THE FRUITS OF THE ANOINTED ONE
TEXT FOR PRAYER
Willing To Be Made Willing
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," beginning on page 204, the first paragraph:
"The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the humbling of self at every
step. Our will is not to be forced into cooperation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily
submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundred-fold greater intensity the influence
of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven.... The will must
be placed on the side of God's will. You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and
desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are 'willing to be made
willing,' God will accomplish the work for you.... But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ
and the glory of heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone these can become
their own....T o renounce their own will, their chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires a
sacrifice at which they hesitate, and falter, and turn back. Many 'will seek to enter in, and shall
not be able.'"
What are we to pray for this evening? -- Let us remember that self is the only barrier between us
and God, and that God will never force us to come to Him. Let us ask Him for power to use the
grace He so freely provides. He would not have made us free moral agents if He did not expect
us to use our wills. We should ask Him to help us to be "willing to be made willing," and then
join our wills to His, and so "work out our own salvation." We need the strength of God to resist
all evil, to overcome the world as Jesus overcame.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 23
THE FRUITS OF THE ANOINTED ONE
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MAY 17, 1947
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
We shall study the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, beginning with the first verse:
Isa. 61:1, 2 -- "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn."
These are the two verses which Jesus read as He stood in the synagogue of the city of Nazareth,
the place where He was brought up. He read these verses and then sat down without making any
comments. As His listeners were still in a stupor as to why He had read and then had sat down
without adding a word, Jesus arose again and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears."
The reason given for the Spirit's power upon Him is that the Lord God had anointed Him to
preach good tidings unto the meek, implying that if the Lord had not anointed Him to preach, the
Spirit of the Lord would not have been on Him. Moreover, He was anointed to preach to the
meek, to those who are not
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 24
self-sufficient, not high-minded, but humble and teachable; the other class could not be taught.
He was to comfort all that mourn, to bind the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
(not to free them immediately). "The acceptable year of the Lord" is, of course, the time in which
the scripture is fulfilled, the time it is unsealed and proclaimed. Those who give no heed to it are
to be swept away in the "day of vengeance." These were the good tidings for which Jesus was
anointed. Unbelief and indifference in revealed Truth is an insult to God and a sin against the
Holy Ghost Who leads into all Truth.
Simply because the Saviour preached these two verses, however, we must not conclude that the
whole chapter was then fulfilled or that the fulfillment of these two verses could not again be
fulfilled at the time the rest of the chapter is fulfilled. As the same Spirit was also upon the
Apostles -- upon those who furthered the Lord's message in that day, so also it must be in this
day, in the day the whole chapter is fulfilled.
The duty of those who proclaim this chapter's message is:
Isa. 61:3 -- "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil
of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."
The burden of the Spirit is to improve the spiritual conditions of those who mourn in Zion, the
church: to give them beauty for ashes (for repentance and humbleness), oil of joy for mourning
(Present Truth that hopefully lightens the rest of the way) and garments (character)
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 25
of praise so that they be as living ornaments of righteousness, a new creation of God, that He be
glorified.
Here is seen that the original creation of God which has been lost through sin, is to be restored.
Now is the acceptable day to open your heart, to take in present Truth, to recreate and restore
that which was lost through sin.
Isa. 61:4 -- "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and
they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."
Those who are made glad and beautiful, who are clothed with praise and who become trees of
righteousness -- the planting of the Lord. His triumphant servants, the guileless Ezras and
Nehemiahs of today, are to restore all things.
Isa. 61:5 -- "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your
plowmen and your vinedressers."
The strangers and aliens here mentioned, are of course not strangers and aliens to the Kingdom
of God, but to the nation not a blood relation to Judah and Israel, not of the stock of Jacob, not of
the 144,000 who first stand on Mount Zion, but with them.
Isa. 61:6 -- "But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our
God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves."
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 26
In the forthcoming antitypical Kingdom of Judah, therefore, there shall be two groups of people
-- ministers and laity.
From these scriptures we see that the Kingdom of God, the church purified, free from "tares" is
a real thing. It is not something imaginary, not something foamy floating and lost in space, but
right here on earth.
Isa. 61:7 -- "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their
portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them."
These ministers of God are to have double because of the shame which they have endured, all
such rejoice in their portion. Are you disposed to suffer for Christ's sake? Are you like or unlike
those who seek joy and friendship from the world and who sooner or later are to find themselves
in great disappointment? Believe! that is all.
Isa. 61:8 -- "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their
work in Truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them."
Judgment and justice is God's motto for all His creatures. The statement, "I hate robbery for
burnt offering," implies that such unbecoming things are now practiced among His people. In this
connection, some years ago I heard a certain member of the church say that in some kind of
gambling he had won a little money and as his conscience hurt him to keep it, he gave it as an
offering to His church! Also, I have heard several say that they work on the Sabbath, but
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 27
that they turn the Sabbath's earnings over to the church! These incidents may serve as samples of
how foolish, how uneducated in the things of God are the people of God. By bringing such
offerings to Him they are making God a gambler and a Sabbath-breaker, and at the same time they
imagine that they are doing Him a great favor!
God's promise to His people is: "I will direct their work in Truth." Are we then to question His
ability to perform and at the same time expect Him to give us a home in His Kingdom?
Isa. 61:9 -- "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the
people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath
blessed."
What a blessed hope! What a power to save both the young and the old and to make their
names known world-wide! For such a fame as this, people would go through almost any torture
known to mankind. God, though, is only asking you to believe and to comply with His Word, --
yes, that is all.
Christianity is to become a real thing, so real that the Gentiles will acknowledge that such
Christians can only be the planting of the Lord, and that only the power of God can bring such a
change in the human heart, and cause His saints to say:
Isa. 61:10 -- "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as
a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 28
This chapter of Isaiah the prophet is indeed to bring "revival and reformation" such as has never
taken place since the beginning of sin. God forbid that any one of us should miss the experience
and the blessings that come through this revival and reformation.
Isa. 61:11 -- "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are
sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
before all the nations."
Through the seed of Truth in the heart this experience will come to God's people as naturally as
does the earth cause the seed sown in it to bud and bring forth fruit. This is indeed the
"righteousness of Christ," not the might of men.
Summing up this study, we learn that the fruits of the anointed One are these:
That Jesus was anointed to preach the good news, news that He was to open the prison door of
sin, to bind up the wounds of God's people, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to
comfort those who mourn, and to give all an opportunity to escape "the day of vengeance"; that
because He was thus anointed He was fitted to comfort them that mourn in Zion, to bring beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the gift of praise in place of heaviness, that they might
be called "trees of righteousness," and that God might thereby be glorified; that through the gift of
the Spirit His people shall be enabled to build up the desolated places of many generations; that
those who are called now are to be ministers of God "and they shall eat the riches of the
Gentiles," and glory in them, and "strangers and aliens" shall be their shepherds and
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 29
"vinedressers"; that then their shame and confusion will be changed into everlasting joy; that as
God hates robbery, He will direct the work in Truth and make an everlasting covenant with them
that know Him; that then their seed shall be known to the Gentiles and among the people and they
will acknowledge that God has blessed His people; that because the anointed One clothes His
people with the garment of salvation, and the robe of righteousness, the testimony of His children
will be, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord"; and as a bride adorns herself with jewels so the
spiritual adornments, given through these gifts will bring on the "revival and reformation"; and
that, as nature brings to fruition the seed sown in the ground, so the anointed One will cause
righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.
"Ample provisions have been made for all who sincerely, earnestly, and thoughtfully set about
the work of perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Strength, grace, and glory have been provided
through Christ, to be brought by ministering angels to the heirs of salvation. None are so low, so
corrupt and vile, that they cannot find in Jesus, who died for them, strength, purity, and
righteousness, if they will put away their sins, cease their course of iniquity, and turn with full
purpose of heart to the living God. He is waiting to strip them of their garments, stained and
polluted by sin, and to put upon them the white, bright robes of righteousness; and he bids them
live and not die. In him they may flourish. Their branches will not wither nor be fruitless. If they
abide in him, they can draw sap and nourishment from him, be imbued with his Spirit, walk even
as he walked, overcome as he overcame, and be exalted to his own right hand." -- "Testimonies,"
Vol. 2, pg. 453.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 30
THERE'S A WIDENESS IN GOD'S MERCY
There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour
There is healing in His blood.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind
And the heart of the eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His Word;
Willing To Be Made Willing
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," beginning on page 204, the first paragraph:
"The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the humbling of self at every
step. Our will is not to be forced into cooperation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily
submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundred-fold greater intensity the influence
of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven.... The will must
be placed on the side of God's will. You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and
desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are 'willing to be made
willing,' God will accomplish the work for you.... But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ
and the glory of heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone these can become
their own....T o renounce their own will, their chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires a
sacrifice at which they hesitate, and falter, and turn back. Many 'will seek to enter in, and shall
not be able.'"
What are we to pray for this evening? -- Let us remember that self is the only barrier between us
and God, and that God will never force us to come to Him. Let us ask Him for power to use the
grace He so freely provides. He would not have made us free moral agents if He did not expect
us to use our wills. We should ask Him to help us to be "willing to be made willing," and then
join our wills to His, and so "work out our own salvation." We need the strength of God to resist
all evil, to overcome the world as Jesus overcame.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 23
THE FRUITS OF THE ANOINTED ONE
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MAY 17, 1947
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
We shall study the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, beginning with the first verse:
Isa. 61:1, 2 -- "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn."
These are the two verses which Jesus read as He stood in the synagogue of the city of Nazareth,
the place where He was brought up. He read these verses and then sat down without making any
comments. As His listeners were still in a stupor as to why He had read and then had sat down
without adding a word, Jesus arose again and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears."
The reason given for the Spirit's power upon Him is that the Lord God had anointed Him to
preach good tidings unto the meek, implying that if the Lord had not anointed Him to preach, the
Spirit of the Lord would not have been on Him. Moreover, He was anointed to preach to the
meek, to those who are not
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 24
self-sufficient, not high-minded, but humble and teachable; the other class could not be taught.
He was to comfort all that mourn, to bind the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
(not to free them immediately). "The acceptable year of the Lord" is, of course, the time in which
the scripture is fulfilled, the time it is unsealed and proclaimed. Those who give no heed to it are
to be swept away in the "day of vengeance." These were the good tidings for which Jesus was
anointed. Unbelief and indifference in revealed Truth is an insult to God and a sin against the
Holy Ghost Who leads into all Truth.
Simply because the Saviour preached these two verses, however, we must not conclude that the
whole chapter was then fulfilled or that the fulfillment of these two verses could not again be
fulfilled at the time the rest of the chapter is fulfilled. As the same Spirit was also upon the
Apostles -- upon those who furthered the Lord's message in that day, so also it must be in this
day, in the day the whole chapter is fulfilled.
The duty of those who proclaim this chapter's message is:
Isa. 61:3 -- "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil
of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."
The burden of the Spirit is to improve the spiritual conditions of those who mourn in Zion, the
church: to give them beauty for ashes (for repentance and humbleness), oil of joy for mourning
(Present Truth that hopefully lightens the rest of the way) and garments (character)
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 25
of praise so that they be as living ornaments of righteousness, a new creation of God, that He be
glorified.
Here is seen that the original creation of God which has been lost through sin, is to be restored.
Now is the acceptable day to open your heart, to take in present Truth, to recreate and restore
that which was lost through sin.
Isa. 61:4 -- "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and
they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."
Those who are made glad and beautiful, who are clothed with praise and who become trees of
righteousness -- the planting of the Lord. His triumphant servants, the guileless Ezras and
Nehemiahs of today, are to restore all things.
Isa. 61:5 -- "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your
plowmen and your vinedressers."
The strangers and aliens here mentioned, are of course not strangers and aliens to the Kingdom
of God, but to the nation not a blood relation to Judah and Israel, not of the stock of Jacob, not of
the 144,000 who first stand on Mount Zion, but with them.
Isa. 61:6 -- "But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our
God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves."
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 26
In the forthcoming antitypical Kingdom of Judah, therefore, there shall be two groups of people
-- ministers and laity.
From these scriptures we see that the Kingdom of God, the church purified, free from "tares" is
a real thing. It is not something imaginary, not something foamy floating and lost in space, but
right here on earth.
Isa. 61:7 -- "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their
portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them."
These ministers of God are to have double because of the shame which they have endured, all
such rejoice in their portion. Are you disposed to suffer for Christ's sake? Are you like or unlike
those who seek joy and friendship from the world and who sooner or later are to find themselves
in great disappointment? Believe! that is all.
Isa. 61:8 -- "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their
work in Truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them."
Judgment and justice is God's motto for all His creatures. The statement, "I hate robbery for
burnt offering," implies that such unbecoming things are now practiced among His people. In this
connection, some years ago I heard a certain member of the church say that in some kind of
gambling he had won a little money and as his conscience hurt him to keep it, he gave it as an
offering to His church! Also, I have heard several say that they work on the Sabbath, but
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 27
that they turn the Sabbath's earnings over to the church! These incidents may serve as samples of
how foolish, how uneducated in the things of God are the people of God. By bringing such
offerings to Him they are making God a gambler and a Sabbath-breaker, and at the same time they
imagine that they are doing Him a great favor!
God's promise to His people is: "I will direct their work in Truth." Are we then to question His
ability to perform and at the same time expect Him to give us a home in His Kingdom?
Isa. 61:9 -- "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the
people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath
blessed."
What a blessed hope! What a power to save both the young and the old and to make their
names known world-wide! For such a fame as this, people would go through almost any torture
known to mankind. God, though, is only asking you to believe and to comply with His Word, --
yes, that is all.
Christianity is to become a real thing, so real that the Gentiles will acknowledge that such
Christians can only be the planting of the Lord, and that only the power of God can bring such a
change in the human heart, and cause His saints to say:
Isa. 61:10 -- "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as
a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 28
This chapter of Isaiah the prophet is indeed to bring "revival and reformation" such as has never
taken place since the beginning of sin. God forbid that any one of us should miss the experience
and the blessings that come through this revival and reformation.
Isa. 61:11 -- "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are
sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
before all the nations."
Through the seed of Truth in the heart this experience will come to God's people as naturally as
does the earth cause the seed sown in it to bud and bring forth fruit. This is indeed the
"righteousness of Christ," not the might of men.
Summing up this study, we learn that the fruits of the anointed One are these:
That Jesus was anointed to preach the good news, news that He was to open the prison door of
sin, to bind up the wounds of God's people, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to
comfort those who mourn, and to give all an opportunity to escape "the day of vengeance"; that
because He was thus anointed He was fitted to comfort them that mourn in Zion, to bring beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the gift of praise in place of heaviness, that they might
be called "trees of righteousness," and that God might thereby be glorified; that through the gift of
the Spirit His people shall be enabled to build up the desolated places of many generations; that
those who are called now are to be ministers of God "and they shall eat the riches of the
Gentiles," and glory in them, and "strangers and aliens" shall be their shepherds and
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 29
"vinedressers"; that then their shame and confusion will be changed into everlasting joy; that as
God hates robbery, He will direct the work in Truth and make an everlasting covenant with them
that know Him; that then their seed shall be known to the Gentiles and among the people and they
will acknowledge that God has blessed His people; that because the anointed One clothes His
people with the garment of salvation, and the robe of righteousness, the testimony of His children
will be, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord"; and as a bride adorns herself with jewels so the
spiritual adornments, given through these gifts will bring on the "revival and reformation"; and
that, as nature brings to fruition the seed sown in the ground, so the anointed One will cause
righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.
"Ample provisions have been made for all who sincerely, earnestly, and thoughtfully set about
the work of perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Strength, grace, and glory have been provided
through Christ, to be brought by ministering angels to the heirs of salvation. None are so low, so
corrupt and vile, that they cannot find in Jesus, who died for them, strength, purity, and
righteousness, if they will put away their sins, cease their course of iniquity, and turn with full
purpose of heart to the living God. He is waiting to strip them of their garments, stained and
polluted by sin, and to put upon them the white, bright robes of righteousness; and he bids them
live and not die. In him they may flourish. Their branches will not wither nor be fruitless. If they
abide in him, they can draw sap and nourishment from him, be imbued with his Spirit, walk even
as he walked, overcome as he overcame, and be exalted to his own right hand." -- "Testimonies,"
Vol. 2, pg. 453.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 41 30
THERE'S A WIDENESS IN GOD'S MERCY
There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour
There is healing in His blood.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind
And the heart of the eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His Word;
