Author Topic: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd  (Read 15355 times)

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JimB

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #20 on: February 08, 2018, 05:25:50 AM »
Amen Dorine! He loves and cares for all of us and pays especially close attention to those who need Him the most. In the same paragraph that you shared is this statement.

As the shepherd goes before his sheep, himself first encountering the perils of the way, so does Jesus with His people. "When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them." The way to heaven is consecrated by the Saviour's footprints. The path may be steep and rugged, but Jesus has traveled that way; His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns, to make the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called to bear He Himself has borne.

This in turn reminded me of this text...

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

We are His sheep indeed and He also sends us out and He even warns us that He is sending us out in the midst of wolves. So like the paragraph the path maybe steep and rugged with cruel thorns to hurt us but Christ has already been there and has tread down some but not all the thorns making it easier for us. With His strength we can bare our share (our cross). This way may seen hard but it's much easier than the world's way since we know that the way of the transgressor is hard.
By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest.  {DA 291.1}

Dorine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #21 on: February 08, 2018, 06:46:03 AM »
Beautiful! Thank you Jim.
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

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #22 on: February 08, 2018, 07:46:57 AM »
Amen, Dorine and Jim! What a Savior we have in Jesus! He knows us so personally and can help us as our Good Shepherd!

Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He bids them, "Follow Me," and His Spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to Him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear His call, and are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.   {The Desire of Ages, page 480, paragraph 1}

I love to respond to Jesus' voice and watch how He has led in my life and keeps leading me day by day. Trust awakens, and love awakens in our hearts as we behold His loveliness and realize we have nothing to fear for the future as long as we remember how He has led us in the past and what He has taught us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!
"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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #23 on: February 08, 2018, 10:04:40 PM »
Amen, amen, and amen!!!  We certainly are so very weak, but in Christ we can do all that He asks of us. What love is revealed in today's reading! I love the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. It reveals that grace is more than a word, it is the power that transforms sinners into saints if they will behold such infinite love.

    He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6.

     The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. The Saviour would have passed through the agony of Calvary that one might be saved in His kingdom.
 
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #24 on: May 06, 2018, 05:38:52 AM »
"Again Jesus found access to the minds of His hearers by the pathway of their familiar associations. He had likened the Spirit's influence to the cool, refreshing water. He had represented Himself as the light, the source of life and gladness to nature and to man. Now in a beautiful pastoral picture He represents His relation to those that believe on Him. No picture was more familiar to His hearers than this, and Christ's words linked it forever with Himself. Never could the disciples look on the shepherds tending their flocks without recalling the Saviour's lesson. They would see Christ in each faithful shepherd. They would see themselves in each helpless and dependent flock."

I'm deeply impressed once again of the simple illustrations Jesus used to bring home the message of His love for each individual. Today there is much sermonizing and philosophical thinking to please and entertain the listeners. Instead of reaching deep into the heart it elevates the speaker and distracts from the message of God's great love for us.  My heart is drawn to Jesus because of who He is and I want to be just like Him.

"It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the  manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him."
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

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2018, 10:38:38 AM »
Amen, Dorine! Jesus did not sermonize as men do today. His teaching was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience. He experienced the things of which He spoke. He trusted His Father to shepherd Him in His will daily; He was dependent upon His Father and showed us the joy of such union and communion by His simple, profound, and yet heart-stirring lessons. He loved every soul and sought to bless everyone. This simplicity and depth of love in the gospel ministry will bear fruit--the fruit of souls converted to become like Jesus in mind and character, each reflecting in their unique person the grace of God. Each soul who tastes and sees that the Lord is good will be enabled to testify of Jesus' loveliness as their shining countenance will harmonize with how all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in their lives without one missing. This is the evidence that one loves Jesus wholeheartedly and is living up to every known statute--because Christ has ravished the heart with His love and the soul loves to go where He leads the way!

I was deeply impressed for the first time in my life with a clear understanding of how Christ is both our Father and our Brother. We have a wonderful Heavenly Father (who gave all in His Son Jesus), but we know that Jesus, as the active agent in Creation, was the one who first formed Adam and Eve from the dust. Then, in an act of beyond infinite humiliation, He chose to leave His throne and step down to be born of the very human line He first formed--once it had been weakened by 4,000 years of sin. What wondrous love is this! And then He stepped still lower in consenting to bear our sins, to die as our sacrifice on Calvary's cross, and to rise in resurrection power to then go back to heaven to minister as our High Priest in the sanctuary! Jesus thus went to His Father's throne so that we, through a living union and communion with Him already by faith, may be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in preparation for when we will be blessed to sit down with Him on His throne! Praise God!

"However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our 'everlasting Father.' And He says, 'I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father.' John 10:14, 15, R. V. What a statement is this!--the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be 'the Man that is My fellow' (Zechariah 13:7),--the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth!" {The Desire of Ages, page 483, paragraph 2}
"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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #26 on: August 01, 2018, 02:44:37 AM »
As I contemplate the significance of the love of God for us in Christ, I am moved with deep appreciation for how the experience of Christ becomes ours as we also are sent forth to seek and save the lost around us. Our experience of the love of God only deepens as we yield unreservedly to Him so He can work through us to save souls for whom an infinite price has been paid. How much is every soul you meet worth? They are worth the very life of God. We have infinite value to God, and He has infinite plans for us as His children as the overflow of His measureless love that was poured out for us in Christ who would die to redeem us and rise to give eternal life to all who will come unto Him.

 "'Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.' That is, My Father has so loved you, that He even loves Me more for giving My life to redeem you. In becoming your substitute and surety, by surrendering My life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to My Father." {The Desire of Ages, page 483, paragraph 5}


The more I contemplate the love of God, the more I want to speak of Him, share Him with others, and let all I say and do be done in this self-sacrificing love. There is no greater joy in heaven and in earth than to behold the loveliness of Jesus and share with other souls about this love that awakens love in their hearts, too! Let us go forth to share that love today in God's gracious, shepherding way!     

"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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #27 on: August 01, 2018, 06:57:51 AM »
Amen! What a revelation of the love of God! This chapter speaks mostly of the love of God for us and that it is this that transforms sinners into saints. It reveals the grace of God.It is the "living water" that brings love, joy, and peace to the soul.It is not the fear of hell nor the promise of heaven that keeps us faithful to Jesus, but His grace that motivates all who love Him supremely.

    It is the gospel of the grace of God alone that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can. Christ came that He might re-create the image of God in man; and whoever turns men away from Christ is turning them away from the source of true development; he is defrauding them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. He is a thief and a robber.   


Isaiah 53 is a most beautiful revelation of His grace and the power it has to transform the character of all who will behold Him who gave all for us while we were yet sinners.

     He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6.   


What amazing love!! Wonder O heavens and be astonished O Earth!!
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #28 on: August 01, 2018, 08:05:28 AM »
This chapter brings such calm to my soul today. I am not only one of His sheep but I'm also His daughter. He knows my name, where I live, the joys and sorrows I experience and He says I've been there and I know all about the challenges you are facing. Give them to me and follow me. I will lead you to green pastures and by still waters. I will restore your soul and give you peace. I love the peace that He gives. It's deep and satisfying. I want others to know this Jesus.


"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isa. 53:4-6".
....."He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast."
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

Pastor Sean Brizendine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #29 on: October 27, 2018, 03:27:57 AM »
Trust in the Lord. He knows our future; He plans for our happiness. We can rest in the Savior's arms on this beautiful Sabbath day and learn of His love. His leading is a revealing of His love, and He has purposes of mercy in even our most trying experiences. Love poured into our souls by the Holy Spirit lifts us into His presence and fills our hearts with joy and peace (and all of the fruits of the Spirit!). Let us yield continually to Jesus, who will shepherd us in the way that He knows to be best! Let God plan for you!

  "Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Reader, He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust."{The Desire of Ages, page 483, 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}

Dorine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #30 on: October 27, 2018, 05:59:10 AM »
"He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. . . . And the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice." The Eastern shepherd does not drive his sheep. He depends not upon force or fear; but going before, he calls them. They know his voice, and obey the call. So does the Saviour-Shepherd with His sheep. The Scripture says, "Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Through the prophet, Jesus declares, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." He compels none to follow Him. "I drew them," He says, "with cords of a man, with bands of love." Psalm 77:20; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:4.
I was most impressed with the thought that Jesus leads, not drives His flock. In our area we see sheep being rounded up and driven by dogs and nipping at the sheep's heels if necessary. This is not the scene Jesus would use today. He forces no one. All who follow Him, know Him and follow in peace, love and safety. Just like the shepherd in the scriptures His watchful eye is over us night and day. When we are in trouble He is there to rescue us. I am truly grateful.
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #31 on: October 27, 2018, 04:58:12 PM »
Each day we are educated in the gospel of grace. Today is no different. It is by grace we are saved, but what is grace and how does it work to save sinners? I was impressed with the same paragraph as you, dear Sister Dorine.

     Jesus declares, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." He compels none to follow Him. "I drew them," He says, "with cords of a man, with bands of love." Psalm 77:20; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:4.   
     It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.   


It is His love that attracts and subdues sinners into saints. We love Him because He first loved us. Have we perfected the art and science of hearing His still small voice?
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #32 on: January 22, 2019, 06:20:16 AM »
Who would not be touched by the love that Jesus has for each of us!

   As an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine Shepherd know His flock that are scattered throughout the world. "Ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." Jesus says, "I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." "I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands." Ezekiel 34:31; Isaiah 43:1; 49:16.   
     Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.   
     Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He bids them, "Follow Me," and His Spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to Him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear His call, and are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.   
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2019, 06:21:58 AM »
It is the gospel of the grace of God alone that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can. Christ came that He might re-create the image of God in man;

I have many underlined places in this chapter and this is one that we can't afford to miss. It is by beholding Him we become changed!
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2019, 06:31:27 AM »
Amen Jim, this is the key to salvation.

 It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.


His matchless love, His loveliness reveals the grace of God and this brings forth a new life. This is the grace that saves. By beholding this grace, His glory, we are transformed. At conversion the heart is wholly given to Christ and we having beheld His glory are recreated in His image. The Bible tells us this most profoundly. "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." 2 Cor. 3:18.
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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2019, 06:55:42 AM »
Amen, Richard and Jim!

As we contemplate the loveliness of Jesus, what is it that really is changing in us? Even at conversion, we still remain in fallen flesh and find no good thing in us by nature. Thus, conversion brings to us a new heart, a new mind, and a new Spirit that we receive in the place of letting the deceitful, wicked heart of unbelief, the flesh, the world, and the devil control us. Christ offers us new thoughts (His word) which brings transformation in our character, so that by His grace we may have thoughts and feelings that are harmonious with Him. But when the world, the flesh, and the devil assails us with thoughts and feelings that are not in harmony with the divine nature, we are to turn from them as resolutely as we would turn from Satan himself. Let us keep our eyes focused on Christ, and the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil will grow strangely dim as the glory of His loveliness, beheld, transforms us from glory to glory, from one degree of perfection of character to the next! At each step in true conversion, there is manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we choose Christ by a full-heart surrender and cooperate with the infinite power of the Holy Spirit to keep us from sin! What a wonderful miracle!!!

"The contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can. Christ came that He might re-create the image of God in man; and whoever turns men away from Christ is turning them away from the source of true development; he is defrauding them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. He is a thief and a robber." {The Desire of Ages, page 478, paragraph 2}
"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--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #36 on: January 22, 2019, 10:27:58 AM »
Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Revelation 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isaiah 54:10.   

By faith I believe that Jesus will do all that He promises to do if I am faithful to His word. His promise here reminds me of the 23rd Psalm. He supplies our every need.

And then there is this familiar text that I love..."He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." Psalm 91:1,2

We have nothing to fear for we are in the hands and heart of God. Jesus has gone before us and knows the way. Some will follow but many will not. There is a world out there that needs to hear the truth of God's love for them. They need to see it in the lives of God's people. Everyone has probably heard this before but it goes something like this....."If you were accused of being a Christian would they be able to convict you?"
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

Beacon

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #37 on: January 22, 2019, 11:42:29 AM »
"Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Revelation 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isaiah 54:10. "
     
"Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep. Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.

Is it not amazing that all of this has been given to us free of charge at a time when we were most unworthy!!!

"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6. 

What more can we say except - THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR AMAZING LOVE & GRACE...

 
Look up and listen for the shout.

Beacon

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #38 on: April 18, 2019, 08:12:37 PM »
""I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." "I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep."

How wonderful to be at this very chapter as we celebrate the Easter Week-end praising our Saviour for being our Great Shepherd" even to the point of being willing to die in our stead so that we might live and find forgiveness and restoration through the "blood of the Lamb" Our great shepherd even knows each one of us by name making it possible to have a "one on one" relationship. What more could we ever want or need...and we are loved by the King of Kings so much that He .. "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine oh what a foretaste of glory divine. [/u] Is your heart overflowing with love to Him??? If not - Why not?

"This figure the prophet Isaiah had applied to the Messiah's mission, in the comforting words,  He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom." Isaiah 40:9-11. David had sung, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1. And the Holy Spirit through Ezekiel had declared: "I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them." "I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick." "And I will make with them a covenant of peace." "And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen; . . . but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid." Ezekiel 34:23, 16, 25, 28. Christ applied these prophecies to Himself, and He showed the contrast between His own character and that of the leaders in Israel[/b]."[/u]

"In Matthew 28:11 Jesus says... Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. The good news my friends is that we can come as we are and be made clean in the blood of the Lamb. My prayer is that... we "ALL" may be willing to make a strong commitment or re-commitment to Jesus - The True Lamb of God. May You and Your families & friends have a Blessed Easter.

Look up and listen for the shout.

Dorine

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Re: The Desire of Ages--52--The Divine Shepherd
« Reply #39 on: April 19, 2019, 05:38:58 AM »
"It is the gospel of the grace of God alone that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can. Christ came that He might re-create the image of God in man; and whoever turns men away from Christ is turning them away from the source of true development; he is defrauding them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. He is a thief and a robber."   

The thought came to me this morning as I read this chapter once again that it is possible to turn people away from Christ by introducing a Jesus that does not exist. May we 'know' the Jesus of the bible so intimately that no counterfeit theories of Jesus will fool us.
"Jesus thought upon the souls all over the earth who were misled by false shepherds. Those whom He longed to gather as the sheep of His pasture were scattered among wolves, and He said, "Other sheep I have, which are not of this  fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." John 10:16

And I love this promise. "He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast.

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