Rightfully or Wrongfully Accused
By John Thiel
When King David counted the Israelites, he acted of his own accord.
2 Samuel 24:1 And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
The next morning a message was brought to David by the prophet Gad: “Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore,” said the prophet, “advise thyself what word I shall bring again to Him that sent me.” {PP 747.1}
The king’s answer was, “I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.” {PP 748.1} The land was smitten with pestilence, which destroyed seventy thousand in Israel. The scourge had not yet entered the capital, when “David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.” The king pleaded with God in behalf of Israel: “Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let Thine hand, I pray Thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on Thy people, that they should be plagued.” {PP 748.2}
1 Peter 2:19-20 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
Accept the sacrifice of Jesus to be set free from both whether wrongfully or rightfully judged for my faults. We are living in the Day of Atonement and the actual process of that is taking place. As we release ourselves we notice Jesus suffered wrongly too. The faults I’m buffeted for need to be released by the correct application of Jesus Christ. The reality of the judgement in the Day of Atonement in which we are living needs to be understood. Our books are being examined. What do the books show?
The books of heaven record the sins that would have been committed had there been opportunity. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. By His law He measures the character of every man. As the artist transfers to the canvas the features of the face, so the features of each individual character are transferred to the books of heaven. God has a perfect photograph of every man’s character, and this photograph He compares with His law. He reveals to man the defects that mar his life, and calls upon him to repent and turn from sin (ST July 31, 1901). {5BC 1085.4}
This is what we are going through. In this time of earth’s history the Lord is revealing our defects of character. All heaven has a record of our character. Put yourself in his shoes. The point is that the work that God is doing for us at the moment is to reveal these things to us now before probation closes.
Let parents and children remember that day by day they are each forming a character, and that the features of this character are imprinted upon the books of heaven. God is taking pictures of His people, just as surely as an artist takes pictures of men and women, transferring the features of the face to the polished plate. What kind of picture do you wish to produce? Parents, answer the question! What kind of picture will the great Master Artist make of you in the records of heaven? . . . We must decide this now. Hereafter, when death shall come, there will be no time to straighten the crooked places in the character. {CG 562.1}
To us individually this should be a most important matter. Every day our likeness is being taken for time and for eternity. Let each one say, I am having my likeness taken today. Ask yourself daily, hourly, How will my words sound to the heavenly angels? Are they as apples of gold in pictures of silver, or are they like a blasting hail, wounding and bruising? {CG 562.2}
Not only our words and actions, but our thoughts, make up the picture of what we are. Then let every soul be good and do good. Let the picture made of you be one of which you will not be ashamed. Every feeling we cherish makes its impress upon the countenance. God help us to make our record in our families what we would wish it to be in the heavenly record. {CG 563.1}
Not only our words and actions but our thoughts also. Let the picture of you made be of one that won’t make you ashamed. Heaven has computers like we have where pictures can be transferred. The issue is whatever judgement I put on it, it’s the way God suffers under it that counts. The Lord is revealing to us the things that are marring my life. We may recover ourselves from the wrong.
The Remedy
If you do not know the nature of your disease, how can you take the remedy? We are looking at the things that God is revealing to us. The angels are looking on. As God reveals these things to us, he reveals to man the defects that mar his life;
Provision has been made whereby every soul that is struggling under sinful practices may be made free from sin. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Christian is not to retain his sinful habits and cherish his defects of character, but he is to be renewed in the spirit of his mind after the divine similitude. Whatever may be the nature of your defects, the Spirit of the Lord will enable you to discern them, and grace will be given you whereby they may be overcome. Through the merits of the blood of Christ you may be a conqueror–yes, more than a conqueror. . . . {TMK 237.2}
Ask the Lord to reveal to you yourself; place your life under His searching eye, and when He lays hold upon your case you will see that you have made grievous mistakes, and what you supposed was of little importance was offensive in the sight of Heaven. You will see that there is a decided need of thorough transformation of character. You will realize that you must put away the evil of your doings, and cooperate with God and heavenly angels who are sent to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. . . . {TMK 237.3}
Self must die. Every practice, every habit, that has a harmful tendency, however innocent it may be regarded by the world, must be battled with until overcome, that the human agent may perfect a character after the divine Pattern. . . . {TMK 237.4}
The crooked ways, the perverse doings of those around us, are not to dim the luster of our piety or to lead us to conform our habits to, and assimilate our customs and practices with, the world’s. Let the prayer go forth from the lips of those who claim to be the sons and daughters of God, Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23, 24). {TMK 237.5}
Everything I have done and am is recorded in the heavenly books. He appeals to me to deal with those things. As you go into the detail of Christs suffering with your sin, your mind will be cleared of those things. As you read these things of what Jesus suffered with you, the suffering of the second death, the abject depression, you will be released from within. Let Jesus unveil it to ourselves. We will see hope in a hopeless situation. That is what is meant by the blood of Christ. If you deal with it now, by opening your heart to Christ and letting him reveal it all to you, it won’t come up later. None of us can bear it. Why would he do such a thing for me?
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
139:24 And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
So I can see for myself I must permit God to show me myself even if it hurts so that I can get a correct vision of Jesus my saviour. Only he who sees his sinfulness can appreciate the saviour. Jesus experienced that depravity.
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Focus on Jesus
Psalm 69:1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. 5O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. 6Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
Wrongfully and rightfully accused, we are to be patient.
Psalm 69:20. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
Christ and I now is all the focus. As you come out of this with Jesus intact, you’ll have the Holy Spirit within to have a totally different future, a total different scenario. Every time the negative comes in flee to those pictures. That is the summary of what we’re of doing now. It is a mind exercise that you can’t get out of and in that condition seeing Jesus crying my cry. He’s God and a you surrender yourself alone between God and you and bask in this reality, he is depressed with you. The divine and human was perfectly blended. I’m at the bottom of the pit and he is with me. I sink in deep mire. What did he do?
Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Into your hands I commend my spirit. He died. After three days God lifted him out. The phenomenal picture is that when you surrender.
Psalms 84:5 Blessed [is] the man whose strength [is] in thee; in whose heart [are] the ways [of them].
Isaiah 26:19. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Together with his dead body trust him with my dead body. As I see, I will make contact with Jesus sufferings. Here is the element of total understanding that you can see when you die with Jesus because you connect by faith with Christs sufferings that he has made his own with you and you connect with the divine nature because its right there with you.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Amen.
