Our meditation through this hour is how to live under a Father’s love. We have spent several Sabbaths already during our divine services in the meditation and exercise of Christ our Righteousness. How that our Righteousness is totally dependent upon the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How that He came down to this earth and lived a perfect life of obedience to all of God’s requirements. He obeyed God on our behalf.
We read all that material. He had a perfect sinless life in a sinful human flesh and in that life that He lived on earth, He gave us the example. He had to die because of our sins. He took our sins away and as we are trying to discover that God has placed His law as our school master to bring us to comprehend the great love that has been communicated to us through Jesus Christ; the law is the transcript of Gods character.
As we look at that law on the pages of the Bible, we discover that that law is condemning us. It’s a master that condemns to punishment. We seen that we who are condemned to punishment have someone who took us into Himself and our sins, whatever those sins are, He suffered under and He was condemned and punished on my behalf. It’s the school master that leads me to discover that that our condemnation has been taken off us in Jesus Christ and He offers to us His Righteousness.
It’s from this meditation that we’ve realised that God designs to transition us into that relationship of love that Jesus Christ came to reveal to us. We’ve contemplated the word of God and it has truly affected us as we permit it to do. But it’s my purpose now during this hour, the transition of the love of God is trying to achieve. A transition to a love that exists between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Once we have passed from under the school master that reveals the love of God to us in Jesus Christ, we are told that once we have entered into that belief, that faith of that love, then we are no longer under the school master. What are we under is the love when we open our hearts, when we believe. This is the question that I keep on trying to get across to us. How much do we really believe what we are studying? In terms of not just believing like the devil believes, he believes that God has done all that. He knows that.
As it has often been expressed, believe comes from the two words to be and to live. To actually be under that love in all reality, when I am under the condemnation of the law that I open my heart to this beautiful love that has been demonstrated in Jesus Christ. When we are condemned, when we keep on looking at the law and we fail. We come to the discovery that Jesus has taken the condemnation off me. When that dawns upon my consciousness, upon each one of our consciousness, we enter a different experience from the one that we had before.
The School Master
As I mentioned, we are all in different stages. Some of us are still under the school master and still view everything from a legalistic approach and some are still learning the importance of the truth of all these things and others have gone past this barrier of school master punishment and condemnation and have opened their hearts to the beauty of God’s love to them. They submit to this love, that is to be their motivation a totally different experience. That’s the experience we are all seeking to make sure that we have, that’s why the foolishness of preaching that I’m engaging in right now, you know where I’m quoting that. From the apostle Paul who talks about it’s the wisdom of God is foolishness. To man it’s the foolishness of preaching that’s going to save us.
Let us pay close attention to the preaching of the Word. Jesus has taken our sins and given us His Righteousness and those who believe and embrace this, are under a total different experience from the from the school master experience. I want to read this in meditation just to really understand what our privilege is if we will believe.
The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins, and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. RC 134.6 7
There’s much to meditate just in that God wants to take away our sins. He wants to take them away. It means, what else does the religion of Christ mean?
It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. Christ’s Object Lessons, 419, 420. RC 134.6
Ah brightness where our mind is illuminated. What does it mean rejoicing in God?
It means a heart emptied of self, and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ. When Christ reigns in the soul, there is purity, freedom from sin. The glory, the fullness, the completeness of the gospel plan is fulfilled in the life. Christ’s Object Lessons, 419, 420. RC 134.6
That’s what the religion of Christ means, the abiding presence of Christ. You see it’s a life, it’s not just a theory. It’s fulfilled in the life, the acceptance of the Savior. Do you accept Him?
The acceptance of the Saviour brings a glow of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance. The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ revealed in the life testifies that God has indeed sent His Son into the world to be its Saviour.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 419, 420. RC 134.6
Are you picking up what I’m reading here? There is a completely different experience when that religion from the school master takes you into that religion of Christ.
There is peace in believing, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Testimonies for the Church 2:319, 320. RC 134.7
Do you have that peace?
There is peace in believing, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Believing brings peace, and trusting in God brings joy.—Testimonies for the Church 2:319, 320. RC 134.7
We want to have a close look at what the word of God is saying and what is it like in me. Am I truly in such a position that there is joy and peace? The tranquillity of God’s love in my soul. As I mentioned, we want to examine now what is this new experience, this paradigm shift. The word paradigm comes from the meaning in Greek in the language that we actually follow an example that’s different to what we’ve had before. We are coming to a different experience when we come to the love of Jesus. A paradigm shift, a different mindset. Let’s examine the scriptures and actually follow through carefully what God is wanting to share with us here.
I want to hone in on the school master work that brings us into the appreciation of the love that is that is poured into us as we look to Jesus dying with my sins. They are all gone, He has died with them. They have been removed.
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Follow this closely; we didn’t love Him and some still don’t love Him exactly as He desires them to be to love Him. You want to believe that no matter how sinful you are, no matter how condemned you may be, He loves you. How many times people can hardly believe that God loves them even though they’re so grotty and because of that the human family many times is under a wrong experience in their fellowship with one another. Because if one feels grotty about themselves, they feel grotty about another person who is treating them in a in a very shameful way. There is this terrible experience that even happens in the churches that there is no peace. But God loves you as you are. He loves you not because you love Him, but He loves you in spite of you and in that love He sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sin. Because you believe this, if you really absorb this:
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Here is the important introduction to our meditation. The life under the Father’s love, do you believe that He loves you like that? If you absorb the picture of Jesus dying for you because of the great love He has for you, that love that you and I who did not love Him, He loved us so much to bring us into His love, in other words we are to copy God’s mindset. We had to copy His paradigm. I want to enlarge that so that we can copy it. I want to enlarge this from the word of God. We didn’t love Him but He loves us.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
The apostles made an experience. They handled the reality of Jesus and they said now the experience that we are making, we want you to have fellowship with. This is the important point so we are now here to enlarge this. Remember by beholding we become changed? Let’s come again to those words of 1 John 4:10. We did not love God. We did not love Him, but He loved us. His love is for us to discover and let’s come to that concept in Romans 5. We’re not just reading about it, we are here trying to absorb it because we want to know what it’s like to live under that love.
Romans 5:8 but God commendeth His love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We didn’t love Him, but He loved us. Don’t just read that, meditate this is the love of God that we are to live under. This is the love of God that we are to appreciate and receive the mindset of that. God’s love is not one that is dependent upon people who are acceptable with God. God’s love is for while they were yet sinners, God’s love is to those who didn’t love Him, who didn’t have that love of God. As we are under this meditation, do we see in each other serious faults, serious errors? Remember what we just read; whatever position we are in, God loves us.
We are called upon in 1st John that if God so loved us, what are we to do? We are to love each other the same way. Did you pick up what is written here? We are to love each other as God loved us. Do we realise our own sinfulness? Do we realise how imperfect we are? Do we realise that we ourselves have failed the Lord and He loves us in spite of that?
We want to really explore this that while I am still imperfect, God loves me and gave His Son and while I am still imperfect and all know I have already made some commitments because I have come to know Jesus as my personal saviour, I’ve come to know His way of truth but is there still something in me that others can see and is there’s still something in you that others can see that makes you shudder about that person. There’s something terribly wrong about that person. Can you love them; and I mean love them as God loves? I just want to let that percolate through our mind at this moment.
We will read Sister White presentation of the 1888 message in in Minneapolis. This was a sermon she preached at Minneapolis in 1888. Notice what she is saying here.
Now Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary. And what is He doing? Making atonement for us, cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Then we must enter by faith into the sanctuary with Him, we must commence the work in the sanctuary of our souls. We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement. We must “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 1888 materials page 127.3
This is what we’re meant to be doing. Now follow closely:
Satan will come and tempt you and you will give way to his temptations. What then? Why, come and humble your hearts in confession, and by faith grasp the arm of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Believe that Christ will take your confession and hold up His hands before the Father—hands that have been bruised and wounded in our behalf—and He will make an atonement for all who will come with confession. 1888 materials page 127.3
In our walk with the truth as it is in Jesus, if we really have come to believe in Him as my personal Saviour, and I really have come from the from the school master experience into this beautiful covering love of God and of Jesus now in heaven pleading my case, I fail, but His love doesn’t stop.
Sometimes we think that if I have failed Him so badly, I become discouraged that now I’ve done it. Now I’m lost. No God still loves you and His love is of such a nature that the moment you come to Him and confess to Him, Jesus is immediately there to accept that confession and to help you. This love, this kind of love as we just read, is meant to be among us. Follow closely. Let’s enlarge this love by reading a few more Bible texts. This amazing love that even if we fall in sin, and we have marred this beautiful position of God’s love in our life, yet we are not to despair. What is this love? Let’s go and explore in Psalm 78. Here is the love of God. He loved us while we were enemies.
Psalm 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. 38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
Although the people fail Him, although Israel sinned against Him, what was that He was full of? Compassion and forgave their iniquity full of compassion. That’s God for people who are failing Him miserably. I am reading this for us to take on board to apply to your own understanding and appreciation.
Psalm 86:14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. 16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
When you feel overwhelmed that you have failed the Lord, that you have sinned, when you dwell under His love, this is the language. This is the love of God who is compassionate, gracious, longsuffering, plenteous in mercy and the onlookers. My son, oh he’s wrong, he can’t have the beauty of this this love, of this acceptance. He can’t be accepted but the Lord accepts him still because He’s compassionate. Apply this to your own soul when you see your own condition and the failures of your life. Realise that God is compassionate and when you see the failures of others, realise God is compassionate. He doesn’t censure. He loves, He restores by love.
Romans 9 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
He said to Moses because of the children of Israel, He said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. If God chooses to love you and to have mercy on you, He says don’t tell me why, that I shouldn’t have mercy on this person. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. We are under love that God does not condemn. He puts the condemnation upon Jesus. It is not he that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Bear this in mind all the time and as we behold this kind of love. This is the love that we are to absorb and if we absorb this love, this Love of God, how will we communicate among God’s people? We are called to what kind of a love. Here is what Jesus says to His disciples. He says this to His disciples, His church:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another.
How? Why is this a new commandment? Because we love our in our way which is not necessarily God’s way. He says it’s a new commandment that you are to love that as I have loved you, that you also love one another as I have loved you, so you need to study the love of Jesus if you’re going to have love one for another.
It’s this one that I have just enlarged that He will have mercy, He will have compassion, He will not condemn. He loves, He wants to restore. That’s what it’s about. These are repetitive statements which we often bypass not realising what we are reading
Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ,
Are we consoled in Christ? I’m a sinner, He loved me while I was yet a sinner and even though I still fail, He keeps on wanting to restore me and to bring us to that confession to Him by His love. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, I’m loved, I’m comforted even though I’ve sinned. He loved me while I was yet sinning. Any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that you be likeminded. Having the same love being of one accord of one mind.
The paradigm of God’s mind having the same mind, loving each other and having compassion in the same way as God has compassion to us, are we picking it up? Here is a very profound repetition of this example. The paradigm the mindset of the Father.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted.
What does tenderhearted mean? What does it mean? You’ve got a soft heart toward that person. Forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. How has God has forgiven you? That’s how we are to forgive each other, that is how we are to relate to each other from God’s mind of love. That’s how we are to be. very affectionate appeal in the words of apostle Peter who himself knew exactly what this was because remember he failed Jesus badly, so badly. He even cursed.
1 Peter 3:8 8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing
What is here stated? Are we picking it up? Is this what we are doing? Being compassionate having the same mind as the mind of God all of one mind having compassion one of another to love as Brethren, pitiful being courteous. When somebody is failing me and rendering evil to me, what am I to do? Not rendering evil for evil when somebody is having a go at me. Railing at me. No railing for railing not in response. What about you? None of that but contrarywise blessing knowing that you are there unto called that you should inherit a blessing.
You see here is a lifestyle that is to be practiced in the church, that is to be practiced in the family a lifestyle, a mindset that even though I see wrongs in you and you see wrongs in me, we are going to have the mind of God toward each other. A mind of love and we want to expand on that to actually have a good look at what that looks like. What does that actually look like to have? We’ve got to let the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy clear it before us. A mindset of a love that is like that. Notice there’s a quote from Sister White in regards to loving as He loved:
Divine love makes its most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. AA 550.2
What sort of compassion? That’s what Jesus said didn’t he? To love each other as I have loved you. This is what we want to explore. What does that really look like in practice? It’s easy to say but when it comes to the life, we miss out all the time.
I’m going to show you from Sister White how many churches are like this church. What does it look like in practice, to love as Jesus loved while we were yet sinners while we may make mistakes and sins, how are we going to live together according to His word? What does it look like? That same love:
Proverbs 10:2 Hatred stirreth up strife but love covers all sins
What does love do? God’s love covered my sins as a thick cloud. You know it reads your sins are covered as a thick cloud. I’m covering you because I Love you. Love cover all sins, how many sins? All sins. Hatred does the opposite but God’s love covers all sins. That’s what it looks like. It sort of reiterates that in different words.
1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love among yourselves for love shall cover a multitude of sins.
Is this not what God’s love has done to us? Jesus died so that He can cover our sins. All
Sins. Let’s explore a little further the true love, what really is that in practice? We’ve seen it here. It’s a love that has been revealed to us in Jesus.
You know what Sr White says about 1 Corinthians 13? You must study it every day so that you can be like this every day. You should cover your mind and sort of refresh your mind to it. I’m going to read it flat out. I’m going to stop and let this reveal itself to our mind in practice right remember while we were yet sinners, Christ had showed us this love. It says in verse four love. I’m going to use love not charity.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffereth long.
Tell me, can you suffer another person for very long? If you love that person, you will suffer their repeated wrong doing again and again.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffereth long
Not only does it suffer, it doesn’t go; ‘when are they going to learn?’
1 Corinthians 13:4 love suffereth long, and is kind; love envies not; l
If somebody is doing well and but we know they’re doing something wrong, we don’t envy him.
1 Corinthians 13:4 love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
Apply that if you love somebody. Do you care whether you are getting your fair share not at all?
1 Corinthians 13:5 Is not easily provoked,
That’s the love that God has for us. He’s born long with us. We are to bare long with each other. Don’t become easily provoked. To apply that, what are you thinking in your mind about another person when you see them doing something that you think, they’re doing wrong?
1 Corinthians 13:5 thinketh no evil. 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things,
Love beareth all things, it believeth all things. If you come to Jesus and say; Lord I’m sorry but then you go and do it again, did God believe you that you were sorry? Of course He did, He loves you. If you say, I am sorry and you’d go and do it again, it will be right, I am there to try and help you. That’s love. He beareth all things, he believeth all things, he hopeth all things. We’re saved by hope but hope that is seen isn’t hope. We don’t see yet that we are perfect but we are hoping for it and we patiently wait for it.
That’s what happens in the church when we love one another. We patiently wait for each other and we endure all things. That’s love, that’s God’s love. That’s what it looks like. It’s the love that comes from God not from us naturally. It’s a selfless love and so we want to have another close look at the kind of love that Jesus has for His children in His church.
We read there that as we look at the testimony of Jesus in these statements, that we might look upon one another with eyes that are sanctified by God’s love. A divine love that makes its most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. Now let’s have a look what that looks like in in an experience as an example. This is what it looks like. The love that He has. You know all about Judas don’t you? He was a member of the church. He was a minister. Jesus knew who he was but look at Christ’s love.
Judas was the first whose feet Jesus washed. Judas had already closed the contract to deliver Jesus into the hands of the priests and scribes. Christ knew his secret. Yet He did not expose him. He hungered for his soul. His heart was crying, How can I give thee up? He hoped that His act in washing Judas’ feet would touch the heart of the erring disciple and save him from completing his act of disloyalty. And for a moment the heart of Judas thrilled through and through with the impulse then and there to confess his sin. But he would not humble himself. He hardened his heart against repentance. He made no remonstrance, no protestation against the Saviour thus humiliating Himself. He was offended at Christ’s act. If Jesus could so humble Himself, he thought, He could not be Israel’s king…. CTr 262.6
Jesus knew it. What did He do? He loved him. He was the first one that went and washed his feet yet Christ knew this secret yet he did not expose him.
What was Jesus love? He knew all the way along throughout all the three years he knew Judas, but what was that? He did not expose him. That’s the love we are to learn.
From here it is the divine love makes itself most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. This is what it’s like to live under God’s love. The love and insight that we have here studied so far. We may know how to live like that. That’s what is to take place and do you remember in the Sabbath school lesson, the church is the place where is the depository of God’s love that is to be finally manifested in all its beauty at the end? This is the kind of love. Bearing in mind who Jesus is and taking this Love on board let us realise also that when it comes to having this kind of love among ourselves and the church every church that is listening here, every person that is listening when it comes to dealing with each other in the church, what is written? Here is an important thing to bear in mind:
Christ sometimes reproved with severity, and in some cases it may be necessary for us to do so; but we should consider that while Christ knew the exact condition of the ones he rebuked, and just the amount of reproof they could bear, and what was necessary to correct their course of wrong, he also knew just how to pity the erring, comfort the unfortunate, and encourage the weak. He knew just how to keep souls from despondency and to inspire them with hope, because he was acquainted with the exact motives and peculiar trials of every mind. He could not make a mistake. GW92 400.2
He could not make a mistake, he knew the motives but we may misjudge motives.
But we may misjudge motives; we may be deceived by appearances; we may think we are doing right to reprove wrong, and go too far, censure too severely, and wound where we wished to heal; or we may exercise sympathy unwisely, and counteract, in our ignorance, reproof that is merited and timely. Our judgment may be wrong; but Jesus was too wise to err. He reproved with pity, and loved with a divine love those whom he rebuked.—Testimonies for the Church 4:65. GW92 400.3
Are you getting the picture here? When we interact with one another, we are to have the love that comes from God and we have to be careful because we don’t judge, we cannot judge the motive. We may see somebody doing something wrong and we judge with the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears. Jesus doesn’t do that. He knows the motive.
The man that gathered sticks on the Sabbath day, Moses realised he didn’t know what to do with it. He had to wait upon God to show them what this person who was sinning was doing. God knew that he was a deliberate resistant radically opposed to God’s will. He was just going to do what he liked and that’s why he was stoned because God knew the motive but we don’t know the motives where we have seen sin in the camp. We don’t know the motives so that’s why we need to be very much under God’s care.
Here are some important quotes that I just want to read as we come close to the conclusion of our meditation. That with Jesus love in our mind with this knowledge of God’s of His patience even He knew the motive of Judas and He still kept a lid on it. Love covered all sins. When we see something wrong in another person.
Judas
Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Jesus sought love with Judas. He covered the transgression and the opposite to that is repeating a matter. You’ve done something wrong, come on, when you’re going to correct yourself and you repeat that. What’s that going to do? It will separate our love and our friendship
We read an important counsel, an example, a case in point. A church that we can see. What is God’s counsel?
The Church of New York
Sister White is speaking to the church in New York in her time. What was this church like?
There have been so many church trials among the brethren in the State of New York, that God has not had the least to do with, that the church have lost their strength, and they know not how to regain it. 1T 164.2
Here is a church that has lost strength. Notice how that in trials that God had nothing to do with. It says love for one another has disappeared and a fault finding accusing Spirit prevailed.
Love for one another has disappeared, and a faultfinding, accusing spirit has prevailed. It has been considered a virtue to hunt up everything about one another that looked wrong, and make it appear fully as bad as it really was. The bowels of compassion that yearn in love and pity toward brethren, have not existed. The religion of some has consisted in faultfinding, picking at everything bearing the appearance of wrong, until the noble feelings of the soul are withered. The mind should be elevated to dwell upon eternal scenes, heaven, its treasures, its glories, and should take sweet and holy satisfaction in the truths of the Bible. It should love to feed upon the precious promises that God’s word affords, draw comfort from them, and be lifted above trifles to weighty, eternal things. 1T 164.2
But, oh, how differently has the mind been employed! 1T 164.3
This is the church that she is giving the case point. The church at New York.
Picking at straws! Church meetings, as they have been held, have been a living curse to many in New York. These manufactured trials have given full liberty to evil surmising. Jealousy has been fed. Hatred has existed, but they knew it not. A wrong idea has been in the minds of some, to reprove without love, hold others to their idea of what is right, and spare not, but bear down with crushing weight. 1T 164.3
Did you pick that up? Holding others to their ideas as to what they thought is right and spare not, but bear down with crushing weight. This is an example, a case in point when the love is not there. I read it carefully so that we can hear it clearly. Now notice a very important counsel to these people, a very important counsel.
I saw that many in New York have had so much care for their brethren to keep them straight, that they have neglected their own hearts. They are so fearful that their brethren will not be zealous and repent, that they forget that they have wrongs that must be righted with their own hearts unsanctified. 1T 165.
They try to right their brethren.
Now the only way the brethren and sisters in New York can rise is for each to attend to his own individual case, and set his own heart in order. If sin is plain in a brother, breathe it not to another. 1T 165.1
Did you get that? Oh dear I wonder whether the churches are much the same as New York when a sin is plain in another. Breathe it not to another, but what should you do? Follow carefully:
but with love for the brother’s soul, with a heart full of compassion, with bowels of mercy, tell him the wrong, then leave the matter with him and the Lord. You have discharged your duty. You are not to pass sentence. 1T 165.1
That’s the love.
It has been made too light an affair to rein up a brother, to condemn him, and hold him under condemnation. There has been a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. If each would set his own heart in order, when the brethren meet together their testimony would be ready and come from a full soul, and the people around that believe not the truth would be moved. 1T 165.2
The display of God’s love needs to be seen. Some often think that if sin is plain in somebody, that needs to be dealt with. It needs to be dealt with correctly. It needs to be dealt with by telling him and then leaving him with the Lord and when this is not done, trials come that God has got nothing to do with. That’s what we read. In conclusion for God’s true people to be under His love, the Bible counsel of these next scriptures are to be put into practice contrary to what we read here in the church of New York.
1 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Who are we to be compared with not each other but Jesus. That’s where we need to be compared with. But those that compare themselves among themselves there’s no wisdom there.
1 Peter 4:1 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief as an evildoer or a busy body in other men’s matters.
Let us not involve ourselves as a busy body in another man’s matters. That’s another very important counsel. These are the counsels that are to be the people who are under
the love of God
Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
That’s where the love of God is. That love covereth a matter doesn’t repeat it as we read before. That is God’s counsel of love.
Psalm 15:1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
When you hear flying scandal, the way you take up a reproach against a brother is picking up the flying scandal and taking up that reproach. With everything that we have been reading, here the love of God that loves us while we are yet sinners, that loves us even though we make mistakes, that is at work by his Holy Spirit by His beautiful truth to continue to recover us when that love is paramount in the church.
There is none of these things that we have been reading. We will be practicing a love that bears all things, that covers all sins, that seeks to restore and if there is sin, go to that person and speak to him and then don’t whisper it to anybody else. That’s what we read. Leave them with God. You’ve done your job. That is God’s way. Brothers and sisters, the God who is speaking to us, and who is loving us like this, that has been telling us in His word how we should relate, is the God who knows everything.
Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Everything is open and naked to Him so don’t worry, He has love for His church and He’s going to deal with it. He’s going to deal with it in love, in restoration. He deals with it according to motive, not according to the wrong, but according to motive. He loves us and we who believe His saving provision of love, we may live under this love in perfect freedom of condemnation and in perfect unity letting Him perfect us and rejoicing. This is the church that is to display in its final display of perfect love to the world around us. That is where we must come to.
Christ has made every provision that his church shall be a transformed body illumined with the light of the world possessing the glory of Emmanuel. It is his purpose that every Christian shall be surrounded with the spiritual atmosphere of light and peace. He desires that we shall reveal His own joy in our lives. RC 134.3
Are we open to His love? Are we going to rejoice in His joy and His love even though we may still see errors and sins in each other?
My prayer is that we will have this joy, this love manifested among us.
Amen.
