The Worth of a Man

By Carl Hastings and Catherine Dorsette

Too often, people are tempted to give up on others, and most times they actually do; particularly when things, attitudes and circumstances are seemingly unchangeable.
But God wants to remind us that with Him, all things are possible; that there is hope for anyone alive today, no matter what the situation is, or may have been. All that is required is for that one to reach out and accept the outstretched arms of the Savior Jesus Christ and He will lift up and set that one the Rock to stay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Sep 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496990969

Carl Hastings

Catherine Dorsette resides on Montserrat. She is employed at the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports where she works with young people. Currently pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Social Work with the University of the West Indies, Mrs. Dorsette is a Lay Preacher, Publishing Ministry Secretary, Leader of Women’s Ministry, Youth Leader and Assistant Church Treasurer. She loves working with young people. The wife of Elder Rudolph ‘Jimmy’ Dorsette she is the proud mother of two young adults and the devoted Grandmother of a lovely granddaughter. She and her husband Rudolph, enjoy early morning walks, Bible discussions; Gospel tract production and distribution and listening to music. Carl Hastings is the resident pastor of the three Seventh-day Adventist congregations on the island of Montserrat. Pastor Hastings has a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Andrews University. He is a man of God with a heart for the youth and a mind evangelically focused. Pastor Hastings looks forward to the continued spreading of the Gospel of Christ through various programmes and his writings. He is married to Rita Nicole Hastings. He and his wife enjoy ministering to the needs of others, baking, gardening, and playing tennis together.

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© 2014 Catherine Dorsette with Carl Hastings. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   09/10/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9095-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9096-9 (e)

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

Chapter 1   Who Can Be Saved?

Chapter 2   Jesus Saves

Chapter 3   Love Beyond Degree

Chapter 4   Saved For Service

Chapter 5   The Ten Commandments

Chapter 6   Warning To Professing Christians

Chapter 7   Warning To Sabbath-Keeping Christians

Chapter 8   Christ Is The End Of The Law!

Chapter 9   Choosing To Obey God

Chapter 10 Some Tips On How To Keep The Sabbath Day Holy

"And He said to me,

‘Son of man, can these bones live?

So I answered, ‘O Lord God, Thou Knowest’".

Ezekiel 37:3

To:

My wonderful husband Elder Rudolph Laureston ‘Jimmy’ Dorsette, whose life has been the inspiration for this book.

To:

My darling wife Rita Nicole Hastings, my companion, helpmeet and best friend

We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Almighty God for His loving support, counsel, guidance and appreciation for imparting the inspiration which has resulted in this work. Special ‘thanks’ to Loni Howe for her critique of the work and Elora White for the numerous occasions I have called on her for assistance and she gave it unfailingly.

I take this opportunity to extend a very special ‘thank you’ to Elder Victor M. James who saw the potential and graciously supported the publication of this book.

CHAPTER 1

WHO CAN BE SAVED?

Will that wayward teenager ever become responsible? Will a kind word ever come from the mouth of that foul-speaking drunk? These questions and more are asked about persons whom others perceive as irredeemable. Often many who profess Christianity are only too happy to give their opinions to the question raised above. Some claim that experience has clearly taught that a known location of a thing in the day does not require a torch to find it in the night. These see absolutely no reason why they should even attempt to look beyond what can be seen and felt. The idea that something different from what they perceive can ever be possible seem extremely difficult to grasp. Sadly too many of us as Christians presume to know exactly what is and what is not and would, given the chance, dare heaven itself to prove us wrong.

But the Bible teaches that to the question, ‘can that sinner ever come to know God?’ The answer must always be a reverent: Lord, You alone know. We who claim the name of Christ must be more willing to wait and hear what the Lord has to say on matters of eternity. No one should take it upon himself or herself to respond with exaggerated piousness. This question begs for a soul-searching, and heart-tugging response. It demands a "…Quick to hear, but slow to speak" approach; and a "…Should I not pity Nineveh?" attitude. (James 1:19; Jonah 4: 11)

When challenging questions like these are brought before God-fearing Christians; we are to say like Jehoshaphat, "Please inquire for the word of the Lord" (1 Kings 22:5) for it is a fool who vents his feelings, "But a wise man holds them back" (Proverbs 29: 11)

It is much too easy for us to express our opinions in matters related to salvation. In our eagerness to demonstrate just how well we know God, based on our seemingly perfect relationship with Him, too often many of us trample underfoot the lines between humility and self-righteousness and rush in with responses such as: Well, if he really does decide to stop drinking, he can do it; It is mind over matter; If he starts coming to church … and so on. The Lord through His servant Solomon asks: "Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him". (Proverbs 29: 20) Thus, it is never safe for sinful man to attempt to reap the Lord’s harvest; lest he inadvertently destroy the wheat with the tares. Only He who is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient is fit for that task. Man’s idea of fair-play is warped at best, and God warns about that very thing. He says in (Isaiah 55: 8, 9) "… My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways…For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. " Our ‘righteousness’ He describes as "…Filthy rags and reminds us that Justice for man comes from the Lord."

In talking with the prophet Ezekiel, God asked: "Son of man, can these bones live?" He was in essence asking: Is there any probability of it? Is there any reason that you can think of which tells you they can live? Can any ways or means be devised, or any measures taken to cause them to live? The Prophet Ezekiel staggered at the weight of the question. His reason for staggering was not so much that he could not have given an immediate answer; or because the question itself was unanswerable. He could very easily have fallen prey to speculation. Yes, Ezekiel could have given a sermon on why he thought the bones could or could not live. He could have taken prophetic license and attempted to give his personal response. After all, it was Ezekiel whom the Lord had allowed the vision of the four living creatures. It was Ezekiel whom the Lord had caused to eat the scroll! Consequently, with the word of the Lord like honey in his mouth, was it not an easy thing for the prophet to launch out with a ready response when asked that question?

Yet, the prophet does not at once pronounce the idea possible or impossible. He knows of course that of themselves, the bones could never live again. But he chooses rather to humble himself before the All-Knowing God and allow Him to be the judge of the matter; his response was O Lord God, Thou knowest (Ezekiel 37:3). For only God knows the beginning from the end since He has no beginning and no end. All the ages known to mortal man He encompasses directly. He controls the past, present and future. As such, He challenges "Ask Me of things to come… Because only God knows of things to come" and only He knows whether one will be saved and the other lost. In Matthew 24 He warns: "…Two men shall be in the field; one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left." Who is man then, to claim to know which one will be taken, and which one will be left? Everyone has a chance to be saved for it is not God’s wish that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and unto eternal life. God is declaring to everyone, notwithstanding his or her past and or present circumstance, "I have formed you, you are My servant…you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." (Isaiah 44:21-22) no one is beyond saving.

When God deigns to ask man "Is there anything too hard for me?" which is what He was in essence asking Ezekiel, we, like the prophet must humbly, respond: O Lord God, Thou knowest, (Ezekiel 37:3). Another humble prophet before Ezekiel did the same when he was asked Is there anything too hard for me?. His response was "Ah, Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and out-stretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32: 27, 17) In Isaiah 59: 1 the Lord comforts all whom people, Christian and non-Christian alike, have deemed ‘irredeemable’ with these words: "Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear." Because there is nothing too hard for the Lord to do, we are going to use the Scriptures to show how many times He has proven that fact, and to see how the question and the answer fit in perfectly with the following, seemingly impossible Bible cases.

Case #1: The Demoniac at Gadara – (Mark 5:1-20) This man is described as "…a man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the tombs:" The Webster’s Pocket Thesaurus tells us that the word ‘unclean’ can be used interchangeably with the words dirty, foul, vile, impure, defiled, adulterated and profaned. Thus being indwelt by an ‘unclean spirit’ made the man of Gadara everything the unclean spirit was. But not only was he foul, he lived among the tombs. Humanly speaking, one would say that this was the best place for such a one. After all, his was a hopeless case, was it not? Hence living, if one can call it that, "among the tombs" was obviously the best solution for everyone. What good could possibly come from any other arrangement?

Additionally, the condition of the Gadarene Demoniac does not make him merely a person with a disordered intellect, but a dangerous one at that. This Demoniac foamed at the mouth, and people were afraid of him. He was a threat to himself and others. He cut himself, and broke the chains which were used to bind him. None could have negated the obvious. His situation was hopeless! Scientifically speaking, no doubt, in this case, as in that of insanity; physical causes may have contributed to the victim being laid open to such an invasion. This may account for cases of possession being detailed with various sicknesses, though distinguished from them. But now Jesus is here confronted by this man who has been totally alienated from family, community, and even himself, and wanders tormented night and day among the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Were Jesus to ask the question, can this wrecked life be made whole? the immediate response would have been: Absolutely not. He is too far gone! But He who knows it all, proved otherwise. For our Lord evidently deals with these persons, not as people suffering from insanity, but as the subjects of an unfamiliar, unclean, spiritual power, external to themselves. Only He knows and understands the overwhelming helplessness Satan can bring to bear on the victim of such a vile spirit. Only He can go beyond the man and see the issue which the man cannot physically escape from. Thus He addresses the unclean spirit through the man that is possessed, and says, Come forth, thou unclean spirit.

Proving that He is the same yesterday, today and forever,