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Dedicated to the beautiful memory of Dennis Fischer of Billings, Montana, USA who recently died at home on 21st June 2022 after completing his race, and is now in his place of safety. His faithful loyalty to God shone so very brightly to those who had the blessing of knowing him. Dennis worked for those in God's church as a humble servant always serving with a smile overcoming physical hardships and producing inspired spiritual work in collaboration with Art Braidic as provided here from this website: https://blowthetrumpet.org/asabbathtest.htm My life is richer for his example. Remembering our hearty conversation with iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17) throughout the leisurely dinner at the Indian restaurant before we went to the Feast of Tabernacles in 2017. We were so very blessed to have had time with Dennis and Annie Fischer. Your healthy fear of God inspires me. Psalm 116:15…Until we meet again.
Even some people in the world get along by maturely agreeing to disagree and say "We can still be friends" even though their opinions are poles apart on politics, religion, healthcare, and any aspect on how to live. That is a healthy way to keep friendships and avoid arguments which can lead to break-ups. What about those in God's Church? Is it harder for us to agree to disagree? Well, it depends on just what we are talking about. Biblical matters are incredibly important to us and when we sense that others do not agree with what we believe is in the Bible, then things can become awkward, strange, and uncomfortable. Take for instance clear direction from God in Exodus 16:23, “Then he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’" From experience it is clear that not everyone agrees with preparing a double portion on the Preparation Day of what we will eat today as well as on the Sabbath so that we are not baking, boiling, or cooking on the Sabbath. Why are God's instructions clear to some and not others — we are all baptized and have God's Holy Spirit to help us discern right from wrong, to detect sin, resist and overcome, and to live righteously according to how God instructs, not how we think or perceive things should be. And so it is we do not all agree. There could be a few reasons for this.
We know some are wheat and some are tares according to scripture in Matthew 13:24 "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” This example shows that the enemy is the devil who enjoys nothing more than division, arguments, confusion, chaos and deceiving people, especially God's elect, and explains why some read their Bible and obey while others do not because their heart is not in it.
Another reason is our carnal human nature. We want what we want and we mostly want it NOW! Once again we go to scripture to see and understand what is written in 1 John 2:16-17 - "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever". It is true that we all have weaknesses and for some it is time and the use of it, not preparing adequately for the Sabbath. If we are to use this example again, it does not take much to buy food that is already cooked and just heat it up in the microwave if we work almost right up to sunset. Eating cold foods such as salads, fruit or cold cuts is no problem either, especially in summer. Many of us believe the Sabbath is to be kept as holy time, according to God's instructions on how He wants to be worshipped. We think it is a test of our loyalty, devotion, rightly dividing the word of truth, and we honour Him by doing exactly what He says and not what is convenient or suits us. Therefore once we learn about the Sabbath we completely change our life around from what we were doing prior to conversion. Scripture in Mark 7:7 clearly states "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men". We are not to worship God in vain, deciding how we will worship God for He clearly gives us what to do and when to do it — the opposite of taking things casually. Yes, we are to develop healthy fear of God and this most certainly translates into obedience so we do what He says, not what we think or feel like. We must resist and overcome our natural tendencies for they are sinful.
When we were pagans we did as the heathen did for we did not know any better, we were still under the devil's deception. Now we know that we are unable to decide for ourselves what is right or wrong therefore we keep God's commandments and we do this humbly, leading by example. Those who keep God's commandments according to His directions have healthy fear, always striving to listen, learn, be teachable and promote peace until those still on milk in the infancy of their journey while establishing a solid foundation are ready for meat, for the stronger nourishment comes over the passage of time with experience, tests and trials. Patience and forbearance is key in helping others determine how to rightly divide God's Word. Those listening to God's Holy Spirit allow the Helper to lead them in order to maintain a good, righteous example for the others who need to see humble brethren who put God first before themselves and everything else in life as the Bible reveals in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you". God must come first in worship, in everything we think, say and do in order to have our close relationship develop with healthy fear, awe, respect, and reverence for our Creator and we fully desire this to be so as His commandments are written on our hearts. The first commandment reveals this from Exodus 20:1-3 "And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me". Are we putting God first or ourselves first? Surely we do not want to be a false idol!
Promoting peace and unity is a strong desire and labour of love. It can be frustrating at times to lead by example when others seem to take no notice of the good example set. Yet we continue to do so because God sees our example, knows the intention of our hearts, and will intervene at the right moment. We trust God and need to defer to Him rather than take matters into our own hands for God sees all. We have seen a few things in our time and perhaps you have as well where brethren do not understand the "ox in the ditch'' principle, or treat the Sabbath as any other day by going to the shops to buy bread or milk or whatever. We continue to pray that they will continue to examine their Bible and connect with God in prayer in order to understand that the Sabbath is not like any other day for it is sacred, holy time reserved for God first and to develop our relationship with Him as well as fellowship with one another with righteous minds, righteous speech, and this will translate into righteous actions as we are separate to the world. It is not the time to engage in worldly pursuits such as working, entertainment, and doing what is right in our own eyes and then using justification to support our choices. The following sermon link provides much to study and meditate upon: https://www.ucg.org/sermons/sabbath-time-0. We are to be separate to the world even though we need to live in it (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Those with God's Spirit who also listen to it and are led by it desire peaceful unity as we all stand together for God. Do not fall for the devil's deception in causing division but rather consult God in all that you do by lining up with scripture in order to become an obedient and faithful follower of Christ — so let us become Christ-like just like Mr. Dennis Fischer.