Agitate, Agitate, Agitate

If we preach a peace and safety message today, what shall become of us? If we allow the professed Christian world to go along the pathway to destruction unwarned and unrebuked, what shall happen to us? Well, the same thing as what is happening to them – going further and further into lukewarmness and apostasy, so that is why we must agitate, agitate, agitate. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5:2-6

The whole world shall be agitated upon the law of God, especially the Sabbath. The only question is: will we be faithful and courageous enough to be the agitators?

Only if we are faithful to the light, in other words, if our fallen human nature has been agitated and broken up by the Spirit of God and a new nature put in its place, can we truly keep the Sabbath of the Lord and thus be faithful to all His commandments.
At every step of the way, our experience must broaden and our repentance deepen. Jer. 12:5 If we cannot run with the footmen now, how shall we run with the horses? Now perhaps a definition of agitate is correct here, because there are really two different kinds of agitation.

The good kind of agitation happened to me at a Bible study the other night. We were studying about Daniel’s prophecies, and the people were so excited to hear these new truths about the papacy being the anti-christ and how everything fit together, that they wanted to come to church right away. That was good agitation, but there’s bad agitation as well, when people always keep their minds in a kind of whipped up, emotional state. That’s not what I’m talking about. We want the Holy Spirit to agitate us on the subject of the truth, not on man’s speculation.

The Sabbath question was designed by the Lord to get people to look at their religion, their commitment to God in light of the truths of God’s word. In and through this question we can see everything exposed in the world:

1) The inroads of the papacy to compromise the law of God.

2) The political lawmakers seeking to break down the separating wall between church and state

3) The whole world increasingly seeking unity with the papacy, whether religiously, socially or politically, behind the scenes, but more and more in the open.

Actually, we have to have our consciences constantly agitated or else what happens to us? No matter how long we may have been in the church, we will lose our way.
No, not the kind of agitation that would depend upon its own strength to lose our hold upon Christ and become wild-eyed or fanatic, but to tighten our grip upon Him when we see all these things approaching. Let me explain: we have to study and continually examine our positions to make sure they are correct and to make sure of how we can present the truth to others. And our human nature has to be continually agitated and broken up so that the Holy Spirit can dwell within us.

“Whatever may be man’s intellectual advancement, let him not for a moment think that there is no need of thorough and continuous searching of the Scriptures for greater light. As a people, we are called individually to be students of prophecy. We must watch with earnestness that we may discern any ray of light which God shall present to us. We are to catch the first gleamings of truth; and through prayerful study, clearer light may be obtained, which can be brought before others.

“When God’s people are at ease, and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that he will not favor them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward, to receive the increased and ever-increasing light which is shining for them.

“The present attitude of the church is not pleasing to God. There has come in a self-confidence that has led them to feel no necessity for more truth and greater light. We are living at a time when Satan is at work on the right hand and on the left, before and behind us; and yet as a people we are asleep. God wills that a voice shall be heard arousing His people to action.

“Brethren, we must sink the shaft deep in the mine of truth. You may question matters with yourselves and with one another, if you only do it in the right spirit; but too often self is large, and as soon as investigation begins, an unchristian spirit is manifested. This is just what Satan delights in, but we should come with a humble heart to know for ourselves what is truth.” CW P. 41
Once God’s people settle down on their lees and start thinking they have all the truth – then what happens? We can be sure that God will not favor them.

In fact, this egotistic view is very offensive to those who name the name Christian in reality, because the truth is not a static, motionless thing, but is constantly unfolding, being constantly agitated itself, if you will, so we must follow the continually advancing light, if we would advance with it.

How does God look at truth? Well, it’s like a Framework of truth, within the Bible and pen of inspiration. What must we do then? Well, I think Phil. 3 :11-14 puts it very well…. Continually forgetting those things that are behind and reaching toward those things that are before. This is agitation in a Biblical sense.

In the last days, we know the whole world will be agitated upon these themes: The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Have you ever been asleep and suddenly awakened by an emergency situation? Maybe it was something scary, or life-threatening. Well, I don’t like to be awakened that way. I would much rather take my time and be prepared for what I have to do when I wake up, wouldn’t you?

How many we have known, that got tired of the fight, tired of being agitated and just wanted to lay down and go to sleep, but this time is no time to be asleep spiritually. Let God’s people sleep on a little longer, and we can be sure that Satan will have them…
EW p. 14-15. In this first vision of Sr. White, she looked for God’s people in the world, but couldn’t find them, then the angel told her to look a little higher….where the Loud Cry was, the message intended to wake people up…
An agitated, convicted German soldier said that there were two voices in him; one telling him to go on in sin and fear nothing; the other calling on him to reform and serve Christ.

Or take for example this situation: when Whitefield was preaching at Exeter, a man went with his pockets filled with stones, intending to throw them at the preacher. No sooner was the Bible text announced, than he pulled out a stone; but God sent the word to his heart. The stone soon fell to the ground, and after the sermon the man went up to Whitefield, confessing his intention, and saying, “Sir, I came here intending to give you a broken head, but God has given me a broken heart.” The man afterwards became a Christian and preached to others what he wanted to destroy.

The only way we can prepare for Christ’s second coming is by being agitated by the Spirit of God on the truth. And then we let the Lord use us as instruments to agitate others to the truths of His word. We better not sink down in sleep, because that is what Satan is trying to get us to do, rocking the people to sleep in the cradle of carnal security.
So what are we to do? The only safe course is to agitate, agitate, agitate….