THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER. Part V. The WORK of developing a Christ like character. The work of developing a Christ like character ought also to receive our consideration. Work becomes Jesus’ Bride at the present time. In the attainment of a disposition like Jesus’, the church must make herself ready. Those who will not have their characters white and pure, cannot be of the Bride of Christ. The church, therefore, at the present time, has the work of preparing a character like that of her Lord Jesus. In character development, a number of things require consideration: There are certain defects that must be removed. There are certain lacks that must be supplied. There are certain good things that must be developed. Three things, therefore, must be done in cultivating Christ likeness, namely: (1) Removing defects. (2) Supplying lacks. (3) Improving the good. The farmer illustrates this in preparing a garden. He or she may have a piece of land that is full of stones, and lacking in many of the elements required for the things which he or she is seeking to grow. Her or his work, therefore, would be threefold. They must gather out the stones. By fertilizing, he or she must supply the elements lacking in the ground; and then, by working the ground, bring it into the best state for fruitage. These three things illustrate the three things that we must do in developing Christ likeness. If we were not fallen by nature through original sin, we would have no faults to remove; and we would have no lacks to supply. The only thing requiring our attention, would be improving the good. Jesus had no faults to remove. He had no lacks to supply. He did, however, have to improve, as a New Creature, the good that was in Him. Thus, there are certain things required of us due to out imperfection, that were not required of our Lord, due on His part to His perfection. His righteousness, however, compensates in the sight of Yahweh for these faults and lacks. They are of weakness and ignorance; and therefore, they are of no real disadvantage to us in the sight of Yahweh as we grow in His Favored condition under the merit of Jesus. However remaining in weakness and ignorance will cause a lack of faith, leading to failure in our goal of developing a Christ like character. First let us look at our weakness: The first aid to health we want to mention is a proper knowledge on ones condition. You know a man or woman would be considered very foolish who had some very strange appearances manifest themselves upon his or her body, and yet gave no thought as to what they were. How foolish a man would be who had some strange appearance upon his finger and yet neglected it, and paid no attention to it, until at last it proved to be blood poisoning and ultimately resulted in his death. And the same way along spiritual lines, dear friends. We realize that every one of us is in a better condition spiritually in proportion as we are diligent to know about what may be our state along this line. We do not want to be of that class, who close their eyes to their weaknesses. You remember the way the Apostle advises us to examine ourselves. Why examine ourselves? To find out whether we have any weaknesses; we could not tell that without an examination. And we examine ourselves to find what those weaknesses are, which we believe we have. The next aid to health I would like to mention is an aid to natural health and it is equally an aid to spiritual health, and even more so, we might say. It is the presence and assistance of THE PHYSICIAN. You know how it is, you go to the doctor and tell him of your condition, you ask him for his advice and for his assistance and help, and he will prescribe the proper remedy. So it is in regard to spiritual sickness. We go to the Great Physician Yahweh in prayer and say to Him, O, Great Physician, I have an awful attack of impatience, and now, Great Physician, I want your help; you are the one that can help and cure me of this awful attack; I must look to you for assistance. Dear friends, we ought to go to Him frequently in our petitions, seeking more and more of this spiritual strength. But another thing before we pass from that point is this; not only should we go to the Great Physician for ourselves, but we ought also to go to the Great Physician for our brothers and sisters. You know very frequently you will have a friend or a member of your family who is sick and unable to go for the doctor, and you go to the doctor for that one. Sometimes, there might even be someone who is unconscious and cannot go himself, and what do you do for him or her? Suppose you had a son and he is sick and unconscious; how do you act? Do you say, O, there is my son, he is unconscious, he is sick, he knows nothing; why, what a terrible state he is in! I hope he will come to consciousness again, and then I will send him to the doctor. Why, not at all. You do not wait for him to come to consciousness, but you take him immediately to the doctor yourself and say, Here is my boy; he is sick and unconscious. So it is along spiritual lines. Not only do we go to the Great Physician for ourselves, but we want to go to Him for our brethren and our sisters as well. Sometimes you may find some brother who has some of these spiritual diseases, and is unconscious of them; he may have a measure of pride and he fails to realize it. What should be your duty? Should you say merely, I hope some of these days that brother will recognize that he has pride and will go to the Great Physician and get cured. No, dear friends, you want to go to the Great Physician for that brother, and, as the Scriptures say, Pray for one another that ye may be healed. I believe that is one of the ways we may properly judge of the strength of our spiritual health. I suppose almost all of us have come into contact with some brother or sister that may have offended us, and now, dear friends, how do you feel toward such a sister or brother? Imagine there is such a brother or sister. Can you think of one? See if you can think of some sister or brother in your ecclesia with whom it has been very hard for you to get along, who all the time seems to want to show the wrong [spirit (character)], etc. Now, then, what have you done about that brothers or sister’s case? How often have you prayed for the brother or sister? Why, you say, I never thought of praying for her or him once. Then you had better go to the Great Physician, for you need Him as much as your brother or sister does. And if you can say, Well, I have prayed for that sister or brother frequently, then, dear sister or brother, you can rejoice, for your spiritual pulse is in good condition. Now pray for a way to sit down with them in as peaceful a way as possible and discuss the matter and let Yahweh and Jesus guide the situation into a healthy relationship. Our Heavenly Father has this spirit of gentleness toward us. His willingness to consider us and our weaknesses, is the only way we can hope finally to have a place on His throne. David says in Psalm 18:35. Thy gentleness hath made me great. It was Yahweh’s willingness to send Jesus to make a way of reconciliation; His willingness to bend low to help us to raise up, that not only brings us to a place of rest, but ultimately to a place of glory, IF, we submit to the responsibilities we have for self and our brethren. The next thought that I get from this statement that we should let our moderation in the sense of gentleness, or pliability, or yieldingness, or sweetness of disposition, be known unto all men, is that we should be forgiving of weaknesses of our brethren when repentance is offered and we should cover their transgressions with Love balanced with Justice until they recognize their need to repent. If there is a relationship weakness, there should be a desire to get the problem fixed. Those who would take the easy route and just let it go, will not be fit for a relationship with our Great Father of Life as part of His Divine Family. We are to follow the things that make for peace; to be of one mind; to keep the unity between ourselves in the bonds of peace. If we start a quarrel with another the ultimate end might be that both New Creatures might lose their lives. We are not, thus, to devour one another. Why not rather suffer the wrong? We know the Lord can balance the matter. One of the fruits of the [spirit (character)] is peace, and one of the legacies of the church is peace, -- My peace I give unto you. Remember however not to compromise the will of Yahweh for peace sake, this would be a wrong balance and would lead to further error. Forthright fortitude and persistence in correcting the situation is the righteous way to move forward and yet, it may take much time and effort. This effort, even if not ever realized will be pleasing to our Great Creator. Satan’s system is designed to create doubt in Yahweh’s faithful who are seeking to know and do His will. The more conscientious they are, the more subject they will be to suggestions of unworthiness, rejection, condemnation, and self-worthlessness. Yahweh permits this as a test or trial to faith. To be developed, faith must be tried with opposition. The adversarial system, on the contrary would destroy our faith, sometimes by exaggerating our weaknesses and failures (in our own mind or the mind of our brethren concerning another), to cause us to cease striving for the goal of Divine approval or say “they are going out of the truth”. Satan and his minions would have us give up in despair. ‘It is your faith that is on trial now. In the calmer days, you were quietly laying the foundation of a knowledge of the truth. Now you are in the furnace to be proved. Summon all your courage, fortify your patience, nerve yourself to endurance, hold fast to your hope and hold up your brethren around you.’ Jesus washed the feet of those at the Last Supper. Wash the feet of your brethren. Secondly: Ignorance is a factor of laziness and neglect of true study. We should strive for progress in developing our Christ like character. In our haste to deal with the things that are wrong let us not upset the things that are right. Progress is never smooth. It has to overcome ignorance, unbelief and ridicule. The rung of a ladder was not meant to rest upon, but only to hold a mans foot long enough to put the other somewhat higher. Progress always involves risk. You cant steal second base and keep your foot on first. Wisdom must be sought with diligence to gain a Christ like character. The greatest truths are the simplest ones and so are the greatest brethren. When a person grows to maturity he or she becomes wiser – she or he talks less but says more. To know how to use knowledge properly is wisdom. The doors of Wisdom are never shut to those who seek Wisdom. Wisdom does not always require words. Wisdom is of great value. We pay for it dearly by experience. Wisdom is a collection of Values gained by experiences and observations, weighing them one against the other. Be wise in this world but be not worldly-wise. Wise men are not always silent, but know when to be. The doorstep to the temple of Wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance. Reading the Bible is the Fountain of Yahwehly wisdom. Wisdom is a tree that grows in the heart and whose fruits appear on the tongue. Knowledge comes from taking things apart, wisdom from putting back together. All scripture is given by inspiration of Yahweh, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16 Jesus promises: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness [that which is right, good and true]:for they [and no others] shall be filled; ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free [from sin, error, ignorance, superstition and the conflicting and confusing man- made theories, creeds and religions] (Matthew 5:6; 7:7, 8; Luke 11:9, 10; John 8:32). There is an intelligent Almighty Creator, who gave us the capacity to understand a Truth- revelation. To find the Truth, the pure wisdom that is from above, we must seek to Yahweh, The Bible assures us that we are held accountable for only what we know; it is not possible to commit unforgivable sin without full knowledge of what we are doing! With Yahweh, who knows our inner thoughts, ignorance is an excuse for breaking the law; we can commit unforgivable sin only “in full light.” Those who remain in ignorance to succeed will surely fail. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, you know that no one is saved through ignorance but only by believing in Jesus as his or her savior. Now is not the time for ALL to [hear (understand or be removed from ignorance)] the name of Jesus. Yahweh is not trying to convert the world between the first and second advents. If He was, then He has obviously failed. For almost 2,000 years (1,981 years so far of the Gospel Age), less than one third of the worlds population even claims to be Christian. The fact is Jesus predicted only that the gospel would be a witness to the world, not that all would be converted before the end of the Gospel Age. Mark 4:11,12, specifically states that Yahweh is not trying to convert the world now. Jesus said to his disciples, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of Yahweh: But unto them that are without all these things are done in parables. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. Ponder well this scripture. If Jesus died for ALL, why has Yahweh arranged that many would not be able to understand the Bible and, therefore, not be converted and have their sins forgiven? The Bible is not written like a textbook system of logic. Yahweh purposely had the Bible written in parables and symbols, so that many would not be converted and have their sins forgiven. This is why there are over 250 Christian denominations with so many different interpretations of the Bible. Yahweh has not attempted to convert the world, but is only calling a little flock at this time. If humanities eternal destiny was dependent upon understanding the Bible now, our Yahweh of love (1 John 4:8) would have surely made the Bible plain and simple for all to understand. Acts 15:14-17 reveals that Yahweh at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name [not to convert all]. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, after this I will return [Second Advent] and build again the tabernacle of David [set up the kingdom of Yahweh]. . .that the residue [REMAINDER] of men might seek after the Lord and ALL the Gentiles. . . . Yahwehs work since the death of Jesus has not been to convert all humankind, but merely to take out or to call out a people for his name. In the Kingdom, all the REMAINDER of humanity, who are not of these called out ones, will have their opportunity to seek the Lord. Yahweh will remove all ignorance in due time. When people come forth from the grave in Christs Kingdom, they will be informed that they have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ and they will be made aware of the fact that they are now under the reign of Jesus Christ and his church (1 Corinthians 6:2). What confidence they will have that the church will know just how to enter into their problems! Why? Because the members of the church also were once sinners and in ignorance. Further, humanity will realize that the church representatively experienced all the problems, hardships, and emotional and mental tragedies endured by humanity. Because Yahweh so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son Jesus for them (John 3:16), the church will cherish each individual of the human race. The personal experiences of true Christians in overcoming sin and struggling with their own emotional and psychological problems (2 Corinthians 10:4,5; Hebrews 12:3,4) will give them an understanding heart so that they will know when to show compassion on ignorance and when to administer discipline where willfulness is involved (Hebrews 5:2; Luke 12:48). This plan of rehabilitation will work. The majority of humanity will gladly receive the instruction, the disciplining and the nurturing necessary to pass their trial for eternal life. This plan is the great restitution (restoration) project foretold by all the Old Testament prophets (Acts 3:20, 21). Now is the time our ignorance should be removed, however now it depends on your faithfulness. Thus in strange, mysterious ways Yahweh has ever moved, bringing to pass His high designs, His sovereign will. We, as Christians, cannot remain in ignorance allied to a true heart of faith, for of such were the humble fishermen of Galilee. Nor can we any less despise the union of the cultured intellect and the consecrated heart, for this latter shines forth so glorious in the recorded annals of the progress of Yahwehs true Church, as it emerges from the clouds, the mildew, and the frost of its enforced wilderness we are now being developed in. It is encouraging in these days to find brethren in all parts of the world who have clearly defined perception with regard to this matter, and in accordance therewith are striving to the best of their ability to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free. It is pleasing to note that the increasing, tendency on the part of these brethren is to exercise great care that they remain free from all human entanglements and bondage. This disposition is to be most highly commended. All such lovers of the Lord, of His will and His Spirit are to be admonished to be of good courage, to wait upon Yahweh and He will strengthen their heart in His unfolding truth. All who love Yahweh in truth and sincerity—Israelites indeed. (Rom. 9:6, 25, 26; Gal. 6:16.) He will deliver them from sin, ignorance, pain, and death, and from all the persecutions and besetments of Satan’s blinded servants, which have in the past almost overwhelmed them. All found written in the Lamb’s book of life written in the Gospel Age will be delivered forever, from all enemies; those of the Book of Life written as worthy during the Jewish and Patriarchal Ages, as well as these, who will be written in during the Messianic Age.” Philippians 4:5-7 and note that if we follow the principles which Yahweh has laid down for us in our studies the apostle says it will be true of us that The peace of Yahweh which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Develop well brethren and rise into truth even as it is still unfolding. More to follow tomorrow.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 01:21:11 +0000
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