revival of primitive faith... straight testimony...

[skyblue888]

A "revival of primitive faith and godliness" is a return to the pure faith of the Apostles and their converts. This revival has been long overdue.

In 1903 the Spirit of the Lord stated that "Our position in the world is not what it should be." 8 T 247. The reason being that "The self-confident management of men has resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men." Testimonies to Ministers, p.481.

The devisings of men include church policies, creeds, by-laws, resolutions, voting, delegations, etc, etc... These methods are of men's constitutions and of men only.

Few of us realize that we have been wandering in this world of sin and sorrow for more than a century because of the rejection of the 1888 message of the righteousness of God obtained through faith in the merits of a crucified and Saviour Saviour and also because of the rejection of the principles of Gospel Order as revealed by the Lord Himself at the General Conference of 1901. At that Conference reformatory steps toward Gospel Order were taken only to be reversed at the 1903 General Conference meeting. This is all recorded in the General Conference Bulletins of those years. I have these bulletins in my possession and I have read and studied them.

In 1901 the Lord asked that a change be made. "What we want now is a reorganization. We want to begin at the foundation, and to build upon a different principle " E.G,. White, 1901 General Conference Bulletin, p.25.

The Lord had said, "I want a change." "I want the Holy Ghost to be King." There were to be no more presidents of the General Conference. Christ by the Holy Spirit was to be our king. Reformatory steps towards Gospel Order were taken and the position of president of G.C. was eliminated but in 1902 A.G. Daniels assumed the position against the Constituion and the very next year, in 1903, in General Conference, the 1901 Constitution (principles of Gospel Order) was abolished by a mojority vote. This action was opposed by a minority as being subversive but to no effect and A.G. Daniels was voted as president. We have had this order of things ever since and the Union and Local conferences and churches have been weaving after the same pattern.

Then the Lord sent this warning, "If you allow this (order of things) to continue, your faith will soon become extinct." Testimonies to Ministers, p.481.

God was put aside and the devisings of men were accepted instead and these human devisings would bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God to bring men under the control of men!

"Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God will work under Satan's dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth." Testimonies to Ministers, p.366.

"The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position has made men gods, makes me afraid, and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever and by whomsoever it is exercised. This lording it over the Lord's heritage will create such a disgust of man's jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result... At the time of the first advent of Christ to our world, the men who composed the Sanhedrin exercised their authority in controlling men according to their will. Thus the souls whom Christ had given His life to free from the bondage of Satan were brought under bondage to him in another form." Testimonies to Ministers, p.361.

Will those who profess to be the followers of Christ heed the warning before it is too late?

The Lord will have to by-pass those who refuse to submit to the righteousness of Christ through faith in His all-sufficient merits that they may be joined to Him, to the Head of the church, and that they may be actuated by the Head, as it is written, "the Head of every man is Christ." 1 Cor.11:3.

The Early Church did not have a man presiding over the church. Jesus had said to them, "All ye are brethren." "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant." Matt.20:25,26.

These are the principles of Gospel Order.

Will those who profess to be the followers of Christ accept these principles once and for all or will they continue to put God aside and accept the devisings of men?

It is written that "When light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming to the help of the Lord, they will want to bind about His work, to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning." Testimonies to Ministers, p.300.

He will use men and women of His own choosing, men and women who are not too wise or too learned to believe just what He says.

Comments?

sky

[Johnnboy]

skyblue888,

Very important post. That is exactly what happened and how it will be. Christ's Holy Spirit is the only interpreter of Scripture. Human interpretation will always interfere with what the inspired Word is saying.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

In 1903 the Spirit of the Lord stated that "Our position in the world is not what it should be." 8 T 247. The reason being that "The self-confident management of men has resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men." Testimonies to Ministers, p.481.

No, that isn't what she was talking about in 8 T 247..

I get kind of tired of the copy-and-paste-EGW-quotes-out-of-context-and-group-them-together to make it appear like a statement that she didn't really make.

Sky, I wish you could shorten your posts....I get so's that I only read so far, then my eyes glaze over...

[skyblue888]

"Our position in the world is not what it should be. We are far from where we should have been had our Christian experience been in harmony with the light and the opportunities given us, had we from the beginning constantly pressed onward and upward. Had we walked in the light that has been given us, had we followed on to know the Lord, our path would have grown brighter and brighter." 8 T 247.

Notice these words: "Had we walked from the beginning constantly onward and upward. Had we walked in the light that has been given us..."

This takes us back to 1844 when the work could have been finished in a very short time. In the book The Great Controversy, p.458, we read that "If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the third angel's message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people."

In the same paragraph she explains that "unbelief separated them from God as they refused to do the work He had appointed them."

Years later, in 1888, the Lord sent a most precious message to us but that message was resisted. Mrs. White wrote: "Now it has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from men. For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel's message, in clear, distinct lines." Testimonies to Ministers, p.93.

On page 92 she tells us that that message was. She writes, "Many had lost sight of Jesus and they needed to have their eyes directed to Jesus, to His divine Person, to His merits, and to His changeless love for the human family."

On the same page we read that the message "invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God." This was to be accomplished by exercising faith in the merits of Christ. But there were those of General Conference standing who opposed that message. These men intercepted the most precious light, so much so that years later the Spirit of the Lord said, "The self-confident management of men has resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men." Testimonies to Ministers, p.481.

It is clear that if these men had not put themselves between the heaven-sent light and the people, the Lord could have finished the work and cut it short in righteousness.

This is why our position in the world is not what it should be, whether in 1903 or in 2010.

Rudy, you complain about my introductory post not being short enough. Sorry but I tried to make it as short as possible, and to the point.

It was in 1903 that the men of the General Conference, in the majority, decided to put God aside and accepted the devisings of men and ever since our position in the world has never been what it is supposed to be.

Unless there is a return to the principles of Gospel Order as given by the Lord Himself in 1901, there cannot be a revival of primitive faith and godliness from top to bottom and the Lord will have no choice but to finish the work in a manner very much out of the common order of things and which will be in a way that will be contrary to any human planning (T.M.300) just as He worked through Christ and His disciples in the days of the Sanhedrin.

sky

[skyblue888]

skyblue888,

Very important post. That is exactly what happened and how it will be. Christ's Holy Spirit is the only interpreter of Scripture. Human interpretation will always interfere with what the inspired Word is saying.

Thank you JohnnyBoy...

We may be sure, as we read the minutes of the 1901 and 1903 General Conference Bulletins that in 1901 the Lord asked for a change, for a reorganization. See page 25. Reformatory steps were taken to establish Gospel order in our ranks but unforutately, not even two years later, the self-confident management of men resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men and this order of things has been our legacy ever since and that is why we have been wandering in this world of sin and sorry for so many years. That is why we are so far behind and that the second coming has been so long delayed.

sky