10-17-2014 The Third Great Worthy

[Adriel]

Topic is: The Third Great Worthy
Happy Sabbath! Please see our room information at: http://93.88.247.151/chat.html

Zahakiel : Well, it is 12 past the hour, so let us go ahead and begin. I will ask Pastor to open with a prayer.

Pastor_Chick_CSDA_7 : Dear Father in Heaven, we are blessed to be alive and present for this Sabbath gathering. May we all receive the Sabbath blessing throughout the holy hours to come. Thank You for pouring Your Spirit on us as we have come to learn. We think of those who have not come yet who would be blessed to attend. May they be led this way... thank You for answering our prayers…In the holy and precious name of YAHSHUA, our LORD and SAVIOR, AMEN.

Barbli : Amen
Lucan : Amen
Guest_Elyna : Amen.
Zahakiel : Amen
Guest_Peter : Amen.
Adriel : Amen
Guest_Daphna : Amen
Naraiel : Amen
Guest_gadriel : Amen, Amen

Zahakiel : Happy Sabbath to everyone. This is our first study since the recently concluded Feast of Tabernacles for 2014. While I had a topic in mind to present this Sabbath, after the last couple of meetings we have had together, I was inspired to change the subject matter to something else. This will be a relatively short one, and without more than a couple of Bible verses... but it is nevertheless a most critical message for all of us to understand.

As Bro. Luke rightly pointed out in his study (though he might resist the label) on the Last Great Day, the Church of Yah has already been blessed with a wealth of knowledge. It has been highly educated in doctrine, and can defend every position on every teaching from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. While it is important, as our Pioneers and inspired writings have explained, to set before the people of Yah truths old and new, that we may remind ourselves of the precious promises on which we rely, and to equip us to bring others into the fold...in terms of our OWN sanctification, in terms of our own preparations to meet the Father and Son in glory, this is insufficient.

What is necessary, what is missing, is a drive, a burning desire, to apply what we already know, and what we have learned, consistently, on a moment-by-moment basis, and regardless of trials and circumstances. What is needful is the zeal of our “first love,” and this can only be maintained through divine power, just as initially it could only be obtained through divine power.

As I considered this matter, a statement kept occurring to me, and it is one that we have seen before – but in a different context. It is found, among other places, here:

“Those who have been baptized can claim the help of the three great Worthies in heaven,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” [EGW, Sermons and Talks, Vol. 1, p. 366]

If one reads through the statements that Ellen White makes about the Holy Spirit, it might be surprising how often she mentions the “three powers/persons/worthies” of the Godhead in connection with baptism. Her emphasis on this connection is actually relevant to my originally intended topic for tonight, and is something that I would like to explore next week. However, that is not my focus now. All of us here, I believe, accept that there is a very serious flaw in the human terminology and concepts applied to the Godhead, which has resulted in what has become the “central, unifying doctrine” of apostate Christianity. But what I want to talk about is what the Holy Spirit IS, and that is, regardless of its nature, regardless of its person-hood or lack thereof, a “Worthy” on which we can call for help.

The CSDA message is not an anti-Trinitarian message. It is a Gospel Message. It is a Good-news message, and that “Good news” is that Yah HAS a people who will be (are being) perfected, sanctified, and made ready for everlasting life at the close of human probation.

The Son of the Most High gave up all that He possessed and was, even His own life, so that we who were dead in trespasses and sins might live. This is an unspeakable gift.

If a billionaire should awaken one day, and decide to switch lives with the first homeless person he encountered on the street, it would be nothing compared to this sacrifice. Yet mankind would declare even that infinitely lesser act so extraordinary it would be counted the action of madness.

No matter what we teach, and what we learn, this must always be before us, fresh in our memories, central in our contemplations, and the motivating power behind our victorious lives. This mystery, this great depth of love, ought to bring tears to our eyes, and smiles to our lips, as we meditate. Indeed, truly coming to understand that sacrifice kills sin in the heart, all thought of resistance and rebellion. Being broken by the love that we have been offered, which we can never deserve, this destroys the sinner that we were, and gives birth to the saints that we are. If we learn little else, this is sufficient to convert the soul to the Way.

Guest_Peter : Amen.

Zahakiel : But no matter what we do, even unto the death, we can never deserve what Yah has given us, and so all that remains is, after having died for Him, to live for Him, to fill eternity with our praises and the works that reflect our thanksgiving.

No, works do not save... actions do not earn heaven... but one who has received salvation, and the promises of Heaven, cannot help but accomplish the works of faith. Once we were slaves to our carnal nature. Now we are just as much slaves (and blessed in that!) to the divine nature that we share with Yahshua.

Doctrines may teach, and refine, but what Yah requires is for us to be those people who do the works of faith. So how do we do it? How do we go from doctrine to deed, from learning to living, from walking to talking? We can ONLY do it through the third great Worthy of Heaven.

Now, as non-Trinitarians, I think there is a potential danger of going “too far” in the other direction. To show how much they oppose this “Roman Catholic abomination,” some groups may be tempted to minimize the role of the Comforter, to ignore it to a degree.

But the Holy Spirit is THE power of Yah, it is THE presence of the Son in our lives, and we dare not take lightly this Third Witness of all that is holy and divine. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts the soul of sin. It is the Holy Spirit that guides the believer into righteousness. It is the Holy Spirit that allows us to pray to the Father through the Son. Again, it is the Holy Spirit that causes us to be righteous, which, as we discussed on the last day of the Feast, is not the same as merely being without sin. The absence of sin is mere neutrality, merely not being actively evil. Most Churches do not even believe one can be neutral, much less righteous. They say, “We keep falling into sin. We must rely on Jesus, because we have no righteousness of our own.” Like so many things said by nominal Christians, the words sound right, but the meaning is false. It is true we have no righteousness “of our own,” but we DO have righteousness! We do not just rely on Yahshua’s righteousness in Him; we must “claim” it. And to claim it means to take it, to have it. Though the world will label it as arrogance, pride, maybe even blasphemy, I testify, “I have righteousness!”

Guest_Peter : Amen.

Zahakiel : Now, I cannot testify that I have earned it, or deserve it, but I have it. I can say, as did King David before me, “Judge me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.” (Psalm 7:8)

How many of you have said that? Do you know that you can? That is also the “testimony of Yahshua,” but, you can only say it if you mean it, if it is true for you, or else you are found a liar indeed, and those words become a curse.

King David was able to say those words, because within him lived the Father and Son... and yes, even before the cross. By faith, David, like Abraham, looked forward to the day when all those lambs that had been slaughtered in his sight would meet their true Anti-Type, and until then he claimed it anyway. Just as in this day, although we have not yet with our natural eyes seen the New Jerusalem descending from Heaven, we claim, “That City is my eternal home. I have been translated into the Kingdom of Yah’s dear Son.” But we can only do this as David did it... through the third great Worthy of Heaven.

What is needed, for us, for our personal growth, is not necessarily more doctrine. This has its place, but what is necessary for us right now is that we “apply.” We must decide to live by the things to which we have already agreed, for when I, and others, give studies, I do not hear anyone saying, “I disagree with that principle. I object.” If there are misunderstandings, they are cleared up. If there is strengthening to be made to the testimony, it is made. But when we close with a prayer, and all say, “Amen,” what we are saying is, “I agree with this.” And furthermore, for all who are baptized, that “Amen” means, “I will DO all of this that applies to me, for I acknowledge this as the Word of God, by every word of which I have promised – covenanted – to live.”

Now, if any are just realizing that for the first time, then perhaps this will explain why there is not an “invincible testimony” among every-one who has claimed to receive the Three Angels’ Message in the power of the Fourth. But tonight, everyone who hears this may have that testimony, and must, to be justified in Heaven’s sight. They take up the call to righteousness by faith, and to say, “I shall not fail nor be discouraged. I do always those things that please my Father.” And not only may they (you) say it, but you may say it from the treasures of your own heart, and not merely because these are the words you have learned are the right ones. The third Worthy is our gift from Heaven that allows us to do this.

All of us have temptations. Some of us have trials, some very severe, some that may change our lives... but the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. Furthermore this, even this trial, is a blessing. This is where you get to see your faith being applied, not merely in theories, or even in sharing the Word with a friend.

Guest_Peter : Truly.

Zahakiel : It is where you see the miracle of salvation played out in even the “ordinary things” of your life. If you want to truly be sanctified, you must “do the first works,” you must press with zeal into trials and temptations, without even the acknowledgement of the possibility of defeat. If you want to mend the gaps, to restore the breaches, in the walls of character, you can only do so by calling upon the help of the Third Great Worthy.

Now, I do not mean you must pray to the Holy Spirit. No such thing is found in the Bible, or any writings that we accept as Adventist or inspired. I mean you must call upon the help of Yahshua, who is in you through the Holy Spirit, and which marks you (seals you) as a child of the King. You must acknowledge that you have already been given the “earnest” the down-payment on Heaven, and that through this assurance the Son lives and works through you to accomplish the perfect will of the Father. We know already how the Holy Spirit helps us. It communicates with us through agents. It speaks through the voice of a principle-trained conscience. It speaks through the providence of our Father, which reveals His will to the observant. It speaks through the Church, the Brethren who are your fellow Pilgrims on the Narrow Way. The practicality of our faith involves learning to, and committing to, hearing the help of Heaven through these things...and then calling on its power to accomplish what is revealed.

It is not difficult. As Moses said, the Law of Yah is not far from us, across the sea or up in the sky. But if any deny these things, resist them, then they are not calling upon the third Worthy, and therefore can have no help (even if baptized, according to the quotation) to resist sin and fall into disaster.

Works do not save. The Church does not save. Yet, works are the expression of the Spirit, and the Church is the voice of Yahshua through that Third Worthy. Can one reach perfection without receiving the help of Heaven? Can one truly be prepared, sanctified, in the judgment of the living without the Holy Spirit? Surely, even a nominal Christian will say, “No, we need the Holy Spirit.” But it is one thing to say this, and another to actually call upon and receive its help, being willing to heed its testimony through whatsoever agent it speaks. Let us learn, brethren, but not merely doctrine. Let us be taught by the Holy Spirit the way in which we must go. Studies are useful to help train the conscience and to reveal the principles, but it is YOU who must call upon the help of Heaven to be faithful to those things that you witness, claim to comprehend, and agree (covenant) to perform.

When we call upon the Third Great Worthy of Heaven, then we actually DO the things that our consciences prompt us to do. Free of self-justification and self-deception, we actually perform those actions that are being revealed to us as the perfect and pure will of our Father. Then we act in ways that both edify the Church and prompt it to send praises to Heaven, for we see the principles that we have been teaching and learning given life, given manifestation in a brother or sister, and we know that, “Here is a soul that is headed for Home.”

What zeal, what courage, what encouragement! Let us call upon the help of the Father and Son, and Their power in Their Spirit, and in so doing we will rejoice in our first love, and do the first works that we have been called, from the beginning, to do.

Guest_Peter : Amen.

Zahakiel : I will close here and ask for comments or questions, but I end with a reminder that, when the closing prayer is given, your “Amen” means much. May Yah be with, and IN, His people, at this moment and on into eternity. Are there any comments or questions?

Guest_Peter : C
Zahakiel : Go ahead.

Guest_Peter : As you know that I had started a new job and at this job we supply boats for fishing local and internationally and so they are very strict in how they are built. I had my one month review and it went well but I was asked to improve in some areas as needed. After leaving the office I lift up my thoughts to the great I Am, and ask for his help and to give me the knowhow and the skill to be a great welder and let me tell you this that I am over-joyed by answered prayers.... because it was right away that my request was answered, so it confirms that what we have already we just need to claim and walk in faith because it is already done for us. It just keeps getting better and better each day ... not that I do not have trials but he has given me a way of escape so I rejoice with this study you gave tonight very much. I am twice blessed. End.

Zahakiel : I am glad to hear of your blessings

Adriel : Amen

Zahakiel : Any others?

Guest_Daphna : The study was very comforting. End

Guest_Elyna : C
Zahakiel : Go ahead.

Guest_Elyna : We surely were blessed by the past feast and the next day, the children were getting ready for another one. They were disappointed of the contrary and we all wished there were meetings every day. However, I thought further that we must now put ourselves to act out what we confirmed once more and be more determined though we were and continue doing the things that keeps us alive and ready for our Savior's soon return. One of the children aspire of opening a CSDA School here. So let us all keep on doing the works of faith that keep us walking our talk! End.

Zahakiel : Thank you for sharing that. Are there any further comments or questions? All right, if not then I will ask Bro. Luke to offer a closing prayer.

Lucan : Dear heavenly Father. We thank you for the power and presence of your Spirit. We are bonded together as one by its indwelling in our hearts, even as you and your Son are bonded. We thank you for the love and unity you have delivered to us at infinite cost. We thank you for the opportunity to exhibit the fruit of these gifts in our daily lives, and to one another. We ask that such fruit be evident among our fellowship, to those within and without... In Yahshua's name we pray, amen.

Barbli : Amen
Zahakiel : Amen.
Guest_Peter : Amen.
Adriel : Amen
Guest_Daphna : Amen
Guest_Elyna : Amen.
Guest_gadriel : Amen, Amen.
Naraiel : Amen
kimberlykindhearted : Amen