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How Present Fads Blockade Present Truth
Presenter: Larry Kirkpatrick
Location: Internet
Delivery: 2005-10-27 21:54Z
Publication: GreatControversy.org 2005-10-27 21:54Z
Type: Letter
URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/rar/kir-fads.php
Below you will find an email that came to us from overseas and our reply to it. This is a common problem we are facing as a people. God is leading those ready to go with Him out from false religion, and they begin to discover that His truth is centered today in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But then, some of the very same errors they are leaving are found in the remnant church. Can it really then be the remnant church? Did God lead them out from that error only to project them into it once again? So there is a terrible dilemma, for God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
The Letter to Us
On Oct 27, 2005, at 6:30 AM, ______ wrote:
Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick,
Two years ago my wife and I came out of our charismatic fellowship in ______ after several years of deep involvement as worship leaders and house group leaders. Over time we had become more and more unsettled with our church’s association with the “Toronto Blessing” experience and its ecumenical ties with other denominations including the Catholic church.
During this time we had begun to question basic doctrines such as the nature of salvation, speaking in tongues, the rapture, the state of the dead, etc. We prayed that God would “show us the truth” and very soon discovered the Sabbath and the writings of E. G. White.
We have been watching 3ABN via the internet and doing an online Sabbath School study. Recently I have been looking into the history of the Advent movement and have read your articles on the New Theology. In the past few weeks we have met a small group of Adventists who are deeply involved with community work which is the direction we would like to take. They have invited us to join their group, but they are involved with Willow Creek and are partaking in Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life course, which the ______ Union Conference is signed up to.
The issue facing us is that we believe that the SDA has been ordained by God to fulfill a unique role in the history of God’s Church and we would love to join a group of like minded believers. We also know that the church we came out of is well on its way to apostasy and that things such as the Purpose Driven Life are manifestations of such error. Part of the reason we left our church was the proliferation of such teachings. What we don’t want to do is go into a situation as critics of what these lovely people are doing out of sincere hearts. At the same time we are aware that Mrs. White predicted such teachings would infiltrate God’s Remnant.
Words of wisdom would be appreciated.
Our Reply
Date: October 27, 2005 9:02:26 AM PDT
To: ______
Subject: Re: HELP!
Hello ______ and ______,
It is wonderful to hear from you. It sounds as if we share many convictions in common! As God has been leading you He has been opening your eyes. You have correctly identified problematic movements in the Toronto Blessing, Willow Creek, and Purpose Driven emphases. I believe that through His providence, God has graciously led you to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this hour.
Alas, we echo the errors of Israel much too closely. At many places in the history of God’s people at that time, we see how they became derailed from His purpose for them and invested their energies in the latest religious doings of the Philistines or other neighboring group. Although God had given them His commission, they dabbled in others. But still they were God’s people. Yet, history shows that this was not permitted indefinitely. Finally, they were given an ultimatum: complete My agenda during the next 490 years (Daniel 9:24-27). They failed, and in A.D. 34 a fresh commission was given the Gentiles. This pertained until at the latter end of the Reformation, God sent His last and fullest light and this time the popular Christian world turned away from the brightness. That was 1844. But from among those willing to go wherever Jesus was going (Revelation 14:4) there rose the Seventh-day Adventist movement. From a mere handful of participants (after the Great Disappointment) under the blessing of God this movement soon blossomed to worldwide significance and impact.
But the forces of evil are on her trail, and the descendants of our spiritual fathers didn’t go through the same experience and in many cases their lives failed of meeting God’s purpose spiritually. Ellen White talks about this in The Great Controversy, pp. 384, 385. The process has happened repeatedly through time, and it leads to spiritual dearth in a movement. Although God has given His people His commission, the descendants of the pioneers go seeking for a different message than that for which their fathers and mothers gave their all to proclaim.
So today it is still God’s purpose for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to accomplish the mission He originally gave her: to facilitate the preparation of people for translation. But in the church are both descendants of those God used to launch the movement, and many of us who are converts out of the world and out of other religious movements with which we had been involved. In God’s unexpected providence, it is often we who fought our way through to come from out from error who more clearly see the truth. So we walk through the door into the Seventh-day Adventist Church and discover a people, too often, who are oblivious to their own heritage and could not pass a test were they asked what message God had actually given them. But they, although unaware of the great brightness upon them shining, often are people who sincerely love God; only lacking someone to point them to (their own) present truth.
My counsel to you is to go forward as God has been leading you. You should proceed and seek affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Become members. Gently but firmly resist participation in these vain fads such as the Purpose Driven emphasis and others. Declare that God has been guiding you to learn more about the present truth He has given His Seventh-day Adventist Church than about the fads and obscure trends of groups He has not raised up. Watch and pray. As you continue moving forward you will begin to see more clearly the local “lay of the land” in the denomination there. God will either use you to bring revival right there in open hearts in the initial church group you join, or, He will guide you to a group of Seventh-day Adventists who are more faithful to His purposes for us at this time. You can then transfer your membership to the more serious group by just signing a little card.
I would also suggest that since you have been studying these things, you will want to attain an even deeper understanding. We hope that you will find many other articles on the website here that are notably helpful. Although you will be disappointed and frustrated at times, do join the church and realize that in spite of her failings and apparent unfaithfulness to the truths God has delivered to her, there are many, many within her who love the truth and although not featured prominently in Seventh-day Adventist officialdom, are burning and shining lights for His truth and are determined to be faithful representatives of His final generation.
Even the leadership has not always been so sleepy. Perhaps you have already read the powerful, challenging messages urgently given by the top leadership of the church in the 1970s:
http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/ori/19731974.php.
You might be interested to know that a prominent union president here in North America, Tom Mostert, has just published a book opposing the Purpose Driven emphasis, titled Hidden Heresy. Possibly you can obtain a copy at an Adventist Book Center. It may be a help in eventually persuading some among the group of Adventists which you have come into contact with. I do not know whether it is a possibility for you or not, but if you can, you would want to come here to America for the fourth annual General Youth Conference meeting, this year, in Chattanooga, TN, December 28-Jan 1, where you will find over 2000 Seventh-day Adventist young people and adults with a much firmer grip on the message than that held by some of our people. Here is information for that meeting:
http://www.generalyouthconference.orgWe (GreatControversy.org) will be there and would love to meet you and discuss the progress of your situation with you at greater length.
If you don’t mind, I would like to publish your letter and our response online with appropriate names and identifiers removed so as not to embarrass anyone. You see, your letter illustrates a continuing problem. God is leading many who want to follow Him fully, and they are coming out of Babylon. Unfortunately, because too many of our own people don’t even understand our own God-given message, they are using the methods of Babylon, not realizing that the very use of these methods is counterproductive to the work they think they are doing!
Looking forward to your reply!
Decision and Reply
Date: October 27, 2005 2:11:44 PM PDT
To: "Larry Kirkpatrick"
Subject: Re: HELP!
Hello Larry,
Thanks for replying to the email. We will act on your suggestions and join this group with humble hearts, and with our eyes and ears open to what God is doing and saying in our midst. We feel honoured that these people have invited us to join them. Their working faith in reaching out to the needy in the local community is an inspiration to us. Please remember us in your prayers this coming Sabbath (please note we are approximately ______ hours ______ you over here).
It would take something of a miracle for us to make it to the GYC in December as we are of humble means but who knows, anything is possible with God. We have watched the David Asscherick series “Carry the Light” from last year’s GYC.
We would be pleased for you to publish our previous letter on your website.
God bless you. GCO
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