By John Thiel, mp3

Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21 Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts; [ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

The children of Israel were travelling from Egypt to the promised land.

1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

In the travels of the children of Israel to the promised land we see a step by step outline of God’s people from the time of Christ to the promised land. This is written for those who are in the ends of the world. We are on the borders of the heavenly Canaan as the Hebrews were at the Jordan river. Before they were able to cross into the promised land they were to sanctify themselves and this has been our consideration. We are called upon to sanctify ourselves before we enter the promised heavenly Canaan. We want to take another look at heavens society so that we would prepare our own hearts and characters to take a place in that promised land. Psalms 103 conveys an element of heavenly society that does us well to explore as an admonition for us. Notice what these angels of heaven who excel in strength do.

Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21 Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts; [ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

The angels of heavenly who we are to fellowship with when we cross the border, the angels do his commandments. They hearken to his voice, the voice of his word. They are ministers that do his pleasure. This study is to research the order and dependability of heaven. There in that heavenly realm there is order and you can depend upon the inhabitants there as they all do Gods pleasure wherein lies the order and smooth running of heaven. There is no chaos there. Everything runs harmoniously. Where does this come from? Not only does it function there harmoniously but even our wellbeing on this planet is dependent upon the smooth running of heaven. Jesus is taking the mind of his listeners to the wellbeing of the children and their wellbeing is dependent upon the attitude of the heavenly host.

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

What’s Jesus saying? These little children’s angels that are caring for the little children are constantly beholding the face of the Father in heaven for him to indicate they must do as they obey his pleasure. They are constantly watching for directions from the heavenly Father and when he gives them direction they act on it.

Psalms 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in [their] hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

The angels of heaven follow Gods direction. God gives his angels charge over us to keep us. All that transpires on this planet to keep certain checks so we are not devastated entirely, is due to the holy angels. If they were not doing what God depended upon them to do, where would we be. The destructive forces are being held in check by trust worthy angels.

Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

In wide reading of the bible we know that the winds that blow on this planet are symbolic of wars and storms. The storms of warfare. This in wide reading of the bible that winds are conflicts and war and the angels are represented as holding those wars and those destructive activity of man so they would not be let loose to destroy the planet. The other angel commanded the other angel hold those winds till we have done that work.

Angels are belting the world, refusing Satan his claims to supremacy, made because of the vast multitude of his adherents.. {7BC 967.9}

The vast multitude of Satan’s adherents are being refused to do what they want to do, angels are belting the world.

We hear not the voices, we see not with the natural sight the work of these angels, but their hands are linked about the world, and with sleepless vigilance they are keeping the armies of Satan at bay till the sealing of God’s people shall be accomplished. {7BC 967.9}

Trustworthy angels are doing what God is telling them to do and are safe guarding our existence on this dangerous planet. They are belting the world preventing the winds of destruction from taking control as Satan loves war.

The ministers of Jehovah, angels have skill and power and great strength, being commissioned to go forth from heaven to earth to minister to His people. They are given the work of keeping back the raging power of him who has come down like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. {7BC 967.10}

All these heavenly beings have one object above all others, in which they are intensely interested–His church in a world of corruption. All these armies are in the service of the Prince of heaven, exalting the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. They are working for Christ under His commission, to save to the uttermost all who look to Him and believe in Him. These heavenly intelligences are speeding on their mission, doing for Christ that which Herod and Pilate did against Him. {7BC 968.1}

This is the mentality and loyalty of the heavenly host. They do the commands and pleasure of their Father and our wellbeing is dependent upon their faithfulness. With sleepless vigilance they are keeping the armies of Satan at bay. What a commitment. The meditation and admonition that we can gain is that if we are going to be citizens with these beings we need to be as faithful and loyal as they.

To His servants Christ commits “His goods”–something to be put to use for Him. He gives “to every man his work.” Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God. {COL 326.4}

We want to have a place one day with those angels as Jesus has promised? Then what we do here on earth has everything to do with what we will do there. The only way we will be there according to the parable of the ten talents is that we will be faithful in what we do here. Our focus is upon faithful trustworthiness that what God commissions us to do, we will do it with elaquirty and diligence. The angels do it with sleepless vigilance each at his post. Each one doing his particular responsibility and he is dependable. Those who are servants of God need to be dependable.

1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

What are we to be stewards of? The mysteries of God. A steward is called upon to be faithful. That was the parable of the talents. Each servant was given a talent to look after as a steward and it is according to their faithfulness they were rewarded in the afterlife.

Every power lent us by God, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, is to be sacredly cherished to do the work assigned us for our fellow men who are perishing in their ignorance. Every man is to stand at his post of duty untrammeled, each serving the Lord in humility, each responsible for his own work. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” He “will render to every man according to his deeds.” Colossians 3:23, 24; Romans 2:6.

We are preparing to cross into the heavenly Canaan to receive according to our deeds and faithfulness. Every person standing at their post here on earth, a place taken up that everyone can depend upon that it will be taken care of and we won’t be let down just like in heaven. Heaven won’t be let down as someone is not doing exactly as instructed. To be faithful means to be dependable so people can place their dependence upon those in position. Before we can be trusted to be dependable there, we must learn to be dependable here.

Faithful Soldiers

Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]?

Did you notice the word trust? If we can’t be trusted here, who is going to trust us there? If we can’t be depended upon on earth, how can we be depended up there? This is part of the preparation to enter the heavenly Canaan. One of the problems here on this planet is if I’m going to be depended upon, Satan is going to give me a hard time. Satan will thwart my faithfulness by putting circumstances around me to destroy my faithfulness and my unflinching loyalty. I failed in doing something and what is the reason? I got sick or my car broke down, or this, that and the other. All sorts of reasons that circumstances justify unfaithfulness in what I’m depended upon to do. Circumstances. In a warfare when soldiers are out in the field, they have their posts of duty. Is there any excuse for them to move away from their post of duty? If they do what happens? Disaster. What must we endure to be faithful so we can’t say it was too hard for me?

2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, [yet] is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

Success can never be your reward if you are not fulfilling your position capably. In a church in these last days that is going to stand, an honourable church, the remnant of Gods people, we must be at our post especially when we are so few. If one fails, who will take the position? What must we be faithful in? We must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. In other words, this is my post of duty and I must permit nothing to get in the way. It’s a little bit like traveling somewhere and you have to be at a certain destination and you have to be there at a certain time, what must you do? You get another car so you are on there on time. Whatever it is that gets in the way, to be faithful in these last days is to not entangle myself with the affairs of this life. There is a purpose that God has chosen me to fulfil and I must not permit the affairs of this life to hinder me from doing it. We are to develop faithfulness so when we get on the other side of the border I will be faithful no matter what and everything in heavenly can run smoothly as that is the attitude I have learnt here. To endure hardness means not to run away. I hear this frequently. It gets a bit tough so we run away, we go somewhere else where we think it’s going to be better. That is not preparing to be faithful.

No matter how hard it gets, stick with it. I know this to be necessary to sustain and uphold the old paths we are to uphold. We are to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. If I am going to contend earnestly, if I let someone plug me from doing that, where is the contender. This is our calling. The majority of professed Christendom has let down the standard one after another. Jesus has committed to his disciples obedience to the commandments of God which included the Sabbath. He said pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day. Pray for it for after he had left the Sabbath was still to be kept. What happened? The Sabbath has been permitted to fall in the dust. What the original disciples preached is no longer preached today. We must endure hardness and not run away. We are to be heirs of God. To be an heir of God look at his dependability. Can we depend on him? Does he let us down? Look at his battle with this planet. For 6000 years it’s been in a mess and God has taken care of his people, could he depend on them? Look at how the children of Israel were but was he faithful? He said in Ezekiel I would have left them there but for my name sake he brought them out. He could have destroyed them but he didn’t as he had a promise. No matter what horrible situations transpired he could be depended upon.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

You can depend that he is going to be there. Not even the slightest shadow of change will be there. What he says he sticks to. That is why true Christianity can depend upon a statement of God and know if they will pursue it his word will bring them through. This is why we can say yes the Sabbath is God’s holy day, God does not change.

Malachi 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

If God would have changed Israel would have been wiped off the planet but he said you are going to continue to the end but whether they were faithful was another question. Will we follow everything that God’s word has said as the host of heaven is? We who are faithful God will have a place for us. If I will be entrusted with the heavenly orderings I must learn here to be consistent and reliable as God is.

Those who are connected with Christ, the chief worker, will represent his character in all their work. God is calling men, “Come to me as my helpers in the performance of my work.” Righteousness and truth are the habitation of this throne. No man can execute his will who has not surrendered himself to God, that God’s will may be done in him. “Come to me as my right-hand helper,” will be the message to the faithful of the land,–the men who are trustworthy, who will exalt the God of heaven, not merely in their words, but in their deeds; men who can be relied on to do their duty under all trials, and whatever the circumstances may be. {SpTB06 37.3}

No excuses saying it got too hard and I couldn’t do it anymore. He can be relied on to do his duty under all trials.

Righteous, high-principled, God-fearing men will stand before him as capable of receiving his orders and of executing them with exactitude. The work of such men will bear the similitude of heaven. {SpTB06 38.1}

We are to fulfil our duties under any trial. That is what heaven is doing God changes not. They are reliable and as a consequence this world hasn’t exploded but not until we are sealed.

The Call

God is calling people to respond to him and to do exactly what he is asking them to do in their place. A Father in his place, he is the priest of the household and the woman is to respect her husband. The church has different offices and they must be dependable to make it function smoothly.

God calls for men and women of stability, of firm purpose, who can be relied upon in seasons of danger and trial, who are as firmly rooted and grounded in the truth as the eternal hills, who cannot be swayed to the right or to the left, but who move straight onward and are always found on the right side. There are some, who, in time of religious peril, may almost always be looked for in the ranks of the enemy; if they have any influence, it is on the wrong side. They do not feel under moral obligation to give all their strength to the truth they profess. Such will be rewarded according to their works. {4T 75.1}

God wants us to respond to his call. They will always be there on the right side when people are looking. In a time when everything has changed when people are drifting from one element to another like the waves of the sea there are people who are still standing on the right platform not moving.

The greatest want of the world is the want of men–men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall. {Ed 57.3}

To call sin by its right name when you know you have failed calls for honesty. Have your heavens fallen? Everything you’ve ever lived or worked for has fallen around you? God is calling for people who will stand for the right. It will get very hard and difficult but a good soldier will endure hardness. Faithfulness here will fit me to be faithful across the border and fit me to see Gods expectations fulfilled in eternity.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

When he comes we should be like him immovable so we have to learn to do that now. My present activity on this planet is to find myself in training so that when I see God I will be like him. Because we are living in such times where everyone in the great majority is crumbling under the dire perils of this time because society is making it impossible to do exactly what God says without paying a huge price. Are we prepared to pay the price whatever it maybe? To be strictly loyal to what God has expected me to do? This is the circumstance and peril in which we are to remain loyal, accountable and dependable.

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Do you love Jesus? Is he your saviour? Look at what it cost him to save us. He was faithful unto death. He didn’t deviate from that which was permitted him to do. You and I have been given a place in Gods kingdom here on earth. When it gets tough remember it got tough for Jesus. He set his face like a flint. He persevered and he died under the pressure of taking your and my sins which was his duty to do. Is it hard for me to do what God is doing for my eternal we being? He did something atrocious for me. He was made to be sin for us. He died for derelicts to bring them out of their condition. What can we do? All God wants us to do is to be faithful stewards of his wonderful grace. May God grant us to endure when the whole world is going in the opposite direction so that when j comes we will be ready to meet him as we will be like him having prepared ourselves on this earth.

Amen.