Roadmap to Hidden Treasures of Eternal Kingdom
CL2 Endorsed Providence Guidance /Urgent Action Response/Plea
(Guide to quick scan on readability of CL2 (40 pgs):
- Scan 2.0. Invitation; 2.0.1 CL2 Aims;
-Scan 2.2.1.2 Closing Review; 2.2.1.2.3 Condemnation of Satan’s Original Sin in Eden; 2.2.1.2.3.1 Hope in Redemption from Eternal Death by Son of God;
-Scan Contents)
Contents:
2.0. Invitation; 2.0.1 CL2 Aims;
Section One
2.1 Drawing into God’s Grace; 2.1.1 Providential Message in SS 3rd Qtr Bible Lessons; 2.1.1.1 Gavin’s Crucible of Consecration; 2.1.1.1.1 Epiphany Experience; 2.1.1.1.2 Frustration and God’s Response; 2.1.1.1.2.1 Settling into Total Submission; 2.1.1.1.2.2 Gavin’s first Fruit of the Spirit; 2.1.1.1.2.2.1 Birth of Endorsed Providential Guidance;
2.1.2 Overview of In the Crucible with Christ (SS3rd Qtr2022); Week One- L1 “The Shepherds Crucible- Jun 25-Jul 1; L2 The Crucibles That Come—July 2–8; L3 The Birdcage—July 9–15; L4 Seeing the Goldsmith’s Face—July 16–22; L5 Extreme Heat—July 23–29; L6 Struggling With All Energy—July 30–August 5; L7 Indestructible Hope—August 6–12; L8 Seeing the Invisible—August 13–19; L9 A Life of Praise—August 20–26; L10 Meekness in the Crucible—August 27–September 2; L11Waiting in the Crucible—September 3–9; L12 Dying Like a Seed—September 10–16; L13 Christ in the Crucible—September 17–23;
2.1.2.1 Call to Discipleship; 2.1.2.2 God of All Comfort;
Section Two
2.2 Urgent Action Response Appeal; 2.2.01 The Young Age of Earth; 2.2.01.1 Isaiah Prophecy of Jesus; Birth in Bethlehem; 2.2.01.2 Repeat of History Lesson in God’s Current Message; 2.2.1 Identifying & Knowing the Shepherd in the Right Path;
2.2.1.1 Dying Like a Seed (Lesson 12 - September 10–16); 2.2.1.1.01 Introduction - Sabbath Day Study; 2.2.1.1.01.1 The Epic Fall of Adam; 2.2.1.1.01.1.1 The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9, 17); 2.2.1.1.01.1.2 Moral Disobedience: Rebellion against God; 2.2.1.1.01.1.3 Transgression leads to Death; 2.2.1.1.01.1.4 Adam & Eve Given Probation; 2.2.1.1.01.1.4.1 Adam & Eve Given Hope of Coming Deliverer; 2.2.1.1.01.1.4.2 Satan is God of Fallen World;
2.2.1.1.01.1.4.3 The Promised Messiah Prophesy of Isaiah; 2.2.1.1.02.1 The Mind of Christ ; 2.2.1.1.01.2 Waiting After Fall; 2.2.1.1.01.3 Spiritual Aspect of Dying; 2.2.1.1.02 Submission for Service - Sunday Topic; 2.2.1.1.02.1 The Mind of Christ; 2.2.1.1.03 Dying Comes Before Knowing God’s Will – Monday;
2.2.1.1.04 Obstacles to Conversion - Tuesday to Thursday topics; 2.2.1.1.04.1 Willingness to Listen – Tuesday; 2.2.1.1.04.1.1Samuel as a Little Boy Listens to God; 2.2.1.1.04.1.2 Deafness of High Priest Eli & Two Renegade Sons; 2.2.1.1.04.1.3 Cultivation of Attitude to Openness to God’s Word; 2.2.1.1.04.2 Self-Reliance – Wednesday; 2.2.1.1.04.2.1 Saul’s Downfall: “I saw,’’“I said,” “I felt”; 2.2.1.1.04.3 Substitutes- Thursday; 2.2.1.1.05 Further Thought – Friday; 2.2.1.1.05.1Submission to God Requires Dying to Self; 2.2.1.1.05.2 Parental Unsanctified Affection Guilty with Faithless Children;
2.2.1.2 Closing Review; 2.2.1.2.1 Discernment of God’s Loving Appeal; 2.2.1.2.2 Four Key Reasons in World of Suffering; 2.2.1.2.3 Condemnation of Satan’s Original Sin in Eden; 2.2.1.2.3.1 Hope in Redemption from Eternal Death by Son of God; 2.2.1.2.3.2 Sacrifice of Self Precedes Knowing God’s Will. …End.
CL2 Endorsed Providential Guidance /Urgent Action Response/Plea
2.0. Invitation
Since early 2020, the world is afflicted with anxiety, suffering and more unnatural deaths from Covid-19 virus pestilence. Extending this suffering is the Ukraine war in March 2022 with the debilitating trade sanctions, the double whammy if it is staggering long enough may teeter into the economic meltdown as predicted in Bible prophecy.
The world is in a real mess. People are struggling, people are wondering on what to hang onto in these times. Signs of the times are telling the discerning that “The time is at hand “ (Rev 1:3). Apostle Peter added further revelation: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (and most house robbed will not be prepared!); in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2Pe 3:10 . It is in such times when humans are broken by circumstances and the strife of life that a person made in God’s image will instinctively cry out in helplessness for God. The assured answer is from Jesus in Beatitude, beginning his sermon addressing the whole world: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Mat 5:3.
The previous article CL1 shared that God out of His everlasting love (Jer 31:3) gave us the unasked life that need not end in death and He has promised:“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jer 29:11. We have a message that God is with us, He loves us. He has purposes for us and we have hope.
It means much to commit the keeping of the soul to God, the source of our life, the sovereign of the Universe. Coming to God inspires confidence with meekness, and stimulates the soul to action. Faith in God is created when the Spirit of Truth, operates on those entering into the crucible of consecration. Faith is the gift of God, powerful unto salvation and enlightening the hearts of those who search for truth as hidden treasure. (cf “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”:Mat 5:6)
The Roadmap to the hidden treasure is again providentially provided as the current Third Quarter SDA Bible Study (a repeat of 2007) to the church and its members worldwide who may not be aware of the purpose it is to serve at this time of preparation for the second coming.
2.0.1 CL2 Aims
Many Users of the Bible Study Guide may not be aware of its providential purpose at this current time. This is to be addressed by sharing the testimonies of the main author Pr Gavin Anthony. It is simply a transcript of his U-Tube presentation “Why I wrote the Refiner’s Fire and SS lessons.” He also provided a concise outline of the Roadmap to guide us into the word of God. Dying to self by entering into the crucible of consecration is the main theme.
Section One
2.1 Drawing into God’s Grace
“When God wants to do an impossible task He takes an impossible man and He crushes him.” Jean Wheaton (independent ministry worker at Secretsunrealed.com) who mentioned it admitted that it had been her life to date and she has come to be stronger in her faith in God. Consider the testimony of Pr Gavin Anthony on the brokenness in his life orchestrated by God before God uses him as the main author of this Third Quarter Quarter’s Bible Studies 2022 at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3MKLncCoM0 Why I wrote the Refiner's Fire and SS lessons. Jun 28, 2022 Gavin Anthony. This was originally recorded for the Inter-American Division Sabbath School teachers meeting.) Pr Gavin testimony shows us the authentic roadmap to the Bible, the hidden treasure, the infinite riches of God’s kingdom. This road map is endorsed by the Lord.
Gavin expressed that he was going through difficult times when he could not understand why his life was in such a great mess (see later). It was in God’s providence that the Sabbath school lessons this quarter was originally written for the fourth quarter study of 2007. It is now repeated for this third quarter Study 2022 perhaps as an alarm when the time is at hand.The reception of the rewrite is expressed by someone he was talking with. “What you wrote completely reshaped the way I think about this subject.” .”
Gavin expressed that when he was writing he was writing for his own therapy. He was going through difficult times and didn’t know how to cope. He would go to his bible and God will show him the answer to what he was going to through and he would take notes. God showed him all the bible verses that are shown in the full manuscript except for two that he had to research. All the others came to him as he was going through difficult experiences whether it was quotations from Ellen White or bible verses. They were given to me to read and comfort me along the way. This was a double blessing but it was very difficult to write to make sure that when they were published Gavin could not go round and say he wrote these lessons because God made it very clear this was His doing. He was doing what He wanted to do in His own time through Gavin who just needed to get out of the way and allow Him and His message of encouragement to become visible ( the nearest of His coming in the end-time)
It was while he was asked to write the manuscript that he was also asked to write the book that he remembered the prayer prayed 13 years before in Albania. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the 13 years of difficulties and lots of intense pain which He thought were random all appearing as this amazing tapestry of God fulfilling His purposes through Gavin’s life. He did not understand it at that time, but all of a sudden, he could see this perfect symmetry to what God was doing. For our understanding Gavin elaborated on the outcome of the notes reaching Flora.
Gavan was attending a later European Pastors Council just before the “Refiner Fire” SS lessons came out in Oct.2007. By God’s grace he spoke with the present President of the Albanian mission regarding why he wrote the because of the result of a visiting this lady Flora in ‘Culture’ that he resulted in the bible study and the book. The president said he was going to visit Flora in three weeks time in Boston. Gavin quickly scribbled a note down saying : I don’t know if you remember but I was visiting you one time and I prayed after we met and I just wanted you to know that what you went through at least made an impact in my life and these lessons that are going around the world are really the consequence of your ministry, of your testimony of your hanging on in the difficulties. Even telling you this now though it was many years ago,it makes me feel choke up. He gave the president his notes for Flora.
Some months later Gavin bumped into the nephew of grandson of Flora and he said he translated his letter and shared it with his grandmother and three weeks later she died.
Gavin expresses his wonder whether God in His providence had allowed Flora to live long enough to know that her life accounted for something. One of the great challenges we often feel that what we’re going through is random and without purpose. But it is not. When we submit our lives to God , God will weave a beautiful picture through our lives and through that picture is about revealing Him that people will see Jesus in our faces . That they will know what sort of God exists and that He really is alive and at work in the world. You also can follow that God and become like Him too. You also can follow that path and become like Him too.
2.1. 1 Providential Message in SS 3rd Qtr Bible Lessons*
This SS 3rd Qtr Bible Lessons is very special and must be meant for the church and its members to wake up and prepare for Christ second coming. It is through the testimony in the You-Tube presentation that we are able to know that God chose Gavin to be the main author of this third Qtr SS Bible study we are now studying. This Study was all preplanned when God chose Gavin to visit Flora in Labour camp in Albania, finishing his seminary and is now come to pass for the SDA church worldwide to receive Pr Gavin Anthony in his presentation of God’s message for this time.
(Note: All the 13 weekly lessons of SS 3rd Qtr Bible Lessons* are available for download under Lessons with three options at https://absg.adventist.org/ )
Gavin tells the story from the beginning, He explained the qualification to write the SS Bible study was a long process where God shaped events that resulted in the writing of these SS lessons. It began when he was in the last year of theology college was requested to work in Albania for a few months. The communist regime had been brought to a halt (January 1990 - March 1992) and foreigners were allowed into the country. This opened the way to do evangelism. Someone had started evangelistic meeting there and about a hundred people were baptized. But didn’t have a full time pastor there and in the interim Gavin was asked to go there for four months (say after March 1992) to look after a new group of new believers. He said it was a trying time for him because many people were sharing stories about what it was like to live under the communist dictatorship regime to foreigners and were filled with deep emotion and pain . The chief episode in Albanian, was with the old lady . Flora, in a town called Culture. Southern Albania, which was shared earlier.
2.1.1.1 Gavin’s Crucible of Consecration
Gavin recounted that when he started his ministry (say after 1992) everything in his life seemed like went wrong. The little book that really help to guide his thinking was Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest” –world’s best selling devotional. The main theme and focus is on total surrender and yielding to God. everything you have and everything you are. This had cause d Gavin to pray, “God, you know. Please teach me what does it really mean to completely yield myself. His experience in the early years were really tough going through different experiences and he recalled phoning his mother who always asked why is all this stuff happening to you. and his reply:“I have no idea but I am learning lots of really good stuff.”
The first year of ministry ended and he went on a road trip around West Africa, covering 2,000 km. in three weeks visiting various ADRA projects in six countries in East and West Africa. But at the end of it Gavin began to feel very sick, to shiver and get cold. He was shivering from cold on the plane home from Abijon to London.
The next day, his parents took him to the tropical disease hospital in London. Many tests were done for hemorrhagic disease, but it was confirmed. He was in isolation ward for five days and feeling so sick he could hardly speak. During this period he opened a letter from a colleague which the parent brought, that completely destroyed his reputation and all the work he was doing in the ministry. Gavin was completely devastated. This letter was copied to lots of church leaders. He stayed for a total of 12 days in hospital. But he had a relapse and had to come back again later and remained sick for quite some time and his contract of employment was not renewed. However he managed to get his job back later.
He was next diagnosed with a two to one heart block, with a heart beat around 42 beats per minute, causing him to feel very tired and exhausted a lot of the time. He needed a pacemaker placed in his chest. The surgeon at the beginning of the operation openly told the nurses he was unsure of what to do as Gavin had no fat in the chest and walked out to look for another specialist. He came back 15 minutes later and proceeded with the operation. The operation took a long time and with the anesthetic wearing off he could feel everything as they sewed him up.
A few weeks later, he looked in the mirror at where the pacemaker was and noticed it was beginning to turn green with infection. He returned back to the hospital for the pacemaker to be removed sewed up to wait for the chest to heal for another pacemaker to be inserted all over again.
This must be a physically grueling process. But Gavin now understood it as a part of this ongoing process of very physical pain associated with the lost of job, reputation, poor health , and pacemaker problems. All this added up to breaking up with a girl friend he had dated for a long time. He expressed that his dreams of happiness also died.
He remembered, the day while lying on a mattress on the floor feeling utterly broken and crushed. Not knowing how to pray, he didn’t know how to think about what he was going through. But he remembered lying there thinking: I know the book of Romans says that the Holy Spirit say He will pray for us. So, he said , God. I have no idea how to pray but will the Holy Spirit, please pray for me.
2.1.1.1.1 Epiphany Experience
What happened next! The only way he can describe it was as though Jesus walked into his room and stood next to his mattress. All of a sudden he was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and joy. It was a flooding, rippling through my body. He remembered going to sleep that night completely full of joy. He woke up in the middle of the night smiling, grinning from ear to ear. He woke up the next morning with the ends of his fingers tingling as were his toes. It was as though jets of energy were pulsating around his body. Literally instantaneously he had an energy which he had never known before. He was transformed from a couch potato to this bouncing live wire. It was to him amazingly miraculous to be transformed from the things that happened to him in the past traumatic many months to this new state of being.
Gavin remembered walking down one night, a few days later to His senior pastor’s house. It was in the dark when he suddenly heard a voice saying, :Be still and know that I am God” He froze in the middle of the path and looked up exclaiming, “You know God, What do you want me to know?” And the Holy Spirit sais, “I have plans for you, to prosper you.. “ Gavin knew this was a bible text but couldn’t remember the number of the verse. Later, he found it in Jer 29:11. That was the affirmation that even after this process involving the feeling of distress and his ministry was also being crushed for many reasons. But he discerned that God was saying to him: “No, Gavin, I have plans for you, plans for you to prosper,” That filled him with a lot of peace and hopefulness.
2.1.1.1.2 Frustration and God’s Response
After this process of being in the crucible of consecration, something in his life began to irritate his life. He began to complain to God. His complaint was really sin because God had done something really wonderful for him. It was a great blessing, but yet he still chose to complain and didn’t care because e he was irritated. He remembered while he was complaining as the weeks went by, his energy level which had originally been very high began to sink lower and lower until after some time about three months later to the old level as before. All the miraculous super energy disappeared. He had then thought that he was completely healed and won’t need a pacemaker ever again. Then he became very upset and asked God why He had taken this energy away, being certain that He had first given this energy to him. He wrestled with God on this for a number of weeks. It was so strong that it was part of his being. He became very emotional, just tired from this wrestling and praying and saying God what is going on, why is this happening to me.
Finally he had enough, and said to God, You’ve taken my health, my reputation, my job, my dream of future happiness. You give me this energy which you have taken away and I have nothing left.
All of a sudden, a voice says, “Yes, Gavin, that is the point. I want you with nothing. Gavin sat there and burst into tears because he knew God was right. God wanted me with nothing so that He can be everything. A lot of the time we think that we have a lot to offer God, but God wants us to get out of the way. He wants us to become nothing to yield and utterly submit ourselves so that everything we have to offer is from Him.
When we look around us in the world today people are hungering to know that there is a God and the God gives us graces and gifts which are not originating in this world. There is a supernatural gift that God wants to give us that we cannot manufacture and give to people from our own selves. So many times Christian leaders and pastors can give only the best that a human being can .What people need is the best that God can give. But they can only receive what God can give only if the leaders and pastors first get out of the way. This is the big challenge for God’s Church, because sin is often so deep rooted within us that it takes an awful lot of struggle for God to be able to extract that sin out of our lives. That is one of the big reasons why we suffer because we don’t want to let go of sin. We enjoy it too much and Satan is all the time coming up with pleasures of the world to tempt us into sin and back into his bondage. Gavin admitted that he was stubborn (like most humans) and God had to keep hammering on this particular idea. Saying Gavin,you have to depend absolutely on me, Gavin shared that he must act it out physically by lying flat on his face in prayer in order to influence his whole conscience to yield fully to God in prayer. Whatever, physical position we happen to be praying with, we must internally absolutely yielded to God. (See SS L12 where Gavin shared this testimony on his own own death death to self orchestrated by God)
2.1.1.1.2.1 Settling into Total Submission
This had happened over a number of years. Gavin was then settled on the reality that God wanted him with nothing so that He can be everything. He was moved to a different ministry. He was asked to do a seminar on prayer at a European Pastor s Council, title: The life of the Pastor: Surviving Spiritually. Realising what he had learned a lot about surviving spiritually, he said to God, “Will You teach me in my own experience what I need to pass on to these pastors.”
Almost immediately things began to fall apart, but he didn’t elaborate. He recollected about the emotional pain he experienced when someone shared a gossip about him on the telephone. He went back to his bedroom, lent back on the door and slid to the floor and burst into tears. He could not believe that someone so close to him could be saying such painful things. While lying on the floor, the Holy Spirit said. “Gavin, open your bible!” The Bible verse he read was Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
2.1.1.1.2.2 Gavin’s first Fruit of the Spirit
Gavin was stunned with the thought that it is possible that this painful experience is actually on the path of righteousness. He began to see it as a picture: beginning with quiet waters and green pastures, then the valley of the shadow of death , next the table filled with good food, but they are being surrounded by enemies. Further on is the destination , the house of the Lord. As we are going to the house of the Lord with the shepherd we are walking on the righteous path. He coupled Psa 27:4 where David says “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Psa 27:4. This verse gives us the reason that keeps us from not giving up. We don’t quit because we want to get to the house of the Lord not because it’s an escape from this world, although it is, but so that we can enjoy looking at the beauty of Jesus. One of the key motivations of a Christian is being able to keep upright and to keep going through difficulties by having the appreciation, the desire to see the face of Jesus and to enjoy the beauty of God. Gavin believes this is primary motivation for walking in this world and keeping ourselves upright and not give up.
This is the right path as we are going to the house of the Lord. The path keeps us in company with the right person, with the Shepherd, and in due time we become like the Shepherd. The one theme of the SS lessons this quarter is this idea that we are growing and maturing to reflect the face of Jesus. So sometimes going into a valley of the shadow of death or being surrounded by enemies may be an important part of the process of growing dependence on God so that we become like Jesus, our Shepherd. This big picture in Psa 23 became very useful for Gavin’s personal spiritual growth and was the structure of Lesson One in the SS Bible Study in 2007 and repeated again now in 2022, L 1 In the Shepherd’s Crucible”
Is it possible that this is all in God’s timing when in hindsight we can relate through Gavin’s testimonies the crucibles Gavin experienced prior to authoring the SS BS in 34th Qtr, 2007, as a providential message ahead of the World’s Economic collapse in 2008. (Note:The 2008 financial crisis was the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression of 1929. It occurred despite the efforts of the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The crisis led to the Great Recession, where housing prices dropped more than the price plunge during the Great Depression.) With this as a precedence, should we take heed and listen to God’s call to turn from your ways and return to the Lord in repentance and to walk in the righteous path with Our Shepherd, Lord Jesus Christ, The Church is to relook and take this quarters study “In the Crucible with Christ” in deep study as the revival of our spirituality in preparing members to proclaim the loud cry of the third angel’s message to receive power of the Holy Spirit by the outpouring of the latter rain. Members are to help each other and lost sinners to receive the former rain first before we are enabled to receive the latter rain.
Gavin in thinking about the European Pastor’s Council recalled over the nine months to take notes of what God was teaching him. He was very excited about this seminar for about a thousand pastors. However, he was disappointed easily in the attendance of eight people at the seminar group he headed where he had expected a large group of people to listen to what God had taught him. He finished his teaching and went out asking himself if this was the final outcome of all the pain and suffering in the last eight months for just eight people. It dawned on him that He should write a book and began to do so (say in 2005)
The draft was submitted to a publishing house for publication. They accepted the outline and asked for the whole manuscript which was submitted chapter by chapter. When he began to search for the address of the editor, suddenly, an evil spirit entered his room, and could nt see anything but could feel the intense of evil with all the hairs on his body standing on end. Immediately, it was as though energy was being sucked out of his body and he became weak so quickly. He knew what was happening because he had similar experiences in the past. He jumped up and ran to a phone to call someone to pray for him.
The manuscript was sent to the publisher on the next day. He reckoned that this book is important enough that Satan is trying to attack him. The publisher after three months replied that the manuscript of the book was declined. Gavin was really stunned, knowing that God had been leading him and he was sure that He wanted me to write the book. So he then wondered if the publisher would be interested in summer school lessons on this subject. He wrote a letter to the General Conference (SDA) making this proposal. They were very interested and request for an outline of the quarter which was sent lesson by lesson. Eventually all the 13 lessons were accepted for publication. (2007)
2.1.1.1.2.2.1 Birth of Endorsed Providential Guidance
Amazingly, a few weeks later, he received an email from the person who declined his book manuscript which was a couple of years before. They wrote saying that as he was now the author of summer school lessons, whether he would now write the book to go with it. The very person who rejected the book two years earlier( 2005) was asking him to write a book to go with Sabbath School (SS) lessons . This put the idea that if the book was first written, the SS lessons would not have been written. In God’s providence he was able to write SS lessons and the book to go with it.
Reiterating, the SSL in 3rd Qtr, 2022, presently are actually a repetition of the original SSL4th qtr 2007. The publisher wanted to repeat it this quarter. He was deeply touched when someone justly recently (April, 2020) remarked to him that “What you wrote just completely reshaped the way I think about this subject.”
Gavin expressed that when he was writing he was writing for his own therapy. He was going through difficult times and didn’t know how to cope . He would go to his bible and God will show him the answer to what he was going through and he would take notes. God showed him all the bible verses that are shown in the full manuscript except for two that he had to research. All the others came to him as he was going through difficult experiences whether it was quotations from Ellen White or bible verses. He says, ”They were given to me to read and comfort me along the way.” This was a double blessing but it was very difficult to write to make sure that when they were published Gavin could not go round and say he wrote these lessons because God made it very clear this was His doing. He was doing what He wanted to do in His own time through Gavin who just needed to get out of the way and allow Him and His message of encouragement to become visible: of the nearest of His coming with the imminent destruction of the world
It was while he was writing the second manuscript after he had been asked to write the book that he remembered the prayer that he prayed 13 years before in Albania (1992) that is being answered now in God own time and for His purpose to warn a world lost in sin through disbelief.
2.1.2 Overview of In the Crucible with Christ (SS3rd Qtr2022)
(377) Overview of In the Crucible with Christ - YouTube Overview of In the Crucible with Christ Gavin Anthony (This was originally recorded for the Inter-American Sabbath School teachers. For a 30 minute discussion of each Sabbath School lesson ”In the Crucible with Christ,” see episodes recorded by It Is Written, including in the Sabbath School app.)
This is Gavin’s overview of t he SS lessons 1-13 “”In the Crucibles with Christ” giving the overall structure of the Study and then look at some of the key issues chapter by chapter in each week. The first half of the study (L1-6) is demonstrating the reality that God is at work in the middle of our pain and sometimes will permit or even lead us into challenging situations that may be painful to us. This very idea is very challenging to a lot of people who have the simplistic view that God is good and Satan is bad. i.e. if God is good why is He not helping me out. Why doesn’t He take the problems away from me when I am praying? All sorts of questions like this are asked in the middle of difficulties when there is trouble a person’s life. The study offers a more closer look at some of the nuances on human suffering as seen through the biblical examples that God is good; He is present with us; He loves us ; and he may even leads us to places that might hurt us. Gavin wants to share the reasons for all the pains and suffering he had experienced that God has chosen him since 1992 as the instrument to write the SS Bible Study Lessons in 2007 and followed by the book “Refiner’s Fire as his testimony that God is at work doing this as He knows what is best for each of us.
The second half focuses on the types of graces that God is looking to mature in us in the middle of these difficulties. He is going to mature us in faith, hope, meekness, and submissions; some of the key graces that enable us to reflect Christ. These are the foundational character attributes that God is focusing on when we find ourselves in the crucible with Christ in the respective crucible. Gavin wants the church to look a bit more closely at some of the nuances in the trials, in just being able to come to the conclusion and assurance through the biblical examples that God is good; He is present with us; He loves us, but He may even lead us to places that might hurt us to refine and mature us to endure and not give up our journey to eternal life, fulfilling God’s will in His gift of our lift unasked.
This is the providential message that God desires each of us to review again what Pr Gavin Anthony had identified as key concepts that will be helpful for your spiritual growth, week by week in your personal daily study and in the Sabbath fellowship to exhort one another in preparation for the second coming of Christ as we see signs of the hour is at hand. This quarter Bible Study is God’s message out of God’s mercy and longsuffering in His will to give us an expected end in that all should repent and return to the Lord and not be lost with the imminent end of the world. This study is a quick start conversion for the eleventh hour labourers in the Lords vineyard (Mat 21:33-44). This is the case of the conviction of the thief on the cross laying hold of the dying savior, asking by faith “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. “ Luk 23:42.
To benefit from this presentation, it is left for you to personally take note directly by reading this presentation and the respective lessons. This quarter Bible study also comes with the principal author, Pr. Gavin Anthony, who, grew up in Sri Lanka as a missionary kid. He worked as a pastor in England and was Conference President in Iceland when he authored these lessons (ca .2005-2007). In addition he is also giving the weekly bible study with Eric Frickinger in “It is Written” Bible study series for this qtr.
A key underlying theme is Gavin’s purpose for us to also know that it is through his suffering in the crucible with Christ that enabled him to write the 13 lessons as the roadmap to the hidden treasure . He identifies key ideas that will be helpful to the church and to the members to grow spiritually and be united to be of one mind the mind of Christ.
Week One- L1 “The Shepherds Crucible- Jun 25-Jul 1
The Church is schooled in the reality of the great controversy, the big picture of what God is doing through human history. Gavin has been impressed through his suffering that Psalm 23 is the personal revelation of what God is doing in his life as he is going to the shepherd’s house. Along the way there are some really good things that happen where God is restoring my soul because life is challenging , but He is also guiding him through the difficult places like the valley of the shadow of death, and the table of plenty that however is surrounded by enemies until we get to the house of the lord. This framework is for the week’s study and contemplation of the challenges that come into our lives. Psa 27:4 brings this picture together how David saw in the house of the Lord, as a place where God lives . But he also saw it as the place we too could go and see the beauty of the only true God.
Thus, the beauty of Jesus has to be one of the fundamental motivations for why we get up in the morning and why we are alive in this world. We are a Christian because we believe and follow Jesus-, doing ministry in whatever form to bring other people along by glorifying God because of the beauty of His character. This is the reason why the sheep who may have gone astray will be sought by the shepherd to be returned to the right path and motivated to endure in spite of the many inducement from the enemies to give up because the beauty of God is so significant. Paul explains that we by “beholding as in a glass the glory (character) of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor 3:18. (Note: In the great controversy, sin has entered into the world and has broken and corrupted the world. So we need to stick close to the shepherd along the trials and difficulties that we face that by beholding His beauty day by day we become like our shepherd. Therefore we give honour and glory to God in thanksgiving and praises,)
L2 The Crucibles That Come—July 2–8
The four key reasons why suffering happens as Gavin is led to understand it This is covered earlier in CL1 Par 1.1.2.1.3.3 – “Reasons for Suffering in the World.” This should provide the answer to the many secular people still hanging on in unbelief over the question of suffering caused by natural disasters and why children are born to die in terminal illness, or starvation.
Having these four reasons as a framework is like having reading glass we put on to see clearly. Fundamentally it is the Holy Spirit that brings the answer to the why question. The Bible tell us Job never get to know why he suffered the calamities in his life and yet he remained faithful and was rewards double-fold in the end. Job get to know the greatness of God and how big God is through the barrages of questions from God and that was enough or him. Often we go through difficulties and we won’t know why it’s happening. We might know it at the end /we may not. But at least we have these possibilities and it can help us to get something into perspective.
Charles Swindle says: “Someone put it this way. Whoever desires to walk with God walks right into the crucible. All who choose godliness live in a crucible. The tests will come. The request to pursue Christ-likeness is a request really to be purified . The process of purification for Christian maturity requires the extraction of sin, sin that we love and that is never a pleasant or easy process.
L3 The Birdcage—July 9–1
This is a quotation from Ellen White. The key point is the way God deals with His children. “He has a song to teach us He has a song to teach us, and when we have learned it amid the shadows of affliction we can sing it ever afterward.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 472. In this picture she describes God actively working to bring His dearly beloved children into a situation where they may be very confused or scared or baffled. This is illustrated with Jesus in the cloud leading the children of Israel through the wilderness for forty years going through various places: the Red Sea as the dead-end with Pharaoh’s army in pursuit; place with bitter water, place with no water, etc. It is the sin within the Israelites, their lack of distrust , their lack of faith in God needed to be addressed, where God brings them into a situation where they can learn full dependence on God.
Week three is setting out the truth that God is at work. He will lead us through some difficulties; it is not Satan at work as to why we experience pain.
L4 Seeing the Goldsmith’s Face—July 16–22
This is learning about the perfection of character based on the fact that the goldsmith is taking out the impurities of the gold (being the character) by raising the heat in the crucible . The gold is ready to be taken out when he sees his face reflected in the gold. This is what Jesus is doing in our lives. He is working on us till He can see His face reflected in us.
Week 4 focuses on character maturity in the crucible of heat as the process of transformation and restoring the image of God which has been defaced and broken in so many different ways.
L5 Extreme Heat—July 23–29
The bible provides examples of exemplary stories of patriarchs and prophets, servants of Go, under going unusual extreme heat. There is the intense one off example in a trial for God to accomplish in teaching an important facet of God’s love of life. Abraham case was put through the emotional trial to obey God’s commanding him to sacrifice his only son, the means of perpetuation of his posterity, counteracting an earlier promise. We know in hindsight that God never intended Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But Abraham didn’t know that. .God was putting Abraham into a process. It is not the end that counts but the process to bring greater trust and submission to the will of God. This enabled Abraham to clearly understand how God, the Father, felt in giving up His only Son, Jesus to die for the sins of the world.
In The story of Hosea, God calls Hosea to take his adulterous wife back and fully show his love to her again. This story is meant as a parable about God and Israel. The Israelites had left God and were prostituting themselves spiritually to other gods, but God still loved them and wanted to show His love to them.
L6 Struggling With All Energy—July 30–August 5
In the process of character transformation, the emphasis in week Six is the human divine combination (Col 1:29) for ultimate success. There is our part and that is separate from God’s part; although ultimate it is “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Ph 2:13. God, in a spiritual sense, can’t make a person repent, or to make you or will you to obey. This would violate His gift of free will to human beings. However the miracle of transformation occurs when the person like the invalid at the pool of Bethesda acted on his command to get up and he walked. As he began to act the power of God is activated. The power of God is within us through the Holy Spirit that abides in God’s children.
The problem is we have lots of emotions arising from feelings causing us to think and a certain way that is not useful to us which come from Satan. We have to undergo the process to learn how to deal with those feelings and to realize that our will is fundamentally corrupt ( jer 17: 9). Jacob wrestling with God and not let go is the ultimate key in enduring until Jesus come. God is against earning salvation but not the effort in striving with all energy.
L7 Indestructible Hope—August 6–12
Hope is the first spiritual spect on what is God trying to develop within us. The account of Habakkuk to give us a perspective where we are in history. Terrible things were happening during his era. Israel has been going through the attacks by the Assyrians and God’s people were not behaving properly. This caused him to ask God when He is going to put an end to this injustice. God says to him, it is going to get worse. He will actually be sending the Babylonians. However, is enabled to discern the working out of God’s plan of deliverance in his song of confidence in God and even though terrible things is happening all around, he is going to trust God. He is going to have peace and have joy for he has got the reality that his peace and his joy is not based upon his circumstances but the fact that God, the all-powerful sovereign God is with him, in the middle of his circumstance. This is typified by Jesus being in the boat with His disciples in the middle of the storm. Hope is therefore really important in our perseverance to the end.
L8 Seeing the Invisible—August 13–19
The next spiritual aspect, Faith, is really important as this is the transformative element essential to transformation. We have accounts of Jesus walking past towns and saying He couldn’t do anything there because they had no faith. The bible provides some key examples of faith and how faith grows.
L9 A Life of Praise—August 20–26
Praise is articulated faith. Faith is songs. When we see God’s work we trust Him and are confident in what He is doing and He is with us even though difficulties are surrounding us that we can praise God. This is the real challenge for us, all as individuals and sharing with people to give thanks o God. Paul tells us to ”Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice“ Ph 4:4. This is the example from Paul on how we can be like Paul who subsequently was executed by Nero who cut off his head,to give thanks and be rejoicing when the circumstance and how I am feeling is horrible, and I am feeling miserable. We need to be stayed on the reality that when we trust God who in his love for his creatures has plans for me and He is present with me. Then my joy is based upon His presence, not on the circumstances. We can only learn to become meek when we have by grace undergone brokenness in our lives.
L10 Meekness in the Crucible—August 27–September 2
Meekness is enduring injury with patience and without resentment. It is more than humility. Gavin shares that Meekness is one of the most critical but underrated quality of the Christian. It is ln the centre of the nine blessings in Jesus pronouncement of the nine Beatitudes ( Mat 5: 2-11), Meekness is foundational in Jesus and in Moses. Jesus enables us to give a witness to the goodness of God even though really difficult things are happening. And our pride and ego are always rearing to fight against becoming meek We can only learn to become meek if we are in the middle of a really challenging situation.
L11Waiting in the Crucible—September 3–9
Patience is faith in the timing of God, rooted in faith because this is now in God’s timing. God has a time frame and there are certain time points where He needs to do something therefore we need to be aligned to God’s timing who is long-suffering as God does not get angry straight away. Patience is long-suffering. It is one of the fruits of the spirit, one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit lives within me. Thus week 11 is a lesson on how to develop patience. And what is of importance of patience.
L12 Dying Like a Seed—September 10–16
On the subject of submission, Jesus is the prime example coming from heaven to earth for the purpose of service. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, descending to being made as human, being even to the level of a servant and suffered the humiliating death on the cross. On the purpose of service, God permitted His only begotten Son to descend down to earth. This is what service is really all about. If we want to serve others we have to be willing to be broken to yield whatever right we think we have in order to serve other people. So, service is really the key to submission. But sometimes the crucible we find ourselves in have to become very hot for us to realize that services are more important than what I think of as important to me.
Gavin says we share a lot of his own experience of learning about submission. This subject will be discussed in further details in the nest section on consecration and conversion. The topic covers dying to self to be free from the old man in Adam’s nature with the inherent propensity to sin. It is only when we are fully yielded to God by death that enable us to be born again. The next section is extending on the topic of Gavin’s concluding understanding of key Bible texts on the call to discipleship
L13 Christ in the Crucible—September 17–23
This final week of the study is looking at Jesus as the example Himself. We have been looking at God’s people in the crucible. Chiefly we learn of prophesied Messiah given to the Jews some 720 years earlier before His advent as the suffering servant. Isa 53 outlines lots of example that show how Jesus Himself underwent so much suffering and pain that we may ask so how much more would we as followers of Jesus.
He concludes by sharing some key bible texts he thought are really important.
2.1.2.1 Call to Discipleship
What does it take to be a follower of Jesus since “Jesus (said) unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. We often think that following Jesus is a difficult thing as symbolised by the cross, a heavy weight to bear that makes us sweat. But the cross is not to do that. The cross has one purpose and that is to kill you. So when Jesus call a person to follow Him, He call them to get their cross, follow Him to Calvary and plant our crosses next to Jesus and we die on it. This is the reality to demonstrate that without death there is no resurrection. Without the death of my carnal naturethere is no space created in order for the Holy Spirit to enter and fill me with Himself.
This is Gavin giving his testimony. If I want to reveal Christ-likeness in the world, to represent Jesus in the supernatural work or character of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has to be in me, and only possible if I yielded myself fully. This process of yielding must be done daily and links to the Old Testament sacrificial system of the daily service, in the morning and evening sacrifices. This is a continual sacrifice as I yield myself and I give everything to God. Then God comes in and He can use me in whatever way He wants to. This is the only way we can bring a supernatural testimony to the world about who God is and what sort of God He is.
2.1.2.1.1 God of All Comfort
2Co 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;” 2Co 1:4 “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
In these two verses, Paul is saying He goes through difficult things and in the middle of this situation he received comfort from God . So his counsel to us is when we are struggling he can give us the comfort that he received from God . Paul says he is not teaching you from theory but teaching you from his real experience of getting God’s comfort in the middle of a difficult time . This focuses on one of the ministry reasons for suffering. God may take us through different things in order to help those that pastors and teachers minister to. If the people in our watch care are going through all sorts of different things we also may go through all sorts of different things in order to serve them and to give them the comfort that they really need.
This is extended to “the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” 2Co 1:9. So this journey that Paul went on with God was so severe hethought that he was going to die But Paul says there was a reason why God took him on this journey It was not so I would learn not to rely on himself but on the God who raises the dead.
Finally, Gavin concludes with what Paul talks about in Heb 12:4-7. About how we are God’s children and how God wants to and will train and teach us like children just as our parents punish us and discipline us. It might not be pleasant and God is going to do that as He is really a true parent .Then crunch point is what Paul says our physical parents discipline us for a little while as they thought it best, But God disciplines us for our good in order that we may share in His holiness. (Heb 12: 10 -11). In other words, we may become like Him; we will reflect His character(V 10)
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Heb 12:11 . The situation right now is unpleasant and he says it might be painful. But later on, in the future, it is going to produce a harvest of righteousness and peace.
This sets the perspective where earlier we are to fix our eyes on Jesus the perfector of faith “for set before Him endured the cross” (Heb 12:2). Joy is on the other side of the cross. It is not now. So we keep our eyes focused on the goal to keep us going when we might be tempted to give up.
Teach this to many others that you will minister to. God will reveal Himself as a God who loves you very much and have a purpose for you. By his presence with you God is walking beside you the whole way.
Section Two
2.2 Urgent Action Response Appeal
No one alive knows what tomorrow holds and yet we are not anxious with worries about living another day and looking forward to many happy days into the long future. This is wise and is following Jesus teaching: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Mat 6:34. In order to be able to do so as God’s obedient children we must:”seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mat 6:33. This is the provision that God, the sovereign of the universe has covenanted in giving each of us the life unasked. But, even after 6,000 years of human history, we have yet to learn in allowing complacency and worldly riches and pleasures dulled the anxiety over the urgency of the “hour is at hand” signs and messages. The Bible shows us the first instance of the great flood in the destruction of all lives bar the only righteous man, Noah and his godly family of eight preserved by God to propagate the life which we now are privileged with. The billions of antediluvian were drowned and swept away by the great flood after receiving the warning “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”
It is only in the study of bible prophecy that we can discern the “Endorsed Providential Guidance“ in the current SDA SS Bible lessons 3rd Qtr, 2022
2.2.01 The Young Age of Earth
The Ussher chronology is a 17th-century chronology of the history of the world formulated from a literal reading of the Old Testament by James Ussher, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. The chronology is not totally accepted by the secular world although the bible attests that planet Earth was created only a few millennia ago by God as described in the first two chapters of the biblical book of Genesis. Ussher fell into disrepute in the 19th century.
Ussher's proposed date of 4004 BC differed little from other biblically-based estimates, such as those of Jose ben Halafta (3761 BC), Bede (3952 BC), Ussher's near-contemporary Scaliger (3949 BC), Johannes Kepler (3992 BC) or Sir Isaac Newton (c. 4000 BC).[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology#cite_note-1
The age of the world on best estimate is only about six thousand years old. This is truth as revealed in God’s word. This is to point out the lie about the age of the world which based on Darwinism (Darwin tutored personally by Satan to tell the world) is millions of years old and believed by most scientists who writes the text books. .
2.2.01.1 Isaiah Prophecy of Jesus; Birth in Bethlehem
Other vital evidence that even the Jews, the first chosen people to be God’s oracle to the world also were deceived from discerning the prophecy given by Isaiah in mid 700 B.C. on the first advent of Jesus as the Messiah of the world.
This is the reiteration from (D27 Discover Signs & Wonders, par 2. Isaiah’s Prophesy to Apostate King Ahaz;)
(Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, foretold many things about Jesus’ life and His Second Coming. In fact, Isaiah is one of the most important books in the Old Testament. It is not only a narrative story, but also a collection of oracles, prophecies and parables. Isaiah, who authors the book, wrote it around 700 B.C. Isaiah’s name means “The Lord is salvation.” He lived in Jerusalem and the prophecies God gave him were directed toward Israel, Judah and other nations. Isaiah’s purpose was to bring back the nation of Judah – God’s nation – back to the faithfulness as well as proclaim the coming of the Savior, and His future reign. He brings the message to Judah and Israel of condemnation as well as a message of hope and salvation through the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Because Isaiah’s prophecies about Jesus Christ’s life are true, we can know that his prophecies about the Second Coming will be fulfilled.
Isaiah is appropriately called the Messianic prophet. No other seems to have had so clear a picture of the holiness and greatness of God, of the person and mission of Christ, and of God’s glorious purpose for His church. Isaiah is rghtly regarded as the king of Israel’s celebrated prophets; and his writings the masterpiece of all prophetic writings.
The things that happened to Judah in Isa 7,8,9, 11 foreshadows greater events in the future – type and anti-type). In Isa 9 & 11 there is also an intermingling of the events relating to the first coming and the second coming of Christ. Jesus is introduced as Emmanuel – God with us and then when Judah is inundated with a flood , Emmanuel is there (Isa 7, 8 ,9:6,. He is the everlasting Father, the root and branch of David (Isa 11: ) – a supernatural being.)
God has always given men warning of coming judgment. The current message is contained in the SDA Sabbath School 3rd Qtr, 2022 “In the Crucible with Christ” is to His discerning people as pressing for urgent action in getting ready for Jesus second coming. This message is to be shared with the many secular people who are not aware and have not heard.
Isaiah focuses on our Saviour, Jesus Christ which is vital for us to know in order to believe in this truth in the word of God and obey His teaching to the end of time. We want to know how that was given to us and also be manifested in our lives today.
We don’t generally understand them to be in relation to us. Sometime we look at outward manifestation. But, here we are told that God’s people are for signs and wonders.
There will be many professed people at the end of time that will declare that they have done many wonderful works and signs for God. But Jesus is going to say I never knew you. You workers of iniquity depart from me. (Matt 7:21-23) (So, be not deceived that simply to belief, attend church and do good works is sufficient for your salvation)But in the Book of Acts, there are many examples of genuine signs of true believers (Acts 2:43). So the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and these signs were given as a manifestation, as a marked confirmation that God was working with them and the Holy Spirit was working through them. The enemy is always seeking to counterfeit the genuine signs in his people. The genuine sign lead to biblical trust, to biblical faith and biblical obedience to God’s word. It is to strengthen our faith, our obedience, and to accomplish God’s work in God’s commission given (Mk 16:17-20).
The greatest sign to encourage their faith is in the prophecy depicted by Isa 7:1-2. Israel, the Northern ten tribes, and Syria have confederated together to take Judah, and are surrounding the city of Jerusalem, Ahaz and his people are terrified as there is no way out. (Sometimes our circumstance cause us to be unable to move; like what our world is experiencing today we are afflicted from many fronts but we can’t really see the enemy and we are not sure which way to go. We are frightened and afraid and lockdown.) Isaiah is given specific instruction to go and meet Ahaz with his son whose name mean a remnant shall return- Isa 7:3) The word of the Lord to Ahaz is the hope for us that in times of such circumstance when people are out to destroy us (when leaders are making secret plans against us to take us down, even evil counsels to break us, when our lives are in complete turmoil,
2.2.01.2 Repeat of History Lesson in God’s Current Message
From D27, par 1.2. “Signs and Wonders” (Isa 8:18):
(Here is the message of God when we are at the mercy of our enemy, “take heed and fear not” v4.”Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, ..shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” vv 5- 7. Here is the message of hope and encouragement. God always sends us a message of hope and God sends us in a personal practical way (a message of deliverance where we are ) He knows exactly where Isaiah needs to go, He gives him specific instruction to meet the king as He is the all knowing God and knows how to speak to us a message of hope. As we find in Isa 7: God give specific instruction to find the lost (v 3) and gives the lost specific instruction to find hope (vv 4,.7) and He gives also specific warning against failing to trust Him (v9). Only believe and I will take care of the rest. Everything we need to know to get us through difficulty is right here in Isa Chap 7. It is about God’s care for us and everything we need to know about His understanding of our situation. Everything we need to know about what God knows about us, about others and how He has already worked out our deliverance from the evil plans of the wicked: from the leaders of the confederate against Ahaz, Everything is in God’s hand)
Since 2020,the warning was manifested in the Covic-19 pandemic by which every one in the whole world underwent the fear of death that may strike unexpectedly by catching the deadly invisible virus, Many, but not enough, had reflected on the meaning of life. In theirreality check realized their helplessness and their need of a Saviour. The world leaders, however, were like the Jewish priests in the time of Jesus ministry who rejected Jesus as the Master healer for all malaise and rather trust in human wisdom in running society. The war in Ukraine, 24 Mar, 22 was needed as the next warning and appeal. This crisis will only get worse in bringing about a meltdown of the world economy if the world leaders are doing what they are bent on doing without returning to the true path of righteousness, the first lesson in the Bible Study.
The world is readily adapting and in the passing of time is getting immune to the Covid -19 virus and even the horrors of the war have worn thin. There is very little concern of the impending economic collapse which is prophesied and the bible tells to heed the prophecy to overcome the time of trouble that will beset the world at the end-time. The Pharaoh of Egypt, who would not let Moses request to free God’s children from their slavery, who stubbornly refused in spite of the ten warnings from God were eventually drowned in the Red Sea in pursuit after the Israelites. Are the stiff-necked world leaders following in the wrong path as the Pharaoh of Egypt?
This is the main purpose of Pr. Gavin Anthony in telling the Church his testimony explaining how God has used him in revealing this “Endorsed Providential Guidance” at this chosen point in time. This is the present urgent plea from God, the Father, to His wayward children given the gift of life unasked and interested to seek his life giver. God has manifested his love for his children through prophet Hosea in Buying back Gomer, his unfaithful, adulterous wife, to portray the boundless depths of the Fathers love for His people, given the life unasked and are unthankful. The Book of Hosea is filled with appeals to repentance and messages of hope to those who will turn again to their Father by hearing this “Endorsed Providential Message.”
We are living in the closing scenes of this earth's history. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The hours of probation are fast passing. We have no time--not a moment--to lose. Let us not be found sleeping on guard. Let no one say in his heart or by his works: "My Lord delayeth His coming." Let the message of Christ's soon return sound forth in earnest words of warning. Let us persuade men and women everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come. Let us arouse them to immediate preparation, for we little know what is before us. Let ministers and lay members go forth into the ripening fields to tell the unconcerned and indifferent to seek the Lord while He may be found. The workers will find their harvest wherever they proclaim the forgotten truths of the Bible. They will find those who will accept the truth and will devote their lives to winning souls to Christ. {8T 252.4}
The Lord is soon to come, and we must be prepared to meet Him in peace. Let us be determined to do all in our power to impart light to those around us. We are not to be sad, but cheerful, and we are to keep the Lord Jesus ever before us. He is soon coming, and we must be ready and waiting for His appearing. Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him and be welcomed as His redeemed ones! Long have we waited, but our hope is not to grow dim. If we can but see the King in His beauty we shall be forever blessed. I feel as if I must cry aloud: "Homeward bound!" We are nearing the time when Christ will come in power and great glory to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home. {8T 253.1}
"And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isaiah 25:9.{8T 253.2} .
2.2.1 Identifying & Knowing the Shepherd in the Right Path
Man has fallen. God's image in him is defaced. By disobedience he is depraved in inclination and weakened in power, unable, apparently, to look forward to anything but tribulation and wrath. But God, through Christ, has wrought out a way of escape, and He says to everyone, "Be ye therefore perfect." It is His purpose that man shall stand before Him upright and noble, and He will not be defeated. He sent His Son to this world to bear the penalty of sin, and to show man how to live a sinless life. {RC 37.2}
Christ is our ideal. He has left a perfect example for childhood, youth, and manhood. He came to this earth, and passed through the different phases of human experience. In His life sin found no place. From the beginning to the close of His earthly life, He preserved unsullied His loyalty to God. The Word says of Him, "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him." He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." {RC 37.3}
The Saviour lived not to please Himself. . . . He had no home in this world, only as the kindness of His friends provided Him one, yet it was heaven to be in His presence. Day by day He met trials and temptations, yet He did not fail or become discouraged. He was always patient and cheerful, and the afflicted hailed Him as a messenger of life and peace and health. His life held nothing that was not pure and noble. . . . {RC 37.4}
God's promise is, "Ye shall be holy; for I am holy." Holiness is the reflection of God's glory. But in order to reflect this glory, we must cooperate with God. Heart and mind must be emptied of all that leads to wrong. The Word of God must be read and studied with a sincere desire to gain from it spiritual strength. This Word is the Bread of heaven. Those who receive it, and make it a part of their lives, grow strong in the strength of God. Our sanctification is God's object in all His dealing with us. He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy. Christ declares, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." Is it your will, also, that your desires and inclinations shall be brought into conformity to the divine will? . . . {RC 37.5}
Living the life of the Saviour, overcoming every selfish desire, fulfilling bravely and cheerfully our duty to God and to those around us--this makes us more than conquerors. This prepares us to stand before the great white throne free from spot or wrinkle, having washed our robes of character, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.--Signs of the Times, March 30, 1904. {RC 37.6}
2.2.1.1 Dying Like a Seed (Lesson 12 - September 10–16)(https://absg.adventist.org/pdf.php?file=2022:3Q:TE:PDFs:ETQ322_12.pdf ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvkoaGkXio0 Sabbath School - 2022 Q3 Lesson 12: Dying Like a Seed Sep 11, 2022 It Is Written
We will join Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter's author, Gavin Anthony, as they provide additional insights into this week's Sabbath School lesson, "Dying Like a Seed."
2.2.1.1.01 Introduction - Sabbath Day Study
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; . . . but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24, NKJV).
Jesus’ picture of a kernel of wheat dying is a fascinating analogy of our submission to God’s will. He is telling that He is going to die, and as a result of His death. Wonderful things will happen through the power of resurrection that gets passed on to us. As disciples of Christ we are also called to die with Jesus saying: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mk 8:34.
First, there is the falling. The kernel that falls from the wheat stalk has no control over where or how it falls to the ground. It has no control over the ground that surrounds and then presses over it. (See more in par 2.2.1.1.01.1 The Epic Fall of Adam)
Second, there is the waiting. As the kernel lies in the earth, it does not know what the future holds. It cannot “imagine” what life will be like in the future, for it is only a kernel of wheat. (See more at par 2.2.1.1.01.2 Waiting After Fall)
Third, there is the dying. The kernel cannot possibly become a wheat stalk unless it gives up its safe, comfortable situation as a kernel. It must “die”; that is, it must give up what it has always been before so it may be transformed from a seed into a fruit-bearing plant.
2.2.1.1.01.1 The Epic Fall of Adam
Our life of freewill began in a sojourn on this planet created by Jesus started with Adam and Eve making the wrong decision at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2.2.1.1.01.1.1 The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9, 17)
God designated the tree by this name in the Garden of Eden when He instructed our parents on the preservation of their lives: “ ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’ ” (Gen. 2:16, 17, NKJV).
Two points are important for our present discussion. First, the biblical text does not allude to any poisonous or mind-altering substances contained in the fruit of the forbidden tree. On the contrary, God created all things “good” and “very good”; He did not create anything incomplete, imperfect, bad, or evil (Gen. 1:21, 31; see also Gen. 2:1–3). Sin and evil were not present in God’s perfect creation, but, rather, “entered the world” through Adam’s act (Rom. 5:12, NKJV). In addition, during the temptation, the serpent insists that if Eve eats of the forbidden tree, her “ ‘eyes will be opened’ ” and she “ ‘will be like God, knowing good and evil’ ” (Gen 3:4, 5, NKJV). Eve, then, “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise,” and she ate and served her husband, as well (Gen. 3:6, NKJV). The result of the consumption of the forbidden fruit was that “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Gen. 3:7, NKJV). Also, the tree is not named “the tree of knowledge” of God or of knowledge, in general, but “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” relating it to morality.
2.2.1.1.01.1.2 Moral Disobedience: Rebellion against God
Thus, the name of the tree and the narrative of Genesis 2 and 3 indicate that what changed was Adam and Eve’s perspective, their view, their attitude, and their relation to God. Their choice was a matter of moral disobedience or rebellion against God. The expression “to know good and evil” in the Bible refers to moral maturity, when a person becomes an adult and autonomous, or a moral judge (see Deut. 1:39, 2 Sam 14:17, 1 Kings 3:9, Isa. 7:16, Heb. 5:14). The issue around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was who was the judge, and who was the source and standard of morality. By forbidding the eating of the fruit of the tree, God established Himself as the ultimate Source of morality on earth in the same way that He was in the universe. By eating from the tree, Eve and Adam decided that they were the source of morality. It is one thing for someone to exercise morality and distinguish between good and evil through the prism of God’s revelation (Deut. 30:14–16, 2 Sam. 14:17, 1 Kings 3:9, Heb 5:14). But it is another thing to set oneself as the source and standard of morality over against God’s revelation and command; to do so is tantamount to declaring oneself God, to rebel against God, and to want to overthrow His throne.
This is exactly what the serpent suggested (Gen. 3:4, 5), and this is exactly what Satan had done in heaven and continues doing on earth (Isa. 14:13, 14; Ezek. 28:2, 12–17). Thus, the serpent suggested to Eve that by eating the forbidden fruit, “ ‘your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ ” (Gen. 3:5, NKJV). Being “like God” does not mean to become divine in nature but to be the source of one’s own morality, defining what is good and evil. This independence is self-sufficiency and autonomy from God, an act of sedition that constitutes replacing, or substituting, God with ourselves or somebody or something else.
2.2.1.1.01.1.3 Transgression leads to Death
Second, and consequently, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rebelling against God and attempting to sit on His throne, leads to death. That is why God immediately warned Adam and Eve that eating from the forbidden tree leads to death (Gen. 2:17). God is the only Source of life (Gen. 2:7; Deut. 30:20; John 1:1–4; John 4:13, 14; John 6:32–35; John 11:25–27; John 15:1–5; Rom. 6:23; Col. 1:16, 17). For a creature to sit on the throne of God is tantamount to removing himself or herself from the only Source of life, which is the same as consigning oneself to death.
But such death is not an ordinary death. It is a willing separation from God, a decision not to live according to God’s government (1 John 3:4; Isa. 14:9, 10, 16; Ezek. 28:2, 9, 16, 17). This separation is the essence of sin and of death. We do not know what Adam and Eve thought when they heard the word “death,” but they surely thought of something grim. But we, after 6,000 years of living under suffering, know all too well that death is a tragedy.
2.2.1.1.01.1.4 Adam & Eve Given Probation
However, as this was God’s vindication test to manifest to the universe on the hypnotic influence of the beguiling Satan and the traumatic consequence that will be caused by sin, God who knows the end from the beginning could not let Satan’s deception cause the death of Adam and Eve, has made provision for such eventuality. Christ had pledged to die on their behalf should they succumb to the mesmeric power of Satan.“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Joh 3:16. Therefore, the moment they sin Jesus became their redeemer and paid the prize of their death to be ratified at the cross for all the confessed sins of the world. “John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Jon 1:29. In this way God is faithful in given us life unasked that need not end in death. (Note: God has made provision in the remedy for eternal death being by death in self sacrifice. This is discussed in CL1 par 1.3.2.1 Death as Solution to Death)
2.2.1.1.01.1.4.1 Adam & Eve Given Hope of Coming Deliverer
The first intimation of such a hope was given to Adam and Eve in the sentence pronouncedupon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan in their hearing, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15. {PK 681.2}
As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan's power they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through transgression. Though they must suffer from the power of their adversary because they had fallen under his seductive influence and had chosen to disobey the plain command of Jehovah, yet they need not yield to utter despair. The Son of God was offering to atone with His own lifeblood for their transgression. To them was to be granted a period of probation, during which, through faith in the power of Christ to save, they might become once more the children of God. {PK 681.3}
2.2.1.1.01.1.4.2 Satan is God of Fallen World
Satan, by means of his success in turning man aside from the path of obedience, became "the god of this world." 2 Corinthians 4:4. The dominion that once was Adam's passed to the usurper. But the Son of God proposed to come to this earth to pay the penalty of sin, and thus not only redeem man, but recover the dominion forfeited. It is of this restoration that Micah prophesied when he said, "O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8. The apostle Paul has referred to it as "the redemption of the purchased possession." Ephesians 1:14. And the psalmist had in mind the same final restoration of man's original inheritance when he declared, "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Psalm 37:29. {PK 682.1}
2.2.1.1.01.1.4.3 The Promised Messiah Prophesy of Isaiah
This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men. From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out beyond the shadows of the present to the realities of the future. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-- through these and other worthies the Lord has preserved the precious revealings of His will. And it was thus that to the children of Israel, the chosen people through whom was to be given to the world the promised Messiah, God imparted a knowledge of the requirements of His law, and of the salvation to be accomplished through the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son. {PK 682.2}
2.2.1.1.01.2 Waiting After Fall
The seed does no choose when to fall and be separated from the plant, After falling on a ground that it can’t choose, the waiting period can be uncomfortable filled with anxiety on what the future holds and what will become of it. But God knows where that seed will fall which has been determined ahead of time. By the analogy of the sowing of the seed, Jesus is teaching us to be the seed which patiently waits to be transformed into a fruitful plant and producing many more seed by placing out trust in God and fall in the soil He has prepared for us. We are to be willing to relinquish our own will and way. Then what He will develop from us is way beyond what we ever imagine it would be. .
The parable of the seed reveals that God is at work in nature. The seed has in itself a germinating principle, a principle that God Himself has implanted; yet if left to itself the seed would have no power to spring up. Man has his part to act in promoting the growth of the grain. He must prepare and enrich the soil and cast in the seed. He must till the fields. But there is a point beyond which he can accomplish nothing. No strength or wisdom of man can bring forth from the seed the living plant. Let man put forth his efforts to the utmost limit, he must still depend upon One who has connected the sowing and the reaping by wonderful links of His own omnipotent power. {COL 63.1}
There is life in the seed, there is power in the soil; but unless an infinite power is exercised day and night, the seed will yield no returns. The showers of rain must be sent to give moisture to the thirsty fields, the sun must impart heat, electricity must be conveyed to the buried seed. The life which the Creator has implanted, He alone can call forth. Every seed grows, every plant develops, by the power of God. {COL 63.2}
2.2.1.1.01.3 Spiritual Aspect of Dying
Pr Gavin focus on Jon 12:12 concerns Jesus talking about Himself that He is going to die. And as a result of His death, wonderful things will happen through the power of the resurrection that gets passed on to us. As followers of Jesus we are also called to die. “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mk 8:34.The purpose of taking the cross and follow Jesus is to death on the cross at Calvary. So Jesus is emphasizing the necessity of our death as the core foundation in a Christian life in order to be born again..
So we have to die spiritual by faith (Gal 2:20). This part of the journey is through the refiner’s fire. It is a tough principle to grasp. If God had not taken him through a particular process of breaking him down to nothingness, right from the beginning of his ministry which has been shared earlier at par 2.1.1.1 Gavin’s Crucible of Consecration. It is God’s way of saying “I wish you would die like a seed, because it’s only through my resurrection power that something of eternal value can take place.This experience of brokenness in order to lay aside our worldly things will be different for different people; but ultimately we have to be there. .
2.2.1.1.02 Submission for Service - Sunday Topic (Philippians 2:5–9).
Jesus never contends for His own rights, but the gospel message He bore contended for the rights of fallen humanity.
Jesus did not contend for His rights. Often His work was made unnecessarily severe because He was willing and uncomplaining. Yet He did not fail nor become discouraged. He lived above these difficulties, as if in the light of God's countenance.{DA 89.4}
Christians need not contend for their rights. They stand under the protection of the banner of Christ. {RH, January 3, 1899 }
Obedience to the Sovereign of the universe has precedence as with Jesus, the will of God may be for us to give up our rights freely in order to serve the Father in ways that will make an eternal impact for God’s kingdom. This process of giving them up may be difficult and uncomfortable, creating the conditions of a crucible.
2.2.1.1.02.1 The Mind of Christ
Apostle Paul describes the three steps that Jesus took in submitting Himself to the Father’s will (Phil. 2:5–8). These few verses summarize the whole history of the great controversy. Jesus equal with God, Jesus coming to this earth. Jesus dying on the cross. Jesus exalted (V.9) and now finally everyone recognizing that He is just. We need to follow His example of submission in service as He did.
At the beginning, Paul alarmingly reminds us: “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5, NIV).
In order to be in a position to save us, Jesus gave up His equality with the Father and moved to earth in the form and limitations of a human being (Phil. 2:6, 7, NIV).
Jesus did not come as a great and glorious human being, but as a servant of other human beings (Phil. 2:7, NIV).
As a human servant, Jesus did not live a peaceful and long life but became “obedient to death.” He did not even die in a noble and glorious manner. No, He was “obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:8, NIV).
Paul gives us Christ as our example for He was one with the Father. The mindset of Jesus is submission to the Father for service. If we want to have Jesus mindset, we have to give up our mindset to have His mindset. Jesus mindset is diametrically opposed to the mindset we have, It is not natural for us in our fallen condition to desire to die to self which is given by the Holy Spirit. In our fallen human nature what we want is to exalt ourselves. We want to follow our ways, to follow our own feelings and emotions, So when we find this invitation to have the mind of Christ it is because we don’t have the same kind of mindset. Our” carnal minds are enmity against God” because “it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can it be” ( Rom 8:7) In our carnal nature we are enemies of God. That is why we need to experience this transformation and have the same mindset of Christ to be in harmony with him. But In order to save fallen humanity He was willing to relinquish equality with the Father. And even to let go of life so that others would live. It is only in our abiding in the crucible with Christ as He burns off the dross as the heat gets turned up that we can be like Him and reflect His character.
In our daily dying to self, we are to let Christ to be the pilot, not our co-pilot. It may be difficult initially to let go of our will completely, but it is necessary. Gavin attributes the intensities of heat he underwent wasrelated to the depth of his stubbornness. Some of us might learn this lesson the crucible much quicker and easier. Jesus makes it abundantly clear there is no way forward without coming to the point of death.
2.2.1.1.03 Dying Comes Before Knowing God’s Will - Monday
Many Christians sincerely seek to know God’s will for their lives. “If only I could know God’s will for my life, I would sacrifice everything for Him.” But even after promising this to God, we still may be confused about what His will is. The reason for this confusion may be found in Romans 12:1, 2. Paul is describing how we can know God’s will, and he makes an important point: if you want to know what God’s will is, you have to sacrifice first!
Paul writes that we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is” (Rom. 12:2, NIV) when the following things happen:
1. We have a true understanding of “God’s mercy” for us (Rom. 12:1, NIV).
2. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1).
3. Our minds are renewed (Rom. 12:2). It is only the renewed mind that truly can understand God’s will. But this renewal hinges on our death to self first. It was not enough that Christ simply suffered for us—He had to die.
When areas of our lives are not completely dead to self, God permits crucibles to bring them to our attention. However, our suffering not only helps us confront our sin—but it also gives us an insight into Jesus’ giving Himself up for us. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The surrender of our heart’s deepest longing is perhaps as close as we come to an understanding of the cross. . . . Our own experience of crucifixion, though immeasurably less than our Savior’s, nonetheless furnishes us with a chance to begin to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings. In every form of our own suffering, He calls us to that fellowship.”—Quest for Love (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1996),
2.2.1.1.04 Obstacles to Conversion - Tuesday to Thursday topics
At the least, the three obstacles to believe in the truth of God’s word and be converted in the crucible of consecration are: 1.Willingness to listen which is without openness to truth; 2. Self-Reliance which is to trust on our own wisdom and judgment as opposed to trusting in God’s word where we have no knowledge because we are not open-minded to truth; 3. Substitutesare needed to feel the void left by not being filled with the truth in God’s law.
Scriptural evidences are illustrated as lessons for our spiritual growth in our conversion in order to take up the cross of Jesus and follow Him in self sacrifice.
2.2.1.1.04.1 Willingness to Listen - Tuesday
First Samuel describes the story of an old man and his two wicked sons who didn’t listen to the Lord and a little boy who did. Though there were strong warnings from God, those who needed to change their course didn’t. Read their story in 1 Samuel 2:12–3:18. Discern the contrast between those who listen to God and those who don’t.
2.2.1.1.04.1.1Samuel as a Little Boy Listens to God
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’ ” (1 Sam. 3:10, NIV).
The willingness of Samuel as a little boy was so dedicated to learning from Eli, the high priest that God called him and he responded. He became the last of the judges, wrote the two books of Samuel as one of the greatest of prophets, founded the schools of the prophets {Ed 46.1},and the one who led out in the establishment of the Hebrew kingdom and in the laying down of the fundamental principles on which it was to operate (see1Sam 10:25)
Have you ever heard that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit but ignored it? Consequently, everything went wrong, and you thought to yourself later, Oh no, why didn’t I listen?
2.2.1.1.04.1.2 Deafness of High Priest Eli & Two Renegade Sons
Eli’s sons had other things on their minds than the things of God. And even when Eli, after hearing what God wanted, spoke to his sons, he didn’t seem to do anything else. And his sons were obviously not ready to submit the details of their lives to God’s will. (See par 2.2.1.1.05.2 Parental Unsanctified Affection Guilty with Faithless Children)
What acontrast to the young Samuel!
2.2.1.1.04.1.3 Cultivation of Attitude to Openness to God’s Word
Preacher Charles Stanley describes how essential it is to cultivate openness to God’s voice in what he calls “shifting into neutral.” He says: “The Holy Spirit . . . does not speak for the sake of passing along information. He speaks to get a response. And He knows when our agenda has such a large slice of our attention that it is a waste of time to suggest anything to the contrary. When that is the case, He is often silent. He waits for us to become neutral enough to hear and eventually obey.”—The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), pp. 179, 180.
It is our attitude based on the worldview planted in our mind by the educational, social and cultural system we grow up in that decide on our openness to truth and the desire to seek truth that will open the way to God’s word. Reflect on your own openness to God. What things often prevent you from being “neutral enough” to hear and eventually obey”? What do you need to do in your life to cultivate openness to God’s voice and a decisiveness to be obedient to His direction? It Is by a reality check on our own openness to God’s word and based on this personal experience in our own spiritual growth in the knowledge of the will of God that we can share with secular people who have to be given the picture of the God of love who gives us our life unasked that need not end in guilt and death.
2.2.1.1.04.2 Self-Reliance - Wednesday
When Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t simply because she doubted God’s word. At the heart of the problem was her belief that she had enough wisdom to decide for herself what was good and right.She trusted her own judgment. When we rely onour own judgment as opposed to trusting God’s Word, we open ourselves up to all sorts of problems.
The people of Israel demanded a king to rule over them as they could not see the true Sovereign of the universe through Samuel, the high priest as God’s representative on earth This was granted and Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel at the age of thirty (around 1100B,C).
The story of Saul describes his steps to self-reliance and the tragedy that so quickly follows. Samuel anointed Saul, at age thirty, as God’s king (1 Sam. 10:1). Then he gave Saul specific instructions (1 Sam. 10:8), but Saul disobeyed.
The story in 1 Samuel 13:1–14.describes the action of Saul do that led to his own downfall. There are three steps that led Saul down the road to self-reliance so soon after having been made king. The problem is that none of the steps were that bad in themselves. Yet, they contained the seeds of tragedy because they were each taken independently of God. Notice the order in which Saul’s fall occurred.
2.2.1.1.04.2.1 Saul’s Downfall: “I saw,’’“I said,” “I felt”
1. Saul said, “I saw” (NIV)—the scattering of his troops and Samuel’s absence (1 Sam. 13:11). Saul was under pressure, and he evaluated with his own eyes what was happening.
2. Saul moved from “I saw” to “I said”—that the Philistines would conquer them (1 Sam. 13:12, NKJV). What he saw with his own eyes shaped what he said, or surmised, about the situation.
3. Saul moved from “I said” to “I felt”—compelled to offer sacrifice (1 Sam. 13:12, NKJV). What Saul thought now shaped his feelings.
All of us have done this: Like Saul, we rely on our own human eyesight, which leads us to rely on our own human thinking, which leads us to rely on our own human feelings. And then we act on these feelings.
Why do you think it was so easy for Saul to follow his own judgment, even though he had God’s clear instructions still ringing in his ears? If we know that we are so fragile and have such imperfect knowledge, why do we still try to rely on ourselves? What can we do to learn to trust in the Lord’s commands more than trusting in ourselves?
The self is our greatest enemy according to Ellen White. Adolf Monod gives some interesting insight into our personal challenge of self surrender:
“ And if among the trials that you are called to bear, there isone that seems, I do not say heavier than the others, but more compromising to your ministry, and likely to ruin forever the hopes of your mission, if outward temptations be added to these coming from within, if all seems assailed, body, mind, spirit, if all seems lost without remedy, well, accept this trial, shall I say, or this assemblage of trials, in a peculiar feeling of submission, hope and gratitude, as a trial the Lord will cause you to find a new mission. Hail it as the beginning of a ministry of weakness and bitterness. which He will cause to abound in more living fruit than your ministry of strength and joy in days gone by ever yielded.”
We will all continue to struggle while we walk on this earth. Therefore, we pray daily to God, our Father to give us a fresh commitment to submit ourselves to Christ, Ask Him to teach us to trust his goodness and faithfulness. Give Him permission to take everything that you are, everything that you have, so that You, Lord and Your kingdom will be glorified in us. Through that submission, then new life happens afterwards.
2.2.1.1.04.3 Substitutes- Thursday
Satan, as the god of this fallen world has displaced God to those secular people that he has deceived is keeping them happy with the pleasures and riches of this world. When some people feel depressed, they go shopping for something to make them happy. When some feel inadequate, they pursue fame. When others have difficulties with their spouse, they look for someone else to give them intimacy and excitement. Many of the things we use can relieve the pressure, but they do not necessarily solve the problem or teach us how to handle the situation better the next time. Only supernatural help from God can do that. The problem is that many times we depend on substitutes for God rather than on God Himself.
Here are three substitutes that we may use instead of God:
1. We use human logic or past experience when we need fresh divine revelation.
2. We block problems from our minds when we need divine solutions.
3. We escape reality and avoid God when we need communion with Him for divine power.
Zechariah helps us to focus on what really matters when we are tempted to use substitutes. After many years away, the exiles had finally returned from Babylon and immediately began to rebuild the temple. But there was an incredible amount of opposition to this (some background can be found in Ezra 4–6). So, Zechariah came with this message of encouragement to Zerubbabel, who was leading the work.
This message in Zechariah 4:6 teach us about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the practical things that we do. God did not prevent the opposition to the temple or spare Zerubbabel from the stress of dealing with it. And God will not always protect us from opposition. But when opposition comes, God may use it as a crucible to teach us to depend on Him.
2.2.1.1.05 Further Thought – Friday (Read Ellen G. White, “Eli and His Sons,” pp. 575–580, and “The Presumption of Saul,” pp. 616–626, in Patriarchs and Prophets.)
Two themes stand as reminders: 1. Submission to God Requires Dying to Self; 2. Parental Unsanctified Affection Guilty with Faithless Children.
2.2.1.1.05.1Submission to God Requires Dying to Self
Submission to God’s will come as we die to our own desires and ambitions. This opens the way for true service to others. We cannot live for God without becoming sacrifices and living in continual openness to God’s voice. For us truly to submit our wills to our Father’s will, we must recognize the dangers of relying on ourselves and on substitutes for God’s Word and power. As submission to God’s will is at the heart of a Christlike life, God may allow crucibles to teach us dependence on Him.
2.2.1.1.05.2 Parental Unsanctified Affection Guilty with Faithless Children
“The neglect of Eli is brought plainly before every father and mother in the land. As the result of his unsanctified affection or his unwillingness to do a disagreeable duty, he reaped a harvest of iniquity in his perverse sons. Both the parent who permitted the wickedness and the children who practiced it were guilty before God, and He would accept no sacrifice or offering for their transgression.”—Ellen G. White, Child Guidance, p. 276.
2.2.1.2 Closing Review
Suffering is the result of sin. Sin is caused by Satan, formerly Lucifer, who rebelled against God, the Creator of all things. God is righteous, all-power and upholds justice in the whole universe as the Supreme Sovereign. Yet, God is merciful and long-suffering . He does not punish without first showing all His creation their repeated incorrigible sins. Thus, God has given Satan and his evil followers 6,000 years to prove that he can offer a better world than God’s immutable law of love and liberty- the Ten Commandments.
The creation of Earth confined in a sphere of finite time is the theatre on the horrendous consequences of sin. This universal theatre is meant for the angels in heaven and all other created beings in the other worlds in the universe who are untouched by sin yet. This is to enable all to witness the righteous way that God is using in eliminating Satan and sin in His universe.
The object lesson of CL2 focus on Lesson 12 (L12), the necessity of self sacrifice, the daily dying to self which Jesus teach as analogous to a seed falling on the ground to die in order to become fruitful and produce more seeds (Jn 12:12). The preceding lessons progressively adds to firstly selecting the right way ( L1) in our journey of life in this fallen world of sin and suffering. We need to pick up the respective essential attributes of the Shepherd’s divine nature that each of us lacks (varying in extent from one to another). The heat each of us undergoes in the various trials or crucibles is the process in the transformation of our character.
The review of CL2 is already provided in par 2.1.2. CL2 relates emphatically on the imperative to die in our old sinful self, invested with the propensities to sin (L12). However, it leaves out much of L13- Christ in the Crucible, to be discussed in the follow up in the next CL3.
2.2.1.2.1 Discernment of God’s Loving Appeal
Consider the testimony of Pr Gavin Anthony on the brokenness in his life orchestrated by God before God uses him as the main author of this Third Quarter Quarter’s Bible Studies 2022 It is the “Endorsed Providential Guidance.” Gavin learned by living experience that God wants us to become nothing in order to yield and utterly submit ourselves so that everything we have to offer is from Him.
This SS 3rd Qtr Bible Lessons is very special and must be meant for the church and its members to wake up and prepare for Christ second coming. It is through the testimony in the You-Tube presentation that we are able to know that God chose Gavin to be the main author of this third Qtr SS Bible study we are now studying. This Study was all preplanned when God chose Gavin to visit Flora in Labour camp in Albania.on finishing his seminary in 1992, and is now come to pass for the SDA church worldwide to receive Pr Gavin Anthony in his presentation of God’s message for this time.
God always sends us a message of hope and God sends us in a personal practical way (a message of deliverance where we are. God give specific instruction to find the lost (v 3) and gives the lost specific instruction to find hope (vv 4,.7) and He gives also specific warning against failing to trust Him (v9). Only believe and I will take care of the rest
We are living in the closing scenes of this earth's history. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The hours of probation are fast passing. We have no time--not a moment--to lose. Let us not be found sleeping on guard.
This is the providential message that God desires each of us to review again what Pr Gavin Anthony had identified as key concepts that will be helpful for your spiritual growth, week by week in your personal daily study and in the Sabbath fellowship to exhort one another in preparation for the second coming of Christ as we see signs of the hour is at hand. This quarter Bible Study is God’s message out of God’s mercy and longsuffering in His will to give us an expected end in that all should repent and return to the Lord and not be lost with the imminent end of the world. This study is a quick start conversion for the eleventh hour labourers in the Lords vineyard (Mat 21:33-44). This is the case of the conviction of the thief on the cross laying hold of the dying savior, asking by faith “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. “ Luk 23:42.
A key underlying theme is Gavin’s purpose for us to also know that it is through his suffering in the crucible with Christ that enabled him to write the 13 lessons as the roadmap to the hidden treasure. He identifies key ideas that will be helpful to the church and to the members to grow spiritually and be united to be of one mind the mind of Christ
The beauty of Jesus has to be one of the key fundamental motivations for why we get up in the morning and why we are alive in this world. We are a Christian because we believe and follow Jesus-, doing ministry in whatever form to bring other people along by glorifying God because of the beauty of His character. This is the reason why the sheep who may have gone astray will be sought by the shepherd to be returned to the right path and motivated to endure in spite of the many inducement from the enemies to give up because the beauty of God is so significant. Paul explains that we by “beholding as in a glass the glory (character) of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor 3:18. (Note: In the great controversy, sin has entered into the world and has broken and corrupted the world. So we need to stick close to the shepherd along the trials and difficulties that we face that by beholding His beauty day by day we become like our shepherd. Therefore we give honour and glory to God in thanksgiving and praises,)
2.2.1.2.2 Four Key Reasons in World of Suffering
There are four key reasons why suffering happens as Gavin is led to understand it. This is covered earlier in CL1 Par1.1.2.1.3.3 – “Reasons for Suffering in the World.” These reason should provide the answer to the many secular people still hanging on in unbelief over the question of suffering caused by natural disasters and why children are born to die in terminal illness, or starvation.
Having these four reasons as a framework is like having reading glass we put on to see clearly. Fundamentally it is the Holy Spirit that brings the answer to the why question.
2.2.1.2.3 Condemnation of Satan’s Original Sin in Eden
The dimension of Biblical death as applied in the first breaking of God’s law by Adam and Eve that “they shall surely die” refers to Satan success in causing them to separate from God through disobedience. Such death is not an ordinary death. It is a willing separation from God, a decision not to live according to God’s government (1 John 3:4; Isa. 14:9, 10, 16; Ezek. 28:2, 9, 16, 17). This separation is the essence of sin and of death
Satan, by means of his success in turning man aside from the path of obedience, became "the god of this world." 2 Corinthians 4:4. The dominion that once was Adam's passed to the usurper. But the Son of God proposed to come to this earth to pay the penalty of sin, and thus not only redeem man, but recover the dominion forfeited. The first intimation of such a hope was given to Adam and Eve in the sentence pronouncedupon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan in their hearing, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15. {PK 681.2}
2.2.1.2.3.1 Hope in Redemption from Eternal Death by Son of God
As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan's power they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through transgression. Though they must suffer from the power of their adversary because they had fallen under his seductive influence and had chosen to disobey the plain command of Jehovah, yet they need not yield to utter despair. The Son of God was offering to atone with His own life blood for their transgression. To them was to be granted a period of probation, during which, through faith in the power of Christ to save, they might become once more the children of God. {PK 681.3} ( to be further discussed in CL3)
Pr Gavin focus on Jon 12:12 concerns Jesus talking about Himself that He is going to die. And as a result of His death, wonderful things will happen through the power of the resurrection that gets passed on to us. As followers of Jesus we are also called to die. “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mk 8:34.The purpose of taking the cross and follow Jesus is to death on the cross at Calvary. So Jesus is emphasizing the necessity of our death as the core foundation in a Christian life in order to be born again..
So we have to die spiritual by faith (Gal 2:20). This part of the journey is through the refiner’s fire. It is a tough principle to grasp. If God had not taken him through a particular process of breaking him down to nothingness, right from the beginning of his ministry which has been shared earlier at par 2.1.1.1 Gavin’s Crucible of Consecration. It is God’s way of saying “I wish you would die like a seed, because it’s only through my resurrection power that something of eternal value can take place.This experience of brokenness in order to lay aside our worldly things will be different for different people; but ultimately we have to be there.
2.2.1.2.3.2 Sacrifice of Self Precedes Knowing God’s Will
Many Christians sincerely seek to know God’s will for their lives. They make pledges of sacrificing everything for Him. But even after promising this to God, we still may be confused about what His will is. The reason for this confusion may be found in Romans 12:1, 2. Paul is describing how we can know God’s will, and he makes an important point: if you want to know what God’s will is, you have to sacrifice first!
We also need to know that at the least, the three obstacles to believe in the truth of God’s word and be converted in the crucible of consecration are: 1.Willingness to listen which is without openness to truth; 2. Self-Reliance which is to trust on our own wisdom and judgment as opposed to trusting in God’s word where we have no knowledge because we are not open-minded to truth; 3. Substitutesare needed to feel the void left by not being filled with the truth in God’s law. (See par 2.2.1.1.04 Obstacles to Conversion - Tuesday to Thursday topics)
Finally, we need to be periodically reminded on reflection on two other key checks: 1 Submission to God Requires Dying to Self ( See Par 2.2.1.1.05.1); 2. Parental Unsanctified Affection Guilty with Faithless Children ( See Par 2.2.1.1.05.2).
End of CL2 –40 pages.
Posted on September 25, 2022 by Tsc at singtsc@yahoo.com
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