Rest and Reflect

Adventists don’t consider themselves the “remnant” because they believe they are superior in any way to everyone else, or that they have achieved a place in God’s heart that is exclusive to them.

Rather identifying with the “remnant” of the Bible reminds us of our mission to be exactly the kind of people the Bible describes the “remnant” as: people with integrity, who are fully faithful, completely committed in their loyalty to God and perfectly passionate about reaching other people. We were not called by God to be just the same as everyone else in the world; we are not called to conform, but to (be and to) transform (Rom 12:2). We are meant to be the “body of Jesus” that He “left behind” to continue His work.

The remnant (of and like Jesus) stands up, seeks out and saves; not sits down, stays in and feels saved.

The Synthesist: Sees likeness in apparent unlikes, seeks conflict, interested in change
The Idealist: Welcomes broad range of views, seeks ideal solutions
The Pragmatist: “Whatever works” seeks shortest route to payoff
The Analyst: Seeks “one best way,” interested in scientific solutions
The Realist: Relies on “facts” and expert opinions, interested in concrete results.

http://spectrummagazine.org/articles/spectrum_interview/2009/08/24/peek_inside

“all theology is autobiographical”

“Speak to them, as you have opportunity, upon points of doctrine on which you can agree. Dwell on the necessity of practical godliness. Give them evidence that you are a Christian, desiring peace, and that you love their souls. Let them see that you are conscientious. Thus you will gain their confidence; and there will be time enough for doctrines. Let the heart be won, the soil prepared, and then sow the seed, presenting in love the truth as it is in Jesus”

(Gospel Workers, 119-120 [1915]; Evangelism, 200; cf. “Letter to a Minister and His Wife Bound for Africa” [June 25, 1887 = Letter 12, to Elder Boyd; almost verbatim “original” of the Gospel Worker quote] in Testimonies to Southern Africa, pp. 14-20)

David Larson in the comments:

Here is what I like to do: (1) Distinguish between absolute and presumptive authority and (2) distinguish between formal (who says it) and material (what it says) authority.

So, conceptually speaking, we have at least four options:

1. Formal/absolute authority
2. Material/absolute authority
3. Formal/presumptive authority
4. Material/presumptive authority

The closer we get to #4 the better, the closer we get to #1, the worst.

But I think the “Great Controversy” theme, which holds that God tries to persuades people rather than coerce them, shows that inisiting on divine authority is not the way God does things. So, as you say, we can point to no legitimate example of, say, #1.

But lots of people prefer #1 and get as much of it as they can.

Example: “Why should you do this?” “Because I said so, that’s why!!”
Posted by: davidrlarson | 19 April 2009 at 3:00

The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.

If happiness is drawn from outside sources, and not from the Divine Fount, it will be as changeable as varying circumstances can make it; but the peace of Christ is a constant and abiding peace. It does not depend on any circumstance in life, on the amount of worldly goods, or the number of earthly friends. Christ is the fountain of living waters, and happiness and peace drawn from him will never fail, for he is a well-spring of life. Those who trust in him can say: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.”

We have reason for ceaseless gratitude to God that Christ, by his perfect obedience, has won back the heaven that Adam lost through disobedience. Adam sinned, and the children of Adam share his guilt and its consequences; but Jesus bore the guilt of Adam, and all the children of Adam that will flee to Christ, the second Adam, may escape the penalty of transgression. Jesus regained heaven for man by bearing the test that Adam failed to endure; for he obeyed the law perfectly, and all who have a right conception of the plan of redemption will see that they cannot be saved while in transgression of God’s holy precepts. They must cease to transgress the law, and lay hold on the promises of God that are available for us through the merits of Christ.

Our faith is not to stand in the ability of men but in the power of God. There is danger of trusting in men, even though they may have been used as instruments of God to do a great and good work. Christ must be our strength and our refuge. The best of men may fall from their steadfastness, and the best of religion, when corrupted, is ever the most dangerous in its influence upon minds. Pure, living religion is found in obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Righteousness exalts a nation, and the absence of it degrades and ruins man.

From the pulpits of today the words are uttered: “Believe, only believe. Have faith in Christ; you have nothing to do with the old law, only trust in Christ.” How different is this from the words of the apostle, who declares that faith without works is dead. He says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” We must have that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Many seek to substitute a superficial faith for uprightness of life, and think through this to obtain salvation. The Lord requires at this time just what he required of Adam in Eden,–perfect obedience to the law of God. We must have righteousness without a flaw, without a blemish. God gave his son to die for the world, but he did not die to repeal the law which was holy and just and good. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is an unanswerable argument showing the immutability of the law. Its penalty was felt by the Son of God in behalf of guilty man, that through his merits the sinner might obtain the virtue of his spotless character by faith in his name. The sinner was provided with a second opportunity to keep the law of God in the strength of his Divine Redeemer. The cross of Calvary forever condemns the idea that Satan has placed before the Christian world, that the death of Christ abolished not only the typical system of sacrifices and ceremonies but the unchangeable law of God, the foundation of his throne, the transcript of his character. Through every device possible Satan has sought to make of none effect the sacrifice of the Son of God, to render his expiation useless, and his mission a failure. He has claimed that the death of Christ made obedience to the law unnecessary, and permitted the sinner to come into favor with a holy God without forsaking his sin. He has declared that the Old Testament standard was lowered in the gospel, and that men can come to Christ, not to be saved from their sins but in their sins. But when John beheld Jesus he told his mission. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” To every repentant soul the message is, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Hebrews 1:1-2
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

Acts 2:16-21
But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.’

Revelation
1:2 John was the witness of the witness of Jesus Christ. His life reflected the things he saw.
6:9 Many have been killed for God’s word and for their witness for Jesus
10:7-11 God has declared his “mystery” to his servants the prophets. And John as symbolic representative of God’s servants must “digest” the witness of Jesus, the mystery. In doing so he will be martyred, that is his witness for Jesus. But he is encouraged to continue to prophesy.
12:11 God’s servants overcome by the blood of Jesus and their faithful witness, which is not to love their lives over Jesus.
12:17 Satan went to make war with God’s servants, who obey God’s word and live their lives according to the witness of Jesus.
19:10 The witness (testimony) of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
22:6 God has sent his angel to show his servants the future through John’s Revelation
22:9 God servants, including the prophets, who keep the words of John’s Revelation

Prophecy is linked with witness/testimony (Gr. martyria). Jesus’ life was his witness – the revelation of what God is like in character. Those who saw Jesus’ life lived accordingly, their witness, their prophecy. Many became martyrs. God’s people are prophets/witnesses/martyrs, who sacrifice their life for God.

Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11
God has appointed ambassadors (apostles, those sent), prophets (speakers), evangelists (preachers of the good news), teachers, healers.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

Matthew 24:11
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

2 Peter 2:1
But there will also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 Thess 5:19-22
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

I very much appreciate the insights of Dr Graeme Bradford in this Spectrum Magazine article (http://spectrummagazine.org/articles/sabbath_school/2009/01/05/prophetic_gift).

David Asscherick Monday Manna

Steps to Christ, p63-4
There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the beloved John, “These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1. And do not forget the words of Christ, “The Father Himself loveth you.” John 16:27. He desires to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ. Pray more fervently; believe more fully. As we come to distrust our own power, let us trust the power of our Redeemer, and we shall praise Him who is the health of our countenance.

He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. Man cannot be saved without obedience, but his works should not be of himself; Christ should work in him to will and to do of his good pleasure. If a man could save himself by his own works, he might have something in himself in which to rejoice. The effort that man makes in his own strength to obtain salvation, is represented by the offering of Cain. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin; but that which is wrought through faith is acceptable to God. When we seek to gain heaven through the merits of Christ, the soul makes progress. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we may go on from strength, from victory to victory; for through Christ the grace of God has worked out our complete salvation.

{RH, July 1, 1890 par. 11}

Character isn’t built in a day; it is built day by day

The choices you make today create the person you are tomorrow. The person you are tomorrow may not even be capable of making the choices of today.

http://songza.com/

Big Daddy
The First and the Best Humanitarian – and not just for kids in Africa, but for you and me too
Mr Dependable
The Go-to Guy

Unless you preach everywhere you go, there is no use going anywhere to preach.

Preach the gospel everywhere you go, and, if necessary, use words.

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.

And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.

Make your weekly church service a SAFE place to bring your friends (every week should be “Visitors’ Day”)

Don’t be afraid to be a fool for Christ and suffer for His sake

What is a Christian? Someone who has the heart of God. Love: seeking the blessing of others at any cost, even to the expense of oneself.

Courtesy of David Asscherick’s “The 15 Most Common Mistakes made by New Soul Winners”
http://www.yourvideos.net/hopevideo/MIMen/2007/New-David-Session-64.MP3