Greetings MOL Family!

I wonder if we sometimes cherish the thought that if we were where we ought to be, and were what we should be, we’d have everything working out (day by day) without feeling weak, unready, ill-prepared, and insufficient. But Jesus never got to the point where He could go on without a fresh recharging of the battery. He never learned so much that He didn’t need to go to His Father in prayer, and receive that fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. Is that true? Therefore, our frustrations, our perplexities, our meeting situations that are beyond us, all this should send us to the same place it sent Jesus – to our knees. And we can get just the same help He got, can’t we? Oh, yes.

Only By Such Communion

To them above all others He gave the advantage of His own companionship. Through personal association He impressed Himself upon these chosen co-laborers. – Education, pg. 84

What’s the verb here? — Impressed. You’ve seen a seal such as a notary public puts on a document. What are the two things necessary to get that seal onto the paper? What’s necessary to get that seal from the metal unto the paper? – [Pressure]. And before the pressure – [Contact]. Contact between the thing to be impressed upon, and the thing that is to be changed, impressed. Unless the paper is brought in contact with the seal, nothing happens. But to merely lay the paper on the seal or under the seal, nothing happens. There has to be contact and pressure.

God often allows circumstances that will bring us close together with those that we seek to benefit, praying together, searching the promises together, looking at problems together. All these are the means God uses to bring not only contact, but pressure. But unless we have something to impart, the impression that they get through contact with us will not be what Heaven desires. On this point, dear friends, may I urge you to be very careful that you do not give your human opinion on matters where divine instruction is available.

Dear ones, measure things by the pattern, whether it’s diet, or dress, or music, or reading, or association, or counseling, or courtship and marriage, recreation, amusement, literature, education. Be extremely cautious about giving your opinion.

Suppose some student comes and says, “I’m thinking of doing such and such.” And without thinking, you say, “Well, I think that’s a good idea.” It may not be a good idea at all. Well, you say, “Everybody does that.” — Almost everybody.

Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. – Matthew 7:14

 

…wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. – Matthew 7:13

There are literally hundreds of things, current, commonplace among members of the Remnant church today that are positively condemned in the Spirit of Prophecy. Hundreds of them that are just taken for granted with everybody except a few extremists.

Do you know what’s in the books on diet, on dress, on music, on reading, on association, on courtship, on recreation, amusement, entertainment, concerts? Do you know what’s written on all this? If you do, don’t contradict what’s in the books and if you don’t, find out before you venture your opinion. This is the only way that we can impress upon our students the image of the divine.

Jesus knew the truth. He lived the truth. He was the truth. So as His disciples came in contact with Him, they received that impression.

Through personal association He impressed Himself upon these chosen co-laborers. ‘The Life was manifested,’ says John the beloved, ‘and we have seen it, and bear witness.’ 1 John 1:2 – Education, pg. 84

Now comes this wonderful paragraph:

Only by such communion, the communion of mind with mind and heart with heart, of the human with the divine, can be communicated that vitalizing energy which it is the work of true education to impart. It is only life that begets life. – Ibid

You notice the limiting word that is repeated twice here. What is it? — Only.

Only by such communion … can be communicated that vitalizing energy [And what is this only way?] the communication of mind with mind and heart with heart, of the human with the divine… It is only life that begets life. – Ibid

You remember that experience where Elisha was up at Carmel, and this woman who had miraculously been given a son through his ministry and prayers came bringing in the sad news that her son had died. And you remember, he sent his servant, his personal attendant, Gehazi, with Elisha’s staff, and told him to put that on the child. But the woman wouldn’t go. She stayed right there and said, “I won’t leave unless you go with me.”

On the way to the woman’s home they found Gehazi coming with his report, dutifully submitted. He said, “I did what you told me and nothing happened.” Well, what more could anybody do? What was it Gehazi lacked? He lacked life.

So, Elisha went in and shut the door. As he prayed, the Bible says, you remember there that he did what? He stretched himself upon that boy mouth to mouth, hand to hand, body to body. What a picture of contact. And God used that. Obviously without the miracle working power of God no artificial respiration could have brought the dead boy back. He had been dead several hours. But God used that as He often uses simple things to teach a lesson. The lesson this is talking about:

It is only life that begets life. – Ibid

God breathed into the lifeless form of Adam the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And so here was the prophet there with that boy imparting life. This is a picture of the privilege that you and I have, as we come into contact with souls. We’re to come so close to them that we share the life of God with them.

This is why, dear students, dear fellow teachers, there are certain phases of teaching work, homeheading work, religious work, soul winning work, that belong to men in working for men, and to women in working with women. Now, don’t misunderstand me. There are some things men can do for everybody, men and women. There are some things that women can do for everybody, men and women.

But there are some things, dear friends, in what we’re reading on this page that call for a fellowship so close, that needs a fellowship so close, that the better it is; the worse it is if it’s a man with a woman or a woman with a man. The more it succeeds the more dangerous it is.

So thank God we have men that can do this closes, intimate work with men, and that we have women who can do this close, intimate, fellowship work with women. And as I say, let me repeat it so I’m not misunderstood, I don’t mean men can’t do anything in helping women to know the truth. I don’t mean that a woman must never be of any service to a man. Just now we’re not trying to study where the lines are. We are pointing out that there are lines.

And the biggest thing I want to impress is not so much what we should not do. I’m pointing out an area that very few people ever enter into, men with men or women with women. Our contacts are so casual very few deep impressions are made.

Jesus, the Son of the Infinite God, while He ministered to the multitude, fed the thousands upon thousands, limited His closest work to a few individuals. Didn’t He? Even among the twelve did He not have a closer inner circle? — Peter, James, and John. Now, some of the others didn’t like it, but it was necessary to accomplish what He’d come to do.

And so while you maintain, as you carry on your work, an attitude to help anybody and everybody that you can, keep praying that the Lord will give you the Peter, or James, or John, or Mary, or the Susanna that you can get close to and can get close to you. That you can make the impression on them that God has laid on you either directly or through some other human being.

Oh, I thank God, dear friends, for the training the Lord arranged in my life with my parents when I was young, the certain chosen agents that He used in my teens and twenties and later. All of that puts me in debt. The only way I know to even keep up the interest on the debt is to keep passing on.

But you’re different from anybody else that was ever born. The way you do it will be different from anybody else. And the person you can help, you can help better than anybody else on this planet can. If the apostle Peter should come along, he couldn’t do as good a job with somebody as you can do. If Mary, the mother of Jesus, should be raised from the grave, there are some people she could help, but there’s some girl, my sisters, that you could help better than Mary of Nazareth could help. Don’t forget it. But you have to get life in order to impart it.

Jesus got it through seasons of prayer and communion, pleading with His Father. He studied God’s word and nature. And then He shared it with His disciples.

Only by such communion, the communion of mind with mind and heart with heart, of the human with the divine, can be communicated that vitalizing energy which it is the work of true education to impart. It is only life that begets life. – Ibid

So, you and I are not to be just a tape recording, repeating what we have heard. We are to be a river of life, imparting that stream that flows from the throne of God.

In the Inner Circle

Now look again at this paragraph with which we first began our lesson. It’s going to mean more now than ever before:

In the training of His disciples the Saviour followed the system of education established at the beginning. The Twelve first chosen, with a few others who through ministry to their needs were from time to time connected with them, formed the family of Jesus. – Ibid

Did Jesus have a family? This says He did. Some people would poke fun at that, or frown at the idea, “Family, family, what a family!” But inspiration calls it the family of Jesus. And if our ideas do not grasp what this is talking about, we need to have our minds changed, don’t we?

…the family of Jesus. They were with Him in the house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They accompanied Him on His journeys, shared His trials and hardships, and, as much as in them was, entered into His work.

 

Sometimes He taught them as they sat together on the mountainside, sometimes beside the sea, or from the fisherman’s boat, sometimes as they walked by the way. – Ibid., pgs. 84-85

Did Jesus teach as He walked? Yes. Sometimes sitting, sometimes walking.

Whenever He spoke to the multitude, the disciples formed the inner circle. – Ibid

Isn’t that a beautiful picture? Think of the 5,000 gathered to hear the words of Christ, and later to be fed. Where would you find the disciples? — In the inner circle.

Oh, dear ones, press close to anybody that can help you learn something and can give you more life. And then in turn, encourage the pressing close of those you are trying to help.

Whenever He spoke to the multitude, the disciples formed the inner circle. They pressed close beside Him, that they might lose nothing of His instruction. – Ibid

Figuratively, were they taking notes? Yes. Their minds were better Xerox machines than ours are. We have the help of printing, and paper, and ink.

They pressed close beside Him, that they might lose nothing of His instruction. They were attentive listeners, eager to understand the truths they were to teach in all lands and to all ages. – Ibid

What a fellowship! What an experience! And you and I are given the great privilege of carrying on today a similar ministry. As much as in them was, they entered into His work. As much as in us lies we are going to do it, aren’t we friends? Praise God. And I give you this promise:

Constantly God is laboring to make up man’s deficiencies. – Review and Herald, December 1, 1904

Where as you and I add, God will multiply. As we bring our barley loaves, He’ll use what we have to meet the need.

Until next week – Invite a friend, and we’ll see you then… 

–Continue on to the next study–

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* This study has been adapted from classes taken by Elder W.D. Frazee.