Author Topic: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias  (Read 27979 times)

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JimB

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #20 on: May 03, 2016, 06:19:21 AM »
When the Spirit of God, with its marvelous awakening power, touches the soul, it abases human pride. Worldly pleasure and position and power are seen to be worthless. "Imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God" are cast down; every thought is brought into captivity "to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5. Then humility and self-sacrificing love, so little valued among men, are exalted as alone of worth. This is the work of the gospel, of which John's message was a part. 

I just love this passage. It shows the power of gospel. So many are satisfied with "just" being forgiven. They do not think the gospel also gives power to obey and to truly live the life of a Christian.
By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest.  {DA 291.1}

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #21 on: July 28, 2016, 04:35:07 AM »

Amen, Jim.  "Self-sacrificing love."  What is it? It is the life of a Christian as revealed in the life of Christ. How many times have we revealed self-sacrificing love?  What does it mean? It means we put someone else first instead of self. If we do not believe the gospel, the power of grace to change us, then we cannot be unselfish. We may give something to another, but only if we benefit from it. All we do is contaminated with self unless we be born again of His Spirit.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #22 on: July 28, 2016, 05:20:41 AM »
In our Sabbath School lessons, we are often asked "How can you do this or that?" referring to things that only can be done by Christ working through the repentant sinner. In our current quarter, we are extolled to work for the "community".  There are times when the author of our lesson ties this work to being converted, but in many quarterly lessons there is no such thing being taught.

It has been my habit to answer this type question by responding, "the answer is always the same, we need Jesus in our hearts." Thus, hoping for the reader to understand it is impossible to do these things unless we be in a converted state.

The church remains in a Laodicean condition where many are not in a converted state. Either they have not remained converted or they were buried alive when baptized. Either way, they cannot do that which they are being asked to do until they see their continual need of Jesus to do any good thing.

In today's reading, we see the truth. It is the power of grace received into the heart that causes the convert to want to labor for Christ, it cannot be held back. Thus, our teaching needs to focus on our continual need of Christ. Then the work will move forward quickly. It is Christ we need, and we need to be "re-converted" daily. We need to maintain our connection with Christ, then we will be a witness to the world of the power of grace.

   Philip said to Nathanael, "Come and see." He did not ask him to accept another's testimony, but to behold Christ for himself. Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, His disciples are His representatives among men, and one of the most effective ways of winning souls to Him is in exemplifying His character in our daily life. Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are. Men may combat and defy our logic, they may resist our appeals; but a life of disinterested love is an argument they cannot gainsay. A consistent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a power in the world.
     The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character.
     And he who seeks to give light to others will himself be blessed. "There shall be showers of blessing." "He that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25. God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid; but in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work. In order to enter into His joy,--the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice,--we must participate in His labors for their redemption. 


If you have not experienced this, then you are missing the great joy in life. It can change today if you will give your heart fully to Christ. How can this happen? It is by beholding the loveliness of Jesus. By beholding daily, we become changed daily. It would indeed be good to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Christ. That is how we are converted. That is how the heart is won to Christ. We taste of His goodness and the heart is transformed. "Come and see!"
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #23 on: July 28, 2016, 05:27:24 PM »
I love how Jesus LIVED the teachings of the Word! I also desire His experience, and I know that that is God's will!!!! I get so excited beholding Jesus because His loveliness is so transformational!

The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character. 

My prayer is to be a teacher "after the divine order" as a pastor in the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, to preach only the truth of the gospel, and to uplift Jesus continually. Jesus Christ is coming soon, and I am so happy to be where God has placed me and so happy to have a worldwide remnant "family" who also want to uplift Jesus and experience His character in their lives!

Hallelujah!!! All glory to God in Christ Jesus our Lord by the power of His Spirit!
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2016, 06:33:17 AM »
Amen, Pastor Sean!  Is it not an amazing thing, to be touched with a live coal from off the altar. It is a miracle which works sanctification in the life of the hearer. He then has "living water" welling up within his own heart that can touch the heart of others. Can pride live in these hearts? No, not as long as the truth is kept in the heart and the mind. What happens to the thoughts of those who are filled with truth? The power of the Spirit of God is power to resist temptations to sin. This is the work of the true gospel of grace.


   Anciently, when a king journeyed through the less frequented parts of his dominion, a company of men was sent ahead of the royal chariot to level the steep places and to fill up the hollows, that the king might travel in safety and without hindrance. This custom is employed by the prophet to illustrate the work of the gospel. "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low." When the Spirit of God, with its marvelous awakening power, touches the soul, it abases human pride. Worldly pleasure and position and power are seen to be worthless. "Imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God" are cast down; every thought is brought into captivity "to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5. Then humility and self-sacrificing love, so little valued among men, are exalted as alone of worth. This is the work of the gospel, of which John's message was a part. 


This is what we see in this chapter that reveals the change being wrought in the life of the disciples of Jesus. The message of John the Baptist is working a change in their hearts. Their faith is a faith that needs to be strengthened, for they do not know their continual need of Jesus in order to resist sin. But, their faith is as the mustard seed, it is growing rapidly as they respond to the drawing of Jesus. As they "come and see", they taste of the goodness of God and having beheld the loveliness of Jesus, they are constrained to share this wonderful message with others who are open to truth.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #25 on: October 23, 2016, 08:07:29 AM »
Amen, Richard, and such will be our experience also as we "come and see" Jesus from day to day in these powerful and transformational times we spend reading, meditating, and reflecting upon the life of Christ in each chapter of Desire of Ages in conjunction with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, from which a clear understanding of the gospel allows us to more fully appreciate how all of Scripture points us to the same truth in Christ. One thing that is very clear in this chapter is the necessity of a personal experience. Many in the churches depend upon the teachings of a pastor, a leader, or someone in their family as the guide of conscience or the one who will determine for them "what is truth." Often this is not done from a living person, but from what a person reads or hears on television, radio, or receives via the internet. Yet one must test things for themselves. We must individually "come and see." If I choose to spend a "thoughtful hour" upon the life of Jesus each day, while it is true that my character can be a witness, it is not the same as someone personally beginning to spend that time with Jesus for themselves, and having that blessed experience of beholding Him, and being changed into His lovely character more fully each day.

     If Nathanael had trusted to the rabbis for guidance, he would never have found Jesus. It was by seeing and judging for himself that he became a disciple. So in the case of many today whom prejudice withholds from good. How different would be the result if they would "come and see"! 
     While they trust to the guidance of human authority, none will come to a saving knowledge of the truth. Like Nathanael, we need to study God's word for ourselves, and pray for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. He who saw Nathanael under the fig tree will see us in the secret place of prayer. Angels from the world of light are near to those who in humility seek for divine guidance. 


There are so many "gospels" that are created and sustained by only human authority and cannot be sustained by a consistent study of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. But there is really only one "everlasting gospel" (Revelation 14:6) that is consistent from Genesis to Revelation, and which the Spirit of Prophecy consistently reveals.

The everlasting gospel reveals the sinfulness of humanity and the constraining loveliness of God in Christ who gave His Son to live, die, rise, and intercede for us in preparation for an eternity with Him. The everlasting gospel reveals the need for an entire surrender to take place before a new birth experience can be realized in which the first gospel promise to implant "enmity" (Genesis 3:15) in the heart against sin can be fulfilled in the believing child of God. By beholding "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), the heart is softened and subdued; the new birth transformation becomes the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36:26-27, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." This new heart and mind comes to each soul who comes to behold the Lamb of God and fully surrenders to that revelation, and by beholding the soul is changed from "glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18), from character to character. The child of God who lives by faith upon Jesus is imbued with the Holy Spirit by becoming a partaker of the "divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), so that the Holy Spirit fills the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Such a conversion must be continually maintained by a living-faith surrender to Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit, which will continually transform the character to be more like Jesus, as through trials character is formed (Romans 5:1-5) and the soul is prepared for greater trials before the second coming of Jesus. Learning one's continual need of Jesus, the soul comes to hate sin because it crucifies afresh the Son of God (Hebrews 6:6), and reveals a separation between the soul and God (Isaiah 59:2). "When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us" {DA 668.3}. The weak, vacillating character is transformed into one of steadfastness through Christ's strength made perfect in the weakest of His children who continually trust themselves to His keeping grace and power. They are His witnesses, and are enabled to reveal His character to the onlooking universe.

What a privilege the gospel bestows upon humanity, who, born in sin and unable to do anything good by nature, are made partakers of the divine nature and are enabled through divine grace to keep the flesh under, so that Christ may live out His life in us, for, "not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us" {DA 123.2}.

Our thoughts are where the battle of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan lies--and we can truly believe that Christ has the power to keep us from allowing our minds to wander away from Christ. We are empowered to have such an experience as we consistently learn to spend a "thoughtful hour upon the life of Christ" {DA 83.4}, daily learning of our constant need of Jesus! Such is the power of grace to keep us from falling into sin! All praise and glory goes to Him!

Similar to the temptation of the first disciples who could have trusted to the religious leaders of their time, we find that such is the condition now in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in a Laodicean condition. It is never safe to trust to human authority for a source of truth. We must come and see Jesus for ourselves, and daily be learners who desire to have our entire lives conformed to His divine image. Once we consent to surrender our will, heart, and mind entirely to Him, and allow Him to give us a new heart and mind, there is no limit to what He can teach us from the pure sources of truth uncontaminated by the chaff of man's utterance, opinions, and traditions. Let us learn to study and search for ourselves. Here, as we see Jesus in today's reading, we find a fresh revelation of His loveliness, and in beholding Him, as we surrender our lives to Him continually, there cannot but be fruit in a life that is more fully like Him.
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #26 on: January 18, 2017, 07:11:07 AM »
I love this chapter, and I love how clearly Jesus is revealed to us!

The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character. 

We live in a world where there is a lot of "profession" of Christ, but what we learn here is that when we truly learn of Him, we will be "sanctified" because we will have an "inwrought conviction and experience" as did Jesus. What a privilege! As we spend this "thoughtful hour" with Jesus, He is preparing us to share with others--because He is a living reality to us!
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2017, 07:42:13 AM »
Amen, Pastor Sean. 

When one is truly born again of the Spirit, the sanctification of the character is revealed in a changed life. What change? One may still keep the wrong day or eat the wrong food, because they are ignorant of some truth. Some accomplish many wonderful works, yet will be lost. Then how can we know the false from the true? Jesus tells us how we can discern the truly converted in the Book of Matthew.

 7:16   Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 
 7:17   Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 
 7:18   A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
 7:19   Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
 7:20   Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 
 7:21   Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
 7:22   Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 
 7:23   And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 
 7:24   Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 
 7:25   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 
 7:26   And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 
 7:27   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 


The character is changed when the heart is made new. There are indeed outward actions that are not dependent upon a knowledge of what is right or wrong. Jesus tells us we may know them by their fruits. What fruit? The fruits that come when the Spirit takes possession of the heart. The fruits of the Spirit. Which ones? All of them. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, not one will be missing. Then how can one grow in grace, in sanctification? He can become more patient, more loving, more, gentle, more strong to face greater trials. Just as Jesus grew in grace, so we may also.

There are some things we must do in order to be converted, then to grow in grace. It is by knowing God that we fall in love with Him and give the whole heart to Him. We must "come and taste" of His grace.

     If Nathanael had trusted to the rabbis for guidance, he would never have found Jesus. It was by seeing and judging for himself that he became a disciple. So in the case of many today whom prejudice withholds from good. How different would be the result if they would "come and see"!
 
     While they trust to the guidance of human authority, none will come to a saving knowledge of the truth. Like Nathanael, we need to study God's word for ourselves, and pray for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. He who saw Nathanael under the fig tree will see us in the secret place of prayer. Angels from the world of light are near to those who in humility seek for divine guidance. 


All must develop a personal relationship with Jesus. By beholding His loveliness, we shall be changed in character (2 Cor. 3:18).  Then after we have seen Jesus for ourselves, "in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work." Sharing with others what we have seen and received will not only reveal Christ to others, but it will work on our own character. Great joy will be had and transmitted to others. Come and see what we have found. Taste of His grace.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Dorine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #28 on: January 19, 2017, 08:30:42 AM »
There was a time in my life that I worked so hard to manufacture these fruits. The harder I tried the worse I was. I wanted to be like Jesus. I wanted His character to show in my life. But something was wrong.

Then I came across Matt. 6:33.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
Even though it was talking about our temporal needs I saw it as a promise to also work in me to produce the fruit these verses are talking about. So if I make Him first in my life each and every day and in every situation of life through out the day He will produce the fruit.

Another text that helped me greatly was 2 Cor. 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
So the transformation I most desired is growing day by day through constant communion with Christ and studying His word.  It is a daily experience that came by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Not by my determination to do it right, but by my surrender to the Holy Spirit at all times.

What a liberating revelation. If we don't give up in our searching to know Him He will reveal Himself to us by changing our characters.

Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I like this quote taken from chapter 14

"In taking upon Himself humanity, our Saviour unites His interests with those of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, while through His divinity He grasps the throne of God. And thus Christ is the medium of communication of men with God and of God with men."

What a promise to cling to. How could we ever doubt His love, care and concern for us.


But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press  toward the mark. Phil. 3:13,14

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #29 on: January 19, 2017, 02:24:02 PM »
Amen, Dorine!!

There is no reason why 2 Cor. remains a secret. We are hopeful that by often repeating the lesson, it will cause many to learn the lesson, and it will not longer be kept secret!  :)  What we can do when we are not converted is to come to Jesus. We do this by spending time with Him that we might know Him.

Thanks for sharing, Dorine. The more of us who repeat the truth, the faster many will join with us!
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #30 on: April 15, 2017, 06:30:35 AM »
It is always a blessing to behold the loveliness of Jesus--and it is also a blessing to see that His grace draws hearts, like that of Nathanael:

At the time when Philip called him, Nathanael had withdrawn to a quiet grove to meditate upon the announcement of John and the prophecies concerning the Messiah. He prayed that if the one announced by John was the deliverer, it might be made known to him, and the Holy Spirit rested upon him with assurance that God had visited His people and raised up a horn of salvation for them. Philip knew that his friend was searching the prophecies, and while Nathanael was praying under a fig tree, Philip discovered his retreat. They had often prayed together in this secluded spot hidden by the foliage.

For some reason this encouraged me this morning--that here are grown men that are gathering under a fig tree to pray about the Messiah, and they earnestly sought Him. At a time in which ardent piety is so low in much of Christianity, and all too often in a church that is in a Laodicean condition, it is encouraging to know that the Lord's arm is not shortened, that the Holy Spirit is STILL DRAWING SINCERE HEARTS, and that as we uplift Jesus Christ He will be able to do the greatest miracle: change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh, a heart that is a partaker of the divine nature! May we honestly pray and seek those who are hungering and thirsting for Jesus this day and each day, and never be discouraged even when it seems that few want to "come and see."
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #31 on: April 15, 2017, 06:42:53 AM »
Amen, Pastor Sean!   I too was encouraged by the promises brought forth in today's reading.

"I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias."
     The scripture to which John referred is that beautiful prophecy of Isaiah: "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her appointed time is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. . . . The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Isaiah 40:1-5, margin. 


John was an example of those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ. God knows our condition as a people, and has promised His forgiveness if we will come unto Him just as we are. What a God! So patient and full of grace!! He is calling forth disciples today just as He called them at His first coming.

"John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, to do such a work as Elijah did. If the Jews had received him, it would have been accomplished for them. But they did not receive his message. To them he was not Elijah. He could not fulfill for them the mission he came to accomplish."  But, in our day when God sent one who came in the Spirit and power of Elijah, we as a people have received her. And the message is the same today as it was then: With the light of the glory of God resting upon her, the prophet stretches out her hands, declaring, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"

And in our day, there are those who have understood this important message and are giving it, for by beholding the Lamb which was slain from the foundation of the earth, we are changed into His character by the Spirit.

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #32 on: July 11, 2017, 04:25:04 AM »
Remember when you first found Jesus to be your Saviour? What did you want to do? In today's reading we read what those who found Jesus wanted to do:

     They desired to be alone with Jesus, to sit at His feet, and hear His words.
     If John and Andrew had possessed the unbelieving spirit of the priests and rulers, they would not have been found as learners at the feet of Jesus. They would have come to Him as critics, to judge His words. Many thus close the door to the most precious opportunities. But not so did these first disciples. They had responded to the Holy Spirit's call in the preaching of John the Baptist. Now they recognized the voice of the heavenly Teacher. To them the words of Jesus were full of freshness and truth and beauty. A divine illumination was shed upon the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. The many-sided themes of truth stood out in new light.
     It is contrition and faith and love that enable the soul to receive wisdom from heaven. Faith working by love is the key of knowledge, and everyone that loveth "knoweth God." 1 John 4:7.   


If we want to know truth, then we must know of God's love. By learning of His love, we will return that love and thus open the door to the wisdom of heaven! Is this not the message to the Laodiceans?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #33 on: July 11, 2017, 04:30:51 AM »
Amen, Richard! By beholding Jesus and surrendering to His marvelous love and grace, we are transformed in character, elevated in thought, and renewed into the image of God by the indwelling of His Spirit, the divine nature that keeps our flesh crucified! Praise God for the beauty of Jesus character.

This morning the Holy Spirit revealed something to me in our reading that I do not think I ever saw before:

Andrew sought to impart the joy that filled his heart. Going in search of his brother Simon, he cried, "We have found the Messias." Simon waited for no second bidding. He also had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and he hastened to the Saviour. The eye of Christ rested upon him, reading his character and his life history. His impulsive nature, his loving, sympathetic heart, his ambition and self-confidence, the history of his fall, his repentance, his labors, and his martyr death,--the Saviour read it all, and He said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."   

Christ's foreseeing all that was to befall Peter is a clear example of Christ's divinity. His nature was human and divine, and when He read all about Peter's life and experience, He loved him and called him! Are you not thankful that God is no respecter of persons, that He sees ALL ABOUT YOU and still calls you to love, serve, and follow Him? Christ knew what His grace would do to transform Peter's character. And so it will be for us--only by a continual surrender to Christ are we enabled to resist the clamors of our fallen nature, and be kept from falling into sin. Had Peter learned this earlier, he would have been saved from his disgraceful fall. But praise God that Peter was restored, and that God's work is to restore the sinner, not cast out one who comes to Him in penitence and faith!! Praise the Lord for the loveliness of Jesus that attracts us to Him!!!
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Dorine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #34 on: July 11, 2017, 05:25:41 AM »
One of the  most important things that this chapter points out to me is the individual personal contact with family, friends, neighbours and all who I come in contact with.

"Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, His disciples are His representatives among men, and one of the most effective ways of winning souls to Him is in exemplifying His character in our daily life. Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are."

"There are many who need the ministration of loving Christian hearts. Many have gone down to ruin who might have been saved if their neighbors, common men and women, had put forth personal effort for them. Many are waiting to be personally addressed. In the very family the neighborhood, the town, where we live, there is work for us to do as missionaries for Christ. If we are Christians, this work will be our delight. No sooner is one converted than there is born within him a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus."

....."When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice."

What a privilege, what a responsibility is ours to share the most wonderful message of God's love to all we come in contact with.

I'd like to share a little experience I had last year to demonstrate this very thing.

Each spring I grow and sell tomato transplants. They get the best care anyone could give to them. They are my babies. When customers pick them up they are awed at the health of the plants compared to what they see anywhere else. I advertise through a community buy and sell and also on Kijiji. A lady contacted me through Kijiji and ordered several plants. We communicated several times through email only.When my husband delivered them to her at her work he found out that the head elder from our church was one of her co-workers.
When she found out that I went to the same church as her co-worker she said to him..."I KNEW she was a Christian."

I can't tell you how humbled I felt. All I could do was to thank God. This year she brought more customers to me because of her testimony. Her neighbours would pass her house and stop and marvel at her tomatoes. One of her co-workers emailed me and said that she had recommended my plants to him and gave me a big order.  The head elder and I are praying that this simple encounter and ongoing contact will be a means for God to reach her heart.

I know this isn't the place for testimonies but it fit in perfectly with the reading today. I couldn't resist.
But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press  toward the mark. Phil. 3:13,14

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #35 on: July 11, 2017, 06:20:34 AM »
Amen!!  We are witnesses one way or the other. God wants us to be His witnesses. Dorine, thank you for sharing that wonderful testimony of how God uses His converted children to reveal Himself to others.

I did not know you were growing tomato plants to sell. That is what Mark does. You will have to share in the Gardening Forum how we can grow better plants from seed. There is a science to it, just as there is a science to being a true Christian. There are principles Jesus has not only explained, but revealed in His short life here on Earth.

God keeps us here as He did Paul. He needs examples of what grace can do when allowed into the heart.

Pastor Sean, what a good example of the nature of Christ. Yes, He was not "just like us." He was God in the flesh. But, He took upon Himself our nature also. He came in the "likeness of sinful flesh." He gave us an example what we can become if we will become a partaker of His divine nature! What a privilege is ours!!
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

JimB

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #36 on: October 06, 2017, 04:58:45 AM »
The Saviour looked forward with joy to His work in preaching good tidings to the meek, binding up the brokenhearted, and proclaiming liberty to the captives of Satan. At thought of the precious blessings He had brought to men, Jesus added, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Just look at this! It brings joy to Christ to bestow blessings and bring good tidings to the down and out. It brings joy to Chirst when He's able to bless someone. Have you ever doubted God's love for you? Well, doubt no longer! He desires to give you good things!
By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest.  {DA 291.1}

Richard Myers

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #37 on: October 06, 2017, 06:57:46 AM »
Amen, Jim!!!  And what happens to us when we receive these blessings? We want to share them with others! I love this part of the chapter. What an opportunity is our!

     One of the most effective ways of winning souls to Him is in exemplifying His character in our daily life. Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are. Men may combat and defy our logic, they may resist our appeals; but a life of disinterested love is an argument they cannot gainsay. A consistent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a power in the world.
     The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character.
     And he who seeks to give light to others will himself be blessed. "There shall be showers of blessing." "He that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25. God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid; but in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work. In order to enter into His joy,--the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice,--we must participate in His labors for their redemption. 
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #38 on: October 06, 2017, 09:34:48 AM »
Amen, Jim and Richard!

True conversion always bears fruit in the life and character. We will want to share with others about Jesus when He is abiding in us. As He abides in us, He sheds forth the influence to us and others the fruit of His Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing in the life when we are fully surrendered to Christ, living by faith upon Him. Only through Christ can we be witnesses for Him. Pray that you may be His witness today to a soul who needs to know how much God loves them!

  "There are many who need the ministration of loving Christian hearts. Many have gone down to ruin who might have been saved if their neighbors, common men and women, had put forth personal effort for them. Many are waiting to be personally addressed. In the very family, the neighborhood, the town, where we live, there is work for us to do as missionaries for Christ. If we are Christians, this work will be our delight. No sooner is one converted than there is born within him a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus. The saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart."  {The Desire of Ages, page 141, paragraph 3}
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--14--We Have Found the Messias
« Reply #39 on: January 01, 2018, 09:58:17 AM »
Happy New Year 2018! May this year bring you closer to Jesus, and may His character be wrought out in your life!

“The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character.” – {The Desire of Ages, page 142, paragraph 1}
"When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." {The Desire of Ages, 676.4}