Category: Mid-week Manna

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:
July 5, 2023

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 26

PERSECUTION SPREADS AND MAGNIFIES THE GOSPEL

“There was great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad. . . and went everywhere preaching the gospel.” Acts 8:1, 3, KJV. 

Beginning with righteous Abel, murdered by his elder brother Cain, over the issue of worship:

“In every age God’s chosen messengers have been reviled and persecuted; yet through their afflictions the knowledge of God has been spread abroad. Every disciple of Christ is to step into the ranks, and CARRY FORWARD the same work, knowing that its FOES ‘can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth’ [2 Cor. 13:8]. God means that the truth [in its unvarnished purify and fullness] shall be brought to the front, and become the SUBJECT of examination and discussion, even through the CONTEMPT placed upon it.

 “The MINDS of the people must be agitated, every CONTROVERSY, every REPROACH, every EFFORT TO RESTRICT LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE, is God’s means of awakening minds that otherwise might slumber [lulled with a false sense of security by the ‘peace-and-safety,’ ‘new theology,’ ‘once-saved-always-saved’ prosperity gospel’].

 “How often this result been seen in the HISTORY of God’s MESSENGERS. When the noble and eloquent Stephen was stoned to death at the instigation of the Sanhedrin council there was NO LOSS to the cause of the gospel! The light of heaven that glorified his face, the divine compassion breathed in his dying prayer, were as a SHARP ARROW OF CONVICTION to the bigoted Sanhedrist who stood by, and SAUL, the persecuting Pharisee, became a CHOSEN VESSEL, to bear the name of Christ before GENTILES, and KINGS and the children of Israel. 

And long afterward, [now] PAUL the aged wrote from his prison-house at Rome: ‘Some indeed preach Christ even [out] of envy and strife. . . .not sincerely, supposing to ADD affliction to my bonds. . . . Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached’ [Phil. 1: 15, 16, 18].

 “Through Paul’s imprisonment the gospel was SPREAD ABROAD, and souls were won for Christ in the very palace of the [pagan, sun-worshipping Roman] Caesars. BY THE VERY EFFORTS OF SATAN to destroy it [using his human agencies], ‘the incorruptible seed’ of the Word of God, ‘which liveth and abideth forever’(1 Pet. 1:23) is sown in the hearts of men; through the reproach and persecution of His children, the name of Christ is MAGNIFIED, and souls are saved.” E. G. White, Mount of Blessing, pp 54, 55, 57. Pacific Press Publishing Asso.. 1943. (All emphasis and bracketed words). 

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all, NMF.

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 25

THE SAINTLY EXAMPLES OF ‘SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES’ OF SATAN’S ENMITY AGAINST THE TRUTH

“Take my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering for affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. . .” James 5: 10, 11 (first part), KJV. 

Read Heb. 11: 1-34 for a brief yet truly representative record of God’s named and unnamed saints spanning the ages and generations starting from Abel, the first martyr for the truth, demonstrating what Biblical faith can and will do for all who understand what it is for. Verses 35-40 does not mention names of particular saints but describes in graphic and visceral terms the bloody “miracles” of their living testimony. Consider the following (emphasis added):

 “Women received their dead raised to life again: others were TORTURED [to death] not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a BETTER resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mocking and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were STONED, they were SAWN ASUNDER, they were tempted, they were SLAIN with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins: being destitute, afflicted, and tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” verses 35-38. 

Then continuing on uninterrupted to the next chapter 12, we read:

 “WHEREFORE, seeing we also are compassed about with [this] SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES [not just “two or three”], let us lay aside EVERY weight, and the SIN which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with PATIENCE [with the faithful saints]  the race [for the “crown” of eternal life and eternity] that is set before us, [How?] “Looking unto Jesus [the Example of all examples] the Author and Finisher of OUR FAITH; who for the joy that was  set before Him ENDURED THE CROSS, despising the shame. . . .” Heb. 12:1, 2. 

Indeed, Christ Jesus, God in the flesh who “was tempted in all points like as we are tempted yet without sin [never once yielded, not even in thought] “is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misrepresented by men. His children can afford to WAIT IN CALM PATIENCE AND TRUST, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MALIGNED AND DESPISED; for ‘nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest,’ and those ‘who honor God shall be honored by Him’ in the presence of men and angels!” (Mount of Blessing, p. 54).

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all, NMF.

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:
June 21, 2023

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 24

REPROACH IS PART OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP AND THE CHRISTIAN’S LEGACY

“Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for My sake.” Matt. 5:11

As someone aptly said, “If a man deceive me once, shame on him; If twice, shame on me.”
Deception is deployed through numerous ways, including but not limited to, false accusation, evil-speaking, character-assassination, blackening motives, derision, misrepresentation, malicious imputations and imprecations, innuendo, sly suggestions, mocking, reproaching, slandering, reviling, or in today’s social media lingo, “shading,” “gaslighting,” etc.

Mount of Blessing, page 53:
“Ever since his fall, Satan has worked by means of deception. As he has misrepresented God, so, through his agents, he misrepresents the children of God [particularly His chosen messengers declaring unpopular yet present, testing truths of the everlasting gospel for earth’s final generation before its probation closes].

The Savior says, ‘The reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon Me.” Ps. 69:9.

“There was never one who walked among men MORE CRUELLY SLANDERED than the Son of man [Jesus Christ the Creator incarnate]. He was derided and mocked [by the chosen nation and people, His very own] because of His UNSWERVING OBEDIENCE to the PRINCIPLES of God’s holy law. ‘They hated Him without a cause’ [John 15:25, 20-24]. 

Yet He stood CALMLY before His enemies, declaring that reproach is a part of the authentic, genuine] Christian’s legacy, counseling His followers HOW to meet the ARROWS of malice, bidding them not to faint under persecution!” Why?

“While slander may BLACKEN reputation it cannot STAIN the character. THAT IS IN GOD’S KEEPING. So long we do not CONSENT TO SIN, there is no power, whether human or Satanic [or a deadly combination of both in desperate confederacy] that can bring STAIN [of sin and its corrupting nature] upon the soul [the living, rational person]. 

“A man whose heart is stayed upon God is just the SAME in the hour of his most afflicting trials and most discouraging surroundings AS WHEN he was in prosperity when the light and favor of God SEEMED to be upon him. His WORDS, his MOTIVES, his ACTIONS may be misrepresented and falsified, BUT HE DOES NOT MIND IT, because he has GREATER interests at stake. 

Like Moses, ‘he endured as seeing Him who is invisible’ (Heb. 11:27); looking ‘not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen’ [another application of “walking by faith not by sight.’].” E G. White, Mount of Blessing, pp. 53-4, Pacific Press Publishing Asso., 1943 (All emphasis and bracketed words supplied).

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all, NMF.

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 23

CHRIST’S SCHOOL OF GREAT TRIBULATION ON EARTH

“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but WE GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS also; knowing that tribulation worketh PATIENCE; and patience, EXPERIENCE; and experience, HOPE.” Rom. 5:2-4. “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that WE MUST THROUGH MUCH TRIBULATION ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” Acts 14: 22, KJV.

“Through trials and persecution, the glory—CHARACTER—of God is revealed in His [real] chosen ones. The church of God, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk on narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of affliction.

“They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial, and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the GUILT AND WOE OF SIN, AND THEY LOOK UPON IT [sin, the transgression of God’s law] WITH ABHORRENCE [and hatred]. 

 “Being PARTAKERS of Christ’s sufferings, they are DESTINED to be partakers of His glory. In holy vision the prophet [John the beloved] saw the TRIUMPH of the people of God. He says:

‘I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the VICTORY. . . . stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God, and the SONG OF THE LAMB, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou KING OF SAINTS.’ [Rev. 15:2, 3, KJV]. 

‘These are they which came out of GREAT TRIBULATION, and have washed their robes [of character] and made the white in the BLOOD OF THE LAMB [‘without spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish.’ Eph. 5: 27.  

Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple, and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” Rev. 7: 14, 15.” E. G. White, Mount of Blessing, pp. 50-1, Pacific Press Publishing Asso., 1943. (All emphasis and bracketed words added].

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all, NMF.

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:
May 31, 2023

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 21

WHY DOES PERSECUTION OF THE GODLY SEEM TO BE DORMANT? IS THIS A GOOD SIGN?

“For all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution.”2 Tim. 3:12, KJV. 

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise’ (2 Pet. 3:9). He does not forget or neglect His children; but He PERMITS [and thus is in control| the wicked to REVEAL their true character, that NONE who desire to do His will may be DECEIVED concerning them  [the wicked]. Again and again the RIGHTEOUS are placed in the furnace of affliction, that they themselves might be PURIFIED; that their EXAMPLE [under fiery affliction and duress| may convince others of the REALITY of FAITH AND GODLINESS, and also that their consistent course may CONDEMN the UNGODLY and unbelieving.

“God permits the wicked to PROSPER, and to reveal their ENMITY against Him, that when they shall have FILLED UP the measure of their INIQUITY, all may see His JUSTICE AND MERCY in their utter destruction. The day of His vengeance HASTENS, when all who have transgressed His law and OPPRESSED His people will meet the JUST recompense of their deeds, when every act of CRUELTY or injustice towards God’s faithful ones will be punished as though DONE TO CHRIST HIMSELF!

“There is ANOTHER AND MORE IMPORTANT question that should engage the attention of the CHURCHES OF TODAY. The apostle Paul declares that ‘all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution.’ 

Q. “WHY IS IT THEN, THAT PERSECUTION SEEMS IN A GREAT DEGREE TO SLUMBER?

Ans. “THE ONLY REASON IS, the church has conformed to the world’s standard, and therefore awakens NO opposition. The RELIGION which is CURRENT in our day is NOT of the pure and holy character that MARKED the Christian faith in the days of Christ and His apostles. It is only because of the SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE WITH SIN, because the great truths of the Word of God are so INDIFFERENTLY regarded, because there is SO LITTLE VITAL GODLINESS IN THE CHURCH, that Christianity is apparently SO POPULAR with the world! [But] let there be a REVIVAL of faith and power of the EARLY CHURCH, and the spirit of PERSECUTION will be revived, and the FIRES of persecution will be rekindled!” -E. G. White, Great Controversy, p. 48, 1911, Pacific Press Publishing Asso. CA.(all emphasis and words in brackets mine).

No wonder “in the last days perilous times shall come,” because as Paul warned that professed Christians will have superficial, not vital godliness for “they will have the form of godliness but deny the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:4, KJV). This is but one of over a dozen Peter-like, antitypical fearful denials of Christ in these last days!

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all, NMF.

MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:
May 17, 2023

God’s Saving Enmity
Part 19

Again, lest we forget where we began this discovery, the very first promise and first prophecy is given in Genesis 3:15. It immediately revealed to the fallen first couple in Eden, and thereby thereafter, to all the generations of fallen mankind, the fundamental twin “core” seeds of eternal import:

1) the nature of the controversy between Christ and Satan and their respective “seeds” and
2) the plan of redemption

Both would develop and reveal more of themselves over the course of time til they reach their startlingly stunning climax in the days ahead of our final generation—as revealed in the prophecies, Daniel and the Revelation in particular.

In that supreme combined historical and prophetic moment in Eden, where we are shown the Creator speaking to Satan, Adam, and Eve in a very different position than that which He is first revealed to mankind as the Creator and Maker of “the heavens and the earth in the beginning. At that pivotal moment, the Creator is revealed, in its earliest forms that would unfold in its predetermined aspects, roles, and timetables (both in timed prophecies as well as divine chronological order), as the mighty Deliverer, Savior, Advocate, Intercessor and Mediator, all first preceded by and prefigured in the first lamb that would be sacrificed and the first blood of redemption that ever flowed after the bloodless work of creation.

Here, at the quintessential “moment of moments” of earth time and place, before Adam and Eve were to be banished from their divinely-designed and built garden home, God spoke, not in creative fiat but redemptive language and tones, declaring and demonstrating the immutability of His law by immediately counteracting Satan’s first lie that deceived Eve into believing that the soul is immortal (“you shall not surely die”) through and by first lamb slaughtered in sacrifice—-the death of the first type all countless specified animals offered under ceremonial law of the Mosaic dispensation fill they reached their antitype in the “once and for all” sacrifice of the very “Lamb of God” at Calvary’s cross, four thousand years after the fall in Eden.

Thus immediately demonstrated and viscerally revealed by actual participation of Adam, the certainty that “the wages wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), for sin is but “the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), manifested by and in disobedience to God’s command, and express will as revealed in His Word, “It is written” and “unto the law and testimony.”

Thus immediately revealed by visceral demonstration to the startled and wondering eyes of Adam, Eve, Satan and the fallen and good angels as well as the numberless beings in the unfallen worlds in the universe—through Adam’s actual participation as the first offeror of sacrifices—of the certainty that “the wages of sin is DEATH” (Rom.6:23) and that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3: 4).

Apostle Paul reminds all professed Christians lest they be confused and deceived again like Eve. He wrote in 1 Cor. 15: 19-26:

 “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable [note that] 
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept [died]. 
 “For since by man [the first Adam] came DEATH, by man also [Christ the Son of man, the “second Adam”] also the RESURRECTION  of the dead. For as in Adam ALL DIE [because of the non-immortality of the soul], even so in Christ [the second Adam, the Creator incarnate as God in  the flesh] shall all be made ALIVE. 
“But every man in his (this) ORDER: Christ the first fruits [the first or preeminent of the resurrectees[; AFTERWARD, they that are in Christ [when] AT HIS COMING. 
“Then cometh the END, when Hs SHALL HAVE delivered up the kingdom of God, when He shall have PUT DOWN all rule and authority and power [‘against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, against SPIRITUAL wickedness in high places” Eph. 6: 12]. 
“For He [the the first Adam] shall reign [first, as merciful High Priest, Advocate, Intercessor, Mediator, and righteous Judge of all the earth], TILL He hath put ALL ENEMIES under His feet.
“And the LAST ENEMY [as a part of the original enmity and its wages] that shall be DESTROYED is DEATH.” 1 Cor. 15: 19-26; see verses 1-18) 

These, and so very much more, was first intimated and comprehended in the declaration of Genesis 3:15! Follow the rule of First Mention when tracing From Cause to Effect, guided by the Holy Spirit who enables the earnest truth-seeker to discern spiritual things with a spiritual (not carnal or worldly) mind. Such will see that indeed Bible prophecy is but relevant history in advance and Bible history is but prophecy fulfilled! “There is nothing new under the sun.” What was will be but magnified and multiplied as taught in the type-antitype principle.

Only when we intellectually and spiritually invoke by faith, and harness the fullest dynamic powers of the ENMITY God first PUT BETWEEN Satan and his agencies versus His people on earth, will we learn to abhor and HATE SIN and its exceeding sinfulness. Only then can we victoriously, not vicariously “overcome” all the “sins that so easily beset us” even as Christ the second Adam.

To be continued next MWM, God willing. Bless all NMF.