No Strength to Bring Forth

David Clayton 

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. (2 Ki 19:3)

This verse has been turning over in my mind frequently in recent times. Hezekiah's strange statement was made at a time when Israel was threatened by the armies of Assyria. The king of Assyria had sent a blasphemous message to Hezekiah, in which he told him that it was useless to trust in Jehovah, the gods of the other nations had not been able to deliver them from the hands of Assyria, and neither would Israel's God be able to.

Hezekiah knew that Jehovah was able, he knew that no one could resist the power of the living God, but in the face of that crisis, he felt acutely his own lack of faith, he felt the strength of the barriers erected by compromise and apostasy which had created a wall between Israel and God. In distress he sent to the prophet Isaiah with the above cryptic message. The time had come for something to happen (the children are come to birth). The time had come for God to display His power and deliver His people. What could be more natural than that God would stand up for His own people if there was need of deliverance? But the other part of Hezekiah's statement revealed that there was an obstacle in the way of God's working. There was, "no strength to bring forth!"

This was an unusual way of expressing the reality of the situation, but in this strange statement of Hezekiah, I understand that he was saying, "Lord, we know what you can do, we know what you should do, but we do not have the confidence in you, we don't have the relationship with you which can enable us to lay hold on you and your power in this time of great need." So Hezekiah sent to the prophet Isaiah who did have the necessary faith in God and who was able to interact with God on behalf of the people.

Standing on God's Word

I have been thinking of this verse as I have considered the events of the past few years. Sincere Christians do not reject the word of God. When God reveals truth and makes us know His will, we accept it and determine to live by it, regardless of the consequences. As a result of this kind of commitment, many of us who read this newsletter have become outcasts from our former churches and fellowships, we have received a "bad" name and are not welcome in circles where we were formerly embraced. But it has not bothered us because we have regarded faithfulness to truth as the greatest duty in life and we have been willing to face even death if necessary, in our determination to be true to God at all costs.

When God revealed the facts about the godhead, we yielded to the truth and committed ourselves to believing and teaching it, accepting the consequences which followed. When God revealed the truth as to what His Church really is, we rejoiced in the biblical understanding and set out to live the reality of this truth as well. So it has always been with God's people, so it should always be. When God's word speaks, there is nothing to be done but to accept and live by what it says to us.

Need in a crisis

This is why Hezekiah's statement has taken root in my mind. It is abundantly evident that we have come to a moment in time of great significance. In all likelihood, we are about to enter a frightening time of conflict and live through the greatest time of trouble ever seen in the history of humankind. What is the greatest need of God's people at this time? Do I need to ask this question twice? Surely, the answer is on the tip of the tongue of every conscious child of God . The word of God says,

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (Isa 60:2)

Our greatest need is to experience the rising of this glory of God upon us. To put it another way, we need the outpouring of the holy spirit in greater than Pentecostal measure and we need it today. Everywhere in the word of God we see this gift promised. In fact, we do not only see the promise of this gift, but we see the reality that it has already been given to the church and that it is to remain with God's people to the end of time. This is fact; this is the word of God.

Excuses aplenty

It is interesting to see that when it comes to the gifts of the holy spirit, there are a thousand reasons given by some as to why we should not have the gifts today. There is excuse upon excuse, and multiple obstacles presented as the suggestion is made that God is not ready or willing to work today, as He worked in Pentecostal times. The problem is, nobody can sustain such a claim from the Bible. The excuses and reasons given as to why we are not to expect the gifts and the power of the holy spirit today, in Pentecostal measure, are as unreasonable and unscriptural as the excuses and arguments given by Christians who try to defend the Trinity from the Bible. The arguments are so contrived and weak compared to the great abundance of evidence in support of the truth, that you have to think that there is some strange blindness on the minds of those who embrace the error, or else there is deliberate dishonesty.

What does the Bible say about the baptism and the gifts of the spirit? What honest Bible student can say that God does not intend that His people should have these today? If we depend on the Bible to direct us in an understanding of God and His purposes, then we should be more involved in seeking for, and receiving the baptism of the holy spirit with the accompanying gifts than we should be involved in anything else in the world.

Crunch time

But do you know what is true? All the other truths which we have embraced have been basically, things which could have been accepted merely on an intellectual level. We embraced the theories and acknowledged that the evidence supported them. However, there was never the necessity for any actual visible, dynamic interaction with the supernatural - at any rate, not on a demonstrable level. Our reaction to what we learned could easily be, and often was, nothing more than a human response to pleasing ideas. If we were told by our boss at work to carry out a certain project, the approach might have been similar. This is why Hezekiah's statement burns into my mind. Finally, it's crunch time. Finally, the rubber meets the road. Finally, we come to a Biblical truth where something is involved which we cannot counterfeit, something which we cannot produce by our methods and our seminars and our Greek and Hebrew studies, something which we cannot bring about by our arguments and debates. Finally, we come upon a clear biblical reality which can only be accomplished by an interaction with God which is truly genuine. "The children have come to the birth." But the reality? "There is not strength to bring forth."

I have sensed the fear, the reluctance, the antipathy to this biblical truth. Some will run to the ends of the earth and twist and turn the word of God every which way, in order to make it say something other than the obvious truth. This is a tragedy and I grieve to see that Christians should ever take such an approach to the word of God. Surely, if I find myself coming short of the glory of God, the thing to do is to examine myself, not try to distort the word of God! Let us acknowledge the truth brothers and sisters, the true problem is, "there is not strength to bring forth." The time is ready, God is ready, the promises are clear and they are sure. It is we who have a difficulty in believing the word of God. This is the whole problem. It is an expected problem and one which God is willing to help us to overcome, but we must acknowledge it, we must see the problem for what it really is and stop denying the word of God in order to excuse our impotence.

Can we believe?

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (24) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:23-24)

Amazing! Was Jesus serious when He spoke these words? Are we expected to believe this? Of course He meant it. We are ever ready to give lip service, but the reality is, today, we do not know of this kind of authority and power such as Jesus so positively promised. Instead we hide and excuse our lack by saying, "it is not God's will to work in this way, today."

Brother Howard Williams is fond of telling a story of a woman who read this promise and decided to put it to the test. Her home was facing a large mountain which blocked the rays of the sunlight from reaching her home for much of the day. One evening she pointed her finger at the mountain and spoke these words; "Mountain, I command you to be moved." Then she went to bed to await the morning. In the morning she stepped outside and looked. The mountain was still there. Her comment was, "I knew it wouldn't happen." We might smile at this story and think of all the legitimate reasons why God could not grant such a request, but the woman's attitude and response is typical of the response which is seen in many of us, to this question of the manifestation of the power of God's spirit among His people. We are always ready to throw the blame back on God for our own inadequacies.

Let us acknowledge that we have a difficulty in demonstrating perfect faith, let us admit that we have been so long immersed in Laodicean apathy and mediocrity that it is difficult for us to enter into a different experience. Let us recognize that this is the true challenge! There is hope in honesty, God will bless sincerity but he cannot deal with the blindness which refuses to face the truth in the blissful self-deception that we have it all right, and therefore, it must be God who has voluntarily withheld the greatest of heaven's resources from us.

Abundant confusion

The situation in Adventism as a whole is tragic. Those on the fringe of Adventism, the outcasts and breakaway groups accuse the "mother church" of apostasy. They point to her refusal to accept truth and her affinity to apostate religious groups and teachings as evidence of her fallen state. Of course, there is a lot of fanaticism and misguided ideas in some of the accusations.

Some are obsessed with the idea that we must use the personal names of God and Jesus as they pronounce it, Yahuwah, Yehashua, Yahweh, Yeshua etc. Others believe that the feast-days of the Hebrew religious calendar must still be faithfully observed at the appointed times. Another group insists that the message for the time is the declaration that God does not kill and has never ever actively removed the life of any person. Still another set proclaims that the real message is that the observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath is to be tied to the moon cycle with the Sabbath being on a different Seventh day each month.

Of course, we here at Restoration Ministries believe that the doctrine that God is a three part being, or is composed of three persons is a false belief and one that has far reaching implications for our personal experience and how we view the plan of salvation. We believe that Jesus is the true, begotten Son of God, and that the holy spirit is the very life, presence and power of God the Father, rather than a third person. So I suppose it might be said that we, and those who embrace our particular perspective are included in the confusing melee.

In addition there are the alternative organizations such as the Reformed Seventh-day Adventists (two branches) and the Davidians (Shepherd's Rods) with their multiple branches who all claim that they are now the legitimate and exclusive church of God on the planet, since the mother church has fallen and been rejected by God.

The only solution

Whew! It takes a lot of courage to remain in the stream of Seventh-day Adventism in the light of all this. The truth is, there is only one possible way that the confusion can be cleared up and our Lord told us long ago:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)

The gifts of the holy spirit manifested again among Christians is the only real hope that we can have of ever seeing the confusion dissipated. Some have become so disillusioned with the confusion that they have concluded that the only solution is to stick with the mother church in spite of her compromises and backslidings and trust that the organization will somehow be purified someday, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. But Jesus told the truth. When we individually possess the gift of the holy spirit, He will guide us into all truth.

The confusion existing in Christendom in general and in Adventism in particular is entirely due to the fact that we depend more upon our scholarship, our intellect, our Greek and Hebrew concordances, our gifted speakers than we do upon the living presence of Christ within us. It is the holy spirit that guides us into all truth, but we have become satisfied to operate without it, or else, have deceived ourselves into thinking that we do possess this gift, even though there is not the slightest evidence that' such a thing is true. The word of God teaches that the gifts of the holy spirit were given to the church of God for the specific reason of bringing us into unity. It is vain to hope that there can be any real or lasting unity on any other basis.

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph 4:10-13)

Some have attempted to unify on the basis of human organization, some, on the basis of institutionalization. Others have congregated around particular speakers or particular doctrines. However none of these methods is God's way. What we need more than anything else is a true baptism of the holy spirit upon every one who is truly a child of God.

Today, as we see the evidences on every hand that the end of all things is near, every true child of God will be filled with an earnest desire that there should be unity among God's people and that the glory of God should be displayed on the earth, in and through His people as never before. Let us realize that the only way in which this can be possible is if we set ourselves to seek wholeheartedly the baptism of the holy spirit. We must understand God's promises concerning this gift, we must lose our fear of what is contrary to our expectations and be content to submit ourselves to the way of God, no matter how strange and unexpected it may seem to us. Our only question should be, "is this what the Bible teaches?"

May God help us to be dependent on His word to guide us rather than upon human traditions and misconceptions.

 

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Truths Concerning Divine Healing

 

Divine Healing, What It Is Not.

1. It is not healing by remedies.

2. It is not imaginary healing.

3. It is not the exercise of the will power.

4. It is not the power of hypnotism.

5. It is not mind cure, or metaphysics.

6. It is not spiritualism.

7. It is not faith cure, or prayer cure; faith and prayer being simply the avenues leading up to healing.

8. It is not immunity from death, but strength for life.

9. It is not presumption and insubordination to God's will

Divine Healing, What It Is.

1. It is the direct, supernatural power of God upon the body.

2. It is in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, and founded on them.

3. It is founded on Christ's sacrifice and work of redemption.

4. It is through the resurrection life of Jesus Christ.

5. It is through the personal indwelling of Jesus Christ in the body.

6. It is through and by the Holy Spirit.

7. It is through the personal faith of the sufferer, or his faith united with the faith of others.

8. It is submission to the Divine will, requiring our repentance of any disobedience, and, consecration to God.

9. It is for the service and glory of God.

10. It is a fact of Church History from the Apostolic Age to our age, and is confirmed by innumerable testimonies.

11. It is a sign of our Lord's approaching advent.

12. It is a testimony to the Word of God, and the truth of Christianity in this day of unbelief.

It is not our business to save people, but it is our business to lead them to Christ. And so it is not our business to heal people, but it may be and should be our business to lead them to Jesus who has promised to heal them. Divine healing is not the most important teaching in the Bible, but it is a truth, and we cannot avoid it without detriment to our spiritual development. Divine healing is not doctrine or theory, but a living fact, thoroughly established in the Word of God.

Divine healing, in its deepest, truest sense, is a life of utter abandonment to God, and an incessant dependence upon Him, a dependence on the power beyond ourselves in the most trying places. Here is our source of strength if we keep our eyes on God at all times. Amen! May God help us to see

Him as He really is, and what He will be to those who meet conditions. Selected

 

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Fully Divine – Fully Human

Jesus Christ the Son of God came to this earth and became a man. He was one hundred percent human, but at the same time He was fully divine. This is a truth which has been proclaimed by Christians for ages and most still hold it as unshakeable truth today.

At first glance, such a concept appears to be contradictory and impossible to harmonize. Most Christians explain it by saying it is a mystery and something to be accepted by faith without trying to understand it. However, the full divinity of Jesus combined with the fact that He was completely human, is the key to the plan of salvation and unless we understand how Jesus could have been completely human and yet fully divine, the plan of salvation will alway be an incomprehensible mystery to us.

Mankind fell in Adam

When Adam turned away from God, he took the entire human race with him. It was humanity which rejected God because all humanity was encapsulated in the one man. Adam, at that moment was the entire human race, his life is the life which has been passed on to all of us, and the decision he made impacted on all who would later come from his life. Adam adopted Satan's principle of life (independence of God) and brought the human race onto Satan's ground. From that point on, every person who was born of Adam's race belonged on Satan's side of the controversy. This is where Adam put us.

In order for us to understand what Jesus did to save us and what qualifications He needed to accomplish our salvation, we must remove Jesus from the picture for a moment and look at the condition of mankind where Adam put us.

When Adam took humanity onto Satan's ground, all that was necessary to reverese the situation was that Adam should have made the choice to return to God. It seems very simple, but let us consider something: It is not possible for any being in the universe to turn to God unless the spirit of God is acting upon that person. According to Jesus, God alone is good (Matt. 19:17), and without the spirit of God, no creature can be good, or can desire good. Without the influence of God, we are naturallly afraid of God, and have no desire for union with Him. When Adam chose independence of God, this is the condition which he chose for humanity. Mankind's legitimate position was the same as Satan's position; Separated from God, wihout the influence of God's spirit and unable to choose otherwise.

“the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can it be.” Rom. 8:7

Humanity's only hope

There was only one possible hope for humanity and it was this:

If there could be found a human being, born of Adam's race, placed in the exact situation where Adam had placed humanity (separated from God), who could voluntarily make the choice to return to God, then such a human being would be able, in himself, to reunite humanity with God. But such a person needed to be able to do this, not only for Himself, but needed also to be able to pass His life, reunited to God, on to all other men. This particular point needs to be expanded into a complete book. This is the critical issue in the plan of salvation and it is very little understood. The whole plan of salvation was about God's way of reuniting Himself to the human race. He could not do it without man's consent. It was man who had chosen to be independent of God and since God has established His government upon the principle of freedom, free-will, free-choice, God could not interfere with man after man made his decision. If God were ever to reunite Himself to man, it had to be by man's voluntary choice, and man, without God, was incapable of making such a choice.

Only God is good

Jesus tells us that there is only one who is good, this is God. When we think about this we realize that it is an absolute truth. There is no creature in the universe who can be good unless he is united to God. If God's method was to impart goodness to His creatures independent of His own life and presence, then the statement of Jesus in Matthew 19:17 would not be true:

And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Mat 19:17)

He did not say that there is only one source of goodness (meaning that God is able to give people goodness from Himself), no, He said, there is nobody who is good ... except God! The angels around the throne in Revelation 15:4 repeat the same truth in slightly different words.

Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Rev 15:4)

God alone is good, God alone is holy and every place where genuine goodness is found, we can be sure that we have found the presence of God. The Bible has sometimes described men as being “good,” but this was only because the presence of God through the holy spriit of God, dwelt in such men .

Is Jesus good?

But when the Bible states that God alone is good, does this include the only-begotten Son of God? The Bible tells us that Jesus is “the express image of His person.” (Heb. 1:3). He is exactly like His Father and this was true even while He was here in the flesh. This is the truth expressed in John 14:9.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? (John 14:9)

Jesus was begotten of God - the only being in the universe who originated in this way. He obtained His nature by inheritance and therefore must have the same inherent qualities of goodness and love as His Father. This is why He was fully able to represent God while He was here on earth, because indeed, He was God by nature and in Him all the qualities of God's nature and character were displayed.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

That glory seen in Jesus was the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. In other words, there is nowhere else that such a glory could have been seen. This glory was to be found ONLY in the only begotten Son of God.

So when Jesus Jesus told the rich young man, “there is none good but one, that is God.” He was not suggesting that He, Jesus, was not good. It was His way of forcing the man to think about who He really was. If true goodness was seen in Jesus, then it must mean that true divinity was in Him. He was truly God by nature. This is what He wanted the man to realize.

Divine nature - the key

This is why Jesus was able to be placed in mankind's position of total separation from God, and yet, be able to make the choice to be loyal to God, in spite of being in such a place. It was because He was good in Himself! The goodness in Jesus was not dependent on the indwelling presence of the holy spirit. No, we creatures cannot be good unless the holy spirit is dwelling in us. But Jesus is the Son of God, His source of goodness is Himself! Even when the spirit of God is taken from Him, He is still good, because God is good. True divinity is always good under all circumstances, but it is the only good in all the universe and that is why it took a divine being to accomplish man's salvation. Nobody else could have done it, not even the holiest angel for any angel, separated from God would have instantly become evil. This is what we learn from the experience of Lucifer.

No Grace for Christ

So Jesus, on the cross, took the place of humanity. He did not take the place of humanity under the influence of grace. Grace comes to us through Jesus Christ, but the grace of Jesus comes to us because of what Jesus did at the cross. So as He went to the cross, that position of grace did not belong to Jesus. He did not take our place as we are, benefited by grace, He had to take our place as we deserved to be, where we belonged when Adam made his choice, totally separated from God and without the help of the holy spirit. This was the meaning of that awful cry on the cross, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Yet, though He was totally forsaken of God, Jesus was still able to make a choice to remain faithful to God. How was He able to do this? He was able to do it because He was good by nature, because He was fully divine, by nature. The taking away of God's spirit and presence did not make Jesus turn to the way of self-preservation. This would have been the case if He was a creature who depended on second-hand goodness by means of the indwelling holy spirit. But He was God's Son, inherently good, and so, He was able to remain good even though He had become a man. So, by gaining this victory through His divine nature, in fallen human flesh, He was able to restore humanity to its place with God.

Of course, the benefits of this victory of Christ were being felt by humanity from the moment that Adam sinned. Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The instant man sinned, that instant the sacrifice of Christ began to benefit the world, thousands of years before Christ actually died. However, this did not diminish the reality that Christ did indeed have to die, that He did indeed have to go to the very place where man belonged. This is what God pledged from the beginning and Jesus had to fulfill that pledge in every detail, fully taking man's place.

Fully Human

It is evident that Jesus had to be a human being in the fullest sense, or else He could not have taken man's place and brought humanity back to God. It was a man who chose to separate us from God and only a man could reverse that decision. But Jesus had to do more than simply become a man. He had to make the decision as a human being, a descendant of Adam, under the exact conditions which Adam had brought upon the race; He had to possess the same limitations and disadvantages of fallen, degenerate humanity for this is where Adam had put us, and most importantly, He had to be, at the critical moment of the test, totally separated from the sustaining spirit of God. This is where sin put humanity and this is where Jesus had to go in order to deliver humanity.

Fully Divine

However, we see also that Jesus had to be fully divine in the sense that He possessed in His spiritual nature, the very nature of God. This was absolutely necessary in order for Him to be separated from God, yet be able to choose God. His divine nature was essential for our salvation. Without this, He could not have accomplished our redemption. So He had to be fully human as well as fully divine.

Let us consider another point: When we say that Jesus was fully divine, does this mean that He possessed in Himself all the powers of divinity? We have already seen that He did possess, and had to possess God's nature of infinite goodness. This in no way detracted from the fact that He was fully a man. It simply meant that He was a good man. In every sense He was limited to the abilities and powers of humanity, but He was good by nature, this was the critical difference. But did He possess the abilities of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence and all the other abilities of God? If He had, then how could He have been said to be fully human? Humanity necessitates certain limitations. Furthermore, if Jesus had been almighty and in possession of all knowledge, then in what sense could He have been forsaken by God at the cross?

Divine Power laid aside

The truth is, Jesus laid aside His divine power, His divine glory. He came to earth as a man, only as a man, limited as we are, made of a woman (Gal. 4:4), in a body which suffered all the genetic defects and limitations brought upon humanity by Adam's fall, multiplied by four thousand years of deterioration. He was truly one of us as far as His genetic inheritance was concerned. He did indeed come from the race of Adam.

The plan of salvation was something which had to be carried out according to certain definite limitations, within certain clearly defined boundaries. Why was this so? Because God had to do things in such a way that the universe would be satisfied that God had acted fairly and justly - even in dealing with Lucifer. There can be no room for the suspicion of deception or trickery on the part of God. Satan has accused God of being a liar and of being untrustworthy. The only way that God can defeat such an accusation is by being totally transparent and open in all His dealings.

If Jesus had possessed in Himself, all the powers of the almighty God, then all the sufferings of Jesus would have demonstrated nothing. It could all have been easily a pretense, a sham, nothing but role-playing. Satan could have made this accusation and how could God have proven that it was not? How could we be certain that it was not? If God sets out to play a role, what creature could ever discover that it was not reality? Nobody is smarter than God and nothing can compare to His power. If Jesus had possessed the power of almighty God in Himself, even as a man, then it is certain that Satan would have claimed that Jesus was never fully a man and did not overcome in merely human abilities and that He was not qualified to represent mankind, since He did not overcome as a man, but as God, dressed up in the body of a man. How could God convince us that it was otherwise?

Someone may answer, “well, we need to trust God.” Yes, this is true. However, we trust God because we have proven that God is trustworthy. We have proven that Satan is a liar, but where did we prove these things? Where did God demonstrate them? We proved them at Calvary, they were demonstrated in the great sacrifice made by God and His Son when Jesus died for us. If, in that sacrificial event there is room for the accusation that it was all a sham, a divine role-playing act, then the very event which was designed to establish trust in God is made null and void.

Satan has used many methods to convince the world that Jesus never really died, that the whole crucifixion story was a fable. What God accomplished in the passion, death, resurrection and heavenly ministry of His Son is the only hope for humanity. In Jesus, God did not give us merely a moral teacher, He did not give us merely a good example. In Jesus He gave us a Saviour, what we needed as sinners and the only thing which could save humanity. This is the truth which sets true Christianity above all other religions (inclusive of false Christianity).

Thank God for Jesus.

 

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Jamaica Campmeeting Notice

April 21-25, 2011

This year the Jamaican camp meeting will be held at the Moorlands campground in Manchester. Those of you who know the Moorlands campsite will remember that it is a beautiful and spacious property which is located in a very secluded spot in what may truly be described as a country area, with no neighbours, even though it is not much more than 6 Kilometers from the town of Mandeville. The accommodations are very good both for rooming and for our meetings. We expect to have a great campmeeting this year and the physical atmosphere promises to be a very good one.

We will have to pay a higher price for this campsite than we have been paying at other places, but the advantages are worth it. The price is $800.00 per night (US $10.00) per adult. Children under 10 will pay a half of that. The accommodations are good in terms of the number of rooms available and we will try to organize things so that as far as possible, families will be able to room together. Of course those who prefer to sleep in tents have that option although it is in an area where it tends to get really cool in the evenings and at nights.

In order to get to the campsite, you will need to travel on Perth road from Mandeville. Perth road is the road which intersects with Greenvale Road, the road leading to Spur Tree hill from Mandeville. Travel south on this road (away from Mandeville) for approximately 6 Kilometers. Do not take any turn offs. The road gradually becomes secluded and lonely, but continue until you come to the campsite on the left side of the road. A sign will let you know that you have arrived.

Look forward to seeing you there!

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Fundamentals of Righteousness

1. God alone is good

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (17) And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Mat 19:16-17)

This is the first great truth. I would almost say that it is the most important truth of all. What point was Jesus making when He stated that there is "none good but one, that is God?" I believe He was saying that the only kind of being in the universe who is intrinsically, or inherently good, is God, or in other words, one who is a divine person. Jesus was really responding to the man's perception that He, Jesus was good. He was using this statement as a way of getting the man to think more deeply about His (Jesus') true identity. If God alone is good, then obviously, if Jesus was good, it would mean that He also had the nature of God - that He was Himself a divine being. It was Jesus' way of saying to the man, "I am not simply a human being, I am the true Son of God. Where original goodness is found, then you can be sure that you have found true divinity."

But is this an absolute truth? How are we to interpret this in a practical way? Are there not people who are good? Are there not good angels just as there are evil angels? Yet, how can any other being be said to be "good," if it is true that God alone is good? This brings us to the next important truth.

2. Man is only good in union with God

When God created man, and everything on this planet, His verdict was that "everything was good." Now we have two facts to consider: First of all, only God is good, and secondly, God declares that man is good. How do we reconcile these two facts? It does not mean that man was God, but it leads to the conclusion that God was dwelling in man. Man was "good" because He was united to the only one who is truly good. As he remained in this union man would have been good forever. This was the way God designed the universe, this was God's plan for all living things. Every moral, intelligent being would be in such a relationship with God, that he would be a temple, a dwelling place of God, a vessel through which God Himself would display His life and glory and in this relationship man would find true happiness, and would live a pure holy life.

Of course, the unintelligent creation was good, simply in the sense that nature's laws designed and sustained by God, were working in perfect harmony in a perfect system, and so all the consequences were positive ones It was simply the outworking of God's natural laws (laws of nature), working in a perfect situation. However, for humanity, it was and always will be different. Man is an intelligent, moral being. He has the capacity and the responsibility to choose what he wants to be and to do. Man's behaviour is not simply the consequence of blind response to instinct, there is the additional factor of man's ability to think, to reason and to choose. In the case of man, union with God was not just in the sense that man was being acted upon by the good laws of nature. In man's case, man was good because the very life of God was united with man's life as God dwelt in man, and so, man was good. Good behaviour was his way of life. His moral behaviour was as a result of a living relationship with God, where, by his own choice, God was enabled to manifest Himself in the way man lived.

(1 John 3:9; John 15:5; Rom. 8:6-9; Rom. 7:18, 19)

3. God dwells in man by His spirit.

This is the next great truth. God's union with man is accomplished by means of the spirit of God dwelling inside of man. This is not a figurative experience, it is a literal one. There is some component from God, some energy, some element which the Bible describes as “spirit,” and “life.” We should not conclude that the term, “the spirit of God,” is simply a phrase used to describe an experience where we think differently and have a new approach to life after reading the word of God. God's spirit is not a separate person from God, neither is it simply the influences and thoughts which impact on us as we read the word of God. God's spirit is in very fact, the life-force of God Himself, the aspect of God by means of which He is omnipresent, by means of which He is able to impart His own qualities of infinite love and goodness to all who are filled with this spirit. When a person receives the spirit of God there is literally some influence, some element which enters that person's being, something which is from God Himself and which produces a complete change in such a persons

4. The root of all sin is separation from God

It follows then that anyone who is separated from God, cannot be good, neither can such a person really do good. He may perform actions of morality which seem good, but the motives will be wrong which means that the actions are not really good.

A person who is separated from God's spirit will always perform wrong acts. Such a person will always transgress the law. This is called “sin,” but this is not really the person's problem. The foundation cause of all sin is a decision to reject the influence of God's spirit, a choice to be independent of God, to be separated from Him. This is the root of all unrighteousness.

 

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Letters

Just a short email to say I have been abundantly blessed by reading through your righteousness by faith articles! THANK YOU!!! I plan to read through all of them.

I feel personally revived whenever I revisit this theme as I have firmly believed in these concepts for the last 15 years or so.

I must say I like the way you open up misunderstood areas in Romans etc. that really need further contemplation, clarification or explanation - especially in view of the fact that ultra conservative Adventists often pass over these things or misapply them.

Like you, I always like to read or listen to something objectively before I make a personal judgment about it. I am doing this with your material and although there were one or two things so far that I felt a little unsure or unclear about, overall I find there is excellent sound reasoning behind your exegesis that is very hard for me to question (not that I intend to do this. I am not looking for faults but just want to learn.)

Bless you my dear brother and thank you for throwing your heart and soul into your ministry articles. As a writer I really appreciate your writing style.

I agree with your view/explanation on what I like to refer to as the Adventist version of original sin. And, like yourself, I have long believed that sin is defined in the Scripture and the S. O. P. as MUCH more than the standard, oft repeated "transgression of the law".

Actually, if you haven't already noticed, review the GC quote where Ellen comments on 1 John 3:4 and you'll find there is a bit more to her commentary on this verse, that most conservatives omit when quoting her on this passage. They always seem to stop short of the punch line. The full quote reads:

"Our only definition of sin is that given in the Word of God; it is the "transgression of the law" (NOW NOTICE the bit most leave out that immediately follows) "it is the OUTWORKING of a PRINCIPLE at war with the great law of love" - GC 493

I believe this "principle" referred to here is nothing less than the sin principle or the carnal unregenerate heart. Would you agree? In other words sin is not just an outward behavior or action it is nature.

I notice when a view of the sin nature is presented that goes beyond sin defined merely as outward actions, usually someone will inevitably resist this broader definition by quoting the verse I believe found in Ezekiel 18 that says "The soul that sinneth it shall die; the son shall not bare the iniquity of the father and the father shall not bare the iniquity . . . .” I'm sure you know the verse I'm referring to.

What is your understanding of this verse? It seems to me this can be understood in one or two ways but I would like to know what your explanation of it is. - Australia

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When I listen to The Glad Tidings by EJ Waggoner... I hear the exact same message you are saying today. More proof that the Spirit of Christ is not divided... do we need to read or listen to The Glad Tidings... no... if we allow Christ to teach us himself... we will know of the doctrine. - Canada

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I was able to listen to some of the broadcast today from your part of the world. I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated and enjoyed your Sabbath School study. It's late tonight so I won't write more now... maybe later. God's blessings. - Tennessee

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Thank you for this powerful ministry which has saved me. how can I get more Open Face magazines? - Kenya

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Where can I find a church with the same doctrinal points and truths as yours, in Atlanta Georgia, USA? Stone Mountain county preferrably? I am a faithful servant of the Lord and I want a church or fellowship with the same Bible truths as Pastor David Clayton has at his church in Jamaica. I've been listening to the sermons posted on the Restoration Ministries website and have completely been transformed by the word of God through your ministry. I hope and pray in faith that many more SDAs and other churches alike will discover these unchanging, infallible biblical truths so that they can overcome the toll of sin on their lives and live without spot or wrinkle for the glory of the Lord. I thank you, for reading your Bible and coming up with such a wonderful explanation of what Paul meant when he said we are not under the law.( Even though it is GOD who revealed it to you just like He revealed to Peter that Jesus was/is Christ). I used to get stuck at this phrase. but now......... wow our GOD is marvelous. Keep studying and praying... - Georgia

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Thanks for your ministry!! I appreciate your video teachings very much. Just started watching them a few days ago. May the Lord bless and watch over you and your family and ministry. Keep up the good work!!!

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Dear Sirs, Having been the recipient of many excellent publications I would like to donate to your ministry. Could you please give me some way to do that. - Australia

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Thank you, once again, for all you do. Your ministry has been a tremendous blessing to me. - Texas

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I have had the privilege of listening to some of the presentations by Pr. David Clayton. I was truly blessed by them and I would now like to share this information with some of my friends. Can you please tell me how I might be able to obtain DVD copies of the sermons listed on your website?

I eagerly look forward to hearing from you. - Barbados

 

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How Sweet it is

Lenworth Frankson

What is thick, sweet as sugar, golden yellow, sticky and an organic food substance? Didn't get it? Well here is another clue

...out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. Judges 14:14.

I am sure that by now anyone reading this article will know that the answer is honey. Yes honey; that sweet sticky stuff we use to sweeten our tea, put on our toast and pancakes and which is a necessary ingredient in many recipes. I am talking about unadulterated raw honey, not that garbage sold in many of the supermarkets that has sugar added to it at some point in the processing. I am told that in some cases the unfortunate bees are even fed a sugar solution in a cheap attempt to substitute for nectar. But the honey that I am referring to is the honey that comes from the concentrated nectar of flowers and that comes straight from the extractor.

This honey is unheated, pure, unpasteurized and unprocessed. It is an alkaline-forming food that contains ingredients similar to those found in fruits, which become alkaline in the digestive system. This type doesn't ferment in the stomach and it can be used to counteract acid indigestion. When mixed with ginger and lemon juices, it also relieves nausea and supplies energy. Raw honey is the healthiest choice amongst the various forms of honey as it has the best nutritional value and contains amylase, an enzyme concentrated in flower pollen which helps predigest starchy foods like breads, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.

Most of the honey found in the supermarket is not raw honey but “commercial” regular honey, which has been pasteurized (heated at 70 degrees Celsius or more, followed by rapid cooling) and filtered so that it looks cleaner and smoother, more appealing to the customer on the shelf and easier to handle and package. Pasteurization kills any yeast cell in the honey and prevents fermentation. It also slows down the speed of crystallization in liquid honey. However on the downside, when honey is heated, its delicate aromas, yeast and enzymes which are responsible for activating vitamins and minerals in the body system are partially destroyed. Raw honey is therefore assumed to be more nutritious than honey that has undergone heat treatment.

Honey History

The history of honey dates back to about 2000 B.C. where it was mentioned in Sumerian and Babylonian writings, the Hittite code, and the sacred writings of India and Egypt. It is presumably even older than that. It is also believed by many to be the first and most widespread sweetener used by man.

Based on the numerous times honey is mentioned in the Bible is seems reasonable to believe that it was highly valued. Even outside of the Bible, it was often used as a form of currency, tribute, or offering and as late as the 11th century A.D., German peasants paid their feudal lords in honey and beeswax.

In the past honey has been used not only in food and beverages, but also to make cement, in furniture polishes and varnishes, and for medicinal purposes.

In the Old Testament, reference is made of a land flowing with “milk and honey” approximately twenty times and in the book of Isaiah, referring to Christ, the prophet says:

Jesus and Honey

“ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” Isaiah 7:14, 15

Now there are some who believe that a land flowing with milk and honey and Jesus eating curds and honey is to be taken literally. Personally I think it is reasonable to believe that Jesus at some point in his life ate honey and curds but I don't think that these references made are to be taken literally. When the Bible spoke of, “a land flowing with milk and honey,” I understand it to be simply speaking of a place that is rich and fertile, a place that is fruitful and yielding, a place where your efforts in cultivating and farming will be richly rewarded. Of course there is no place on this earth where the actual land has rivers and streams made up of honey. I will go so far as to say that there is probably no such place in the universe.

So, as far as Christ's diet is concerned; I believe what is to be understood is that his diet was to be simple, natural and healthy. Eating butter and honey will not enable anyone, including Christ, to develop the ability to refuse evil and choose the good. It was not what He ate that made him good. Of course not. Christ was, and is good, simply because he is the literal Son of God, not by adoption but by birth. If we were to understand this literally then another problem would result because mixing goat or cow's milk with a sugary substance (honey) causes fermentation in the stomach,leading to indigestion. It is also recorded that Jesus ate fish, therefore his diet could not have consisted solely of butter and honey, but that is a discussion for another day.

What I do know is that if Jesus ate honey at some point and time, as a part of his diet, in doing this, He was including a very healthy food in His menu. In Exodus 16:31 we are told that “ man-na ” tasted like wafers made with honey. The association of honey, in this case, with man-na is an indication to me that honey is healthy.

Medicinal uses of Honey

Honey has been used in many medical applications over the years, including antibacterial topical treatment for burns and ulcers. The reason for this is that honey has osmotic properties; that is, it tends to withdraw water. Water molecules strongly react with the sugars in honey, leaving little water available for microorganisms. Because of this, infection-causing bacteria are literally dehydrated to death by honey. Because it operates in this way, honey is helpful in healing other types of wounds and not just burns.

Some studies suggest that due to the enzymes reacting in honey, hydrogen peroxide can be produced which generate highly reactive free radicals that can kill bacteria, further contributing to its antibacterial properties.

Honey has also been used to successfully store skin grafts for up to twelve weeks. Lab tests have shown that different types of honey have differing antibacterial sensitivities.

Raw honey can be preserved without any artificial help and it works as a good preservative too.

Not for Young Babies!

Although honey is a natural, healthy food that normally cannot support bacterial life, it's important to note that it can carry Clostridium botulinum spores which may be harmful to the undeveloped immune systems of infants. When ingested by infants, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism, a rare and serious form of food poisoning. The infection can also cause a flaccid paralysis weakening the baby's muscles, causing a “floppy” baby. Other symptoms include constipation, lethargy, poor feeding, weak cry, droopy eyelids, expressionless face, drooling or swallowing difficulty, and occasionally, respiratory arrest. By the age of one year, most children develop enough to resist this type of bacteria. Infants under 12 months of age should never be fed honey. Dipping pacifiers into honey to soothe crying babies or putting a few drops on their tongue should never be done; it is very risky and dangerous. Although food manufacturers make extensive use of honey in their products, baby food manufacturers, as a rule, will not include honey in foods recommended for those babies under one year of age.

Other uses of Honey

Research now shows that honey is loaded with health benefiting nutrients. Darker honeys is said to have more nutrients than light ones. Honey consists of two main sugars, levulose and dextrose. These sugars do not need to be broken down by the digestive process therefore honey is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, giving a quick energy boost to the body. It also contains protein, vitamins and minerals, no cholesterol and less than 2% sodium.

Organic raw honey acts as a good energizer and provides energy instantly. The vitamins present in honey are B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and certain amino acids. The minerals found in honey include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. The carbohydrates of raw honey increase our bodily strength and help us to get rid of muscle fatigue.

• Honey works effectively on morning sickness.

• It is excellent when mixed with lemon juice for treating sore throats.

• It strengthens our immune system and helps us fight against many types of bacteria.

• Raw honey combined with apple cider vinegar is a good medicine for constipation, pain in stomach and migraines.

• Raw honey does not contain any cholesterol so it should be a beneficial factor in lowering the risk of heart attacks.

• When taken along with cinnamon, honey can provide significant relief to joint pain in arthritis, within a short span of time. The same components are also used to treat stomach and bladder infections. They can stop bad breath in an effective way.

• Research suggests that honey and cinnamon, when applied directly in the hair, can reduce the process of hair loss. (I wish I had known this earlier).

• Raw honey mixed with lemon if consumed regularly can help in the conversion of accumulated body fat into usable energy therefore bringing down the body weight.

• Raw honey can be applied as an ointment on diabetic ulcers and skin diseases like eczema.

• It is an excellent moisturizer and hence is used for facial treatment by many. Gently rub one teaspoon of raw honey mixed with lukewarm water on your face daily and you can get a soft and glowing skin within a week. You can use it even if your skin is acne prone, as raw honey has a healing effect on the acne.

Honey is truly a rich and healthy food source. Enjoying a table spoon of honey once a day can definitely boost one's energy and supply necessary nutrients to our bodies. I am reminded that both Jesus and his cousin John the Baptist ate honey. More than likely the honey they ate was raw honey. Prior to their birth it was prophesied that honey was to be a part of their diet. Well, if it was good for Jesus and John, then, no doubt, it is certainly good for me.

 

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