499. New Year’s Conference 1938/39

On New Year’s Eve we were gathered at the YMCA at No 1 Møllergaten. It was very blessed to see the friends again. The young brothers came from South and West Norway, where they have worked and been a great blessing.

On New Year’s Day we used the large hall of the Lodge, near the fort. About five hundred people were gathered. They were mostly friends. In the morning this verse was spoken about: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:4-5. [Emphasis added].

The intention was that people who had had their sins forgiven were to come to the living stone, because it is written in Chapter 1 verse 18: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers.”

In other words, it is people who have come to faith who need to come to Him, the Living Stone, in order to become living stones themselves. A stone is hard. It can stand being pointed at and touched. Jesus was a perfect living stone. This stone could be tested in any manner. It didn’t fail. When He was hard pressed, He did not become offended or bitter. He didn’t give in even half a millimeter; He was like a stone.

But how do people react? They grumble and complain about the smallest things. When you touch them, they are as soft as butter—you leave deep fingerprints.

We are to be changed from this soft state to become as hard as stone, just as the Master Himself. The temple is going to be built with such stones. This is the holy priesthood which can offer up spiritual sacrifices. Each one can test himself. You can be a fairly hard stone, but if your earthly cares, your selfishness, or anything else from your sinful being remains in the stone, it is not living and hard through and through. Everything in the stone that is of the old man must die. Then it will become living and hard. That is why all the people who begin to become stones are said to be so hard. This is a blessed hardness against sin and humanness.

“God stands in the congregation of God; He judges among the gods.” Psalm 82:1. [Norw.]. And Jesus says, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?” John 10:34.

Beginners in Christ cannot be said to be gods, even though godly life has begun to grow in them. But when we, by faith and obedience, have grown in the Spirit and partaken of divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3-4) so that the hardness of the living stone characterizes us, then it can be said of us, “You are gods.” But God also judges among such gods. That is because we have much more to learn and to be saved from in our sanctification and in being conformed into the image of the Son.

Then we heard from Job 35. Elihu, that excellent young man, says to Job, “If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?”

Here we really have something to think about. If you become full of Satan and rage against God, what harm do you do to Him? I think you only affect yourself. Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. If you come into contact with evil spirits and you sin greatly, how does this affect God?

“If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?” Verse 7.

Don’t you think it is to our own advantage that we are righteous? Most definitely!

“Your wickedness affects a man such as you and your righteousness a son of man.” Verse 8.

That is how it is. Men like us can harm us when they sin against us. But the more we develop into gods—that is, hard living stones—the less we notice the evil from people. It bounces off.

If you are righteous, the people you will make the happiest are the ones like you—your equals; but the hard living stones, the gods, will also rejoice. But they will rejoice with fear, since they know that the way ahead is narrow, long, and full of tests. The way is difficult even for the most upright. Therefore they cannot rejoice excessively about the beginners’ righteousness like the beginner (your equal) can. The knowledge of this brings pain, while the beginners rejoice in all their ignorance.

In the afternoon of New Year’s Day there were many testimonies from brothers and sisters.

I wish you all a blessed new year.