Friday December 7
Further Thought: Read the article “Forgiveness”, pp. 825, 826, in The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia.
“When the laborers have an abiding Christ in their own souls, when all selfishness is dead, when there is no rivalry, no strife for the supremacy, when oneness exists, when they sanctify themselves, so that love for one another is seen and felt, then the showers of the grace of the Holy Spirit will just as surely come upon them as that God’s promise will never fail in one jot or tittle.” - Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 175.
Amen!! Here we see the prophet putting the horse in front of the carriage. Look at the statement closely and see the results of placing the relationship with Christ first. “When the laborers have an abiding Christ in their own souls, when all selfishness is dead..." Pretty powerful words! When are fully surrendered to Christ, where is selfishness? It is "dead." We do not learn how to be unselfish. We learn how to surrender to Christ. We learn how to behold Him who gave all that we might live. What is the result of loving Jesus supremely? "There is no rivalry, no strife for supremacy." When we abide in Christ and He in us, when the heart is fully given to Christ, then love for one another will be seen and felt.
“If we stand in the great day of the Lord with Christ as our refuge, our high tower, we must put away all envy, all strife for the supremacy. We must utterly destroy the roots of these unholy things, that they may not again spring up into life. We must place ourselves wholly on the side of the Lord.” - Ellen G. White, Last Day Events, p. 190.
Amen! We must "wholly" on God's side. The question then needs to be asked and answered "what must I do in order to be wholly on God's side in this battle between good and evil?" We must learn of Him, we must love Him with all the heart all of our might, all of the mind, and all of our strength.
Discussion Questions:
Read Colossians 3:12-17. Discuss the Christian qualities the apostle Paul encourages the church at Colosse to seek. Why are these qualities the basis for all conflict resolution? How do they guide us in carrying out the principles that Jesus gives us in Matthew 18:15-18?
Look again at Colossians 3:12-17 and the teachings found in these verses. Why are these things so utterly essential for the unity in the church?
If we look at our church, that is, the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a whole, what is the greatest thing holding us back from the kind of unity that will be needed in order to reach the world? Is it our teachings and doctrines? Of course not. These are the very things that God has given us to proclaim to the world. Maybe the problem exists solely in us, in our interpersonal relationships, our petty jealousies, our bickering, our selfishness, our desire for supremacy, and a whole host of other things. Why must you plead for the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the changes that have to occur in you before we see unity in the whole church?
Summary: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about healing and transformation. And when these come, they cannot help impacting our relationship with others. The Bible gives us powerful principles and examples of how we can have good and close relationships with others, even in a world of sin.
We need go no further in attempting to understand what we must do than in heeding what the author just said. Forget the principles of how to have good relationships with others, and do what the gospel says. "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about healing and transformation. And when these come, they cannot help impacting our relationship with others." Healing and transformation for who? For you and me if we want to have good and close relationships with others. If we do not understand the gospel of grace, if we do no listen to Jesus tell us we are in a lost condition (Rev 3:14-22), and heed His instruction, then until we do this, there will be no unity in God's church. All the principles in the Bible will not help the sinner love as Christ loves until he is filled with the Spirit of Christ. The question is not how do we do good, but how do we learn to love Jesus with the whole heart. Then we shall be repentant and love others as Jesus loves us. This is the only foundation upon which Christian unity can exist. Christ is the cornerstone upon which His church is built. We need Jesus and we need Him all the time in order to have unity with the church those in it. Dear Jesus help us to keep our focus on you and not keep trying to be good when our eyes are elsewhere.