Godsloveandlaw's Blog

Note: This post is primarily directed to our present truth believers, the Davidian SDA.

In the story of the great exodus of  Moses leading God’s people out of Egypt, we look back and see the great sin of murmuring.

As we know the Lord time and again did great and miraculous things in front of their eyes yet STILL that did not remove their spirit of unbelief. Oh how sad! But what is just as sad is that today this spirit is still very much alive and has taken a root not only in the SDA but also in the DSDA.

We as present truth believers, as we know, have been given the highest and brightest light on the planet. The Scriptural truth known by us cannot be surpassed yet Satan and his angels, through their wiles have  led some of us to do the very thing that caused our Lord to reject His people of old–murmur.

Let us review that first exodus.

“And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”(Numbers 14:2-4)

Here we see clearly that the people had rejected God’s chosen leader, thereby rejecting the Lord! As we continue to read the sorrowful story of these people we realize that there survived only TWO adults over the age of 20 that made it to the promise land–Joshua and Caleb.

So all of us should know the ramifications of unbelief as exposed by murmuring , right? You would think, but as we open our eyes and ears today we realize that this same murmuring has not changed or disappeared among us. Let us look at two current examples.

Brother D is a long time believer of the Lord’s Rod. He has studied it well for about 30 years. He prides himself in knowing the ins and outs of the prophecies as expounded upon by our last prophet–Victor Houteff.

Sister H  is fairly new to the message of the hour. She is still studying it and is learning it well. Seems quite devoted to knowing it fully. Yours truly has supported her in her efforts to get material (books, Tracts, etc.).

We found out that brother D has some phone conference studies and we began to listen. Very well done we thought, despite our disagreement in some of the points presented. So we invited sister H to come and listen.

Soon sister H was thrilled to listen in to the studies. Later she requested to speak to brother D and they soon did.

The subject of Tithes as we all know is very important. And during their conversation this subject had come up. We had given sister H good helpful advice and material guiding her to the fact that despite our financial condition or circumstances, we MUST NOT neglect our Tithes.

Well, apparently our long time present truth believer has other ideas. He led our sister to understand that the current main organizations are not doing the right things and are therefore unworthy of our Tithes. In other words “just hold on to them and do as you think is right.”

In other words he was influencing her to NOT be faithful in Tithe paying due to what he perceives as “wrong doing”, not doing this right or the other. Murmuring and then exalting himself as a personal dispenser of the Tithes! Oh my, shades of Korah comes back again.

This is exactly the opposite of what the message teaches as evidenced here–

IS IT MY DUTY TO SET RIGHT THE LORD’S TREASURY?

Question No. 98:

   Should we pay our tithe to the “storehouse” if we know that it is not used rightly?

Answer:

   Knowing that our tithe belongs to God’s storehouse, our greatest burden should be to see that it is faithfully paid there. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that the Lord has laid upon any tithe payer the policing of the channels through which these funds pass.

   The Lord’s treasury is under His control, and if He Himself should not see fit to correct an abuse in the handling of His money, certainly we could not correct it however hard we might try. If we guard carefully that part of His work which He entrusts to us, our only concern will be to find out where His “storehouse” is, and then faithfully to deposit His money there. He has not made us responsible for its use; that, He will personally take over–even as He is now “taking the reins in His own hands.”

   When the Promised Land was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi received no land for an inheritance, as did the eleven tribes. Instead, the Lord decreed that the tithes of the other tribes were to go to the Levites. This was their inheritance. It was actually their own.

And just as they, as the tithe receivers, had no right to dictate to the others, the tithe payers, what to do with their own increase after it had been tithed, so the tithe payers had no right to dictate to the tithe receivers what to do with the tithe. Each tribe was itself to be accountable to the Lord for that which He had entrusted to it. Thus it must be today. (Answerer vol. 4, p.46-47)

This brother no doubt has convinced himself that because God’s current Elijah message organizational leaders are not doing the right thing, he is justified to make his own house the Lord’s storehouse. Again we read–

CANNOT MY HOME BE HIS “STOREHOUSE”?

Question No. 97:

   Is it Scriptural for one to retain and personally use his tithe and offerings in order to carry on the gospel work in his own community, according to his own plans?

Answer:

   Nowhere in the Scriptures do we find permission to use the Lord’s money at our own discretion. The only justification for so doing would be sheer inability, for some reason to send it to the Lord’s “storehouse.” Should one voluntarily, though, engage in such a practice then he would set the wrong example before others.

And if following in his lead, others assume  the same right, their course must inevitably  result in seriously handicapping the Lord’s work, bleeding and subverting His treasury, and thus disorganizing His work and reducing the church to a mere shell, while her members are hiring themselves as laborers in the Lord’s vineyard, helping themselves to the Lord’s money, and running without having been sent! What a Babylon that would be!

   Though the Lord commands, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” (Mal. 3: 10), He does not say to bring all the offerings. Thus, He shows that if we would engage in some personal charity or missionary activity, we should sustain it from offerings, not from the tithe.

   “Angels keep a faithful record of every man’s work, and as judgment passes upon the house of God, the sentence of each is recorded by his name, and the angel is commissioned to spare not the unfaithful servants, but to cut them down at the time of slaughter….And the crowns they might have worn, had they been faithful, are put upon the heads of those saved by the faithful servants….”Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 198. (Answerer, vol. 4, p. 44-45)

Do we truly think that our murmuring today is somehow different? Somehow excusable?

Our Lord’s word applies –

“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

Let us look at our second case, that of sister C.

She is also a long time “professed” believer in the message of the hour. She has been very active in the Lord’s latest avenue of spreading His final message-Facebook.

But over the years we have noticed one unmistakable trait. That is that she neglects to post studies or other helpful encouraging present truth and instead she chooses to resort to criticizing and discouraging comments. Time and again when our studies have been about Tithes, she has always been the first to make comments condemning the main current organizations for their “wrong doing.”

Yet privately when warned repeatedly that she is murmuring, she has rejected the idea that she is doing wrong. Just as with brother D, just as Korah and his men as well, she too exalts her own position and declares that “she” is entitled to dispense the Tithes as “she” sees fit.

After being specifically warned of this evil course she has flatly rejected all counsel.

“I have been shown that the greatest reason why the people of God are now found in this state of spiritual blindness is that they will not receive correction. Many have despised the reproofs and warnings given them.” (Testimonies, vol. 3, p.255)

Blindness is indeed Satan’s handy work! But what makes this especially sad is that these are not people who are ignorant of His last message. They know the Rod or at least should know it.

“There is a certain element whom even God Himself cannot convince that He has taken the reins in His Own hands.  They never take orders from any but themselves.  Such independent ones will continue to question and criticize everything in which they themselves have no part.  So regardless of their profession, of what they think or say, they are not God’s people.  His real people, He declares, are able to take orders even from women and children.” (TG, vol.1, no.5, p.20-21)

And again the message tells us that instead of murmuring we should fall in line with God’s structural leadership, despite it’s seeming deficiencies–

 “Who went into the promised land? — All but the murmurers.  Do you suppose that you can entertain the same spirit of murmuring and complaining, and in spite of it receive the seal? — How absurd the very thought!  How unfair it would be for a just God to destroy the disobedient of that day, but to save the disobedient of this day.

   What made one group eligible to cross the Jordan? — It was their trust in God, knowing that He was their Chief Leader.  They recognized Moses and Joshua as the ones through whom God was communicating with them.  They did not look upon them as being anyone other than who they actually were.  They were satisfied with their lot.  They took orders as the orders were given.  So it was that they were the only ones who entered into the land.” (TG, vol. 1, no. 7, p.12)

The Spirit of Prophecy also describes in plain and clear words the results of murmuring–

“He wants to make of us a people through whom He can reveal His grace, and He will do this if we will only give Him opportunity, if we will open the windows of the soul heavenward and close them earthward against human rabble, against murmuring, complaining, and faultfinding….

Those who today murmur against God’s appointed agencies, weakening the confidence of the people in them, are doing the same work that the children of Israel did. The Lord hears every murmuring word. He hears every word that detracts from the influence of those whom He is using to proclaim the truth that is to prepare a people to stand in the last days.” (Christ Triumphant, p.121)

So if can we keep ourselves in check from this disastrous evil trait, we shall be just as victorious as the faithful Israelites–

“The remnant finally crossed the Jordan only because they whole-heartedly believed that Moses was God’s mouth piece, and because they ceased murmuring, took and obeyed orders.” (TG, vol.1, no.15, p.4)

In closing my brothers and sisters, let us not be like the Israelites, who questioned and criticized God’s work. Their murmuring was their undoing and they did not survive, let it not be our fate as well. You got a complaint? Put it to the right channels and you have done as Inspiration instructed, the results are in God’s hands.

This entry was posted on April 23, 2016 at 4:11 am and is filed under Obedience, Tithes and Offerings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.