Episode Transcript
Hello, I'm Dr. Kylie Fisher. Welcome to Heavenly Harmonies.
Matthew, chapter six, verses 19 to 21 says, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Jesus does not promise his followers a life of fame, fortune and selfish ease, but he offers us things far more wonderful and enduring. True joy through obedience to his law, himself as our constant guide and an eternity of bliss in a world made new. Our hymn for today, I'd Rather have Jesus highlights these ideas in beautiful poetic language.
Stay with me to discover how its heavenly harmonies can keep you near to the heart of God. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold I'd rather be his than have riches untold I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands I'd rather be led by his nail pierced hands Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause I'd rather be faithful to his dear cause I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame I'd rather be true to his holy name Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway I'd rather have Jesus Than anything this world affords today he's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom he's sweeter than honey from out the comb he's all that my hungering spirit needs I'd rather have Jesus and let him lead Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway I'd rather have Jesus Than anything this world affords today throughout the ages, friends, God's true followers have served him not for gain or reward, but because of his wonderful character of love. But did you know that this is a vital issue in the great controversy? And perhaps the part of history that best illustrates this is that of Job.
And so in the story of Job, we have spoken about this before. The curtain that separates the visible from the invisible world is drawn aside, and we see Satan, the enemy of God, and man accusing not only Job, but God, of unfair dealings and biassed affection. So notice the words of Satan at a council of heavenly beings when they all meet with God up in heaven.
And so this is recorded in Job chapter one. And we're going to look at verses nine and ten, but I would encourage you to read the whole of the book of Job, but also particularly chapters one and two, because it really highlights how this issue is really central to the great controversy, that battle between good and evil. And we're tracing this.
We're tracing the historical foundations of present truth. And so we're tracing this battle from its beginnings in, you know, in eternity, past, time, before our world began. So, but let's have a look at what Satan accuses God of in Job, chapter one, as he said, and verses nine and ten.
And so, speaking of God's loyal servant Job, Satan says, doth Job fear God? For nought hast not thou made an hedge about him and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side, thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the land. So notice here that, friends, that God wants to bless us. He longs to bless us when we obey his law.
We are in that channel of blessing, and he can easily pour out his blessings upon us. And that was what had happened to Job. But notice how Satan twists this and accuses both Job and God of unfair dealings.
And so God gives Satan permission to test Job's faithfulness by bringing calamity after calamity upon him. And so, in one day, all Job's wealth is ruined and his children are killed. Then, as Satan further accuses God, Job himself is struck with boils from head to toe.
Job's wife advises him to curse God and die. Job's friends say that he must be a terrible sinner or such things would never happen. But in the midst of all of this, Job remains faithful to God.
His only response is, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And so, even though Job cannot fathom the cause of his affliction, and he expresses his utter misery and dejection, he suddenly cries out, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
Now, friends, Job had no idea of what was happening up in heaven. But by remaining faithful to God in the midst of suffering, a great victory in this battle between God and Satan was won. And this was a victory for good.
It was a victory for right. And you know, if we remain faithful to God in the midst of troubles, sufferings often, that we can't understand, we can do the same. We can win battles for good in the great controversy, you know, calm submission to God in the face of the greatest trials and losses is a demonstration of deep loyalty to God and trust in Him.
It was through lack of trust that Adam and Eve forfeited their garden home of paradise. And it's only through trust, evidenced by obedience, that Eden can be regained and that it will one day be regained. Now, all through time, there have been those who have made the same choice as Job, who nobly chose to trust God and to serve Christ at the loss of all else.
Others, sadly, did not make the same choices. So we are going to consider some examples from the different points that we noted earlier in our hymn for today, which is, of course, I'd rather have Jesus. So let's notice some of those who said, I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold.
I'd rather be his than have riches untold. And so first we have Abraham, who after rescuing Lot, his family and the residence of Sodom and Gomorrah after a battle with four kings, he said, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, that I will not take from a thread, even to a shoe latchet. And so Abraham prized the honour of God above wealth and riches with, I think, two of the Israelites in Exodus chapter 35, how, when they were invited to bring gifts to build sanctuary of God, that says, the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, and in fact the people brought more than enough.
And so they had to be restrained from bringing because the stuff that they had was sufficient and it was actually too much. And I think of David, of course, one of the kings of Israel. We've spoken about him before, but you know David, he said, I have set my affection to the house of my God.
And he gave very generously to the house of God when it was being built, the temple of God, when it was being built in Jerusalem. I think too of Daniel, who in Daniel chapter five, when he'd been promised great gifts and rewards, he said to King Belshazzar, let thy gifts be to thyself and give thy rewards to another. He wasn't interested in serving for money.
I think of Matthew, very rich tax collector, as he was sitting at the receipt of custom. But when Jesus said to him, follow me, Matthew immediately arose and followed him. So on the one hand we have Matthew, but then we also have Peter.
Now, Peter was only a fisherman. He didn't have a lot of money. But Jesus called Peter the fisherman at the moment when his net was filled to breaking point.
And so both Peter and Matthew made that same choice, that same sacrifice. They, you know, were willing to give up all the worldly wealth they had for Christ. And I Think of Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 10.
Zacchaeus, again, a tax collector who had cheated the poor. But he said to Jesus, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I've taken anything falsely, I repay it four times.
And I think of the widow with the two mites. She cast all of her living into God's treasury, the same treasury that, you know, Christian knew of the. Of the greed, of the avarice, of the wrong way in which that money was going to be used.
And yet still he saw that this widow had given all to the cause of God. And so all of these people are wonderful examples of those who have said, I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. But sadly there were others who did not make that choice.
And I think of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. I think of Achan, who saw among the spoils of Jericho a goodly Babylonish garment and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold. And he coveted them and took them.
And because of that, men were lost in the battle with AI. I think also of Gehazi, who, you know, in contrast with the prophet Elisha, when Naaman came and was offering to the prophet Elisha after he'd been healed, he said, take a blessing of thy servant. But Elisha said, as the Lord liveth before whom I stand, I will receive none.
And even when Naaman urged Elisha, he still would not take it. And yet Gehazi ran after Naaman and he used multiple lies to cover his own greed and secured two talents of silver and two changes of clothes. Yeah, friend, he sold his honour, his honesty and the honour of God for that small amount.
I think of Israel in the days of Malachi the prophet, how they robbed God in tithes and offerings. And then coming into the New Testament, I think of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. But he went away Sorrowful, because he had great possessions.
I think of Judas who sold his Lord for 30 pieces of silver. And so you know that sadly there were some who made the wrong choice. And you know, friend, we could just list off person after person as we come to look at those with houses or lands.
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by his nail, pierced hand. Well, an example of one of those who was weak and cowardly was Lot, who when his uncle Abraham offered him first choice of all of the land of Canaan, he saw that the plain of Jordan was well watered and he chose that plain and he pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Now he became wealthy, he had a house. But he finally lost all of his wealth and all of his family when the cities of the plain were overthrown. By contrast, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob chose to dwell in tents because they believed and they trusted in God's promise.
And we can also look at those who valued Christ above men's applause. And I think of Micahiah, when Ahab and Jehoshaphat were considering, should we go into battle against this king? And so, so King Ahab had all of his prophets of baal, all of his false prophets there prophesying, telling him good things, you know, go up, the Lord will deliver them into your hands. But Jehoshaphat said, is there here a prophet of the Lord that we can ask? And Ahab said, well, there is one man, Micaiah, but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.
And. But at Jehoshaphat's request, Micaiah was sent for. And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, behold, now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth.
Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good. But Micaiah said, as the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak, he would not be bought. And when he spoke the truth, on Ahab's orders, he was put in prison.
But what he said came to pass. And there's so many examples that we could list. I think particularly of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Daniel, chapter three. How on the plain of Dura, they refused to bow to the idol set up by Nebuchadnezzar. And even when they were given a second chance, they did not hesitate.
They were willing to go into that fiery furnace. And all that the fiery furnace burnt up was the ropes that bound them. I think of some sad examples.
I think of Herod by comparison with John the Baptist. You know, John the Baptist spoke the truth to Herod. And yet the drunken, lustful Herod delivered up John the Baptist to the request of Salome, who had danced before him.
And so, yeah, John was beheaded because Herod had given this rash vow. And shows the importance of the promises that we make and that we need to have really clear thoughts. And I think when we think about worldwide fame, well, who could we list better than Moses? You know, he was offered to be Pharaoh of Egypt.
He was next in line to the throne, but he willingly gave that up for to, you know, suffer affliction with the people of God. And so, friend, there's just example after example after example that we could list. But, yeah, let's come onto the part of history that we're up to in our saga that we're tracing through.
And we also see these choices made by those who have followed Christ in the years of history since Bible times. And so, in a special message of comfort to the Christian church of the second and third centuries, Revelation, chapter 2, verse 9, Jesus Himself said, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich, friend. The early Christians gave up all for Christ.
Many of them had to leave their homes and dwell in dens and caves of the earth, but they looked forward to that rich reward offered to them by Christ. They found Jesus to be the richest treasure. They found the law of his mouth to be better than thousands of gold and silver.
They looked away from the things which were seen to behold by faith, a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. They risked and even gave their lives that they might have the smiles of Jesus. They surrendered worldly position and fame, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt.
And so it was in the centuries even following that, the 4th to the 6th centuries, this is the time of the church of Pergamos. That's spoken in Revelation chapter 2. And now we find at this time that In Revelation chapter 2 it describes that there were those in the church that hold the doctrine of Balaam and whom I mentioned before.
Now, Balaam had once been a true prophet of God, but he became greedy. He loved the wages of unrighteousness and he sacrificed his fidelity to God and to God's word to form an alliance with a king who sought to destroy God's people. Numbers 31:16 reveals that Balaam led God's people into idolatry, which is spiritual adultery.
They became unfaithful to God, and this faithfully depicts what happened. During the 4th to the 6th centuries, God's people formed an unlawful alliance with earthly kings. And as a result, the faith of the vast majority of God's professed people became corrupted.
However, there were isolated groups throughout the world that maintained their faith in God's Word. And so in the late 4th century in Syria, we had the Sabbatarians and the Syrians we also had in the Celtic area, we had Patrick, we had Columba, we had Dinuth in that during the Dark Ages, the churches of Ethiopia kept their faith pure in the 12th century there were those in northern Italy and France, the Waldenses and the vaudois. In the 11th century in France, there were the Cathari and the Petrobrusians.
In the 12th and 13th century in Northern Italy, there were the pesagini. And the 12th century in Bohemia there were the Picards. So there were those who remained faithful to God even in the midst of the worst persecution.
And so the book of Revelation was written especially to encourage these followers of Christ to remain faithful during those dark days. But still more. First Corinthians 10, verse 11 says all these things happened unto them for examples, or in other words, for types.
And they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. You know, friends, what has been in the past will be in the future. And Bible prophecy foretells that the power that persecuted God's people during the Dark Ages will rise again at the end of time.
This is particularly brought out in Revelation, chapter 13 and verses, and especially verse 3 and verses 16 and 15. The whole of the chapter of Revelation 13 really describes what is even now taking place. For many years now, this power has been steadily increasing, and God's people will once again have to make the choice between the riches of this world and eternal riches.
And even today, God's people are being called on in many places to make that choice. You know, as the Christians in the days of Titus had to flee from Jerusalem, so God's people will have to flee from the cities. They will have nothing left of earthly wealth, but they will have the comfort of Christ's presence.
And when Christ appears, he will acknowledge them as his own, while those who have trusted to their riches will, according to Isaiah chapter 2, cast their idols of silver and gold to the moles and to the bats, and they will cry to the rocks and mountains fall on us. Now, despite the sure word of prophecy, persecution is a daunting thought. But, friend, if you find this daunting to think about, I would like to invite you to consider the apostle and high priest of our faith, Jesus.
He is our ultimate example. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich. Christ gave up the glories of heaven and the adoration of the angels to be born in a stable, to live as a peasant, and to die the cruellest of deaths.
His sacrifice was voluntary. He said, no man taketh my life from me. I lay it down of myself.
Christ gave all for us. Can we give less to Him? Let's Think about this as we listen to our hymn for today I'd Rather have Jesus we're going to listen to Fountain View singing this beautiful song. I'd rather have Jesus silver horn I'd rather be his than have riches unfold I'd rather have Jesus than houses Warlands I'd rather be led by his nail pierced hand Than to be the king of a vast domain for beholding sins dress blame I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today he's all that my hunger is here I'd rather have Jesus and let him leave Than to be the king of a vast for behold I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world of for today More than anything this world of for today Matthew chapter 13, verses 45 says again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Friend, is Jesus the pearl of great price, the fairest among 10,000 to you. I invite you to tell him so now as we pray. Dear Jesus, thank you so much for giving up all of heaven for us.
Dear Lord, in view of what you have given to us, can we do less? We love you and we are so grateful for your great sacrifice for us. Please help us to be brave and strong for you in whatever situation you call us to. I pray in Jesus name.
Amen. Thank you so much for joining me today on Heavenly Harmonies. Remember, you can find past episodes on our website 3 abnaustralia.org
au Click the Listen button and select Heavenly Harmonies from the list of programmes. And we'd love to hear from you. Please email us.
I'd love for you to join me again next time when we continue our saga Historical Foundations of Present Truth. But until then, may your soul be filled with heavenly harmonies that will keep you near to the heart of God.
