These things are merely a whisper of God’s power at work. How little we would understand if this whisper ever turned into thunder! (Job 26:14, CEV)
Living With Jesus 1 John 5:11-12
This is one of the most stunning of all the verses in the Bible that describe the power of God. Job asserts that if we truly considered God’s great power, we would know that what we observe of creation represents the mere edges of His garment—just His whisper. What would happen to us if ever He were to thunder? (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary)
How faint is the whisper that we hear of Creator, in the midst of our troubles and trials.We often hear but a faint whisper of His power and His character. We struggle to believe in the midst of the fiery furnace, and we come out feeling burned beyond recognition. But then “one like unto The Son of Man is seen there in the flames beside us, and we then partake of THAT power, and His peace, which in the lowliest circumstances, remains “beyond our understanding.” We have only the “faint whisper” to hold onto. Perhaps this is what is being thought of when we hear
And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12)
Elijah knew that the sound of a gentle whisper was God’s voice. He realized that God doesn’t reveal himself only in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss him because he is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humbled heart. Are you listening for God? Step back from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly for his guidance. It may come when you least expect it. (Life Application Notes)
It may seem that Job had far more than His fair share of trials, yet look at how his story ended:
“So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).
Through his griefs Job came to his heritage. He was tried that his godliness might be confirmed. Strengthened. Manifest. Shining in the darkness. Coming forth as gold.
Surely my troubles are also intended to deepen my character and to clothe me in graces that I had so little of before? Surely, I come to my glory through eclipses, tears, death. My ripest fruit grows against the roughest wall. Job’s afflictions left him with higher conceptions of God and lowlier thoughts of himself. “Now,” he cried, “mine eye seeth thee.” (Job 42:5)
If, through pain and loss, I feel God so near in His majesty that I bend low before Him and pray “Thy will be done” (Mat 26:42) then I will I gain very much. God gave Job glimpses of the future glory, during the worst of his agony. In those wearisome days and nights, he penetrated within the veil, and could say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Surely the latter end of Job was more blessed than the beginning.– In the Hour of Silence
It has been said that “Trouble never comes to a person unless she brings a nugget of gold in her hand.”
I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich; and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. (Rev 3:18, NIV)
Apparent adversity will finally turn out to be the advantage of the right if we are only willing to keep on working and to wait patiently. How steadfastly the great victor souls have kept at their work, dauntless and unafraid! There are blessings which we cannot obtain if we cannot accept and endure suffering. There are joys that can come to us only through sorrow. There are revealings of Divine truth which we can get only when earth’s lights have gone out. There are harvests which can grow only after the plowshare has done its work.– Selected
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most unsightly characters are layered and held together by massive scars; martyrs who have put on their coronation robes glittering with fire, and through their tears have the sorrowful first seen the gates of Heaven. — Chapin
The message to the Laodicean church is highly applicable to us as a people. It has been placed before us for a long time, but has not been heeded as it should have been. When the work of repentance is earnest and deep, the individual members of the church will buy the rich goods of heaven. When you choose to “buy” God’s promise is for you:
I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich; and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. (Rev 3:18, AFV)
To see the glory of God, to hear His voice in your calamity and heart ache, becomes that “faint whisper” that gives us all the assurance that we need today for whatever is happening around us.
The Laodicean message (Rev 3:18)is applicable to the church at this time. Do you believe this message? Did YOU buy your gold yet? Have you hearts that feel? Or are you constantly saying, We are rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing? Is it in vain that the declaration of eternal truth has been given to us to be carried to all the nations of the world? God has chosen a people and made them the repositories of truth weighty with eternal results. To them has been given the light that must illuminate the world. Has God made a mistake? Are we indeed His chosen instrumentalities? Are we the men and women who are to bear to the world the messages of Revelation fourteen, to proclaim the message of salvation to those who are standing on the brink of ruin? Do we act as if we were {7BC 961.9}
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you, For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the LORD shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isa 60:1-3)
Some people prefer to belong to the nightclub. They want that “gross darkness” in order to hide their darkness and disdain of the truth. (John 3:19-20)
We Are Each to Give Our Measure of Light. NOT someone else’s measure. Just our’s. Every shining star which God has placed in the heavens obeys His mandate, and gives its distinctive measure of light to make beautiful the heavens at night; so let every converted soul show the measure of light committed to him; and as it shines forth the light will increase and grow brighter. Give out your light. Pour forth your beams mirrored from heaven. O daughter of Zion, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” {4BC 1153.3}
They who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever. (Dan 12:3)
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
“be reconciled” 2 Cor 5:20
While Christ was teaching the people, He was also educating His disciples for their future work. In all His instruction there were lessons for them. After giving the parable of the net, He asked them, “Have ye understood all these things?” They said unto Him, “Yea, Lord.” Then in another parable He set before them their responsibility regarding the truths they had received. “Therefore,” He said, “every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
The treasure gained by the householder he does not hoard. He brings it forth to communicate with others. And by use the treasure increases. The householder has precious things, both new and old. So, Christ teaches that the truth committed to His disciples is to be communicated to the world. And as the knowledge of truth is imparted, it will increase.
All who receive the gospel message into the heart will long to proclaim it. The heaven-born love of Christ must find expression. Those who have put on Christ will relate their experience, tracing step by step the leadings of the Holy Spirit–their hungering and thirsting for the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent, the results of their searching of the Scriptures, their prayers, their soul agony, and the words of Christ to them, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.” It is unnatural for any to keep these things secret, and those who are filled with the love of Christ will not do so. In proportion as the Lord has made them the depositaries of sacred truth will be their desire that others shall receive the same blessing. And as they make known the rich treasures of God’s grace, more of the grace of Christ will be imparted to them. They will have the heart of a little child in its simplicity and unreserved obedience. Their souls will pant after holiness, and more of the treasures of truth and grace will be revealed to them to be given to the world.
The great storehouse of truth is the word of God– the written word, the book of nature, and the book of experience in God’s dealing with human life. Here are the treasures from which Christ’s workers are to draw. In the search after truth, they are to depend upon God, not upon human intelligences, the great men whose wisdom is foolishness with God. Through His own appointed channels, the Lord will impart a knowledge of Himself to every seeker.
If the follower of Christ will believe His word and practice it, there is no science in the natural world that he will not be able to grasp and appreciate. There is nothing but that which will furnish means for him to impart the truth to others. Natural science is a treasure house of knowledge from which every student in the school of Christ may draw.
As we contemplate the beauty of nature, as we study its lessons in the cultivation of the soil, in the growth of the trees, in all the wonders of earth and sea and sky, there will come to us a new perception of truth. And the mysteries connected with God’s dealings with men, the depths of His wisdom and judgment as seen in human life–these are found to be a storehouse rich in treasure.
But it is in the written word that a knowledge of God is most clearly revealed to fallen man. This is the treasure house of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The word of God includes the Scriptures of the Old Testament as well as of the New. One is not complete without the other. Christ declared that the truths of the Old Testament are as valuable as those of the New. Christ was as much man’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. Before He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to our world, the gospel message was given by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. Abraham in Canaan and Lot in Sodom bore the message, and from generation-to-generation faithful messengers proclaimed the Coming One. The rites of the Jewish economy were instituted by Christ Himself. He was the foundation of their system of sacrificial offerings, the great antitype of all their religious service. The blood shed as the sacrifices were offered pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. All the typical offerings were fulfilled in Him.
Christ as manifested to the patriarchs, as symbolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed in the law, and as revealed by the prophets, is the riches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, His death, and His resurrection, Christ as He is manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure of the New Testament. Our Savior, the outshining of the Father’s glory, is both the Old and the New.
Of Christ’s life and death and intercession, which prophets had foretold, the apostles were to go forth as witnesses. Christ in His humiliation, in His purity and holiness, in His matchless love, was to be their theme. And to preach the gospel in its fullness, they must present the Savior not only as revealed in His life and teachings, but as foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament and as symbolized by the sacrificial service.
Christ in His teaching presented old truths of which He Himself was the originator, truths which He had spoken through patriarchs and prophets; but He now shed upon them a new light. How different their meaning appeared! A flood of light and spirituality was brought in by His explanation. And He promised that the Holy Spirit should enlighten the disciples, that the word of God should be ever unfolding to them. They would be able to present its truths in new beauty.
Ever since the first promise of redemption was spoken in Eden, the life, the character, and the mediatorial work of Christ have been the study of human minds. Yet every mind, through whom the Holy Spirit has worked, has presented these themes in a light that is fresh and new. The truths of redemption are capable of constant development and expansion. Though old, they are ever new, constantly revealing to the seeker for truth a greater glory and a mightier power.
In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began “at Moses and all the prophets” and “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27. But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form.
There are those who profess to believe and to teach the truths of the Old Testament, while they reject the New. But in refusing to receive the teachings of Christ, they show that they do not believe that which patriarchs and prophets have spoken. “Had ye believed Moses,” Christ said, “ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.” John 5:46. Hence there is no real power in their teaching of even the Old Testament.
Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel are in a similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, of which Christ declared, “They are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39. In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both are parts of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root; the gospel is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bears.
The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, and the New upon the Old. Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. Both present truths that will continually reveal new depths of meaning to the earnest seeker.
Truth in Christ and through Christ is measureless. The student of Scripture looks, as it were, into a fountain that deepens and broadens as he gazes into its depths. Not in this life shall we comprehend the mystery of God’s love in giving His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The work of our Redeemer on this earth is and ever will be a subject that will put to the stretch our highest imagination. Man may tax every mental power in the endeavor to fathom this mystery, but his mind will become faint and weary. The most diligent searcher will see before him a boundless, shoreless sea.
The truth as it is in Jesus can be experienced but never explained. Its height and breadth and depth pass our knowledge. We may task our imagination to the utmost, and then we shall see only dimly the outlines of a love that is unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped to the earth to stamp the image of God on all mankind.
Yet it is possible for us to see all that we can bear of the divine compassion. This is unfolded to the humble, contrite soul. We shall understand God’s compassion just in proportion as we appreciate His sacrifice for us. As we search the word of God in humility of heart, the grand theme of redemption will open to our research. It will increase in brightness as we behold it, and as we aspire to grasp it, its height and depth will ever increase.
Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws near to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.
In those who possess it, the religion of Christ will reveal itself as a vitalizing, pervading principle, a living, working, spiritual energy. There will be manifest the freshness and power and joyousness of perpetual youth. The heart that receives the word of God is not as a pool that evaporates, not like a broken cistern that loses its treasure. It is like the mountain stream fed by unfailing springs, whose cool, sparkling waters leap from rock to rock, refreshing the weary, the thirsty, the heavy laden.
This experience gives every teacher of truth the very qualifications that will make him a representative of Christ. The spirit of Christ’s teaching will give a force and directness to his communications and to his prayers. His witness to Christ will not be a narrow, lifeless testimony. The minister will not preach again, and again the same set discourses. His mind will be open to the constant illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Christ said, “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life. . . . As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so, he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. . . . It is the Spirit that quickeneth; . . . the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:54-63.
When we eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood, the element of eternal life will be found in our ministry. There will not be a fund of stale, oft-repeated ideas. The tame, dull sermonizing will cease. The old truths will be presented, but they will be seen in a new light. There will be a new perception of truth, a clearness and a power that all will discern. Those who have the privilege of sitting under such a ministry will, if susceptible to the Holy Spirit’s influence, feel the energizing power of a new life. The fire of God’s love will be kindled within them. Their perceptive faculties will be quickened to discern the beauty and majesty of truth.
The faithful householder represents what every teacher of the children and youth should be. If he makes the word of God his treasure, he will continually bring forth new beauty and new truth. When the teacher will rely upon God in prayer, the Spirit of Christ will come upon him, and God will work through him by the Holy Spirit upon the minds of others. The Spirit fills the mind and heart with sweet hope and courage and Bible imagery, and all this will be communicated to the youth under his instruction.
The springs of heavenly peace and joy, unsealed in the soul of the teacher by the words of Inspiration, will become a mighty river of influence to bless all who connect with him. The Bible will not become a tiresome book to the student. Under a wise instructor the word will become more desirable. It will be like the bread of life and will never grow old. Its freshness and beauty will attract and charm the children and youth. It is like the sun shining upon the earth, perpetually imparting brightness and warmth, yet never exhausted.
God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to the soul. {COL 132.2}
The Holy Spirit loves to address the youth, and to discover to them the treasures and beauties of God’s word. The promises spoken by the great Teacher will captivate the senses and animate the soul with spiritual power that is divine. There will grow in the fruitful mind a familiarity with divine things that will be as a barricade against temptation.
The words of truth will grow in importance and assume a breadth and fullness of meaning which we have never dreamed. The beauty and riches of the word have a transforming influence on mind and character. The light of heavenly love will fall upon the heart as an inspiration.
The appreciation of the Bible grows with its study. Whichever way the student may turn, he will find displayed the infinite wisdom and love of God.
The significance of the Jewish economy is not yet fully comprehended. Truths vast and profound are shadowed forth in their rites and symbols. The gospel is the key that unlocks its mysteries. Through a knowledge of the plan of redemption, its truths are opened to understanding. Far more than we do, it is our privilege to understand these wonderful themes. We are to comprehend the deep things of God. Angels desire to investigate the truths that are revealed to the people who with contrite hearts are searching the word of God and praying for greater lengths and breadths and depths and heights of the knowledge which He alone can give.
As we are near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies relating to the last days especially demand our study. The last book of the New Testament scriptures is full of truth that we need to understand. Satan has blinded the minds of many, so that they have been glad of any excuse for not making the Revelation their study. But Christ through His servant John has here declared what shall be in the last days, and He says, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” Revelation 1:3.
“This is life eternal,” Christ said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. Why is it that we do not realize the value of this knowledge? Why are not these glorious truths glowing in our hearts, trembling upon our lips, and pervading our whole being?
In giving us His word, God has put us in possession of every truth essential for our salvation. Thousands have drawn water from these wells of life, yet there is no diminishing of the supply. Thousands have set the Lord before them, and by beholding have been changed into the same image. Their spirit burns within them as they speak of His character, telling what Christ is to them, and what they are to Christ. But these searchers have not exhausted these grand and holy themes. Thousands more may engage in the work of searching out the mysteries of salvation. As the life of Christ and the character of His mission are dwelt upon, rays of light will shine forth more distinctly at every attempt to discover truth. Each fresh search will reveal something more deeply interesting than has yet been unfolded. The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and looking to heaven with its unnumbered years he will exclaim, “Great is the mystery of godliness.”
In eternity we shall learn that which, had we received the enlightenment it was possible to obtain here, would have opened our understanding. The themes of redemption will employ the hearts and minds and tongues of the redeemed through the everlasting ages.
They will understand the truths which Christ longed to open to His disciples, but which they did not have faith to grasp. Forever and forever new views of the perfection and glory of Christ will appear. Through endless ages will the faithful Householder bring forth from His treasure things new and old. {C O L 124.1 – C O L 134.1}
Galatians 6:14 (UKJV) But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
cross Gal 6:14
“We behold in the cross if Christ our efficiency, our inexhaustible Source of power.” (6BC 112.7)
“Behold in the cross of Christ the only sure guarantee for individual excellence and success. And the more the heart is wrapped up in Christ, the more secure is the treasure in the eternal world.” (6 BC 1112.8)
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. It is only in the light of the cross that we can discern the exalted character of the law of God. 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 (6BC 1084.8)
Ephesians 2:13 (UKJV)… in Christ Jesus all of you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Hanging upon the cross, Christ was the gospel. Now we have a message, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” [John 1:29.]
Will not our church members keep their eyes fixed on a crucified and risen Saviour, in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered?
This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer. If we can awaken an interest in people’s minds that will cause them to fix their eyes on Christ, we may step aside, and ask them only to continue to fix their eyes upon the Lamb of God.
They thus receive their lesson. Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Those whose eyes are fixed on Jesus will leave all. They will die to selfishness. They will believe in all the Word of God, which is so gloriously and wonderfully exalted in Christ. (Ms 49, 1898, par. 41)
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.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Mat 11:30.
yoke is easy with Jesus
Jesus Teaches Us His Yoke is Easy, His Burden, Light
We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed in complete union with Him.
“Take my yoke upon you,” (Mat 11:28)
Jesus says…. Wearing the yoke unites finite people in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places us where we learn how to bear Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ without wearing His yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him.
If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps.
People frame around their own necks yokes that seem light and pleasant to wear, but they prove galling to the extreme. Christ sees this, and He says:
Take My yoke upon you. The yoke you would place upon your own neck, thinking it a precise fit, will not fit at all. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me the lessons essential for you to learn; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. (Mat 11:30)
The Lord never makes a false estimate concerning His heritage. He measures the people with whom He is working. When they submit to His yoke, when they give up the struggle that has been unprofitable for themselves and for the cause of God, they will find peace and rest. When they become sensible of their own weakness, their own deficiencies, they will delight to do God’s will. They will submit to the yoke of Christ.
Then God can work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure, which is often entirely contrary to the plans of the human mind. When the heavenly anointing comes to us, we shall learn the lesson of meekness and lowliness, which always brings rest to the soul.
Although you will have trials, yet these trials, well borne, only make the way more precious.
In what sense was Jesus’ yoke “easy?”
The yoke emphasizes the challenges, work, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus’ yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative.
Jesus doesn’t usually offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But it’s a shared yoke, with much of the weight falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. (Psalms 46:1, Heb 13:5)
Suddenly you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner—and now that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.
In accepting Christ’s yoke of restraint and obedience, you will find that it is of the greatest help to you. Wearing this yoke keeps you near the side of Christ, and He bears the heaviest part of the load. {5BC 1090.4}
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
This paradox is matchless! Even among the paradoxically couched maxims in which our Lord delights! That rest which the soul experiences when once safe under Christ’s wing makes all yokes easy, all burdens light.
Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine? (Job 37:15)
light in the clouds is Jesus
And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. (Exodus 34:5-9, CEV)
Here, from the dark cloud, our Lord descended by some open token of his presence and manifestation of his glory in a cloud, and thence proclaimed his NAME; that is, the perfections and character which are denoted by the name JEHOVAH. The Lord God is merciful; ready to forgive the sinner, and to relieve the needy. Gracious; kind, and ready to bestow undeserved benefits. Long-suffering; slow to anger, giving time for repentance, only punishing when it is needful. He is abundant in goodness and truth; even sinners receive the riches of his bounty abundantly, though they abuse them. (Eph 2:13).
All God reveals is infallible truth, all he promises is in faithfulness. Keeping mercy for thousands; he continually shows mercy to sinners, and has treasures, which cannot be exhausted, to the end of time. Forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; his mercy and goodness reach to the full and free forgiveness of sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; the holiness and justice of God are part of his goodness and love towards all his creation.
In Christ’s sufferings, the Divine holiness and justice are fully shown, and the evil of sin is made known. God’s forgiving mercy is always attended by his converting, sanctifying grace. None are pardoned but those who avail for themselves the gift of Calvary.
Near the end of the Bible, close to the culmination of Bible prophecy, Christ, THE Light in the clouds is once more mentioned, as if to assure us again “there is Light in every cloud.”
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7, CEV)
Jesus is here portrayed as the all-powerful King, victorious in battle, glorious in peace. He is not just a humble earthly teacher, he is the glorious God. When you read John’s description of the vision, keep in mind that his words are not just good advice; they are truth from the King of kings. Don’t just read his words for their interesting and amazing portrayal of the future. Let the truth about Christ penetrate your life, deepen your faith in him, and strengthen your commitment to follow him no matter what the cost.
It is at midnight, when it is darkest that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, when comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying:
“It is done.” Rev 16:17.
The True Light In The Clouds Will Always Be Jesus.
Christ could not help being bright and shining. His very work was to shine. I am come, He said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” In Me is no darkness at all. Light means revelation, and the light is to shine amid moral darkness. Christ is everything to those who receive Him. He is their Comforter, their safety, their healthfulness. Apart from Christ there is no light at all. There need not be a cloud between the soul and Jesus. His great heart of love is longing to flood the soul with the bright beams of His righteousness.
Jesus lives to make intercession for us. (Heb 7:25) While the blackness and darkness are closing about the world, our lives are only secure as they are hid with Christ in God. Precious Saviour! In Him alone are our hopes of eternal life to be centered. We will then talk faith, talk hope, talk courage, and diffuse light on every side. “Ye are,” saith Christ, “the light of the world. A city set on an hill. Let your light so shine before men, that they may glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Faith must pierce the darkest cloud. Simple, earnest trust in God will glorify His name, and in that trust you may be all light in the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise Him, and glorify God for His matchless love.
Christ says to His followers, “You are the light of the world.” Then let your light shine forth in clear, steady rays. Do not wrap about you a cloud of darkness. Cease to suspect others. By good works represent the character of Christ. When you are tempted to yield to despondency, look to Jesus, and talk with Him. Your Jesus, THE Light in your clouds will never make a mistake. He will judge righteously. He will guide you in the right path. (Psalms 119:105)
Earlier this week I encountered someone I had never met before. They asked me out of the blue:
“Why are you so happy?”
I had to chuckle a bit because I had no idea it was even showing like that. But I just told him how I became a Christian, and what Jesus has been doing in my life.
I remember saying to him
“I am happy everywhere I go!”
He had previously told me he was atheist but after hearing my testimony, (1 John 1:1-3, Rev 12:11) he said that he wants to know more about God and His Word. And he asked me to send him some relevant material about that.
My friends, who will you be a light to this week? No matter how bad things might be for you tight now, with Jesus, you can be the light in someone else’s clouds.
We live in a world of constant turmoil and trials. But, it has been my personal experience that God will give us the strength we need; and He will look after all those things that we are unable to do ourselves:
The Garden Alone
Based on Luke 22:39-46
“And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.”
Jesus In The garden Alone
God was with Him in the Garden alone
And Jesus conquered by strength divine
But the separation went deeper than bone
As the battle began; God drew the line.
The Father didn’t want to remove the cup
The disciples slept from sorrow and fear
And while Gabriel came to lift Jesus up
His sweat poured out as blood and tear.
As crises supreme did heart and soul break
Jesus came alone, to fight by petition there
The angel assured Him He made no mistake
For now He might answer the sinners prayer.
We all have to go to the Garden alone
We have to bring our worry and care
And when we go, we glimpse the throne
For in the Garden; our Lord is there.
Jesus conquered by strength not his own
And we can have this encounter today
As we go by faith to our garden alone
To walk with Him the blood-stained way.
by David T Battler, all rights reserved
“Christ conquered in divine strength, and so must every tempted soul overcome. God was with Christ in the Garden of Gesthemane; and by this experience of Christ, we are to learn to trust our heavenly Father; at all times, and in all places, , we are to believe that he is tender, true, and faithful – able to keep that which is committed to His care. In the agonizing struggle of Christ, our Substitute and Surety; the Father was beside His Son, and He is beside every soul that struggles with discouragement and difficulty.”
A friend of mine dying of cancer wrote the following words last night:
“looking for an immediate rescue from my painful circumstances, and yet it is often these pains that are expanding my heart to search and find the presence of the God, who is my closest companion and eternal Savior”
As a caregiver in the past, who lost his wife to cancer, I of course felt this kind of painful circumstance acutely at times.
One of the things in Scripture that has helped me a lot is to realize how certain verses can apply to me personally when dealing with grief and sorrow. Part of a verse I read this morning reads like this:
“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you” (Joshua 1:3)
As a Christian, I am finding that besides the literal ground, not occupied for Christ, there is also the often unclaimed territory of the un-trodden land of divine promise. Thats why, I think, God said this to Joshua. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, THAT I have given to you.” And then God drew the outlines of the land of promise, and said it is all yours, on one condition. That you shall measure it off using your own feet, by walking completely through the whole length and breadth of the promised land.
But the people then never did that to more than about one-third of all that property, and as a result they never had more than just one third. They had only what they measured off, and no more.
In Hebrews 11:9 we hear about the “land of promise,” that God always opens up to us. I have come to see it as God’s will that we should, as it were, also measure off THAT territory by the “feet” of trusting faith, and believing obedience (to His call). And in Jesus, claiming and appropriating ALL of God’s promises for our very own “territory.” And that is such a vast, beautiful land to explore with our own two feet!
As we search for the presence of God in our suffering, our grief, we can take possession of God’s promises. What a magnificent “territory” for faith to hold on to and then march right on through the length and breadth of, yet in my struggles, my faith has rarely done it yet.
Let us each enter into all of our inheritance. Let us lift up our eyes in all four directions, and start to measure this “land” by our own two feet, and then rejoice as we hear Him say:
“All the land that you see, I will give to you.”
I once read a beautiful Christian quote that goes like this:
“We should NOW acquaint ourselves with God by proving His promises.” (GC 622)
And surely, as my late wife was dying, as I roiled in acute grief, I remember finding a special promise for every single need that arose out of our sometimes very dire circumstance.
Friends, we are given a very special assurance about God’s promises in His Word:
God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our unhelpful desires and the corrupt influences of this world. [that all in the cancer world would certainly know about]. (2 Pet 1:4)
The power to lead a godly life comes from God. Because we don’t have the resources to be truly godly, God allows us to “share his divine nature” in order to keep us from sin and help us live for him. When we are born again, God by his Spirit empowers us with his own goodness. See John 1:12,John 3:6; John 14:17-23; 2 Cor 5:21; and 1 Pet 1:22-23.
God’s promises gave both my late wife and I a place to rest. A wonderful new land of possibilities to explore together. A new land where we did not have fear or pain. I remember she had been comatose for a week or so, yet when I asked her one day
“if you only had one thing you could say to me “before you go” what would it be sweetie?”
And to my absolute shock and amazement, she sat right up in her bed, she smiled that big cute smile that I loved, and said in a voice too loud for someone ‘as sick as her”
“I WAS LOVED.”
She never spoke another word after that, and she died in my arms shortly after. We still “meet” from time to time as I make periodic forays into that bright, beautiful, verdant “territory” of God’s promise about the resurrection. (1 Thes 4:12-18)
I know that when she was with me that she loved to travel to that place, and measure it off by talking about how wonderful it will be when the resurrection finally happens. She would “measure the whole territory” off by walking me through all of her thoughts about the amazing things she “saw,” and was so looking forward to.
I have to say in conclusion now, that whenever I have measured off the territory of God’s promises with my own two feet, I have always come away from the situation at hand exclaiming:
“I was loved.”
In verity, wherever Judah should set his foot that should be his! Wherever Benjamin should set his foot, that should be his! Each person reading this today should get their personal inheritance by actually setting their own foot upon it. Everyone should take this verse and put their own name into it! Now, think you not, when either had set his foot upon a given territory, he did not instantly and instinctively feel, “This is mine”?
During the endtimes that we are entering now, this is exactly how God’s people will “go in” and each enter their own promise land of God’s promises. There will be no other way to survive it all. The course of God’s people should be upward and onward to victory. A greater than Joshua is leading on the armies of Israel. One is in our midst, even JESUS, the Captain of our salvation, who has said for our encouragement,
“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” He will lead us on to certain victory. What God promises, He is able at any time to perform. And the work He gives His people to do, He is able to accomplish by them. (Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 122).
I have been asked: “well, David, why is it that you seem to have so much peace and joy in “your religion?”” And I can only reply:
“I just walk into my promised land and measure out with my own two feet, the promise of the resurrection. And praise God, I have ALL that is in THAT promise! I feel rich, beyond measure! And now I have lived experience that has shown how I can “measure out” that divine promise by my own two feet across the entire length and breadth of it knowing how that ALL of the riches this “precious promise” brings is mine.”
NOW I wake up every day thinking:
“I was loved.”
Today, I continue to explore this promised land, measuring God’s promises, and am so blessed to know God is leading me once more to that territory where He has promised rest, quietness, confidence, in the gift of someone to love. He is amazing! Our God is an awesome God!
Thank you Jesus.
PS
After I wrote this article, and shared with my friend in another province who is dying of cancer, he sent me the following poem:
David, here are some great thoughts of comfort in a poem. You will love the last verse!
I Only Know I’m Loved
’When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost sometimes
That’s why I chose this way”
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble –
needing God to be my guide
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and cannot ever pay the debt
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
asking humbly to be taught
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible
but God believes I’m worth it
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache
which is why I seek God’s name
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved’
Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thes 4:18)
comfort one another
This week’s article, and next week’s will talk about the second coming of Jesus. I can imagine how this might sound like science fiction to much of the world because of the many and diverse ways that the world’s denominated sources try to deal with it and explain it. It seems almost everyone has their own doctrine about this sometimes complicated subject. It is quite possible that most of us do have one thing in common. I think many of us can agree that yes, Jesus is coming again. But how many of us can agree on anything else? Some say it will be a secret. Some say everyone will know when it happens. Others say they actually know exactly when Jesus will return. Yet others say no one can know. But there is a developing problem regarding the second coming of Jesus. Many people are starting to echo this verse, and Peter warns us about it:
This letter which I am now writing to you, dear friends, is my second letter. In both my letters I seek to revive in your honest minds the memory of certain things so that you may recall the words spoken long ago by the holy Prophets, and the commandments of our Lord and Savior given you through your Apostles. But, above all, remember that, in the last days, men will come who make a mock at everything, people governed only by their own passion and asking,
“What has become of His promised Return? For from the time our forefathers fell asleep all things continue as they have been ever since the creation of the world.”(2 Pet 3: 1-4, Weymouth)
It is clear that the subject of the second coming is not very clear to much of the world, including church-goers. People either don’t believe it’s going to happen, while others believe it will happen, but they cannot agree on how or when Jesus will come again. The first thing I would personally suggest about this idea of Jesus coming again is that there is something by which we can measure any belief that we think comes from the Bible. I got it from a preacher some years ago when I first became a Christian. I was confused about the many opinions and variations of this Bible prophecy on the second coming of Jesus and the first thing he said to me was
“David, the gospel is simply wonderful, and wonderfully simple.”
The prophecy about Jesus’ second coming actually does fit perfectly with this descriptor of being “wonderfully simple, and simply wonderful.” The way my church has described it in our fundamental belief is as follows: (with minor edits of grammar)
The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The prophecy of our Savior’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When Jesus returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. Currently, the almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ’s coming is imminent. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times. Fundamental Beliefs, 25
When my boys were little, they would often ask me questions. Very pointed questions. Questions that would come at the most inopportune times. Questions so pointed, that it would be impossible to defer the ‘answers” to some other time. One evening, my youngest asked me one such question. I was just tucking him in and he said
“Daddy, when will Jesus come so that all the days will be over?”
I was taken aback at this question. The depth and theological soundness of it had startled me in unexpected ways. Because after all, how much of this prophecy can a child really understand? How could my little one possibly know that his young heart’s desire has been the longing of the ages. The last words we see in the Bible give us the wonderful promise of the soon return of Jesus: but how did my little one know this? He was only 5 years old? Here is what the verse says:
“He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20, AMP)
It is likely that the very first thing we can and really do need to understand about the second coming is about when it is going to happen.Lots of people think they know the “answer.”
Forget what Jehovah’s Witnesses say about how Jesus has already returned, (secretly, in 1914 and 1975 to name just some of the dates of their failed prophecy) because one quick look around us shows that clearly Jesus did not yet return, and the Bible does not support such beliefs! Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that Jesus Christ is never returning personally or bodily to the earth. What Christians commonly call the “second coming” of Christ, according to the Watchtower doctrine, is his invisible presence in a spiritual, figurative sense. All of this contradicts the Bible.(*1)
And don’t believe what Mormons teach that Jesus has already done a quick side trip to North America BEFORE this second coming of the Bible prophecy. (**2) That is just plain fiction and is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. I live in North America and I do not see any evidence that Jesus was here to fiddle around for a while in North America, contradicting His own prophecy in the Bible. And so the first thing to understand is really simple. No one can know the exact time Jesus will return.
And according to the Bible we cannot not believe the likes of Dr David Jeremiah who teaches a variation of the widely held beliefs of a secret rapture. (***3) The Bible clearly disproves this in Rev 1:7 and many other places:
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Many preachers come along and say things that we count as Gospel truth, just because of who they are, what we think they represent. Correctly understood in all its bearings, Bible prophecy is not based on any such “private interpretations:” Jesus says
I have come with my Father’s authority, but you have not received me; when, however, someone comes with his own authority, you will receive him.(John 5:43, GNB)
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (2 Pet 1:20)
If anyone tells you that they know exactly when Jesus is coming, that is a private interpretation:
“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.(Mat 24:36 AMP)
It is a fact that one day Jesus will return, though even to the saints His coming will be an overwhelming surprise-for all slumber and sleep in their long wait (Mat 25:5).
Even if we are not quite agreed on the nature of the second coming, it is very clear that all are agreed that no one can tell us the actual time date or hour that Jesus is coming.
The Certainty of Christ’s Return
The fact that Jesus is coming again is agreed on by almost everyone so let us see if we can build on that from what the Bible teaches us. The apostles and other early Christians considered Christ’s return “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13; Heb 9:28). They expected all the prophecies and promises of Scripture to be fulfilled at the Second Advent (see 2 Pet 3:13; Isa 65:17),
The second coming is the very goal of our Christian pilgrimage. The culmination of all Bible prophecy. The second coming is a part of HIS STORY, not history. All who love Christ look forward eagerly to the day when they will be able to share face-to-face fellowship with Him-and with the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the angels.
The day when the Lord comes again will surprise everyone like the coming of a thief. The sky will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the sky will be destroyed with fire. And the earth and everything in it will be burned up. Everything will be destroyed in this way.
What kind of people should you be (while waiting for Jesus to come?)
Obviously, your lives should be holy and devoted to God.
You should be looking forward to the day of God, wanting more than anything else for it to come soon. When it comes, the earth will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the sky will melt with heat. But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new sky and a new earth. That will be the place where goodness lives. (2 Pet 3:10-13, ESV)
IF there was a “secret rapture” then why would the earth not be destroyed then?
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (2 Thes 2:7-8)
Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7, Dan 7:13, Zech 12:10, John 19:37)
Here John carries us forward to the second advent of Christ in glory, the climax and crowning event of His intervention in behalf of this fallen world. Once Jesus came in weakness, now He comes in power; once in humility, now in glory. Jesus doesn’t come secretly. Jesus comes with clouds, every eye will see Jesus and in like manner as He ascended. (Acts 1:9; Acts 1:11.)
“Every eye shall see Him.” (Rev 1:7)
How much plainer can it be said? All who are alive at the time of His coming shall see Jesus. We know of no personal coming of Christ in Scripture that will be as the stillness of midnight or take place only in the desert or in the secret chamber. Jesus does not come as a thief in the sense of sneaking in secretly or quietly upon the world.
Jesus does come to take to Himself His dearest treasure, His sleeping and His living saints, Himself His dearest treasure, His sleeping and His living saints, whom He has purchased with His own precious blood; whom He has wrested from the power of death in a just, fair, and open conflict.
Jesus’ second coming will be no less open and triumphant. It will be with the brilliancy and splendor of the lightning as it shines from east to the west. (Mat 24:27.) It will be with the sound of a trumpet that will pierce to earth’s lowest depths, and with a mighty voice that shall wake the sainted sleepers from their dusty beds. (Mat 24:31, margin; 1 Thes 4:16.)
Yes, Jesus will come upon the wicked as a thief, only because they persistently shut their eyes to the clear signs in scripture of His approach, and will not believe the declarations of His word that Jesus is at the door. (Mat 24:33, Mark 13:29)
To represent two comings, a private and a public one, in connection with the second advent, as many modern-day preachers represent, is completely misleading and wholly unwarranted from the Scriptures. Such ideas are clear examples of the “private interpretations’ that we are warned against and in some cases may even be referring to the following text about one of the really disturbing signs of the last days:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Tim 4:1, NKJV)
“They Also Which Pierced Him.”
They also (in addition to the “every eye” before mentioned) who were chiefly involved as the perpetrators of Christ’s death shall behold Him returning to earth in triumph and glory. But how is this? They are not now living, they are not now resurrected, and how then shall they behold Him when He comes? This question cannot be answered by “secret rapture” tenets.
We know that there will be a resurrection from the dead. This is the only possible avenue to life for those who have already been once laid in the grave. But how is it that these wicked persons who pierced Jesus come up at this time, since the general resurrection of the wicked does not take place until a thousand years after the second advent? (Rev 20:1-6.) Those that pierced Jesus are not alive now. Only the righteous who are alive, and who have died will be resurrected at Christ’s second coming. None of us who may be alive then when Jesus comes will ever go up to meet Jesus in those clouds before those righteous who have already been laid in the grave. We will all go up TOGETHER to meet Jesus “in the air:”
The Coming of the Lord
1Th 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
1Th 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1Th 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
There are in the world today many who close their eyes to the evidences that Christ has given to warn men of His coming. They seek to quiet all apprehension, while at the same time the signs of the end are rapidly fulfilling, and the world is hastening to the time when the Son of man shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven.
Paul teaches that it is wrong to be indifferent to the signs which are to precede the second coming of Christ. Those guilty of this neglect he calls children of the night and of darkness. He encourages the vigilant and watchful with these words: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” {AA 260.1}
Especially important to the church in our time are the teachings of the apostle upon this point. To those living so near the great consummation, the words of Paul should come with telling force: “Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” {AA 260.2}
References:
*1 “Shedding Light on Christ’s Presence,” Watchtower, May 1, 1993, 11
**2 see 3 Nephi, in Book Of Mormon
***3https://davidjeremiah. WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THE LORD RETURNS? This coming event is the first part of Christ’s two-part return to earth. First, He’ll remove the Church from the world. Second, seven years later, He’ll establish His Kingdom on earth.
Has Dr Jeremiah forgotten the following? 3 see Mat 24:33 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.(Mat 24:33, KJV) + Deut 13:1-3; Mark 13:21; Luke 17:23-24, Luke 21:8; John 5:43
Jesus Wants Your Lunch
December 3, 2022 – In: We Are His Witnesses
“None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” (Isa 59:4)”…we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places” (Isa 59:9-10)
tenderly cared for
Like many of us today, Jeremiah looked around at everything that was going on and God had to sort of stop him in his tracks to say:
“So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with the people today, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of relative calm, what’s going to happen when troubles really break loose like the Jordan in flood? Those closest to you, your own brothers and cousins, are working against you. They’re out to get you. They’ll stop at nothing. Don’t trust them, especially when they’re smiling. (Jer 12:5-6, Message) Jesus sounded a similar warning when he said: “I am come to set a person at variance against their father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Many of the children of God have found this to be true, greatly to their sorrow. No foes can wound us so sorely as those of our own household. Or those in our own churches. They get at our hearts, and cut us to the very quick, while others can only give us flesh wounds. But the Bible explains that this is how it will be: Wherever light comes, darkness will be opposed to it. Truth will always find error ready to devour it if it can. Expect this, and half the bitterness of it will be gone when it comes because you did expect it. “To be forewarned” here “is to be forearmed.” One Christian writer has stated it like this: “My trust is in God. I have learned not to be surprised at opposition in any form or from almost any source. I expect to be betrayed, as was my Master, by professed friends. {RH, October 16, 1883 par. 17}”
Many people have asked, “Why are some people in our society today so prosperous? Why are so many others struggling, languishing, just for the basics?” (See, for some examples, Job 21:4-21 and Hab 1:1-4.)
Jeremiah knew that God’s justice would ultimately come, but he was impatient because he wanted justice to come quickly. God didn’t even give a doctrinal answer; instead, God gave a challenge: If Jeremiah couldn’t handle this, how would he handle the injustices ahead that the Bible calls “the time of the end?” It is natural for us to demand fair play and cry for justice against those who take advantage of others. But when we call for justice, we must realize that we ourselves would be in big trouble if God gave each of us what we truly deserve. It is because of the cross that we are not consumed by the state of things. Jesus Himself was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. God’s mercies are new every morning
Life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah despite his love for and His obedience to God. When he called to God for relief,God’s reply was in effect, “If you think this is bad, how are you going to cope when it gets really tough?” God’s answers to prayer are not always nice or easy to handle. Any Christian who has experienced war, bereavement, poverty, or a serious illness knows this. We are to be committed to God even when the going gets tough and when our prayers for relief are not immediately answered.
There are some amongst God’s people today who cannot even afford to buy new shoes for church when they need to, or for gas to drive back and forth to have “fellowship” with all the financially well off ones who don’t give it a second thought. “Inactive” members are sometimes absent for good reasons. Because we wont call people up anymore to see how they are doing. I have spoken to dozens of people in recent weeks who echo similar sentiments. Many people who are still active have expressed concerns that they will go to church and not one person will say hello. I guess this is why the Bible says “the love of many will wax cold,” (Mat 24:12).
As you hear about Christians suffering for their faith, remember that they are your brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for them. Ask God what you can do to help them in their troubles. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. But when all the parts join together to ease the suffering, the whole body benefits (1 Cor 12:26).
With false teaching and loose morals comes a particularly destructive disease—the loss of true love for God and others. Sin cools your love for God and others by turning your focus on yourself. You cannot truly love if you think only of yourself.
Some people near you are homeless today, they will be homeless over what we call “the holidays.” You know, those special times of the year when we act all “generous” to the ones we ignore the rest of the year. And yet, it could be “one of these little ones” that Jesus uses the most. They might have a meager bagged lunch, compared to your big turkey dinner, that they got from someone in society who does care all year long. And then Jesus might just come along anyways and want their lunch! NOT your lunch! With all the fancy trimmings. Jesus may just want their lunch! With as little as they might already have, Jesus specifically might just ask for their lunch. Not the ones whose lunch box is full of all kinds of gourmet delights, and tasty desserts. Jesus just might ask for the most meager lunch in the crowd:
And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. (Mat 14:21 KJV) Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed over 5,000 people. What he was originally given seemed insufficient, but in his hands it became more than enough. We often feel that our contribution to Jesus is meager, but he can use and multiply whatever we give him, whether it is talent, time, or treasure. It is when we give them to Jesus that our resources are multiplied. If Jesus ever wants your lunch, just give it to Him and see what he will do!
I can’t believe that sometimes I am audacious enough to just say to Jesus, by my words or my actions: “Hey Lord, when I really want your opinion, Ill just give it to you.” Those of us who bandy about the promises like we have some kind of special spiritual prowess or something can little imagine how much we interfere with the working of The Holy Spirit. None of us are “spiritual giants.” None of us are half as “prepared” as what we keep telling others they “need” to be.
I have had such terrible things happen over the years, and I am seeing a pattern It usually means God is trying to get my attention about something. The Holy Spirit is often waiting to “do a new thing.” (Isa 43:19, 2 Cor 5;17) What I just admitted is simply an outworking of this process. Of current events I am going through now. God is still trying to say something. Do I really want to listen? Or am I just playing along to get an “answer?”
In my experience, when The Holy Spirit is trying to speak, it is rarely about other people. The Spirit is addressing each of us personally today. And I think this might be why the Bible tells us to “examine ourselves” (2 Cor 13:5) and that doesn’t mean examining other people most of the time. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…” (2 Cor 13:5) We must stop ignoring the work of The Holy Spirit. Especially as we try to keep applying this essential work to others, rather than to ourselves, personally. “God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to the soul. {COL 132.2}
The Corinthians were called to examine and test themselves to see if they really were Christians. Just as we get physical checkups, Paul urges us to give ourselves spiritual checkups. “Examine yourselves.” We should look for a growing awareness of Christ’s presence and power in our life. Then will we know if we are true Christians or merely impostors. And then will others also know that we have been with Jesus, who Himself says “By this ALL will know that you are my disciples; if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
The true “warning message” is this: Some day, God is going to reveal the fact to every Christian, that the very principles they now rebel against the most, have been the instruments which He has used in perfecting their characters and molding them into perfection.
Sometimes, our preachers fall into the trap of hurrying everybody up with a flurry of frenetic activity to spread the gospel “while we still can.” I have heard some of our leading ministries hurrying, garnering in extra funds because “this may be our last chance to finish the work.” But God’s work, His Spirit, knows neither haste nor delay. Remember that the Bible tells us that The Spirit will speak “EXPRESSLY” in the last days. My special temptation has often been to perpetual activity, “witnessing” is what I liked to call it. To the exclusion of the time needed for prayer, study, and spiritual meditation. My argument for this keeps telling the same thing: “well people are dying for want of salvation, and we are facing the “final crises” so I have worked away like an idiot, like those poor disciples who sweated and worked all night fishing and never caught a thing. And I did all this “for Jesus.” I know one church who recently had a “revival” series and not one new person came into the church because of it.
But look at what happens in that Bible story where the disciples had been trying all night to catch a fish! In the early morning gray of the dawn, just a few minutes under the direct presence of Jesus had filled the previously empty nets of the disciples that day. (see John 21:26) I cannot help but think how often I have ignored this foundational principle of just listening to Jesus, or waiting (tarrying) for His Spirit, looking for the workings of His Spirit. Of hungering for the filling of His Spirit, as opposed to my own wisdom. The Bible tells us about how the disciples were to literally wait and do nothing until they had personally experienced The Holy Spirit.
I wonder? Have I ever received the Spirit since I first believed? (Acts 19:2) The Holy Spirit is telling us that we cant do anything effective unless we are endued with His presence and His power. Jesus can and will do more through me in just five minutes that he could ever do no matter how great a sermon I preached, or how busy I think I am with “God’s work.”
Although true love begins at the cross; all true Christian service begins at our personal Pentecost. (Rev 12:1-11, 1 John 1;1-3)
Now here is the really disturbing part of our “personal Pentecost.” We may notice here that the disciples were to just wait somewhere that was quite simply, a nasty place to be. Fellow church members were likely telling them the mantra about “getting out of the city.” BUT the disciples were EXPRESSLY told to tarry in Jerusalem, the big city, with it’s babble of voices, and it’s crowded streets. They were not once told to “get out of the cities” and go where its peaceful and nice to wait for The Holy Spirit. No! They were all EXPRESSLY told to wait in the very city that had just crucified their Lord a few weeks previous! It was the city that despised and spurned the very prophets over which Jesus had mourned
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and has stoned those I sent out to you; how often would I have gathered your children together, , just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and yet you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” (Luke 13;34,35)
Jerusalem was the last place in the world where the disciples would have chosen to wait for The Holy Spirit. And this proves that God can and does bless any person, anywhere, anytime. If the people there had just gone into the quiet countryside, away from the crowds, the filth. The people. Out of touch with the crying needs of humanity, the temptation would have arisen to just want to stay parked right there with all their purported “peace and safety.” But Jesus says EXPRESSLY that “…ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall [THEN] be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Legal religion will not answer for this age. We may perform all the outward acts of service, and yet be as destitute of the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit as the hills of Gilboa were destitute of dew and rain. We all need spiritual moisture; and we need also the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to soften and subdue our hearts. We are always to be as firm as a rock to principle. Bible principles are to be taught, and then backed up by holy practice.–Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 417, 418. {ChS 263.3}
Just remember, when you go out the door this morning have your lunch ready for when Jesus asks for it. God is going to use those of us who have the least, to do the most to finish the work. Legal religion will not answer for this age. We may perform all the outward acts of service, and yet be as destitute of the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit as the hills of Gilboa were destitute of dew and rain. We need spiritual moisture; and we need also the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to soften and subdue our hearts.–Review and Herald, May 26, 1903. {Ev 169.5}
A legal religion has been thought to be quite the correct religion for this time. But it is a mistake. The rebuke of Christ to the Pharisees is applicable to those who have lost from the heart their first love. A cold, legal religion can never lead souls to Christ; for it is a loveless, Christless religion. When fastings and prayers are practiced in a self-justifying spirit, they are abominable to God. The solemn assembly for worship, the round of religious ceremonies, the external humiliation, the imposed sacrifice– all proclaim to the world the testimony that the doer of these things considers themselves righteous. These things call attention to the observer of rigorous duties, saying, “This person is entitled to heaven.” But it is all a deception.
Denominated religious works are good, in and of themselves, but they will not buy for us an entrance into heaven. The one great Offering that has been made (on Calvary) is ample for all who will believe. The love of Christ will animate the believer with new life. He who drinks from the water of the fountain of life, will be filled with the new wine of the kingdom. Faith in Christ will be the means whereby the right spirit and motive will actuate the believer, and all goodness and heavenly-mindedness will proceed from him who looks unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith. Look up to God, look not to other people, and you will become totally “new.” (2 Cor 5:17). God is your heavenly Father who is willing patiently to bear with your infirmities, your weakness, and to forgive and heal them all “in His time.” (Eccl 3;11).
“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). By beholding Christ, you will become changed, until you will hate your former pride, your former vanity and self-esteem, your self-righteousness and unbelief. You will cast these sins aside as a worthless burden, and walk humbly, meekly, trustfully, before God. You will practice love, patience, gentleness, goodness, mercy, and every grace that dwells in the child of God, and will at last find a place among the sanctified and holy. {1SM 388.1}
George Mueller once wrote:
“For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now, in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to the ever present Jesus, as I walk up and down in my room, and say, “Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone– Thou art with me, Thou art my Friend. Now, Lord, comfort me, strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou seest he needs.” And we should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experimentally, habitually to be our Friend: at all times, and under all circumstances, ready to prove Himself to be our Friend.”
For the Christians, afflictions cannot injure when blended with submission to our Lord Jesus.
You may even end up just tell Jesus without Him asking:
“Here is my lunch Lord.” It’s not much Lord, but you can have it all.
