preparig for the Trinitarian Community

Preparing for Trinitarian Community.

This month we I’ve communicated the Three Angels’ Message and its significance for our identity as Seventh-day Adventists.  We had been looking at theology and practice of faith through “Trinitarian lens,” appreciating the working of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit around, among, and within us. 

Revelation 14:7 presents the first Angel’s message and invites all to ŒFear and Reverence of God the Father, giving Glory in Christ, who was the glory of the Father, and who invited us to do everything in our physical living to the Glory of God, andŽ worshipping God in Spirit, so does the Message end with Trinitarian identification of God’s people.

Revelation 14:12, chosen as the motto of our movement, also presents the Trinitarian living: Œ patience of the saints – the central part of a set of the Fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22-23);   keeping Commandments of God, emphasizing the old Testament Decalogue, Father’s Will; Ž and having the faith in/of Jesus.

Next month I intend to share with you the Trinitarian perspective on Community.  Community is an essence of existence.  Without relationships we die.  Another biblical word for “relationship” is “conversation.”  Whenever “conversation” stops a relationship ceases.

The future of the church depends on whether we develop true community.  People can get by for a while on programs, skilled communication, serving survival needs, but unless it develops sense of belonging it will become stale, irrelevant, place of pretence, where sufferers suffer alone, generating conformity.  Chinese proverb says, “whom God want to destroy he sends forty years of success,” implying that often a temporary success, or survival satisfaction, blinds people from experiencing greater growth.

I invite you to make plans and fellowship with us March 6, 13, 20 as we journey through the experience of the first Apostolic Church in the book of Acts of the Holy Spirit.  On the pages of the Holy Scripture there is not only a record of past, but an invitation and a recipe for our own experience. The life of the Holy Spirit in us as individuals draws us closer together, belonging together, coming in unity.

We also want to know what you think, so on those Sabbaths special open ended questionnaires will enable you to communicate with our church leadership.  I personally want to enter into a deeper conversation with you, as we focus on becoming community.

THREE ANGELS MESSAGE – ESSENCE OF ADVENTISM

This month I had a privilege to study with you the meaning of Revelation 14:6-12 which inspired our pioneers and motivated them to organize the movement of which we are all part today – the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
We’ve looked together at the call of the 1st Angel to worship God Creator on His terms, and the invitation for complete physical, emotional and spiritual restoration through right worship, in the midst of age-long worship war. We looked at the 2nd Angel’s call of warning that the Babylon of human effort is fallen, and God’s people should stay separate, live countercultural, and not participate in world-hysteria of materialism, and downward spiraling moral decay. I’ve invited you to examine ourselves, instead of judging other Protestant churches, to look inside and make sure our motivations are from the Holy Spirit.
Today I will share the last message. I invited you for a few years already to read the Bible with the “Trinitarian lens.” Just as the Three Angel’s Message begins with the Trinitarian perspective: Fear and Reverence of God the Father, giving Glory in Christ, who was the glory of the Father, and who invited us to do everything in our physical living to the Glory of God, and worshipping God in Spirit, so does the Message end with Trinitarian identification of God’s people.
Revelation 14:12, chosen as the motto of our movement in the late 1840s presents the Trinitarian living:  patience of the saints – the central part of a set of the Fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22-23);  keep Commandments of God, emphasizing the old Testament Decalogue, Father’s Will;  and having the faith in/of Jesus.
I knew the last two – we always took extra pride in our identity as people who accept both, the Old Testament, Torah & the New Testament, Gospel, for we are not “evangelical” only, but wholly Biblical. We build our faith on Moses, the Prophets as the foundation for the Messiah and Apostles, understanding that the New Covenant does not reject the Old, but brings it deeper, from the outside to the inside, from tablets of stone, to being written on our hearts. My discovery was the role of the Holy Spirit in our identity. This whole quarter, all around the world, Adventist churches are especially blessed studying the Fruit of the Spirit, learning to thirst for the Spirit to work in us. I invite you to surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit, so His fruits would be evident.

GREAT VOICE, GREAT VISION, GREAT CHURCH.

Last Sabbath I shared with you the basics of Adventism – the First Angel’s Message, the purpose for being, the reason we exist as a denomination. The Three Angels Message defines our mission and gives us identity apart from being a generic Christian group.
Today, when the image of Christianity in the world is marred by centuries of corruption, abuse and apostasy, God still has faithful people who uphold His Image, the Image of the Creator, that call the world to move beyond traditional status quo mainstream Christianity.
As the Emergent church is calling for the “end of religion,” dismissing all organizing, we should never forget that true God is God of Order, forming and organizing something out of nothing, out of chaos. Christ has His Bride, she is One with Him, she is united among believers, she is preparing to meet Him without spot or wrinkle. We are not to succumb to the tempting deception out there to abandon “organized faith,” for no relationships can exist without boundaries to protect it, hence “religion” continues. What matters is the substance within, the relationship which the boundaries protect.
Today I am presenting the message of the Second Angel, the call for countercultural living, the call not to participate in the sins of fallen and confused system. The people of God live right in the midst of it until God calls us out. But we must not, never, at any circumstances, take part in attitudes and doings of the corrupt world.
This week we are revamping our website and will be posting sermons online, creating an audio and video archive, so those who missed a sermon would be able to go online and watch it.
I invite you to listen carefully this series of sermons. I also invite you to consider your role in being an Adventist, proclaiming yourself this message to those near you, to the extended family, to your friends, coworkers, people you care for.
If you have questions – ask, let’s talk, let’s dialogue, so we would walk in unity of what is the purpose of our local congregation in London. In words of Ellen G. White – this is the “righteousness by faith in verity.” Especially the message of the third angel (don’ miss February 20th).
On the Message of the Second Angel she commented “unfaithful Sabbath-keepers are the worst enemies the truth can have.” SO, as we take another look at Babylon, pay attention, so that the confusion we may send by saying one thing and doing another would not make us a “Babylon,” before we point out to other “confused” groups who may miss the Sabbath, or other “truths.”
The Message of three Angels ends with affirmation of the Remnant as saints with patience, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)

GREAT VISION FOR THE GREAT CHURCH

Today I will share for the first time the message that is in our Adventist DNA – the Three Angels’ Message. Our pioneers in 1840s gauged their efforts by proclaiming this message.
Our former logo was the image of three angels circling a globe. The current logo of the Seventh-day Adventist church has three flames encircling the globe, representing the Holy Spirit; the threefold flame is also a symbol of the three angels. This is at the forefront of who we are, and now let me share with you why!
Notice the order in Revelation 14 – right after the message of verses 6-12 comes the vision of the Great Harvest – the Second Coming of Lord Jesus, based on maturation of both good and evil. Our pioneers believed that preaching the Three Angels message, proclaiming the Everlasting Gospel of God’s Plan of Salvation would bring about the Second Coming. Powerful unashamed preaching of the three angels message lead to the final closure of the evil drama.
I am careful in how I am saying this, but there is limit to being cautious – the Second Coming is “message dependent.” Apostle Peter says we can “haste” the coming of the Lord. (2 Peter 3:12)
I invite you to listen carefully this series of sermons. These will also be posted on the net for those who miss, and we will make them available on recordings. And I also invite you to consider your role in being an Adventist, proclaiming yourself this message to those near you, to the extended family, to your friends, coworkers, people you care for.
If you have questions – ask, let’s talk, let’s dialogue, so we would walk in unity of what is the purpose of our local congregation in London. Because the Three Angels Message is not just a trendy logo on church stationary, or an emblem of our TV broadcasting station (3ABN). But, in words of Ellen G. White – this is the “righteousness by faith in verity.” Especially the message of the third angel (don’ miss February 20th).
This is how our fundamental statement of faith expresses the importance of this message: "The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness."
The Message of three Angels ends with affirmation of the Remnant as saints with patience, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)