Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

October 1, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        WISDOM FROM THE WISEST MAN

        Remember now thy Creator in the days of the youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Eccl. 12:1.

    King Solomon was known as the wisest man who ever lived. He came to the throne before he was 18. He hauled in gold from Ophir, and silver from the mines in Spain. He imported precious stones and spices from Arabia, and ivory from India. Ten thousand people ate at his table every day. His fleets brought in resources from foreign shores amounting to $10 million annually. The queen of Sheba came to see his kingdom for herself, and when she left she said that the half had not been told. Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs--and he had to be old enough to die before he knew enough to live!

    Near the end of his life he said, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter." Are you interested in what the wisest man who ever lived had to say as to the conclusion of the whole business? He had learned from God and from the school of hard knocks. Here is his conclusion: "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:13, 14).

    Notice the sequence. Fear God, and keep His commandments. Of course, this is talking about something more than just being afraid of God. Respect God. Hold Him in awe for who He is, our Creator. This is what Solomon was talking about. God had been very patient with Solomon. He should have been dumped from the throne as far as our standards are concerned. Have you ever studied some of his debauchery during the time that he rebelled? He tried to pack in all the so-called pleasures of this life, but they turned sour. He discovered that he could not keep the commandments without putting God first.

    The problem that we all have with the Ten Commandments is that there is no power there. Have you found that out? Jesus' wisdom is revealed there, and the great lawmakers of all times have been unable to improve on the Ten Commandments. But there is no power in the law itself. The law reveals to us our need of a Saviour. It points us to Christ. It is in Christ that we find pardon and the power to fulfill all the demands of the law.

September 30, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        "FOLLOW ME"

        And the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. John 10:4.

    A tour group traveling in the Middle East was told by the tour guide to watch for the sheepherders. "A shepherd never drives his sheep, but rather leads them," he said. So they began watching for an opportunity to see this in action. But the first group of sheep they saw were being driven, urged on with sticks and stones and shouts. They checked the matter out to discover what had happened to the sheepherding business, and learned that they had happened upon a group of sheep being taken by the butcher!

    Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). He said that the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd that they know, and follow him (John 10:4). He said, "If any man serve me, let him follow me" (chap. 12:26). He told the rich young ruler to sell all he had, and follow (Matt. 19:21). And He invited the disciples to follow Him to become fishers of men (chap. 4:19).

    When we follow someone we trust, it is the opposite of being coaxed or pushed or coerced. Jesus invites us to follow. And in Revelation 14:4 we find a group of people who have become so involved with the One who is both Shepherd and Lamb that they follow Him wherever He goes.

    Luke 9:57-62 tells of a group who had trouble with the idea of following Jesus. They made excuses. They had other things they wanted to do instead. And Jesus indicated to them they they could not have divided hearts. Those who follow Him must be totally committed. But the key is that they were asked to follow Him. First Peter 2:21 says that "hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps."

    Only the Holy Spirit knows the timetable for each soul. We don't. We must allow Him to do His work. He is the one who must bring each of us to decision. And the basis of all decision is to decide to follow Christ. Decision is meaningful only in that setting. When we have chosen to follow Christ and have learned to know His voice, then He can lead us to whatever else He desires for us in terms of decisions. The Holy Spirit leads each one individually in deciding to follow Christ and in continuing to follow Him day by day.

September 29, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        NOW IS THE TIME TO DECIDE

        Therefore chose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. Deut. 30:19.

    There's an old evangelistic phrase that you may have heard, "Getting people across the line." This term has been used many times in reference to getting people to make decisions regarding some point of doctrine, usually the Sabbath. But it is a principle in decision making, when it comes to spiritual things, that all decisions should be based on commitment to Jesus. If that commitment has not already been made, then it is futile to pull for decision on any other point. If a person has not already made a decision for Christ and been converted, then he or she is not ready to make a lasting decision on doctrinal issues.

    God has very simple methods for decision making. John 10:1-5 describes His method. The first thing He does is make Himself known to His sheep. He realizes that when the sheep know Him and have learned to recognize His voice and decide to follow Him, the decisions along the path of following Him day by day will naturally come. Our first method in seeking to bring others to decision should be to lead them to know God and His voice themselves.

    The primary force in all spiritual decision making is the Holy Spirit. It is His work to confront each individual with decision at the time that He knows he is the most approachable, and in a manner that he will be most likely to respond to.

    The Bible is clear that we ought to make decisions and that we ought to make them every day. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says that now is the accepted time. Joshua urged the people of Israel to choose. "Choose you this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Notice that he wanted them to chose whom to serve, not what to do. The decision to serve Jesus and allow Him control in our lives is a daily decision.

    If the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you to make a decision in your life, don't procrastinate. The longer you put it off, the harder the decision will be. Steps to Christ, page 32, says that thousands have erred, to their own destruction, in putting off decision. Probably every person has some decision that has been on his mind, a conviction from the Holy Spirit. Why not decide now? If you have a decision you need to make, make it today.

September 28, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        CHANGE OF RAIMENT

        He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. Rev. 3:5.

    Once there was a very wealthy man. His riches were so vast that words fail to tell the extent of them. But he had a neighbor who was poor as the rich man was rich. The neighbor had nothing. His clothes were ragged and dirty. He was suffering from malnutrition. He had no home, not even a hovel to call his own, but was forced to spend his days and nights clutching his rags miserably about him, suffering from exposure.

    The rich man noticed the plight of the poor neighbor, and set about to remedy the situation. He said to the poor man, "You are in a terrible state. You need a home to live in and nourishing food. You need to be properly clothed. If you will come to me, I will give you all you need, and more besides."

    But instead of coming to the rich man, the poor man backed off and would not come near. "I can't come to your in these clothes. I would bring disgrace to you, if folks saw me at your table in such poverty."

    "That's true," the rich man agreed. "But here is a change of raiment that I will give you, if you will come to me and accept it. And then you will be suitably clothed to come to my house."

    When Christ offers to us His robe of righteousness to cover the filthy rags of our sin, we must accept it in order to benefit from it. The rich man could have provided enough clothes for a whole city, but if the poor man refused to put them on, they would not benefit him.

    There are conditions to salvation--there are conditions to entering the heavenly home. We must be suitably attired--clad in the garments of Christ's righteousness--in order to enter there. We must have come to repentance. We must have new hearts. We must have faith. We must be obedient. But for all the requirements that God makes, He also provides gifts to meet the requirements, if we will only accept. God never sends us a bill without enclosing enough money to pay it. We must repent before we can be forgiven. But if we come to Him, He will provide the gift of repentance, and when we accept it, we are justified. This doctrine is just one more truth that reveals Jesus--He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

September 27, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        JESUS REVEALED BY REPENTANCE

        Repent ye therefore, and be converted. Acts 3:19.

    Which comes first--repentance or forgiveness? Is repentance a condition for coming to Christ? Do we have to make ourselves sorry for our sins before God can accept us? Probably the most important truth to understand in the doctrine of repentance is that it is never to be a barrier between the sinner and Christ. We can always come to Him just as we are, and it is then that He gives to us the gift of repentance.

    But notice that repentance comes before forgiveness, or justification. Acts 5:31 says that God has exalted Christ to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Steps to Christ makes this comment on page 26: "Just here is a point on which many err, and hence they fail of receiving the help that Christ desires to give them. They think that they cannot come to Christ unless they first repent, and that repentance prepares for the forgiveness of their sins. It is true that repentance does precede the forgiveness of sin; for it is only the broken and contrite heart that will feel the need of a Saviour. But must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come to Jesus? Is repentance to be made an obstacle between the sinner and the Saviour? The Bible does not teach that the sinner must repent before he can heed the invitation of Christ, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' " (Italics supplied.)

    So the sequence is that first we come to Christ, then we are given the gift of repentance, which we are to accept. And after that we are forgiven. Does this sound as though there is a condition to having our sins forgiven? Well, there is! But this truth teaches us a very beautiful thing bout God. Jesus and His love is revealed in a unique way. Jesus accepts us just as we are, and He gives us the necessities for salvation.

    Jesus already knows that we have no merit to recommend us to Him, so He doesn't even look for it or expect it. There are conditions for the blessing of salvation that He offers, but they are not conditions that we are able to meet. So when He comes to us, offering us life and salvation, at the same time He offers us as free gifts all the prerequisites for salvation. He has made every provision so that none except those who stubbornly refuse His grace need fail of receiving the salvation He has provided.

September 26, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        JUSTICE AND MERCY

        And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Luke 17:26.

    God called Noah to be his messenger. He instructed him to warn the world that a flood was coming. Noah was told to build an ark, and for 120 years he worked to finish his task. He faithfully gave the twofold message of warning and of hope that a way of escape was being provided. Not one who accepted the way of escape perished.

    The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was so great that God was moved to judgment. But before He sent the fire from heaven to destroy them, He came to Abraham with word of what He was about to do. Abraham pleaded with Him to give them a final chance. God answered Abraham's prayer, and sent angels with a message of warning to the city. But it was not merely a message of warning. They also offered Lot and his family a way of escape. In fact, in the end, they had to take Lot and his family by the hands and lead them out of the city. Even then, Lot's wife turned back and refused the way of escape provided.

    God told Jonah that judgment was coming upon Nineveh. Jonah was perhaps the most unwilling prophet of all time. He tried running away. When that didn't work, he grudgingly went to give God's message, that in forty days Nineveh would be destroyed. The people of Nineveh, from the least to the greatest, put on sackcloth and ashes, and repented. The crisis was averted. But Jonah was so angry that he wanted to die! He was more concerned with his own reputation as a prophet than with the lives of all the people in the city.

    Whenever God becomes involved in the work of judgment, the ingredients of these Bible examples are always present. He sends someone with a message of warning, and He also provides a way of escape. This is true also for the final judgment that is soon to come upon the world. For centuries the Lord has been sending one messenger after another to give us warnings, so that none need be unprepared. The three angels' messages remind us that the hour of His judgment is come. God would have none of us caught by surprise.

    But Jesus is revealed in the judgment. He is the way of escape that has been provided. Because of His sacrifice, no one need perish. There is hope. There is an ark of safety in Him for all who will accept the deliverance He offers.

September 25, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        JESUS REVEALED BY THE JUDGMENT

        The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matt. 13:24, 25.

    When the seed that was sown in this parable came up, the servants of the householder noticed that there were tares among the wheat. They came to their employer and said, "Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?" He recognized immediately the work of an enemy. But he did not respond as his servants expected, and ask them to root out all the tares. He told them instead to let them both grow together until the time of harvest. Then they would be able to tell the wheat and tares apart without mistake, and could safely separate them.

    This parable of Jesus is about the judgment. In the field of the world, which God had planted with good, an enemy came in and brought evil. The time of judgment is the time when the final separation between good and evil will be made.

    One thing this parable shows us concerning what Jesus is like is that the wheat and tares are both allowed time to develop. They are both allowed time to make fully manifest, to themselves and to the rest of the world, what their character really is.

    The servants could recognize the presence of weeds, of tares, in the field even from the beginning. But they did not have the insight to judge correctly in every case. So it is in the universe. The unfallen angels, and the rest of the watching creation, were able to see that there were problems when Satan was cast out of heaven. But in order for there to be no question as to which was wheat and which was tares, God allows them both to develop fully, so that their quality will be fully manifested. At the time that both good and evil are mature, there will be no question for any as to which is which, and as to the character and value of either.

    Following the judgment, when the wheat and tares are identified because of their unquestionable character, the rewards of each are given. The tares are bound in bundles to be burned. But the wheat is gathered into the barn. The judgment reveals to all the universe the fairness and rightness of God, as well as His mercy, in allowing every opportunity for repentance.

September 24, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        SATAN'S LAST DECEPTION

        And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev. 12:17.

    There are all kinds of winds blowing today, and all kinds of voices to be heard. There are shots from every direction being fired at the gift of prophecy given to this church. That is one of the greatest signs that Jesus' coming is right upon us, because that's the last thing that happens just before He comes.

    "Satan is constantly pressing in the spurious--to lead away from the truth. The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Prov. 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God's remnant people in the true testimony.

    "There will be hatred kindled against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the churches in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are heeded."--Selected Messages, book 1, p. 48.

    We can take courage when we hear people questioning the validity of the Spirit of Prophecy, even though we feel sorry for those who are involved in trying to make the testimonies of none effect. We can take courage, for it shows without question that the coming of Jesus is right upon us. It is predicted as one of the final events in the history of the church.

    I believe that the inspiration of the Spirit of Prophecy and the inspiration of the Bible are the same inspiration. While it is true that the Spirit of Prophecy writings are not canonical, it is still true that they are from God in a special sense. There is a truth and a power and an inspiration to be found there that is not to be found in the works of other great Christian writers. The Spirit of Prophecy writings are above the writings of other Protestant commentaries on the Scriptures.

    But none of this opposition has come as a surprise to God. It was predicted that it would happen. And we can know that it will continue, thus giving us one of the greatest signs that we can see today of the nearness of the coming of Jesus.

September 23, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        THE VOICE OF GOD TO YOU

        But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. Luke 7:26.

    There have been only three "more than prophets" in the history of God's church. Moses, who led the nation of Israel to the Promised Land; John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ's first coming; and Ellen White, who was sent with a special mission before Christ's second advent. I would like to suggest that it would be unlikely that we have another of this type of prophet before the end of time, although the evidence is that we will have again the manifestation of the gift of prophecy. It is quite possible that we will again see not only those who speak forth in God's name but those who predict or who are given special messages of warning, comfort, and guidance to God's church.

    I believe in the work and writings and teachings of Ellen White. Anyone who knows the least thing about the history of Seventh-day Adventists should believe in them. And if they don't believe in them, they will have trouble with Scripture, too. I believe in them in spite of books written against them. Books can be written against everything and anything. If you are selective with your sources, you can build a case against the American flag or motherhood or apple pie.

    I believe in the gift of prophecy given to the church in the past century, because I have found it to be the voice of God to my own soul. And if I have problems with it, I will also have problems with the Bible.

    One of the reasons that I value this gift to the church is that it was through this gift I was led to an understanding of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When I came into great trouble, and was about ready to give up, and cast about for some other kind of anchor, it was the description of the glories, the kindness, the beauty of Jesus, in books such as The Desire of Ages, that captured my attention. I have always been intrigued that this woman who wrote God's messages had the love of God as her favorite topic.

    There are those who get the wrong impression of this gift. They think Ellen White was glum, and morose. They think she dealt primarily in reproofs and rebukes. But if you will study her writings with an open mind, you will discover that Jesus is her central focus.

September 22, 2018

10/4/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        MORE THAN A PROPHET

        Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Num. 12:8.

    There are three manifestations of the gift of prophecy described in Scripture. First is the ability by the Holy Spirit's power to speak for God. Sometimes we confine the gift of prophecy to prediction and fulfillment. But it includes anyone who speaks God's truth for a particular time.

    The second manifestation includes actual dreams, visions, and predictions. This is not seen as much today. But there is an even more rare function. This has to do with a special-messenger type of prophetic assignment that includes more than prophecy. There have been only three people in the history of God's people who have been known as more than prophets.

    Numbers 12:6-8 tells of the first one. The Lord had come down in the cloud and spoken to the people, "Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so....With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Here God is indicating to Aaron and Miriam that Moses was not only a prophet but he was more than a prophet. God had a relationship with him and a function for him that included more than the term prophet signified.

    The second instance is found in Luke 7:26-28. Jesus is speaking, "But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." He was referring to John the Baptist, God's messenger to prepare the way for Jesus' first coming.

    The third instance was a young lady in the past century who was told that she was God's messenger. Selected Messages, book 1, pages 34 to 36: "If others call me by the name [prophet], I have no controversy with them. But my work has covered so many lines that I cannot call myself other than a messenger....My work includes much more than this name [prophet] signifies. I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people."