Friday, August 21, 2009

Advice from the Spirit of Prophesy, Pt 12

"Many whom the Lord could use will not hear and obey His voice above all others. Kindred and friends, former habits and associations, have so strong an influence upon them that God can give them but little instruction, can communicate to them but little knowledge of His purposes. The Lord would do much more for His servants if they were wholly consecrated to Him, placing His service above the ties of kindred and all other earthly associations" (Gospel Workers, p.114).

"The great leaders of religious thought in this generation sound the praises and build the monuments of those who planted the seed of truth centuries ago. Do not many turn from this work to trample down the growth springing from the same seed today? The old cry is repeated, "We know that God spake unto Moses; as for this fellow [Christ in the messenger He sends], we know not from whence he is." John 9:29. As in earlier ages, the special truths for this time are found, not with the ecclesiastical authorities, but with men and women who are not too learned or too wise to believe the word of God" (Christ's Object Lessons, p.79).

"Brethren, treat men as men, not as servants to be ordered about at your pleasure. He who indulges a harsh, overbearing spirit might better become a tender of sheep as did Moses, and thus learn what it means to be a true shepherd. Moses gained in Egypt an experience as a mighty statesman and as a leader of the armies, but he did not there learn the lessons essential for true greatness. He needed an experience in more humble duties, that he might become a caretaker, tender toward every living thing. In keeping the flocks of Jethro his sympathies were called out to the sheep and lambs, and he learned to guard these creatures of God with the gentlest care. Although their voice could never complain of mistreatment, yet their attitude might show much. God cares for all the creatures He has made. In working for God in this lowly station, Moses learned to be a tender shepherd for Israel" (Testimonies to Ministers, pp.262, 263).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more parts to this story. I pray that it will have a lasting and positive effect on all. We need to share what is going on in our churches so that others can avoid the same pitfalls or become entrapped by those who seek to destroy the organizational structure of the Adventist Church

Anonymous said...

Great job with this blog! Thank you! We need to study this organizational structure and your first hand experience with its adoption to see how destructive it is to our Seventh-day Adventist Church system. We would like to reverse the same thing in our local SDA church but need to be enlightened as to what needs to be done to restore our church to uphold the Church Manual and SDA organizational structure. There are six SDA churches in Colorado that have adopted this Growing Healthy Churches Initiatives under the name Team One. Let's talk, everyone! Do not be afraid to stand up! Be like Queen Esther and to have the Courage to Stand! We are not giving up our church to apostasy.

True Members of the Aurora First Seventh-day Adventist Church