ADVENTIST IDENTITY – IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

I am reflecting on the message I preached last Sabbath, praying that the Holy Spirit would communicate where my words fall short.  As “adherents” of our denomination celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the Seventh-day Adventist name there is also a question “what relevance does it have today?”  From week to week I interact with people who consider themselves “adherents” to the name, and mark even on the census that they are “SDAs” yet they have nothing to do with core beliefs, mission, community or work of the Church that is called so.

“Seventh-day Adventist” name communicates faith in the miracle making God, creating the world in six days, and coming again to re-create and restore this sin-damaged world.  It is a sermon in itself rooted in the past work of Creator God and the future hope of the Redeeming God.  We know the great beginnings we have had, and we know the glorious promise we are anticipating! But, what about now, the present?

It is from the story of Moses that I shared with you the search for identity.  Exodus 33 records Moses dialogue with God.  Israel knew where they were coming from, they knew the promise given to Abraham and their fathers, and they knew the recent deliverance God worked miraculously for them to exit Egypt.  They also knew the future where they were going to – the Promised Land!  And, (here is the key!) Moses understood that past and future must be connected by the Present.  His plea with God was to walk with them, to have His Presence, His Face be with them, or without His Presence they would not move a mile!  Verse 16 tells us that what really made them (Israel) different from all other nations was not their skills, gifts, possessions, past or future, but God’s Presence in the Present.

The Seventh-day was special not only because God created, but because in that day God walked with people and people were in God’s direct presence.  The Advent of the New heaven and Earth is special not only because of peace and wonders it offers, but because God’s Presence will be experienced face-to-face again!  And it is during this “between” time, the present, that we need God’s Presence. What makes us really special is God’s Presence in our individual lives! Seventh-day Adventist identity is not in the monumental name or momentous hope, but in the present living real relationship with God, knowing His ways, knowing His will, having the Kingdom love among ourselves!