L1 Evidence of Truth to Spiritual Light
(Addendum: This is added to explain the two ways to read L1 which is the sharing in the mining of a tiny portion of God’s infinite treasure. It can be skimmed like reading the newspaper by scanning the contents and reading items of your interest. But in matters of truth as it pertains to the word of God, there is value in mining every part. Check out the difference by reading a bit at a time, by reading the daily portion, to search prayerfully for any message for that day to be added to the treasure of truth.)
Contents (to be added with daily reading from Jan 13- Feb 6, 22)
1. The Invitation; 1.01 Revelation of Truth from God; (Day 1 Daily Reading)
1.01.1 Samaritan Woman Encounter with Jesus (Jn 4:1-45); 1.01.1.1The Living Water; (Day 2 Daily Reading)
1.01.1.2 The Unknown God of Athenians (Acts 17:22-23); 1.01.1.2.1 Paul’s Encounter with Jesus and Calling; 1.01.1.2.2 God the Creator is the Unknown God- Gospel of Christ proclaimed; 1.01.1.2.3 The Forgotten God of Ancient Chinese, (Day 3,4 Daily Reading)
1.01.1.3 Josiah Instituting Reformation and Revival (2Chr 34:8,14,15);
1.01.1.4 Jesus Parents Lost Jesus; (Day 5 Daily Reading)
1.01.1.5 Pilate Asks for the Truth; 1.01.1.5.1 Pilate Didn’t Desire the Truth (Day 6 Daily Reading)
1.01.2 Reality of the Bible; 1.01.2.1.1The Claim and Validation of Scriptures; 1 Historicity-Evidence of history; 2. Internal Consistency of Scripture; (Day 7 Daily Reading)
3 Bible Prophesy; 3.1 The Prophecies on Jesus Christ Advent; 4 Power of a Changed life; (Day 8 Daily Reading)
1.01.2.1.2 Nathaniel Come and See Conversion; (Day 9 Daily Reading)
1.1The Spiritual Light; 1.1.1 Periodic Reality Check; 1.1.1.1 God’s Message in C-19 Pandemic; (Day 10 Daily Reading)
1.1.2 The Unhindered Gospel and Reality of Eternity; 1.1.2.1 Counsel to the Corinth (2 Cor 4:1-18); (Day 11 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.1.1The Certainty of Resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-20); 1.1.2.1.1.1 The Hope of Resurrection at Second Coming (1 Cor 15:51-58); 1.1.2.1.2 Paul’s Justification of His Counsel; (Day 12 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.2 Great Controversy Reality Check; 1.1.2.3 Reality of the Call (2 Cor 4:5-7); 1.1.2.4 Reality of Eternity (2 Cor 4:13-15); 1.1.2.4.1 The Just in Case Mentality; (Day 13 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.4.2 Hindrances in Persecution; 1.1.2.4.3 Don’t Lose Heart by Faith in Christ; 1.1.2.5 Hindrances in Temporal Life and Pursuits; (Day 14 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.5.1Jesus, Founder and Perfector of Our Faith; 1.1.2.5.1.1 Sustaining Power of God; 1.1.2.5.1.1.1 The Dangerous Trap of Temporal Pursuits; (Day 15 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.5.1.1The Keeping of Spiritual life – Spiritual Discernment; 1.1.2.5.1.1.1 Free Will in Predestination Outcome; 1.1.2.5.1.1.2 Satan Corrupts and Accuses; (Day 16 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.5.1.2 The Intercession Of the Holy Spirit ( 29:11); 1.1.2.5.1.3 The Heart of God; (Day 17 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.6 Response to God’s Love; 1.1.2.6.1 Total Surrender of Our Will; 1.1.2.6.2 Faith is Love Manifested in Work; 1.1.2.6.3 Do Not Despair in Doubt of God’s Love; 1.1.2.6.4 Sense of Sinfulness in Christ’s Presence; (Day 18 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.7 Rebellious Response - Idols, Worldly Pleasures and Temporal Pursuits; 1.1.2.7.1 God’s Wooing & Pleading against Idolatry; 1.1.2.7.1.1 Present Day Idolatry – Our Realty Check; 1.1.2.7.2 Futile Reliance on Broken Cistern of Modern Society; (Day 19 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.7.3 Reality of God in Nature- No Excuse in Rejecting God; 1.1.2.7.3.1 Perversion of God’s Gifts; 1.1.2.7.3.2 Observe Religious Pattern without Christ; (Day 20 Daily Reading)
1.1.2.7.3.3 The Fulfillment of Heart’s Desire; 1.1.2.7.4 Repent and be Saved; 1.1.2.7.4.1 Beware of Procrastination; 1.1.2.7.4.2 Free Choice in Salvation; 1.1.2.7.4.3 Do Not Give Up Christ in Despair; (Day 21 Daily Reading)
1.2 Entering the Spiritual Light; 1.2.1 Sons of Light Initiation Lessons; 1.2.1.1 Main Theme of Parable; (22)
1.2.1.2 Scriptural Texts and Structure; 1.2.1.2.1 The Setting; 1.2.1.2.2 The Central Spiritual Truth; (23)
1.2.1.2.3 Investiture Counsel to Sons of Light; 1.2.1.2.3.1 The Five Groups Addressed; 1.2.1.2.4 Present Day Application- God’s Church Today; (24)
1.2.1.3 Summary; 1.2.1.3.1 Invest for the Future; 1.2.1.3.2 The Example of Moses; 1.2.1.3.3 Preparation for Time of Trouble. (25)
P.S. Jesus Christ is the Spiritual Light.
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1. The Invitation
Where do we find truth and what is the source of truth?
We live in a post modern secular world that questions the reality of God as we are brain washed in school on the Darwinian Theory of evolution with no undeniable evidence. Therefore, we are living in a very pluralistic age, in a relativistic world (that truth is relative and there is no definite truth) where there does not seem to be any right and wrong. This is arising from the many paths of religions, ideologies and worldviews on our planet today. They are all claiming to have an end destination, the purposeful life, or the ultimate state of being. But according to the Bible there is only one path that leads to eternal life through Jesus Christ. We did not choose to be born; we did not choose our parents. God gives us life. It is God’s will that we exist, not simply for a while that end in death, but to gain eternal life. We can have this hope by faith in Jesus to give us this spiritual light.
The truth is found in Jesus Christ and a search for the truth is to get to know Jesus more as to who He is and also to study the prophecies of the Bible that reveal what times we are living in so that we can prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to receive eternal life.
The evidence of truth is to convince and convict any hearer and seeker of the reality that the subject is the absolute truth. This is the beginning in the growth of your knowledge and discernment of truth as you are enabled to see through the spiritual light of Jesus (Ps 36:9.) The structure of the presentation is in the same order from evidence of truth to spiritual light.
1.01 Revelation of Truth from God
This is the distillation of the essence of the “Beyond Tomorrow” 20 part series by Daniel Pel based mainly on the last and the first part of the series. The last part is “A Search for the Truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdq-MD89-i0&list=PL13eE2x3qhPlqFBeo4p-xq8fxTahM-Emq&index=20 (46:40) Aug 20, 2013 Amazing Discoveries. The key parts and additional videos by Daniel are provided as links for your personal follow up.
It is crucial to have undeniable evidence of the truth that reveals the person Jesus Christ from the various stories throughout Scriptures as the source of truth. The fundamental truth is that each human being is given a life that is unasked for as a gift from God, the source of our life. God Himself has to tell us the truth which has been distorted by Satan, the highest ranking created angel who through self exultation wanted to be equal to God and brought about the great controversy (covered in D2 / part 3-Chaotic Word) The ruler of this world is Satan who usurped Adam’s dominion (given by God) because of Adam’s unbelief in God’s word. Humanity after the fall of Adam and Eve is under the power of a tyrant who opposes and distorts truth in the word of God. Therefore, humanity is on a quest to find the truth as it is recorded in Scriptures.
Many of us do not know or miss the truth because we ignore God’s revelation through the stories in the Bible. These stories will motivate you to know God and learn more about Him and to continue to search for the present truth and be sealed with the truth by the Holy Spirit who is our comforter and the spirit of truth.
Some of these stories and the lessons bearing present truth for us are summarised below. The spirit filled details so eloquently presented by Daniel Pel must be watched.
Please check in again for the daily addition. This is the new approach to cut down on your reading time and for those who prefer the total package to check in periodically or when alerted on the completion.
1.01.1 Samaritan Woman Encounter with Jesus (Jn 4:1-45)
Could it be possible in our lives that the truth is closer than we think? The Samaritan woman longed for the Messiah to come (based on what she had heard and believed) not realising He was right in front of her. Could it be that in reading/hearing of the discussion in this article that you are being exposed to the teachings of Scripture and the truth is right there. But we expect the answers to be far away and in the distant future. The answers are right before us that are found in Scripture, rooted and grounded in the revelation of God Himself.
1.01.1.1The Living Water
Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink of water that she draws from Jacob’s well (Jn 4:3-6). She pointedly says that Jews look down on Samaritans and have no dealing with Samaritan by custom. As a lesson for us, Jesus is using this event to break down the barrier by asking the woman for a drink. Jesus now offers her the gift of living water in exchange. (Joh 4:10) This is not just water that quenches the literal thirst but a spiritual water to quench her spiritual thirst that both she has and humanity has at large. In the Bible, water is a representation of the Spirit of God (Isa 44:3; Jn 7:37-39) The living water being offered is none other than His Spirit or the Holy Spirit, Jesus representative as the Comforter (Jn14:16,26), the Spirit of Truth (Jn15:26) This is the gift of God, the power that we need from above in order to live the life in accordance with the will and the way of God.
The water that Jesus promises to offer to her and to every single one of us is His own life, His spirit to guide us into all truth, to establish the ways of truth, to give us a foundation in our lives and it is to lead us into everlasting life. This is the outcome of receiving this living water, the Spirit of God, the truth of God, the words of Jesus. Now this woman wants this water, she wants this experience that Jesus is talking about (Jn 4:13-15)
Deep inside each of us we have this providential innate longing for something that is missing in our life. It is only through severe trials that we may come to the realization that we need a power outside of ourselves (to be further discussed later). This world is thirsting for something more and yet many do not know what is going to satisfy that thirst. The bible tells us that we can find truth when we have the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God guiding us (Jn 16:13). We are not going to find truth in our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit (the third divine person of the Godhead) in order to be guided into all truth The offer to the Samaritan woman is also the offer to His disciple and to all of us that Jesus, our Saviour, would send the Holy Spirit when He returns to The Father that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and to bring to our remembrance the things that Jesus had spoken to us (in scriptures) The Holy Spirit guides us in the study of the words of Jesus or the Word of God, the Scriptures. Start the study with prayer, asking for God’s Spirit to guide us, because without Him we cannot understand spiritual things for spiritual thing are spiritually understood (1Cor 2:14).
1.01.1.2 The Unknown God of Athenians (Acts 17:22-23)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w2mQYSqDrg&list=PLmGvdtMCf1aKbnN4pmoiPYMkEB6Jv06GI&index=3 (43:13) 1513 - Something or Someone / The Unhindered Gospel - Daniel Pel Jan 1, 2014 Amazing Discoveries)
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; except that no one can find out the work that God has done from beginning to end.” Ecc 3:11
This verse tells us God Himself has put eternity into our hearts, meaning God gives us breath to live life, not to just exist to die and make His word void (Isa 55:11) Naturally we are given immortality from the beginning as God created everything perfect. The fall and sin has caused death to come into the human race, into the human experience. Originally God has placed in us a desire to live forever; a desire for eternity. That desire can be fulfilled when we come to the person Christ because He has promised us eternity life (Jn 3:16) He has promised His life Himself which is eternal.
This is manifested in the very religious people of Athens during Apostle Paul’s time, who were not fully satisfied with the religious ways that they had established in the many temples and images of gods and holding the worldviews and ideologies they had by erecting the inscription “ To the unknown God.”
The world is waiting for this experience of being not fully satisfied as expressed by the religious and illustrious Athenians steeped in idolatrous worship. Apostle Paul comes to the city of Athens eager to carry forward the Gospel to these idol worshipers.
1.01.1.2.1 Paul’s Encounter with Jesus and Calling
Paul amazingly was once was a leading persecutor of Christians before His conversion at the encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and was chosen by Christ to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, and since then was excited to always preach the gospel, In his mission to spread the gospel of Christ we read in “Acts” of the many oppositions he encountered that could not stop him from proclaiming the gospel. He was beaten and threatened; even stoned; put into prison and used the opportunity to sing and convert the prison guards. He was inspired to press forward despite the challenges and circumstances. In the city of Athens he saw the various idols and temples and then he sees the object with the inscription “To the Unknown God”, picks up that phrase that he used when brought to the Areopagus to explain his preaching on Jesus and His resurrection, a strange god to the learned philosophers in Athens.
1.01.1.2.2 God the Creator is the Unknown God- Gospel of Christ proclaimed
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” (Act 17:22-23.)
The Athenians had more idols than you could ever imagine. They had all these gods and goddesses, myriads of gods with temples in every street corners and Paul nontheless finds the inscription in one of their gods which says “To the Unknown God” which reveals that despite of all the gods and goddesses that they had something was missing. That there is something still unknown.
Paul says to them, Let me explain to you who this unknown God is.
Act 17:24 “God (the Creator) that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;” (This is what Scripture is pointing out the distinction between the created (the creature) and the Creator. But in the New Age movement and in the modern spirituality and in distortions of Christianity, this distinction is always erased. Thus in Pantheism and Panentheism the distinction is no longer there and becomes more of a nature worship than anything else. Genuine Christianity always affirms the distinction between the Creator and the created. Nature is not a personality, we serve a personal God. So Paul brings to the Athenians and to our attention that God is the Creator is not in the things they created which they worship. “Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” Act 17:25.
He describes the attributes of God in Act 17:26 “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;” Act 17:27 “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” (Paul is saying, This God is a very personal God He knows your appointed times, i.e God knows when you were born, He knows your dwelling places. He knows where you were brought up. He knows everything about your life in order for you to feel after him or grope, of searching for something in the dark. Pauls says if you feel after God in the dark you will find Him and that He is not far away. But in the minds of the Athenians, their gods and goddesses were always somewhere of distance and not a person that was involved in their everyday life. Their gods were objects of nature. But the powerful truth of Christianity is in a personal God.
Satan the devil is always trying to diffuse the personality of God. Scripture always confirms we have a personal God that we worship, and if we feel after him you will find Him. God is not a Galactic cheerleader somewhere in the corner of the universe, nor the one who pulls the strings of life now and then in circumstances of our lives. He is one that is intimately involved in every decision we make, in every choice we make and all the challenges we face, all the trials we face. He is there for us. That is the picture that the scripture gives us of the God we serve. Lets replace the something for someone; lets replace the pattern for the person ; lets replace the worship of God so that we can find Him and He may find us that we may experience the fullness of what God has installed for us (Jer 29:13). We have only one pattern and that is Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Christ will go forward with or without us unhindered. But it will only go forward as we give ourselves unhindered to Christ. We need to pray that He will remove those things whatever they are.( We pray to God asking for our remembrance things Jesus has taught us and help us to surrender daily to Christ so as to escape the last word from Christ in the end time “depart from me, ye that work iniquity, Mat 7:23
The people of Athens were searching for purpose and meaning and yet the God of the universe was not far from each one of them.But do we have the eyes to see Him and do we have the discernment to know Him and have we received the power to follow Him. If we that have kept God at a distance and then when we call on him in prayer, we wonder where He is. He is exactly where we have presumably left Him. But the reality of the matter is that God is close to us. God wants to be a personal God to us and wants to be an integral part of our everyday decisions that we make. The Messiah Jesus Christ is now mediating for you in the heavenly sanctuary. He wants to permeate every single aspect of our lives and our decisions may be rooted and grounded in the firm foundation of God’s word
We see this in the story of Paul reaching out to the Athenians the purpose of how God wants to be close to us and how God wants to reveal His truth to us.
1.01.1.2.3 The Forgotten God of Ancient Chinese
God has also left us the indelible Chinese language to unify us as one people in the knowledge that we are all descendents of Adam and Eve . This is recorded in the book of Genesis, of the Old Testament. This is posted at D29 Forgotten God - http://www.discoverylifediy.com/449927460 and its extension in FA4 “Lest we Forget the Beginning” at https://www.wakeupow.com/450683636
This is the mystery to the majority of Chinese people. It is now be made known that their ancestors who they faithfully worshipped, in turn, worshipped the one true God, Shang Di, the same God that the Jews worship
Chinese “Shang Di” is Jehovah (From FA4 para 2.1.1)
"God has not left Himself without witness." The true historical account by Moses in the book of Genesis on the beginning of mankind in this world has a witness in the Chinese language. The interpretation of the stories embedded in the characters of the Chinese language are not speculations or fables as they are supported by historical documents and rituals within the Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese celebrated an annual Border Sacrifice to the "Lord of Heaven." This system of worship is very similar to the worship described in the book of Genesis. This begs the all important question: Did the ancient Chinese know the God of the Bible? (This ritual points to the first advent of the Messiah as the sacrificial “lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”- Jn 1:29. (See Divine Shepherd and Sacrificial Lamb). This truth of the Bible is embedded in the Chinese language characters that tell the story to corroborate the story in Genesis. This is the mystery to the majority of Chinese people that will now be made known that their ancestors who they faithfully worshipped, in turn, worshipped the one true God, Shang Di, the same God that the Jews worship.
Lest we forget: God is the Maker of all mankind. All men are one family by creation. This knowledge and memory is crucial to everyone today brought to full focus as the consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.. The spiritual anti-Satan infection test is in passing the discovery of Genesis in the Chinese language.
Consider reading FA4 in the following two sections: 2. The Divine Inoculation; 2.1 Seek Wisdom in Genesis; 2.1.1 Chinese “Shang Di” is Jehovah; 2.1.1.1 The Great Flood and the Ark; 2.1.1.2 Tower of Babel & Language Confusion; 2.1.1.3 Genesis Embedded in Chinese Language; 2.1.1.3.1 The Historical Root of True Worship; 2.1.1.3.2 The First Apostasy in China; 2.1.1.3.3 Christianity in China through Foreigners; 2.1.1.3.3.1 Matteo Ricci; 2.1.1.3.3.2 Emperor Kang Xi; 2.1.1.3.4 Idols Worship with Forgotten True Worship; 2.1.1.4 Credibility Substantiated with Genesis; 2.1.1.4.1 “The Seven Day Week Cycle”; 2.1.1.4.2 Adam & Eve (Mankind) Fall into Sin; 2.1.1.4.2.1 The First Murder and The Great Flood; 2.1.1.4.2.2 The Tower of Babel; 2.1.1.4.2.3 Origin of Races; 2.1.1.4.2.3.1 Skin Colour and Physical Features; 2.1.1.4.3 Unrecognised Evidence in the Border Sacrifice; 2.1.1.4.3.1 History of the Border Sacrifice; 2.1.1.4.3.2 Shang Di Worship in the Beginning;
3. Biblical Discernment of Current Events; 3.01 King Nebuchadnezzar*2 Testimony for President Xi*1 (Notes*1,*2); 3.02 God’s Revelation to Ancient Chinese Kings & Sages; 3.02.1 Seven Truths not taught in China's Education; 3.02.2 Bible Reference to China; 3.03 Testimony of God’s Calling- Oracle Bones Inscriptions Revelation; (Note: The Oracle Bones is to be added as evidence from Archaeology.)
Day 5 Daily Reading
1.01.1.3 Josiah Instituting Reformation and Revival (2Chr 34:8,14,15)
In the story of Josiah, the young king decides that he wants to restore God’s house the temple, to restart the services there with the true spirit of revival and reformation, the true spirit of worship. As the temple is cleansed and restored the priests finds the book of the law. This teaches us that the book of the Lord had been lost in the house of the Lord, Could it be that sometime in the forms and traditions of religion (in the various religious persuasions, and the many different denominations even in Christianity alone) we lose focus of what it’s actually all about? Religiosity is more the traditions and ways of man than the revealed word of God. Very few worship revolve around the centerpiece of revelation from God, the Bible. Could it be that we sometimes lose the focus of scripture even in the forms and tradition in which we are engaged in our lives? In the Church of God today, could it be that we go through the forms, through the traditions, but we miss out on what worship is all about?
Let us make sure that our entire religious experience is not revolving around man’s traditions and world view and opinions and ideologies. Let us make sure that it revolves around the centre and is centered in the scriptures, the word of God.
Truth is not found in the words of men. Truth is found in the words of God revealed to His prophets under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the source of truth. Everything in our lives must revolve around the teachings of Scripture if we are going to search for truth we must come to the very foundation of truth and that is the word of God.
We find this in so many instances in stories throughout Scriptures
1.01.1.4 Jesus Parents Lost Jesus
Jesus is taken by His parents to Jerusalem when He was 12 years old to partake in the Passover feast, a requirement in those days. The purposes of God were unfolding before Him at this ceremony. More and more He is realising that everything that is going on in the temple is really pointing to Him
This is the story of Jesus being lost by His parents in the temple and was found in the most obvious place. According to the New Testament, Jesus is our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary waiting for you and me to come to Him. He has come as the Messiah, to bring the great sacrifice for the sins of the world to be laid upon Him.
After the Passover feast His parents go home leaving the city and lose sight of Him. It takes them three days for them to find Him again in the temple. They realise they have lost Him and so they are searching for three days while Jesus is in the temple in discourse with the priests ( Luck 2:46-47) And Jesus said to his parents, You know I was about my Father’s business indicating that He was right here where he could be expected to be found and yet it took them three days. The world is searching and many are searching for answers to questions. This answer could be found in coming to Jesus, in coming to a revelation of His words and Jesus is still in the temple today in the heavenly temple after his resurrection and return to the Father to be at His right hand. He is making a final atonement for you and for me. This is where He is waiting for us to come by faith to bring our sins before Him in which He takes our sins and imparts to us His righteousness, His grace, power and strength.
We must go to the temple to find the power and the strength.
Day 6 Daily Reading
1.01.1.5 Pilate Asks for the Truth
The Jews took Jesus and they brought Him before Pilate (Jn 18 35-37) Jesus is passionately appealing to Pilate saying I came into this world to reveal the truth . Everyone that hears my voice hears the truth. Plate pondered and said this to Him “What is the truth?”
“What is the truth?” is the classical question beginning of time is being asked by thousands today. The millions of people in the world today as they search for the truth, for purpose, meaning, and the search for an ultimate satisfaction in life where there seems to be an emptiness that remains. Pilate asks this question to the only right person to answer it as He is the embodiment of all truth. The scripture testify of Jesus; they reveal Jesus and so we find truth in Jesus, in a person, not a list of concepts, and in a relationship with the person to expose use to that truth and allows us to experience that truth God has promised that He will fulfil the deepest desire of our heart and He will do it through the person, Jesus Christ, revealed in the scriptures.
1.01.1.5.1 Pilate Didn’t Desire the Truth
Pilate asks the right question at the right time, to the right person but the outcome of the dialogue is very sad. He asked the question and he leaves the room (V 38) not intending to know the truth. Many people today, like Pilate. ask the question but they don’t stay around to hear the answer. If you are willing to open up His word which is His revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ; if you are willing to study the scripture and are will to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the living water, you will find your thirst will be quenched.
God has been speaking to you and to me through his word throughout the presentation. Having heard from the source of truth we may go to the very source of truth as we seek to know the will of God for our life. There is a right and wrong direction and it is all based on the decisions we make in life. Those decisions are determined by the revelation we exposed ourselves and by the power we tap into. May the Spirit of God gives you spiritual discernment to make the right decisions to walk in the right direction which leads to eternal life. May you make Jesus your Saviour, your Guide, and scriptures the standard for your life as you navigate your way through the complexities of this world.
1.01.1.5.2 Earthly Minded People need Spiritual Light
The crucial truth we must know is that we are strangers and sojourners on our way to our eternal city of God (Heb 11:13-16). We cannot make our own way there without the spiritual light. In the Sermon on the Mount of Blessing, Jesus has made this the foremost blessing. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Mat 5:3.
The Spirit of Prophecy explains:“Christ's first words to the people on the mount were words of blessing. Happy are they, He said, who recognize their spiritual poverty, and feel their need of redemption. The gospel is to be preached to the poor. Not to the spiritually proud, those who claim to be rich and in need of nothing, is it revealed, but to those who are humble and contrite. One fountain only has been opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit. {DA 299.4}
The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access to Him in whom all fullness dwells. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15.” {DA 300.1}
All fallen human beings are in desperate need of a personal Saviour to guide us. May we find the hope and courage in Christ Jesus, the person. Jesus is the only one who can solve the very foundational problem residing in the individual heart of selfishness and pride. The heart needs to be renewed and changed. Put your faith in Him, in the kingdom which is not of this world. That kingdom, the kingdom of grace, can start in this world as God brings the principle of that kingdom into our lives, preparing us to inherit the eternal kingdom when He comes again the second time. May we be connected continually to our Saviour, the Messiah, the Son of God, who came to die on our behalf. We need to embrace Him and bring Him into our life and be empowered by Him to continue walking in the path He had set before you. God will bring us all together under the tree of life finally to meet Him there and spend eternity there in the Kingdom of Glory.
The final restoration rests in the person Jesus Christ and it is in Him that we put our confidence. We want to build our lives upon His teaching, to be empowered by His Spirit to guide us in our search for the truth that we will not search for men’s philosophies and ideologies, but to only search in the scriptures. We must constantly thank Him for the promise that He who have started a good work in us will also complete and finish it as we look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Day 7 Daily Reading
1.01.2 Reality of the Bible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Xut3j3XmM&list=PL13eE2x3qhPlqFBeo4p-xq8fxTahM-Emq 526 - The Disillusionment of the Age / Beyond Tomorrow - Daniel Pel Aug 16, 2013 Amazing Discoveries
We are living in a world of failed expectations. Is there any source of certainty to navigate our way through life? Do we have a compass that unfailingly points us in the right direction? We intend to share how the Bible can be trusted based on the evidence of history, internal consistency, prophecy, and the power of changed lives.
In 1998 Eugene Linden lists the nine instabilities in the world that he believes are going to enter into the new century but in greater intensities and increased frequencies. The vital question remains what or who will make things right and check the instabilities leading to the end of the world. The Bible says ”The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9 and only God who “search the heart, try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer 17:10. The bible in a remarkable way pulls back the curtain and shows what is going on behind the scenes (in this case going inside the heart, inside the life of humanity where there is something fundamental wrong. So when we are seeking to answer the question, we are told in the bible the root of the problem in the world is a heart problem and where everything is to be dealt with. The revelation from God in the Bible tells us how God deals with the individual heart and how God in Bible prophecy is also reaching out to humanity, whom He loves and has created in order to transform the deceitful heart with the power of the gospel.
This is of vital importance for us at the outset to have evidence and reasons to why we can trust the bible as a guide in our lives because the Bible not only reveals the condition of the heart but it also provides us with a way to receive a new heart. It leads us to the experience within the gospel of a transformation of our lives.
If we are going to make things right in our life and know how things are going to be made right, we need an instrument outside of ourselves and this instrument is none other than the word of God. It provides us with guidance like a compass through the challenges of life so that we can navigate our way in this challenging world.
The Bible answers some of the fundamental questions of life. Such Questions like: Our Origin as to where we come from? Meaning-what is the meaning and purpose of life/ ? and How should we live pertaining to morality and destiny? These are questions that at one point or later every person is going to ask. It is the bible that answers these very questions. The Bible gives us a picture of where we came from ( see D32), of why we are here and where we are heading. It is a panorama in time where prophecy introduces us to this incredible panorama.
Millions have come to believe that the bible is the inspired word of God. People in the course of history have decided to make the word of God their guide in their lives when it comes to the question, “Beyond tomorrow who will make it right?”
Their reasons are based on evidence of truth that basically undergird the authority of Scripture. In order for us to claim that something is true we must first know the claim to see if that claim is valid or false.
1.01.2.1.1The Claim and Validation of Scriptures
The scripture comes from God. God choose human instrumentalities to communicate truth.( 2pet 1:20-21; 2Tim 3:16) This is how the bible came about. And this is the claim.
Now we need to know the evidence to authenticate that claim as follows: !. Historicity-the evidence of History; 2. Internal Consistency; 3. Bible Prophecy; and 4. Power of Changed Life.
1 Historicity-Evidence of history
The bible is more than a book with stories of real events of real people that really happened in real places in history. It is a historic book.
Evidence of the past is made possible in archaeology, a method of studying the past by researching materials for evidence on the things people create and made. The things buried in the dust over time points to the truthfulness of the biblical narrative. They are extra-biblical sources that point to stories and events that we also find in the Bible. These are some of the archaeological relics:
1.1 The Rosetta Stone discovered in Egypt in1799. It contained a message in three languages: Greek, Demotic (Egyptian phonetic) and Hieroglyphics. It was decoded by Jean Francois Champollion and opened up a new language, the hieroglyphic language. Historian now read them in places where they are found in the remains of the ancient Egyptian empire.
There is an account found that tally with the incredible account in the book of Genesis, of Joseph, an Israelites sold as a slave that ends up as being the second in command in Egypt and this happened because he was able through God’s help to interpret the dream of Pharaoh that there were going to be seven years of plentiful harvest followed by seven years of drought and was put in position to be able to do to gather the corns in the seven years of plenty. Joseph’s account in Hieroglyphics, tally with the biblical history documenting in greater details of the same events. Joseph is the son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. They are real historical Patriarchs of the Old Testament.
Other inscriptions give accounts of battles and wars that had taken place between the Egyptians and the people group called the Hitites Hitites are mentioned in the Bible on various account in the Bible and for a long time secular historians were skeptical towards the Bible in its scriptural stories for they can’t verify the Hitites in history. The reality of the Hitites in history proves the authenticity of the word of God and that it can be trusted.
1.2.The Moabite Stones was discovered in Jordan in 1968. The ihistoric events engraved on it are similar to the Bible account.
1.3 The Lachish Letters, discovered in Southern Israel ( ca. 24 miles north of Beetsheba, from 1932-1938 record Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Jerusalem in 586 BC.
1.4 The Ebla Tablets, discovered in Tel Mardikh, near the present city of Idleb in Syria, in 1964 consisted of 14,000 clay tablets dated from 2300-24000 BC. These tablets contain messages about bible stories that we find in the Bible For example they mentioned Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriachs in the old Testament bible stories. The two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, were mentioned to verify the Bible account There is no such cites left today because the Bible says they were destroyed by fire from God. Thus the Bible historic accounts are authenticated by all these archaeological discoveries.
1.5 The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a young Bedouin shepherd, Mohammed Ahmed sl-Hamed, in the Qumran caves close to the Dead Sea..
Subsequently archaeologists found thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. The fragments of every book of the Hebrew canon (Old Testament) have been discovered, except for the book of Esther. We now have a record of scriptures that have been placed there in the first century by a people group called the Essenes. The oldest scrolls dated back to the third century. Many people have said for a long time that the scriptures had been changed over course of time. To verify this assertion, these scrolls were compared with the scriptures we have today. The amazing finding were the scriptures had been beautifully preserved, God did not only lead in the inspiring of His word but He also led in the preservation of His word. The Book of Isaiah found in the cave was compared with the current version and the only difference is punctuation marks.
Based on historic evidence we can trust the story in the Bible is not a fairy tale as it can be verified by articles of archaeology as the true historical accounts of the past.
2. Internal Consistency of Scripture
Scripture is not written by one person. It is a Canon made up of 66 different books. These 66 books were written over a time span of over 15000 years by approximately 40 different authors. These people were from different station in life and of different personality from Kings to shepherds, were called by God and inspired to write the messages that He gave them which came to be part of the Canon of Scripture. It is absolutely miraculous that we have all the books harmoniously and with internal consistency agreeing on the revelation of God to man.This is best tested and verified by a personal check on any verse in the Bible.
Day 8 Daily Reading
3 Bible Prophesy
Prophecy is like a signature of God attesting that He knows the end from the beginning. God knows what tomorrow is going to hold on every worldly aspects of politics, religion and economy. He knows it on a personal level what the future will be like for you tomorrow, the next week and into the end of the world. Because He knows the future, He has in His mercy and in His grace made these prophecies (that foretell the future) known to His prophets and in scripture. The Bible has historic prophecies, that the prophecy has been given but the actual fulfillment of that promise has already taken place. We now have the hindsight of looking back to see both the prediction and the fulfillment in historic context. This verifies for us the certainty of prophecy so that whatever prophecies lie in the future we can have confidence and trust that they will come to pass because of the historic prophecies that have already been fulfilled.
3.1 The Prophecies on Jesus Christ Advent
There are literally hundreds of prophecies in the Bible that revolve around a person, in the person of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament(OT) is full of prophecies that predict the coming of Jesus which was referred to as the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God , the Saviour of the world. The prophets of the OT made predictions about how He would come, when He would come, what He would do, the events revolving around His birth, life, betrayal, suffering,death and resurrection were made hundreds of years in advance.
To illustrate the intricacy and accuracy of just one of these predictions, Micah, the prophet, prophesied (Mic 5:2) that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and it came to pass as Jesus was born in Bethlehem ( Mat 2:1) which was unlikely to happen because Joseph and Mary live in Nazareth. But they were on their way to Jerusalem from Nazereth and as there was no place to stay ended up in Jesus being born in a manger in Bethlehem. They were travelling to Bethlehem because of a consensus of the people by Augustus. His parents had to travel to the city of their origin in order for him to count the people because Augustus wanted to tax them. Against all odds, Joseph and Mary ended up in Bethlehem just before Jesus was born.
The mathematical probability of just 48 (out of over 300) is 10157by Peter Stoner – PhD in Mathematics, Astronomy and Engineering. The Bible therefore can be trusted. The Bible is an ancient history book that contains many prophecies. It reveals a person and that person is Jesus Christ and the prophecies verify for us, they reveal for us the authenticity, the trustworthiness, the credibility of the inspired word of God.
( Note; For the prophecy on Jesus advent see 542 - A Panorama of Prophets / Beyond Tomorrow - Daniel Pel - YouTube (48:00) 542 - A Panorama of Prophets / Beyond Tomorrow (48:00)- Daniel Pel Aug 20, 2013 Amazing Discoveries )
4 Power of a Changed life
This is the multitude of individual experience that testified of their changed life forever when they encounter the Bible and when they encounter Christ. God through His word has the power to change life. This power to change even by the genuine study of His word to change heart, to solve the problem of the heart. which is the problem of humanity, in a transformation of the heart. This is the promise of Scripture, the promise that God has for you and for me from the power outside of us.
These four lines of reasons with the accompanying evidence give us a firm foundation to stand upon the claim that Scripture come from God and God chooses human agents to come and communicate the real absolute truth.(There is no relativity in God’s truth.)
Day 9 Daily Reading
1.01.2.1.2 Nathaniel Come and See Conversion ( Jn 1:43-53)
This is the account of Jesus calling His disciples, who lives with Him in their training to be teachers themselves to spread the gospel of Jesus to the world. Jesus calls Philip who decides to follow Jesus ( Jn 1:43) This was basically the invitation to be in the inner circle of Jesus, to be trained by Him and prepared by Him to go out and share the gospel to the world. Philip not only takes the invitation himself but immediately he extends that invitation to his friend. Nathaneal.
He finds Nathanael sitting under a fig tree by himself contemplating about this person Jesus and who He really is. Philip comes up to Nathanael and said “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”Jn 1:45. He now extends the invitation to Nathanael to follow Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, in the fulfillment of all the prophecies. Nathanael is not quite sure about this Jesus of Nazareth, that He really is the one that had been prophesied. On the other hand he is convinced because he had seen what Jesus has done. He is drawn to Jesus, His heart wants to believe but his mind is holding him back about Him being from Nazareth. Rather than talking about this doubt of Nathanael, Philip gives the invitation to Nathanael saying,“Come and see”(V 46) Philip is inviting him to bring his doubts with him to come to Jesus because when he meets Jesus he is going to be invited into His inner circle where his questions could be answered. He will then know how Jesus indeed did fulfill all the prophecies including the fact that He came out of Nazareth. He accepts to go to Jesus with Philip.
When Nathanael comes to Jesus, Jesus invites him with these beautiful words, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (V. 47) Jesus greeting recognizes his honesty in wanting to know what is right, his honesty in searching for truth, his honesty in willing to bring his questions and doubts to Jesus. Maybe, you too, have doubts regarding the person Jesus Christ. And this invitation to “Come and See’ is extended to you to come and experience for yourself a relationship with Jesus. In the context of that relationship, in the frame of that relationship, your questions will be answered.
When Nathanael hears those words from Jesus he responds in v48 ”How do you knowme? Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called thee, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”” Jesus knew him just as Jesus knows you before you know Him. God knows the circumstances of your life; God knows when you were born and where you were born. He knew you before you were born; He knew you from your very womb; He knew you from eternity past and He knows your greatest challenges and He knows your greatest joy. He knows everything about you. The question is do you know Him. He invites you to come and see. He invites you to experience a deep beautiful friendship with the Son of God. This is the invitation extended to all of us
Nathanael when he hears those words he answers “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” (V 49)
In due time (ie. immediately) Nathanael found out how Jesus could come out of Nazareth. And he became the second one after John the Baptist, to acknowledge Jesus as. The Son of God, the King of Israel.
The ball is in your court now that you know about the invitation from Jesus is real as He is real. You will now have to make the vital decision on your life’s destiny. Make Him to be your personal friend and your personal Saviour, while probation is still open for we don’t know about our tomorrow whether we will still have the opportunity and an open mind to do so..
Day 10 Daily Reading
1.1The Spiritual Light
We are caught up in living our lives in two worlds; living in the real world (for the majority of society), and now and then enter into the spiritual world (go to church, read scriptures or follow the patterns of religion). The real world is everything, everyday things of life. But in reality there is only one world and that is the world that God has made. It is the world that is described in the Bible. As we enter that world, as we enter this story of the Bible, we can experience the gospel in an unhindered way. The hindrance is many times because we separate our spiritual life from our everyday life. Many sadly do not know about the spiritual dimension that is revealed in the Bible for Satan, the enemy of God has darkened the world with his evil devising and has deceived many starting with Adam and Eve into unbelief. Yet God wants to bring this together. But in real life many times temporal pursuits get in the way of the bigger picture and our understanding of eternal realities. The Bible gives us examples in the past of the children of God that were able to bring their temporal pursuits into harmony with God’s will and God’s purpose for their lives. We are called to do the same as we want the unhindered gospel to make way in our lives. We must come to that point where we surrender our plans and purposes to the purposes of God.
The same spirit that inspired the word of God is the same spirit that instructs us as we study the word. It may come alive that we may see in God’s word things that are there for us. The stories that God has given us are the stories that we are privileged to enter. . Thus the word may speak to us in a personal way and tailored made the message for each of us.
1.1.1 Periodic Reality Check
Living in our worldly hectic modern day lifestyle, it is most essential for us to pause and reflect, to have a reality check on the choices we have made with our lives. But what sort of reality needs checking into?
The answer could be to enable us to contemplate on what life is all about; to seek the truth where it is available, to still a troubled heart. that is mostly felt when we encounter trials in our lifes, especially when our livelihood is at stake, when death is imminent, like in the C-19 crisis. This pandemic is providential as everyone will be made to reflect in fear and anxiety as to what lies ahead in the future.It provided the social isolation and free time with no pressure of work and no one to interact with. This is the ideal setting for contemplation and reality check. This is the best way to bring us back into the essential practice of periodic reality check on our life with respect to our journey to the eternity city of God.
Could it be, the C-19 pestilence bears the same lesson in the Book of Job. Job lost all his wealth and children and also was inflicted with boils by Satan and permitted by God in order to refute Satan’s charge that Job was faithful with an ulterior motive.
1.1.1.1 God’s Message in C-19 Pandemic
What is the universal message for this present time living in this chaotic world?
We have the worldwide lockdown forcing everyone to rest at home in social isolation. Even church services were suspended causing pastors to reflect that they were guilty of not seriously obeying the weekly rest of the fourth commandments. This is the symptom to the root cause that of not taking the Bible is true as it is the word of God as the standard and compass to guide us in our journey in life on this earth in preparation for an eternal city of God.
The Bible is the one sure source of truth for humanity from God. The presentation by Daniel Pel in “The Unhindered Gospel”- 3part series, sets out reasons from scriptures specifically from Paul, in four out of his 14 letters in the NT. Paul, the appointed Apostle for the Gentiles wrote to counsel and encourage the early church members to grow in their faith with the hope in Christ of the future eternal world to come. Paul’s messages meant to correct and edify the errant church in Corinth is also addressing people living in the last days of this world’s history.
Finally, we have the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the dishonest steward that provides for the end time believers how to remain faithful to the end to have the assurance of eternal life at the Second Coming.
Day 11 Daily Reading
1.1.2 The Unhindered Gospel and Reality of Eternity
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFaWx8zdhIc (33:40) 1511 - Reality Check / The Unhindered Gospel - Daniel Pel Jan 1, 2014 Amazing Discoveries (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I-IOgAI7OI ( 40:40) 1512 - Temporal Pursuits and Eternal Realities / The Unhindered Gospel - Daniel Pel Jan 1, 2014 Amazing Discoveries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w2mQYSqDrg (43:15) 1513 - Something or Someone / The Unhindered Gospel - Daniel Pel Jan 1, 2014 Amazing Discoveries )
Adding to what has been mentioned earlier; Apostle Paul living in the first century was instrumental in raising many churches and in giving powerful messages and presentations on the gospel that really stirred the early church and the early believers who were called Christians in Antioch where Paul and Barnabas started their preaching of the gospel of Christ. His story is recorded in the Book of Acts written by Luke in recording the works of Peter, Paul, James and John in starting up the early church to spread the Gospel as commissioned by Jesus Christ to the ends of the world. Paul stands out by his courage and confidence in spreading the word of God. The gospel went forth with great confidence and unhindered. The ruling authorities denounced the gospel and chained Paul to stop him, but they couldn’t chain the gospel as he witnessed while he was chained or persecuted. This is in the record of His final act in giving the gospel while under arrest in Rome awaiting trial and yet the gospel is going forth with great confidence and unhindered as many in the household of Nero were converted. The fact that Christianity is what it is today is evidence of the truth and power of the gospel.
The gospel becomes real for us when we have the periodic reality check.
Daniel Pel is sharing his study of the truth in the bible to show that the gospel becomes real for us. It is the revival arising from the reality check on our belief in the Bible and with living obedience. When we actually embrace the Scriptures, the word of God, the gospel can be unchained in our lives and can go forth unhindered.
1.1.2.1 Counsel to the Corinth (2 Cor 4:1-18)
Paul on many occasions when he presented the gospel has cause to become discouraged. He was faced with severe opposition, being stoned once, shipwrecked, cast out of towns and cities where he proclaimed the gospel is able to write to the Corinthians* where some of them were beginning to lose interest through doubts, He emphatically says, Do not to lose heart (V.1) as we have this ministry and have received mercy. Paul even used those difficulties as means to proclaim the gospel with greater power and success. When he and Silas were cast in prison he started singing and an angel of the Lord intervened. An earthquake took place and he was delivered. Even the jail keeper surrendered his life to Christ and was baptized.The story of the event spread and many believed (Act 16:16-40). The book of Acts is full of stories of how despite difficulties, trial, and challenges, God is moving His movement forward.
Paul reminds us as he reminded Christians in its early days. So, the Holy Spirit through these words reminds us that when we have such a ministry, such a gospel, then we should not lose hope. The Gospel of Christ is about Christ who came to this world to pay the sins of the entire world that He took upon Himself. He died and paid the price for all our sins. He lived a perfect life of obedience to God’s required law. In living a perfect life and dying a perfect death, paying the price and rising from the grace who could not hold a sinless person, He now has all authority given unto Him, and has the power to change our lives. He has the power to change, to give us the strength and power to live according to God’s commandments and God’s ways. This beautiful gospel has been handed down to us. It’s a gospel that if we truly take hold of we will not lose heart. We will not be discouraged. It is a reality. But what happens so often that this gospel is being given to us becomes maybe more of a story, such as a Christmas story, a once a year that we read the story of the crucifixion with Easter. For many Christians, it is merely a story. We kind of live in two worlds where we have what we perceive to be the real world where we have our jobs and our families, and then we have the kind of spiritual world that we now and then enter into when we go to church or at times when we might read the scriptures. They are two separate worlds and when there are two separate worlds the gospel will be hindered.
But the message of scriptures really presents only one world and that’s God’s world, the real world. The world in which there is a great controversy raging. It’s a world in which the gospel is to become real for us. It is this world that we are invited to enter into. So the passage in 2 Corinthians is to shape our life and this is the invitation that scripture has for each one of us. The word of God according to verse 2 when embraced will cause us to renounce the hidden things of shame, i.e. it will cause a change in the life. It is a reality that can happen to each of our lives as we embrace it and believe and allow God’s spirit to work in us.
(Note*: Background on the City of Corinth*(1st Century) –An important mercantile city situated at the passage of the seas was licentious because of her trades. They have the temple of Apollo and their principal deity was Aphrodite, the goddess of love serviced by 1000 temple prostitutes. Paul founded the church as his labour for “three years” ( Act 20:31)
During Paul’s absence of three years, he received information that numerous problems had arisen that demanded the Apostle’s attention. Many had renounced their wicked ways slipped back into their old habits of life. One of the key issue involved skepticism regarding the fact and manner of the resurrection. He wrote two letters to the Corinthians. The first epistle is objective and practical; the second largely subjective and personal. The first had two purposes: firstly to reprove the backsliding by allowing practices that corrupted the teaching of the gospel, And second , instruction, or explanation, regarding the points of belief and practices which the believers had sought for his clarification. The second letter also gave advice on how to win back the offender.)
Day 12 Daily Reading
1.1.2.1.1The Certainty of Resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-20)
In the lowering of the moral standard among the Corinthian believers, there were those who had given up some of the fundamental features of their faith. Some had gone so far as to deny the doctrine of the resurrection. Paul met this heresy with a very plain testimony regarding the unmistakable evidence of the resurrection of Christ. He declared that Christ, after His death, "rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," after which "He was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also." {AA 319.5}
With convincing power the apostle set forth the great truth of the resurrection. "If there be no resurrection of the dead," he argued, "then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept." {AA 320.1}
1.1.2.1.1.1 The Hope of Resurrection at Second Coming (1 Cor 15:51-58 )
The apostle carried the minds of the Corinthian brethren forward to the triumphs of the resurrection morn, when all the sleeping saints are to be raised, henceforth to live forever with their Lord. "Behold," the apostle declared, "I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? . . . Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ( 1 Cor15:51-54) {AA 320.2}
Glorious is the triumph awaiting the faithful. The apostle, realizing the possibilities before the Corinthian believers, sought to set before them that which uplifts from the selfish and the sensual, and glorifies life with the hope of immortality. Earnestly he exhorted them to be true to their high calling in Christ. "My beloved brethren," he pleaded, "be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." {AA 321.1}
Thus the apostle, in the most decided and impressive manner, endeavored to correct the false and dangerous ideas and practices that were prevailing in the Corinthian church. He spoke plainly, yet in love for their souls. In his warnings and reproofs, light from the throne of God was shining upon them, to reveal the hidden sins that were defiling their lives. How would it be received? {AA 321.2}
1.1.2.1.2 Paul’s Justification of His Counsel
“The apostle Paul early in his Christian experience was given special opportunities to learn the will of God concerning the followers of Jesus. He was "caught up to the third heaven," "into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." He himself acknowledged that many "visions and revelations" had been given him "of the Lord." His understanding of the principles of gospel truth was equal to that of "the very chiefest apostles." 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4, 1, 11. He had a clear, full comprehension of "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." Ephesians 3:18, 19. {AA 469.1}
Paul could not tell all that he had seen in vision; for among his hearers were some who would have misapplied his words. But that which was revealed to him enabled him to labor as a leader and a wise teacher, and also molded the messages that he in later years sent to the churches. The impression that he received when in vision was ever with him, enabling him to give a correct representation of Christian character. By word of mouth and by letter he bore a message that ever since has brought help and strength to the church of God. To believers today this message speaks plainly of the dangers that will threaten the church, and the false doctrines that they will have to meet. {AA 469.2}
The apostle's desire for those to whom he addressed his letters of counsel and admonition was that they should "be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine;" but that they should all come into "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." He entreated those who were followers of Jesus in heathen communities not to walk "as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God . . . because of the blindness of their heart," but "circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time." Ephesians 4:14, 13, 17, 18; 5:15, 16. He encouraged the believers to look forward to the time when Christ, who "loved the church, and gave Himself for it," would "present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing"--a church "holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25, 27. {AA 470.1}
These messages, written with a power not of man but of God, contain lessons which should be studied by all and which may with profit be often repeated. In them practical godliness is outlined, principles are laid down that should be followed in every church, and the way that leads to life eternal is made plain. {AA 470.2}
Day 13 Daily Reading
1.1.2.2 Great Controversy Reality Check
It is the enemy (Satan) that has set up the real world which he has usurped from Adam. He is blinding the minds of men (V3-4), i.e. you do not see the way that God wants you to see. God is wanting give us a moment of awareness of what is happening around us.( e.g. personal free time from the C-19 lockdown) Scripture portrays a picture that we are involved in a great controversy. But the enemy doesn’t want you to know that, for he does not want you to know that he exists. Scriptures tell us of this mighty angel, Lucifer, convincing a third of the angels in rebellion and fell from his position and became Satan, the devil, the dragon. This is the actual being that is at work to undermine the very cause of God. The reality check is whether you know about you involvement in this great controversy,
When we start seeing these things in Scripture, we should ask God to confirm these things in our lives, that we may live our lives according to what we read and according to what we experience here, This is asking God to make the scripture as glasses to see in the spiritual light so that we no longer view the world as we perceive the world in God’s light.
We will be enlightened that there was rebellion at the beginning and mankind in unbelief in God’s word. But by God’s grace, there is hope in the work of Christ and in the gospel message of the plan of salvation. There is hope in resurrection beyond the grave. All these things are introduced to us in God’s word. But the question is Do we believe it. This is the reality check for the professed Christian before it reaches the conscience of the unbelievers through them sharing the gospel. Christianity has fallen into the trap of reducing this incredible revelation of God to a mere story. Someone has traced that Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship, and then it moved to Greece and became a philosophy. It moved to Italy and became an institution and it moved to Europe and became a culture. It moved to American and became an enterprise. Isn’t it so true that Christianity has picked up this entire luggage and baggage on the way .That is why the real invitation from God Himself to each of our lives is to strip away those layers and come back to the very heart of Christianity which is just the person Jesus Christ.
Let us have a reality check and ask ourselves, “ Lord do I still really believe it and if I really believe it, do I live y life according to it. I believe that these words are indeed true and if I believe they are true we can ask this when we pray, “ Lord, help me to view the world as you view it, to see “in thy light shall we see light” Ps 36:9. As we do that then we may enter into this great controversy story and to aware that there is an enemy. But we are also aware that we have power and strength in Christ Jesus to overcome that enemy.
1.1.2.3 Reality of the Call (2 Cor 4:5-7)
Paul brings to the Corinthians and to us the privilege to carry the gospel into the world. He says we are only earthen vessels and yet God wants to fill these earthen vessels with a treasure that is beyond anything we could ever imagine. This treasure is Jesus Christ Himself. The reality is that that you and I are called to be proclaimers of this treasure to show this treasure to others; to bring the life of Jesus to people around us. It is a great privilege to enter into this solemn service and we have a part to play in it and to step into the great controversy. God could have done this work Himself, but He wants us to have a share in this work where He can use us in different ways. But we can only go forth only when we come away from the assumption that there are two worlds. We must enter into the spiritual world where there is the restoration of all things.
1.1.2.4 Reality of Eternity (2 Cor 4:13-15)
Paul with great conviction and confidence gave the assurance of “knowing that He who raised up the Lord will also raise us up with Jesus.” Again this is the reality check that we must be asking, Do I believe that Jesus has risen from the grave 2,000 year ago. And if I really believe that, Do I He is ministering for me right now and that very soon He will come again and that I can be part of the world that He will make new, where there will be no pain, where there will be no suffering, where there will be no death.
1.1.2.4.1 The ‘Just in Case’ Mentality
Some may be half heartedly adopt the ‘just in case’ theology that it could be true that one day, Christ will come again and it could be true of a world created new. This outcome is what I like, therefore I will put my one foot in that world , but at the same time I’ll keep one foot in this world because, ‘just in case’ that is not true I want to live a good life here and now. So I will also put my bets on this earth ‘just in case’ as I am not quite sure. Thus, I will get the best life now and also not miss out on the best life to come.
This attitude is addressed in asserting the truth in the doctrine of resurrection as set out in par 1.1.2.1.1The Certainty of Resurrection.
Paul is saying to us to sell out all for Christ, give everything to Him. It is worth it. When we start living our lives according to this truth we can receive the power to enter into a new world. It’s the world of Scripture and it is the only real world that exists. It does not mean it is going to be a easy gospel journey for there will be hindrances in our lives. But God will take those hindrances and can work them out so that His gospel can still go forth unhindered just like He did in the life of Paul.
Day 14 Daily Reading
1.1.2.4.2 Hindrances in Persecution
Paul says in: 2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 2Co 4:11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.2Co 4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” (Paul says the enemy is trying to defeat us. He is pressing us hard, He is trying to cause us to despair but because in all of this God is working through us, even in the suffering God is glorified. God amazingly can change the trial and challenge into a way that the gospel goes forth unhindered.
1.1.2.4.3 Don’t Lose Heart by Faith in Christ
Paul ends the chapter by reiterating therefore we do not lose heart even “though our outward man is perishing yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” So Paul is entreating us to look at the things that are not seen but they are revealed in Scriptures. We have not seen the resurrection of Jesus in the past, or seen Jesus come back the second time. But we see it by faith and we have to walk by faith knowing and believing these things are true, just as true as the the tangible things around us. We can put our confidence in the promises of God and in doing so we cease to live in two worlds, and live in the one world that is described in the Bible. We will then be taking part in this amazing story as earthen vessels bearing the treasures of Christ to carry the gospel to those around us.
1.1.2.5 Hindrances in Temporal Life and Pursuits
Paul relates the lives and experiences of the patriarchs, Abraham, the first one called by God, Isaac, his son and Jacob, the son of Isaac, in their temporal pursuits in the light of a bigger story in which we are now involved in.Their stories in the OT are lessons for our lives in having the truth of God’s assurance in His promises to overcome the hindrances in our lives and not be discouraged by them.
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
The patriarchs had temporal pursuits, but they never lost of the eternal realities of a world a come. So when Abram (former name of Abraham) was called to leave Ur, the place of his birth, his upbringing as a Chaldean to follow God to bring him to a new place as a stranger. Though he was a stranger dwelling in tents he was resting on the promise that God was one day going to give him a permanent place in a heavenly City in a heavenly land. His descendents inherited the earthly Canaan, but they were never to lose sights of that which Abraham did not lose sight of- the eternal reality of a heavenly home.
Yet it is so easy for us like the descendents of Abraham to lose sight of eternal reality in our lives. There are many times in our lives, in the temporal pursuit of life and we forget the reality of Scripture that there is a better world. In order for the gospel to go unhindered in our lives, we need to know the promise of that eternal reality and the understanding we are part of a larger story orchestrated by God.
Day 15 Daily Reading
1.1.2.5.1Jesus, Founder and Perfector of Our Faith
Believers today are encouraged to keep our focus right. “In the epistle to the Hebrews is pointed out the single-hearted purpose that should characterize the Christian's race for eternal life: "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1, 2. Envy, malice, evil thinking, evilspeaking, covetousness--these are weights that the Christian must lay aside if he would run successfully the race for immortality. Every habit or practice that leads into sin and brings dishonor upon Christ must be put away, whatever the sacrifice. The blessing of heaven cannot attend any man in violating the eternal principles of right. One sin cherished is sufficient to work degradation of character and to mislead others. {AA 312.1}
Jesus is called the author and finisher of our faith to tell us that He started this journey (race) and He is going to end this journey. We must not lose focus on the one who started the work in us and is able to complete this work in us. That someone is none other than Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
1.1.2.5.1.1 Sustaining Power of God
Scripture makes it very clear that God has a sustaining power through His Spirit, through His Holy Spirit, through the intercessory work of Jesus Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. There is a sustaining power made available to each one of us as believers in order for our lives to be kept in Christ to be in the harmony with God’s will and way, so that we can in this story represent Him. This is based on the testimony of Jude, the stepbrother of Jesus saying “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Ju 1:1.2. The key phrase is “Jesus Christ preserves us.” In Him we find power to sustain our lives. This promise is repeated: ”Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Ju 1:24,25. God has the necessary attributes to keep our lives from the beginning to the very end. Sometimes in the temporal pursuits of our temporal life we lose sight of the larger picture and yet when we open scripture when we do the reality check, and when we start reading these passages of scripture we will realize we are involved in a much larger story than our own little temporal story in the world’s history. In this story God wants to preserve us. He wants to keep us from the beginning, all the way to the end of our lives. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. This is fleshed out in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they went about their temporal pursuits in their life. The temporal pursuit was not the end of the story even when they dwelt in the tents they realized that there was something grand they were part of. They were looking forward to a heavenly land.
1.1.2.5.1.1.1 The Dangerous Trap of Temporal Pursuits
Yet so many times we get caught up in the temporal pursuits and they become an end in and of themselves. This is what happened to the Israelites that once they inherited the land of Canaan they forgot about the greater promise of the heavenly Canaan and they focused on the here and now, They started building magnificent, beautiful temple, when the temple was to point to a person that was to come, Jesus Christ. Yet what happened in the temple rituals, patterns and ceremonies they lost sight of the one that it all pointed forward to. They would bring many sacrifices and yet when the sacrifice came, the lamb that was to take the sins of the world upon Himself, they didn’t recognize Him. They got lost in their grand temporal pursuits, and they no longer saw the overarching picture that God wanted to give them, the eternal realities. These happened in religious things, they were involved in religious patterns and the missed the eternal realities.
Can it happen that we can be involved in religious patterns and maybe traditions or customs and yet we fail to see the bigger picture and the eternal realities of God. Therefore, we need the reality check. We need God to remind us with His Holy Spirit to press upon our hearts the need to come to Him in humility and open His word and pray for the Spirit to guide us so that we may again have an understanding of truth, and an understanding of it that we may enter in this story and truly believe it. If we don’t belief we can ask God to give us the belief that is needed, We must recognize the power to believe must come from Christ (Mk 9:24)
The power for us to have an eternal perspective comes from Him. So we must rest in Him and ask the Holy Spirit to do that in our lives.
Day 16 Daily Reading
1.1.2.5.1.1The Keeping of Spiritual life – Spiritual Discernment
God can turn all circumstances, all situations and challenges to eventually bring the gospel unhindered to the world. What might seem to hinder can nevertheless be ways for the gospel to be brought to a new level according to His will. (Rom 8:28) We see this play out in the life of the Apostle Paul. The enemy thought every time that they were preventing him and yet what seemed to be a hindrance became a means for the gospel to penetrate even into new places and new heart, e.g. the baptism of the jail-keeper to experience what Paul has experienced and enter into the gospel story. The many conversions happen in the household of Nero when he was in prison in Rome and was beheaded by Nero.
1.1.2.5.1.1.1 Free Will in Predestination Outcome
The aspects of this keeping power are expressed in passages of Romans 8. Firstly, God has a big plan far beyond what we can imagine. He has predestined us ( Rom 8:29,30) meaning God’s purpose is put on display for all people to be saved but that does not mean that not all will be saved because He has also given every person a free will. Salvation is not going to be forced upon us. Divine foreknowledge and predestination does not exclude human liberty. Nowhere in scripture say God has predestined certain people to be lost and others to be saved. But God does has a purpose for all people to saved: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim 2:4 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pe 3:9.
God knew us before we were born, and He has a plan for us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Once we discern this in scripture our lives will be lived in a different way. We will start understanding that we are not just here for temporal things but they are actually our decisions and choices have a great part to play in this grand story of Scripture.
This is borne out in the life of prophet Jeremiah. God speaks to him,“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jer 1:5. He can do two things, he can either pursue his temporal ideas of what he wants to do to live his life, or he can surrender to God’s purpose and plan for him and become a prophet for the nation of Israel and God used him in a mighty way.
God is not a respecter of any single person for He has a purpose for each one of us today. God thinks about what He is going to create and we come into existence not by accident but by God’s plan and purpose for each one of us that He devised even before we were born. We can ask the Lord to reveal what that purpose and plan exactly and He will guide us in our lives through His words. He guides us through the impressions of the Holy Spirit, through revelations in nature , and godly counsels from people that are around us. There are and various ways in which God leads and guides us and shows us how we can be experiencing the gospel and instrumental in carrying this gospel tp people around us.
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Rom 8:31. We need this spiritual discernment otherwise in our temporal pursuits we lose sight of that which matters most. Jesus says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mat 6:33. God is for us when we make Him first. Then in our temporal pursuits, He will be for us and guiding us and the temporal pursuits will not be an end of itself but it will rather reflect something bigger and greater. It will point forward to something more significant and we can view our temporal pursuits in the light of eternity. Whatever profession we have we can actually use that profession to reach out to people in need of the gospel. God has placed you uniquely in life where He wants to open more doors of opportunity for us to live, preach and share gospel. By being Christ-like people may see something different and there is something they would want.
1.1.2.5.1.1.2 Satan Corrupts and Accuses
Cited below is the passage from Ellen White explaining how we realize our shortcomings, that our weaknesses against an enemy who is really trying tp press us down and yet at that very moment we can have the confidence and hope that Christ is on our side. God gives us the assurance that if we put our trust in Christ we are forgiven through His blood.
“Today human beings stand before God with defiled garments. All their righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Satan uses against them his masterly accusing power, pointing to their imperfections as evidence of their weakness. He points scornfully at the mistakes of those who claim to be doing God service. They have been deceived by him, and he begs for permission to destroy them. {TDG 226.2}
But they trust in Christ, and Christ will not forsake them. He came to this world to take away their sins, and to impute to them His righteousness. He declares that through faith in His name they may receive forgiveness, and perfect Christlike characters. They have confessed their sins to Him, and have asked for pardon, and Christ declares that because they look to and believe on Him, He will give them power to become sons of God. {TDG 226.3}
Their characters are defective, but because they have not trusted in their own merits and excused their sins, because they have asked for forgiveness through the merits of Christ, the Lord receives them, and rebukes Satan. Because they have humbled themselves, confessing their sins, He refuses to listen to the enemy's accusations. He has abundantly pardoned the penitent ones, and will carry forward in them His work of redeeming love if they will continue to believe in Him and to trust Him.” {TDG 226.4}
This is exactly what the Scripture teach that when we put our confidence and trust in Christ even though the accuser is there pointing at us, accusing us and trying to press us down, we have the confidence that Christ through His sacrifice, the price that He paid, His redeeming blood will be able to stand between us and the Father. He will give us this discernment in those moments of despondency. Christ is always there tp sustain us to empower us. God knew us before we were born and He has a plan for us that reaches to eternity.
Day 17 Daily Reading
1.1.2.5.1.2 Intercession of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26))
In moments when we are so utterly depressed and helpless, the only release is to cry out to God. But we just don’t know the right word to express what is going on inside us. We are then harboring the feelings about our prayers are just not getting to God for Him to hear our plea. Yet God knowing about our plight has made provision and through the Holy Spirit: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Rom 8:26. The Holy Spirit knows what are our greatest lead us from the beginning to the endneeds and He is there to sustain sustain and guide us. We are never to forget that God is at work to sustain us. Remember, for humanity, it begins when He, according to His big eternal plan, chose to give each of us life and this life is eternal if we choose life and put our faith in the love of God. Too often we lose sight of God and His will to help and guide us all the way to our eternal home. God is the author and finisher of our faith.
1.1.2.5.1.3 The Heart of God
Paul has been enabled to dimly reflect on the heart of God in this matter. The heart of God is passionate for you and for me. He wants to sustain us in all of our journey that He orchestrates beginning with our birth.
This love of God is embraced in his acknowledgement to the Philippians: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” Php 1:6. He is telling them to rejoice knowing that if God has started the work in them how much more will He want to complete that work. It is God who is pursuing each of us. This was the case in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve hiding from God because of their nakedness by disobeying God’s word. Could it be that we are who are hiding from Him. God is continuing to pursue our lives and if we will stop for a moment (in our reality check) and allow Him to come into our lives, He will also complete as long as we keep trusting in Him. There can be none against us once we have made Him foremost in our lives.
1.1.2.5.1.3.1 Case Book of Life - The Bible
There are numerous examples in Scripture of men and women who have gone through just that experience. They have stepped away from their own ideas about the past and the future and their own lives but has actually started believing the story of God and His revelation. We can see the outcome in their lives and it can give us confidence for what the outcome will be in our lives. These men of faith were those “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earthAnd these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Heb 11:33-40.
1.1.2.5.1.3.2 Choosing Life - Be Part of Gospel Story
God is still writing the story here and we are individuals that need to be added to that list. It will not be an easy path. But in all of these struggles we have an eternal reality, a promise to look forward to. This difficulty maybe that something is happening with you, or with your child or with your parents. Whatever difficulty you are facing you can rest assured that God has already a plan to finish the work in you if you will allow Him. The temporal difficulties in the light of eternity can be turned by God into a means in which the gospel can go forth unhindered. We can allow for that in our lives, in all the decisions we make, when we give Him all of our hearts.
Day 18 Daily Reading
1.1.2.6 Response to God’s Love
Jesus said of Himself before He came to earth, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Psalm 40:8. And just before He ascended again to heaven He declared, "I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. The Scripture says, "Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. . . . He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." 1 John 2:3-6. "Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." 1 Peter 2:21. {SC 61.2ha}
The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,--just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,--perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized. {SC 62.1}
It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned. {SC 62.2}
1.1.2.6.1 Total Surrender of Our Will
More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. So you may say, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20. So Jesus said to His disciples, "It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Matthew 10:20. Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit and do the same good works --works of righteousness, obedience. {SC 62.3}
So we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast. We have no ground for self-exaltation. Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us. {SC 63.1}
1.1.2.6.2 Faith is Love Manifested in Works
When we speak of faith, there is a distinction that should be borne in mind. There is a kind of belief that is wholly distinct from faith. The existence and power of God, the truth of His word, are facts that even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says that "the devils also believe, and tremble;" but this is not faith. James 2:19. Where there is not only a belief in God's word, but a submission of the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there is faith--faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Through this faith the heart is renewed in the image of God. And the heart that in its unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, now delights in its holy precepts, exclaiming with the psalmist, "O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97. And the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1. {SC 63.2}
1.1.2.6.3 Do Not Despair in Doubt of God’s Love
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. {SC 64.1}
1.1.2.6.4 Sense of Sinfulness in Christ’s Presence
The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan's delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you. {SC 64.2}
No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ. {SC 65.1}
The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon; and when the soul, realizing its helplessness, reaches out after Christ, He will reveal Himself in power. The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we shall reflect His image. {SC 65.2}
Day 19 Daily Reading
1.1.2.7 Rebellious Response - Idols, Worldly Pleasures and Temporal Pursuits
Jesus tells us “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Mat 24:14. We are being hindered by the enemy from proclaiming and experiencing the power of the gospel from finishing the work. We have learnt about the counterfeit real world ruled by Satan to block out the spiritual and true world of God that is revealed in the Bible. The hindrance is many time because we separate our spiritual live from our everyday life. Yet God wants us to enter into His world as described in the Bible to experience the gospel in an unhindered way. Living under the worldly circumstances we are prone to let temporal pursuits be our end goal in life to replace the eternal realities. God has lovingly given us examples to emulate faithful people in the past that were able to bring their temporal pursuits into harmony with God’s will and God’s purpose for their lives. We are called to do the same as we want the unhindered gospel to make ways in our lives where we surrender our plans, our purposes to the plans and purposes of God. Jesus tells us that “..without Me ye can do nothing” Jn 15:5 . and “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.:Php 2:13.
1.1.2.7.1 God’s Wooing & Pleading against Idolatry
Bible prophesy is now in the process of fulfilling that in the end times “..all the world wondered after the beast. “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” Rev 13:3,4.
The whole world is not heeding the voice of God wooing and pleading with us. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3. Probation of mankind is still open as the longsuffering and merciful God is stlll wooing and pleading for His children He has created (but the days are running out- see next sub-heading below) We can reenact how God had pleaded for His erring and rebellious children through the prophet Jeremiah. It is God Himself speaking passionately through Jeremiah. He is putting His heart on display here. He is entreating His rebellious and apostate people to come back to Him:
Jer 2:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
Jer 2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
Jer 2:4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: (God is reminiscing on the times that He had with His people in the past, how they were committed in their devotion and service to Him. God did great things for the Israelites and here they have forsaken and turned away from Him.)
Jer 2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? i.e. followed far from me and have become idolators. (God is saying what have I done wrong? Why have you gone away from Me? Were those idols really worth it? This shows us the personality of God, our Creator and Supreme Ruler of the universe.
1.1.2.7.1.1 Present Day Idolatry – Our Realty Check
We also need to know that there are more idols today than there were in times past. Satan has not ceased to lead us to idolatry, but idolatry has taken a whole new form, Idols are basically things we place in the very place where God only belongs. Idols are those things that get our affections. They get our worship which really is only due to God, the Creator. We need to evaluate our own lives and ask ourselves the question what is it that gets my affection? What is the first thing that I think about when I wake up in the morning? What is it that drives my life and that I use my time on and my money on? If God is not the One who gets me excited in life. If God is not the answer to those questions then there is some idol that has taken the place of God in your life. God has been displaced and replaced with something or someone. God has been entreating people in the past, so So God is entreating you and me saying What have I done that you have gone away from Me?
1.1.2.7.2 Futile Reliance on Broken Cistern of Modern Society
Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.( God pinpoints the problem of humanity and the problem of our society today. It is also the problem within the Christian world and perhaps even our personal problems. God has evaluated that humanity have turns away from Him. You thought that the things ( created) was better than the person ( Creator); that the religious pattern was better than the person. You left Me and then try to create a cistern that would hold water as we are all thirsty for a deeper meaning to life. There is this conscience is something that God has placed within us and we are all born with the desire for something more. There is a void, a space that God has put there that only He can fill. He does not fill it if we don’t allow Him to fill it. We will instead try to fill to fill it with something else . So we will hewed out the cistern. The cistern could be competitive sports, your job or career, your Hollywood idols, a loved one, and whatever it is instead of God who gives and sustains our lives and deserves our worship. The Bible verse tells us it will hold no water and the water we searching for that can only quench the thirst of our souls will not be found in it. This is the self-help well of this life. The living water is found only in Christ Jesus. This brings us back to the story of The Samaritan Woman Encounters Jesus at Jacob” well. (Jn 4:1-13) He offered to her the living water and that is the life of Christ Himself.
The counterfeit living water finds its place as self-help books on any subject in the world written by human wisdom. They do contain a lot of helpful information and be able to help you in your life. But they are missing the true essence, they don’t go to the heart (root) of the issue- to shun sin. For example, a book on healthy food might give you a better diet and make you to become a healthy but still a sinner that will face the eternal death. A book on finance will not necessarily make you a generous person. There must be something that must go deeper and that is where the gospel comes in. The gospel is put on display who you are without Christ and it shows your utter need for Christ. When it shows our utter need for Christ, we must realize that it’s a power outside of ourselves. The Bible says you must be broken on the rock of Jesus Christ. You must surrender your life. There is not a power that is going to come from within you to fix yourself as we are unfixable.
Day 20 Daily Reading
1.1.2.7.3 Reality of God in Nature- No Excuse in Rejecting God
Paul in Rom 1-3 graphically describes the condition of humanity where we fix ourselves. The solution is a power outside of ourselves. The self-help books can show you patterns of paths where you can unleash this power inside of you. This kind of spirituality is very popular for some time now as the New Age movement. God is inside you and you just have to unleash that spiritual power inside you. The scripture teaches differently that there is not a power inside us but it is the power outside of us that we must pray in faith believing the promise of God.
When God created the world He really put Himself on display to the universe. He immediately declare “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Gen 1:1. His handiworks whether it be the beautiful flowers, the spectacular Sunrise and Sunset or the multitude stars in the heavens. When we look at nature we can discern the goodness of God , of His power and creative abilities. But despite all these evidences, mankind has turned away from Him in unbelief.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Paul then points out the way that was taken as a reminder to unbelievers precisely what they are now doing.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Creation is a display of God’s attributes but the created thing have been deceived into worshipping the created things in place of the Creator. This is the critical life or death decision to be made in our period of probation on earth: Human beings are inevitably wired to give their affections to things. Are we going to worship God, the Creator or will we end up worshipping the things that God created. When our affections do not go to God they will end up going to other things.
1.1.2.7.3.1 Perversion of God’s Gifts
Paul in writing to the believers in Rome is able to pinpoint the very problem of humanity. It is not only the problem that existed in his days but also the problem that exists in our days. They “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom 1:23) This is making images of the created things that represented God as idols of worship.
We might think that we don’t do that now as we are sophisticated. Yet today we have substituted the physical idols with mental idols. We now misrepresent God in the way we portray Him to the world around us. This is the universal problem of humanity at large. God has given gifts to this world and yet those gifts have been perverted when they are separated from the Creator. The three main gifts at the beginning are the gift of food, gift of healthy labour, and the gift of marriage. By violating the context, conditions and framework specified;, i.e. by separating these from the gifts they became perverted. Each gift can be fully and eternally enjoyed only in the context of God, Himself.
These separations all began with food when Eve was mesmerized by Satan (the melodious talking serpent on the tree of knowledge of good and evil) to disbelief God’s word and did eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam shared in her misery and also ate and they together with their posterity lost the robe of light, the shied of Christ righteousness against Satan and sin. Death came by the first Adam and immortality by Jesus Christ, the second Adam.
In the perversion of Work, we see this in secular people nowadays. People are working so hard but it is all about building themselves a career, getting rich, prestige, all about self and money. When God is lost sight of those abilities don’t role to the glory of God.
The gift of physical exercise is separated in the field of competitive sports where it’s all self and money rather than the blessing that was originally embraced in that gift.
Marriage perversion in the world we live in today is the cause of a sex perverted culture where there are so much distortions to God’s original gift of marriage, relationship and family (manifested in homosexuals and gay marriage.)
In all these rebellious works, the victims are those who have not heard or have ignored the good news of salvation that has been provided on the cross of Calvary. They have by default been deceived by the riches and pleasures of this world and they worship the things and the creatures in place of the one and only God, the Creator. The realty check in seriousness is who do you worship while probation is still open and Christ is still interceding for all sinners to repent and return to seek Him as their personal savior.
1.1.2.7.3.2 Observe Religious Pattern without Christ
Paul having dealt with the failures of the non-believers in Rom 1, also shows that sin is so insidious that even those who are religious are not exempt from this fundamental problem. In Rom 2, he is picturing the condition of the Jews, the believers, the chosen people of God. He points out that they can be so caught up in their religious patterns that they forget about Christ., so much so that when Jesus came to earth, they did not recognize the real person and they crucified Him.
Paul ends the chapter saying, “ For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom 2:28,29.
Religion and spirituality is not about the outward pattern which in Paul’s time was the issue of circumcision. We can take the same principle today and apply it today because there is a lot of outward patterns of religion such as attendance, tithes, etc. These outer things many times take the place of what God really wants to do inside of us. Most of the time we are going through the motion of doing a pattern of religion rather than committing to the person that it is all about.
Thus Paul in Rom 1 tells us don’t put the created above the Creator and then in Rom 2, don’t put the pattern above the person. In our sincere periodic reality check we should be able correct our behavior and strengthen our faith in coming back to the someone, the Creator, Jesus Christ, the person. By doing this the gospel will be able to go forth unhindered to reach the end of the world, then Christ can come to reclaim this world to Himself.
Day 21 Daily Reading
1.1.2.7.3.3 The Fulfillment of Heart’s Desire
Basically the self-help book is leading us back to the very first lie of the devil when he said to Eve the God you know is in you and you won’t die by eating the forbidden fruit. Satan is repeating this lies over and over again to deceive us to replace God for something we cherish: i,e, trying to replace the person, by a pattern. “Ellen White reminds us “We have not six patterns or five, we have only one and that us in Jesus.” And if you allow Him to come into your life, your life will be completely changed not from outer modifications but by a heart transformation. When that happens the rest will flow naturally when we are connected with the Spirit of God.
There is a longing in each of our hearts for something more. We get to inexplicable realization that our lives are not complete and empty and there is something more. But the question is where do we find the fulfillment for that something more. Could it be this curiosity for something more in Eve that caused her fall into sin by disbelieving God’ word. If we continue to search for all humanly help you will continue to be thirsty if you don’t come to Jesus, the only one to quench your thirst. His spirit will bring true satisfaction which this world cannot give.
God Himself has put eternity into our hearts (Ecc 3:11) God has created everything perfect and beautiful and we were naturally given immortality from the beginning. We were created to exist, not to die. But sin has caused death to come into the human race. God has originally placed in us a desire to live forever, a desire for eternity. That desire can be fulfilled when we come to the person Christ because He has promised us eternal life for His life is eternal.
1.1.2.7.4 Repent and be Saved
Jesus has said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." John 12:32. Christ must be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour dying for the sins of the world; and as we behold the Lamb God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, Christ manifested a love that is incomprehensible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it softens the heart, impresses the mind, and inspires contrition in the soul. {SC 26.4}
It is true that men sometimes become ashamed of their sinful ways, and give up some of their evil habits, before they are conscious that they are being drawn to Christ. But whenever they make an effort to reform, from a sincere desire to do right, it is the power of Christ that is drawing them. An influence of which they are unconscious works upon the soul, and the conscience is quickened, and the outward life is amended. And as Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced, the commandment comes home to the conscience. The wickedness of their life, the deep-seated sin of the soul, is revealed to them. They begin to comprehend something of the righteousness of Christ, and exclaim, "What is sin, that it should require such a sacrifice for the redemption of its victim? Was all this love, all this suffering, all this humiliation, demanded, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life?" {SC 27.1}
The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God's dear Son. {SC 27.2}
If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 13:23. There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are. {SC 31.1}
1.1.2.7.4.1 Beware of Procrastination.
Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands upon thousands have erred to their eternal loss. I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger--a danger not sufficiently understood--in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss. What we do not overcome, will overcome us and work out our destruction. {SC 32.2}
Many are quieting a troubled conscience with the thought that they can change a course of evil when they choose; that they can trifle with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again and again impressed. They think that after doing despite to the Spirit of grace, after casting their influence on the side of Satan, in a moment of terrible extremity they can change their course. But this is not so easily done. The experience the education, of a lifetime, has so thoroughly molded the character that few then desire to receive the image of Jesus. {SC 33.3}
1.1.2.7.4.2 Free Choice in Salvation
Christ is ready to set us free from sin, but He does not force the will; and if by persistent transgression the will itself is wholly bent on evil, and we do not desire to be set free, if we will not accept His grace, what more can He do? We have destroyed ourselves by our determined rejection of His love. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." 2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 3:7, 8. {SC 34.2}
Many accept an intellectual religion, a form of godliness, when the heart is not cleansed. Let it be your prayer, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. Deal truly with your own soul. Be as earnest, as persistent, as you would be if your mortal life were at stake. This is a matter to be settled between God and your own soul, settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin. {SC 35.1}
Study God's word prayerfully. That word presents before you, in the law of God and the life of Christ, the great principles of holiness, without which "no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14. It convinces of sin; it plainly reveals the way of salvation. Give heed to it as the voice of God speaking to your soul. {SC 35.2}
1.1.2.7.4.3 Do Not Give Up Christ in Despair
As you see the enormity of sin, as you see yourself as you really are, do not give up to despair. It was sinners that Christ came to save. We have not to reconcile God to us, but--O wondrous love!--God in Christ is "reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. He is wooing by His tender love the hearts of His erring children. No earthly parent could be as patient with the faults and mistakes of his children, as is God with those He seeks to save. No one could plead more tenderly with the transgressor. No human lips ever poured out more tender entreaties to the wanderer than does He. All His promises, His warnings, are but the breathing of unutterable love. {SC 35.3}
When Satan comes to tell you that you are a great sinner, look up to your Redeemer and talk of His merits. That which will help you is to look to His light. Acknowledge your sin, but tell the enemy that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" and that you may be saved by His matchless love. 1 Timothy 1:15. Jesus asked Simon a question in regard to two debtors. One owed his lord a small sum, and the other owed him a very large sum; but he forgave them both, and Christ asked Simon which debtor would love his lord most. Simon answered, "He to whom he forgave most." Luke 7:43. We have been great sinners, but Christ died that we might be forgiven. The merits of His sacrifice are sufficient to present to the Father in our behalf. Those to whom He has forgiven most will love Him most, and will stand nearest to His throne to praise Him for His great love and infinite sacrifice. It is when we most fully comprehend the love of God that we best realize the sinfulness of sin. When we see the length of the chain that was let down for us, when we understand something of the infinite sacrifice that Christ has made in our behalf, the heart is melted with tenderness and contrition. {SC 35.4}
Day 22 Daily Reading
1.2 Entering the Spiritual Light
The evidence of truth that has been shared is to convince and convict any hearer and seeker of the reality that the subject is the absolute truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of man and our Brother. God created the world through Him and He gives us life, the privilege that we did not ask for. He reconciled our fallen man bound for death to receive pardon to enjoy life eternal. In receiving and accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour is the beginning in the growth of your knowledge and discernment of truth as you are enabled to see through the spiritual light of Jesus (Ps 36:9.)
* The victory and vindication of God’s righteousness, justice and mercy was won at the Cross of Calvary. The faithful and devoted angels and the beings in the unfallen worlds then know the true sin filled character of Satan which they did not know before.
But most of the people on Earth are still living blissfully contented in the counterfeit world of Satan as it was in the days of Noah, when “God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Gen 6:13. This message of destruction of the earth is repeated for the end time generation by Jesus, “But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, “And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Mat 24:37-39.
God’s plan to replace the evil angels with human beings will go forward as it is in the unhindered gospel which is the everlasting Gospel proclaimed in the three angels’ messages. We are rapidly approaching the end of this earth’s history: and “we are bidden to sound the alarm to the people. And in our own lives we are to show forth the power of truth and righteousness. This last message of God’s loves has to go to the world before Jesus can come.The world is soon to meet the great Lawgiver over the broken law. Those only who turn from transgression to obedience , can hope for pardon and peace” ({RH Jun 12, 1913}
God wants His people to know that we have the message as He gave us in 1843 and 1844. We knew then what the message meant and we call upon our people today to obey the word, Bind up the law among my disciples.” In this world there are but two classes- the obedient and the disobedient. If we don’t choose to be obedient we automaticall become disobedient. If you don’t choose to go to heaven you won’t be there
Here is where the sons of light must step into the story of salvation to break out of the time zone into the spiritual realm to “finish the work*”.
(Note: “Finish the work”* - God has given the last generation His final message of warning. This is in threefold messages of the three angels. (Rev 14:6-12) This message is to prepare a world for the coming of Christ. The third angel’s message increases in importance as we near the close of this earth’s history. It is a life and death question. This message is warning men against receiving the mark of the beast or of his image in their foreheads or in their hands. (God is permitting the Covid-19 Pandemic as a precursor warning to the time of Jacob’s trouble that precedes the Second Coming of the Lord. The wind of strife is gradually loosening to be fully released when Satan fills up the cup of God’s wrath.- See FA1 truth Catalyst par 2.3 God's Final Message of Love; 2.3.1 Twelve Amazing Facts of the Three Angels’ Messages at https://www.wakeupow.com/449248979 )
1.2.1 Sons of Light Initiation Lessons
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWAaaM_NP9Q (58:30) Lessons for the Sons of Light | Pastor Stephen Bohr Premiered Dec 29, 2021 2CBN TV)
There is a difficult parable called the “Parable of the Unjust Steward” that Pastor Bohr has entitled it “Lessons for the Son of Light.” This is most timely as the single and complete presentation on entering into the spiritual light. This presentation covers the end time dimension based on four specific sources: 1. Scripture, Christ’s Object Lessons, Thoughts on the Mount of Blessing and The Desire of Ages.
God has given us glorious light to circle the world but unfortunately many times we hide it under the bushel In this final period of earth’s history the study of this very important parable of Jesus that deals with the end times.
This is the investiture of the sons of light in entering into the spiritual realm of the kingdom of God. Christ address is open for all classes of people to hear his parable of the unjust, unscrupulous and unfaithful steward. He is using a secular story to teach the key lesson on seeing light through His light.
1.2.1.1 Main Theme of Parable
The main theme of the lesson is the contrasting living in the time zone of the here now, the present with the future of eternity, phantoms and realities, temporal and eternal, seen and unseen, this life and the future life, the light affliction we suffer now and the eternal weight of glory. It is expressed by Ellen White and Apostle Paul base on the scriptural texts in Luk 16:1-13.
1 Ellen White writes:
“Christ's coming was at a time of intense worldliness. Men were subordinating the eternal to the temporal, the claims of the future to the affairs of the present. They were mistaking phantoms for realities, and realities for phantoms. They did not by faith behold the unseen world. Satan presented before them the things of this life as all-attractive and all-absorbing, and they gave heed to his temptations. {COL 366.1}
2 Apostle Paul also wrote some similar sentiments in 2 Cor 4: 17-18
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Day 23 Daily Reading
1.2.1.2 Scriptural Texts and Structure (Luk 16:1-13)
The scriptural texts of the parable is in Luke 16:1-13 structured in four sections with Lk16:1-8a the central lesson 8b 8- and the application or explanation by Jesus V9 and finally counsels by Jesus based on the parable v 10-13.This is principally amplified in the Spirit of Prophecy:
Christ came to change this order of things. He sought to break the spell by which men were infatuated and ensnared. In His teaching He sought to adjust the claims of heaven and earth, to turn men's thoughts from the present to the future. From their pursuit of the things of time, He called them to make provision for eternity. {COL 366.2}
1.2.1.2.1 The Setting (LK 16:1-8a)
"There was a certain rich man," He said, "which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods." The rich man had left all his possessions in the hands of this servant; but the servant was unfaithful, and the master was convinced that he was being systematically robbed. He determined to retain him no longer in his service, and he called for an investigation of his accounts. "How is it," he said, "that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward." {COL 366.3} ( Luk 16:1-2)
(**To the unfaithful steward his lord's goods had been entrusted for benevolent purposes; but he had used them for himself. .. (So now he is in a difficult predicament,) {COL 369.3} ( Luk 16:3)
There were three paths that were opened to him and he did not like any of them, With the prospect of discharge before him, the steward saw three paths open to his choice. He must labor, beg, or starve. .. {COL 367.1}
With the prospect of discharge before him, the steward saw three paths open to his choice. He must labor, beg, or starve. And he said within himself, "What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.( So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore." {COL 367.1} (Luk 16:4-7)
This unfaithful servant made others sharers with him in his dishonesty. He defrauded his master to advantage them, and by accepting this advantage they placed themselves under obligation to receive him as a friend into their homes. {COL 367.2}
"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely." The worldly man (Master) praised the sharpness of the man who had defrauded him. But the rich man's commendation was not the commendation of God. {COL 367.3} ( Luk 16:8)
“The servant in the parable had made no provision for the future. The goods entrusted to him for the benefit of others he had used for himself; but he had thought only of the present. When the stewardship should be taken from him, he would have nothing to call his own…. {COL 369.5} ( His problem is he is living for himself in the present and he is not living for others and not thinking about the future. That is the particular problem of this steward. So he devised a shrewd plan for his furure.) “But his master's goods were still in his hands, and he determined to use them so as to secure himself against future want. To accomplish this he must work on a new plan. Instead of gathering for himself, he must impart to others.” {COL 369.5 Now he has a change of view, he is going to live thinking about the future ( just as C-19) has caused many to reflect and thinking of the future in the event they are infected and of the consequences. So he prepares the plan in v5-7. Now, he is benefiting others, he is not thinking about the present enjoying everything in the present. He decided not to use the resource for himself and start benefiting others. He uses dishonest means to do it and thinking about helping others and about the future so that when he lost his job they will welcome and accomodate him..
1.2.1.2.2 The Central Spiritual Truth
Basically this is the parable. So how could Jesus condone unrighteous mammon? How could Jesus say that this individual teaches a great spiritual lesson if he defrauded his owner, So here is the central theme of the parable.
Recalling Luk 16:8 “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”
“The worldly man (the master) praised the sharpness of the man who had defrauded him. However, the rich man's commendation was not the commendation of God.” {COL 367.3} (This is to point to something that is happening in the secular world. Jesus is going to use this illustration to teach great spiritual truth.
“Christ did not commend the unjust steward, but He made use of a well-known occurrence to illustrate the lesson He desired to teach. "Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness," He said, "that when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." R.V.COL 367.4} (He points out that this man was shrewd in the plan he had devised. This is the story of the secural scene in verse 1-8a.
The parable is simply a story, of a rich man who had a streward and the steward prepared a shrewd plan so that when he get sacked he wouldn’t become a homeless person
Day 24 Daily reading
1.2.1.2.3 Investiture Counsel to Sons of Light
Then the second part 8b is the central lesson and probably Jesus is the one speaking here. “..for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Luk 16:8b. Jesus introduces a new element, the sons of light. As He is going to apply this parable to the sons of lght, the spiritual people of God to those who claim to be God’s people and are saved by Jesus. (After relating the parable, Christ said, "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." That is, worldly-wise men display more wisdom and earnestness in serving themselves than do the professed children of God in their service to Him.)
In verses 9-13, Jesus is making some counsels to the son of light about how they are supposed to live in this world in view of the world to come
Luk 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (worldly wealth); that, when ye fail (it is given out and gone), ‘they’ may receive you into everlasting habitations. (The “they” are the heavenly hosts. We need to know that Jesus addressed this parable to five groups. He had hoped that they would rectify the way that we are living in the present. If we have squandered our time, Christ still gives opportunity to secure lasting riches
Luk 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
1.2.1.1.1.2.1 The Five Groups Addressed
These five groups are: 1 The Publicans; 2. The Disciples – Sons of Light; 3. The Pharisees; 4. The Jewish Nation; 5. All Christ’s Followers.
1. The Publicans
The first group was the Publican. They were tax collectors and all they do is to think of their selves and live for themselves They use the riches for themselves just as in the story
“There had been among the publicans just such a case as that represented in the parable, and in Christ's description they recognized their own practices. Their attention was arrested, and from the picture of their own dishonest practices many of them learned a lesson of spiritual truth.” {COL 368.1}
2. The Disciples – Sons of Light
The parable was, however, spoken directly to the disciples.They were also thinking of themselves in following Jesus and expecting a reward. To them first the leaven of truth was imparted, and through them it was to reach others. Much of Christ's teaching the disciples did not at first understand, and often His lessons seemed to be almost forgotten. But under the influence of the Holy Spirit these truths were afterward revived with distinctness, and through the disciples they were brought vividly before the new converts who were added to the church. {COL 368.2}
3. The Pharisees
It was addressed also to the Pharisees ( rich man in the story of Lazarus) They were living for the present for themselves and not thinking of the future , The Pharisees, filled with self-importance and self-righteousness, were misapplying the goods lent them by God to use for His glory. {COL 369.4} The Saviour did not relinquish the hope that they would perceive the force of His words. Many had been deeply convicted, and as they should hear the truth under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, not a few would become believers in Christ. {COL 369.1} The scene known to have taken place among the publicans He holds up before the Pharisees both as representing their course of action and as showing the only way in which they can redeem their errors. {COL 369.2
4. The Jewish Nation
The parable was also written to the Jewish nation who had appropriate to themselves all of the blessings that God gave them and excluded everyone else. “So with Israel. God had chosen the seed of Abraham. With a high arm He had delivered them from bondage in Egypt. He had made them the depositaries of sacred truth for the blessing of the world. He had entrusted to them the living oracles that they might communicate the light to others. But His stewards had used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves. {COL 369.3}
5. All Christ’s Followers
The other group was to everyone that claim the word of Christ. “Thus he might secure friends, who, when he should be cast out, would receive him. So with the Pharisees. The stewardship was soon to be taken from them, and they were called upon to provide for the future. Only by seeking the good of others could they benefit themselves. Only by imparting God's gifts in the present life could they provide for eternity. {COL 369.5}
1.2.1.2.4 Present Day Application- God’s Church Today
These messages spoken apply to God’s church today. The lesson of this parable is for all. Everyone will be held responsible for the grace given him through Christ. Life is too solemn to be absorbed in temporal or earthly matters. The Lord desires that we shall communicate to others that which the eternal and unseen communicates to us. {COL 373.3
The Lord has endowed them with capabilities, and power, and influence; He has entrusted them with money, that they may be co-workers with Him in the great redemption. All His gifts are to be used in blessing humanity, in relieving the suffering and the needy. We are to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to care for the widow and the fatherless, to minister to the distressed and downtrodden…. {COL 370.1} (The blessings we have received are not for us to enjoy but thinking of the future to bless others.)
Alas, how many are appropriating to themselves the gifts of God! How many are adding house to house and land to land. How many are spending their money for pleasure, for the gratification of appetite, for extravagant houses, furniture, and dress. Their fellow beings are left to misery and crime, to disease and death. Multitudes are perishing without one pitying look, one word or deed of sympathy. {COL 371.1}
They are embezzling His entrusted goods. (The Lord declares, "I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against . . . those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right." "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation." Malachi 3:5, 8, 9.)
Everyone will be required to render up his entrusted gifts. In the day of final judgment men's hoarded wealth will be worthless to them. They have nothing they can call their own. {COL 372.1}
Those who spend their lives in laying up worldly treasure show less wisdom, less thought and care for their eternal well-being, than did the unjust steward for his earthly support. Less wise than the children of this world in their generation are these professed children of the light. (These are they of whom the prophet declared, in his vision of the great judgment day, "A man shall cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold [margin]; which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isaiah 2:20, 21.) {COL 372.2}
In verse, Mat 16:9, Jesus says to us, the children of the light (who do not live for self but for others) make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon ( the resources that God has given us) so that (when we no longer have those resources) they* may receive you into an everlasting Home (God’s kingdom).
( Note*- Ellen White wrote on verse 9 clarifying who they* refer to: “God and Christ and angels are all ministering to the afflicted, the suffering, and the sinful. Give yourself to God for this work, use His gifts for this purpose, and you enter into partnership with heavenly beings. Your heart will throb in sympathy with theirs. You will be assimilated to them in character. To you these dwellers in the eternal tabernacles will not be strangers. When earthly things shall have passed away, the watchers* at heaven's gates (the Father, the Son and the angels) will bid you welcome.” {COL 373.1}
Commentary from Albert Barnes. “ How can we deposit riches in heaven so that we will be welcomed by the heavenly beings ? He answers this may be done by using our riches as ;we should do:’ that is, by not suffering them to entangle us in cares and perplexities dangerous to the soul, engrossing the time, and stealing away the affections, by employing them in works of mercy and benevolence, aiding the poor, contributing to the advance of the Gospel, bestowing them where they will do good, and in such a manner that god will approve the deed, and will bless us for it.” )
Jesus told the parable because He had the a hope that the Publicans and the Pharisees and Israel as well as we and the disciples would rectify the way that we are living in the present.
(God desires us to choose the heavenly in place of the earthly. He opens before us the possibilities of a heavenly investment. He would give encouragement to our loftiest aims, security to our choicest treasure. He declares, "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12. When the riches that moth devours and rust corrupts shall be swept away, Christ's followers can rejoice in their heavenly treasure, the riches that are imperishable. ) {COL 374.2}
Every year millions upon millions of human souls are passing into eternity unwarned and unsaved. From hour to hour in our varied life opportunities to reach and save souls are opened to us. These opportunities are continually coming and going. God desires us to make the most of them. Days, weeks, and months are passing; we have one day, one week, one month less in which to do our work. A few more years at the longest, and the voice which we cannot refuse to answer will be heard saying, "Give an account of thy stewardship." {COL 373.4}
Christ calls upon everyone to consider. Make an honest reckoning. Put into one scale Jesus, which means eternal treasure, life, truth, heaven, and the joy of Christ in souls redeemed; put into the other every attraction the world can offer. Into one scale put the loss of your own soul, and the souls of those whom you might have been instrumental in saving; into the other, for yourself and for them, a life that measures with the life of God. Weigh for time and for eternity. While you are thus engaged, Christ speaks: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36.)
“(It is still not too late) To those who have squandered His goods, Christ still gives opportunity to secure lasting riches. He says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you." "Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." Luke 6:38; 12:33. "Charge them that are rich in this world, . . . that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19. {COL 374.4} {COL 374.1}
Day 25 Daily Reading
1.2.1.3 Summary
In summary let us make a comparison of the story or the parable and the application that Jesus makes to the sons of the light, and then at the choice of Moses who died and is the first one to receive his reward in heaven.
1.2.1.3.1 Invest for the Future
The parable is of a worldly person who has squandered His master’s goods he fears being found out starts thinking about the future and he begins to benefit others ( by dishonest methods) so that his friends will welcome him into their temporal homes .
The application is if the sons of light have squandered God’s goods and starts thinking about the future and use the resources God has given them to benefit others the heavenly beings will eventually welcome them to their heavenly home. The main point is to live for the future in not benefiting himself but benefiting others. (It is not about the dishonest method used).
Another parable by way of contrast is the woman who persistently come to the Judge fo judge her case and the judge In this parable this judge represents God eventually acts in order to get her for pestering him. So Jesus is saying that if an unjust judge is willing to answer the pleas of a woman to get her off his back, how much more will God answers the plea of His people because He loves them. The motivation by God is different. If an unjust judge who does not fear God or regard man answers the plea of a widow in the secular realm how much more will God answer the pleas of His people not to get them off His back but because He loves them.
So in the story of the unjust steward, if an unfaithful steward after wasting His masters goods comes to himself and invests in the future by thinking of others though with dishonest means of the secular realm, how much more should God’s people who have wasted God’s goods consider their ways and by honest means invest in the future kingdom, in the spiritual realm.
Then Jesus offers His counsels to His people ( Luk 16:10-13) Luk 16:10 “He that is faithful ( stewardship now in this life) in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (If we are not going to be faithful here we will not going to be faithful later in heaven if we get there.)
Luk 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon ( the resource we receive in this life) , who will commit to your trust the true riches ( in heaven) ?
Luk 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (We cannot live for self, to live for present and also to love God at the same time)
1.2.1.3.2 The Example of Moses
This is an amazing parable about what God’s people should be doing at this time in history, It is another story in the Book of Hebrews on the legacy of Moses. Moses was probably the greatest person in the entire OT. He was a historian, a philosopher, a military commander, a multi-talented man. He was next in line to become the pharaoh of Egypt, the most powerful nation in the world at that time. But then Moses remembered his roots and God gave Moses a choice. God calls him to lead his people into the wilderness and they are going to criticise him and want to even stone him and hate him. God wants him to go into the wilderness and suffer affliction with the people rather than staying in Egypt and become the next ruler.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Moses chose not live for the present. He looked to the reward. So what is his reward? The Bible tells us he is in heaven. God and Christ and the angels welcomed him into the everlasting home. Where would Moses be if he chose to stay in Egypt? He would be a mummy, perhaps in one of the pyramids in Egypt, or in the basement of the British museum.
We are living in the last moment of this world’s history. Everything we see going on in the world indicates that there is going to be some incredible things happening very shortly in this world. (The realty check is to ask what are we doing with the resources that we have?)
1.2.1.3.3 Preparation for Time of Trouble
Ellen White is talking about the little time of trouble preceding the great time of trouble.
“Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs, and at that time their possessions cannot be disposed of to advance the cause of present truth. I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God through sacrifice ( everything, not only the portion you can spare) . If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquire of God for duty, He will teach them when to dispose of these things. Then they will be free in the time of trouble and have no clogs to weigh them down. {EW 56.3}
I saw that if any held on to their property and did not inquire of the Lord as to their duty, He would not make duty known, and they would be permitted to keep their property, and in the time of trouble it would come up before them like a mountain to crush them, and they would try to dispose of it, but would not bnot telling us we need to become e able. I heard some mourn like this: "The cause was languishing, God's people were starving for the truth, and we made no effort to supply the lack; now our property is useless. Oh, that we had let it go, and laid up treasure in heaven!" I saw that a sacrifice did not increase, but it decreased and was consumed. I also saw that God had not required all of His people to dispose of their property at the same time; but if they desired to be taught, He would teach them, in a time of need, when to sell and how much to sell. Some have been required to dispose of their property in times past to sustain the Advent cause, while others have been permitted to keep theirs until a time of need. Then, as the cause needs it, their duty is to sell. {EW 57.1}
Ellen White is not telling us that we need to become homeless. We are not supposed to hoard, to accumulate, to have much more than what we ever need. Noah invested in all that he had in the Ark. What happened when the rain came, they who were saving for a rainy day were all lost because they live for the present not for the future.
There are many ministries that are presenting present truths that need the support who enjoy the presentations that are made. They need to be supported. Through our prayers and also through our donations so that they can continue to producing materials to keep us in our faith in God’s word. It is because of C-19 that conventions are presented electronically and many programs are produced for presentation to reach a wider audience with the church and with the world that all may come to know the Lord. .
End of L1 –56 pages.
Posted on January 30, 2022 by Tsc at singtsc@yahoo.com
Your feedback, comments, suggestions and article contributions will be deeply appreciated. There is a provision for brief comments below. And better still email me at singtsc@yahoo.com Also please refer and share the article with your friends and relatives
P.S. The Evidences of Truth prove the reality of the Spiritual Light. Jesus Christ is the Spiritual Light. He is the way, the truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). “The Lord is the light unto me” Mic 7:8. Christ (in the written revelation) is every ray of divine light that had ever reached our fallen world (Isa 9:1-7). May this sharing of L1 gives meaning to the hymn “The Lord is My Light” – James Nicholson lyrics and Dr J. W. Bischoff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSoxEr0m94s with the inspired rendition by a choir in a modified version at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flCGIGWCv9w
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