Ye Shall Recieve Power

[Dr. Rich]

Ok, I am fine with these verses and can accept your understanding, but what does it mean to shine as found in Daniel 12:3?

[oldsailor29]

If we are following Jesus on His straight and narrow path("Life Sketches" ch. vii), and we need more light on the path, He will raise His glorious right arm which will shine a light on the path before us and reveal gems of truth in that path which were previously unseen and unknown. In this reference to His glorious right arm, I believe the vision from God was referring to Revelation 1:20 and the seven stars which Jesus holds in His right hand, which represent the seven angels of the seven churches.

However, if we are on the other path("Life Sketches" ch. xxx) which curves up the side of the mountain, there will be no enlightenment from Jesus.

People who follow Jesus on His straight and narrow path are thus promised precious and brilliant gems of knowledge, and those who possess these gems will shine in the sight of all who are able to see.

[Dr. Rich]

Oldsailer wrote: "People who follow Jesus on His straight and narrow path are thus promised precious and brilliant gems of knowledge, and those who possess these gems will shine in the sight of all who are able to see."

Are you sure? Did Jesus say this somewhere or are you listening to another voice? Where can I find that the wide road curves up on the other side of the mountain?

Where does Jesus say that we need more light on the narrow path?

[oldsailor29]

If we are following Jesus on His straight and narrow path("Life Sketches" ch. vii), and we need more light on the path, He will raise His glorious right arm which will shine a light on the path before us and reveal gems of truth in that path which were previously unseen and unknown. In this reference to His glorious right arm, I believe the vision from God was referring to Revelation 1:20 and the seven stars which Jesus holds in His right hand, which represent the seven angels of the seven churches.

However, if we are on the other path("Life Sketches" ch. xxx) which curves up the side of the mountain, there will be no enlightenment from Jesus.

People who follow Jesus on His straight and narrow path are thus promised precious and brilliant gems of knowledge, and those who possess these gems will shine in the sight of all who are able to see.

[Guest]

May 7

With Concerned Parents

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psa_51:11-13

What a prayer is this! How evident it is that sinners in the household are not to be treated with indifference, but that the Lord looks upon them as the purchase of His blood. In every household where the unconverted are, it should be the work of those who know the Lord to work in wisdom for their conversion. The Lord will surely bless the efforts of parents, as in His fear and love they seek to save the souls of their households. The Lord Jesus is waiting to be gracious.

Oh, that the work might begin at the heart! "For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psa_51:16-17). Then let it be understood by all the members of the household that the work must begin at the heart. The heart must be subdued and made contrite through the creating, regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Realizing the aid of this mighty agency, cannot parents work for the conversion of their children with more zeal and love than ever before?

The promise of the Lord is "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Eze_36:25-27).

When the Spirit of the Lord works upon the hearts of the parents, their prayers and tears will come up before God, and they will earnestly entreat, and will receive grace and wisdom from heaven, and will be able to work for their unconverted children. As this Spirit is manifested in the home, it will be brought into the church, and those who are home missionaries will also become agents for God in the church and in the world. The institutions which God has planted will bear an entirely different mold.--Review and Herald, Mar 14, 1893.

[oldsailor29]

If one wants to be converted and follow His teachings, one must first learn His teachings.

[Dr. Rich]

AMEN

[Guest]

May 21

Impressing Minds Through the Books

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isa_6:8

Pray and work. More will be accomplished by the Christlike humble prayer than by many words without prayer. Work in simplicity, and the Lord will work with the canvasser. The Holy Spirit will impress minds just as He impresses the minds of those who listen to the words of God's delegated ministers, who preach His Word. The same ministry of holy angels attends the one who gives himself to canvassing for books for the educating of the people as to what is truth.

Men and women can work in lines effectually if they feel in their hearts that they are doing the work of the Lord in ministering to the souls who know not the truth for this time. They are sounding the note of warning in the byways and highways to prepare a people for the great day of God which is about to break upon the world. We have no time to lose. We must encourage this work. Who will go forth now with our publications? Let them read the sixth chapter of Isaiah, and take its lesson home to their hearts.

"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me" (Isa_6:5-8).

This representation will be acted over and over again if the canvassers are pressing close to the side of Christ, wearing His yoke, and daily learning of Him how to carry messages of peace and comfort to the sorrowing, disappointed ones, the sad and brokenhearted. By imbuing them with His own Spirit, Christ the great teacher is fitting them to do a good and important work.--Bible Echo, Sept. 18, 1899.

[Guest]

May 22

Traveling With the Missionaries

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. Act_13:2-4

Oh, how we need the divine Presence! For the baptism of the Holy Spirit, every worker should be breathing out his prayers to God. Companies should be gathered together to call upon God for special help, for heavenly wisdom, that the people of God may know how to plan and devise and execute the work. Especially should men pray that the Lord will choose His agents, and baptize His missionaries with the Holy Spirit.

For ten days the disciples prayed before the Pentecostal blessing came. It needed all that time to bring them to an understanding of what is meant to offer effectual prayer, drawing nearer and nearer to God, confessing their sins, humbling their hearts before God, and by faith beholding Jesus, and becoming changed into His image. When the blessing did come, it filled all the place where they were assembled; and endowed with power, they went forth to do effectual work for the Master.

We should pray as earnestly for the descent of the Holy Spirit as the disciples prayed on the day of Pentecost. If they needed [the Spirit] at that time, we need it more today. Moral darkness, like a funeral pall, covers the earth. All manner of false doctrines, heresies, and satanic deceptions are misleading the minds of men.

Without the Spirit and power of God, it will be in vain that we labor to present the truth. We must have the Holy Spirit to sustain us in the conflict; "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph_6:12).

We cannot fall as long as we hope and trust in God. Let every soul of us, ministers and people, say, as did Paul, "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air" (1Co_9:26), but with a holy faith and hope, in expectation of winning the prize.--Home Missionary, Nov. 1, 1893.

[abelisle]

How about this "power"? Will we receive it or even understand it?

Mark 5:27-31 (New International Version)

27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

I believe there is "energy" and then there is "spiritual energy" commonly called "power" in the Bible. EGW in the time she wrote didn't understand the power of the electromagnetic spectrum. Notice her comments on electricity and magnetism? I find them to be quite strong yet quite elusive.

Surely one's charisma is the spiritual atmosphere that is created by that person. Exactly what it is and how it works and can it be detected, I do not know? Besides, if we really believe in the presence of guardian angels (the New Age would call them "Thought Adjusters" - see The Urantia Book), I'm sure that these angels utilize a different energy spectrum(angelic power) than we are aware of.

The Holy Spirit is real and it is animate - right? It therefore is more than "pneuma". I would like to define it as spiritualized air/wind/breath in the form of energy that hopefully we will be a able to tap into, in the earth made new. " . . . the leaves of the Tree (of Life) serve for the healing of nations. . . " and maybe are the source of this newfound energy? We will find out - hopefully soon.

Alex (presently my wife has all the power in our family

[Guest]

EGW in the time she wrote didn't understand the power of the electromagnetic spectrum. Notice her comments on electricity and magnetism? I find them to be quite strong yet quite elusive.

Where does she write about electricity and magnetism? I haven't seen it.

[Guest]

Quote:

How about this "power"? Will we receive it or even understand it?

Yes. We can receive it right now, today. There are people in this world right now, who live by this power, and receive it every day. We do not receive because we do not ask, and our faith is weak, or non-existent.

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Luk 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

James 4:2 .....yet you have not, because you ask not.

God is just as ready to give power to His servants today as He was to give power to Paul and Apollos, to Silas and Timothy, to Peter, James, and John. {AA 278.3}

It is from God that we are to receive power for service. And He has promised to give this power to all who ask in faith. {RH, January 21, 1902 par. 8}

Supernatural Power for Supernatural Works

The reason so many fail to be successful laborers is that they act as though God depended on them, and they are to suggest to God what He chooses to do with them, in the place of their depending on God. They lay aside the supernatural power and fail to do the supernatural work. {FW 27}

They do not believe in the supernatural, not understanding God's laws, or his infinite power to work his will through them. As commonly used, the term "laws of nature" comprises what men have been able to discover with regard to the laws that govern the physical world; but how limited is their knowledge, and how vast the field in which the Creator can work in harmony with his own laws, and yet wholly beyond the comprehension of finite beings! {CE 194.2}

He sends forth the members of His church. The same power that the apostles had is for them. If they will make God their strength, He will work with them, and they shall not labor in vain. Let them realize that the work in which they are engaged is one upon which the Lord has placed His signet. {AA 599}

[Guest]

May 29

Earnest to Give the Final Warning

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Rev_18:1

Day after day is passing into eternity, bringing us nearer to the close of probation. Now we must pray as never before for the Holy Spirit to be more abundantly bestowed upon us, and we must look for its sanctifying influence to come upon the workers, that the people for whom they labor may know that they have been with Jesus and learned of Him. We need spiritual eyesight now as never before, that we may see afar off, and that we may discern the snares and designs of the enemy, and as faithful watchmen proclaim the danger. We need spiritual power that we may take in, as far as the human mind can, the great subjects of Christianity, and how far-reaching are its principles.

When God's people humble the soul before Him, individually seeking His Holy Spirit with all the heart, there will be heard from human lips such a testimony as is represented in this Scripture: "After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory" (Rev_18:1). There will be faces aglow with the love of God, there will be lips touched with holy fire, saying, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1Jn_1:7).

Those who are under the influence of the Spirit of God will not be fanatical, but calm, steadfast, free from extravagance. But let all who have had the light of truth shining clear and distinct upon their pathway, be careful how they cry peace and safety. Be careful what influence you exert at this time.

Jesus longs to bestow the heavenly endowment in large measure upon His people. Prayers are ascending to God daily for the fulfillment of the promise; and not one of the prayers put up in faith is lost. Christ ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. When, after Christ's ascension, the Spirit came down as promised, like a rushing, mighty wind, filling the whole place where the disciples were assembled, what was the effect?

Thousands were converted in a day. We have taught, we have expected that an angel is to come down from heaven, that the earth will be lightened with his glory, when we shall behold an ingathering of souls similar to that witnessed on the day of Pentecost.--Home Missionary, Nov. 1, 1893.