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Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 39, 40, 41
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
1
Numbers
39, 40, 41
Copyright,
1953 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
The Children Of The Barren More Than The Children Of The Bearing Woman
Zion
In The Height Of Her Glory
The
Fruits Of The Anointed Ones
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
1
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," on page 201,
beginning with the first paragraph.
"'The way of transgressors is hard,' but wisdom's ways 'are ways
of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.'
Every act of obedience to Christ, every act of self-denial for His
sake, every trial well endured, every victory gained over temptation, is a
step in the march to the glory of final victory.
If we take Christ for our guide, He will lead us safely....
"The road may be rough, and the ascent steep; there may be
pitfalls upon the right hand and upon the left; we may have to endure toil in
our journey; when weary, when longing for rest, we may have to toil on; when
faint, we may have to fight; when discouraged, we must still hope; but with
Christ as our guide, we shall not fail of reaching the desired haven at
last...."
According to the reading we ought to pray for wisdom and for
determination to walk in the ways of the Lord. Only His ways are pleasantness
and peace. When we must deny
ourselves of something, or when we must endure a trial to gain a victory over
temptation, we are to feel that these are steps toward final victory.
And should see that to live the life of sin is, as it were, to live
down in the gully, down where we naturally find ourselves from birth up.
To get to live on the mountain top (the Kingdom) one must, as it were,
climb the steep and rough mountain road.
To climb the road may seem hard, but after the last step is made and
the peak of the mountain reached, there is joy and comfort, confidence and
victory which no language can describe.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
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THE
CHILDREN OF THE BARREN MORE THAN THE CHILDREN OF THE BEARING WOMAN
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
MAY 3, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
Before we begin our study verse by verse of Isaiah fifty four, we shall
read verse one.
Isa.
54:1 -- "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are
the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the
Lord."
Two women are here brought to view: One is barren, and the other is
not. The barren woman is
encouraged to break forth into singing, for she is promised to have many more
children than the one who is having children.
To learn who these women are, let us turn to the fourth chapter of
Galatians.
"For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a
bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But
he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman
was by promise. Which things are
an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai,
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar." Gal. 4:22-24.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that Abraham had two wives and two sons.
We all know the story, that when
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God
called Abraham to depart from his country and to go to an unknown land, God
promised to give him a son. Something
like twenty-five years passed by and still the arrival of a son was not in
sight. Sarah was then about
ninety years old (Gen. 17:17). During
those years of Abraham's and Sarah's waiting for a son, Hagar became Abraham's
wife and through her Ishmael was born. Sarah,
therefore, is the desolate woman (put aside), and Hagar is the one who has an
husband. Accordingly Isaiah 54:1
is allegorically speaking of these two women and their children.
As to what the allegory is about, the Apostle explains:--
"For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to
Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us
all." Gal. 4:25, 26.
Agar symbolizes Jerusalem, the city of the Jews, the born after the
flesh, whereas Sarah symbolizes Jerusalem that is to come, the city of the
"born again," the children of the promise.
"For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break
forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more
children than she which hath an husband.
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was
born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Nevertheless what saith the scripture?
Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall
not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the
free." Gal. 4:27-31.
Inspiration makes clear that allegorically Hagar
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and
her son, Ishmael, represent the church in the Old Testament period, and that
Sarah and her son, Isaac, represent the church in the New Testament period.
The membership of the Old Testament church was indeed of the flesh, for
it was made up of whosoever was born from the stock of Jacob; but the members
of the New Testament church, especially the ones here projected, are persons
who have by the Spirit of Truth been converted to Christ.
And as it was impossible for Isaac to have been born by the will of the
flesh, just so impossible it is for these children of the Spirit of Truth to
be born by the will of men.
God's reason for the delay in fulfilling His promise to Sarah,
therefore, is very obvious: He was writing both history and prophecy by the
life of Abraham's family. He
caused Ishmael's birth by delaying the birth of Isaac. Ishmael, therefore, the
type of the Hebrews, the children after the flesh, preceded Isaac, the type of
the Christians, the children of the promise.
Our greatest interest, however, is to know the time in which Isaiah 54
finds its entire fulfillment and the generation to which its allegorical
prophecy especially applies, to know whether it was written especially for the
benefit of the early Christian church, for the church in the Middle Ages, or
for the church in our time. Since
none of the New Testament writers comment except on the first verse of Isaiah
54, obviously the chapter was not written especially for the people at that
time. Moreover, verse fourteen
further proves the time to which the prophecy applies.
"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far
from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
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and
from terror; for it shall not come near thee." Isa. 54:14.
The promise to this later section of the Christian church is that she
shall be far from oppression (be not ruled by another people); that terror
will not come near her; and that she will have no need to fear.
In view of the fact that the church heretofore has never been free from
any of these, logic rules that she is yet to realize these promises.
Hence, the generation to which this chapter is addressed, the church
that is to receive these promises is not in the past, but in the future.
And the fact that Inspiration now for the first time unseals these long
concealed promises, and now brings them to attention, makes them "meat in
due season," the truth is obvious: The church, after this announcement
has done its work, is soon to merge into this glorious period of time.
Furthermore, verse fifteen says:
"Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me:
whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake."
Isa. 54:15.
Here she is warned that her enemies will gather together against her,
but not by the Lord. They will,
therefore, not prosper, but will fall for her sake.
Her enemies will never again be able to carry any of her members into
captivity, not into prison, or in flames of fire, nor into dens of beasts --
she is never again to see the Assyrian or the Chaldeans prosper against her;
neither is she any more to suffer the persecutions by the Jews and by the
Romans. All of these are now in
the past and their reoccurrence will have no effect on her.
"Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the
fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument
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for
his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue
that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 54:16, 17.
So far, the weapons that were formed against the church have prospered,
but the church here in prophecy is to be protected.
And being completely in God's hand, everyone that rises against her in
judgment she will condemn by Truth and righteousness.
Our existence and success in the work of God, therefore, is no longer a
mystery: Prophecy plainly points out that many are rising against us, but none
have and none will ever prosper. God
Who created the smith and the waster to destroy, is just as well able to
create peace and security. The
Spirit of Prophecy reiterates thus:
"As the saints left the cities and villages, they were pursued by
the wicked, who sought to slay them. But
the swords that were raised to kill God's people broke and fell as powerless
as a straw. Angels of God
shielded the saints. As they cried day and night for deliverance, their cry
came up before the Lord." -- "Early Writings," pp. 284, 285.
"...But if His people remain separate and distinct from the world,
as a nation that do righteousness, God will be their defense, and no weapons
formed against them shall prosper." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 5,
pg. 601.
The lesson is clear: The church is emerging from one period and merging
into another. She is at the dawn
of a new day. Her glory is now to
be manifested,
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her
great work finished, and all her children (a great multitude) saved.
Rather than her enemies triumphing over her, she is to triumph over
them.
Since the church, as a whole, is here represented by both mother and
children, we should know what part of the church is represented by the mother
and what part by the children.
According to verse seventeen, the chapter concludes that "the
servants of the Lord," those who bring forth converts, constitute the
mother, and their converts, the laity, constitute the children.
What is meant by her travailing in birth? -- For the answer let us turn
to Galatians 4:19: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you...." Those
for whom the Apostle Paul was laboring to bring the Lord to their knowledge,
he says he was travailing in birth for them until Christ be formed in them,
until they be fully converted to Him -- be born again.
Now that we understand the allegory of these two women, and of their
children, also the time for which Isaiah 54 was written, we shall study the
chapter briefly verse by verse in all its details as far as God permits.
Isa.
54:2, 3 -- "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen
thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and
thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be
inhabited."
All these terms -- enlarge, stretch, spare not, lengthen, and
strengthen -- mean to do everything possible
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
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to
amply meet the situation, to make accommodations for a larger number of
converts, to do everything possible now so that when you break on the right
and on the left, when the multitude of converts begin to pour in, you be not
confused and unable to accommodate. Do
not disappoint the people. And,
moreover, assures the Lord: "Thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and
make the desolate cities to be inhabited."
The prophecy, therefore, brings us to the days of restitution of all
things (Matt. 17:11).
Isa.
54:4 -- "Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou
confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the
shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any
more."
Yes, she is reassured that she need no longer fear, need not be thrown
into disorder and confusion any more, that she shall forget her reproach and
widowhood (God's departing from her).
Isa.
54:5 -- "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is His name;
and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He
be called."
Our enemies may say anything they wish, but God Himself testifies that
He is our God, the God that made us, the Redeemer, the God of the whole earth.
Isa.
54:6, 7 -- "For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved
in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I
gather thee."
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
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The statement, "for a small moment have I forsaken thee,"
being set forth in contrast to the statement, "but with great mercies
will I gather thee," shows that God's forsaking her is her dispersion
among the Gentiles, and that her gathering is her returning to the homeland,
her inhabiting the desolate cities.
Isa.
54:8, 9 -- "In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but
with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy
Redeemer. For this is as the
waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no
more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee,
nor rebuke thee."
That which she has gone through she will go through no more, -- as sure
a promise as the promise to Noah: "I do set My bow in the cloud, and it
shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth." Gen. 9:13.
Isa.
54:10, 11 -- "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;
but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My
peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I
will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with
sapphires."
What else could her "stones" stand for if not for her members
(the children)? And what could
her foundations depict if not her Apostles (founders), those whom the Lord
uses for the work of such a revival and reformation?
Such was the privilege of the twelve apostles at the beginning of the
Christian church. Recognizing
this glorious fact, Inspiration wrote:
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"And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb." Rev. 21:14.
The statement, "I will lay thy foundations with sapphires,"
denotes that she is now being founded, that the Lord is now building from the
bottom up.
Isa.
54:12 -- "And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of
carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones."
If the literal use of windows is to give light and air, then what could
this symbolism denote if not her "seers," those who bring light and
Truth to the church of God? And
if literal gates are used to keep out the undesirable elements, then in the
spiritual realm they must symbolize her watchmen, the ministry.
What a wonderful illustration! What
a sanctified group of people it vividly projects! -- Stones of fair colors,
and foundations of sapphires, windows of agates, gates of carbuncles, and all
her borders of pleasant stones! every soul a jewel!
"I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than
the golden wedge of Ophir." Isa. 13:12.
"For Zion's sake" says the Lord, "will I not hold My
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness
thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that
burneth. And the Gentiles shall
see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a
new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a
royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken;
neither shall thy land
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any
more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land
Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married."
Isa. 62:1-4.
Now it is plainly seen that Laodiceanism shall forever pass away, that
God will have a church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing.
You cannot afford to be left out of it.
You must join the advocates of this Truth if you are to become a part
of this glorious movement.
Isa.
54:13-17 -- "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great
shall be the peace of thy children. In
righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression;
for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me: whosoever
shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire,
and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the
waster to destroy. No weapon that
is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against
thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This
is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me,
saith the Lord."
Evidently we are slow to be convinced that the Mighty God of Jacob is
able to protect and to keep us from all evil else He would not be trying time
and again to convince us of His ability by further explaining that as He has
created the "smith" and the "waster" and has put them to
work, just so He is able to make their instruments and efforts of none effect.
God's persuasion, you see, is such that a little child can understand.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
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All these promises are the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
How can we afford to let them go?
Are they not cheap enough? Since
faith is all they cost, let us therefore believe and they shall be ours
forevermore.
We have now learned that Abraham's two wives and two sons are an
allegorical forecast of the Old and New Testament churches; that Ishmael's
arrival prefigured fleshly Israel and that Isaac's arrival prefigured
spiritual Israel, the Christians; that Ishmael persecuting Isaac was a
forecast of the Jews persecuting the Christians; that Abraham's act of
disinheriting and sending Hagar and her son away from home, foreshadowed God's
act of putting away and disinheriting fleshly Israel -- that only those who
are "born again," born of the Spirit, will inherit the Kingdom; that
Isaac, who came into this world only by the power of God, foreshadowed the
Christian church, but especially the soon-coming Kingdom church in which there
is to be no Ishmaelite -- no person brought in by the will of the flesh -- no
"tares," no "bad fish," no "goats" -- only
saints, only "such as should be saved," and no one can be "such
as should be saved" if he does not believe what the Word says, if he does
not take his stand on Truth's side. Only
they that hunger for Truth and righteousness will be filled and become His
precious jewels, fit to be a part of this Lord's Jewel building.
"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when
I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him. Then shall ye
return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth Him not." Mal. 3:17, 18.
It is a terrible thing to disbelieve the Word of God, or to be
indifferent, indecisive, and inactive.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39
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A
Battle And A March
We shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," page 203,
beginning with the second paragraph.
"The Christian life is a battle and a march.
But the victory to be gained is not won by human power.
The field of conflict is the domain of the heart.... The old nature,
born of blood and of the will of the flesh, can not inherit the kingdom of
God. The hereditary tendencies,
the former habits must be given up.
"He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that
all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of
the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him.
Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that would
show them to be sinful. We can
not, of ourselves, conquer the evil desires and habits that strive for the
mastery. We can not overcome the
mighty foe who holds us in his thrall. God
alone can give us the victory. He
desired us to have the mastery over ourselves, our own will and ways.
But He can not work in us without our consent and cooperation.
The divine Spirit works through the faculties and powers given to man.
Our energies are required to cooperate with God."
The old nature, the nature that we are born with, cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God. According to this
reading our need is to pray for ability to surrender our hearts, our all to
God. When we do this, we shall be
quite different than what we are now -- our old nature will vanish away.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 40
14
ZION
IN THE HEIGHT OF HER GLORY
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
MAY 10, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
Our study for this afternoon is from the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah. There we read: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Isa. 60:1.
The first thing we need to know in this study is the person whom
Inspiration asks to arise. This
chapter being a continuation of the fifty-fourth chapter, we will, therefore,
look there for the information. There
it is shown that it is the barren woman, God's servants in the Christian
church. He is calling His church
to arise and to shine because her "light is come."
As to whether He is addressing His servants at this present time, in
the past, or in the future, let us read again--
"Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the
land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be
glorified." Isa. 60:21.
This verse does not say that her people are already righteous, but that
they shall be righteous. It does
not say that they have inherited the land, but that they shall inherit it.
His church, therefore, is to be purified and made white by God's doing
away with the "tares."
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 40
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Since her people have never to this day been all righteous, it is plain
to see that the fulfillment of the prophecy is yet future.
And in view of the fact that our message is announcing the imminent
purification of the church, the time in which the angels are to sift out the
hypocrites from among the faithful, the time in which the net is drawn to
shore and the bad fish cast out, the cleansing of the sanctuary -- the
Judgment for the Living in "the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17) is about
to begin, Inspiration, therefore, in this chapter is addressing God's church
at this particular time. Since we
now see that this chapter contains important timely Truth, we shall study it
verse by verse.
Isa.
60:1 -- "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord
is risen upon thee."
Who can truthfully say that our light is not come?
that our message is not timely Truth?
None who are in contact with It, I am sure.
Inspiration is, therefore, inviting God's people, the Denomination,
along with us, to arise and shine. The word "shine" is what we must
study next that we may know what is required of us.
A black, dirty object never reflects, it consumes all the light to
itself. The moon shines because
its surface is of white substance. If
it were made of black substance it could not reflect any light whatever.
The same is true with spiritual light: If we are eager to shine, we
must now arise and clean up, put away our black, filthy garments -- take an
active part in this revival and reformation under the supervision of the Holy
Spirit. Stupidity, fanaticism,
and indifference must be abandoned and Divine thinking put in action, so
commands the Lord:
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 40
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man
his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,
saith the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and
My thoughts than your thoughts. For
as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth
forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it." Isa. 55:7-11.
We must clean up our thoughts, our ways, our bodies, our clothes, our
homes inside and out. Cleanliness
is Godliness; God's government is law and order, peace and righteousness, joy
and contentment. Thus we need to
be polished by the Spirit of God, be altogether Christians if we are to
"shine," if we are ever to reflect the Word of God to those who sit
in darkness. If you have taken
care of all the things the message teaches, then as your supreme duty and
Divine privilege, take what Inspiration says: "Arise, shine; for thy
light is come, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."
Those who are now sitting down as dark objects, consuming light to
themselves, should now embrace the opportunity and welcome the privilege.
Today is your opportunity.
Isa.
60:2 -- "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross
darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall
be seen upon thee."
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 40
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The word "behold" connotes that if you look, you can see the
signs of darkness already hovering about you.
"Gross darkness" means that the people will be at a complete
loss to know which way to turn, that they will be entirely confused and
perplexed. Now is our opportunity
to respond to the Lord's call and to get ready to meet the situation.
We should now fully realize that we are in reality called to be the
light to the Denomination, and ultimately to the world.
Wonderful indeed that we should be the chosen ones from among the great
masses of the world! You cannot
afford to miss on this privilege. Act
now.
Isa.
60:3 -- "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the
brightness of thy rising."
We are now the most obscure people in the world, but the day is already
here in which we shall be best known. Here
is the sure promise that if we now arise from sitting down and make the effort
to reach God's set goal for us, the result shall be that the Gentiles shall
come to our light and the kings to the brightness of our rising.
This is the acceptable day for you.
Isa.
60:4 -- "Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather
themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy
daughters shall be nursed at thy side."
Even now if we lift our spiritual eyes, says the Lord, we shall see
that all things are now ready. The
call, along with the signs of the times is too plain for one to suppose that
the day is far off. Our sons and
daughters in this message are soon to be gathered unto us from the ends of the
earth.
Isa.
60:5 -- "Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and
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thine
heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be
converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee."
When this comes to pass, then the remnant shall plainly see and flow
together, the abundance of the wealth of the Gentiles shall be turned over to
them.
Isa.
60:6-9 -- "The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of
Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and
incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams
of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on
Mine altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to
bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name
of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified
thee."
Our sons and daughters in the faith shall come as a storm by air and by
sea. They shall come because the
Lord will glorify all His people. The
call, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4), shall indeed along
with the wealth of the Gentiles bring out "a great multitude which no man
can number." Rev. 7:9.
Isa.
60:10 -- "And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their
kings shall minister unto thee: for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour
have I had mercy on thee."
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In Ezra and Nehemiah's time the people of God, the Jews, themselves had
to build against great odds, but for the church purified, the Gentiles shall
gladly build. Not only the common
people but even their kings are to minister to the servants of God.
Kings are now the bosses, but the day is almost here in which God's
servants shall boss the kings, and the kings shall be glad to be bossed by
them.
Isa.
60:11 -- "Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not
be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the
Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought."
Because of our response to God's call and because of our rising to
shine for Him, many people shall say: "...Come ye, and let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach
us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth
the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Isa. 2:3.
For this very obvious reason the gates as it were, would have to stay
open day and night in order to accommodate the traffic -- the incoming saints,
the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings.
Plainly, then, the great need is not the "Harvest
Ingathering" campaign, not the multiple collections, not the book sale
days -- not any goal-raising campaigns -- but to take this "golden
oil" for our lamps and to "arise and shine" is what the church
needs today.
Isa.
60:12, 13 -- "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall
perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree,
and the box together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make
the place of My feet glorious."
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The place where the Lord's feet shall then stand is "the valley of
the mountains" (Zech. 14:5); it is to be made most glorious.
Isa.
60:14-16 -- "The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending
unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the
soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the Lord, The Zion of
the Holy One of Israel. Whereas
thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will
make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the
breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy
Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
As babies are admirably treated and nursed, so shall the Gentiles and
their kings gladly wait on the saints and from their abundance shall
cheerfully feed God's servants.
Isa.
60:17 -- "For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver,
and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace,
and thine exactors righteousness."
Yes, of better than the best shall the house of God be built.
Isa.
60:18 -- "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor
destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and
thy gates Praise."
Now when the world needs and longs for peace more than ever before,
God, Who only is able to give it is loudly declaring that those who really
want peace
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can
have it if they but come to Him. This
hope and faith in the promises of God is even now to be our only peace of mind
if we really believe.
Isa.
60:19-22 -- "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto
thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go
down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for
ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be
glorified. A little one shall
become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it
in his time."
When all God's servants as one "arise and shine," then a
little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.
Then the Saints will be quickly gathered and wickedness brought to an
end. This is God's way for
finishing the gospel work and we had better abandon our man-conceived ideas of
it and wholeheartedly respond to God's call if we expect to survive through
the "great and dreadful day" of the Lord, if we expect to rejoice in
the height of Zion's glory. If we
stand faithful to God's Word, we shall finally behold all these wonders and
live for evermore.
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TEXT
FOR PRAYER
Willing
To Be Made Willing
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," beginning on page 204, the first paragraph:
"The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the
humbling of self at every step. Our
will is not to be forced into cooperation with divine agencies, but it must be
voluntarily submitted. Were it
possible to force upon you with a hundred-fold greater intensity the influence
of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for
heaven.... The will must be placed on the side of God's will.
You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and
inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are 'willing to be
made willing,' God will
accomplish the work for you.... But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ
and the glory of heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone
these can become their own....To renounce their own will, their chosen objects
of affection or pursuit, requires a sacrifice at which they hesitate, and
falter, and turn back. Many 'will
seek to enter in, and shall not be able.'"
What are we to pray for this evening? -- Let us remember that self is
the only barrier between us and God, and that God will never force us to come
to Him. Let us ask Him for power
to use the grace He so freely provides. He
would not have made us free moral agents if He did not expect us to use our
wills. We should ask Him to help
us to be "willing to be made willing," and then join our wills to
His, and so "work out our own salvation."
We need the strength of God to resist all evil, to overcome the world
as Jesus overcame.
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THE
FRUITS OF THE ANOINTED ONE
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
MAY 17, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
We shall study the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, beginning with the first verse:
Isa.
61:1, 2 -- "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath
anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn."
These are the two verses which Jesus read as He stood in the synagogue
of the city of Nazareth, the place where He was brought up.
He read these verses and then sat down without making any comments.
As His listeners were still in a stupor as to why He had read and then
had sat down without adding a word, Jesus arose again and said, "This day
is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."
The reason given for the Spirit's power upon Him is that the Lord God
had anointed Him to preach good tidings unto the meek, implying that if the
Lord had not anointed Him to preach, the Spirit of the Lord would not have
been on Him. Moreover, He was
anointed to preach to the meek, to those who are not
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self-sufficient,
not high-minded, but humble and teachable; the other class could not be
taught. He was to comfort all
that mourn, to bind the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
(not to free them immediately). "The
acceptable year of the Lord" is, of course, the time in which the
scripture is fulfilled, the time it is unsealed and proclaimed.
Those who give no heed to it are to be swept away in the "day of
vengeance." These were the
good tidings for which Jesus was anointed.
Unbelief and indifference in revealed Truth is an insult to God and a
sin against the Holy Ghost Who leads into all Truth.
Simply because the Saviour preached these two verses, however, we must
not conclude that the whole chapter was then fulfilled or that the fulfillment
of these two verses could not again be fulfilled at the time the rest of the
chapter is fulfilled. As the same
Spirit was also upon the Apostles -- upon those who furthered the Lord's
message in that day, so also it must be in this day, in the day the whole
chapter is fulfilled.
The duty of those who proclaim this chapter's message is:
Isa.
61:3 -- "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."
The burden of the Spirit is to improve the spiritual conditions of
those who mourn in Zion, the church: to give them beauty for ashes (for
repentance and humbleness), oil of joy for mourning (Present Truth that
hopefully lightens the rest of the way) and garments (character)
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of
praise so that they be as living ornaments of righteousness, a new creation of
God, that He be glorified.
Here is seen that the original creation of God which has been lost
through sin, is to be restored. Now
is the acceptable day to open your heart, to take in present Truth, to
recreate and restore that which was lost through sin.
Isa.
61:4 -- "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the
former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of
many generations."
Those who are made glad and beautiful, who are clothed with praise and
who become trees of righteousness -- the planting of the Lord.
His triumphant servants, the guileless Ezras and Nehemiahs of today,
are to restore all things.
Isa.
61:5 -- "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of
the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers."
The strangers and aliens here mentioned, are of course not strangers
and aliens to the Kingdom of God, but to the nation not a blood relation to
Judah and Israel, not of the stock of Jacob, not of the 144,000 who first
stand on Mount Zion, but with them.
Isa.
61:6 -- "But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call
you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in
their glory shall ye boast yourselves."
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In the forthcoming antitypical Kingdom of Judah, therefore, there shall
be two groups of people -- ministers and laity.
From these scriptures we see that the Kingdom of God, the church
purified, free from "tares" is a real thing.
It is not something imaginary, not something foamy floating and lost in
space, but right here on earth.
Isa.
61:7 -- "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they
shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the
double: everlasting joy shall be unto them."
These ministers of God are to have double because of the shame which
they have endured, all such rejoice in their portion.
Are you disposed to suffer for Christ's sake?
Are you like or unlike those who seek joy and friendship from the world
and who sooner or later are to find themselves in great disappointment?
Believe! that is all.
Isa.
61:8 -- "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering;
and I will direct their work in Truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant
with them."
Judgment and justice is God's motto for all His creatures. The
statement, "I hate robbery for burnt offering," implies that such
unbecoming things are now practiced among His people.
In this connection, some years ago I heard a certain member of the
church say that in some kind of gambling he had won a little money and as his
conscience hurt him to keep it, he gave it as an offering to His church!
Also, I have heard several say that they work on the Sabbath, but
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that
they turn the Sabbath's earnings over to the church!
These incidents may serve as samples of how foolish, how uneducated in
the things of God are the people of God.
By bringing such offerings to Him they are making God a gambler and a
Sabbath-breaker, and at the same time they imagine that they are doing Him a
great favor!
God's promise to His people is: "I will direct their work in
Truth." Are we then to
question His ability to perform and at the same time expect Him to give us a
home in His Kingdom?
Isa.
61:9 -- "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that
they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed."
What a blessed hope! What
a power to save both the young and the old and to make their names known
world-wide! For such a fame as
this, people would go through almost any torture known to mankind.
God, though, is only asking you to believe and to comply with His Word,
-- yes, that is all.
Christianity is to become a real thing, so real that the Gentiles will
acknowledge that such Christians can only be the planting of the Lord, and
that only the power of God can bring such a change in the human heart, and
cause His saints to say:
Isa.
61:10 -- "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in
my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered
me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with
ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
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This chapter of Isaiah the prophet is indeed to bring "revival and
reformation" such as has never taken place since the beginning of sin.
God forbid that any one of us should miss the experience and the
blessings that come through this revival and reformation.
Isa.
61:11 -- "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will
cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."
Through the seed of Truth in the heart this experience will come to
God's people as naturally as does the earth cause the seed sown in it to bud
and bring forth fruit. This is
indeed the "righteousness of Christ," not the might of men.
Summing up this study, we learn that the fruits of the anointed One are
these:
That Jesus was anointed to preach the good news, news that He was to
open the prison door of sin, to bind up the wounds of God's people, to
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to comfort those who mourn, and to
give all an opportunity to escape "the day of vengeance"; that
because He was thus anointed He was fitted to comfort them that mourn in Zion,
to bring beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the gift of praise
in place of heaviness, that they might be called "trees of
righteousness," and that God might thereby be glorified; that through the
gift of the Spirit His people shall be enabled to build up the desolated
places of many generations; that those who are called now are to be ministers
of God "and they shall eat the riches of the Gentiles," and glory in
them, and "strangers and aliens" shall be their shepherds and
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"vinedressers";
that then their shame and confusion will be changed into everlasting joy; that
as God hates robbery, He will direct the work in Truth and make an everlasting
covenant with them that know Him; that then their seed shall be known to the
Gentiles and among the people and they will acknowledge that God has blessed
His people; that because the anointed One clothes His people with the garment
of salvation, and the robe of righteousness, the testimony of His children
will be, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord"; and as a bride adorns
herself with jewels so the spiritual adornments, given through these gifts
will bring on the "revival and reformation"; and that, as nature
brings to fruition the seed sown in the ground, so the anointed One will cause
righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.
"Ample provisions have been made for all who sincerely, earnestly,
and thoughtfully set about the work of perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Strength, grace, and glory have been provided through Christ, to be
brought by ministering angels to the heirs of salvation.
None are so low, so corrupt and vile, that they cannot find in Jesus,
who died for them, strength, purity, and righteousness, if they will put away
their sins, cease their course of iniquity, and turn with full purpose of
heart to the living God. He is
waiting to strip them of their garments, stained and polluted by sin, and to
put upon them the white, bright robes of righteousness; and he bids them live
and not die. In him they may
flourish. Their branches will not
wither nor be fruitless. If they
abide in him, they can draw sap and nourishment from him, be imbued with his
Spirit, walk even as he walked, overcome as he overcame, and be exalted to his
own right hand." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 2, pg. 453.
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THERE'S
A WIDENESS IN GOD'S MERCY
There's
a wideness in God's mercy,
Like
the wideness of the sea;
There's
a kindness in His justice,
Which
is more than liberty.
There
is welcome for the sinner,
And
more graces for the good;
There
is mercy with the Saviour
There
is healing in His blood.
For
the love of God is broader
Than
the measure of man's mind
And
the heart of the eternal
Is
most wonderfully kind.
If
our love were but more simple,
We
should take Him at His Word;
And
our lives should be all sunshine
In
the sweetness of our Lord.
--Frederick
W. Faber.
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