Judgment at Laodicea

What, said Samuel, thinkest thou the Lord’s favour can be won by offering him sacrifice and victim, instead of obeying his divine will? The Lord loves obedience better than any sacrifice, the attentive ear better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is sin as witchcraft is sin, all one with idolatry is the unsubmissive heart. Thou hast revoked thy loyalty to the Lord, and he thy kingship. Samuel to King Saul following the battle against the Amalecites I Samuel 15:22-23 Knox Bible One night, I was walking the streets of Vientiane thinking about things in general when this verse came to mind. As I preached at myself, my thoughts drifted along themes of loyalty and rebellion, judgment, and Christian unity. I reflected on the criticism of Ellen White, the health message, the Spirit of Prophecy and the Testimony of Jesus. I examined my calling and what I am to become as a Christian. I wondered what it means to be one among a nation of priests, a chosen people who are to be living sacrifices inside of bodies that are, in effect, the holy temple where the Shekinah glory resides. Standing before God and men in our day and age, we are Laodicea, a people judged. The human race decides if the life-changing message we have been given is worth listening to. By watching us they determine if it is worth applying to their lives. If the lifestyle we live does not line up with the teachings of the Gospel, then we have invalidated the promises of God and the atheism and agnosticism of our critics is justified. WE ARE JUDGED. From God’s perspective, if we are not obeying Him, then what can He do for us? In short, nothing can He do for us, and that means He must declare us unfit for heaven. WE ARE JUDGED. Am I loyal to God? Or am I engaged in warfare against God? If I indulge in behavior that is not pleasing to Him, if I am doing things that bring shame and dishonor to His holy name, then I am at war against Him. If one act of kindness manages to sneak out and touch the life of one person God has been trying to bless, then God be glorified. In the end, I AM JUDGED, either found worthy to be His son, or not. I look at the concept of priest and king, for that is part of what I am called to be. Listen, then, to my voice, and keep your covenant with me; and I, to whom all the earth belongs, will single you out among its peoples to be my own. You shall serve me as a royal priesthood, as a consecrated nation. Exodus 5:6-6 Again, I Peter 2:9 reminds us of the following: You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people God means to have for himself; it is yours to proclaim the exploits of the God who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In Exodus 5, God tells Moses to invite the people to His visitation. They were given three days to meet God’s conditions, and issued a warning that if one person failed to meet these conditions, the fate would be death. They were to wash their clothes. They were to abstain from sexual activity with their spouses. They were to purify their hearts and their bodies. The day was coming for them to meet their God. On the third day a trumpet sounded, marking God’s arrival at Sinai. Like Moses, we are priests. We are to be prepared to enter into the holy presence of our Heavenly Father and worship Him. We are to help prepare the people around us to meet God. We are to offer encouragement to fellow believers, as well as make intercession for them so that God will find them worthy to stand in His physical presence. For the nonbeliever, we are to make intercession for them, as well as to set for them an example of the heavenly lifestyle they will miss out on if they choose to reject God’s invitation. The invitation to sit and visit with the Heavenly Father is open to every member of the human race. Whoever hungers and thirsts for knowledge of Him must never be denied. We must meet their needs so they can be prepared to meet face to face our loving Father. Look at what we have been called out of concerning the darkness and confusion of the world around us. Where others are troubled by the wars and disasters around us, we have a hope that God has given us. That magnificent light reveals to us a God who brings order out of chaos, peace out of warfare, light out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance. It saves us from the impulses of our character that lead us deeper into sin. It brings us out of death into His more abundant life. How can we not proclaim these things? How can we not desire to bring His words to life inside of us? Why are we not taking up the challenge to share these signs and wonders with others who are still spiritually dead to God? I look at the message given to Daniel and wonder what it must have been like for his people to hear the words concerning these beasts rising up and devouring each other. Daniel lived to see the day come when the limping, two-headed beast rose up to take out the first beast. Were Daniel’s people divided on the issue of whether or not prophecy was fulfilled? After all, Babylon fell to the Medo-Persians rather quickly, and I am sure no one was expecting it to happen in their lifetimes. God blessed Daniel’s faithfulness by letting him live to see such things come to pass while serving in high positions in both the Babylonian and Medo-Persian governments. God showed His messenger other glorious things that would occur in our history, including the conflict that involved the four Greek generals fighting over the throne of Alexander the Great, as well as the sudden rise of Rome from out of nowhere. God even told Daniel how long it would be before the Messiah was to come, and gave him a starting date to begin the countdown to the Messiah’s arrival on earth. The 2300 day prophecy ticks down to 1844, the year one of John’s prophecies was fulfilled. John, given a scroll, was to take it and eat it. It was sweet in his mouth, but it made his stomach bitter. Prior to October 1844 the hope that Jesus would soon return filled believers in the Millerite movie with joy and love. A sweet message was given to them, and yet, when Jesus didn’t return, it was as if they had been kicked in the stomach by a mule. Over the centuries there have been debates and disagreements among Bible students concerning the gospel. At its core is the teaching that the righteous shall live by faith. We do not understand the Bible perfectly, but we are to trust in God as we work with Him in the matter of our salvation. We may not understand a passage, but we are encouraged to ask of the Holy Spirit for the wisdom we need so that we can see the teaching from His point of view. It takes time to understand the teaching, but in our doubt and unbelief, we must continue believing. Understanding will come in hindsight, if we are patient and strive to remain silent before Him when deep in our soul we want nothing more to do than scream, “WHY GOD? WHY?” On the cross, Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He never got an answer to the question. But His faith in God was grounded. “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” Even if it kills us, we have to keep on believing. The righteous will live by faith, and with a peace that passes understanding, they will commend their spirits into His hands, knowing one day they will live again. And yet there is a certain class of Bible student who will not seek the word of God in order to build faith. Instead, they lean to their own understanding and seek to undermine the faith of others. Some honestly think they are doing the Lord’s work, but the truth is that they have unwittingly become enemy agents. In their blindness they do not see the damage they do to themselves or to others. Some of these critics eventually get a clue from God and realize they have done wrong and repent of it and are restored. Others stay the course and don’t see the danger they are getting into. They are oblivious to the price that they will pay when this journey is over. There are many throughout Christianity today who distort the Biblical teachings in the pulpit and on television or radio and on the Internet. There is confusion in our churches concerning baptism, the role of the Holy Spirit, the state of the dead, among others. The question of Sabbath worship is raised by many and false teachings concerning Law and Grace keep them from embracing this gift from God that connects us with our Heavenly Father and our first biological parents. Jesus’ warning against false teachers and false prophets goes unheeded among our brothers and sisters in our denomination as well as the rest of Christianity. Christian unity, the desire Christ had for the disciples and for all believers through every age upon the earth, is not yet achieved as it was on the day of Pentacost. We are not yet ready for the latter rain. To our shame, food taken from animals still makes its way to the tables at fellowship dinner on Sabbath. The health message concerning the vegetarian lifestyle is not readily accepted by a lot of people claiming to be Seventh-day Adventist. We understand that Genesis 1 shows that in Eden no animals were killed for food. We can read Genesis 3 and see when the first animal died. We can read the dietary law and see which animals are clean and unclean. And yet, when the Spirit of Prophecy brings up the vegetarian lifestyle, meat-eating Christians justify their diets based on biblical grounds, failing to understand that the animals from the time of Jesus have been corrupted to the point to where they are all unclean animals. Science can confirm this. In the generations following the Industrial Revolution, toxic chemicals and elements have been buried in landfills, poured into rivers and streams, and dumped into the oceans. How many oil leaks go unreported that damage the supply of fish that ends up on our tables? Radioactive materials are taken deep underground, but it is not known what the environmental impact is from these storage areas. Recent events still linger in memory, from the oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico that destroyed a major part of the Gulf Coast fishing industry, to the radioactive fish caught in the Pacific following the Fukushima nuclear incident following the major earthquake in Japan. Animals are eaten because they taste good. There is no other reason for it. Thing is, we don’t know what hormones, cancer cells, tumors, or other toxic material is stored in that animal’s flesh. God doesn’t want us eating animals anymore. He has given us scientists to support His point of view. He has given us spiritual reasons in the Bible to abandon meat-based diets. He has given us His love and mercy and protection, and desires us to extend that love and mercy and protection to the rest of His creation. Why do we damage Christian unity by rejecting the health message in the Spirit of Prophecy? Why is there resistance to returning to the diet of Genesis 1? We don’t have to be a slave to our appetites. How can we stand up and sing, “Worldly pleasures all forsaken… I surrender all…” if we have not surrendered our appetites to God? And yes, this includes our taste for junk food as well. The chips, the candy bars, the soda, the foods and drinks that are overloaded with sodium, modified sugars, and other man-made chemicals destroy the nutritional content of natural foods and should be avoided. The body is a temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We need to purify our bodies. We need to cleanse the holy sanctuary in our hearts. Jesus is coming. One day that trumpet will sound like it did at Sinai, and we will see the King in all His glory. We need to be prepared for that day. God is calling people to be part of His holy nation. He is looking for people who are willing to trust Him and obey Him, even if they do not understand His purpose and cannot see the end. He rewards those who have not seen and yet believe. Those who seek Him with all their hearts will find Him. Like Moses and Samuel and the prophets, we are to help them on their journey. God has given us this calling. Our hearts must be submissive to Him so that we may faithfully perform our duties on His behalf. To whom much is given, much is required. It is a painful lesson we learn from King Saul. On several occasions God through His servant Samuel commanded Saul what was to be done, and Saul failed to follow through. After the battle with the Amalecites, Saul was to make sure everything was destroyed. Instead, he allowed the animals in good condition to be used for sacrifice, which went against God’s orders. Saul was entrusted with a job to do and he once again failed to follow through. He dishonored God, and failed to see that he was in rebellion with God. As a result of his disobedience, God took from Saul the kingdom that had been entrusted to him. God has entrusted us with an incredible message of salvation, and with it is included a survival plan designed to help us through to the very end of the world and beyond. It is an introductory course to the culture of heaven. We are expected to study it and to put it into practice. The things we bind up here on earth are going to be bound up in heaven. No more sin. The life of heaven that we unbind here on earth will be the same throughout the ages of eternity, including but not limited to keeping the Sabbath and eating a vegetarian diet. The Spirit of Prophecy was given to Daniel to help see the people through to the first coming of Jesus Christ and beyond. The Spirit of Prophecy was given to John to help the medieval church make its way to 1844 and beyond. The Spirit of Prophecy was given to E. G. White to help our generation prepare to see Jesus Christ return in clouds of glory and beyond. We must not violate that trust as Saul did. If we continue in rebellion against God, then from us God will take the kingdom. We are Laodicea. We are a people judged by the world and by God. Let the judgment be in our favor so that we may be found worthy to be priests and kings in God’s holy nation. When judgment day comes, I want to hear the Heavenly Father proclaim, “These are my beloved children in whom I am well pleased.” We should all want to be in that number. It’s our calling.