Category Archives: Divine Service Sermons
1 The Trinity Doctrine
By John Thiel, Removing Delusions and Fallacies Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Ephesians 4:4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
The light that comes from the Bible will diffuse and disperse darkness. This is what the meditation of this new series will be – we will be looking to the Bible to diffuse the delusions and take away the fallacies. The following inspired words will follow us all throughout this series: Read the rest of this entry
12 Basking in Godly Affections
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We want to appreciate the releases that come to us when we take time out and bask and keep that beautiful sense that is gained by resting in the affections of the Lord with us when we have to meet the stresses and responsibilities of Christianity and life. The lot of the true Christian in following Christ carries an interesting burden, which needs to be released all the time.
1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Read the rest of this entry
11 Non-judgmental Affections
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
We want to behold someone who is exceedingly wonderful, and by beholding, to be affected. If we will behold the glory of God we will be changed. Don’t we need changing?
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [a mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord. Read the rest of this entry
10 Affectionate Sabbath-keeping
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Isaiah 63:7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, [and] the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. … 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Sabbath is part of the Ten Commandments, and because it is, it is often looked upon as a legal expectation, and people fall into the danger of coming to the Sabbath as to something which is expected of them, and they see it as a bit of a burden. So many long-time Seventh-day Adventists, people who have grown up in Adventism, look forward to the end of the Sabbath so that they can do what they want and what they like. This has been a burden in my heart over the years, because I was myself brought up in the Seventh-day Adventist church. I grew up with Sabbath-keeping and I saw this sad experience among Adventists as I grew up among them. When the Sabbath came to its end and Saturday night came it was just about a celebration that Sabbath was over – they could now go out and enjoy themselves. But for me Sabbath became an ever-developing and deeper joy, and I wondered what the problem was. Read the rest of this entry
09 Godly Affections in Sinful Flesh
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: 1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
What actually is this arousal of our affections, and how do we experience these affections when our human deranged nature is still active? If we want to overcome we have an example in Jesus who suffered in the flesh. And if we will, like Him, suffer in the flesh we will cease from sin. This is an amazing answer to our sin problem. I hope and pray that we will take this message, not just as an informative one, but as a message that will cause us to be determined to do what we are learning. Read the rest of this entry
08 Our Affections As Missionaries
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Read the rest of this entry
07 Battle of the Affections
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
When I first read those words as a child I was waiting for the Lord to do something, to go along and put that new heart in me. And I have experienced over the years that this kind of expectation of God just doing something like that, is in the mind of a lot of people. We have this idea that, God will do a miracle and touch my heart somehow by some supernatural, physical operation. Therefore we want to ask the Lord what He means. What is His method of putting a new heart into our being? Jesus gave us an indication of the method that God would use to put new hearts into our beings:
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he should die. Read the rest of this entry
06 The Silken Cords of Affections
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.
Jesus is a friend so special, so wonderful, that our affections are bound to Him. Our faint endeavour is nerved by this gleam of affection. He gave us not only life, but Himself. He offers us a deep relationship, an affectionate bond with Him. As we live in these days of earth’s history, our relationships are so bound up with the Lord in these last days, but there is a huge amount of defection around us – defection in terms of the infinite relationship with Jesus, where people have many other affectionate bindings. They are professed Christians, and yet they are not really, affectionately bound with the Lord in such a way that they would give up everything for Him. The description that is given us for these last days, in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, we are familiar as being the case in the world around us, but we often don’t apply this to those who are professed Christians. This is the peril of these last days: Read the rest of this entry
The Law and Salvation
This is one lesson in our half yearly Sabbath lesson we are studying.
If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17
OBJECTIVES
- Gain Bible evidence in reference to the importance of the commandments.
- Obtain scriptural definition of sin.
- Find Bible explanation on salvation from sin.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
How do New Testament scriptures verify the importance of the Old Testament Ten Commandments? Read the rest of this entry
05 Affectionate Pastimes With God
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.
This subject of having our affections drawn out to God is one that can pervade every expectation that the Bible places upon us in reference to being submissive, obedient and law-abiding children of God.
Who but the Holy Spirit can work with human minds to transform character by withdrawing the affections from those things which are temporal, perishable, and imbues the soul with earnest desire by presenting the immortal inheritance, the eternal substance which is imperishable, and recreates, refines, and sanctifies the human agents that they may become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly king. {3SM 138.1} Read the rest of this entry
04 Affection-Related Restoration
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
We want to delve upon the restoration that is generated by our affections upon God. We live in a world today where atheism and Catholicism have affected the great majority around us; and the circulation in the schools of the theory of evolution especially demeans the human race. It lowers the nobility of the human race to the animal, to a miserable appreciation of the honour that humanity has. But of course, this honour has also been lowered because of sin. Yet in the study of the Bible there is revealed to us the true honour and nobility that man has been imbued with. Read the rest of this entry
03 The Temptations of Jesus From Within
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
There are many motivating aspects for a Christian to believe and to obey God. When you study prophecy there is something there that gives you a motivation to believe that God is right, as you see prophecy fulfilling. When you study the Bible and you see heaven, it motivates you; you want to be there. When you study the health-giving messages of God’s word you know that you want to be healthy, that you want to do what God says. When you study the Bible and you see the intelligent mind that is behind it, this motivates your intellect; it gives you confidence that you can give yourself to such a mind. There is also a negative motivation: the threat of destruction. This motivates people to run away from destruction and flee to protection. Read the rest of this entry
Staying True in Difficult Times
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Mark 4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
We are living and dwelling in a grand and awful time in which wicked spirits gather around us, and we must fight a warfare. May God grant us an understanding to deal with these times in which we live. We want to explore the difficulties in our path as we are choosing to be Advent pilgrims in these last moments of earth’s history.
These pilgrims walk a narrow road, a road that leads higher and higher and which gets narrower and narrower; and to be able to continue to walk that path we need to be well versed in dealing with that experience. Read the rest of this entry
02 Jesus in Our Darkness
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
What lifts our affections to God? His great love. We are told that
The Lord requires our undivided affections. {TDG 13.4}
If that is what He requires, does He not provide us with something that will cause our affections to be undivided to Him? This is precisely what we want to contemplate. God can bring affections through darkness: Read the rest of this entry
01 The Place of Our Affections
By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3
Scripture reading: Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Where are we to place our affections? And what actually generates affections in the first place, especially towards God?
The Lord requires our undivided affections. {TDG 13.4}
What a statement this is. When you talk about affections, can that be required of you? If you read it all on its own, this particular statement tends to make your affections to become as an expectation which you have to generate within yourself. This is why we want to consider the word of God on this subject and the stirring of affections. Read the rest of this entry
The Platform of Truth
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
We are Christ’s disciples by continuing in the word of truth. Truth is very much connected with our relationship with Jesus Christ. If I will have a deep relationship with Jesus I will have a deep relationship with truth, because
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The man Christ Jesus is integrated with the study of the truth. We cannot separate a relationship with God from a clear foundation of truth. It is an integrated whole. Truth is a relationship matter with God. Read the rest of this entry
Are You Hiding?
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Psalm 31:19 [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! 20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed [be] the LORD: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
Childhood Innocence
Think back when you were a little child. As you look upon the innocent little face of a 1-2 year old, they have their eyes all opened, they are just receiving everything into their little brain. They are innocent, they don’t know much. They don’t understand much. All that they are doing is learning. They are as a white page, open to receive the messages that come to them through their eyes and ears. They have become conscious in the early moments of childhood, and as their parents look after them, they trust them. They are easily made happy, they are unsuspecting. They are cared for, so that they have no cares. Read the rest of this entry
The Path of the Cross
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Modern Christianity lives in a poetic fancy and delusions. They believe that upon entering into the faith your path is going to be glorious and wonderful. Everybody starts to celebrate. There is honourability in being part of a denominational greatness. You are regarded with honour and ecstatic joy. And people shun the idea of conflict. They don’t want war; they want peace. They want everything to go smoothly and happily. This is to them what Christianity is to represent, therefore they run away from anything that is different to that. They want to glory all the time, to always smile, with nothing negative or unhappy. That is what they want in Christianity. Read the rest of this entry
Focusing on God’s Love
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
We have a desire to come to a point when sin (which is the breaking of the God’s commandments) would cease and we would come to a point of obedience to all of God’s will. A heart that has fallen in love with God through that beautiful story of the gospel, is indeed hungering and thirsting for a pure and holy life, to do God’s will. That is why we sing those words:
One thing I of the Lord desire,
For all my paths have miry been,
Be it by water or by fire,
O make me clean, O make me clean.
Alleviating the Sense of Vulnerability
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Psalm 30:6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, [and] I was troubled.
As we live in this time of earth’s history in which we are receiving the messages of the three angels, in the study of these messages we discover that they call for a total surrender.
The first angel is flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach” to the earth; and this everlasting gospel brings to the attention of all that they, through the gospel, are called upon to obey and follow God’s directions in their life. This same angel then says:
Revelation 14:7 …Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: Read the rest of this entry
Slow Down to Speed Up
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: 2 Chronicles 20:17 Ye shall not [need] to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand ye [still], and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem:
God’s call to us today is to stand still because the battle is the Lord’s. He calls us to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. These are the words which were given by the prophet when the Moabites came in their hordes to attack the city of Jerusalem. We are as much surrounded today by the enemy, and it is beyond us to be able to meet it. We see how humanity and professed Christianity around us is continually crumbling under the pressure of the enemy. Perilous times surround us which it is beyond our ability to do anything about. Read the rest of this entry
God’s Name: I AM
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.
If we believe not that Jesus is I AM, we will die in our sins.
We cannot by searching find out God. But He has revealed Himself in the character of Christ, who is the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of His person. If we desire a knowledge of God, we must be Christlike. . . . {TDG 272.2} Read the rest of this entry
Unquestioning Obedience
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: 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: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
God’s word is the force, the power, that brings about obedience to all His laws. It is actually the creative word that produces the fulfilment of those laws in our lives. It was the creative word that brought the world into existence; God spoke and it was done. That is because this planet, in its empty state, was not rejecting God’s word. And for us to receive the benefit of the word, we need to be like that non-resistant clay, that empty space that was there, the water that needed to be brought under control. We need to place ourselves in the same position of absolute resignation. The word abandonment describes this perfectly. We need to be totally abandoned as Jesus was. He was our example. This subject that we have been pursuing is extremely important for us to grasp in the time in which we are living now. We need now to understand how imperative it is that we surrender, because God has to do a very quick work with us. We know that Jesus is coming very soon, and we need to engage in this preparation for the close of probation, which is actually the preparation for the coming of Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
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Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Sabbath …
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Are You Being Marked by the Beast?
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: 1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Many people believe that when the mark of the beast of Revelation 13 is applied, that is when we are going to be tested by the mark of the beast. But are you being marked by the beast now?
All of us who have been living ever since 1844 have been tested, and are being tested, by the mark of the beast, whether that mark has been enforced or not. We want to examine closely whether we are being marked by the beast or not. Read the rest of this entry
God’s Love in Our Discouragements
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee whithersoever thou goest.
May those words be of encouragement to us as we meet the difficulties of trying to follow God, that we may take courage as Joshua was also commanded. Read the rest of this entry
Modern Noahs – God’s Call to Commitment
By 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? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
We are in need of looking and hasting unto the coming of the day of God. And seeing that we look for such thing as His coming, we are called upon to be diligent that we may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless. The coming of the Lord is compared in the words of Jesus to the days of Noah. We are to be modern Noahs and we are called to a commitment such as was given to Noah. Read the rest of this entry
God’s Love Can Change Everything
By John Thiel, mp3
Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
We need to understand the true import of these words for our happiness and joy. Read the rest of this entry
The Power of Compassion
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: 1 Peter 3:8 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.
We are called upon to be a light where we are, in the corner where we are, even in the church. There is a harmony that exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and He has created intelligent beings who are to be infused with that same harmony. We realise that, as earthlings, we are to be prepared to enter into that harmony that the Godhead and the angels have; but to enter there we need to come into the harmony that exists there. We are part of the three angels’ messages. What does this mean in regards to harmony? Read the rest of this entry
God the True Father Figure
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture reading: Psalm 103:13 Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.
There is a story that is told of an evangelist who tried to evangelize the young street children of a large American city. These rugged young people needed to know that God is a wonderful person; and as the evangelist was trying to communicate to them what God was like, he said, He is just like a father. Then one of those young ruffians turned around and said to him, If He’s anything like my dad, I don’t want to know Him!
What is your impression of father? In this world of sin we have two images of father. One is a harsh, austere, cruel dictator telling me what I have to do, and what I don’t want to do I have to do, and all the like – a man who creates fear inside of a child. Then there is another class of father, the one who is like an indulgent sugar-daddy that lets the children have everything they want, and they don’t know where they stand, whether he loves them or not, because he never corrects them. These are the two kinds of character of father – one engendering fear and hate in the child, and the other leaving a child without knowing whether his daddy loves him because he never corrects him anyway. Read the rest of this entry
