John Thiel mp3
Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
We want another draft this morning of what it means to hasten the coming of Jesus. The title of our divine service is hastening perfection, hastening perfection. Our scripture reading was in 2 Peter 3. The marginal reading says, “Looking for and hasting the coming.” Hasting the coming of the day of God. Hasting, to haste His coming.
According to these words, to haste His coming has something to do with the manner of persons we are. Did you notice seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved? What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day? To haste the coming of the day means to apply ourselves to the manner of persons we ought to be, the kind of holy conversation that we are to have.
When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he put it in the sickle, because the harvest has come. Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. COL 69.1
Do you want Jesus to come soon? Do you want to haste His coming? Well, it falls upon us, because it says here that Jesus is still waiting for the manifestation of His character and His people. A holiness, a manner of person, of holy conversation and Godliness. When He’s got us there, He will come. The reading is very plain in 2 Peter. It has to do with us to haste the coming.
It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain. COL 69.2
The time that we occupy at this present time is to hasten our preparation so that when probation closes with our names clean, if our characters are clean, Jesus says watch and pray that that day does not take you by surprise. The coming of Jesus that we are here considering, the coming of that day, the day of God, the coming of Jesus in Matthew 24:44, is what? None other but the close of probation. Matthew 24:44 makes it so plain and people will misread it because they think the coming of Jesus is a sudden thing in physical presence.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye ready, also ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh.
What time is here referred to? 2T 190
She’s quoting the words that in an hour that you think not the Son of man cometh.
What time is here referred to? Not the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with the garments of vengeance. When the mandate goes forth He that is unjust let Him be unjust still, He which is filthy let Him be filthy still and He that is righteous let Him be righteous still and He that is holy let Him be holy still. 2T 190
According to the revelation that is given us here, it is just what we are to hasten that day when Jesus finishes His work in the sanctuary in which He will put on His garments of vengeance and it will be the day of the Lord that we read in Peter that we are to hasten the day of the Lord. It’s to do with hastening our character perfection because Jesus is waiting to see Himself perfectly reflected in us. To hasten so that He can cut short His work in righteousness.
We have spent time how to do that by being like the planet earth before it was created with its beauty. It was just the ball of water. The Word of God spoke and it happened. If we are in a place of such abandon that God can just work on us without our interference. Then His Word spoken to us will hasten the work because He will speak everything that needs to be put straight in our life and it will happen because we are letting His Word take root in our life.
But this hour there is a different approach that we want to look at that will hasten this finishing of the work and that is to cease doubting your release from condemnation. This is what we want. That’s the approach we’re looking at in this divine us to cease to doubt that you are no longer under condemnation. Condemnation is something we experience because God’s Word tells us we are wrong somewhere and so we feel condemned. The natural conclusion that many Christians fall under is that God’s word comes to us and it tells us we’re wrong and therefore we feel guilty instead of understanding why God is correcting us not to feel guilty for a different purpose altogether for a person to perform efficiently.
He must have a mind that is uncluttered by interfering thoughts. I remember distinctly as a student at school, it took me from year one through to my finishing of my exams in the nursing course that I did, which was after year 11, then I had another three years and at the end of three years of my nursing, I finally discovered how to get good results for my exams. I finally discovered it. It took me all that time. That was to relax and to have a mind that is clear from anxiety and stress and I passed with flying colours, a better result than I could have ever imagined because I relaxed and let my mind be at ease and a sense of assurance that I’m going to do well. And lo and behold, I did well. A person cannot perform efficiently when his mind is cluttered. He must have a sense of self -worth without any dark cloud to disable his diligence. So to haste, to perfection, we are given certain councils in God’s word.
What must we do so that Jesus can come?
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having there for these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
What must we do? We have a work to do, to perfect holiness in the fear of God. It’s written in many other scriptures. Holiness we must gain without which we cannot see God. We quoted those over the last so many weeks, many of them, to show the exact process. One of those was that in our perfecting of holiness, the duty we are to exercise ourselves in is written.
The Activity of Perfecting Holiness
2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Pause here for a moment. Realise what the apostle is saying under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge of God that we gain and the knowledge of Jesus our Lord, is something that will provide for us a reception of divine power. That knowledge of God is the source from which we obtain power, and that power, that knowledge that provides the power to that pertains to things of life and godliness. It is gained in verse 4.
The power of God, the power of the divine nature is to be gained by the knowledge of God, by the promises that are given to us by that knowledge. And as God gives us those precious they meant to be doing with that power and with that divine nature?
2 Peter 1:5 Giving all diligence, add to your faith.
The faith by which you have the power, you are now to add to. It’s a faith that was given us through the divine nature. You are to add virtue.
2 Peter 1:5 and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
You will be perfect. And what?
2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Isn’t this a plain, simple reading that to gain a character perfection we are to be diligent, utilising the knowledge of God that we have gained, utilising the power that He gives, the divine nature that He gives, via the promises? Promises! What did we read there in 2 Corinthians 7? What was it to do with promises there?
2 Corinthians 2:7 That by having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Bible is very simple and clear; that we are to be active. What needful ingredient is contained in these promises to set my mind free from condemnation? I look at my life, and I see mistakes, sins, and look at the past before I even came to know I’ve done some terrible things that I feel condemned about there in our mind from condemnation.
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord, He that created O Jacob, and he that formed O Israel, fear not; for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Take your mind through his experience; he was running for his life because Esau was now so angry. But what? Not only was he running for his life, but he was feeling so crushed that he had so dishonored God by his activity. Do you think he was repentant? When we feel really bad about the sins we have committed, that we have dishonored God, do we have a sense of fear because we’re going to miss out on heaven or are we really broken because we have dishonoured our Lord? There’s a difference.
True repentance is where we are broken-hearted because we are so weak; we have so sinned against God, and I’m so prone to make mistakes again. Jacob did, didn’t he? He still made mistakes afterward. He had multiple wives; that was a big mistake as well. But did God forsake him? No, he kept on suffering before God, and there he was on the day of his battle with the angel. Not only had God given him the vision of the ladder, but he also came to fight with him, and Jacob hung to him and said, “I will not let you go,” when he discovered who he was fighting with. Here God is saying to him, “I have redeemed.”
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isn’t that a promise? By these precious promises, mind exercises of guilt and condemnation, I can think straight because I’m not troubled in my mind with clouds of interfering thoughts. “Thou art mine,” He says. Partakers of the divine nature makes us part of God, doesn’t it? You are mine.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear.” Isn’t that what the promise was? Fear not, Jacob; I have redeemed thee. You are mine. You have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, “Father, Father, Daddy.” The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. You are mine, He says. “I have redeemed thee.”
If you have a Father who doesn’t stand over you with a threatening strap? Well, I’ll go around the other way. If you have a father that is over you with a threatening strap, can you function in a clear, effective way? Common sense, isn’t it? “Children who are threatened with punishment become worse and worse.” God removes the threat of the punishment. He stands over us with a loving, compassionate, promising care. He remembers that we are dust. He doesn’t threaten us. He wants us to release ourselves from being brought up by fathers that have caused fear within us. This will affect our life all the way through. But we want to release ourselves because we’ve been adopted. We are no longer under that father anymore. We are now under a heavenly Father. We can call him Dad, and He says, “You are mine, and I want you to be free in your mind.”
When you are free in your mind.
1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
The world doesn’t know the Father like that. Satan has come with a different picture of the Father. The world sees the Father as a vindictive person. Satan has painted that picture. We are under that pall because we’ve been brought up with that vindictive nature, and we think God the Father is like that too. That’s exactly what this young street kid said to the preacher when he was there trying to reach these street kids, talking about our Heavenly Father. He says, “If He is like my dad, I don’t want to know Him.”
It’s amazing to get rid of that cloud of thinking that has been developed in our mind.
1 John 3:2 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.
Here is a positive. When Jesus comes, we’re going to be like Him. Are you scared that you won’t be like Him? Are you suffering under the thought that “I’m not going to get there?” The promise is, “He’s my Father.” He’s made promises that He’s going to get me there. Now I can think straight. Now I can cooperate with Him.
1 John 3:3 Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.
Can you see the beautiful answer? We don’t need to stress that we won’t make it. In fact, with this beautiful hope upon us, we can bound ahead without any slowing down of our progress. We are divine nobility. That’s what the queen said to her children way back: “Remember who you are.” If we will remember that because of the amazing story of God’s mercy and goodness towards sinners as we are, and we remember how He has adopted us into His majestic family, we want to remember who we are. We want to remember that we are noble.
The precious faith inspired of God. My Life Today 262.2
The precious faith. What was it? Partakers of the divine nature. You add to that faith. By faith, we are partakers of the divine nature.
The precious faith inspired of God imparts strength and nobility of character. As His goodness, His mercy, and His love are dwelt upon, clearer and still clearer will be the perception of truth; higher, holier the desire for purity of heart and clearness of thought. The soul dwelling in the atmosphere of holy thought is transformed by intercourse with God through the study of His Word. Truth is so large, so far reaching, so deep, so broad, that self is lost sight of. The heart is softened and subdued into humility, kindness, and love. ML 262.2
You see, you can understand truth more clearly because there’s no befogging effect on your mind. That’s what we will be able to do. Higher, holier, the desire for purity of heart and clearness of thought. Clearness of thought; oh, how I love that. Nothing in between, cleanliness of thought like crystal clear water. Now we see in a glass darkly, but we can have it clearer as we go on.
I love that meditation because I am a person who trembles by nature. My natural human nature trembles; I have a fear of human beings around me. And for me, to be free of that is so liberating; it gets me somewhere. The moment I start to fall into the trap of going back to my old way, I can’t function properly. The things I want to do, I fail badly in. But when I am perfectly in this meditation of being a child of God, no negative thoughts at all. Dwelling in the atmosphere of holy thought, my transformation is hastened. I’m able to have clear thoughts, and I’m able to cooperate with God, and I’m able to develop and perfect holiness in the fear of God much more quickly than this continual halting between doubt, guilt, and freedom. Why noble? Why are we nobility? Why do we have those noble thoughts? And why are we filled with humility?
Humility, because the contrast of my sinful state, my vileness, to being adopted as the children of God, being saved from the guttermost to the uttermost, is a humbling experience. It fills me with a humble joy, not a proud joy, but perfect freedom of mind, because God has adopted me, and I’m so unworthy. I will believe that. He’s promised it. I will trust Him. But wow! You want to change them, but in your own life, you feel it’s all just a terrible tangle inside of yourself. We are redeemed. We are God’s possession.
Jesus, in the heavenly sanctuary, is working as a living priest for me there.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
If any man sin, he says, don’t sin; but if you have sinned, don’t fall apart about it
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Freedom, liberty, no more fear, no more condemnation. We are told that under the Spirit that tells us we are children of God. If we dwell in that, iwe will dwell in this beautiful sphere of heaven by the Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Jesus has redeemed us by His precious promises.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
To walk after the flesh is not just to do what you want; to walk after the flesh is to feel guilty when the Spirit says Jesus has died for you. Forget about your guilt, and you want to cling and hold on to the guilt; you’re not living in the Spirit.
Isn’t that what we were singing? You see, this is what makes this hymn so beautiful that we were singing:
The great physician now is near. His name dispels my guilt and fear. No other name but Jesus.
My soul delights to hear the precious name of Jesus. It humbles me. It works upon me. It transforms me. All that is required of me, the virtue, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to—oh, I missed out the other ones there— to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience? Oh, these are all things that I need to add by being diligent? I can do that now. There is nothing inhibiting my free function of application, of using and exercising the power, the divine nature within me by the Holy Spirit. As I do that, I will in diligence reach the purity that God wants me to have, the holiness, and it won’t be slowed down; it will be hastened.
Jesus sees the guilt of the past, and speaks pardon. 9MR 305.3
He knows all our past. He knows my weakness, and He says, ‘I pardon you,’ even before you’ve done it. I’ve already forgiven you because I know your weakness. So don’t even let the fear of failing Him again interfere with your progress. He knows the guilt of the past and speaks pardon, and we must not dishonour Him by doubting His love. If I want to hang on to my guilt, what am I doing? I am doubting His love, and I’m dishonouring Him. This feeling of guiltiness must be laid at the foot of the cross of Calvary. ‘I will take your sins. I will give you peace.’ What do we do when we cling to condemnation? What do we do when we doubt God’s wonderful love to relieve me of my guilt? I am banishing my self-respect. I’ve got to gain my self-respect. So stop banishing it.
Banish no longer your self-respect, for I have bought you with the price of My own blood. You are mine. Your weakened will I will strengthen; your remorse for sin I will remove.” Then turn your grateful heart, trembling with uncertainty, to Him, 9MR 305.3
While I’m reading this, I can hear Satan whispering, ‘All that you’re reading there, John, it’s all condemning to them anyway because they’re not doing what you’re reading.’
Then turn your grateful heart, trembling with uncertainty, to Him, and lay hold on the hope set before you. 9MR 305.3
Hold on to it. Don’t say, ‘I haven’t, and therefore I’m condemned.’ No, hold on to it.
God accepts your broken, contrite heart, and extends to you free pardon. He offers to adopt you into His family, with His grace to help your weakness. And the dear Saviour will lead you on step by step, you placing your hand in His, and letting Him guide you. 9MR 305.3
He will guide us by His Word. He will give us His Word. He will show us His Word. But if I’m guilty, how do I regard His Word? As a reproach. If I don’t let go of my guilt, then the very precious words, even the words I’ve been reading to you here, will still leave you with a cloud because you’re not giving over. That’s why I need to take God’s guiding hand. He will guide me step by step. He will show me, ‘Here, this is where you were wrong. This is what I want you to do.’ As you take that Word as a help instead of as a reproach, you will hasten. But if you regard it as a reproach, it will slow down. You can’t make progress. That’s what so many people have done.
Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
When you pick up what I have been sharing, you will take hold of the hand of Jesus, and you will take delight in His warnings and in His directions. You will say, “Thank you, Lord, for punishing me.” You’re not being vindictive; you’re helping me. Your words are no longer a reproach upon me. I love them. I’m delighted to hear you correcting me.
If any correction comes your way, you do not need to shield yourself anymore because there is no condemnation. That’s what we do, don’t we? The moment somebody comes along and says, “Hey, you’re doing this; you’re doing that,” he’s been sent of God to help you. What do you do? If waves of guilt want to slow you down from being corrected, consider the realities of the Gospel. That’s all. Can you see there is joy and happiness in all this? As you move on from here, it’s going to get in the way again. Hasten your process by banishing no longer your self-respect.
Do not let the smallest doubt come into your soul, for all your feelings of guiltiness must be laid at the foot of Calvary. 16MR 243.3
What sort of a doubt? Even the smallest. Do not let it come in. Consider the realities of Calvary, of the Gospel. They must all be laid. The slightest doubt, your feelings of guiltiness that create the slightest doubt must be laid down at the foot of Calvary. Jesus says, “I have taken your sins.” Will you believe that? Every time a sin comes up, say, “No, thank you, Lord. I have imputed to you my righteousness.” He will hold to you more firmly than you can hold to Him. A life of confidence and assurance that is gained from this source. Will that make you proud? Do you have to worry about, “Oh, I might just get too cocky sure of myself?” Never. Because you are always aware of your sinful weakness. You’re always aware of that. You are dwelling not on self anymore. You’re dwelling on heaven. You’re dwelling on Jesus and all that He has done. As you dwell on that, it humbles you. You become overwhelmed with the sense of the contrast of what you are in sinful self and what you are in Jesus. That makes you humble, not proud. With this beautiful humility that is generated from this kind of meditation, you will walk confidently. You will have self-respect. You will have nobility. You will have a clear mind that can clean up all the mess of a life and consequences of a life of sin.
I thank God for what I’m sharing with you. While I have said you are on different items of my expression here of character, and what we want to do to each other is remember this message so that there is no more of this kind of mentality of noting another person’s faults and saying, “Why don’t they do this? Why don’t they do that?” and all the rest of it; that is all laid at the foot of the cross. We dwell together in the joy of salvation. We talk to each other from that perspective, and the Lord can hasten His coming because we are doing what He is encouraging us to do.
