The Desire of Ages--67--Woes on the Pharisees

[Richard Myers]

Amen Brother Beacon and and Sister Dorine!  So much in this chapter! What I share now is understood by most church members, but to set aside any concern about Israel as a nation, we have light that we can share. Reading in Romans 11 can cause one to wonder.

But Israel as a nation had divorced herself from God. The natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. Looking for the last time upon the interior of the temple, Jesus said with mournful pathos, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Hitherto He had called the temple His Father’s house; but now, as the Son of God should pass out from those walls, God’s presence would be withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory. Henceforth its ceremonies would be meaningless, its services a mockery. DA 620.     

That's right. And those in other denominations who believe and teach the Israel is God's chosen people and they will rebuild the temple ought to know better. The sacrifice has been made and to think that Israel will once again slaughter an animal is an abomination which would mock the death and suffering of Jesus.

[Beacon]

"The message that Jesus gave must be given again. It is called the "staight testimony" and it will accomplish it's intended work. There will be a shaking in the church and she will be purified." "And,  yes,  there will be many new leaders, but we do not know how many faithful leaders will heed the call." "I am reminded of David's respect for the annointed  of the Lord, not the man, but the position. We need to guard carefully our words that they may be well chosen and filled with wisdom and the Spirit of God."

"Jesus did not withhold the truth from men always. He did not let the truth languish on His lips, but He was led by His Father and always did that which pleased His Father."

"How  much more should we rely on God before we speak as did Jesus to one who is ordained to the gospel ministry!"


Do "WE" realize what a privilege and responsibility is "OURS" ??

================================

1
I love to tell the story
  Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
  Of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story,
  Because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings
  As nothing else can do.
 
I love to tell the story,
’Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
  of Jesus and His love.
2
I love to tell the story;
  More wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies
  Of all my golden dreams,
I love to tell the story,
  It did so much for me;
And that is just the reason
  I tell it now to thee.
3
I love to tell the story;
  ’Tis pleasant to repeat
What seems each time I tell it,
  More wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story;
  For some have never heard
The message of salvation
  From God’s own holy Word.
4
I love to tell the story;
  For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
  To hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory,
  I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story,
  That I have loved so long.

Lyrics:Arabella Katherine Hankey (1834-1911)
Music:William Gustavus Fischer (1835-1912)

[Dorine]

It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour’s commendation. { DA 615.3}

Human nature is naturally selfish. Jesus shows over and over again that pure motives come from a complete faith in Him knowing that what we lack He will supply.

[Richard Myers]

Amen my brother and sister!  There was a change in the message Jesus gave. His ministry on Earth was coming to an end. There were things that were very important that the people might be set free from bondage.

In the parables which Christ had spoken, it was His purpose both to warn the rulers and to instruct the people who were willing to be taught. But there was need to speak yet more plainly. Through their reverence for tradition and their blind faith in a corrupt priesthood, the people were enslaved. These chains Christ must break. The character of the priests, rulers, and Pharisees must be more fully exposed. { DA 611.2}

So it is today.

[Pastor Sean Brizendine]

How much we love God is revealed in our interest in His work. The widow showed that she was a converted true missionary in heart because she did what the Holy Spirit prompted her to do. The fruits of the Spirit without one missing were clearly seen in her character because she was abiding in God’s love.

“The Saviour called His disciples to Him, and bade them mark the widow’s poverty. Then His words of commendation fell upon her ear: ‘Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all.’ Tears of joy filled her eyes as she felt that her act was understood and appreciated. Many would have advised her to keep her pittance for her own use; given into the hands of the well-fed priests, it would be lost sight of among the many costly gifts brought to the treasury. But Jesus understood her motive. She believed the service of the temple to be of God’s appointment, and she was anxious to do her utmost to sustain it. She did what she could, and her act was to be a monument to her memory through all time, and her joy in eternity. Her heart went with her gift; its value was estimated, not by the worth of the coin, but by the love to God and the interest in His work that had prompted the deed.” {The Desire of Ages, page 615, paragraph 1}

We can have a true heart experience like hers—revealing His love in action in a manner that is appropriate to the time and circumstances where God’s providences designs us to be—and thus fulfill the will of God. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:3-4). Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit lead you into all truth experientially? If so, yield your whole heart and life to Christ and fill your heart and mind with His word, for the Scriptures are God’s agency for transforming our character into His image, for they reveal Jesus to us!

Your life—abiding in Christ—can and will blossom with His selflessness to bless as many souls as possible! Praise God!

[JimB]

In the estimation of heaven, greatness of character consists in living for the welfare of our fellow men, in doing works of love and mercy. Christ the King of glory was a servant to fallen man. { DA 613.4}

How different the world measures people's worth than how God measures us.

1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

[Richard Myers]

Amen my dear brothers!  God wants the heart, all of it. And when we give it to Him, the Holy Spirit promised will take possession of the heart.

But Israel as a nation had divorced herself from God. The natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. Looking for the last time upon the interior of the temple, Jesus said with mournful pathos, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Hitherto He had called the temple His Father’s house; but now, as the Son of God should pass out from those walls, God’s presence would be withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory. Henceforth its ceremonies would be meaningless, its services a mockery. { DA 620.4}     

As we watch Israel today, we see the curse they called upon themselves when they said "His blood be on us and our children." Matt. 27:25. The good news is that if a Jew will learn of Jesus, he will be grafted back into the natural tree. "And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?"  Rom. 11:23,24.

[Dorine]

Christ’s indignation was directed against the hypocrisy, the gross sins, by which men were destroying their own souls, deceiving the people and dishonoring God. In the specious deceptive reasoning of the priests and rulers He discerned the working of satanic agencies. Keen and searching had been His denunciation of sin; but He spoke no words of retaliation. He had a holy wrath against the prince of darkness; but He manifested no irritated temper. So the Christian who lives in harmony with God, possessing the sweet attributes of love and mercy, will feel a righteous indignation against sin; but he will not be roused by passion to revile those who revile him. Even in meeting those who are moved by a power from beneath to maintain falsehood, in Christ he will still preserve calmness and self-possession. { DA 619.5}

Christ has set boundaries that keep us safe from temptation. He tells us the results of crossing those boundaries. I'm so thankful for them. He also shares the blessings that come from walking in the straight and narrow path that leads to God's kingdom which starts when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. There we find peace and happiness in spite of the many trials along the way. Every day God shows His leading in my life and when I take my eyes off of Him He gently woos me back into that safe and peaceful place that He occupies. Count your many blessings, name them one by one and you will be surprised at what the Lord has done. Praise Him all the day long.

[Richard Myers]

Amen Dear Sister Dorine!! How far short of what God wants for us we do not see. What a God we serve!  I was in a thrift store yesterday and purchased what I would often call a dust collector. But it was far from that. I will post a photo of it later today.

In the days of Christ a superstitious regard was cherished for the resting places of the dead, and vast sums of money were lavished upon their decoration. In the sight of God this was idolatry. In their undue regard for the dead, men showed that they did not love God supremely, nor their neighbor as themselves. The same idolatry is carried to great lengths today. Many are guilty of neglecting the widow and the fatherless, the sick and the poor, in order to build expensive monuments for the dead. Time, money, and labor are freely spent for this purpose, while duties to the living—duties which Christ has plainly enjoined—are left undone.

The Pharisees built the tombs of the prophets, and adorned their sepulchers, and said one to another, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have united with them in shedding the blood of God’s servants. At the same time they were planning to take the life of His Son. This should be a lesson to us. It should open our eyes to the power of Satan to deceive the mind that turns from the light of truth. Many follow in the track of the Pharisees. They revere those who have died for their faith. They wonder at the blindness of the Jews in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His day, they declare, we would gladly have received His teaching; we would never have been partakers in the guilt of those who rejected the Saviour. But when obedience to God requires self-denial and humiliation, these very persons stifle their convictions, and refuse obedience. Thus they manifest the same spirit as did the Pharisees whom Christ condemned.  DA 618.

Self-denial. Yes, there is much we can do to deny self that we do not do. Dear Lord open our eyes to the needs around us that we might be blessed today.

[Richard Myers]

           

[Dorine]

The Pharisees built the tombs of the prophets, and adorned their sepulchers, and said one to another, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have united with them in shedding the blood of God’s servants. At the same time they were planning to take the life of His Son. This should be a lesson to us. It should open our eyes to the power of Satan to deceive the mind that turns from the light of truth. Many follow in the track of the Pharisees. They revere those who have died for their faith. They wonder at the blindness of the Jews in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His day, they declare, we would gladly have received His teaching; we would never have been partakers in the guilt of those who rejected the Saviour. But when obedience to God requires self-denial and humiliation, these very persons stifle their convictions, and refuse obedience. Thus they manifest the same spirit as did the Pharisees whom Christ condemned. { DA 618.2}

There was a time when I was guilty of this very thing. I thank the Lord that through His word and Spirit of Prophecy I was shown that I was no different than those in Jesus' day who ended up crucifying Him. When we realize what sin did to Jesus and will continue to do to the very end we will abhor sin. We may fall but it will fill us with such sorrow that knowingly sinning will fill us with remorse and hatred for it. God will have a people who love Him supremely but it can not be done with out Him. He works in our hearts and lives to perfect our characters and fit us for heaven through a moment by moment relationship with Jesus. Praise God for His mercy, compassion and grace. Just think where we would be without it. God is so very good.

[JimB]

The gems of truth that fell from Christ’s lips on that eventful day were treasured in many hearts. For them new thoughts started into life, new aspirations were awakened, and a new history began. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, these persons came to the front, and fulfilled their divine commission with a wisdom and zeal corresponding to the greatness of the work. They bore a message that appealed to the hearts of men, weakening the old superstitions that had long dwarfed the lives of thousands. Before their testimony human theories and philosophies became as idle fables. Mighty were the results flowing from the words of the Saviour to that wondering, awestruck crowd in the temple at Jerusalem. { DA 620.3}

And so ripples of truth continue to grow today. Has the Lord been good to you? Then repeat these blessings to others. The results might be more than you know, helping someone else break free from the their burdens.

[Philip T]

The interest of the people in Christ and His work had steadily increased. They were charmed with His teaching, but they were also greatly perplexed. They had respected the priests and rabbis for their intelligence and apparent piety. In all religious matters they had ever yielded implicit obedience to their authority. Yet they now saw these men trying to cast discredit upon Jesus, a teacher whose virtue and knowledge shone forth the brighter from every assault. They looked upon the lowering countenances of the priests and elders, and there saw discomfiture and confusion. They marveled that the rulers would not believe on Jesus, when His teachings were so plain and simple. They themselves knew not what course to take. With eager anxiety they watched the movements of those whose counsel they had always followed

Interesting, the people observed the teaching of both Jesus and the Jewish leaders, not understanding the battle going on behind the scenes between Satan and Jesus. They had anxiety not knowing who to follow Jeus or the Religious leaders.  Is it not so today, people hear the truth but refer to their religious leaders choosing to follow them rather than the word of God. The disciples themselves fell into this category as well, not understanding Jesus would die on the cross and be resurrected.  May our hearts and minds be open to the truths in the Word of God, and not be closed by tradition.

[JimB]

Philip, this is so true and its a lesson for us as you pointed out. There are things at times that we have to unlearn and it can be difficult to let things go.

[Richard Myers]

Amen Brother Philip.  God's sends teachers, but as Paul commended the Bereans for confirming what they were being taught by searching the Bible, we ought to do also. Good to see your post, we have missed you!

Christ unsparingly condemned abuses, but He was careful not to lessen obligation. He rebuked the selfishness that extorted and misapplied the widow’s gifts. At the same time He commended the widow who brought her offering for God’s treasury. Man’s abuse of the gift could not turn God’s blessing from the giver. DA 614.

Amen! We ought to learn from Jesus' commending the widow for paying her offering into an apostate church. We are not responsible for the misuse of the  offering or tithe if we have warned the conference. Their misuse does not remove our blessing in giving to the church. Sadly their are those who teach otherwise.