How to Resist Temptation
By Paul Godfrey, Audio: mp3
I’d like to tell you something that I don’t like. I don’t like to see people eaten by lions. Neither does God. He doesn’t like to see people consumed by a roaring lion. But unfortunately, there is too much of this going on. The devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking for whom he may devour. He’s looking. He’s not just strolling around the earth just whistling his tunes and enjoying himself, he is looking for people who he can devour. The best place to look if you want to devour somebody is in a place where they’re not to devoured. You need to go to a place where there’s still life and unfortunately, that just so happens to be God’s church. The devil comes to church licking his lips wondering who he can have for a snack. For those who may be forsaking themselves from assembling, he has definitely got them on his menu to eat and God doesn’t like that. He doesn’t enjoy seeing people eaten. Read the rest of this entry
Drinking at the Fountain of Life
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
Study with Care
Jesus our Lord and Saviour is here with us by His Holy Spirit and He wants us to receive this water of life as in the hymn ‘I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.’ This is what the theme of our divine service is today, drinking at the fountain of life. Stoop down and drink and live.
In my experience over the years, I have found that the real drinking and eating is missed by many a believer in the Bible. The real drinking yes, there are a lot of truths, a lot of information gained in the reading of the Word, but the drinking at the fountain of life seems to evade many, many Christians in these last days. Read the rest of this entry
A Real Walk with God
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
How Can We Walk With God?
It touches your heart that God is so keen for us to walk with Him. He revealed how keen He is in the experience of Enoch. What was it that pleased God? What is written here gives us the right appreciation of what was then re-written in Hebrews 11?
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.
Enoch walked with God. What happened? God said, you come and walk with me where I am. He took him because Enoch walked with God here on earth. In conclusion of that thought, we read that God took him. Why? He took Enoch because he walked with God but re-emphasising something very important here about God yearning to walk with us.
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
By Paul Godfrey, Audio: mp3
When two people get married, things go on in the mind. Does he really love me? Constantly there is a looking for evidences that the person loves me. There has often been confusion on this point because someone may ask, do you love me? They may say, yes I love you but you don’t seem to love me. I think, well, I told you I love you. I go to work don’t I? Doesn’t that mean I love you? But many people say, well yes intellectually, but I’m needing something else. Something to fill the emotional need of being loved the way I want to be loved.
There is a practice of some in seeking to determine whether the object of their affection returns that affection or not to take a flower and picking of the petals one at a time, they repeat the phrases, “she loves me, she loves me not”. It is believed that the phrase that is spoken when the last petal is taken, supposedly represents the truth whether they are loved or not. That’s how far people go to work it out. Read the rest of this entry
Does God Destroy?
Fear and Revere
By Paul Godfrey, Audio: mp3
If anyone ever wants to follow the Lord or have the privileges of being in the kingdom of heaven, then we must experience the cross. But this cross is not just easily experienced. It is easily said, but it is not easily experienced. It is a hard experience. In Luke 13 Christ gave His experience and He likened it to a strait gate, a gate which was difficult to enter into. Someone came up to the Lord:
Luke 13:23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Read the rest of this entry
When Pigs Fly
By Paul Godfrey, Audio: mp3
Is it possible to live a perfect holy life in this present world? I mentioned this when I was younger and the response was ‘when pigs fly’ you can live perfect in this life. It is a phrase that is used to imply it is just impossible; it’s never going to happen. It is the response of many that it is impossible to overcome sin in this life. I am very surprised how many people don’t believe that you can; that there is a way to live without sin in this present world, as in not sinning. Many people don’t believe it yet they call themselves believers and teach ‘just believe and you will be saved yet they don’t believe.
Do you believe that there is a way to overcome all the defects of your character? We will look at what the Bible has to say because the response of the majority is ‘when the pigs fly.’ Read the rest of this entry
Withhold Nothing
By John Thiel mp3
As we live in this time of earth’s history, we are coming close to the moment when all that we possess will be lost and according to the Scriptures, our wealth is worth nothing in the day of God’s wrath.
Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs, and at that time their possessions cannot be disposed of to advance the cause of present truth. I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God through sacrifice. If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquire of God for duty, He will teach them when to dispose of these things. Then they will be free in the time of trouble and have no clogs to weigh them down. {EW 56.3}
Are My Sins Forgiven?
By Camron Schofield, Audio: mp3
“In the blood from the cross, I have been washed from sin.” Much of Christianity today leaves it at that. That day of rejoicing when Jesus took my sins away, oh happy day! But to be free from dross, Still I would enter in. Deeper yet …The Lord is trying to prepare a people who will reflect His character to the world. It is written that when He sees His image perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. The very fact that He has not come yet is because His image is not yet perfectly reproduced. The reason His image is not perfectly reproduced yet is because His image needs to be restored from such a decrepit state. Man in the beginning, was created in the image of God, but through the transgression of Adam and Eve, man was in a sense recreated in the image of Satan. The possibilities that man had to develop a perfect character were rendered practically impossible except through the mercy of God. Read the rest of this entry
How God Heals Disease
By John Thiel
The Lord steps in and restores when people think everything is lost. We are to walk with God by appreciating how to make the word of God the avenue by which we walk with Him. We take one text and ascertain the thought and then meditate on it until it becomes our own. Through that avenue we make our walk with God.
How has it been with you and walking with the Lord? It is the sense of God’s presence that actually is a prescription of our disease. Psalms 16 deals with the sense of God’s presence.
Psalms 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore. Read the rest of this entry
Understanding God’s Will of Love
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
Scripture Reading:
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Legalistic Austerity
How real is the hymn – One Thing I of the Lord Desire. Do you? Such desire, such yearning to be pure to be clean. As we go on week by week and year by year under this message, we still find something that falls short and we need cleaning and washing. We don’t know what it is any more to come into a complete and fulfilling victory that we would stop sinning. We appreciated last week that God has illuminated us with an understanding that it is the will that needs to be placed upon God’s will. Today I want to go further in understanding God’s will of love. A heart that has fallen in love with God, it yearns to do God’s will; is that not right? I love God so much I want to… that is my desire. That is what this hymn was describing; I want to be in perfect harmony with God’s will yet because sin is there, it is a condition in us.
Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
I find a law. There is delight in the law of God. How does this happen in a human heart that he delights in the law of God? A sinner delighting in God’s law can only happen when the love of God has touched the heart and there is a new discovery, and new birth that the law has written in the heart. I delight in it, I meditate in it day and night. As I do so and I want to reach that perfect law, it says:
Romans 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Read the rest of this entry
Life Giving, Healing Love
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
God Loved the Sinner
The love of God extended to us needs frequent consideration; why? Why do we need to think about the love of God all the time; frequently? The reality is that unless we do, we will miss receiving it because God’s love is an unobtrusive love. He never presses His love upon us. If we are sick mentally, spiritually or physically, God has given us love to heal us but we need to actually drink that in. In His unobtrusive love, consider how unobtrusive this is. Many times we just express the words of John 3:16 and we miss some precious elements within them.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
Who does God love? The world, that means every human being He loves so much that He was prepared to give them His only begotten Son; but will all the world benefit?
John 3:16 …that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Gold Tried in the Fire
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
Isaiah 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
God’s Work Since 1844
It is the work of God to make a man more precious than fine gold.
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay thes land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh; here is the introduction of the thought that this is before the day arrives. It is an announcement that deals with a future event for those who read it just now, in which He will destroy the sinners out of the land. Then He identifies the period of time He is speaking about in verse 10. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity, and so on.
The Mercies of God’s Love
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
We are here to worship our Lord, our God; the majesty of the universe. As we aspire to such worship, do we know what it actually is? Do you know what it is to worship God? The dictionary meaning for worship is to adore; to regard with adoration; to adore our Lord, to adore God, to regard constantly with the sense of adoration. Can you put on adoration? To do it unfeigning, we must have a reason for adoration. This is what I want to spend time on, to embrace a reason among many reasons, that causes us to adore Him with inexpressible words; impressions that cannot be expressed to adore Him.
He Has Created us
He has created us. That is a reason for worship; He is our creator. For this quick contemplation we come to Psalm 100:
Psalm 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name. 5 For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
The Gravity in God’s Government of Love
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
God is a King and a king reigns over a kingdom and that kingdom is the kingdom of love. The purpose of our study is to understand that kingdom of love, the gravity in God’s government of love. A kingdom has a king, a legislature and loyal subjects who obey the laws, customs and lifestyle of that kingdom.
As we appreciate this reality, we realise that kingdom is a nation. It was interesting to study the scriptures in the Old Testament to see indeed that God’s kingdom was a nation on earth, the Hebrew nation; and this nation was privileged to have as its king the God of the universe. But very quickly as they took their land in Canaan, in the time of the judges already, these people were not prepared to be contented with such a king as their ruler.
1 Samuel 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
The Time of Visitation
Compiled by Sabbath Sermon – Speaker – John Thiel
Oh, how few know the time of their visitation! How few, even among those who claim to believe present truth, understand the signs of the times or what we are to experience before the end! We are today under divine forbearance; but how long will the angels of God continue to hold the winds, that they shall not blow? {6T 426.2}
We need to understand the time in which we live because if we do not understand it, we will have serious problems. The Jews did not understand the time in which they lived.
Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Jesus is crying over Jerusalem. He is weeping over the religious centre, burdened and sorrowful. Why is he sorry? Christ is sorry over this religious centre. He sees with his prophetic eye the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem. The Jews thought they would win the battle against the Romans. They were sure the Lord would not leave them. They did not understand the prophecies when Rome came and destroyed the city with the women, children, widows and elderly. Why did that happen to such a religious centre? It happened to them because they did not know the time of their visitation. There was the problem. Is it possible to do the same thing with the harvest? Is it possible to miss the harvest thinking it is still future? Read the rest of this entry
Fear and Manipulation
By Camron Schofield, Audio: mp3
Isaiah 8:11-13 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them to] whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.
Are you waiting for a one world order? There is already a one world order. There is already one state with one government. That state has been since the days of paradise, since the days of Eden. It is the state of fear and fear is its dictator. Oh fair Eden, fair paradise! Declared by God Himself to be good, yea, but more, even very good. The dwelling place of Man created in the image of God, created in the image of Him who is love. See Him if you will. Man in his perfection, in his purity, in his innocence walking with his Creator in the cool of the day. How sweet is their communion, how close their friendship. What joy! What happiness! What peace and then see him run. Hear the pounding of his feet upon the ground, his rapid breathing as he makes his flight. The pounding of his heart as the adrenalin pumps through his veins, and then he is gone.
Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself
By Steven Caruana, Audio: mp3
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Christ shared many beautiful truths, some were easy to grasp and others were as hard sayings that confounded the learned, the religious and even the disciples. The words spoken to the lawyer in reply to his question, which is the greatest command, was an unquestionable summation of the whole of the law and the whole duty of man. The ten precepts, the very foundation of God’s government had been revealed to the lawyer in their true spiritual nature – The principle of love, the very transcript of the character of God, for as it is written “…God is love” – 1 John 4:8 Read the rest of this entry
The Golden Chain That Binds
By John Thiel, Audio: mp3
Love is a powerful cord which makes you do things that you never do if it was not active. We often marvel at people falling in love and how a young man does things in regards to what his girlfriend calls him to do. She just has to snap her fingers and he does whatever she says because he loves her. He wouldn’t do it unless there was love there. Love is a powerful cord. The power of love is a cord. Solomon experienced this cord of love when it went the wrong way so powerfully that it prevented him from doing what God wanted him to do.
Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love [is] strong as death; jealousy [is] cruel as the grave: the coals thereof [are] coals of fire, [which hath a] most vehement flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if [a] man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Read the rest of this entry
I Yield to Thee My Life
By Camron Schofield, Audio: mp3
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
The prayer of our heart, our soul’s yearning desire is to be able to fear no foe, for ills to have no weight and for those tears to not be bitter, for that safety of the refuge. Where is death’s sting? Where is the victory of the grave?
1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? 56 The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law.
Have you sinned?
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
There is none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You have said that you have not sinned; you are a liar.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death;
How to Discern God in Nature
By John Thiel. Audio: mp3
In the hymn ‘Speak Lord in the stillness’, we are aware of the messages that we have had in the past years. God’s voice is to be understood and received through various different agencies. One of them is ‘Discerning God’s Voice in Nature’. As I was walking through nature, the thought struck me that many people have difficulty seeing God as Moses saw Him. Moses saw ‘the invisible’. Can you hear Him through nature? What is He saying? How can I actually recognise His voice?
When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. {MH 58.3}
My purpose in this study is to seek God’s guidance to see, hear and recognise Him. The first thing is to bring ourselves into silence of the soul. This can be done for a period of time in nature where there is nothing but silence. In the silence, something begins to happen in the mind. It is no longer permitting all the thoughts to toss around in the brain or the different voices that keep on affecting the brain. Read the rest of this entry
