A Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy for Witnessing, pt. 11:
How I Discovered God's People

Larry Kirkpatrick ++ Mentone Church of Seventh-day Adventists ++ 23 August 2003

Download the Worksheet used in the latter part of this presentation: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/pdf/sdapwit-worksheets1-5.pdf.

Last Sabbath we went over some of the basics of pulling together information from our personal experience with God in order to develop it into a carefully designed personal testimony. By thinking through the steps down through the way God has guided us, we put together five worksheets which will form the basis for that testimony. Now by one's personal testimony, we mean this: thinking through ahead of time how God has led us and preparing a “canned” presentation through which we can share our experience. Each time it is given though, you will give it dynamically, modifying the way you present it to fit the person and the occasion. You always tell the same truth, but you will present it a bit differently each time. It doesn't have to be—in fact, it shouldn't be—something exact that you read to others the very same way each time. Preparing ahead just means your thoughts will be clearer when you do have an opportunity to share with another.

One part we left out last week was Worksheet #4: “How I Discovered God's People.” This worksheet has to do with how you became a Seventh-day Adventist specifically. We are treating this separately because you really want to think of it differently than your personal testimony about how you came to Christ. There are many ways in which it is nearly the same, but likewise that it is different.

As a general thing, when you share with the non-Christian, you will often be giving your personal testimony apart from this business concerning how you found God's church. When you are sharing with another Christian person however, who attends a church, you will often want to include this part about your church. The issue is, you are giving a considerable amount of information and you want to keep it focused. There is a risk that you will try to say too much and wind up overwhelming someone.

There is another risk too, and that is that you will say more about being a member of the church than about your personal walk with Christ. That may seem a strange concern but I think it is valid. Sometimes we have become so used to not talking about Jesus that we may take the easier route, and that can sometimes mean talking about the church or the issues in the church.

Doing Church in a Hyper-individualized Society

Another issue is that the common thinking today is that you can separate what is believed from the body of believers. Many people you meet today are against “organized religion.” For some reason, “organized religion” is the worst kind. What do they want then—disorganized religion? Through Paul God reminds us: “None of us liveth to himself” (Romans 14:7). We are individually but part of a larger whole. And how does that larger whole function when it is operating in God's order? 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33, 40 answers:

And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.. . . Let all things be done decently and in order.

The Bible speaks concerning how we conduct ourselves as believers functioning as part of a larger unit. If there is order in our worship it gives a basic sense of peace. If there is not, it is a sense of confusion. While our passage deals with this specifically in a group worship setting, it also applies to the church more generally.

A church is, at the technical level, a voluntary organization. No one is forced to attend, to be a member of that organization. In fact, anyone can join any organization they want to. And there are religious organizations of so many stripes that there is always an option for you out there. There are many people out there who become unhappy with a given church for this or that reason and they just take their marbles and go to another church. But God's plan is that His people will function as a united people. God's church in Mentone should be all the believers who attend church in this specific area united in common belief. I mean that all the Baptists, Pentecostals, Catholics, Adventists, etcetera, should actually be believers in the third angel's message, members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church instead of those others, and we should be a united body of believers in this place.

That's not the way it is though. And few people today want to be part of an organized church. They go down the road to the non-denominational church. A denomination is merely a specific set of beliefs that a group stands up for and promotes. Every church has some of those. There really is no such thing as a non-denominational church. Becoming a member of a church means being subject to one another under Christ. It means voluntarily agreeing to participate in certain behaviors and to cease from others. It means being subject to possible church discipline. And many today are wearing a yoke of independence and refuse any wider body authority with them. They are independent, and unwilling to unite with others. But God has His church.

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:23 that “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body.” This is very clear. Christ is the head of the church. There is a Christ. There is a church. There is a relationship between the one and the other. Christ is head over the body. Notice also what 1 Corinthians 11:3 teaches: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” So we see that even Christ subjects Himself to God the Father. Ought we not be willing to subject ourselves to Him?

God has a people and a purpose. People need to be part of it. Hear Ellen G. White's Acts of the Apostles, pp. 11-12:

The church is God's fortress. His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.

Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.

During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.

And how will God accomplish this if we are not willing to be subject to one another? Really, when people say they are against organized religion, they are being selectively independent. They will follow the herd to buy the same toothpaste, see the same movies, listen to the same news, purchase the same cars, watch the same cable network, pay the same taxes. But they want to have their religion in their own way.

The Bible urges us to assemble in same-belief groups. Hear Hebrews 10:24-25:

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Assemble together, exhort one another, with the end of all things in sight. Sounds a lot like a church to me. Listen, people are feeble. They need each other. Most of our independence is an illusion. I have news for you. You will not be going to heaven alone. You will not be trickling in as small groups. A great crowd will attend the King. The Bible says we will go together to meet the Lord. Then we will live together for an eternity in our heavenly Father's family. Doesn't it make sense here and now to begin to live together more earnestly? So God gave us a church.

Being A Church Member

Consider just two passages from the Spirit of Prophecy:

Notwithstanding our varying types of character, we are brought into church capacity through the profession of our faith. Christ is the head of the church; and if those whose names are on the church record do not belong to Jesus, the invisible Head, they are like the fruitless branch of the vine, and are taken away. If one is really a fruitful branch, he will make it manifest by bearing fruit, giving evidence of his absolute allegiance to Christ. He will have a spiritual connection with God. Faith and love constitute the gold of character, and will be ever working on the Lord's side to unite and harmonize the members of Christ's body. (Ellen G. White, review and Herald, February 23, 1897).

God is leading out a people to stand in perfect unity upon the platform of eternal truth. Christ gave Himself to the world that He might ‘purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.’ This refining process is designed to purge the church from all unrighteousness and the spirit of discord and contention, that they may build up instead of tear down, and concentrate their energies on the great work before them. God designs that His people should all come into the unity of the faith. The prayer of the Christ just prior to His crucifixion was that His disciples might be one, even as He was one with the Father, that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him. This most touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the ages, even to our day; for His words were: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.’

How earnestly should the professed followers of Christ seek to answer this prayer in their lives. Many do not realize the sacredness of church relationship and are loath to submit to restraint and discipline. Their course of action shows that they exalt their own judgment above that of the united church, and they are not careful to guard themselves lest they encourage a spirit of opposition to its voice. Those who hold responsible positions in the church may have faults in common with other people and may err in their decisions; but notwithstanding this, the church of Christ on earth has given to them an authority that cannot be lightly esteemed. Christ, after His resurrection, delegated power unto His church, saying: ‘Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.’

Church relationship is not to be lightly canceled; yet when the path of some professed followers of Christ is crossed, or when their voice has not the controlling influence which they think it deserves, they will threaten to leave the church. True, in leaving the church they would themselves be the greatest sufferers; for in withdrawing beyond the pale of its influence, they subject themselves to the full temptations of the world.

Every believer should be wholehearted in his attachment to the church. Its prosperity should be his first interest, and unless he feels under sacred obligations to make his connection with the church a benefit to it in preference to himself, it can do far better without him. It is in the power of all to do something for the cause of God. There are those who spend a large amount for needless luxuries; they gratify their appetites, but feel it a great tax to contribute means to sustain the church. They are willing to receive all the benefit of its privileges, but prefer to leave others to pay the bills. Those who really feel a deep interest in the advancement of the cause will not hesitate to invest money in the enterprise whenever and wherever it is needed. They should also feel it a solemn duty to illustrate in their characters the teachings of Christ, being at peace one with another and moving in perfect harmony as an undivided whole. They should defer their individual judgment to the judgment of the body of the church. Many live for themselves alone. They look upon their lives with great complacency, flattering themselves that they are blameless, when in fact they are doing nothing for God and are living in direct opposition to His expressed word. The observance of external forms will never meet the great want of the human soul. A profession of Christ is not enough to enable one to stand the test of the day of judgment. There should be a perfect trust in God, a childlike dependence upon His promises, and an entire consecration to His will.

God has always tried His people in the furnace of affliction in order to prove them firm and true, and purge them from all unrighteousness. After Abraham and his son had borne the severest test that could be imposed upon them, God spoke through His angel unto Abraham: ‘Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.’ This great act of faith causes the character of Abraham to shine forth with remarkable luster. It forcibly illustrates his perfect confidence in the Lord, from whom he withheld nothing, not even his son by promise.

There is nothing too precious for us to give to Jesus. If we return to Him the talents of means which He has entrusted to our keeping, He will give more into our hands. Every effort we make for Christ will be rewarded by Him, and every duty we perform in His name will minister to our own happiness. God surrendered His dearly beloved Son to the agonies of the crucifixion, that all who believe on Him might become one through the name of Jesus. When Christ made so great a sacrifice to save men and bring them into unity with one another, even as He was united with the Father, what sacrifice is too great for His followers to make in order to preserve that unity?

If the world sees a perfect harmony existing in the church of God, it will be a powerful evidence to them in favor of the Christian religion. Dissensions, unhappy differences, and petty church trials dishonor our Redeemer. All these may be avoided if self is surrendered to God and the followers of Jesus obey the voice of the church. Unbelief suggests that individual independence increases our importance, that it is weak to yield our own ideas of what is right and proper to the verdict of the church; but to yield to such feelings and views is unsafe and will bring us into anarchy and confusion. Christ saw that unity and Christian fellowship were necessary to the cause of God, therefore He enjoined it upon His disciples. And the history of Christianity from that time until now proves conclusively that in union only is there strength. Let individual judgment submit to the authority of the church. (Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 17-19).

Considerable food for thought there. Notice:

—There are names on the church record
—The church is meant to “concentrate” our energies on the great work before us
—Is meant to foster unity
—church relationship is sacred
—membership means restraint and discipline
—Church officers have been granted some authority, even though they are human and defective
—The influence of the church strengthens us against temptation
— Every believer should be wholehearted in his attachment to the church
—The prosperity of the church should be our first interest
—We are under sacred obligations to make our connection with the church a benefit to it
—We will freely support it with our offerings
—We are willing to defer our individual judgment to the judgment of the body
—Dissensions, unhappy differences, and petty church trials dishonor may be avoided if self is surrendered to God and the followers of Jesus obey the voice of the church
—Unity and Christian fellowship are necessary to the cause of God
—In union only is strength

Thus we may begin to see some hint of the crucial importance of belonging to God's church, not just in general, but the remnant church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church with names on its church record. It is not safe in our world not to belong to it!

Relationship of Discovering God's People to Your Personal Testimony

There is much error and chaff out there, and so there is much to learn, much to weed through and avoid. We need the help of others who are also seeking to follow God. We need our membership in God's church.

Now what has often been done is to tell people about Jesus and then run them through a series of questions that gets them to utter “the magic words” that they accept Jesus as personal Savior. That is that. You go to church the next week and tell how many you have led to Christ. But as we have seen above, there is so much more than that. We need each other. God wants to bring us into connection with Himself and with each other. For this reason, I hold that one of the most crucial things you can accomplish in sharing your testimony with someone, is leading them to God's church. They should come. And learn more, make new friends, find those who also are seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness first of all (Matthew 6:33). Our testimony can help us to have others become interested in God's church.

Walk Through the Worksheet

Let's walk through this worksheet together. Eight questions.

1. How did pursuing Jesus move you to the place where following His leadings also meant accepting His currently highlighted truths?

Just write out the facts here. When and how did not only Jesus, but His truth become important to you? What was your reasoning on this? It could be because the Bible says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It could be because you wanted to be ready to deal with the things coming upon us now as we approach the end of time. It could be because you were afraid of the future. It could be because you were just plain curious. It could be for any number of reasons. Write yours down here the best you can recollect it.

2. When you understood your need to be strengthened and to minister to others, how did you go about to discover where His people were today?

Why did you decide to seek for God's people? In what way did you go about deciding who they were? Write it out.

3. How did you first hear about Seventh-day Adventists?

How did you find the Seventh-day Adventist church? Maybe you grew up attending it. Maybe you heard about an evangelistic meeting and went to attend it. Maybe through a tragic loss in your family you became interested, met a minister, or were led to attend a Bible study to get some answers. Perhaps someone came to you and knocked on your door and prayed with you. Maybe the school you attended was a church school and you eventually decided to find out more about their religion. Write it in whatever it is.

4. Describe the challenges you faced in your immediate family, your extended family, or even your then-current church when you became interested in Seventh-day Adventists?

Many of us—very many of us—have paid a price. We've left behind family or friends who were not able to follow us forward at that time. Often this has been traumatic. Some of us have been told we were leaving the truth, joining a cult, departing from God, becoming fanatical, and so forth. All our attempts to keep open these precious relationships have sometimes been insufficient to sustain them. Those struggles, those sadnesses, are part of your story. Write them down in this place. You can determine how much of that you will mention in your testimony later on.

5. How did you come to view the doctrines that were new to you as being God's truth?

What process did you go through in determining that this was indeed God's truth? How did you determine this? What incidents bothered you, what incidents helped you? When you came to something that was very new to you, that you weren't sure of, how did you go forward and finally resolve that question in your mind? Now be honest with yourself. As you are thinking back through these things, you may find that you made some decisions in not the best way. Maybe you chose to accept these things, not directly out of your personal convictions, but because your friends or your spouse or a favorite pastor believed it. Be honest about it on this paper. This paper is going to be a resource for you, but you don't have to repeat everything you write on it in the same way. We are going to be thoughtful about how we develop this.

6. Which things were the hardest to accept at first? What led you to certainty that these things were truth?

Which teachings were the hardest for you. Tithing? State of man in death? No hell? Sabbath? Investigative judgment? Issues like smoking, drinking, unhealthful practices? In your specific case, how did you come to the place where you made your commitment to do things in a new way and live by God's standards?

7. How important are your fellow church members to you now as you go forward with a common goal: knowing Christ, living in the end-time, and sharing God's last warning message of mercy with others?

How important is your church family to you and why? Are your friends from church a blessing to you, a help? Why? Explain how you feel here. Much of the worksheets has dealt with factual matters and informational items., Here is one where you can also highlight how you now feel. This is an important item. Religion is more than knowledge and commitment. It has feeling in it too. People need to know that they will become ever more human as they approach Christ. The church is a collection of feeling people. True, we never seek to make feeling our criterion for what we believe, but we are still creatures with hearts. God wants us to feel yet more deeply, not less.

8. Several objections against attending church or participating in Òorganized religionÓ are often given. Having experienced both good and bad in the church, why do you continue to be involved with the church?

A bit soul-searching here, but why do we stay? Why, when we experience negative things in the church, do we stay? It will be important in our testimony to let the people know that the church includes imperfect people. In fact, that is where I think we all fit, isn't it? We are not full-grown, but we are growing by the milk of the word. People need to learn to look to Jesus and let His brightness be their focus rather than us, His sometimes misguided people. We have been given no erring human pattern to follow, but we are to look to Christ. What experiences have we had and how have we overcome our snappy nature? Why are we still here? Is it because of our earnest desire to see the mission of God's church come to fruition? Write it down here.

The Next Step

Now when you finish this worksheet, you will have finished all five (last week we did worksheets 1-3 and 5). What is the next step?

The next step will be as follows. I want you to go back over the information you have written down on all these five worksheets. I want you to put together your own personal testimony. You will do it in the order of the five worksheets. Everything will fall into the five sections:

1. Background
2. Beginning of my search
3. How I discovered God
4. How I discovered God's people
5. What I have now

Use these worksheets as starter material. Write this down in paragraphs. If you have trouble knowing when to make something into a paragraph, just write in groups of four sentences each. That can be your paragraph. What is in a paragraph can be sorted out later. Organize your thoughts into units, but don't get hung up on precision. No one is going to check your spelling! Aim for a 10-15 minute testimony. No one is going to time you. Now you will have three weeks to get this together. Work on it each week.

Next week will be a personal sharing Sabbath and brother Richard Cooper will lead out. The following week I will preach in the 1st service on the topic “Why were there Questions on Doctrine.” Tim Arakawa will preach the second service. The next week then is September 13th. In between feel free to contact me, get together with me or anyone else you might want to, and refine and work on your testimony. I will be available to meet with you to assist you if you wish it.

On September 13th bring this all with you to church and we will begin sharing the testimonies that Sabbath. No one will be forced to share their testimony. But I want everyone to put theirs together and bring it.

Conclusion

Friends, remember. What we are doing is being good stewards here. We are going to take the most precious, unique to us thing we have—our personal walk with God, the way He has personally and providentially led us—and thoughtfully reconstruct the story of how He has led us all the way. We will never have to repeat this verbatim. But just writing it down, thinking about it ahead of time, will mean that when we are granted an opportunity to share, we'll be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us, in a way that can help others themselves to consider joining us in following Jesus. And let this become our daily prayer:

Heavenly Father, Please grant me occasions this week to introduce Your gospel to others. Open hearts beforehand by the Holy Spirit and give me help in the moment of sharing. May I uplift Christ and lead others to Him and to His end-time people. I ask these gifts in Jesus' name, amen.

May the Spirit of God help us to tell others about Jesus and His love, and may His return be hastened by saints who will use their mouths to tell of His power.