John Thiel mp3
I don’t know whether you share a similar mindset to mine, but I’m going to share my thoughts with you so you may understand where I’m coming from. Before I commit myself to anything—any project in life, or anything that I truly surrender myself to—I am very cautious. I want to understand whether this interest in my life is worthy of my attention. I imply a very intelligent scrutiny upon myself; I need to see four main points in this particular project or prospect that lies ahead of me.
First, is it only a passing thrill that I’m going to participate in? Just something that thrills me for the moment and then loses its value? Secondly, does this project or interest provide a lasting, soul-satisfying conclusion? Is it something that satisfies the deepest needs of the soul, especially as it pertains to its final application and results? Thirdly, does this prospect attract and satisfy the needs of every other human being, not just myself? If I have something that I’m going to throw my whole energy into, it needs to be something that will also interest others. It’s very easy to have a personal interest in life that only I care about; that’s a selfish prospect. I desire to engage in pursuits that can bring others along with me if possible. Finally, is it a pursuit that will not fail me? In other words, will I be left behind one day because it has not met my desperate needs? I don’t want to start something if I’m going to be dropped off somewhere. So, will this pursuit never fail me?
These are the four important mental exercises that affect me before I throw my weight behind anything. To all these questions, Jesus Christ provides one comprehensive answer, which came in our scripture reading. If you turn back there with me, we have a conclusive answer that addresses all the points I have laid out before you—not just a passing thrill, but something that satisfies the soul deeply in its final conclusions. It’s a prospect that will attract every other human being, and it’s a pursuit that will never fail me. Here it is in the words of Jesus: if you give yourself totally to your food, clothing, and all the paraphernalia of life, you will be let down sooner or later because it all loses itself somewhere.
It says there, “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?” He emphasizes this in verse 32: “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” In verse 33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
I read this text as a young person of 16 years, and I said, “Yes, this is the answer; this is what I have to live for—the kingdom of heaven.” How relevant these words of Jesus are for us today, when there are so many kingdoms around us that appeal to our human sense of worth.
There is the kingdom of self. You know that you, as a person, are a kingdom? There’s a part of your mind that is the king and ruler over your body and personal life. You and I have an ingredient within us that makes us proud of ourselves. The egocentric motivation of every human being is a kingdom that we rule, and it feels snug and comfortable. Yet, that kingdom is very insecure. Have you ever failed yourself?
Then there is the kingdom of family, where the man is the king, the wife is the queen, and the children are the subjects. How secure is that kingdom in today’s circumstances? What are the statistics? One in every two marriages falls apart—that’s the statistic of today. How secure is the kingdom of family?
Next, we have the kingdom of churches. Every church has its own proud denominational existence, saying, “We are the ones.” All these kingdoms are in their own right, but what kind of security have the churches of today provided for this world? Finally, we have the kingdom of nations. We don’t need to say much more, do we? This planet has become like a little village where the kingdoms of nations are trying to unite and provide security for the planet, but they are failing miserably.
Kingdoms of these natures are not worthy of our total devotion. King Solomon gives us a wonderful outline of those who pursue the kingdoms of this world, revealing how successful and long-lasting they really are. What does he start with?
Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
How much does he know about that?
Ecclesiastes 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
I’ve been there; I’ve done that. You can try to put yourself in King Solomon’s shoes. Look at his life—the wisest man on earth—yet he engaged in the kingdoms of this world. He intermarried with the daughters of other kingdoms and had a harem of over 700 wives and concubines. He lived it up. In verses 1 to 10 of chapter 2, he describes, “I’ve done this, and I made myself that, and I enlarged my spectrum of pleasure and enjoyment.”
Then in verse 11, he says,
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”
Young people, as you launch into your life, study carefully King Solomon’s life, and you will discover, if you listen to him, that you will save yourself a lot of heartache. What did he come to as he considered his life? He saw how vain it all was.
Ecclesiastes 1:17 Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me, for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” He came to hate life.
Have you ever felt that way? I, too, came to that point at the age of 21. I hated life to the extent that I didn’t want to live. I was tempted to take my life, but then I thought, “No, that’s foolish.” I was going to do what many young people do today: just enjoy myself. I thought, “If I have to suffer death at the end, I might as well make the most of what I have now.”
I was on the verge of breaking away due to my heartache and perplexity. Then there was that sweet little voice that I had come to know through my mother’s introduction of Jesus into my life and through the study of the messages of Waggoner and Jones. That sweet voice said, “But am I not worthwhile living for?” Very quickly, the answer came within myself: “Indeed, yes! Jesus is all that is worthwhile living for.”
There is no vexation of spirit; there is no vanity in His kingdom—none whatsoever—and I knew it.
1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; 25 But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Endurance forever—the Word of the Lord. if I’m going to have any purpose for living in this world, I must become a deep student of the Word of God for one purpose: to find meaning and purpose in life. It must be practical. I will make that the only focus of my life.
In 1 John 2:15-17, it enlarges this idea.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
If you pursue those things that pertain to the love of the world—everything that satisfies your eyes, your fleshly comforts, or the very egocentric motivation of your life—all this will pass away. What do I have at the end? Intelligent thinking tells me it’s worthless; it’s not worth pursuing. Yet how many young people think, “I have to taste all this first before I make my decision for Jesus”? Don’t waste your time; it’s all vexation of spirit and vanity.
But what does that mean? It’s not just vanity in the prideful sense; it’s in vain. You’re wasting your energy. It’s vain. Jesus says, “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
I thank God for these powerful scriptures that captivated me at that crisis point in my life. Just as that crisis point has never ceased to be in my life since then, I am forever having to make decisions again and again. “No, I don’t want that. No, I don’t want that. I want this—the kingdom of heaven.” I have decided, against all odds, that I am going to persevere against all these elements that I have read to you in 1 John.
To do the will of God is worthy of your total focus and energetic enthusiasm. It goes on, as we have studied, to live by the word of the Lord because the word of the Lord abides forever. The kingdom of heaven does not pass away, while all these other kingdoms shall.
That’s why I don’t unite my energies in the politics of this world. As a German, I could, believe me. Germans are very proud and arrogant. They want to live for their pride, and we saw it with Hitler. We want to be able to live for something that lasts. There’s only one worthy objective that I should emphasize and that I should make my total enthusiastic commitment in my life.
I replay to you the title of my service: “An Incentive for Enthusiastic Participation in Church Membership.” Are you picking up the incentives? What is it? The kingdom of heaven is the only worthy objective for total enthusiastic commitment. If you decide to throw your entire being behind such an enterprise, you will face one further problem: to make the kingdom of heaven your total enthusiastic engagement.
Then we come to the part of the title: church membership. There is a kingdom of churches around us today, and I want to devote myself entirely to the kingdom of heaven—entirely, without any reservation. Where am I going to be a part of the kingdom of heaven? In a church of today?
As I survey the churches of today, I find it very confusing. Where is the body of Christians that are so united in the word that lives and abides forever? Where is a body of Christ that is totally united, living by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth, so that I will be part of a company striving for one united truth, connected and harmonious, where there are no dissenting ideas harboured within that body of Christ? Where is such a church? Among the churches, can you see that? This is a very important question to answer. Our peril in these moments of earth’s history is recorded in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. I want to live for a purpose that is lasting and that affects all mankind successfully, but all mankind is confused by the many different churches. What is my peril, and what is the answer to that peril?
2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
You can really say, “Oh, that’s right. That’s true, isn’t it? That’s the way it is in the world.”
Is this the peril we’re living under? That’s the reality for Christians today. If I want to make a choice to make the kingdom of heaven everything in my life, is it really bothering me if the people of the world are like that? It’s really not. But what does this mean? What is meant here with the peril of this description?
2 Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
Does it exclude lovers of God? No, it says they just have all these characteristics, and they are people who love God as well, but they love the pleasures of this world more than God. Then comes the most clinching statement in verse 5:
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Who are you going to turn away from today? A form of godliness. How many are there? Yet they deny the power thereof. This is our peril—that all these characteristics we’ve been reading about are rampant within the churches of today. Do you have that problem too? I wonder. As we study here, let us examine for a moment what is a form of godliness. What does God identify as being a form of godliness but denying the power thereof?
Ezekiel 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
They come to the man of God; they come to hear the preacher. They come unto thee as the people come, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they do them not.
Can you see the form of godliness? Oh yes, they sing hymns, they pray, and they express worshipful motions. But what’s the problem? It’s a form because the action is not there. We read another expression of the same problem:
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, ‘For as much as this people draw near me with their mouths, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.
There are teachers and preachers in the world who will not pick up the exact truth; they put their own interpretations on that teaching and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. When the Word of God says something, if you can’t quite see it or agree with it, don’t write it off because you will be in danger of being among that people who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They do not live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That is a form of godliness, and they deny the power thereof.
As I have read to you just now, you can see, “Oh, can I really come to the point where I’m going to do everything that God says? That’s too hard. That’s an impossibility.” When it says they have a form of godliness and deny the power thereof, what are they denying?
There are three Bible texts that will explain this to us.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s effective for every human being—not just a national thing; it’s an international thing.
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
What does he say? The power of God is the gospel. The true gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. The righteousness of God will be revealed in that. What is the righteousness of God? It is everything that God lives by—every word of God that comes out of His mouth, the harmonious participation of everything that you can read in the Word of God. We know that the Spirit of Prophecy comes into that today.
You’ve heard from this pulpit many different variations of what the Word of God tells us, whether it be about health reform, the world, the dress you wear, or the music you listen to. If there is something written about it all through the Word of God, and you stand face to face with an array of principles and standards that just about overwhelm you, what do you need to be able to accept it and run with it? You need the gospel because the gospel is the power of God to reach that condition.
In John 1:11-12, we read about that power of God provided through Jesus Christ to those who will receive Him:
John 1:11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
As Jesus came to the disciples, they were yet in need of conversion, but they received Him. Now He gave them power to become the sons of God. Everyone thereafter who has received Jesus has provision made that they can have the power of God to become the sons of God. It’s not that right then and there you are, but you will receive power to become the sons of God.
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! 2 Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. 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.
What will you be? What is a truly converted soul today who has received the power of God and has given himself entirely to this cause? He is now the son of God. But not yet are you fully like Him. You need the power to become like Him. As it says, “We will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
Do you believe that? This is the question. Because if you do believe that, you need to become like Him. You need to be like Him in every principle that His Word has portrayed that we have studied over the past year or so.
1 John3:3 Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.
What are you doing here on this earth now? You are forever seeking; you are placing yourself right behind the Word of God, and you are seeking to put that Word into practice so that you will become like Him and be like Him when He comes. You will be purifying yourself.
But you see, this is the big problem. The moment you uphold any part of God’s Word before the people of today, they say, “I don’t agree with that. That’s going too far. That’s fanaticism. That is over the top. I’m sorry; you’re just too extreme.” Is that what they say to people like this?
Then you get the others who’ve been brought up in it all, and they say it’s all too hard. What is the new doctrine that has come into the Adventist circles of today? You can never be without sin until Jesus comes a second time when He changes your mortal body. Is that the doctrine that Adventists are saying today? There’s no change in your personality and character until your body has changed. Then you will be holy.
But what did we just read? In fact, let’s go on reading. What is God able to do that you will trust in His power, that you do not deny His power like so many people do? What are they saying when they say you will never be perfect until Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven? Then He will change your body, and then you will be powerful.
What are they denying? They might say, “No, no, we’re not denying. We know that when God comes, He’s going to change me. I know that power.” But what are they denying while He is on earth that God can do before He changes your body?
Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
What is He able to do? He is able to keep you from falling. As the Word of God comes up before you and says, “Uh-oh, that’s too hard,” do you change your tack and say, “Well, God will change me when He comes,” or do you say, “Alright, God, it’s too hard for me, but here’s my life; you’ve got the power”?
That’s what we’re meant to do. God is not going to spare us; He’s going to show us everything in these last days. He’s going to lay it out for us. It’s taken me a whole year to lay out as much as I can, and there’s much more yet. Already we balk at it. But He says, “I want you to be like Me. I want you to enjoy the things that I enjoy. You won’t enjoy them if you don’t change now. You’ve got to change now.”
He says, “Here is My power. Don’t deny the power thereof. Here is an objective worthy of all your efforts, and God will assist you.”
In Titus 2:11-12, we have another powerful identification of a power that God will exercise upon us so that we will be without sin and like Him when He comes and before He changes our physical body.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”
If God says that His grace is sufficient to prepare us here in this present world to be like Him, then you mustn’t say, “No, that’s too hard. Sorry, I’ll never get there.” How many people have said this to me? “I’m never going to make it.” What are you saying? “I deny the power of God.”
I will continue to be a pew warmer; I will continue to listen to the Word of God and say, “Yes, what wonderful wisdom Solomon had, didn’t he?” Did he benefit from that wisdom? He discovered that no matter how much he glorified God and the wonderful wisdom he received, if he did not put that wisdom into practice, he said, “I hate life.”
This is the reality of our pursuit of God’s way. An objective worthy of your full undivided attention and your full energy and effort—that is what the truth of the matter is: an incentive to be like God here in this present world so that when He comes, I will be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is.
What did Jesus say? “Unless a man is born again, he shall not see the kingdom of heaven.” Then He emphasised again, “Unless you are born of the spirit and of water, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom that I want to live for, that I want to put my whole effort behind, I must be born of the spirit. I must receive the power of God so that I can even see it, let alone put it into practice.
In Revelation 14:6-7, there are people described as the 144,000. What is said about them? They are without fault before the throne of God. In chapter 14, verse 12, it is written, “Here is the patience of the saints.” What are they patient about? They’re not going to give up. They’re going to persevere. They’re going to battle on to reach that perfection. They are a patient people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. Those are the people that have responded to the power that makes them so.
To harmonise and to participate in this quest is the desire of my life so that I will be there. I have examined this, and I know that this is worthy of every purpose and the excited energy of my life. But what must I be part of to reach that? We studied the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.
What are they? He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. What’s the purpose of this?
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till 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:
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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 fullness of Christ.
That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Did you notice what the church body of gifted people must be standing on? In verse 13, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith.” If I’m going to get there, what body of ministry must I be under? Those that are in the unity of the faith.
In other words, if the ministry that is teaching the beautiful truths that will bring me there is not proclaiming the unity of the faith, what sort of conclusion will I reach at the end? Are you going to be perfect before the law? If you miss one item of the truth, one link in the chain of truths, are you going to be as Jesus and God is in character at the end? It’s self-evident, isn’t it? Because you’ll still be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
The reality is that we must be under a ministry that provides a united doctrine, and every doctrine must be right if you’re going to get there. Isn’t that true? It’s like the science of life: one thing out of place, and you’ll be out of place. It’s self-evident here—not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
But as it says in verse 15, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” I am a very fundamentalist believer. I believe that if I’m going to be part of a church, that church has to preach pure and absolute, unadulterated, united doctrine. I thank God that the Spirit of Prophecy has pointed me to such a ministry. It’s the ministry that held the truths over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, today, the Adventist people are being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, aren’t they?
What was it back then when some people started teaching that Armageddon isn’t a literal warfare? It’s a spiritual warfare. That was by a man named Weir. Then there comes Desmond Ford and then there are all these ministers that come out from underneath him, and there is a twisted, contorted wind of doctrine this way and that. Are we seeing it in the ranks of those who are expecting Jesus to come? Very much so. How can we attain God’s ideal of perception if the ministry I’m under is not united in the same beliefs and does not believe that I can, by the power of God, reach sinless perfection?
How can I get this? I don’t believe it. If they don’t have the fabric of truth that’s going to get me there, Jesus helps us to understand that in these perilous times, there is a ministry that does give the right message at the right time. It’s written in Matthew 24:44-49.
What I’m sharing with you, brethren and sisters, is that I want to know that I can put my whole weight and energy behind something and not be dropped at some point in time. I need to know that. When I get dropped, I have to think, “Where have I made my mistake?”
I’ve got to find where there is a people that are united. I’ve got to find it. Here I’m told, “They’re there. I’ve just got to find it.”
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready.
How pertinent these words are. What must you be? Ready? Because when Jesus comes, you’ve got to be like Him.
Matthew 24:44 For in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man cometh.
Who then? Good question.
Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
What is he? He is the one that denies the power thereof. He is the one that doesn’t believe that Jesus is going to come and find him perfectly sinless. But there is the servant that does teach that, and he is faithful with all the doctrine.
Matthew 24:49 And that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming.
It doesn’t say that he preaches that the Lord delayeth His coming. He still preaches the Advent message; he still preaches the coming of Jesus, but his heart is not in it. If his heart is not in it, what is he? He has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof, doesn’t he? Therefore, he begins to eat and drink with the drunken. He begins to say, “It’s alright; Jesus is a good way off yet.” As he eats and drinks with the drunken, who is he eating and drinking with? Those who are imbibing false doctrine because drunkenness in spirit in scripture is false doctrine, and they are confused. They are drunken.
That’s written in Isaiah 28, where I read before, the formality just before that time. He says they are drunken. Isaiah 29:13 tells us that there is a dreadful danger if we’re going to be truly intense and decided for the kingdom of heaven.
Isaiah 28: 7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Isaiah 29 9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
We must place ourselves under this kind of ministry that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24—the faithful servant. In a time when all are thinking, the people are thinking that the earthly pursuits are futile, they realise it’s coming close to the end of the world.
Everyone sees this; many people are giving up their purpose for living. They hit the drugs; they hit the pleasures of this world because they can see what so many young people have said. You know, if you say so, maybe this is what is happening. I hear it; the body language tells me there is a lack of enthusiasm for anything that is of worth because they know what’s at stake. So what? I was there; I was very close to doing just that and enjoying myself. But here is something, and I’d like to conclude our meditation here with the words of the Spirit of Prophecy. For me to come to the point of a platform of truth that is absolute truth, that has no link missing in it, I need to know where such a truth is and where the people who proclaim such a truth are.
The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth—a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious. GC 423
There’s nothing missing. To the Advent people back there, there was a complete system of truth that was opened up in the sanctuary message, showing that God’s hand had directed the great Advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people.
What did this message of the sanctuary do? It was a truth connected and harmonious that revealed the duty of God’s people, and they knew their position. Oh, that we might know. Oh, that we might be those people.
Light was given directing the minds to the temple of God in heaven, and as they should by faith follow their high priest in His ministration there, new duties would be revealed. GC 425
Another message of warning and instruction was to be given to the church. This great system of truth, connected and harmonious, was provisioned so that God’s people under that kind of ministry would understand the duties that lay upon them.
What does it say? New duties. there were Christians all along who were living up to the light they had. But as time went on, the Lord had to show them greater light and new duties of practice were laid out before them.
He led them through from pork eating to clean eating, then vegetarianism, step by step. As the Lord led them through all the other subjects in this great system of truths, they came to a point where they will be identified as the people who have no sin, perfect before Him, because they put everything into practice that the Lord had given them. As we contemplate this reality, we have today a record of those things that the Lord had been leading them. We have this profound statement so that we don’t have to be confused.
Where shall we find safety, unless it be in the truth that the Lord has been giving us for the last 50 years? Counsels to Writers and Editors page 53
Where did she write that? Review and Herald, May 25, 1905. If you will be a student of the development of the doctrines in the ranks of the Seventh-day Adventist church from 1905 backwards, you will have a platform of truth of harmonious interconnected understanding that will help you to find that safety to be part of a ministry today that stands on that platform of truth.
To appreciate all those truths, there is one central truth so that you can appreciate them correctly. Because there are many people who’ve got all the doctrines just about right, but there’s one doctrine that is the very central bit of that. If they don’t get that right, they will not be able to appreciate or understand those doctrines.
The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. Bible Commentary Volume 5 page 1137.6
The Seventh-day Adventist truths that have been established point by point have to circumnavigate the great central truth around which all other truths cluster. It’s the atonement of Christ.
When Christ in His work of redemption is seen to be the great central truth of the system of truth, a new light is shed upon all the events of the past and the future. They are seen in a new relation and possess a new and deeper significance. TMK 288
There is a central truth of the Saviour’s atonement that we must have right. If we don’t have it right, even though we’ve got all the other truths right, how will I be rendered at the end? I’ll have all the other truths out of focus. I will become a legalist; I will become a Pharisee because the Pharisee taught the truth.
I will become a Seventh-day Adventist in form. The beautiful doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus, the human and divine nature of Jesus, correctly understood will only render me to understand everything else correctly as well. That’s what I’m told here by the Spirit of Prophecy. With these clear testimonies before our intelligent minds, we must research where we are going to place ourselves to be absolutely sure that we are pursuing an interest and an enterprise that is not going to let us down, that is not going to destroy us at the end. To be absolutely sure that we are going to make it and help other people to make it too, I need to make this research my total focus. We sung it in our hymn: “Take time to be holy.” Don’t get so busy with the world pursuing your interests that you don’t have time for this most important issue in your life.
Great Controversy presents the challenge of the Spirit of Prophecy with the mind exercise we have here:
Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God. The precious hours, instead of being given to pleasure, to display, or to gain, should be devoted to an earnest, prayerful study of the word of truth. The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. GC 488
How? Clearly—no haziness.
All need… GC 488
How many?
All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great high priest. Otherwise, it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. GC 488
Why is it impossible? Why do people today say, “I’m not going to be perfect until Jesus comes”? Why? It tells you right here that they do not have a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great high priest. That’s why it will be impossible for them to occupy the position which God designed them to fill.
Sad is the record which angels bear to heaven. Intelligent beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed in the acquirement of worldly possessions or the enjoyment of earthly pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and self-indulgence, but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the searching of the Scriptures, to the humiliation of soul, and to confession of sin. GC 487
Ask yourself the question: Is this okay? Do you know the beautiful messages that we stand on, but do you understand them for yourself? Or are you placed into a quandary and confusion because you spend so little time in the research of this for yourself and because you are so busy pursuing your pleasures or even pursuing the necessities of life because they are more important to you than the deep and thorough understanding of what you need to know for these last moments of Earth’s history?
I lay this challenge at your feet. I know what I’ve decided. The only reason why I’m standing in the pulpit is not because I have become a learned theologian. You know, people often say to me, “Yeah, you’ve got the time, John; I haven’t.” I tell you what I preach is not because I had the time; it’s because I made the time.
If you don’t make the time, brethren and sisters, you will not understand what I’m told I must understand. Therefore, you will do what that other servant does: you will begin to smite your fellow servant. You will become dissatisfied with the servant that gives them meat in due season. Be assured of that.
If you can see the urgency of these considerations and you desire to pursue diligently the kingdom of heaven, making that first in your life and everything else secondary, I am willing, and we will be willing to unite together. We will pursue a united church front to everyone around us with enthusiasm, with the joy of truth pulsating from our system and from our body of people.
God bless us; this is my prayer in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
