Revive Us Again
The words of William Mackay’s old hymn are elegant and inspiring:
“Revive us again; fill each heart with thy love;
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory,
Hallelujah! Amen;
Hallelujah! Thine the glory,
Revive us again.”
Yes, they are beautiful words, and well might we sing them with conviction and earnestness. But dare we? Do we have any just idea of what revival and reformation entail, that we should so glibly offer our petitions to the Lord that He might bring them upon us?
“No line of truth that has made the Seventh-day Adventist people what they are, is to be weakened. We have the old landmarks of truth, experience, and duty, and we are to stand firmly in defence of our principles, in full view of the world.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, p.
“Said my accompanying angel, ‘Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages.’ The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.” Early Writings, pp. 258, 259. (1858.)
“Satan is constantly seeking to cast his hellish shadow about these messages, so that the remnant people of God shall not clearly discern their import–their time and place–but they live, and are to exert their power upon our religious experience while time shall last.” {3SM 405.2}
“God has called His church in this day, as He called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. By the mighty cleaver of truth, the messages of the first, second, and third angels, He has separated them from the churches and from the world to bring them into a sacred nearness to Himself. He has made them the depositaries of His law and has committed to them the great truths of prophecy for this time.” {5T 455.2}
I have learned that dress is part of the three Angel’s message, so that is why I have a burden to write and to help my Brothers and Sisters come back to our original message.
People were saying in looking to us: ” If they really thought that Christ was soon coming, and the case of every soul was to be decided for eternal life or death, they could not devote time and money to dress according to the existing fashions.” How little did those professedly believing sisters know of the sermon their dress was preaching! {CH 599.3}
“Our words, our actions, and our dress are daily, living preachers, gathering with Christ, or scattering abroad. This is no trivial matter, to be passed off with a jest. The subject of dress demands serious reflection and much prayer.” {CH 600.1}
“But the greatest evil is the influence upon the children and youth. Almost as soon as they come into the world they are subjected to fashion’s demands. Little children hear more of dress than of their salvation. They see their mothers more earnestly consulting the fashion plates than the Bible.” {CH 600.3}
As a people, we are looked upon as peculiar. Our position and faith distinguish us from every other denomination.
We do not think it in accordance with our faith to dress in the American costume, to wear hoops, or to go to an extreme in wearing long dresses which sweep the sidewalks and streets. (In other words: follow the fashion of the world) If women would wear their dresses so as to clear the filth of the streets an inch or two, their dresses would be modest, and they could be kept clean much more easily and would wear longer. Such a dress would be in accordance with our faith. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 424 (1864).
In John 7:17 we read: ” If Any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
I can testify now of the joy I have found in reflecting the beauty of holiness. I have found that as we step out in faith and do His will, we shall certainly know of the doctrine. As we are faithful in what we know, He grants us increasing understanding and knowledge of His ways. Our God is a very gracious God.
My Father in heaven loves me greatly and wants to protect me in every way possible, and I have discovered one of the most amazing ways He is doing this. It comes in clothing myself in the beauty of holiness. This strange way provides me with moral protection, and keeps me from being a stumbling block to my fellow man. In following the beauty of Holiness I have a wonderful sense of moral security in Him. It also affords me better health, enabling my body to function more harmoniously.
I have determined in my heart to follow His ways. I have discovered there is joy in obedience. I now see it a privilege to be able to wear clothing that symbolizes Christ’s righteousness.
There is joy in being able to put my pride and vanity aside in order to confess Christ, and there is peace in overcoming my personal opinion of what constitutes the beauty of holiness.
It is liberating to be able to disregard the opinions of others, and in quietness make the opinion of Christ more important than my own or my peers. It is far easier to please only One–and that is my God.
God had redeemed the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. God is not forcing us out of spiritual Egypt. It is completely our choice to stay there or come out, but we must realize that there is only one way out and if we choose to stay, there are consequences to meet. He is not willing that we should perish. God reasons intelligently with us so that we can understand His ways and be willing to cooperate with Him. It is in stopping and listening to His instruction that we have safety from the masterful deceptions of the evil one.
It’s like being in an army; to win the battle and have freedom from the enemy we must listen carefully to the Commander and follow exactly what He says. This is our only way of escape.
Our motivation for keeping the commandments should be thankfulness and adoration to the Lord for His redemptive act, as well as a desire to keep away from the bondage that held us in the prison house for so many years.
A quick glance makes us think that these commandments are anything but joyous and beautiful. In fact, the general consensus of those in slavery is that the law is painful and undesirable–but in reality these Commandments are liberating. Following them gives us a life of freedom from the effects of the sin and wickedness that prevail around us.
The commandments of God keep us separate from sin, so when Jesus comes the second time and destroys sin forever, we will not be destroyed with it.
” Wow!” you say. ” I don’t want to be destroyed. I will keep the commandments of God.” But it’s not long before reality hits and you realize that you can’t keep them. Now what?
Quite simply then, we must fall before the Lord and ask for a new heart: a heart that is like Jesus, one that is submissive to the will of the Father. We must ask for a change of mind and to be given true motivation. We must literally ask for everything, for we are as helpless as little babes.
We read in John 15:5: ” I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Jesus wants us to have His mind. Philippians 2:5 says: ” Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus did not follow His own human inclinations, although He could have, but He chose to set us an example. He did nothing of Himself. He did everything the Father asked Him to do. He is showing us not only that obedience is possible, but also how we are to render acceptable obedience to the Father.
John 5:30 says: ” I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
As we pray and strive for the mind of Christ we will find ourselves keeping the Ten Commandments, for it is a transcript of the character of God.
” The world is crazy after show and fashion and pleasure. Licentiousness is steadily and fearfully on the increase. Why will not Christians be true to their high profession!” {4T 646.3}
Christ is ashamed of His professed followers. Wherein do we bear any resemblance to Him? Wherein does our dress conform to the Bible requirements?
So our motivation to escape this world comes from our gratitude to God for bringing us out of bondage. We see that the escape route is in reflecting the character of Jesus, which is expressed in the life by keeping the commandments of God.
” Christians should not take pains to make themselves a gazing-stock by dressing differently from the world. But if, when following out their convictions of duty in respect to dressing modestly and healthfully, they find themselves out of fashion, they should not change their dress in order to be like the world; but they should manifest a noble independence and moral courage to be right, if all the world differ from them. If the world introduces a modest, convenient, and healthful mode of dress, which is in accordance with the Bible, it will not change our relation to God or to the world to adopt such a style of dress. Christians should follow Christ and make their dress conform to God’s word. They should shun extremes. They should humbly pursue a straightforward course, irrespective of applause or of censure, and should cling to the right because of its own merits.” {1T 458.4}
AMEN.
To be continued…