Our Newsletter is changing its name to Ma'ayan place. Ma'ayan is hebrew for water spring. You might be interested to read the background behind the choice of this name in a recent blog.
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Remember Your Name
The recent sermon by Pr Ted Wilson that invited us to remember our name as Seventh-day Adventists was a personal blessing to me. His reference to Ellen White's dream of 1903 and what might have been with God's people confessing their sins and humbling themselves before the Lord followed by his confession of pride and self and the season of prayer was evidence to me of the leading of the Spirit of God.
I invite you to join me in praying for Pastor Wilson and the team that support him. He needs our prayers and we need his leadership inspired by the Holy Spirit. I pray that the Lord will use our beloved president to lead us into revival unity and the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. I invite you to read the transcript from the sermon or watch the video.
The Song of David
A dear friend recently drew my attention to the following passage and I want to share it with you for it speaks volumes of the spirit of Christ in a man and his regard for leadership even when in an extremely difficult place.
2Sa 1:17-27 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (18) (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) (19) The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! (20) Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. (21) Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. (22) From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. (23) Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. (24) Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. (25) How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. (26) I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. (27) How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
While I can fully understand David writing this song about Jonathan, it is breath taking to read what he says about Saul. Saul had tried to kill David several times. He had spent years trying to track him down to eliminate him.
David had been anointed by the prophet as the future king, he had several capable men with him that could have influenced the nation against Saul and taken the kingdom from him. It could well have been justified for the sake of the nation that Saul be removed, but David did not dare to do this. He calls Saul "mighty" and "lovely and beautiful" and the "beauty of Israel" and he also lamented over Saul as well as Jonathan.
This passage of Scripture is a real challenge to us. We know that Saul was tormented by evil spirits. He had rejected the Lord. He was doing damage to the nation. He was rebellious and sullen. He finally communicated with a witch and revealed the total depravity of his leadership. How could David write such things and do such things? If we accept the Scripture as written literally, we read that David lamented over Saul, meaning he really was in sorrow for this man.
In this last days, everywhere there are voices crying everywhere about the failings of leaders and what a disgrace they are; furrowed brows and condescending tones stream forth from wanton lips that are enslaved to speak evil of dignitaries. If leaders are failing us, where are the tears, where is the love and where is the pleading with our God for the protection and restoration of such men?
Let us not lay a hand upon our leaders in careless words and hardened hearts. Let us not consider ourselves wiser and smarter than they as Judas did when following Christ. Let us lament and weep for our beloved leaders when they fall and pray that God will help them. Let us protect our leaders reputations and cease to spread their failures to others. Let us pray night and day for strong leadership and the Spirit of Christ to rule their hearts and bless our churches.
Remember David's prayer for Saul before you utter a word against the anointed of the Lord.
The Cross of Christ - What Did God Require?
I invite you to watch this sermon from the recent conference at Port Macquarie. Follow through the impact of the lie of the serpent on the meaning of the Cross and how its twists the beauty of
?Said the angel, "Think ye that the Father yielded up His dearly beloved Son without a struggle? No, no." It was even a struggle with the God of heaven, whether to let guilty man perish, or to give His darling Son to die for them.? EW 127 (1882)
