THE IDEAL PLAN
Proverbs 24:27
Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
The work of agriculture is so important that the Father in bid to give us his divine plan in having a country home calls us begin by working the field even before we set up a home. This would suggest that food is very important in relationship with the crisis coming before us.
When you study the book of revelation 13, you will see that the subject of buying and selling will be a very serious one.
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Do you ever think that there will be a time when all the dollar will be useless except you have the mark of the beast? Many are held in the snares of Satan. He would want them to continue putting their hopes in the money they have in their banks. Truth here sent home is that a life of dependence upon the economy of the nations will fail many Christians.
“The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. … “Testimonies for the Church 5:152 (1882). LDE 148.3
How shall we get our food, energy, water etc? Many think well, the lord will provide and stand doing nothing as they stare at the crisis before us. I do not think this should be it. The lord tells us that every support will be cut off
“In the last great conflict in the controversy with Satan THOSE WHO ARE LOYAL TO GOD WILL SEE EVERY EARTHLY SUPPORT CUT OFF. ..”The Desire of Ages, 121, 122 (1898). LDE 148.4
So what must we do while we still have opportunity
“ If we place ourselves under objectionable influences, can we expect God to work a miracle to undo the results of our wrong course? –No, indeed. Get out of the cities as soon as possible, and purchase a little piece of land, where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing, and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity.–General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903.
I do not believe e that you must have all hundreds of acres to follow God’s PLAN. All you need is to do all that is your power to do and leave the rest with God. Faith must be exercised in all things
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
We must work hard to follow God’s plan in order to receive his blessings. Let us do all that our hands find to do with all our might. Seek not that which your hand can not find to do before finishing that which your hand findeth to do. Work with all your might and the lord will bless your work. He promises us that ..
The earth is to be made to give forth its strength; but without the blessing of God it could do nothing. In the beginning, God looked upon all that He had made, and pronounced it very good. The curse was brought upon the earth in consequence of sin. But shall this curse be multiplied by increasing sin? Ignorance is doing its baleful work. Slothful servants are increasing the evil by their lazy habits. Many are unwilling to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, and they refuse to till the soil. But the earth has blessings hidden in her depths for those who have courage and will and perseverance to gather her treasures. Fathers and mothers who possess a piece of land and a comfortable home are kings and queens. {CL 18.2}
Where is real independence
Independence of one kind is praiseworthy. To desire to bear your own weight and not to eat the bread of dependence is right. It is a noble, generous ambition that dictates the wish to be self-supporting. Industrious habits and frugality are necessary. {AH 374.1}
This something you can achieve only when you cut link with the Babylonian city life whose policy is that you must have money to have water, and money to have food and money to have source of energy. It will be a trying time for us when the economy of the world collapses and we have no real independence from the system. The system is designed to lull us until we get lost.. Satan himself targets a food crisis to seal his number with his mark.
Satan says , “Thus the world will become mine. I will be the ruler of the earth, the prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.” {PK 184.2}
“That is just how serious it will be for us if we neglect the needful physical preparation.
Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers they will be forbidden to buy or sell. “The Desire of Ages, 121, 122 (1898). LDE 148.4
How and who enjoys a real independence when the crisis begins.
As a relaxation from study, occupations pursued in the open air, and affording exercise for the whole body, are the most beneficial. No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture. A greater effort should be made to create and to encourage an interest in agricultural pursuits. Let the teacher call attention to what the Bible says about agriculture: that it was God’s plan for man to till the earth; that the first man, the ruler of the whole world, was given a garden to cultivate; and that many of the world’s greatest men, its real nobility, have been tillers of the soil. Show the opportunities in such a life. The wise man says, “The king himself is served by the field.” Ecclesiastes 5:9. Of him who cultivates the soil the Bible declares, “His God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.” Isaiah 28:26. And again, “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 27:18. He who earns his livelihood by agriculture escapes many temptations and enjoys unnumbered privileges and blessings denied to those whose work lies in the great cities. And in these days of mammoth trusts and business competition, there are few who enjoy so real an independence and so great certainty of fair return for their labor as does the tiller of the soil. {Ed 219.1}
Who would God want to use at such a time as this?
The same spirit and principles that one brings into the daily labor will be brought into the whole life. Those who desire a fixed amount to do and a fixed salary, and who wish to prove an exact fit without the trouble of adaptation or training, are not the ones whom God calls to work in His cause. Those who study how to give as little as possible of their physical, mental, and moral power are not the workers upon whom He can pour out abundant blessings. Their example is contagious. Self-interest is the ruling motive. Those who need to be watched, and who work only as every duty is specified to them, are not the ones who will be pronounced good and faithful. Workers are needed who manifest energy, integrity, diligence, those who are willing to do anything that needs to be done. {MYP 193.3}
We are not t fear that we may fail. Many become inefficient by evading responsibilities for fear of failure. Thus they fail of gaining that education which results from experience, and which reading and study and all the advantages otherwise gained cannot give them. Man can shape circumstances, but circumstances should not be allowed to shape the man. We should seize upon circumstances as instruments by which to work. We are to master them, but should not permit them to master us. {MYP 194.1}
Men of power are those who have been opposed, baffled, and thwarted. By calling their energies into action, the obstacles they meet prove to them positive blessings. They gain self-reliance. Conflict and perplexity call for the exercise of trust in God, and for that firmness which develops power.– “Ministry of Healing,” pp. 498-500.
The lord calls us to his vineyard as missionaries. A great work is before us to sound the Loud cry. And this is only done by those who are truly educated or those who have undertaken true education.
True education is missionary training. Every son and daughter of God is called to be a missionary; we are called to the service of God and our fellow men; and to fit us for this service should be the object of our education. {MH 395.1}
How shall these missionaries enjoy real independence and self supporting work? God has a plan and this is the plan, neglected by many present truth preachers however.
“Students should be given a practical education in agriculture. This will be of inestimable value to many in their future work. The training to be obtained in felling trees and in tilling the soil, as well as in literary lines, is the education that our youth should seek to obtain. Agriculture will open resources for self-support. Other lines of work, adapted to different students, may also be carried on. But the cultivation of the land will bring a special blessing to the workers. We should so train the youth that they will love to engage in the cultivation of the soil. {CT 311.1}
So the first thing to seek to do as we establish a country home is to make ourselves fit in the field. This is vital for our independence and continuance with the work that is before us.
Something to try in your country home
EGW Tree planting method
While we were in Australia, we adopted the . . . plan . . . of digging deep trenches and filling them in with dressing that would create good soil. This we did in the cultivation of tomatoes, oranges, lemons, peaches, and grapes. {3SM 328.1}
The man of whom we purchased our peach trees told me that he would be pleased to have me observe the way they were planted. I then asked him to let me show him how it had been represented in the night season that they should be planted. I ordered my hired man to dig a deep cavity in the ground, then put in rich dirt, then stones, then rich dirt. After this he put in layers of earth and dressing until the hole was filled. I told the nurseryman that I had planted in this way in the rocky soil in America. I invited him to visit me when these fruits should be ripe. He said to me, “You need no lesson from me to teach you how to plant the trees.” {3SM 328.2}
Our crops were very successful. The peaches were the most beautiful in coloring, and the most delicious in flavor of any that I had tasted. We grew the large yellow Crawford and other varieties, grapes, apricots, nectarines, and plums.–Letter 350, 1907. {3SM 328.3}
