For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Rom 1:16-17, NKJV)
nothing can separate
The open path, the safe path of walking in the way of God’s commandments, is a path from which there is no safe departing. And when people follow their own human theories dressed up in soft, fascinating representations, they make a snare in which to catch souls. In the place of devoting your powers to theorizing, or to your own preconceived opinions, Christ has given you a work to do. His commission is, Go throughout the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Before the disciples shall compass the threshold, there is to be the imprint of the sacred name, baptizing the believers in the name of the threefold powers of the heavenly world. (Mat 28:19) The human mind is impressed in this ceremony, the beginning of the Christian life. It means very much. The work of salvation is not a small matter, but so vast that the highest authorities are taken hold of by the expressed faith of the human agent. The eternal Godhead (Rom 1:20) the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is involved in the action required to make assurance to the human agent, confederating the heavenly powers with the human that humanity may become, through Heavenly efficiency, partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) and workers together with Christ.
Our capabilities can multiply through the connection of human agencies with divine agencies. United with the heavenly powers, the human capabilities increase according to that faith that works by love Gal 5:6) and purifies, sanctifies, and ennobles the whole person. {UL 148.3-5}
“Partakers of The Divine Nature”
In the religious life of every soul who is finally victorious there will be scenes of terrible perplexity and trial; but his knowledge of the Scriptures will enable them to bring to mind the encouraging promises of God, which will comfort their heart and strengthen their faith in the power of the Mighty One.
We read: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward;” “that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” The trial of faith is more precious than gold.
All should learn that this is a part of the discipline in the school of Christ, which is essential to purify and refine them from the dross of earthliness. They must endure with fortitude the taunts and attacks of enemies, and overcome all obstacles that Satan may place in their path to hedge up the way. He will try to lead them to neglect prayer and to discourage them in the study of the Scriptures, and he will throw his hateful shadow athwart their path to hide Christ and the heavenly attractions from their view. {5T 578.1}
None should go along shrinking and trembling, under continual doubt, sowing their path with complainings; but all should look up to God and see His goodness and rejoice in His love. Summon all your powers to look up, not down at your difficulties; then you will never faint by the way. You will soon see Jesus behind the cloud, reaching out His hand to help you; and all you have to do is to give Him your hand in simple faith and let Him lead you.
As you become trustful you will, through faith in Jesus, become hopeful. The light shining from the cross of Calvary will reveal to you God’s estimate of your soul, and, appreciating that estimate, you will seek to reflect the light to the world. A great name among people are as letters traced in sand, but a spotless character will endure to all eternity. God gives you intelligence and a reasoning mind, whereby you may grasp His promises; and Jesus is ready to help you in forming a strong, symmetrical character. Those who possess such a character need never become discouraged because they have not success in worldly affairs. They “are the light of the world.” Satan cannot destroy or make of none effect the light that shines forth from them. {5T 578.2}
Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there who needs what you have to give. God loves you with an everlasting love, and His promise is for you
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jer 29:13, NKJV)
God did not forget his people, even though they were captives in Babylon. He planned to give them a new beginning with a new purpose—to turn them into new people. In times of dire circumstances, it may appear as though God has forgotten you. But God may be preparing you, as he did the people of Judah, for a new beginning with him at the center.
According to God’s wise plan, his people were to have a future and a hope, and that is why they could call upon him in confidence.
In all your conflicts, in all the trials and perplexities of life, seek counsel from God. The path of obedience to God is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Follow step after step in the path of duty. Steep places may have to be climbed, but go forward in the path of humility, of faith and self-denial, leaving the clouds of doubt behind you. Sorrow not in a hopeless way, for the living need your care and love. You have enlisted in the Lord’s army; be brave soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let words of penitence and grateful praise come up before God as sweet incense in His heavenly sanctuary.
Although we are often in a difficult place and time, we need not despair because we have God’s presence, the privilege of prayer, His precious promises, and God’s grace. If we seek him wholeheartedly, he will be found. Neither a strange land, sorrow, persecution, nor physical problems can break our fellowship with God.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:37-39)
The true followers of Christ can never be forsaken by him. And his Church, which is founded on the rock, can never be shaken down by the tempests of persecution. And what God does for his Church in general, (the collective body of those who believe in the Lord Jesus, love, and obey him), he does for every individual in that body: no man that trusts in him can be confounded. While the love of God is in his heart, and the work of God in his hand, he may be as fully persuaded as he is of his own being, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing whatsoever, shall be able to separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
By His death on the cross Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus’ victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us. Continually committed to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are set free from the burden of our past deeds. No longer do we live in the darkness, fear of evil powers, ignorance, and meaninglessness of our former way of life. In this new freedom in Jesus, we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word, meditating on it and on His providence, singing His praises, gathering together for worship, and participating in the mission of the Church. As we give ourselves in loving service to those around us and in witnessing to His salvation, His constant presence with us through the Spirit transforms every moment and every task into a spiritual experience.-Fundamental Beliefs, 11
With great clearness and power the apostle presented the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ. He hoped that other churches also might be helped by the instruction sent to the Christians at Rome; but how dimly could he foresee the far-reaching influence of his words! Through all the ages the great truth of justification by faith has stood as a mighty beacon to guide repentant sinners into the way of life. It was this light that scattered the darkness which enveloped Luther’s mind and revealed to him the power of the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin. The same light has guided thousands of sin-burdened souls to the true Source of pardon and peace. For the epistle to the church at Rome, every Christian has reason to thank God. {AA 373.3}
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Phil 4:10-12, NIV)
more to be desired than gold
We can trust that God will always meet our needs. Whatever we need on earth he will always supply, even if it is the courage to face death as Paul did. Whatever we need in heaven he will supply. We must remember, however, the difference between our wants and our needs. Most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. We may not get all that we want. By trusting in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting everything to accepting his provision and power to live for him.
In every generation and in every land the true foundation for character building has been the same–the principles contained in the word of God. The only safe and sure rule is to do what God says.
“The statutes of the Lord are right,” and “he that does these things shall never be moved.” Psalms 19:8; Psalms 15:5.
It was with the word of God that the apostles met the false theories of their day, saying, “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid.” 1 Cor 3:11. {AA 475.2}
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.(Isa 64:4)
“eye has not seen”
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.(1 Cor 2:9)
The world fears the power of the atom, yet we belong to the God of the universe, who not only created that atomic power but also raised Jesus Christ from the dead. God’s incomparably great power is available to help you. There is nothing too difficult for him.
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Eph 1:16-21)
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—
These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:6-16)
[We]need to dwell upon the assurances of God’s Word, to hold them before the mind’s eye. Point by point, day by day, repeat the lessons there given, over and over, until you learn the bearing and import of them. We see a little today, and by meditation and prayer, more tomorrow. And thus little by little we take in the gracious promises until we can almost comprehend their full significance. {6BC 1085.2}
How much we lose by not educating the imagination to dwell upon divine things, rather than upon the earthly! We may give fullest scope to the imagination, and yet,
“eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Fresh wonders will be revealed to the mind the more closely we apply it to divine things. We lose much by not talking more of Jesus and of heaven, the saints’ inheritance. The more we contemplate heavenly things, the more new delights we shall see, and the more will our hearts be brimful of thanks to our beneficent Creator {6BC 1085.3}
It is the duty and privilege of all to use reason as far as humanity’s finite faculties can go; but there is a boundary where our mortal resources must cease. There are many things that can never be reasoned out by the strongest intellect or discerned by the most penetrating mind. Philosophy cannot determine the ways and works of God; the human mind cannot measure infinity. {6BC 1079.7}
Jehovah is the fountain of all wisdom, of all truth, of all knowledge. There are high attainments that people can reach in this life through the wisdom that God imparts; but there is an infinity beyond that will be the study and the joy of the saints throughout eternal ages. We can now only linger upon the borders of that vast expanse, and let imagination take its flight. Finite humanity cannot fathom the deep things of God; for spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The human mind cannot comprehend the wisdom and power of God {6BC 1079.8}
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
Avoiding Guesswork in the Quest for God.
Human talent and human conjecture have tried by searching to find out God. But guesswork has proved itself to be guesswork. Man cannot by searching find out God. This problem has not been given to human beings. All that man needs to know and can know of God has been revealed in His Word and in the life of His Son, the great Teacher. {6BC 1079.9}
God cannot be understood by humans. His ways and works are past finding out. In regard to the revelations that He has made of Himself in His Word, we may talk, but other than this, let us say of Him, Thou art God, and Thy ways are past finding out. {6BC 1079.11}
There is a knowledge of God and of Christ which all who are saved must have. “This is life eternal,” Christ said, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
{6BC 1079.12}
The question for us to study is, What is truth–the truth for this time, which is to be cherished, loved, honored, and obeyed? The devotees of science have been defeated and disheartened in their effort to find out God. What they need to inquire is, What is truth {6BC 1079.13}
To Know Christ Is to Practice His Words.
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
These words mean much. It is only by knowing Christ that we can know God. The Sent of God calls upon all to listen to these words. They are the words of God, and all should give heed to them; for by them they will be judged. To know Christ savingly is to be vitalized by spiritual knowledge, to practice His words. Without this, all else is valueless {5BC 1145.11}
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 1 Sam 11:12, NIV)
His glory in the church
The Israelites had great difficulty with the Philistines, but God rescued them. In response, the people set up a large stone as a memorial of God’s great help and deliverance. During tough times, we may need to remember the crucial turning points in our past to help us through the present. Memorials can help us remember God’s past victories and gain confidence and strength for the present.
There are thousands of souls willing to work for the Master who have not had the privilege of hearing the truth as some have heard it, but they have been faithful readers of the Word of God, and they will be blessed in their humble efforts to impart light to others. Let such ones keep a diary, and when the Lord gives them an interesting experience, let them write it down, as Samuel did when the armies of Israel won a victory over the Philistines. He set up a monument of thankfulness, saying
“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
This is exactly what the Apostle was doing when he said
“what we have seen and what we have hear and what we have handled of The Word of life, that’s what we are telling you now.” (1 John 1:1-3)
And during the end times this is exactly how God’s people will become over comers:
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Rev 12:11, ESV)
“Brethren, where are the monuments by which you keep in view the love and goodness of God? Strive to keep fresh in your minds the help that the Lord has given you in your efforts to help others. Let not your actions show one trace of selfishness. Every tear that the Lord has helped you to wipe from sorrowful eyes, every fear that has been expelled, every mercy shown,–trace a record of it in your diary. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” {2BC 1012.3}
All who will can be over comers. (John 7:17) Let us strive earnestly to reach the standard set before us. Christ knows our weakness, and to Him we can go daily for help. It is not necessary for us to gain strength a month ahead. We are to conquer from day to day {7BC 974.3}
The work is soon to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant
In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.
We are now a strong people, if we will put our trust in the Lord; for we are handling the mighty truths of the word of God. We have everything to be thankful for. If we walk in the light as it shines upon us from the living oracles of God, we shall have large responsibilities, corresponding to the great light given us of God.
We have many duties to perform, because we have been made the depositories of sacred truth to be given to the world in all its beauty and glory. We are debtors to God to use every advantage he has entrusted to us to beautify the truth of holiness of character, and to send the message of warning, and of comfort, of hope and love, to those who are in the darkness of error and sin. {GCDB, January 29, 1893 par. 5}
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:14-21, ESV)
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:11-12, NIV)
follow the same path as Jesus no matter where He leads
I cant think of a better theme to dwell upon in this new year, 2025 that we are all entering now.
Paul brings out two aspects of Christian living that must be stressed today. “We should live in this evil world . . . while we look forward with hope.” Both aspects of living and looking forward are essential to our Christian sanity in this present evil age. The living is made bearable because we live for God—seeking to build his Kingdom with whatever gifts he has given us. And it is that very Kingdom to which we are looking forward. As we live and look forward, we anticipate three great benefits of Christ’s return:
(1) Christ’s personal presence—we look forward to being with him.
(2) Redemption from our sinful nature—we long for the end of the battle with sin and our perfection in Christ.
(3) Restoration of creation—we anticipate the complete rule of grace when the image of God will be fully realized in people and when the created order will be restored.
Looking for that blessed hope – Expecting the grand object of our hope, eternal life. See Tit 1:2. This is what the Gospel teaches us to expect, and what the grace of God prepares the human heart for. This is called a blessed hope; those who have it are happy in the sure prospect of that glory which shall be revealed.
The Lord purifies the heart very much as we air a room. We do not close the doors and windows, and throw in some purifying substance; but we open the doors and throw wide the windows, and let heaven’s purifying atmosphere flow in. The Lord says, “Anyone that does truth comes to the light.” The windows of impulse, of feeling, must be opened up toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of the mind, the imagination must have heavenly themes for contemplation, and every element of the nature must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God {7BC 940.4}
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, (Eph 6:13-19, NIV)
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isa 30:21)
Like Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross of Christ to the finish line, the cross may have slipped away from your agenda. It may interfere with our personal plans and objectives. It may even seem impossible to walk in the blood-stained path of Jesus. But let us always remember:
The cross stands alone, a great center in the world. It does not find friends, but it makes them. It creates its own agencies. Christ proposes that men shall become laborers together with God. He makes human beings His instrumentalities for drawing all men unto Himself. A divine agency is sufficient only through its operation on human hearts with its transforming power, making men colaborers with God {5BC 1138.1}
The path of grace that Jesus would have you walk upon in this new year will be made clear to you as soon as you put your first foot forward to walk therein. One step at a time is how God operates. (Mat 6:33-34)
God’s Promise Is Sure
“Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. (1 Kings 8:56, NIV)
Some day we shall understand that God has a reason in every NO which He speaks through the slow movement of life. “Somehow God makes up to us.” How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future.
May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need…(1 Kings 8:57-59, NIV)
“…Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening… (Gen 24:63)
light only in Christ
Surely, we would be better Christians if we were alone more often. We could likely do a lot more if we attempted less and spent more time in retirement, and quiet waiting upon God. The world is far too much a part of us. We are afflicted with the idea disease that unless we are frenetically running around, then we are “doing nothing.” We have been trained to not believe or to practice “the calm retreat, the silent shade.” The shadow of the cross pales in our experience in favor of the “light” of our busyness, our getting, and our building bigger barns to keep our stuff in. Bigger house. Fancier car. The list is endless. We have been duped into believing that we must have “all of our irons in the fire,” as if to cover every eventuality, and we even consider that any times spent between the anvil and the fire as “lost time.”
And here we are, all caught up in our getting and our doing and our accomplishing to the point where we have little or no quality time that is set apart for quiet thinking, for talking with God as to a Friend, for looking up to heaven from where our Help and Comfort comes. We are all created to have these wide open spaces in our life. Precious moments where we leave our soul open to any sweet influence or thought which God is pleased to send us through His Word. His Voice, on earth today. How lost is the art and science of being with Jesus. Spending quality time in communication with Him and acknowledging and experiencing the fact that our life will always be better and our hearts beat with new joy and hope as we accept that His presence will go before us. And that’s not so that we can ignore Him in all our busyness and our getting. This new joy and hope that we can have in Christ will never truly be ours unless we get it to impart it to others.
My friends, the place in this picture is such a beautiful spot to stand. Yet there is a better place for us to stand as we celebrate “Immanuel, God With Us.” As God’s children, we stand at the foot of the cross, where His love ran red and our sins washed white. Praise His holy name for that is the entire reason that Jesus came to us in Bethlehem that beautiful morning long ago. As Isaiah puts it in Isaiah 60:1
“Arise, shine, for thy Light is come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.”
For the true Christian, this is something that happens every day of the year.
Arise! Arise from your quiet times with God and help make the very loud noise spoken of in Rev 14:6-7 where we find the true Christmas message, and the entire reason that Jesus came to us in the first place:
And I saw another angel flying in heaven: and with blood, he had the everlasting gospel, to proclaim to dwellers on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;saying with a loud voice, Worship God, and give glory to him; because the hour of his judgment is come; and adore ye Him, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water. (Rev 14:6-7, Murdock)
When was the last time that you spent serious time with Jesus to ask Him His thoughts for you personally, regarding these verses of Scripture?
This year, as we celebrate “Immanuel, God With Us,” even at this late stage in God’s judgment hour, we may rejoice that Jesus continues to offer everlasting life to the world (John 3:16). Today, the gospel message still beseeches unbelievers to give glory to God that they might escape the penalty of our sin, and arise to others in our daily life with the everlasting gospel by which we ourselves would be saved.
There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Mark 15:21, ERV)
light in the clouds for Christmas
Today’s message is simply called: It’s Not on The Agenda.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut 31:6, NKJV)
I am so thankful for the assurance in Deuteronomy 31, where God says he’ll never leave us nor forsake us. it’s good news to just be reminded that God is our refuge and our strength. God is a very present help in the time of trouble, and sometimes you we just need to be reminded how that during our hard times, that God is there. God is already at work in your situation, and he causes all things to work together for good to them who love God and are called according to our purpose, to his purpose.
There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Mark 15:21, ERV)
The Bible says they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by to bear his cross. Let’s think about that for a minute. At that time, they compelled he didn’t volunteer for this he didn’t sign up for this they compelled a certain man Simon a Cyrenian the father of Alexander and Rufus and as he was coming out of the country, and he was what just passing by to bear his cross for just a little while today I want to talk to you about the subject Not on The Agenda. That wasn’t on the agenda! It just wasn’t on the agenda so what is going on here now? May we all see the glory of the cross in a whole new way. May we shift to a place where the cross is not just theology, but where the cross is our lived reality.
The story of Simon of Cyrene is fascinating to me, one, because there is so little detail that is given. All that I know is that he is a brother from the eastern part of Libya, which is in the northern continent of Africa. We know that he has two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and we know that he was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus.
But one of the things that really stands out here is that this was not on his schedule for the day. The Bible says that Simon just happened to be passing by. In other words, Simon had a circumstance that required him to come around and to be a part of God’s divine plan. And it’s amazing because he becomes a historical figure because it seems that he happened to be in the right place at the right time. How many of us know that when some see coincidence, believers ought to always see providence. In other words, this was not on Simon’s agenda. He perhaps comes to Jerusalem to spend time with his sons who live there. And remember that Simon is an outsider to the Jewish tradition. Simon is an outsider to their feasts. Simon has no dog in this fight that he encounters along the way.
In other words, the night before, as Simon prepares for the day, he decides I’m going to do some work before I leave. I’m going to travel at a certain time. I’m going to stop by the wall of Jerusalem. I’m going to stop by the market to get some supplies. My goal is to get to the house by sunset. But Simon does not know that the invisible hand of God has been guiding him every step of the way that he might be a blessing to the son of the living God. And as I look at this text, the first thing I learned is that whenever there is a need, God is already guiding help in that direction. when God sees your need, he is always sending help in the direction of your need.
Think about Simon. Jesus needs Simon to help him, not because he is weak. Jesus needs Simon because he is depleted. Remember that Jesus took his last supper with the disciples the night before. So, it’s been about a day since he has eaten. in the last 24 hours, he’s gone from Aenus to Caiaphas to Pilate and back to Caiaphas and back and forth. It’s been a day since he has eaten.
It’s about a day and a half since he has slept. And now we have a bloodied and wearied and depleted Jesus who is now loaded up with the weight of a horrible cross. without complaint, our Jesus carries the cross through the streets of Jerusalem as far as he can take it. It’s no coincidence that Simon gets stuck in traffic and appointed to help Jesus carry the cross as soon as his body craters under the weight of that cross.
Simon, who was Jesus’ helper, was not there waiting for Jesus the entire time. Simon did not make an appointment to say let me stand at right here and wait for Jesus to show up. In other words, God ordains it, that his help passes by as soon as our strength runs out. Jesus could not see where his help was going to come from. Jesus could not see if there was going to be any help because just like us Jesus had to carry his burden by faith and it’s amazing that God allows his strength to completely run out, but the good news is that in the moment when he could not carry it any further his help just happened to be passing by.
God had been orchestrating every step that Simon had taken. God ordained what time he would leave Cyrene. God ordained when he would run into traffic along the way. God ordained when he would have to stop and tie his sandals. God ordained how long the line would be in the market. God ordained how long it would take him to get his hair cut. Because if Simon got there five minutes early, he would have already passed by the Savior. if he got by five minutes late, then Jesus would have already passed by. So that when the son needed help, he would be right there in the rightful place. Even when Jesus is being falsely arrested, guess what? Gods help is moving in his direction. When Jesus is being beaten, help is moving in his direction. When Jesus is being flogged, help is moving in his direction. So that in the moment where Jesus falls to the ground, help is already in place.
We must get to a place where you don’t assess God’s faithfulness based upon what you can see with our five senses. In other words, your help may not always be obvious, but your helper is always faithful. Your provision may not always be obvious, but your provider is always faithful. In other words, friends, Abraham’s ram was already in the thicket and God just pointed it out with the help that had already moved in his direction. Does this mean that Jesus was already in the fiery furnace before the three Hebrew boys ever showed up? Help was moving in their direction from the moment the death decree went forth.
Do you realize that the raven didn’t stockpile food for Elijah to eat. The raven simply showed up with food to eat each day and so we see that God is already moving help in anticipation of your need. Even if you need help financially, know that somewhere somebody’s writing a check with your name on it and putting it up just in the nick of time. Somewhere somebody’s about to move to another job has. In about a month somebody’s going to put a house on the market that God is going to preserve just for you to close on. somewhere your future spouse is breaking up with their boyfriend or girlfriend and he is setting them apart so a year from now they will be ready for you that God is not sitting and watching the world in unfold in real time but God is sitting in the future waiting for the present to catch up and he knows where your needs are going to show up and guess what he is already sending supply God sends what you need in anticipation of your burden.
Jesus even told us that we will have things happen to us that are not in our agenda:
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18)
Peter was now humble enough to understand the words of Christ, and without further questioning, the once restless, boastful, self-confident disciple became subdued and contrite. He followed his Lord indeed–the Lord he had denied. The thought that Christ had not denied and rejected him was to Peter a light and comfort and blessing. He felt that he could be crucified from choice, but it must be with his head downward. And he who was so close a partaker of Christ’s sufferings will also be a partaker of His glory when He shall “sit upon the throne of his glory”
The second thing that this story teaches us is that sometimes we must carry burdens we didn’t ask for. This second detail we are given is that Simon does not ask for the cross. The Bible says that they compel him to carry the cross. He does not volunteer to carry the cross. The cross is essentially assigned to him. When you read Desire of Ages page 781, the author says that Simon when he sees the mob shouting ugly statements at Jesus and he notices the visage of the Savior he begins to show compassion and sympathy toward him outwardly and when those see his compassion to Jesus then they thrust the cross upon his shoulders Simon has to carry this cross not because of any wrong action of his own this cross was initially framed for the notorious Barabbas it was eventually assigned to Jesus our Savior but it is Simon that carries the cross to the finish line.
BUT this is not why Simon came to Jerusalem. He is there perhaps to see his kids and his grand kids. He’s just there to kick it and get some kosher meat and lamb. He just wants to spend a little time. He just wants to get a little R and R, Simon personifies that on the journey of providence, how sometimes you’ve got to carry some burdens that you didn’t ask for. Carrying that cross was NOT on Simons agenda!
How many of us understand that in the army of God, sometimes it’s not a sign up. Sometimes it’s a draft. sometimes we operate under the faulty notion that God is only going to assign to us the things that we normally feel comfortable doing, but the devil is a liar, sometimes the things that we want are about our comfort, but the things that God assigns are about his glory.
I wonder…. have you ever been drafted by God? where you’ve just been given some tasks and assignments that were nowhere on your agenda, they were not a part of your preference, hey were not what you prayed for, but somehow providence led circumstance to lay some burden at your feet. For example, there are some of us who have raised our kids, and it wasn’t in your plans to raise grandchildren or nobody else’s kids.
There are some of us that did not sign up to be the leader of a ministry, but somehow, we got drafted and that burden was laid upon our shoulders just the same. There are some where when you got married, you did not sign up to be a caretaker/caregiver of a sick husband or wife. You didn’t sign up to be a caretaker of a sick parent. You didn’t sign up to be an ambassador for cancer.
You didn’t sign up to be an ambassador for this hurt. For the pain. For the loss. For the tragedy.
People of God, sometimes the greatest ministries are not the ones that you volunteer for, sometimes it is when God drafts us into a particular service and puts an assignment on our shoulders. The one thing I know about God is that when God puts a burden upon you, he’ll never put a burden on you that’s greater than what you can bear. The only temptations that you have are the same kinds of temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13, ERV)
Church, if God brought you to it, if God brought you to it, God is going to bring you through it.
God is a tailor who doesn’t give you clothes too big for you. He has measured your specifics. He has measured the height of your faith, the depth of your resilience. He knows the width of your character and he’ll never place something on you that he has not first measured.
There were times when I was raising my two boys, when we came home from getting groceries, and me and the kids would go to unload the groceries from the back of the car. I would go and I’ll get the things out of the trunk, but I didn’t just start taking stuff and just dispersing it to the first person in line. What happened was when I grabbed something, I would first weigh it by holding it myself. weigh it in my arms…then decide which child is going to carry it.
If it was heavy, I would give it to my oldest son. If it’s a little less heavy, I’d give it to my youngest son. If it’s snack food, I can’t give it to the youngest cause he’s going to get distracted. I got to reassign it to somebody that can handle it.
As a diligent parent I don’t just start blindly or randomly dispensing burdens. I measure burdens and I give them to the one that can handle them.
If a fallen, sinful Dad like me knows how to measure burdens for his children, what about our Father in Heaven? Before he dispenses it, he measures it. He weighs it and decides that you’re able to carry it. sometimes it’s the heavy burden that you didn’t ask for, that you don’t want, that brings you close to Jesus. if you were not given something heavy to carry, Jesus would have just kept on passing by. If we were sometimes not given a heavy burden, we would have just been living our version of the best life. If some of us were not given something heavy to carry, we probably would have lived a prosperous earthly life, but if we were not given something heavy to carry, we might even miss out on eternal life. some of us would have never made it to the foot of the cross if God didn’t give us, like he did Simon, something heavy to carry.
One of the things I’ve learned through both study and my personal experience and observation is that a life without burden is going to be a life without God. there is something about humanity’s fallen nature that needs something to disrupt our crazy sinful nature and draw us into relationship with Jesus. The one common thread between deeply spiritual people, the one thing that all spiritual folk have in common, is that somewhere along the line they had to carry something heavy. Our fallen nature is so powerful. It is so strong. So, desensitize that it cannot be trained just by choice and good intention.
Sometimes it is the burden that trains the person. It is the burden that disrupts the plans. It is the burden that God lays upon us that moves us into a posture of prayer that we would not seek outside of that burden. every now and then God has to kind of draw you outside of yourself so that you can become intensely interested in the salvation of others because in a life where you don’t have to lift something for somebody else and you don’t have to carry something for somebody else and you don’t have to bear something for somebody else what happens is we live a self-centered life that leaves us estranged from the most high.
Simon a Cyrenian and a stranger coming from the country meets Jesus at the cross. There he hears the taunts of rivalry and to the crowd and he hears the words contentiously repeated make way for the king of the Jews he stops in astonishment at the scene, and he expresses his compassion as they seize him and place a cross upon his shoulders. Simon had heard of Jesus his sons were believers in the Savior but he himself was not a what? Bearing the cross to Calvary. It was a blessing to Simon. He was ever after grateful for this providence. It led him to take upon himself the cross of Christ from choice and ever cheerfully stand beneath its shadow. In other words, it was carrying the cross that made Simon choose the cross
How does Simon decide?
By carrying the cross Simon becomes a lifelong disciple
Simon meets Jesus at the cross not in a crisis. Simon lived in a time where most people did not travel more than 20 miles outside of where they lived. It is a crisis for Jesus, but it is not a crisis for Simon.
Simon meets Jesus at the cross not in a crisis
We meet Jesus in a crisis but all too often, as soon as the crisis is averted, then guess what? Your need for the Savior wanes. Friends, a crisis can lead you to Jesus, but it’s the cross that fastens you to Jesus! The difference for Simon is that he, like Nicodemus, like Mary, who was there at the resurrection. What compelled them to become lifelong followers of Jesus is that they had an experience that was beyond an uncomfortable circumstance. A bigger picture than the current trial they were in. They had an experience that had its genesis or its roots in the foundation of the cross. In other words, friends, it didn’t begin with a need. Or a creed.
It began with the cross. Miracle saints will shout for a season, but crucified saints shout for a lifetime.
But why does our spiritual life fluctuate so much? why is there so many ups and downs in our walk with God? Why aren’t we steady with God? Why is it one step forward on Sabbath and six steps backwards on the other days of the week? why is there so much back and forth and hot and cold? why is there no consistent incline in the walk of our pilgrimage with Jesus? 2 Pet 3:18 does tell us to “grow in grace.” So why don’t we? Why does the church keep shrinking?
I think from my own experience that some of us, have met Jesus in a crisis. Some have met Jesus just through a religious cultural upbringing. but the reason sometimes it never sticks is because we’ve never met Jesus at the foot of the cross. for most of us religion is only about what Jesus can do but real religion is about what he already did.
For most of us our praise is put on hold, if you will, because we’re waiting with great trepidation and fear to see what Jesus is going to do next, but I got a reason to praise him every day of my life because of what he’s already done.
Within all the miasma of religion and churchianity and doctrinism I don’t want to let the cross get lost in all that stuff that I keep hanging onto. There’s no room for the cross where I store all my religion…some of us that read that book of Revelation, well we do know the signs and we know the plagues and we know the hundred and forty-four thousand and we know the beast, but we don’t know the Lamb which takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29, John 17:3)
We have some folk that profess to understand the sanctuary, it’s intricacies we know, the veil, we know how tall it was and how wide it was, but we have not ever been to the altar in some cases! The cross is not on my agenda! It’s amazing to me that that for most Christians the cross is kind of like an accessory not just in our style and sacraments, but also in our theology. Maybe the cross is just something I put around my neck, or a tattoo on my arm. Maybe I just let my cross shine instead of letting my light shine? But until the cross becomes the object of your constant meditation, it will have no transforming effect upon your life.
When I look at a lot of contemporary gospel music, it says a lot of stuff about everything but the cross. Most contemporary music AND worship are about my blessing and my harvest and my breakthrough and me reaching out and getting mine. Where are the songs that sing about the old rugged cross? They are fast disappearing. So, the question then becomes, how then do I know, if I’m experiencing genuine conversion? People, if you’re being converted, guess what? It doesn’t begin with a need or a deficit. It doesn’t begin with an unpaid bill or a disease or even if it starts that way, it’s only completed when you experience crucifixion! (Gal 6:14) Let put it this way Church…are our intentions and our practices more so that we can be crucified or so that we can all feel exalted and peaceful and undisturbed?
What should our ambition and our desire be in Christ?
The Bible says
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ that lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I now live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
This is such a shocking verse. It is telling us that we haven’t been converted if after we met Christ, then all we did was amend our life. We usually prefer to just modify ourselves a bit. Some ever so slight adjustments. As little as possible but enough so that we can say “I am saved.” The truly good news is that our former life must be crucified and then we can get a new start and the life that I live in this body, it is the Spirit of God residing in me and I’m a new person in him. (2 Cor 5:17)
IS my goal to glorify myself or to crucify the flesh? IS Crucifixion on my agenda? Do I want to be like the people in Isa 4:1 who mournfully whine “We will do what we want but please let us be called by your name that our reproach might be taken from us.” Imagine! People know they are doing wrong. And not wanting to change. Rejecting the cross. Denying Jesus before the world!
For the believer, it’s not about my empire, it’s not about my name, it’s not about my reputation. It’s not about my blessings. It’s not being in the right church or even in believing correct doctrine. It’s not about any of my problems being solved!
But God forbid that I should boast. God forbid if I boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for boasting. Through Jesus’ death on the cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. (Gal 6:14)
Remember that you were at one time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Eph 2:12-13)
Your boasting ought not be about what you drive. Your boasting ought not be about what you wear. Your boasting ought not be about how many letters are behind your name. We have got just one boast, and it is in the work that Jesus did. The thing that Jesus accomplished when He said, “It is finished!” At the cross is where it all happened. At the cross is where it is all happening now. At the cross is where it will all happen in the future!
One of the ways you know you’re being converted is that you use the right principles to establish whether you’re saved. Most of us, when I ask you, are you saved, first start thinking about how good you’ve been. When I ask people, are you saved? They immediately begin to start weighing their good versus their bad. Do you realize that it is a faulty system of measurement to measure how saved you are? It is not by our deeds that we are saved. When I’m trying to figure out how saved I am, I don’t look at how good I’ve been, I look at how good Jesus is.
The reason we don’t have the joy of salvation is because we don’t have any assurance in salvation. When you have no assurance of salvation what happens is you go from being saved to lost seven times in the same day based upon how good or bad you have been. But how many of us know that if you have the Son then guess what you have life. (1 John 5:11-12)
The Bible says for God so loved the world in this good news. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus is in front of Simon in chains and Simon is carrying the cross behind him so every time Jesus turns Simon turns so that because the weight of the cross is so heavy, he can’t even really hold his head up. All he can do is look and step in the footprints of Jesus Christ. in this story, you see both justifications, he’s crucified, then you see sanctification as he follows in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. So, when Jesus turns, Simon turns. When Jesus moves, Simon moves. Simon cannot just look up and figure out his own way. All he can do is follow in the bloody footsteps of Jesus Christ and one of his first spiritual lessons here is not to follow the crowd but to follow Jesus. you got to follow Jesus more than you follow the people. Because if you don’t follow Jesus, you’ll get offended by people and leave. Simon didn’t start out following Peter because when he found out Peter was a bigoted racist good-for-nothing. He would have walked out of the church, but he didn’t come to the church after Peter. He came in following Jesus! Simon first went to the cross! You must follow Jesus. Jesus walks this path in front of Simon. And Simon following.
Remember Jesus has been beaten, flogged all night with the cat of nine tails so Jesus has wounds and scars Jesus is fatigued most people would actually live on the cross for days but one of the reasons that Jesus only lasts on the cross is a few hours is because he’s been bleeding all night long when your heart is pumping because of movement the more blood begins to gush from your body. So, we just talk about a bloody cross.
But Jesus has also created a bloody path leading up to the cross. leading up to the finish line. Simon is not just walking in Jesus’ bloody footsteps but his own feet or his sandals are getting covered from toe to heel in the blood of Jesus Christ. Why is that important? So, his whole foot, his entire sandal has blood all over it, it’s crazy because when he goes home later that day and he gets to his son’s house, guess what? The servant is going to meet him at the door and get ready to wash his feet.
And I learned that ancient servants then and even now where they still do it, they are so skilled at their job that they can tell where you’ve been by looking at what kind of dirt is on your feet. So that if he had come through Egypt, he would have dark soil all over his feet. If he had come by the Dead Sea, he would have orange soil over his feet because of where he came from. If he had come through Damascus, he would have bright red soil all over his feet. If he had come by Jericho, he would have powdery white soil all over his feet. But when he sits down to get the dirt washed off his feet, guess what? The servant is getting ready to guess where he’s coming from by seeing what kind of dirt he has. But the servant can’t see any dirt. Can’t see where it’s come from, because it’s all covered in the blood of Jesus.
As sinners, we are essentially committed for trial. We must answer to the charge of transgressing God’s law. Their only hope is to accept Christ, their Substitute. He has redeemed the fallen race from the curse of the law, having been made sin–a curse–for mankind. Nothing but his grace is sufficient to free the transgressor from bondage. And by the grace of Christ all who are obedient to God’s commandments are made free.
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
May this Christmas be about your personal redemption. May the cross be on your Christmas agenda! May your walk with Christ be by the blood-stained way of the cross both at Christmas and the entire rest of the year is our prayer In Jesus’ name.
He will protect His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom; He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young. (Isa 40:11, CEV)
God makes it genuine
Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.{DA 479.3}
God is often pictured as a shepherd, gently caring for and guiding his flock. He is powerful (Isa 40:10), yet careful and gentle. He is called a shepherd (Psalms 23); the good shepherd (John 10:11, John 10:14); the great Shepherd (Heb 13:20); and the Great Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4). Note that the shepherd is caring for the most defenseless members of his society: children and those caring for them. This reinforces the prophetic theme that the truly powerful nation is not the one with a strong military, but rather the one that relies on God’s caring strength to look after those in want, and the many families that are suffering these days.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.(James 1:27, ESV)
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalms 82:3-4)
In the first century, orphans and widows had very little means of economic support. Unless a family member was willing to care for them, they were reduced to begging, selling themselves as slaves, or starving. By caring for these people, the church put God’s Word into practice. When we give with no thought of receiving, we show what it means to truly serve others.
To keep ourselves from letting “the world” corrupt us, we need to commit ourselves to Christ’s ethical and moral system, not the world’s. We are not to adapt to the world’s value system, which is based on money, power, pleasure, convenience. True faith means nothing if we are contaminated with such values that tear down the foundations of our “religion.”
A Christian is a Christlike man, a Christlike woman, who is active in God’s service, who is present at the social meeting, whose presence will encourage others also. Religion does not consist in works, but religion works; it is not dormant {7BC 935.13}
Many seem to feel that religion has a tendency to make its possessor narrow and cramped, but genuine religion does not have a narrowing influence; it is the lack of religion that cramps the faculties and narrows the mind. When a person is narrow, it is an evidence that they need the grace of God, the heavenly anointing; for a Christian is one whom the Lord, the God of hosts, can work through, that they may keep the ways of the Lord of the earth and make manifest His will to others.{7BC 935.14}
It is not enough for us to believe that Jesus is not an impostor, and that the religion of the Bible is no cunningly devised fable. We may believe that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven whereby man may be saved, and yet we may not through faith make Him our personal Savior. It is not enough to believe the theory of truth. It is not enough to make a profession of faith in Christ and have our names registered on the church roll. “He that keeps His commandments dwells in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” “Hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 3:24; 2:3. This is the genuine evidence of conversion. Whatever our profession, it amounts to nothing unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness. {COL 312.3}
“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy [yoke] you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. (Mat 11:28, ERV)
A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of
(1) sin,
(2) excessive demands of religious leaders (Mat 23:4; Act 15:10),
(3) oppression and persecution, or
(4) weariness in the search for God.
Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Mat 11:28-30, Msg)
The Yoke of Restraint and Obedience.
Christ says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you”–the yoke of restraint and obedience–“and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” We are to find rest by wearing His yoke and bearing His burdens. In being co-workers with Christ in the great work for which He gave His life, we shall find true rest. When we were sinners, He gave His life for us. He wants us to come to Him and learn of Him. Thus we are to find rest. He says He will give us rest. “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” In doing this you will find in your own experience the rest that Christ gives, the rest that comes from wearing His yoke and lifting His burdens {5BC 1090.3}
Your work is not to gather up burdens of your own. As you take the burdens that Christ would have you, then you can realize what burdens He carried. Let us study the Bible, and find out what kind of yoke He bore. He was a help to those around Him. He says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
You see there is a yoke to bear. Now this is the very faith that we want–a faith that will grasp the promises of God, one that will take the yoke of Christ and bear the burdens that He would have us. We often think we are having a hard time in bearing burdens, and it is too often the case, because God has not made any provision for us to carry these burdens; but when we bear His yoke and carry His burdens, we can testify that the yoke of Christ is easy and His burdens are light, because He has made provision for these.
But when you feel depressed and discouraged, do not give up the battle; you have a living Savior that will help you, and you will have rest in Him. You must not put your neck under the yoke of fashion, and yokes that God has never designed that you should bear. It is not our work to study how to meet the world’s standard, but the great question with each one should be, How can I meet God’s standard? Then it is that you will find rest to the soul; for Christ has said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” {5BC 1091.2}
And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa 6:3, ESV)
“I saw the Lord” (Isa 6:1)
As the prophet Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he was amazed, and, overwhelmed with a sense of his own weakness and unworthiness, he cried, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” {4BC 1138.6}
Isaiah had denounced the sin of others; but now he sees himself exposed to the same condemnation he had pronounced upon them. He had been satisfied with a cold, lifeless ceremony in his worship of God. He had not known this until the vision was given him of the Lord. How little now appeared his wisdom and talents as he looked upon the sacredness and majesty of the sanctuary. How unworthy he was! how unfitted for sacred service! His view of himself might be expressed in the language of the apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” {4BC 1139.1}
But relief was sent to Isaiah in his distress.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isa 6:6-7)
The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God’s people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” As they look by faith into the holy of holies, and see the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, they perceive that they are a people of unclean lips,–a people whose lips have often spoken vanity, and whose talents have not been sanctified and employed to the glory of God.
Well may they despair as they contrast their own weakness and unworthiness with the purity and loveliness of the glorious character of Christ. But if they, like Isaiah, will receive the impression the Lord designs shall be made upon the heart, if they will humble their souls before God, there is hope for them. The bow of promise is above the throne, and the work done for Isaiah will be performed in them. God will respond to the petitions coming from the contrite heart. {4BC 1139.3}
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Anyone that believes on him is not condemned: but they that believe not are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. But those who do the truth come to the light, so that their deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:17-21)
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Mat 24:6-8, NIV)
waiting for Jesus
Recent headlines for our area here yesterday read as follows:
The Russians Warned The West Again:
“No One Will Be Able To Prevent Our Retaliation, Learn the Nuclear Doctrine by Heart.”
So many people are dying because of this man and his aspirations. How many more will die? Not a pleasant subject to think about.
Our world has never been in such a state of war and rumors of war. Much sabre-rattling, threats,fighting, and slaughtering are breaking out everywhere. Russia and “The Axis Of Evil” countries are gaining new confidence to impose terror and fear upon the world. Russia seems to be on a hell-bent runaway. With help from North Korea and Iran, things look very frightening and uncertain. Yes, it’s quite true that Putin with his recent nuclear doctrine can possibly impose much death and destruction and spread abject fear, world wide. But Mr Putin is not immune to the hand of God.
My friends, if that is all we do is to read “the news” then yes. We are going to be scared. But, is there really something else we might read that will address what we are talking about and that give us assurance and hope, and that will help to inform us on what is happening in our world today? I believe that kind of reading is found in the Bible which just happens to be more up to date than next weeks news.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (Dan 2:43, KJV)
History has shown consistently the accounts of other men, who thought they could do whatever they wanted to and rule the world. Or to rule over Europe. In every single case, they have utterly failed. Yes, the death and destruction they imposed was formidable but no one has ever succeeded in trying to unite or rule all countries of the world, or even just the countries in Europe.
Did you know that the Bible, talking about the kingdoms in Europe, says “they shall not cleave, one to another?” No matter what they do today, kingdoms and rulers will never be able to accomplish the uniting of Europe, or of ruling the world. The question has been asked before:
“Will One Power Rule The World?”
In an Adventist publication called “Signs of The Times,” there was penned a very bold statement about this. The year was 1940 and Arthur S Maxwell penned the following bold words concerning the ancient Roman Empire and the future of Europe:
“Crushed beneath the weight of it’s own vast proportions, it crumbled to pieces. Never to be united again.It’s elements lost the power of cohesion, and no man, or combination of men can consolidate them.”
In all of the long years since those days, that Adventist magazine has never had to go back on this interpretation of the great prophecy in the second chapter of Daniel. And no matter how crazy things get today, that is one point that will never have to be retracted. “THEY SHALL NOT CLEAVE ONE TO ANOTHER.” (Dan 2:43)
Maxwell continues in the same magazine article:
“True, many are beginning to ask questions and to entertain doubts. The Adventist interpretation here is under fire from many quarters People are saying things to us like “Look what is happening in Europe today. This new Napoleon is so strong that no one can stop him. He is bound to spread his dominion over the whole continent.”
Friends,today we are seeing another repeat of this kind of scenario. Many are literally shaking in “their boots” as we witness the horrors Putin and his helpers are forcing upon our world today. Putin himself, like people in the past, is now saying publicly that
“No one will be able to prevent our retaliation.”
History shows a long line of over-confident men. Over estimating their power and their level of control. For it is God alone that sets Kings up or brings them back down. (Dan 2:21)
As an Adventist, my only reply to what we are seeing in the world today is exactly what my brethren of the past have said about this prophecy. There is no need to retract or revise anything we have taught about the prophecy of Daniel 2:43. This prophecy is the most remarkable,the most significant to be found anywhere in the Bible. Daniel 2 is absolutely authentic and 100% reliable. It is not possible that this interpretation of Daniel 2 will ever be overthrown by any sequence of world events that we are seeing now or that we will see in the near future.
The Daniel 2:43 prophecy is the only prophecy in the Bible to which the words “certain” and “sure” are both attached. If for no other reason, with these two seals upon it, then surely we can trust it 100%. It has never failed in the past. It cannot fail now.
Perhaps this is partly why the Apostle said later in The New Testament:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:(2 Pet 1:19, KJV)
There is a compelling reason in the witness of Bible prophecy, through which the faith of all might be confirmed and securely anchored. “We have also,” Peter declared, “a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” {AA 534.3}
While exalting the “sure word of prophecy” as a safe guide in times of peril, the apostle solemnly warned the church against the torch of false prophecy, which would be uplifted by “false teachers,” who would privily bring in “damnable heresies, even denying the Lord.” (1 Tim 4:1, 2 Thes 2:3, Acts 20:30, 2 Tim 3:1-5) To such false teachers, arising in the church and accounted true by many of the superficial brethren in the faith, the apostle compared to “wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.” “The latter end is worse with them,” he declared, “than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” {AA 535.1}
Looking down through the ages to the close of time, Peter was inspired to outline conditions that would exist in the world just prior to the second coming of Christ.
“There shall come in the last days scoffers,” he wrote, “walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” But “when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thes 5:3.
Not all, however, would be ensnared by the enemy’s devices. As the end of all things earthly should approach, there would be faithful ones able to discern the signs of the times. While a large number of professing believers would deny their faith by their works, there would be a remnant who would endure to the end. {AA 535.2}
I recently spoke to a friend who said they were going to preach about something in Bible prophecy. I felt that I should remind them about the centrality of the cross and how they should make sure their message comes across as centered in Christ and Him crucified. The reply I got was something like this:
“I agree but I am teaching on signs of the times, and where we are in the prophetic time from Daniel’s statue.”
As if there was no way the cross needed to be included, much less be the central message of that part of Daniel, which, by the way is found in Dan 2.I am not talking about just one individual here. Quite a few people have told me recently that “the cross” is not really a part of Bible prophecy,
The biggest reason that Bible prophecy is scary to people is because when we talk about the Bible’s views on end time prophecy, we rarely talk about Jesus. As humans we often gravitate towards the beast, the mark, and all of the horrific things associated with them. In Gal 6:14 we are told to glory in nothing but the cross of Christ. The three angel’s message does just that. Prophecy is really just the story of Jesus, and His role in the great controversy with the devil. Rather than doting too much on history when we talk about prophecy, we desperately need a renewed focus on HIS-STORY. Lets look briefly at how the three angel’s message does this:
And I saw another angel flying in heaven: and with blood, he had the everlasting gospel, to proclaim to dwellers on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; (Rev 14:6, Murdock)
“With blood” is the phrase that tells us how God desires us to focus more on “Christ and Him crucified.” Thats why Paul said in Gal 6:14 “God forbid that I glory in anything but Christ and Him crucified.” One Christian writer put it like this
There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures–Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. The soul palsied by sin can be endowed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author of our salvation. When Christ bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan’s kingdom with Him to the earth. He vanquished Satan. {FLB 50.2-3}
The very reason the gospel is therein called “everlasting” is because the cross has always been a fact and always will be the foundation of everything. Because of the cross we can all count on a solid foundation, no matter how horrible we have been or how much we have fallen short now.
“Those that are afar off are made near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph 2:13)
If the three angel’s message starts with Christ and Him crucified,then why don’t we? “I saw another angel WITH BLOOD,” says what it means and means what it says. Yes, Bible prophecy tells us that terrible things are coming, but it also tells us that Jesus is coming. And that is the whole point of Bible prophecy. Satan loses. Jesus wins. And when Jesus returns, we will finally win with Him. Christ is coming the second time, with power unto salvation. To prepare human beings for this event, He has sent the first, second, and third angels’ messages. These angels represent those who receive the truth, and with power open the gospel to the world. {7BC 978.11}
Through His servants, God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself through His witnesses in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. Yet their judges pronounced on them the death sentence. They were men of whom the world was not worthy, and by killing them the Jews crucified afresh the Son of God. So it will be again. The authorities will make laws to restrict religious liberty. They will assume the right that is God’s alone. They will think they can force the conscience, which God alone should control. Even now they are making a beginning; this work they will continue to carry forward till they reach a boundary over which they cannot step. God will interpose in behalf of His loyal, commandment-keeping people. {DA 630.1}
On every occasion when persecution takes place, those who witness it make decisions either for Christ or against Him. Those who manifest sympathy for the ones wrongly condemned show their attachment for Christ. Others are offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practice. Many stumble and fall, apostatizing from the faith they once advocated. Those who apostatize in time of trial will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light. {DA 630.2}
The Bible is clear that Putin cannot win. He will never control the world the way he wants to. For the simple reason that he is not the one that is in control.
As Christians, our calling from God is to become like Christ (Rom 8:29). This is a gradual, lifelong process that will be completed when we see Christ face to face (1 John 3:2). To be “worthy” of this calling means to want to do what is right and good as Christ would do and help us to do. (John 7:17, John 1:12).
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thes 4:13-18, NIV)
Bible prophecy is a real eye opener on the activities of Christ throughout history and how because of His death on the cross, we all can get through the crazy times in which we now live. Bible prophecy tells us that we may look forward with peace, strength, and assurance that as we glorify God now in our life, He too will glorify us as He leads us into the next life.
“…when [Jesus] comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thes 1:10-12, ERV)
Jesus once said that
“People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. (John 7:17, ERV)
Those who sincerely attempt to know God’s will and do it will know beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus was telling the truth about Himself. Have you ever listened to religious speakers and wondered if they were telling the truth? Test them.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
Whatever they are saying should always end up glorifying God. Pointing others to Jesus. Not to themselves. (Acts 20:30) Just as the first angel of Rev 14:6 admonishes. If you want to know how to respond to what is happening around us today, just listen once again to that first angel:
I saw another angel flying in heaven: and with blood, he had the everlasting gospel, to proclaim to dwellers on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; saying with a loud voice, Worship God, and give glory to him; because the hour of his judgment is come; and adore ye Him, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water. (Rev 14:6-7, Murdock)
A friend just reminded me of the following as I was penning this article
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“Jesus reminds us that no matter what we face; His victory is our source of real hope. These words encourage us to remain steadfast in our faith, knowing that Christ’s triumph over the world assures us of His enduring support and love.”
