Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

November 10, 2018

11/10/2018

The Holy Spirit                        COOPERATING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

        For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. 1 Thess. 1:5.

    There's a big difference between simply speaking words and having the Holy Spirit make those words effective by His power. "Only when the truth is accompanied to the heart by the Spirit will it quicken the conscience or transform the life. One might be able to present the letter of the Word of God, he might be familiar with all its commands and promises, but unless the Holy Spirit sets home the truth, no souls will fall on the Rock and be broken."--The Desire of Ages, p. 672.

    The first work of the Holy Spirit is His convincing work. Our greatest need is to realize our need of salvation. How many people who have been born and reared in religious circles, and are third-and fourth-generation church members, have had this lack as one of their problems. Some people say, How can you recognize your need if you have never been out in the world? How can you realize your need if you have never known anything else but going through the regular routine of religion and formal worship? The Holy Spirit is responsible for bringing each person to realize his need, and although He can make use of the troubles and sorrows of sin to point it out, He can also work in the heart by uplifting Jesus and showing us how far we fall short of His standard, even when everything is going well.

    Sometimes we try to help other people realize their need by pointing out to them their need. But if we are working apart from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the proper timetable for each one, we end up with zero. On the other hand, we can talk about the Holy Spirit, and how it is His work to bring conviction, and then sit back and wait for Him to work. But the Holy Spirit wants to use us, to control us, to work through us, in order to reach other people. Jesus told His disciples that He wanted to send the Comforter to them. The Holy Spirit is sent to us, to live in us, and by cooperating with Him we can be used of God to reach other hearts. God intends to work through us. It is not His purpose for us to work without the Holy Spirit, nor for the Holy Spirit to work apart from us. We are to cooperate with Him.

November 9, 2018

11/9/2018

The Holy Spirit                        THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

        And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias,...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17.

    John the Baptist had been given a particular message of preparation. He had been sent as the forerunner of Jesus, to prepare, as much as possible, the people of his day to accept Jesus when He came. If you have ever studied John's mission and message, you have perhaps wondered at the sort of person that he was. No one would consider John the Baptist to be a diplomat! He came with the spirit and power of Elijah--who had met people at the top of Mount Carmel and demanded. "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). John the Baptist was not soft-spoken. He didn't mince words. He uttered scathing rebukes. He called the people a generation of vipers.

    Have you ever pondered the message of John the Baptist, and wondered why he used such a hard-hitting approach? Our evangelists usually try to come on a little more tactfully. But not John the Baptist. He was used by the Holy Spirit as a sword to cut deeply for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus to enter. "God does not send messages to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security."--The Desire of Ages, p. 104.

    There are times when the Holy Spirit cuts deeply today. The Holy Spirit doesn't spare our feelings or try to make us feel comfortable, but cuts deeply into our souls with the burning message of conviction. He works to make us painfully aware of our shortcomings, our hypocrisy, of our lack of trust in God. He points out our sin, our selfishness, and our lack of concern for the things that really count. His first purpose is to convince us of our deep need of the salvation that God has to offer, that we might be motivated to come for that salvation. It is only those who are sick, and who know that they are sick, who are willing to seek the help of a physician. And it is only those who are sinners, who know their condition as sinners, who are willing to come to God for the salvation that He has provided.

    Today, when we feel the sword of the Spirit cutting deeply into our complacency, we can be thankful that He is alive and well, still doing His work of bringing us to Jesus to find healing and rest.

November 8, 2018

11/8/2018

The Holy Spirit                        THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

        Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13.

    The first work of the Holy Spirit is found in John 16:7-9. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin [He will convict or convince the world of sin], and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me." Please underscore the Bible definition of sin given here. Sin is something more than doing wrong things--transgressions. The real issue is to not believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit has this reminder as His first work.

    His first work involves the entire world. No one is left out. The poor heathen in some far-flung country is convinced of sin even before the missionary comes. The Holy Spirit has been there first. It is His work to convince the world of sin. Not one person is passed by. While you and I are sleeping, the Holy Spirit is somewhere doing His work of conviction.

    If all there is to salvation is to be convicted of sin, everyone would be saved. But there is something further in the work of the Holy Spirit, and that is His second work, found in John 3:3-5. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?...Jesus answered,...Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." To be born again is to be born of the Spirit. The second phase of the Holy Spirit's work is His regenerating work, which takes place only in the hearts and lives of the people who respond to it. In order for everyone to be saved, all would have to respond to the Holy Spirit's second work. Here's where the big difference lies.

    The Bible makes it clear that God wants everyone to be saved but that only those who respond to His invitation can receive the new birth that is the potential for each one. As we choose today to accept anew the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, He will do His converting work. As we respond to Him, we will be brought into harmony with God.

November 7, 2018

11/7/2018

The Holy Spirit                        SINCERITY IS NOT ENOUGH

        For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2 Peter 2:21.

    Have you ever heard stories of mothers on the other side of the world who threw their babies to the crocodiles as part of their worship of heathen gods? I don't know whether there are still mothers who do this, but if and when they did, you'll have to admit that it would have taken a mighty sincere mother to throw her baby to the crocodiles--either mighty sincere or mighty something else! It is possible for a poor heathen mother, coming out of the darkness of heathenism, to be in the process of being led by God into greater light and truth, and a clearer understanding of what God is like. We don't have to sit in judgment upon a mother who would sacrifice her child. We don't have to decide her eternal destiny individually. We can look at the episode and weep, and can allow for God to bring her out of that. But should we, with what we know, and what we understand, and with the information that we have available, go and join her? Should we throw our babies to the crocodiles, too, just because we are convinced that she was sincere?

    We don't have to judge anyone's eternal destiny, or even speculate on his sincerity, concerning certain charismatic movements in the world today. Even though much of the charismatic movement we see currently could be simply a veiled manifestation of spiritualism, we don't have to judge the individuals. But those who leave the plain teachings of the Bible and join with charismatic groups will be deceived. If we find a vacuum in our lives, it can be filled by going to our closets with God's Word and seeking a personal relationship with Him.

    Our correct understanding of Bible information gives us no reason for complacency. As members of the "remnant church," we sometimes think that we are invulnerable. But the truth is that the Holy Spirit will be poured out through those who keep the commandments of God and who also have a faith in Jesus that is real, not just theoretical. God's Spirit will not be poured out in its fullness until the majority of His people are cooperating with Him. And if I refuse to be a part of that group, then I will be left out in the end.

November 6, 2018

11/6/2018

The Holy Spirit                        THE MARKS OF GOD'S CHURCH

        Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12.

    Which church is it that has the two distinguishing marks spoken of in our scripture for today? It isn't church that simply talks about the commandments of God, and believes in them. It's a church that keeps them. This church doesn't simply think that the faith of Jesus is a good thing, and important--it has the faith of Jesus. It doesn't rely on the fact that the forefathers and pioneers in the church kept all the commandments of God and had faith in Jesus. Whenever you look at the remnant, through whom you can expect the mighty working of God's power, you're looking at a group that has both. You cannot expect the mighty outpouring of God's Spirit and a revival of primitive godliness among people who place great emphasis on the commandments but who don't know Jesus, anymore than you can expect it among people who put a lot of emphasis on knowing Jesus but who don't pay much attention to the commandments. Both are equally important.

    Some years ago God gave a direct message to our church, describing why it is that some people go off looking for special experiences in a holiness or pentecostal meeting. It was written in the book Evangelism, pages 598, 599: "We as a people have fallen into...error. We acknowledge the claims of God's law, and teach the people the duty of rendering obedience." (Notice the word duty.) But "we fail to have that trust, that faith, which keeps the soul abiding in Christ....Through a lack of faith, many who seek to obey the commandments of God have little peace and joy....They are not anchored in Christ. Many feel a lack in their experience; they desire something which they have not; and thus some are led to attend holiness meetings, and are charmed with the sentiments of those who break the law of God."

    As God leads individuals to the place of both keeping His commandments and having the faith of Jesus, His purpose is that His church will finally have both as well. If you resist either necessity, you will lose out in the end. But for those who seek the faith relationship with Jesus day by day, and by beholding His matchless charms are molded into His image and led to obedience, there is safety from the storm that is breaking around us.

November 5, 2018

11/5/2018

The Holy Spirit                        INFORMATION IS NOT ENOUGH

        I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

    Many Seventh-day Adventists feel quite secure from some of the counterfeits that are being publicized today. We know better than to believe that people come back to life again and claim to have been taken right to heaven when they died. We know better than to believe the stories told by beings on UFO's that they used to live on this earth hundreds of years ago. We know all about these kinds of things, and we think we will never be deceived.

    But there is something more--and the something more has to do with the fact that God's Word has at least two purposes. It is true that God's Word is for teaching truth. Jesus said it: "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). But the other purpose of Scripture is that we come to Him so that we might have life. The two purposes could be summed up by (1) the Bible for information, and (2) the Bible for communication. It's possible to be acutely aware of the teachings of the Bible and have texts memorized concerning information, and still be deceived because we haven't discovered personal communication with Jesus through the Bible. The primary purpose of the Bible is for fellowship and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to experience a relationship with Him that is based upon information.

    One of the greatest concepts of how we can be sure that we are not among those that are deceived was stated by Ellen G. White in the Review and Herald, December 24, 1889: "There is a work for this time to be done in fitting a people to stand in the day of trouble, and all must act their part in this work. They must be [1] clothed with the righteousness of Christ [notice the sequence of importance], and [2] be so fortified by the truth, that the delusions of Satan shall not be accepted by them as genuine manifestations of the power of God."

    Every topic you begin with should end at the same point--do you know a relationship with Jesus for yourself today? Do you know how to spend quiet time with Him day by day with His Word and in prayer? There will come a time when people who know all the facts of the Bible will be deceived nonetheless, because they don't know Jesus. It's going to take more than information. To stand in these last days, we must have a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus that is solidly based on the truth of the Bible.

November 4, 2018

11/4/2018

The Holy Spirit                        HOW TO SPOT THE PHONY

        Let no man deceive you by any means. 2 Thess. 2:3.

    A hillbilly came out of the mountains with an $18 counterfeit bill. He had intended to print $20 on it, but made a mistake in his printing. But it looked so good he decided to try cashing it anyway. He arrived at the store in the valley and gave the bill to the proprietor. The proprietor accepted the bill and asked, "Would you prefer three sixes or two nines?"

    There's no sense in making a counterfeit unless there is a real. Those people who are adept at making counterfeit money are the ones who know the real. As we consider the modern manifestations of the Holy Spirit, we know that for every genuine revival, there will be an attempt at a counterfeit on the part of Satan.

    All of us are terribly impressed by the spectacular, and we might as well admit it. The enemy is going to try to deceive, if possible, the very elect. The Bible reports miracles, and gives evidence that the devil himself can at times perform them. So even though we might be impressed by the spectacular, we can never judge truth by it. Truth must be judged by the Bible, in the context of our personal relationship with God.

    In Revelation 17 the true church is represented by a pure woman, and the false (or counterfeit) church, by a harlot. God has always had a tender regard for His church, and He manifests His power and gives His gifts to the church. The true church of the last days will be the one that can expect the genuine manifestations of the Spirit's working. The counterfeit workings of a supernatural type will be expected in the counterfeit church.   Some people will at this point sit back smugly and say, "That's right, and we're the true ones." Are you sure? The false church is spoken of in Revelation as Babylon. Babylon is a classic example of man trying to save himself. And if you are still trying to save yourself in some way, you can be partaking of the spirit of Babylon whether you are in one of the churches called Babylon or not. If you have not yet reached the end of your own resources and learned the necessity of coming to Jesus day by day for salvation and for relationship with Him, you are a part of Babylon. Until you know Him for yourself, you will not be safe from deception, no matter how many facts you know about the last days. It takes both.

November 3, 2018

11/3/2018

The Holy Spirit                        KEPT ROM THE HOUR OF TEMPTATION

        Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Rev. 3:10.

    You cannot judge truth on the basis of the presence of undeniable power, or by miracles, or healings. You cannot judge truth on the basis of warmth and fellowship and love, or even changed lives. So on what can you judge truth? How can anyone come up with conclusive proof?

    Well, it is certain that we can know truth. We have been promised, "Those who are earnestly seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure defense. 'Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee',...is the Saviour's promise. He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan."--The Great Controversy, p. 560. We have big forces on our side that we can count on.

    The first way to test the truth of supernatural manifestations is by the Word of God. Even people who apparently love one another and Jesus and the Bible, but who do not keep the commandments of God, cannot necessarily be depended upon to be from God.  "If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20). If a group is experiencing wonderful manifestations, but at the same time is teaching that you don't have to obey all of God's law, there's a big clue right there. Although it may be true that there are sincere individuals that God is leading to Himself in every group, this fact does not prove that we should abandon the truths that have been revealed to us as a church and go to join them. They may be on their way up, but if we join them, we may pass them on our way down.

    An equally important safeguard against deception is to have the righteousness of Christ in the life, to be in vital relationship with Him. Even a head knowledge of Scripture will prove insufficient to take us through the times ahead. But as we continue the fellowship with Christ, solidly based on His Word, we will be secure against all the wiles of the enemy.

November 2, 2018

11/2/2018

The Holy Spirit                        TRUTH MIXED WITH ERROR

        Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. 1 Tim. 4:1.

    Do you believe that you should judge the Bible by your experience or that you should judge your experience by the Bible? When something has happened to you, when you have experienced something, it is very difficult not believe in it. It's hard not to accept something you have experienced as real. And yet our own experience by itself is not a safe guide, in spite of how real and valid and convincing it may seem to us.

    When Saul sought out the witch of Endor to learn what would happen at the battle that he was about to engage in, he experienced something real. Not only that, but the prediction that he was given in that setting, by the spirit posing as Samuel, proved to be correct. But that did not mean that it was from God.

    Satan "will present his temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are not shielded by divine power."--The Great Controversy, p. 554. In the end of time, we are told that miracles will be performed, that the sick will be healed. Satan is a real being, and the works that he does are real also. It is true that there are many hoaxes performed by magicians and others, who can make it appear as if things are happening that actually are not. But even if you could prove the absence of hoax, and the presence of the supernatural, that does not prove the supernatural to be of God.

    It is when truth is mixed with error that it is the most dangerous. If there is a brown jar that contains poison, with a skull and crossbones on the label, clearly marking it poison, will it be as dangerous as poison in a green bottle marked "7-up"? Satan knows better than to come openly with his devices. He knows that the best lies are those that are only partly untrue. He knows that the best way to reach people with his power is to come disguised in such a way as to appear as an angel of light. It is then that we are more ready to accept his devices.

    It is only in dependence upon Christ, in acquaintance and friendship with Him through an ongoing relationship based on His Word, that we can be secure against the devices of Satan.

November 1, 2018

11/1/2018

The Holy Spirit                        DON'T TRADE JESUS FOR VICTORY

        But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:57.

    The person who is preoccupied with his performance, who is looking for victory, looking for a changed life, above all else, is wide open for the charismatic movement of today. Charismatics offer a changed life quickly and easily. You don't have to sweat it out with an angel by the brook Jabbok. You can go and get someone to place his hands on your head, have nice "vibes" go through you, and get victory now. In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with our concern over right living, there could be a wide cross section open for that. Why? Because for many, while they have learned that a changed life is important, they have not learned that relationship and communion and dependence on Jesus is the only way that a real change in the life can happen.

    If I were the devil, I think I would be happy to ease off on my temptations for someone to commit a certain sin for a while, if in so doing I could get that person under my control. That would be a good trade, wouldn't it? And the person could be very easily led into such a trap.

    But for the person who is locked in on the relationship of faith with Christ, for the person who realizes that the entire basis of the Christian life is fellowship and communion and dependence upon Jesus, for that person spiritual life is not dependent upon sudden, spectacular changes.

    It is true that the Holy Spirit does work to change our lives. The Holy Spirit does bring victories. The Holy Spirit does accomplish many wonderful things, and the visible work of the Spirit will continue to increase until the end of time. But our basis for judging whether a work is of God or from another power must always be based solidly on Scripture, interpreted in the context of an ongoing, vital relationship with God. A changed life doesn't prove anything. What counts is who changed it, and for what reason, and what motive. What we see as changed lives is always only external. We don't know hearts. And we must never become more interested in victory over our sins than in Jesus. When we focus our attention on Him the changed life that we need will be the inevitable result.