FOURTH QUARTER 2020

SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #13

DECEMBER 26, 2020

“HEAVEN, EDUCATION, AND ETERNAL LEARNING”

 

 

Memory Text: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NKJV).

 

It was a privilege to share last week’s lesson on the Sabbath, for I was able to share how God incredibly called me and blessed me in my life, to serve Him and those He loves, and how the discovery of the Sabbath played a role. However, this week’s lesson completes that revelation of me, for all of us, for while I was incredibly called by God, I was brought into the church after four Amazing Facts folders, and was in the seminary 16 weeks after my baptism, full of a desire to know more, but greatly needing greater knowledge of God, of conversion, of death to self. I was convicted, I was being influenced by the Spirit, I had discernment from the Spirit, I had knowledge, I had a thirsting for more knowledge, I had a great love of sharing knowledge, but I was not really converted. I left the seminary in 1988, was in my own church, a suburban church outside of Chicago, a year later, leading while also of course needing each day to be led, and I thank that church, that first step in the journey, after my internship, first, for exposing me to the 1888 message, and for their patience and kindness for one so young in knowledge of true faith. I have come, ever more progressively, as hopefully, we all have, to get our eyes off of ourselves, and onto Christ, and He alone, that we must decrease, that He will increase. Yes, it is an incredible truth that God took me in 11 months from being a worldly person, to being in the seminary. Yet it is no credit to me, it is reason to cry out “What Has God Wrought.” For His work has been the same, in one way or another, in every one of us who believe.

 

I pray my life, and all believer’s lives, stands as a testimony of the incredible work of our Savior, High Priest, Creator, and Friend. It is a miracle to grasp the words of Jesus, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” God winks at ignorance, but there is no excuse for anyone not to finally hear the Call of God. There is no excuse for anyone, and there is great hope for everyone.

 

Sanctification is the work of a lifetime, and knowledge of God is the work of Eternity. That is the truth of this lesson, and the lyrics from the song “It is Finished” are what God wants us all to eventually, fully discover.

 

Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging

Not all prisoners of war had come home

These were battlefields of my own making

I didn't know that the war had been won

 

Oh, but then I heard the king of the ages

Had fought all the battles for me

And that victory was mine for the claiming

And now praise His name, I am free.

 

Free from what?  We still live in the battle between flesh and spirit every day. We can be free to live a life of love, of peace, faith, and rest, for the Gospel and the Sabbath teach us that if we rest by faith, God lives in us. Jesus has already won the Battle; we simply rest in His victory. A rest of faith, love, obedience, service, trust, and constant connection to Him.

 

The Path of the Just is as a shining light, that ever shines more to the perfect day. I have learned, often, that we need to die to self, to pride in our conversion, pride in our accomplishments, pride in being a small part of the 1888 Message group, etc. etc. etc. “The righteousness of Christ lays the glory of God in the DUST.” God has taken me, and all of us, on a path whereby we begin to grasp not only our salvation, but the incredible love and mercy of God. The journey never really ends, there is no “arriving” in one sense, for throughout all eternity we will receive new glimpses of the love of God. Heaven will be a ceaseless approaching to God. On another level, we can stop battling, NOW, for It is Finished, the Battle is Over, and Jesus is Lord. It was not “my” conversion, at all, it was all God’s work for me. He is searching for us, He is calling to us, He is sharing Himself with us, He is standing at the door, every day, knocking, wanting to spend the day with us. Which day? Merry Christmas, Every DAY of the year.

 

As the Sunday lesson points out, For Pascal, the most logical thing a person could or should find out is what fate awaits the dead, and he was astonished to see people get all worked up over things such as “loss of office, or for some imaginary insult to his honor,” yet they paid no heed to the question of what happened after they were to die.

 

Pascal had a point. And that’s no doubt why the Bible spends a great deal of time talking about the promise awaiting those who have found salvation in Jesus, the promise of what will await them in the future.

 

“Heaven is a school; its field of study, the universe; its teacher, the Infinite One. A branch of this school was established in Eden; and, the plan of redemption accomplished, education will again be taken up in the Eden school.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 301.

 

“Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal river and green fields, the waving trees and the living fountains, the shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home—that world of beauty which no artist can picture and no mortal tongue describe. Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination can portray.”—Ellen G. White, Heaven, pp. 133, 134.

 

“A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare mansions for them in the Father’s house. Those who accept the teachings of God’s word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. . . . Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 674, 675.

 

“There, when the veil that darkens our vision shall be removed, and our eyes shall behold that world of beauty of which we now catch glimpses through the microscope; when we look on the glories of the heavens, now scanned afar through the telescope; when, the blight of sin removed, the whole earth shall appear in ‘the beauty of the Lord our God,’ what a field will be open to our study! There the student of science may read the records of creation and discern no reminders of the law of evil. He may listen to the music of nature’s voices and detect no note of wailing or undertone of sorrow. In all created things he may trace one handwriting—in the vast universe behold ‘God’s name writ large,’ and not in earth or sea or sky one sign of ill remaining.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 303.

 

God promises full restoration, full healing, full fellowship, full knowledge, ever increasing revelations of His heart of love, the opportunity to spend eternity walking with Him, sharing the experiences of this earth with the unfallen worlds, and sharing with the universe in worship of God. Have you realized, as much as you should, that God is calling YOU to participate in the FINAL RESOLUTION OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY, to stand for your Redeemer against the forces of evil, and to cry out to all who will hear, God is Love.

 

I am going to share a poem I wrote, which relates to this journey of faith, and how we are free to receive Christ by faith, or free to go another path. It is referring to the ultimate goal of salvation, which is reunion totally with God, to reveal His glory, to finally grasp, fully, that God is love.

 

There are those ones who cannot see

Which rose was meant for them

They take from all the flowers afield

And only leave a broken stem.

But for those ones who truly see

The beauty of THE rose

He does create a living flower

A love that always grows.

 

You don’t know what’s coming in 2021, in the course of your life, but you DO KNOW what’s coming for you know WHO IS COMING, and what is coming, an eternity of fellowship with the Greatest Love in the Universe. I appeal to everything inside of you to open the door, to grasp the unknown, with the eye of faith, for He is, will be, ever will be far greater, more loving, than we can imagine.

 

“There the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15)—these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.” Great Controversy, 677.1

 

“There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.” Great Controversy, 677.2

 

“All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar—worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.” Great Controversy, 677.3

 

“And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.” Great Controversy, 678.1

 

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13  Great Controversy, 678.2

 

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him Who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”  Great Controversy, 678.3

 

 

~ Thomas Cusack