Meditation Thoughts. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, At thy feet I bow. For thy grace and tender mercy, Lord, we trust Thee now.

Transcription

1 LESSON 2 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

2 Meditation Thoughts I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, At thy feet I bow. For thy grace and tender mercy, Lord, we trust Thee now. I am trusting Thee to guide me; Thou alone shall lead. Ev'ry day and hour supplying All that I may need. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, Never let me fall. I am trusting Thee forever Trusting Thee for all. I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus #269 Hymns of the Restoration, Restoration Hymn Society, Inc, copyright 1984; words by Francis R. Havergal 2

3 My Life Kept Jesus Part 2 You are encouraged to use the Note Pages as you read the lesson and when you attend group class meetings. The more you write down the easier it is to remember. The object is to help you understand how you can and will be Kept for the Master s Use. You will find the Note Pages at the end of the lesson. If you need more Note Pages, you can copy the ones provided or make your own. Refer to page 4 of the Preface for detailed information concerning the Note Pages. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power [12] That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE CONSECRATED, LORD TO THEE; To truly give our lives to Christ, we must trust that He is able to keep them. We learned in our last lesson that to give our lives to Jesus, we must first receive the life He has offered us by agreeing to follow His instructions. We also learned that it is important to carefully consider what course we are setting out on before we make this decision as it will require that we give all that we have and are to His keeping. Let's consider more of what we are doing when we consecrate our lives to Him. The Nature of Our Consecration When we ask God to accept our lives, we are declaring that we will hold our lives sacred to His purpose and asking that Christ receive (take) them as dedicated to His purpose as well. He is a gentleman and will not snatch them away like an owner takes the stick from the mouth of a reluctant dog playing fetch. We must willingly present them. What kind of an offering should we be making? Read Romans 12:1-2. By what does this say we present our bodies? Could we make an offering to God without these? What does a living sacrifice mean to you? What makes us holy? Hint: Psalm 99:3, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Alma 16: What makes us acceptable to God? (Romans 14:16-17, Hebrews 11:6) With these responses in mind, explain in your own words what your reasonable service is. (use the Note Pages to record your answers) Can we present ourselves holy and acceptable when we first come to Him out of the misery or barrenness of a life we have crafted without Him? Yes, because the honest plea for Him to take first place in our lives offered from a broken heart invokes the swift pouring out of His grace. In that moment, His mercy encompasses us and covers our raw and broken state with the unmerited gift of Himself. This grace makes us holy in His eyes. It is acceptable to him that we come 3

4 with a broken heart and contrite spirit. He receives as faith our willing response to His invitation to come and draws us into His arms of mercy. If we continue to receive His word, He will lead us to where we can make a carefully thought out decision to take upon us His name. It is up to us to endure in that name as we rely on His mercy and grace and continue to grow in our knowledge of God. The offering of ourselves to Him is a commitment to a lifelong education process. It is a continuing partnership that cannot be undone without great harm to ourselves and to the work to which we are called. We continue to keep His word so that we can continue to keep life. As we grow in our knowledge of Him. that knowledge reveals hidden places in our hearts that also must be exposed to the light of His love. It may not be an easy process as His light shines onto the wrong doing, the hurts, the hidden things we have locked away sometimes even from ourselves. Do not let us shrink from some unexpected flash into a dark corner; do not let us wince at the sudden touching of a hidden plague-spot. The Lord always does His own work thoroughly, if we will only let Him do it. If we put our case into His hands, He will search and probe fully and firmly, though very tenderly. Very painfully, it may be, but only that He may do the very thing we want cleanse us and heal us thoroughly, so that we may set off to walk in real newness of life. But if we do not put it unreservedly into His hands, it will be no use thinking or talking about our lives being consecrated to Him. The heart that is not entrusted to Him for searching will not be undertaken by Him for cleansing; the life that fears to come to the light lest any deed should be reproved, can never know the blessedness and the privileges of walking in the light. Francis Ridley Havergal No chastisement is pleasant in the moment, but we trust that the light shining in the cellar does so because He loves us too much to leave any part of us unkept. The light that reveals the cobwebs in the corners also reveals the love that heals and orders those places into beauty if we respond by clearing away the junk stored in that ugly room of our hearts. Doing so makes a new and acceptable place for the King of Glory to inhabit with joy. This is the process of consecrating our lives to Him of making a living sacrifice. A gift given will either be received or rejected. If we offer our lives to Him, can we think He will turn a deaf ear or an uninterested eye to our offering? Do we honestly expect that He will indeed take them and keep them? Kept by Him Asking the Lord to take our life must also mean that we let Him have it and if we let him have it, then we must also believe that He is faithful to keep it. Once it is His, it is holy. Do you believe that He has received your gift? Read 1 John 5: What happens if we ask something that isn t His will to give? The question then becomes, are we confident that it is His will that we give our lives to Him? Alma 3:57-59 and 3 Nephi 4:43 answer that question. To whom does he send His invitation to come? What does He say He will do? What is the requirement for those who wish to do this and continue into salvation (escape the fire)? Does He receive all of those who come to Him? So, has He received you? It is only by the extension of His grace and mercy 4

5 that we know that there is something more than what we already have and that by giving Him what we already have, we can become so much more! If we have sincerely and authentically offered our lives to Him, then He has received them. Of this there can be no question and we should settle that thought in our hearts. What picture does Christ paint of the way in which He wants to keep our offering? Can you think of a scripture in which God does not present himself as a protector, healer, teacher of those who hear His voice and follow Him? Take a moment to think about that. There are so many passages that describe the tenderness and care that Christ bestows upon those who will hear His voice. Let's look at a few beginning with John 14:21: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Circle the phrases that define how we love God. Underline the phrases that describe how God will respond to that love. In this one verse, the elements of our relationship are defined: If we keep His words (hear and obey, consecrate ourselves to be His and His alone), we are loved of the Father and of Christ and they will give evidence of themselves in our lives. This same picture is painted in more vivid detail in John 10:1-11. Underline the phrases that identify us as His sheep what we will do and not do. What phrases tell what He does for the sheep in His keeping those who have consecrated their lives to Him. If you are one of His sheep, what does it mean to you that He calls you by name? Abide means: 1) to stay or live somewhere 2) to remain or continue. Considering the above scripture, answer the following: What are we to do? In what should we continue? What will happen if we do? What if we don't? What phrases show our dependence on Him? How is the consecrated/kept condition described here? God draws us into the precious love relationship by which He is able to meet our needs according to His riches in glory; to lead us beside still waters and into green pastures and rest in the security of His ability to care for us well. We see the moment of consecration and the continuing process of the consecration of our lives here. Life requires the continual flow of nourishment and strength. Receiving His word cleanses us and prepares us to be grafted into Christ. His grace securely attaches us to the vine. From this grafting, all that we accomplish as our branch flourishes is only due to the support, strength and nourishment flowing through Christ, the vine, to the branches, as 1 Nephi 5:58-59 explains: And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God, he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; Doctrine & Covenants 81:3b says the same thing a different way adding a clear warning: I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. If we continue to obey, He will provide all He has promised. We can do all things through Christ because He is the provider of those things that strengthen us to do them. Enduring in 5

6 obedience and growing in the word, keeps us in His love. We will hear His voice when He calls us by name. Abiding is a continual condition, not a single act. The abiding condition is also described in Helaman 2: What phrases compare with Christ being the vine. What does this say that we must do? What parallels do you see between this, the sheepfold parable, and the abiding scripture? What assurances do all of these passages give us about our lives being kept by Christ? Our house is to be securely fastened on that foundation which cannot be moved. When the world's trouble comes against us, we can rest in the assurance that God is for us and will turn all plans for evil to our good if we determine to stay inside the fortress of His love. Notice that this does not say that we won't know that the storm is raging. It says that when the adversary tries his tricks, we will not fall if we are in the fold, securely fastened to the vine, the foundation, the love that cannot fail and erases all fear. How wonderful to be kept by such a Savior! If we have been sincere in our offering, He will be sincere in the receiving of it. All of the promises He has made to the believer and follower are prepared to keep us in that course, to guide, to bless, to prosper and to protect us as we pursue greater service to Him. We can choose to leave the vine, but He will never send us away from where He can care for us. He will keep us faithfully so long as we do not take back the life we have given Him. As you study your scriptures, look for the other pictures of how God keeps what we give to Him. Checking Our Course If you counted the cost and determined that by building on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, you could complete the building, how is the project going? Alma 3:35-60 provides some checkpoints. As you read, write down the phrases that highlight something you may need to work on to make and improve the condition of your consecration. Alma speaks to those who have committed their ways to the Lord but have perhaps allowed the adversary space enough in some areas of their lives to cause the Lord to slip from first place. We may have intentionally chosen to give other people or things a higher place in our thinking than He. More often, we are drawn into doing this through more subtle temptations. Or, we get so caught up in what we think we need to do to carry on our lives, that the cares of the world overcome the word and the lust for other things cause us to become unfruitful in those areas where we have not been diligent in keeping our word to keep His. It is hard to obey a word we have forgotten. If we believe that we have consecrated our lives to Christ and yet have found the results unsatisfactory, maybe we don't truly believe He has received and is keeping the life we have offered Him. Perhaps we gave Him our lives, but then took them back as soon as we ran into difficulty. Maybe we have only given Him portions of our lives and yet we expect Him to keep us as though we had given all. If we are going to ask Jesus to take our lives, we must decide to leave them in His keeping, trusting Him to lead us in our course of consecration. If we have failed to stay on the course of consecration that we set out on, we must remember that once we are His, He will leave the ninety and nine sheep to go to find one who is lost. Even in our unfaithfulness, Christ paints the picture of His faithfulness and intention to care for the sheep in His keeping. If we have chosen to leave, then, as with the prodigal son even if we haven't 6

7 strayed far He will eagerly watch for our return and welcome us into a more complete fellowship. As we continue in this study to examine what it is we have asked the Lord to keep and how His keeping of those things changes who we are, let us boldly allow the light of Christ to shine into every crevice of our being. Let Him complete the work He has begun in us so that we can be assured that our gift to Him is complete. How do we do this? Frances Ridley Havergal says it very well: First, very humbly and utterly honestly to search and try our ways before our God; or rather, as we shall soon realize our helplessness to make such a search, ask Him to do it for us, praying for His promised Spirit to show us unmistakably if there is any secret thing within us that is hindering both the inflow and outflow of His grace to us and through us. Do not startle at the term, or think, because you do not understand all it may include, you are therefore not qualified for it. I dare say it comprehends a great deal more than either you or I understand, but we can both enter into the spirit of it, and the detail will unfold itself as long as our probation shall last. Christ demands a hearty consecration in will, and He will teach us what that involves in act. This explains the paradox that full consecration may be in one sense the act of a moment and in another the work of a lifetime. It must be complete to be real, and yet, if real, it is always incomplete: a point of rest and yet a perpetual progression. Giving to be Kept, Kept to be Given As we abide in the vine, the Word continues to transform us and we are able to prove what that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God is (Romans 12:2). In other words, we bear the fruit that it is the purpose of the vine to produce. The fruit He seeks is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (DC 22:23b). The transformation allows others to see value of eternal life and draws them to Him. Christ said, A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35). We give ourselves to Him to be given by Him at His direction and under His care. How is it possible that we keep ourselves wholly for Him and yet He gives us in service to others? It is not unlike a marriage covenant. In that vow, the partners agree to keep themselves for each other and from all others. It means that there is a portion of themselves that they will not put into anyone else's keeping. It belongs solely to the other partner. That relationship defines how they interact with others. The same is true of consecrating our lives to Christ. The consecration defines us as wholly His. However, from that relationship from our marriage to the vine we are empowered to serve others and produce fruit. God created man after his own image and in his own likeness created he them, and gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship (Doctrine & Covenants 17:4b). Service is part of the definition of worship. Our consecration of our lives to Him requires that 7

8 we then be ambassadors of His love in service to others. Indeed, this is the very nature of the kingdom of God as Romans 14:17-18 points out: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. This is the service that identifies us as citizens of His kingdom His disciples. This is what makes our consecration acceptable to Him. As with any kingdom, the kingdom of God is where His will is done and His good and perfect will is proven by the transformation of our lives from worldly women to those who do His will. And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. Mosiah 1:49 To be successful in our consecration of our lives, we must be moved by a response to the love He has shown us. No other motivation will produce effective results. We cannot abide in a love which we have not received. Nothing we do can be done except that God first acted to make the thing possible. The revelation of His love is the nourishment we need to survive and flourish. Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know, that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works; Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him, through the atonement of Christ, his only begotten Son. Jacob 3:14-16 Now, review your Note Pages sheet and writing down your reflections, answers and summary in the areas that are not completed. Implement your knowledge of those things that will aid you to be a woman Kept for the Master s Use. 8

9 If you need more Note Pages, you can copy the ones provided or make your own. Refer to page 4 of the Preface for detailed information concerning the Note Pages. 9

10 If you need more Note Pages, you can copy the ones provided or make your own. Refer to page 4 of the Preface for detailed information concerning the Note Pages. 10