John Thiel Mp3

Throughout this conference, we have been contemplating God’s people in atonement with Jesus in connection with and through the temptations that have produced both the pearl of great price and the pearl for which Jesus came to die.

He would inspire the most sinful, the most debased, with hope. TMK 84.5

He God, wants to inspire the most sinful, the most debased. When you come to a sense of your own depravity, when life issues bring you to that point, He wants us to be inspired that there is hope.

He says, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). TMK 84.5

He doesn’t just say, I will not cast out. How important is that little phrase, in no wise, please take it seriously, the most depraved. ‘I will in no wise cast you out if you come to me.’

When a soul finds the Saviour, the Saviour rejoices as a merchantman that has found his goodly pearl. By His grace He will work upon the soul. TMK 84.5

What will He do?

He will work upon the soul until it will be like a jewel polished for the heavenly kingdom. TMK 84.5

How will He work? Via the trials and the temptations that produced the pearl of great price in the first place. Let’s go back and re-examine and remind ourselves how the pearl of great price, our Lord Jesus Christ, was actually developed.

Hebrews 5:7-9, here it is in beautiful, simple Bible language.

This is not just some human imagination. This is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 5:7 ⁷It talks of Jesus there in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared.

Though He were a son, yet, here it is now—remember, we read it there, He will work upon the soul until it is like a jewel polished for the heavenly kingdom.

Hebrews 5:8-9 ⁸Though He were a son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered ⁹and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.

How did Jesus become a perfect pearl? By learning obedience by the things which He suffered, He was being made perfect. That’s what He wants to do with each one of us. He will work upon the soul until it will be like a jewel polished for the heavenly kingdom and that’s what a pearl is. When it finally is found, it is a jewel polished to be taken in and to be purchased and to be taken into possession. As we read there that as it was for Jesus, where we are invited to follow suit?

Hebrews 12:2 ²Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Of whose faith? Of our faith. He is the one that produces the faith that we must have and as we by faith, in the development of that faith, it says, He is the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For we consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Do we sometimes feel like fainting? Just look to Jesus. Did He almost feel like fainting? Absolutely. That’s why He was in that in that Gethsemane experience which we have been exploring here. We’ve seen the actual mind activities of Jesus. Didn’t it warm our hearts? As it warms our hearts to see what He’s done, and then we meet our Gethsemane; we meet our suffering that is sometimes more than we think we can bear. We have the author and finisher of our faith to copy. I am a copier. I copy. It’s all I do. I have no initiation of my own. I do it, and that’s the reason why I’m part of this organisation, because we are the Historic Advent Sabbath Society. We are copying those who have been before us. That’s all and we are copying our Lord Jesus Christ as they did. We are following the authorship of Jesus Christ and when we feel that the suffering is too much, we are ready to faint, we consider Him, and we consider the contradiction of sinners that He experienced. Here it is that we will do.

James 1:3 ³Knowing this, that the trying of your faith

What was that? He is the author and finisher of our faith.

James 1:3-4 ³The trying of your faith worketh patience, ⁴but let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

You will be a pearl, as Jesus was, because you’re following the authorship of His suffering with you. This has been our contemplation. A beautiful connection of what I have just read by comparing the authorship with us.

Peter 4:1-2 ¹Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: ² for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that He no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

You see, Jesus had a human nature like ours that cried to God. ‘Oh, if you could only relieve me from this. But not my will, but thine be done.’ That scenario will come across us time and time again, because when God’s will comes up before your mind, you discover, ‘hello, it’s different to my will, it’s different to what I’m used to and what I’m used to is so entrenched in my life that it’s next to impossible, it is impossible to change.’ So, it requires an extreme suffering, the sufferings of Jesus. But Jesus said, ‘I’m here with you. I’m being polished. I‘m going through the experience that you must go through to be entire, wanting nothing.’

Ephesians chapter 4 gives us a wonderful guidance of understanding how this suffering that brings perfection will be orchestrated and governed. Because God is going to do this work.

What did He do?

Ephesians 4:11 ¹¹And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

What for? For the perfecting of the saints. This work that Jesus went through, He is sending us a gifted team that are going to work to perfect the saints together with God’s orchestration.

Ephesians 4:12-13 ¹²For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

Everything that we have been studying in regard to the pearl of great price, which is that beautiful person, that beautiful perfect righteousness, that is Jesus Christ, He went through a process by which this was produced. Now He says, ‘I’m giving you all these gifts of ministry by which you are going to be assisted to come to the fullness of my glory.’ That’s the way the Lord is speaking through His word.

The Lord Jesus is making experiments on human hearts. TM 18.1

How?

Through the exhibition of his mercy and abundant grace. He is effecting transformations so amazing that Satan, with all his triumphant boasting, with all his confederacy of evil united against God and the laws of his government, stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to his sophistries and to his delusions. TM 18.1

Haven’t we just studied that? The way He has managed to contort the fabric of Adam and Eve’s mind so that here we are now with such a contorted brainwave in our system that His sophistries have succeeded to bring us where we are in these last days and yet God is now thwarting His expertise and He’s saying, ‘hey, wait a minute here, I can’t understand what’s going on.’

He stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to His sophistries and delusions. They are to Him an incomprehensible mystery. TM 18.1

Would you like to really give Satan a hard time? Would you really like to think, ‘oh yeah, I’m going to really fill his mind with an incomprehensible mystery?’ You have that privilege. How? By letting God, through His wonderful mercy and abundant grace, make experiments with your heart, with your life and transforming you so that Satan is so amazed that he said, ‘this is not scientific, this is impossible.’

The angels of God, Seraphim and Cherubim, the powers commissioned to cooperate with human agencies, look with what astonishment and joy that fallen men, once children of wrath, are, through the training of Christ, developing characters. TM 18.1

What was that? Habitual thoughts and feelings in habits of action. They stand astonished and joyful that through the training of Christ, through His example and our participation with that example that He’s an author of developing characters after the divine similitude to be sons and daughters of God. To act an important part in the occupations and pleasures of heaven. That is what He wants to do. What does He use to do these experiments and to make these transformations?

To His church, Christ has given ample facilities that He may receive a large revenue of glory from His redeemed purchased possession. TM 18.2

A large revenue. Does that sound a bit like the merchant man who sold all that He could buy a pearl? He wants the large revenue of that pearl as His purchased possession.

The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display. The declaration in His intercessory prayer that the Father’s love is as great toward us as toward Him, the only begotten Son, and that we shall be with Him where He is forever, one with Christ, and the Father is a marvel to the heavenly host, and it is their great joy. TM 18.2

As we said, we want to really make Satan fry in His brain about that. We want to rejoice the heavenly angels, don’t we? This is why it says fear God and give him the glory because if we do this, the angels will glorify God that such a thing as a decrepit grotty sinner such as I can become a pearl.

The gift of the Holy Spirit, rich, full, and abundant, is to be to His church as an encompassing wall of fire which the powers of hell shall not prevail against. In their untainted purity and spotless perfection, Christ looks upon His people as the reward of all His sufferings. TM 18.2

Now comes another question; do you want to reward the sufferings of Christ? Do you want to battle the devil? Do you want to fill the heavenly host with joy and astonishment and do you want to reward the sufferings of Christ, His humiliation, His love and the supplement of His glory?

Christ, the great centre from which radiates all glory. TM 18.2

Here it is and this is the closing title of our meditation here – The Full and Final display, how close are we for this to happen? That His church should stand in full and final display of His glory, of His character. For a people to arrive at such a place, God’s word assists us and illumines our final experience. Are you interested to let God’s word actually show you the experience by which He is making the final transformation to stand there in the final and full display. Well to get that answer, this is what He will do. This is what you must expect if you’re going to stand there as one of those in full and final display.

Zechariah 13:8-9 ⁸And it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. ⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is My people,’ and they shall say, ‘The Lord is my God.

When will they say that? After they have been ripped from their friends, because a third part will be discarded. Two thirds part. ‘I will bring the third part, the smallest portion of the whole. A third part, I will bring, not only separate them from their friends, but I’m going to bring them through the fire of their temptations and trials, and will refine them as silver is refined, and I will try them as gold is tried. When I’m finished, then I’ll go, ‘oh’, and he said, ‘They are my people’ and they said, ‘This my God.’ This is precisely how Jesus demonstrated his purity.

Jeremiah 30:4-6 ⁴And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. ⁵For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. ⁶Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child?

I’ve seen women laugh; you men, you think you can bear pain? You can never bear my pain?’. They laugh at the men when they come and whimper about this, that, and the other thing, and the women know much more than that kind of suffering. Here, men who cannot tolerate childbirth will have to bear it. I hate the thought, I used to hate the thought with my wife; that belly is getting bigger and bigger and then this thing that’s caught inside of her has to come out. I would be, I don’t know how I would survive. But here it says, yes indeed, the pearl that is developing inside of a person must come out, and it’s going to come through childbirth in symbol.

Jeremiah 30:6 ⁶Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

Alas, that’s a powerful word.

Jeremiah 30:7 ⁷Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it.

That which is coming in the future; nothing is like it. Whatever you’ve gone through in the past, it’s chicken feed. Nothing is like it.

Jeremiah 30:7-11 ⁷It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass. ⁸‘In that day’, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. ¹⁰Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. ¹¹For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

‘I will save you. I will give you affliction, the affliction that you have caused upon yourself by your own sins’ But as you go through those sins, you will be punished, you will have to meet the consequences but as you go through the consequences of your own depravity, ‘I’m with you. I’ve gone through it with you. I’m working with you. I will save you.’

Here is a further expansion of this beautiful, amazing way by which God is going to produce the full and final display of His church, of His pearl, His bride.

Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin. GC 621.1

I love those words because when you sin, you feel that you’ve sinned deliberately. You know the battles and temptations you’ve gone through and you think, well, I did it deliberately. I can’t excuse myself. I’ve done it deliberately. Look at the story of King David. Does it look like he did it deliberately? He had to think, first of all, you know, ‘oh, she’s pregnant, oh dear, now what am I going to do? Okay, her husband, I’ll get him over there and then it makes it look as if it’s hers, it’s his.’ Then it didn’t work, so he plans again. He deliberately sends her husband into the front line and has him killed. Isn’t that sound like deliberate? But who was behind all this? Yes, the devil.

He used the mentality of the kings that were all around. A king was a monarch, and he could do what he liked and David was colored by that mentality. He had multiple wives because the kings had multiple wives and so Satan had paved the way for this wonderful man of God to be deceived into and betrayed into sin by the false way of thinking when until the Lord showed him. He was sort of covering his track with a thought that’s – ‘well I’ve got the right to do so….’

Whenever you as a believer are caught out into some sin which you know you shouldn’t have done and you’re tempted and you fall, don’t despair.

Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived, and tempted, and betrayed into sin. GC88 621.1

Was Jacob one of those? Well, he planned deliberately to deceive his father. Something to think about here that we understand that God will not cast those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin.

…but who have returned unto him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this class, God will send his angels to comfort and protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; GC88 621.1

You want to really understand what this experience means, and we’ve had a description of it in our studies here. They work on the limbic system and it’s part of our fabric, it’s the nature of the beast. Satan knows it and he is determined to get these believers under some temptation or another.

The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon his people, and his ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them. GC88 621.1

Remember what we read? ‘As gold and silver is consumed or is refined, so his people.’ The third, remember?

…but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for his children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace fire. GC88 621.1

What must be consumed in the time of Jacob’s trouble? Their earthliness must be consumed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected. Not just sin must be consumed, but earthliness. You know, we often say, ‘well, this isn’t a sin and that’s not a sin.’ Yeah, that’s right, you’ve overcome all that. But even the earthly attachments that we often make decisions that, well, ‘I’ve got to do this because this is part of my natural need according to my earthliness.’ Well the day is coming when your earthly need will be consumed so that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.

The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger,—a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time. GC88 621.2

The Lord is saying, ‘wait, don’t let the winds of strife go until we have finished this work so that during this time of probation, they are prepared for that time of Jacob’s trouble.’

Jacob Prevailed

Why?

Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God’s promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for his blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. GC88 621.2

We heard it when Brother Steve gave us the worship here. He described the stretching of the rubber band and it’s about to snap or is it going to stay there.

When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God. GC88 621.2

That’s what we’re seeing in the world today. People are under pressure in regard to all of their experiences whether it be at work, whether it be in the family, whether it be in the marriage relationship, it is extreme, and we are called upon to deal with those waves of despair which no language can express. To cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God. For a people to arrive at the precious promise of God in their life, this is the path that they will experience.

Yes, the irritations that have produced the beginning of the pearl will intensify as the pearl gets bigger in the mollusk of this world’s final fleshly corruption. Think about those words. The intensity is greater and greater because the pearl gets bigger and bigger and the preciousness of God’s perfect righteousness in contrast to the fleshly corruptions that are part of our physical nature will make it more and more intense.

2 Peter 2:6-9 ⁶And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; ⁷and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. ⁸For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. ⁹The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

What’s that? The corruptions of Sodom and Gomorrah. What did those corruptions do to Lot? What did they do? They vexed this just man. The divine pearl inside of him was vexed with the corruptions of the world, of the flesh, and as God’s people in these last days are in the same position as Lot. The Lord knoweth how to deliver us out of these influences because He’s put the pearl there in the first place and now He wants to let that pearl come into its full and final display. What according to Ephesians 4 must we do? He gave some apostles, some prophets. What must we do as we go through these experiences? What must we do? Stay with it, don’t walk away from where in God’s church He is doing these experiments. The application of the word that the preacher preaches, and we’ve had some experience here. Did you like everything you heard? Then after a while, ‘oh, now I understand’, because God sends His servants to apply the word, and what is the word? A sword and the sword hurts, but it’s cutting away those things that are fleshly. Under the influence of this gift to the church, the pearl will finally sparkle.

“These things I have spoken unto you,” He said, “that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” DA 679.3

That’s what we’ve been studying.

Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged, and His followers are to manifest a faith of the same enduring nature. They are to live as He lived, and work as He worked, because they depend on Him as the great Master Worker. Courage, energy, and perseverance they must possess. Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way. DA 679.3

Oh yes, it’s impossible to be perfect, isn’t it? That obstructs my way.

Instead of deploring difficulties, they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love Christ has bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose. DA 679.3

Have you ever felt bound? Have you ever felt that you want to go and do something and something’s stopping you?  You might even say, ‘I wished I could just indulge myself’, but God’s love won’t let you.

It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the source of all power, shall be theirs. DA 679.3

You lose your energy then my power comes to give you the energy.

They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame. DA 679.3

Christ designs, I love this. He’s got a design on you.

Christ designs that heaven’s order, heaven’s plan of government, heaven’s divine harmony, shall be represented in His church on earth. Thus in His people He is glorified. Through them the Sun of Righteousness will shine in undimmed luster to the world. Christ has given to His church ample facilities, that He may receive a large revenue of glory from His redeemed, purchased possession. He has bestowed upon His people capabilities and blessings that they may represent His own sufficiency. The church, endowed with the righteousness of Christ, DA 680.1

What’s the righteousness of Christ? The pearl.

is His depositary, in which the riches of His mercy, His grace, and His love, are to appear in full and final display. Christ looks upon His people in their purity and perfection, as the reward of His humiliation, and the supplement of His glory,—Christ, the great Center, from whom radiates all glory. DA 680.1

According to what I just read there, is this true that He’s going to have a people, a church, whom He has been experimenting with, so that ultimately they will stand there in full and final display? Go back to Isaiah 62. What did we read there?

Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.

What does this tell you?  I’m not going to rest. I’m going to keep on and keep on and keep on.

Isaiah 62:1-3 ¹Until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. ²And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. ³Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

Jesus finds the pearl of lost humanity, and resets it in His own diadem…. TMK 84.4

Isn’t that what we just read? Brethren and sisters, the future from this night onward, the hour of temptation is to intensify and Jesus says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man will open the door, I will come and sup with him.’ Because in this extreme time in which we live, we need someone beside us. What was He supping? Was it not the bitter cup? Because we have to sup the bitter cup. So He says, ‘knock, can I come and join you?’ You’re all alone. Nobody knows exactly you’re suffering, nobody understands but I do.’

When you are occupied with your own poor little self, and somebody comes and puts his arm around you just when you didn’t expect it, and says, ‘can I help you?’ What do you do? ‘Get out, this is my problem.’ Is that right? Do you know that we do that with Jesus? Because while I’m going through my problem, it’s my problem and I can’t even extend my mind, but He comes and says, ‘can I come and help you?’ You can hardly hear Him; you’re too occupied in your negative experiences. ‘Knock, knock. I want to help you.’ When it finally dawns and you think, ‘nah, I’m too bad, go away’ and he is standing outside, ‘I want to come in because you’re not going to make it without me.’ Then He says, as we go towards this extreme future, he says, ‘if you will overcome as I overcame, then you will sit with me in my throne, even as I sit with my father in His throne. You will be a royal diadem in my crown.’

That’s the message for our time and we could never understand it unless we heard what we’ve heard here at this conference. We will need, we will desperately need, every item of what we have gained here. Believe me, brethren and sisters, if you haven’t got it with you, you will not survive. That picture of Jesus, that suffering with Him in His terrible time in Gethsemane, the time of Jacob’s trouble which is directly related is ahead of us. You thought you’ve had a bad time in the past? You came through and you think, ‘phew, now I’m free. Never again,’ sorry, worse is coming.

Shall we brace ourselves and understand the precious victory that is contained in the words that we have been contemplating?