“The right hand is used to open doors through which the body may find entrance….. A body without hands is useless. In giving honor to the body, honor must also be given to the helping hands, which are agencies of such importance that without them the body can do nothing. Therefore the body which treats indifferently the right hand, refusing its aid, is able to accomplish nothing.—Medical Ministry, 238
The Bible teaches that sanctification as growth in holiness is to result in victory over all sin before Jesus comes. This is not our achievement; it is Christ’s gift.
The Bible standard is perfect holiness in Christ.”Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1) We cleanse ourselves by depending on the transforming, empowering work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Rom. 8; Gal. 5). This cleansing, the work of the Spirit, results in “making holiness perfect.” It is not possible to express this in more comprehensive terms than the Bible does. We are to cleanse ourselves “from every defilement of body and spirit.” That means that our bodies and minds are to be free from acts of sin, it must be sanctified.
What is Sanctification?
Sanctification is that state of holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)
“Sanctification is a state of holiness, without and within… Every impurity of thought, every lustful passion, separates the soul from God; for Christ can never put His robe of righteousness upon a sinner, to hide his deformity.“ Our High Calling 214
What is holiness?
“Holiness is not rapture; it is the result of surrendering all to God. “The Youth Instructor, 17
The teachings of the Word of God open before us the necessity of purity, of holiness. This holiness is inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit but is not granted us without sustained and effective warfare on our part against the lusts of the flesh.
We read in Isaiah 11:11 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left”
When is the first time He gathered His people? .When He took them from Egypt. And He will gather His people a second time just before the end when He will gather His people out of all nations.
Is there to be expected a parallel when He takes them a second time? Let’s take a look at “the first time”.
Exodus 16 :2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3and the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
Was a diet a test of obedience to children of Israel? Obviously! God put this test in the first gathering, can’t we expect the same test in the second?
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Exodus 16:8And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
Numbers 11
18And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
33And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
34And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah ( GRAVES OF THE LONGING) : because there they buried the people that lusted..
“Sanctify yourselves to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh….”Why would they sanctify themselves? They were to sanctify themselves in order to resist that wich was not good for them because “”you have despised the Lord”. It’s very clear that they could not please the Lord by eating flesh.
Flesh in the Bible is a symbol of nature of not a sanctified soul. Manna is a symbol of a sanctified nature.
“During this period of waiting, there was time for them to meditate upon the law of God which they had heard, and to prepare their hearts to receive the further revelations that He might make to them. They had none too much time for this work; and had they been thus seeking a clearer understanding of God’s requirements, and humbling their hearts before Him, they would have been shielded from temptation. But they did not do this, and they soon became careless, inattentive, and lawless. Especially was this the case with the mixed multitude. There were some who suggested a return to Egypt, but whether forward to Canaan or backward to Egypt, the masses of the people were determined to wait no longer for Moses. PP 315.2
Psalm 78:17And they sinned yet more against him
18And they tempted God in their heart
By asking meat for their lust.
Psalm 106:15
13They soon forgat his works;
They waited not for his counsel:
14But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert.
15And he gave them their request;
But sent leanness into their soul.
“…sent leanness into their soul” …What does it mean?? It’s the loss of discernment! And there would always be the lack of discernment when you eat that wich God said is not best for you. It’s the most dangerous thing for God’ people when you cannot distinguish wrong from right and when wrong appears to be right.
“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right. – C. H. Spurgeon
Right and almost right! The battle is for our minds and we must exercise our discernment by apply knowledge, test it , resist temptations.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
“ The light that God has given and will continue to give on the food question is to be to His people today what the manna was to the children of Israel. The manna fell from heaven, and the people were told to gather it and prepare it to be eaten. So in the different countries of the world light will be given to the Lord’s people, and health foods suited to these countries will be prepared. The members of every church are to cultivate the tact and ingenuity that God will give them. The Lord has skill and understanding for all who will use their ability in striving to learn how to combine the productions of the earth so as to make simple, easily prepared, healthful foods, which will take the place of flesh-meat, so that the people will have no excuse for eating flesh-meat.—MM 267.2, 3 Medical ministry
Character, then, is a reflection of the development and state of the brain and the brain in turn is influenced by the physical condition or function of the body. In fact, “the body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 130.
Whatever, therefore, affects the physical is reflected in the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual nature.
“Excessive indulgence in eating, drinking, sleeping, or seeing, is sin.”—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 417.
“Wrong habits of eating and drinking lead to errors in thought and action.”—Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 62.
“The diet has much to do with the disposition to enter into temptation and commit sin.”—Ibid., p. 52.
“The brain nerve energy is benumbed and almost paralyzed by overeating.”—Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 414.
“We need to learn that indulged appetite is the greatest hindrance to mental improvement and soul sanctification.“Ibid., vol. 9, p. 156.
“It is impossible for those who indulge the appetite to attain to Christian perfection.”—Ibid., vol. 2, p. 400.
“It is not possible for us to glorify God while living in violation of the laws of life. The heart cannot possibly maintain consecration to God while lustful appetite is indulged. A diseased body and disordered intellect, because of continual indulgence in hurtful lust, make sanctification of the body and spirit impossible.”—Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 44.
The secret of holiness is following Christ’s example of self-denial.
Another words the test that existed back then will come again at the end
“I will reach out my hand a second time to gather the children” and the way with what God deals with His children will be the same. God does not change.
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