The Desire of Ages--65--The Temple Cleansed Again

[Beacon]

"Those who trust in Him, Jesus never disappoints."

"He has borne every test."

"He has endured the pressure of Adam’s guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil."

"He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner."

"In Christ the guilty heart has found relief."

"He is the sure foundation."

All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.”
What wonderful peace "WE" have when "WE" surrender "ALL"  to Jesus and invite Him to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords 0n "OUR" earthly journey
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1
Come, every soul by sin oppressed,
  There’s mercy with the Lord;
And He will surely give you rest
  By trusting in His Word.
 
Only trust Him! Only trust Him!
  Only trust Him now!
He will save you! He will save you!
    He will save you now!
2
For Jesus shed His precious blood
  Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
  That washeth white as snow.
3
Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the Way,
  That leads you into rest;
Believe in Him without delay,
  And you are fully blest.
4
Come then, and join the holy band,
  And on to glory go;
In Christ’s redemption take your stand,
  And all His goodness know.

Lyrics:John Hart Stockton (1813-1877)
Music:John Hart Stockton (1813-1877

[Dorine]

Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. This is the only foundation upon which we may securely build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. And by connection with Christ, the living stone, all who build upon this foundation become living stones. Many persons are by their own endeavors hewn, polished, and beautified; but they cannot become "living stones," because they are not connected with Christ. Without this connection, no man can be saved. Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation. Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation. Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested. When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus.

The message is simple and clear. We need to build on the rock Jesus Christ. No other foundation is secure. We may deceive ourselves into thinking all is well but when the storms of life come the foundations we build will crumble and fall. May we each day be building characters according to the blueprint of heaven that has Jesus as our firm foundation. There's no other way to salvation.

[Richard Myers]

Amen my brother and sister!  Jesus encourages us as to what we must do in order to have love, joy, and peace in this world and the world to come. Along with the encouragement comes warning.

 By many illustrations and repeated warnings, Jesus showed what would be the result to the Jews of rejecting the Son of God. In these words He was addressing all in every age who refuse to receive Him as their Redeemer. Every warning is for them. The desecrated temple, the disobedient son, the false husbandmen, the contemptuous builders, have their counterpart in the experience of every sinner. Unless he repent, the doom which they foreshadowed will be his.   

[Beacon]

"By connection with Christ, the living stone, all who build upon this foundation become living stones. Many persons are by their own endeavors hewn, polished, and beautified; but they cannot become "living stones," because they are not connected with Christ."

"Without this connection, no man can be saved."

"Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation."

"Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation." "Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested." "When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus."

Let "US" all remember that daily intake of spiritual food is just as important as the physical !!

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1
Beneath the cross of Jesus
  I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty Rock
  Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
  A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
  And the burden of the day.
2
Oh, safe and happy shelter!
  Oh, refuge tried and sweet!
Oh, trysting place where heaven’s love
  And heaven’s justice meet.
As to the holy patriarch
  That wondrous dream was given,
So is my Savior by the cross
  A ladder up to heaven.
3
There lies beneath its shadow,
  But on the farther side,
The darkness of an awful grave
  That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
  Two arms outstretched to save,
Like a watchman set to guard the way
  From that eternal grave.
4
Upon that cross of Jesus
  Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One,
  Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
  Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love,
  And my own worthlessness.
5
I take, O cross, thy shadow
  For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
  The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
  To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
  My glory all the cross.



 Lyrics:Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1830-1869)
Music:Frederick Charles Maker (1844-1927)

[JimB]

Amen brother Beacon! Just as there is need of physical food there is need of spiritual food.

On the way from the temple they were met by a throng who came with their sick inquiring for the Great Healer. The report given by the fleeing people caused some of these to turn back. They feared to meet One so powerful, whose very look had driven the priests and rulers from His presence. But a large number pressed through the hurrying crowd, eager to reach Him who was their only hope. When the multitude fled from the temple, many had remained behind. These were now joined by the newcomers. Again the temple court was filled by the sick and the dying, and once more Jesus ministered to them.

What a contrast is seen here. There are those fleeing the temple and those who are hurrying towards the temple. There are those who ran out from the temple and those who stayed, unafraid. What is the difference. One group recognizes their need of Christ the other denies their need of Him. One group sees a friend other group sees an enemy. It is my hope that all reading can call Him a friend.

John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

[Dorine]

I am blessed once again by reading the thoughts that the Holy Spirit has given to each one. 

To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.

Amen. Christ is only a stumbling block to those who do not believe all truth as it is in Him.

[Richard Myers]

Amen my dear friends.  Jesus is the Rock, our Rock, our foundation, our everything! Is not Jesus so very good to keep warning over and over that if we do not choose Jesus, we will have great sorrow. And all who choose to not follow Jesus will realize they were wrong and at great expense.

 And on "whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." The people who rejected Christ were soon to see their city and their nation destroyed. Their glory would be broken, and scattered as the dust before the wind. And what was it that destroyed the Jews? It was the rock which, had they built upon it, would have been their security. It was the goodness of God despised, the righteousness spurned, the mercy slighted. Men set themselves in opposition to God, and all that would have been their salvation was turned to their destruction. All that God ordained unto life they found to be unto death. In the Jews' crucifixion of Christ was involved the destruction of Jerusalem. The blood shed upon Calvary was the weight that sank them to ruin for this world and for the world to come. So it will be in the great final day, when judgment shall fall upon the rejecters of God's grace. Christ, their rock of offense, will then appear to them as an avenging mountain. The glory of His countenance, which to the righteous is life, will be to the wicked a consuming fire. Because of love rejected, grace despised, the sinner will be destroyed.

     By many illustrations and repeated warnings, Jesus showed what would be the result to the Jews of rejecting the Son of God. In these words He was addressing all in every age who refuse to receive Him as their Redeemer. Every warning is for them. The desecrated temple, the disobedient son, the false husbandmen, the contemptuous builders, have their counterpart in the experience of every sinner. Unless he repent, the doom which they foreshadowed will be his.   

Many still have time!

[Dorine]

Little did the priests and rulers realize the solemnity of the work which it was theirs to perform. At every Passover and Feast of Tabernacles, thousands of animals were slain, and their blood was caught by the priests and poured upon the altar. The Jews had become familiar with the offering of blood, and had almost lost sight of the fact that it was sin which made necessary all this shedding of the blood of beasts. They did not discern that it prefigured the blood of God's dear Son,which was to be shed for the life of the world, and that by the offering of sacrifices men were to be directed to a crucified Redeemer.

The shedding of blood has been done away with at the cross but with every sin committed we crucify Christ anew. Have we too lost sight of the fact that sin sent Christ to the cross. His shed blood covers only those who accept Him and live a life in full surrender to His will and commands. We see in this chapter the great seriousness of taking God lightly and following our own desires.

[Beacon]

"Many persons are by their own endeavors hewn, polished, and beautified; but they cannot become "living stones," because they are not connected with Christ." "Without this connection, no man can be saved."

 "Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation."

 "Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation. Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested. When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus."

Let us be determined to keep our eyes on Jesus
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[Richard Myers]

Amen dear brother and sister!! We need to keep our eyes upon Jesus that we do not crucify Jesus afresh. Like the Jews before us, as a people we have not understood what it means to be a converted Christian. We as a people believe we are rich and increased with goods, but know not that we are miserable, wretched, poor, blind and naked.


     Jesus looked upon the innocent victims of sacrifice, and saw how the Jews had made these great convocations scenes of bloodshed and cruelty. In place of humble repentance of sin, they had multiplied the sacrifice of beasts, as if God could be honored by a heartless service. The priests and rulers had hardened their hearts through selfishness and avarice. The very symbols pointing to the Lamb of God they had made a means of getting gain. Thus in the eyes of the people the sacredness of the sacrificial service had been in a great measure destroyed. The indignation of Jesus was stirred; He knew that His blood, so soon to be shed for the sins of the world, would be as little appreciated by the priests and elders as was the blood of beasts which they kept incessantly flowing.
     Against these practices Christ had spoken through the prophets. Samuel had said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." And Isaiah, seeing in prophetic vision the apostasy of the Jews, addressed them as rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts?" "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." 1 Samuel 15:22; Isaiah 1:10-12, 16, 17. 

[JimB]

In His contest with the rabbis, it was not Christ's purpose to humiliate His opponents. He was not glad to see them in a hard place.

What a contrast between our natural selves without Christ and how Christ was. He wasn't even glad when His enemies were put in a hard place.

Proverbs 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

[Richard Myers]

Amen dear brother! Do we love our enemy?  If we love the Lord our God with all of the heart.

     To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
     Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. This is the only foundation upon which we may securely build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. And by connection with Christ, the living stone, all who build upon this foundation become living stones. Many persons are by their own endeavors hewn, polished, and beautified; but they cannot become "living stones," because they are not connected with Christ. Without this connection, no man can be saved. Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation. Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation. Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested. When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus.