Remnant Rally 2009: The Narrow Way

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Remnant Publications

Christian Berdahl

The Narrow Way - meaning explored ( Remnant Rally 2009 #2 )

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We'd like to invite you to sit back, get comfortable and prepare to be blessed.

I have the awesome privilege of sharing something with you this morning that might encourage you, it might challenge you, it might cause you to think of the spirit of prophecy in a different and deeper way.

I'd like to thank Remnant Rally for Remnant Publications and Dwight for inviting me here.

It amazes me that God has chosen to work through faulty man to give the most solemn message to the world.

To work through clay, to present something that might intrigue a human mind and urge them and encourage them and even challenge them to have a walk and an experience with a God in heaven.

It's a miracle that God, and I don't know if you know my story or not, but God took me from a life that was a really bad life.

I was raised in a non-christian home where there was sexual abuse and there was mental and emotional and physical abuse and it was a very bad slice of earth.

And when I ultimately became a Christian, and maybe someday you can learn this testimony, but when I ultimately was introduced to Jesus Christ, I realized that the life that I had embraced and the worldly life that I had been living up till 24 25 and in my life.

I'm now 40 And I can't even believe those words just came out of my mouth and now I'm 40 and And hopefully some of you are thinking, he's 40?

Wow, he doesn't look like he's past his 20s.

And that would be because of the information I learned called the health message long before I ever learned the message of salvation actually.

You see what God began for me long before I was even a Christian was a realization that to be a better person, not even a Christian, but to be a better person, that there were some things in my life that I would have to do away with.

And so this morning I want to focus on this part of the theme, the narrow way.

Sister White has written some very powerful information that she received through a dream regarding the narrow way.

And this morning, we're going to go through this in narrative fashion.

I'm going to read her dream straight through, so it'll take me a few moments to do that, and then we're gonna dive into its symbolic meaning.

And this morning's message is entitled The Narrow Way, and its symbolic meaning explored.

We may not get through the whole vision and then I invite you tomorrow afternoon to come, I think it's around 02:00, to a music presentation that the Lord inspired me to put together where I take The narrative, this very narrative we're gonna go over and put songs interweaved throughout it to make a music program and a journey for the Christian to go through.

The Review and Herald, January 12th, 1869, and I will begin reading this in quick fashion, so listen quickly.

I dreamed of being with a large body of people.

A portion of this assembly started out prepared to journey.

And while I'm reading, think of the different elements of it and think, I wonder what does that mean?

In fact, let's have a word of prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit, and I would like to just pray a prayer of dedication for this broken vessel to be used.

Gracious Heavenly Father, as we are about to dive into 1 of the 2 swords I believe that you gave us, the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible, Father, as we use these 2 swords, I pray you would help us to wield them and understand them correctly.

Lord, I ask that you would please bless us with the Holy Spirit.

I pray you would hide me behind your cross.

I am not, my name is on the program, Father, but that doesn't mean I'm the man of the hour, I'm not.

Jesus Christ, the righteous, is the man of the hour.

And Father, you have promised, and you have said, now therefore go and I will Be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say Lord I claim that promise right now, and if you can speak through a donkey I know you could at least speak through me So please father manifest this Holy Spirit that we each need to indwell in us.

I dreamed of a large body of people, larger than this, I'm sure.

We had heavily loaded wagons, and as we journeyed, the road seemed to ascend.

On 1 side of the road was a deep precipice, and on the other side a high white smooth wall, like the hard finish upon plastered rooms.

And as we journeyed on, the road grew narrower and steeper.

Some places in the road seemed very narrow, so much so that we concluded that we could travel no longer with the loaded wagons.

We then loosed them from the horses, we took a portion of the luggage from the wagons and placed them on the horses and journeyed on on horseback.

And as we progressed, the path still continued to grow narrow.

We were obliged to press close to the wall in order to save ourselves from falling off the narrow road down the deep precipice.

In doing this, pressing against the wall, the luggage on the horses pressed against the wall, which caused us to sway toward the precipice, and we feared that we would fall and be dashed in pieces on the rocks.

Are you starting to get a mental image in your mind?

Let him help you to see what this is about, and then we're going to go in and apply the spiritual application to the symbolic meaning.

And right now, I'm sure the Holy Spirit has already started to impress your hearts about what this can mean.

So, in doing this, the luggage pressed against the wall caused us to sway toward the precipice and we feared that we would fall and be dashed in pieces upon the rocks.

We then cupped the luggage from the horses which fell over the precipice and we continued on horseback, greatly fearing as we came to the narrower places in the road that we should lose our balance and fall.

At such times, a hand seemed to take the bridle and guide us over the perilous way.

And as the path grew more and more narrow, we decided that we could no longer go on horseback with safety.

So we left the horses and we went on foot in single file, 1 look following in the footsteps of another.

At this point, small cords were let down from the top of the pure white wall, which we eagerly grasped to keep our balance upon the path.

And as we traveled, the cord moved along with us.

The path finally became so narrow that we concluded that we could travel more safely without our shoes, so we slipped them from our feet, and we went on some distance without them.

Soon it was decided that we could travel more safely without our stockings, and these were removed and we journeyed on with bare feet.

We then thought of those who had not accustomed themselves to endure privations and hardships.

And those only remained who had accustomed themselves to endure hardships, the privations of the way, only made these more eager to press on to the end, and our danger of falling from the pathway increased.

We pressed close to the white wall, yet we could not place our feet fully upon the path now, for it was far too narrow.

We then suspended nearly our whole weight upon the cords and would exclaim, we have hold from above, we have hold from above.

And the same words were uttered by all the company in the narrow pathway.

As we heard the sounds of revelry and mirth that seemed to come from the abyss below, we shuddered.

We heard the profanos, the vulgar jest, the low, vile songs.

We heard instrumental music and the loud laugh mingled with curses and cries of anguish and bitter wailing, and we were more anxious than ever to keep upon that narrow, difficult pathway.

Much of the time, We were compelled to suspend our whole weight upon the cords.

And these increased in size as we progressed.

I noticed that the beautiful white wall was stained with blood.

It caused a feeling of regret to see the wall thus stained, But this feeling, however, lasted for a moment, as I soon thought that it was all as it should be.

You see, those who are following after will know that others have passed the narrow, difficult way before them, and will conclude that if others were able to pursue their onward course, that they could do the same.

And as the blood should be pressed from their aching feet, they would not faint with discouragement, but seeing the blood on the wall, they would know that others had endured the same pain.

At length we came to a large chasm, at which our path ended.

There was nothing now to guide the feet, nothing upon which to rest them.

Our whole reliance must be upon the cords, which had increased in size until they were as large as our bodies.

And here we were for a time thrown into perplexity and distress.

We inquired in fearful whispers, to what is the cord attached?" Good question, isn't it?

My husband, she writes, was just before me, and the large drops of sweat were falling from his brow.

The veins in his neck and temple were increased to double their usual size, and suppressed agonizing groans came from his lips.

I felt such anguish as I have never felt before.

A fearful struggle was before us, and if we failed here, all the difficulties of our journey had been experienced for naught.

Before us on the other side of the chasm was a beautiful field of green grass, about 6 inches high.

I couldn't see the sun, but bright, soft beams of light resembling fine gold and silver were resting on this field.

Nothing I had seen upon earth could compare in beauty and glory with just this field.

Again in whispered anguish, the words were breathed, What holds this cord?

And for a moment we hesitated to venture forth.

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The Narrow Way - meaning explored ( Remnant Rally 2009 #2 )

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