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The idea I wish to present today is a simple one, and something that we’ve actually spoken about before… but I think it’s worth repeating, emphasizing even, because as the 144,000 progress along the path of sanctification, the road becomes more narrow. The tests become more subtle, and the consequences of errors more pronounced. I do not say this to bring about a fear of judgment; judgment is something that Yahweh’s people desire in these last days. It is only in standing in the light of our Father’s perfect vision that we can detect, and reject, any remaining defects of character before we must stand before the Great Judge without a Mediator. So no, this is not about fear, but it is about solemnity, it is about divine wisdom, and an understanding of where we are in human history.
There is a temptation that we have seen accepted by many with whom we interact… in fact, it has infected almost everyone – all worldlings, almost all Christians, almost all who claim to be saints of the Most High. It is the sin of pride, and it arises even among those who might seem otherwise humble, if their hearts are not converted to the truth, so that their motive for righteousness is entirely without a selfish element, including doing the right thing because it “feels good” to do so.
The feeling of clean-ness when we do right, just like the final inheritance of everlasting life, is actually not the motivating principle for the genuine Christian. We keep the Commandments of our Father, and we accept the Faith of Yahshua, because we have been shown agape, true love, by our Creator and our Savior, and have come to understand – at least in part – what it means to express that love in our own bodies, minds, and spirits. We both choose and are driven to do so in a perfect spiritual harmony. And so when we speak of the judgment of the living, and probation, and sanctification, it is not with fear of the destruction of self. That is actually the goal, to have “self” destroyed, and to let Christ live through us to the greatest degree that we can understand it, since it is He that perfectly expresses love, and it is He that performs the perfect will of the Father through us.
So, what is the source of this all-encompassing pride that I have mentioned? Amazingly, for many who would be saints, it is pride in being “correct.” It is the pride of being right, of having the right teachings, the proper practices, the original and genuine doctrines, the best and most persuasive arguments. And of course, if you’re in a discussion with someone, whether it’s on Facebook or by email, or in real life, it is generally better to be right than wrong. It can be satisfying to point out to a person who opposes you something that they haven’t considered before, and they either leave you alone or (far more rarely) admit their error and end up agreeing with you. That is a very affirming feeling, and it’s a natural one… but that isn’t the reason why we do and say what we do.
Last week, I was speaking about crystals. This week I am speaking about sand. In that conversation about the crystallization of error, I spoke about hardness. There is a “right” kind of hardness that has the saint resist all temptation, endure great hardship, and confess the Faith of Yahshua even when in mortal danger because of that faith. There is also a “wrong” kind of hardness that makes one legalistic, inflexible, and dependent on creeds and policies rather than the still, small voice of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit. But these are both testimonies, outward appearances for the sake of the witnesses.
Yahshua Himself was a fortress of faith. He was completely immune to Satan’s deceptions and enticements. One might say He was an impenetrable wall against temptation. And yet Yahshua’s heart was not hard at all. In fact, we read of His encountering two blind men outside of Jericho, where it says, “So Yahshua had compassion on them, and touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.” (Mat 20:34)
Again, we read, “Then Yahshua, beholding [the rich, young ruler], loved him, and said unto him, ‘One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven. And come, take up the cross, and follow me.” (Mark 10:21)
Finally, we read, “Yahshua wept.” (John 11:35)
Yahshua’s Spirit is warm, and welcoming. We know this from the way that children reacted to His presence. The Son of Yah was tender-hearted and compassionate. We see this from the way He dealt with both sinners and those afflicted with various diseases, being moved to tears at times by the suffering and the unbelief that He encountered.
But let us see the contrast. We read, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Rev 21:8)
“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? If Yahweh be God, follow Him; but if Ba’al, then follow him.’ And the people answered him not a word.” (1Kings 18:21)
These are they who have a heart of stone. They are compromising, doubting, fearful, and pliable on the outside, because their standards are earthly, rather than divine. On the inside, however, they are often legalistic, unyielding, and cold.
What we see, then, is that the saint is “hard” on the outside, but soft on the inside, while the sinner is hard on the inside, but soft and yielding on the outside. Many sinners may appear sympathetic, understanding, and generous… but when faced with conviction for error, they will resist the Spirit with great force.
This is not just a “cute” observation; it has an impact on the way that we relate to others as we evangelize. When discussing truth with others, we are to be direct and bold, firm in our convictions, but with a genuine motive to love, to draw people near, to offer them freedom, and not bondage to a set of arbitrary rules. We are often met with people who are trying to be “right” in their beliefs and practices, but have little genuine interest in developing Christian character, uniting with the saints in the fellowship of faith, or learning how to express divine affection for the lost and dying.
They consume doctrine, sometimes good and correct doctrine, but they have not really been fed. You know the expression, I am sure, that says, “You are what you eat.” There are spiritual applications to that phrase. We read this rather interesting passage: “Moreover He said unto me, ‘Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And He said unto me, ‘Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.’ Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.” (Ezek 3:1-3)
Now, when John recounts a similar experience, he gives an extended description: “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said unto me, ‘Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.’ And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey. And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, ‘Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.’” (Rev 10:9-11)
The teachings of Yahweh are sweet. Psalm 119:103 describes the Words of our Father as “sweeter than honey.” We rejoice in them. We find beauty in them. We enjoy speaking about them, and memorizing them, and applying them to every aspect of our lives. And yet, as sweet as they are, they are designed to prepare us for an often bitter task. Both Ezekiel and John ate little books, little scrolls, and they enjoyed the taste, but it was not for their pleasure that they were given this unusual meal. It was, in both situations, in order for them to speak to the people.
In Ezekiel’s case, he was sent to the rebellious Israelites, of whom Yahweh warned him, “The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee, for they will not hearken unto Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.” (Ezek 3:7) In John’s case, it was to “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings,” but because the Way is narrow, and there are few willing to walk it, that is a mission full of rejection and disappointment. Many of us have testified that we received the Victory message with joy, knowing with certainty for the first time that we have been set free from our sins, and from our inherited and cultivated defects of character. With great joy, we have gone back to our friends, and relatives, and home churches, and congregations, and we have shared this sweet message, saying, “Isn’t this wonderful? When it says that Christ has set us free, it means exactly that; it is a real, actual blessing.”
The responses have not generally been very welcoming. Sister G. has had success with her family, and we are greatly blessed by their willingness to hear and follow the Word, but hers is the exception, not the rule. I have spoken of this SDA pastor whom I held in high regard, certain that he would join me in rejoicing that we have received the gift of Righteousness by Faith. I was met with sophistry and the traditions of the new theology. We have gone to husbands, wives, children, and other loved ones, and we have felt the bitterness in our bellies, because of the Word – not that the Word Itself is bitter, but because of our love for the Word, we have taken it to those who have turned away, to our great disappointment. To Brother P. and Sister E. I say, “Rejoice that you have found one another.” It is a rare thing for a husband and wife to both know and love the Gospel in this generation. Do not take lightly the great gift that you have been given.
Again, we are what we eat, and those who eat the Word of Yahweh are prepared for what are sometimes bitter tasks. We survive the bitterness, and we delight in the sweetness. And we learn, as we dwell more and more upon the Word, how to offer it to others in increasingly skillful ways. We learn to focus on what is important, and when to let things go. As a new CSDA, I was probably much more focused on getting people to understand every doctrine as I did. I don’t think this was necessarily a bad thing at the time. I was excited about all the light that I had been missing, and I wanted to share every detail with anyone who would listen. I wrote extensively on feasts, and the Godhead, and I do not at all regret that; it’s resulted in some useful resources for those who have accepted, or begun to accept, the Three Angels’ Messages.
But these are not the things I typically focus on these days when speaking to people, at least, not at first. When speaking of the Godhead, I talk about the blessings we receive from the Father and Son dwelling in us. They keep us from falling, and that fact is far more important than a composition of divinity that we aren’t even equipped to comprehend, much less to express in our words. The nature of the Holy Spirit is incidental, and we have been specifically told by inspiration that it is a matter too deep for us to grasp. Why, then, should there be divisions about it?
When speaking of the Feast Days, I talk about the blessing of fellowship with the brethren. It is not a legalistic observance. It is not an attempt to re-create the Jewish festivals that made much more sense under a Temple-based, ritualistic system of symbols and types. It is a time of refreshing from Yahweh, calculated by Him to give us exactly what we need for the time in our lives that we are experiencing. If you are 16 years old, Yahweh has a blessing waiting for you at His convocations. If you are 75, Yahweh has a blessing waiting for you at His convocations, and it’s exactly the blessing that you need. This is the spiritual “food” that the evangelist of this generation is to offer to the world, because this is what people are craving, whether they realize it or not.
But when I see the independent ministries striving for the mastery, when I see the theologians and scholars, the modern Scribes and Pharisees, promoting their pet doctrines to the exclusion of all else, I see them serving a diet of sand. You can get to feeling full on sand. You can stuff yourself with dust and dirt, and feel like you’ve eaten a lot… but there is no nutrition in that. There is no life in what you have taken in to your body. It’s just a bunch of little crystals, little hard rocks, that do not provide what people really need.
The doctrines of Yahweh, without the Spirit of Yahweh, can feel very filling, like winning an argument can feel satisfying… but it does not lead to growth. The teachings of Yahweh, without the love of Yahweh, will turn a person into a snake. Genesis 3:14 tells us that the snake will eat “dust” all the days of its life. This is a metaphor, of course, since snakes crawl along the ground, as if they were eating their way through the dirt, but the wording is spiritually significant.
Yahweh says of the enemies of His people, “They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth; they shall be afraid of Yahweh our Almighty One, and shall fear because of thee.” (Mic 7:17)
Those who do not know Yahweh, are not intimate with Him, content themselves by filling up their bellies with teachings, and quotations and theoretical knowledge. These are symbols of food, pictures of food, but we cannot eat photographs of apples and oranges, and expect to live. The doctrines are pictures of truth, designed to describe and lead us into truth that cannot be expressed with words, but are themselves only words. It’s like the sacrifices of the Old Testament. The people slaughtered a lamb on Passover, obedient to the Law because it pointed to righteousness; and yet, it is Christ, whom the lamb represented, that was the true sacrifice for their sins. This is the relationship of doctrine to righteousness, and the reason why the Law does not save, but is kept reverently by those who are saved.
Consider these things.
Suppose we speak to a Sunday-keeper, and convince him that the Sabbath is actually from “even to even” starting on Friday. Does changing his day of worship save him? No, not at all. And yet, his willingness to hear and respond, his desire to please Yahweh by more perfectly following His Word, this is a breach in the heart of stone. This is an opening that the Holy Spirit can enter, and lead Him to the Savior’s complete restoration. He may begin by doing the works, as a child begins to brush his teeth because his parents require him to… but when he is justified, when the Father and Son accept him because He has confessed and forsaking his life of sin, then his obedience is not because of duty, but because of loving agreement.
Paul says this, in a verse we all know, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not agape, I am nothing.” (1Cor 13:2) Without love, no gift is a blessing. Without love, no doctrine is a truth. And some might say, “Well, there was love in the giving of the doctrine, even if love is not yet perfect in those who obey.” That’s certainly true, and there are cause-and-effect benefits to obedience because the Law of Yahweh is ultimately founded on agape-love; but there is no cause that begins in us that can end in everlasting life. There is no work we can do, no prayer we can say, that forgives sin, and removes from us the penalty of transgression. That is, and must be, a gift only, a work of grace that cannot be earned or repaid.
You cannot keep the Sabbath so perfectly that your sins are wiped away. You cannot pray long enough to cease sinning. You cannot learn enough Bible verses to prevent you from transgressing. You cannot attend enough feast meetings to flush away your defects of character. These effects are the work of divinity, and must be invited in, not paid for through services rendered in the flesh. The cause is Christ, and Christ will use all these tools – obedience to the Law, fellowship with the saints, prayers and Bible study – to get the mind to agree with the process of salvation, but it is from Him, and Him alone, that life comes. It is not from the tools, however good and useful and perfect they are for their intended purpose.
Nobody buys a hammer because he needs to own a hammer. It is a means to an end. Similarly, nobody should learn doctrine because he needs to know doctrine. It is a means to an end, and that end is righteousness through knowledge of the Father and Son. But some will try to eat their tools. Some will display a large collection of tools and say, “Look how useful I am!” What have you done with your tools? That is the question Yahweh will ask every one of us: “What have you done with your tools?”
“I gave you the Sabbath. I gave you the Sanctuary doctrine. I gave you my New Moons, and my Feast Days. I revealed as much of My nature to you as you could understand. I gave you the Three Angels’ Message. What did you do with these teachings? Did you use them to win arguments? Did you use them to get a lot of ‘likes’ on Facebook? Did you use them to gather disciples, and set up a financially rewarding ministry? Did you use them to get a good reputation with the conservative, Bible-reading Christians? Or did you use them to learn to love Me above all others, and your neighbor as yourself?”
Let us offer our neighbors a nutritious meal. Let us invite them to know our Savior. Let us extend the invitation found in the Psalms: “O taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)
I am not saying not to talk of doctrines. I am not saying to neglect the tools. I am saying to understand that this is what they are. They are there to help us to do the will of our Father in Heaven, not to perform and sit back, satisfied that we have accomplished our purpose. Our words are to be a meal indeed, “always with grace, seasoned with salt,” (Col 4:6) as the apostle instructed.
This is our work, this is our ministry as the Eli-Yah people, because the people around us all think that they are full. They are full of Bible studies, and articles and essays, and teachings… but without love it is all as sand. It does not kill sin in their heart, guiding them to accept Christ’s victory as their own. It does not ignite in them a burning love for unity with the brethren, so it leaves them deaf to the Third Angel, which is leading out Yah’s people in these final days. It does not provide them with faith to overcome all challenges with contentment, or alert them to the dangers of seeking safety in the world, when Christ has promised to be their Savior.
This is a picture of our current generation, as seen by the prophets: “‘Behold, the days come,’ saith the Lord Yahweh, ‘that I will send a famine [a lack of food] in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of Yahweh, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11, 12)
Those who seek do not find, because they encounter lying teachers rather than the messengers of Yahweh. Many who need do not even seek, because they believe they have already eaten their fill, and have everything that they require. There is a famine, indeed, of good spiritual food in the world. We are called to be pastors, guides of the sheep, who will lead them to pure waters, and land that is good for grazing. Every one of us, even if we are not eloquent speakers, or Bible scholars, or brilliant debaters, we know where to find the food. We know where there is good nutrition for the soul, and we can call out, with a loud voice, saying, “It’s over here! The Word of Yahweh is over here!” That is all it takes, and those who are hungry – at least, those who realize that they are hungry – will come by and perhaps taste, perhaps see, that Yahweh is good, and will find a home with us here on earth, and in the world to come.
We pray for this harvest. We rejoice in the love that we have been given to share with others in the gathering of that harvest.
David.