And while to all appearances JESUS was shaken out, He was the only one whose faith survived that great tribulation, a type of that faithful remnant who will learn from the True Witness how to survive what lies ahead. And why did Jesus make it? Because He was God? NO! He laid that aside. Why did He stand His ground when the crowd came after him? Why did He remain faithful when His friends abandoned Him? Why did His faith hold when God hid His face from Him? Go back to Gethsemane and watch Him agonize. “The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. He prayed not now for His disciples that their faith might not fail, but for His own tempted, agonized soul.” Desire of Ages 690. Jesus understood the weakness of humanity, which He had taken. Jesus understood the need to watch and pray. Jesus understood His own weakness and He riveted Himself by faith through prayer and surrender to the Source of His strength. It was because of this that He was Himself not shaken out!! “...Lord, teach us to pray...!” (Luke 11:1). I can hear the crowds coming, friends. Indeed, I can see the whites of their eyes! The crowd of false doctrine. The crowd of worldliness. The crowd of ease. The crowd of the cares of this life. The crowd of self, rising against reproof. The crowd of self- deception. Everyone who is not riveted to Christ will be shaken out--like the stone! I believe Peter would echo the words of Jesus: “Watch and pray!”
0 Comments
What is the opposite of courage? Discourage! So, if I am discouraged, I have no courage. I looked these words up in the 1828 dictionary (back when words meant what they were supposed to!). Here’s what I found for courage: Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution. It is a constituent part of fortitude; but fortitude implies patience to bear continued suffering. And for discourage: To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits; to deject; to deprive of confidence.
As I considered these definitions, the story of Caleb, Joshua and the other 10 spies who were sent to Canaan ahead of the children of Israel came to mind. In Numbers 13:20, Moses tells them all,”And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.” But what happened to the majority? Numbers 13:31-33 “We be not able to go up against the people; for they [are] stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, [is] a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it [are] men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, [which come] of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” The years of doubt and murmuring had become habitual, hadn’t they? Let’s analyze this passage just a little. All of the spies apparently made a good start. However, the crisis revealed that there was a difference in these men. Ten of these men did some interesting things: they saw that the goal (Canaan) was good and to be desired and that the fruit there was awesome, but they said; 1) the people are huge, 2) we are grasshoppers, 3) they are stronger than we are. Where is God in their calculations? God is strangely absent, and so they were “deprived of confidence”—they were discouraged. Interesting, isn’t it? But what about the other two spies? What report did they bring? Numbers 13: 30 “Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” We are well able? What!!!? Didn’t they see the giants? Didn’t they realize that they were grasshoppers? Immediately the other ten proceeded to persecute these two men who had “that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits.” This is very fascinating to me, and I found the reason for Caleb’s courage here: “It was Caleb's faith that gave him courage, that kept him from the fear of man, and enabled him to stand boldly and unflinchingly in the defense of the right.” Review and Herald, May 30, 1912. According to this passage, it is faith that brings true courage. Caleb and Joshua remembered Who they served and served Who they remembered! Why, then, did the other ten fail? Consider this: “Hope and courage gave place to cowardly despair, as the spies uttered the sentiments of their unbelieving hearts, which were filled with discouragement prompted by Satan. Their unbelief cast a gloomy shadow over the congregation, and the mighty power of God, so often manifested in behalf of the chosen nation, was forgotten. The people did not wait to reflect; they did not reason that He who had brought them thus far would certainly give them the land; they did not call to mind how wonderfully God had delivered them from their oppressors, cutting a path through the sea and destroying the pursuing hosts of Pharaoh. They left God out of the question, and acted as though they must depend solely on the power of arms. PP 388 That last sentence is so powerful, friends, and according to this, discouragement is “leaving God out of the question.” This illustration is basically a summary of the experiences of the children of Israel. Sometimes they remembered God but more often, they forgot Him. And these same choices, with their respective outcomes—are before us. What about you? Are you a grasshopper? Are your circumstances or failures giants? Is your God able to bring you into the heavenly Canaan? Are you magnifying something above God? If you are, you must realize the cause of your discouragement. We must remember the downward spiral (revealed in a time of crisis) of the ten spies in contrast with the steadfast faith of Caleb and Joshua, “for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. “ Romans 15:4. We also have a choice: murmur or remember. My husband and I recently visited Mammoth Cave in Central Kentucky. Any attempted description of the magnitude of that place, and the intensity of the experience of being hundreds of feet within the earth falls dreadfully short of actually experiencing it--I wonʼt waste time trying. But there were several things about this experience that really gripped me that Iʼd like to share with you.
As we prepared to enter the cave, our guide, an African American gentleman, told us of how his forbears had, by the law of imminent domain, been ordered off their land; land that became part of the Mammoth Cave National Park. “My home was just over that ridge over there!”, as he pointed beyond the building that had become the hub of the park. He shared how his great-great grandfather, Mat Bransford, had been a slave tour guide for kings and dignitaries who wanted to experience the cave--an experience where the slave became master! He shared how his ancestors would enter deep within the bowels of the earth there to have “preaching service”, and escape from the sweltering August heat. One sermon was recorded to have lasted six hours!! As we followed our guide hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth, he assured us that we really didnʼt understand the true experience of the cave--as people of yesteryear did. But he did something to help us get a dim idea of what the cave is really like. He gathered our group around him, cautioned us to stand next to someone we knew, hushed us...and turned off all the lights. Standing there in the cold and pitch black darkness gave an entirely different feel to the cave. I became very, very aware of every sound, and my eyes were searching in vain for some bit of light. Could I find my way out of this place if he left me? Would I fall into some abyss--perhaps what the guides refer to as “the bottomless pit” (actually only about 100 feet)? I was completely at the mercy of this man Iʼd never met before that day. But then our guide did something very interesting--something Iʼll never forget! He lit a very small candle. The intensity of the darkness there in the bowels of the earth was sufficiently pressed back by one little candle so that I could make out the walls, the ceiling, and thankfully, the floor of the cave. I could faintly make out the faces of my fellow tourists. But most significantly, the light very clearly showed the face of my guide. To me at least, the spiritual reality of this moment was almost palpable. I donʼt think we really appreciate as we should the light that we have as a people, and Iʼll tell you why. I believe it is because we donʼt really realize just how dark this earth is-- just like I had no concept of how dark that cave was until the guide shut off the lights. Neither do we realize the darkness coming upon this earth when the light of Godʼs Spirit is withdrawn. I know this because we are told that, “the ʻtime of trouble such as never was,ʼ is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God.” GC 622 There is another aspect of this experience that is etched in my mind. Being significantly hearing impaired, I quickly realized that if I was going to hear the instructions and teachings of our guide, I had to press my way close to the front of the group. I had to be near that man or Iʼd be left just to follow the movements of the crowd. In that dim light, all of my senses were centered on that guide! Could this be why the Lord allows the darkness of trials in our lives? What a blessing! How is it with you spiritually, friend? Are you pressing close to our Guide? Are you thinking you can see, when the Lord says that we really are blind? The spiritual lights in this world will soon be as distinct in the darkness as that candle in the cave. Will you be one of those lights? We know that it is at midnight -- the darkest hour -- that the cry goes forth to go out to meet the bridegroom! Are you prepared for the darkness ahead of us? Do you have oil in your lamp to lighten the path before you as the darkness intensifies? What are you doing to prepare? I can tell you this much, I would have been in big trouble in Mammoth Cave if I had been without that guide. And I am convinced that our problem is that, in this world, we donʼt really realize we are in just as much of a maze, in darkness even more intense, and completely dependent on our Guide than I was in that mammoth cave. Get ready, brethren. Itʼs getting darker. What is the gospel? Romans 1:16 says it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..” The power of God! And we are also told in 1 Selected Messages, page 245, “The gospel is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Power AND wisdom. Our passage in Romans 1:16 also says it is, “the gospel OF Christ.” We know that Jesus is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. Simply put, the gospel is the story of the work and life of Jesus on our behalf and how His life abiding within us changes us. Websterʼs 1828 defines “gospel” this way: “The history of the birth, life, actions, death, resurrection, ascension and doctrines of Jesus Christ; or a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator, including the character, actions, and doctrines of Christ, with the whole scheme of salvation, as revealed by Christ and his apostles.”
What is the gospel? Romans 1:16 says it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..” The power of God! And we are also told in 1 Selected Messages, page 245, “The gospel is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Power AND wisdom. Our passage in Romans 1:16 also says it is, “the gospel OF Christ.” We know that Jesus is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. Simply put, the gospel is the story of the work and life of Jesus on our behalf and how His life abiding within us changes us. Websterʼs 1828 defines “gospel” this way: “The history of the birth, life, actions, death, resurrection, ascension and doctrines of Jesus Christ; or a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator, including the character, actions, and doctrines of Christ, with the whole scheme of salvation, as revealed by Christ and his apostles.” “As Christ gave His wonderful lessons, Mary sat at His feet, a reverent and devoted listener..."Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Mary was storing her mind with the precious words falling from the Saviour's lips, words that were more precious to her than earth's most costly jewels.” Desire of Ages, page 525 Mary “hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” This phrase is really lodged in my mind. We know Mary was closely following the life of Jesus-- pondering carefully His every word. We read that, “She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of "ointment of spikenard, very costly," with which to anoint His body.” Daughters of God, page 60 We know that Mary anointed Jesusʼ feet before His trial and crucifixion. Mary was at the cross, and she was at the tomb! Mary was the first evangelist in the newly established church!! “Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.” Desire of Ages 568 Mary had demonstrated love to Jesus. Mary was the first to preach the resurrection, though the brothers didnʼt believe her: neither did they appreciate her act in anointing Jesusʼ feet. “The disciples did not take in the many lessons given in the Scriptures in regard to the faith that works by love and purifies the soul; and the work of Mary was just the lesson they needed to show them that to be more demonstrative in their appreciation of their Lord, would be wholly acceptable to Him. He had been everything to them. They did not realize that soon they would be deprived of His presence, that soon they could offer Him no token of their appreciation of His love. The loveliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living a life of humanity, was never understood nor appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved because they did not give Him that which He should have received from them.” The Youthʼs Instructor, July 19, 1900, par. 3. What profound insights! Jesus, grieved by our failure to show Him appreciation. Jesus, living the life of humanity! Jesus, separated from heaven, and now from His brethren on earth. We should think about this, for is He not everything to us as well? Mary was never called an Apostle by Jesus. She was never a “pastor.” Yet I believe that Jesus honored her with the privilege of revealing the heart of Jesus as none of the disciples could or would. They were too occupied with positions and titles. Too busy striving for who would be head elder, or senior pastor in the new “church.” Luke 22:24. And so, taking this issue of the ordination of women to the life and teachings of Christ, I believe the example of Mary Magdalene teaches that the role of women far transcends any ordination, or even any title. Jesus saw a greater need for women than that. We can and should, as women, given our more sensitive, nurturing spirits, demonstrate a spirit of nurturing towards our Savior. We have the privilege of demonstrating what it means to appreciate Jesus and to minister to His needs; what it means to “enter in” to His sufferings; what it means to give all. Mary demonstrated what full surrender and “all out” devotion look like. Jesus said it was “...just the lesson they (the disciples) needed...”, and it was a lesson given to bold Peter before he received the commission to “feed My lambs”. I do not believe that our brethren are incapable of this, for John more nearly reflected Jesusʼ love, but I think we know that men tend to be more “mission oriented.” Maryʼs act in anointing Jesusʼ feet was a reflection of the work of Jesus in prodigal giving on behalf of mankind. And THIS--this absolute pouring out of self and all of oneʼs resources--is the work which Jesus defended before the brethren. “...Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me...For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial.” Matthew 26:10,12. Could there not be a similar work needed now? Jesus is in the final stages of His work as High Priest, when He is about to be inaugurated King. Will it be easy for such long- suffering love to throw down the censer and leave the Most Holy Place, sealing the fate of billions of His children--who have rejected His love? Do we not need to “enter in” to His longing to bring sin to an end? Is there not a need for someone to help us raise our eyes from the events surrounding us to the issue of the pain in the heart of Jesus on account of His prolonged stay in the Most Holy Place? Do we not need today the demonstration of utter self-surrender? Are we not preoccupied, as the disciples, with position and title? Is there not a need for alabaster boxes today? “Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.” Conflict and Courage 306. Jesus is about to lose billions of His children ALL AT ONCE, and here we are...fighting over who gets to be their “pastor”. May God help us to pour out our own “precious ointment” instead. |
AuthorDanna has traveled as a teacher/speaker for Closure for Jesus ministry and frequently holds Zoom meetings and online health counseling. ArchivesCategories |
RSS Feed
|
CLOSURE FOR JESUS
Ending The Pain In The Heart of God on Account Of Sin Mailing: P.O. Box 120 Coldiron, KY 40819 |
Site powered by DL Design Company