Blog Archives

8. What Is Your Fragrance?

By John Thiel, Seeking to Please God Series, mp3

Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks [be] unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

We again continue our deep heart searching, because we are dwelling in the antitypical day of atonement, the day of judgment, a solemn truth that is being neglected in many Christians circles today. We are called upon to examine our lives because our great High Priest is in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, and our lives are being examined. We are researching where in our lives we are not pleasing God, and how He wants us to please Him—what pleases God and what displeases Him—so that what displeases Him can be put away. Read the rest of this entry

Wholehearted Christians

By John Thiel, mp3, pdf

Scripture reading: Psalm 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it [unto] the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with [my] whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

What does it mean to be wholehearted Christians? We want to contemplate the position we hold as Christians, as Seventh-day Adventists, and what it involves for such people to be wholehearted. While we were away, during one weekend we were at a relative’s place, and we spent time with her. She attends a church in New South Wales which is known as a conservative Seventh-day Adventist church. We went there, and yes, we did find it conservative; not so mind-blowing to the system; and there was a preacher there who presented the subject of wholeheartedness. Read the rest of this entry

The Love of God that Changes 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

8. The Fashions of the World

By John Thiel, The Last Generation Challenge Series, mp3

Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

To be a Christian, a true Christian, in this period of time is a challenge indeed. The challenge is that there needs to be a complete and absolute surrender to everything that God has said, whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever do – things which are very much part of our sense of satisfaction, indulgence, and pleasure. When you eat, or when you drink, when you dress – these are all very, very personal and individual attachments. And when God reveals to us that certain things that we do are not part of His desire for us, we are challenged whether we will let them go. The challenge is met with the sense of His great love. If I love Him I will sacrifice everything for Him, as He has loved us so much, and sacrificed so much for us. So may God help us as we venture into this topic of separation from the world. We will enlarge what this means in reference to its customs, its practices, and its ways, so that we may stand to God’s glory in a world that glories in its practices. Read the rest of this entry

Withhold Nothing

By John Thiel, mp3

As we live in this time of earth’s history, we are coming close to the moment when all that we possess will be lost, and according to the Scriptures, our wealth is worth nothing in the day of God’s wrath.

Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs, and at that time their possessions cannot be disposed of to advance the cause of present truth. I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God through sacrifice. If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquire of God for duty, He will teach them when to dispose of these things. Then they will be free in the time of trouble and have no clogs to weigh them down. {EW 56.3} Read the rest of this entry

God’s Sacrifice to Save

By John Thiel, mp3

Scripture reading: Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Our exploration into the infinite love of God takes us now to the Hebrew sanctuary to explore a particular element of God’s love. The holy God, the one that we sing of, where we use those words of His greatness as revealed in the starry skies: Read the rest of this entry

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