Spirit and Truth Ministries

A MESSAGE FOR CONGREGATIONS PUT OUT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST DENOMINATION

July 15, 1998

Don Hawley

This morning I believe God gave me a message for congregations recently severed from the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, usually as a result of denominational action. I doubt this will be a popular message, but I still need to share it.

Some time back I was invited into the pulpit of a congregation experiencing serious difficulty with the SDA hierarchy. When I was an Adventist minister my sermon notes resembled a full volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica. I suppose this was born out of desperation, since I knew I seldom had anything of value to share. This Sabbath morning, however, I carried nothing but my Bible. God had given me my message and I knew it. There is nothing like preaching with real conviction born out of a word from the Lord. My principal text that morning was:

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. Matt. 6:24.

In this confrontation God was dealing specifically with possessions, but the truth expressed properly can be applied to other situations. The application that morning was simply, "It is time for this congregation to come out of Seventh-day Adventism. Now. Completely."

The following night I had my first prophetic dream. It was so powerful that I awoke as from a nightmare, and the details are still vividly imprinted in my memory. The dream clearly confirmed what I had preached that Sabbath morning. What a gracious God we serve! I trust you can see the importance of this sequence. Had there been no dream, it could have been merely a strong sermon that was, or was not, on target. Had there been only a dream, it could have been dismissed as just an ordinary experience. But since the two were so perfectly integrated, it gave strong confirmation that I had shared God’s message for that church family for that particular time.

A few months later I was invited into that same pulpit once again. Since my previous engagement I had been led to examine the Renewal movement of the Holy Spirit then sweeping the world, and determined it truly was of God. Once again I felt God had given me my sermon, but I was concerned about how the congregation might react. The Lord spoke to my heart, "When I tell you what to preach, you can leave the consequences with me." In essence the message I delivered was, "Not only is it time to come out of religious bondage, but it is time to enter fully into the present mighty move of the Holy Spirit."

Although the possibility never entered my mind, that night a loving God again sent a powerful prophetic dream to confirm my Sabbath morning message.

A TWO-FOLD ADMONITION

Since that time God has, again and again, brought me the same two-fold message for Seventh-day Adventist congregations yearning to be free in Christ.

In this equation Canaan land doesn’t represent heaven, but wherever God wants to take his people today. It was never God’s plan that Israel should dally in the desert. The desert turned out to be a place of death. It's never safe to go part way with God; he deserves and asks for our total obedience.

I can take only a moment to address the idea that SDAism qualifies as "Egypt." Egypt was a repressive religious system that held people in bondage, and kept them from knowing and serving the one true God. Any present day religious system that has repressed its members, and for its 150-year history denied the efficacy of my Savior’s sacrifice on Calvary, qualifies as "Egypt." The cross is the theme of the Word of God, and the most antichrist teaching possible is that the blood alone isn't enough for salvation.

THE REASON FOR DEATH IN THE DESERT

The reason everyone who left Egypt, save two, died in the desert was because they didn’t really sever their former ties. When God says "Come out," he doesn’t mean " Well, at least part way." The children of Israel took their bodies into the desert, but large pieces of their hearts remained in Egypt. They just couldn’t give up those leeks and garlic for mere manna.

Frankly, I'm disturbed by the many disclaimers coming from congregations unceremoniously kicked out of Adventism. Comments such as, "We really didn’t want to leave," "We still consider ourselves Seventh-day Adventists," or"We don’t want to lose all ties." That is precisely the kind of reasoning that kept Israel from their rightful inheritance. God cannot accept a divided loyalty.

THE DESIRE TO REFORM

The excuse many honest-hearted people give for not leaving SDAism is that they want to be a part of reforming the denomination. That may be a noble sentiment, but it's impossible to reform the unreformable. Individuals, yes, but the system? Never. God didn’t send Moses to Egypt to work reform there; he knew that was not to be. Instead he called his people out where they could worship in freedom and follow the cloud. The cloud never did go to Egypt; it was leading them to another place God had in mind.

When you’ve spent a lifetime in a religious system, and many of your friends and loved ones are still involved, it's very difficult to turn away. I know. And truthfully, God is not asking us to desert our friends and loved ones. He's merely asking us to work in tandem with him in reaching them.

At first I spent a great deal of time and effort trying to help my SDA acquaintances burst their bonds. Finally, God led me to the following portion of Scripture. Here the Lord is discussing the relationship between the old covenant (salvation by works) and the new covenant (salvation by the blood.)

Not only Moses’ face was veiled, but his people’s minds and understanding were veiled and blinded too. Even now when the Scripture is read it seems as though Jewish hearts and minds are covered by a thick veil, because they cannot see and understand the real meaning of the Scriptures. For this veil of misunderstanding can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses writings their hearts are blind and they think that obeying the Ten Commandments is the way to be saved.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord from his sins, then the veil is taken away. The Lord is the Spirit who gives them life, and where he is there is freedom [from trying to be saved by keeping the laws of God]. 2 Corin. 3:14-17.

My efforts to help my SDA friends and loved ones were largely fruitless, and this text explains why. It isn’t that they were merely stubborn or indifferent. God explains that when people are wrapped up in legalism, they simply "cannot see and understand the real meaning of the Scriptures." Until some glimmer of the Gospel breaks through, the situation is almost hopeless.

Finally I confessed to God I had been a poor steward of my limited time and energy. I needed to turn my efforts in directions that could prove more fruitful. So I made a convenant with God. I would quit "chasing Adventists," and he would bring to me, supernaturally, members who were at least partially open to becoming free from religious bondage. God is so faithful. I don’t believe a single week has passed since that time, more than a half year ago, but what God has brought me from one to three seekers. Most "accidentally" stumble onto my web site, or tune into my radio program. Such contacts now prove rewarding rather than frustrating.

Please understand I'm speaking negatively of a system, not the people within that system. Most of my loved ones and life-long friends still are Seventh-day Adventists. Although they probably consider me lost, I believe that if Christ came today most of them would be saved. In spite of their bondage, they've never rejected God.

ISRAEL’S FAILURE WAS TWO-FOLD

The reason the people died in the desert was not only because they refused to completely sever ties with Egypt, but also because they refused to move into the place God wanted them to enjoy. God brought them out that he might bring them in. Just as Egypt represented religious unbelief and bondage, so Canaan land represented walking with God where he said to walk. God said "milk and honey," but they saw "giants." It’s important to remember that their refusal to possess the land was because of "fear."

Today the greatest move of the Holy Spirit in human history is circling the globe. It's called Renewal. Amazingly, many Christians are completely unaware that God is pouring out his spiritual rain in abundance. Still others who know something about what is taking place are again filled with fear. Just as was the case at Pentecost, some see manifestations of the Spirit as mere "drunkenness." Or even more worse, as demonic. Ascribing the work of the Spirit to Belial is nothing new, and such a charge is still as dangerous as it was back then. God often offends the mind to see what is in theheart.

I must admit to some concern when I see congregations newly out of Adventism looking to Willow Creek as their ideal congregational model. I've followed the story of Willow Creek from its very beginning. I’ve visited there, and been to hear Bill Hybels when he was speaking locally. I've read Hybel’s books, and studied his methods. I greatly admire what Willow Creek has accomplished, and have learned from them. However, Willow Creek is NOT part of the great Renewal movement that I believe is ushering in the Latter Rain. It's too late to model after General Motors, or even Willow Creek. Today we need closely to follow the cloud wherever it leads. What we should be seeking is not just church growth, but proper positioning for what is soon to break out upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

THE FINAL MOVEMENTS

For too long the Body of Christ has been splintered by the territorial warring of denominationalism. As Renewal continues to evolve, the denominational road is seen as of less and less consequence. Instead, in answer to the prayer of Jesus in John 17, true ecumenicity of the Spirit is rising above factionalism. The Body of Christ is forming, and it will not be compressed into any manmade mold.

We are on the eve of the greatest cosmic battle of all time. What lies just ahead is nothing less than spiritual Armageddon. It will not be held in check much longer; the cup of iniquity is overflowing. In spite of all the great evangelistic plans now in progress, God will soon take charge personally.

For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Rom. 9:28.

I suppose the reason this text is so overlooked is that we like to think we can do everything ourselves. Jesus cannot return until we have done our thing. I don’t think so. We've been playing church for two thousand years, and God is about to take over. When Almighty God is in charge, we have little concept of just how "short" the end time movements can be.

Once the final battle is raging, it may be too late to get serious about positioning. When the forces of light and the forces of darkness are engaged in all-out warfare, we can't afford to be found with one foot in each camp. God cannot accept a divided loyalty. Now is the day of decision.

ALL THE WAY

Christians living today would do well to look to Lot’s experience as a warning for their own immediate danger. Babylon, Egypt, Sodom, they all speak of rampant iniquity similar to our present day. Lot’s precarious position didn’t evolve overnight.

Lot started out merely dallying with sin, but before long he moved right into the heart of town. We too have become inured to the wickedness that surrounds us on every hand. I don’t know if Lot was holding evangelistic meetings or not, but eventually God proclaimed the cup of iniquity full and took matters into his own hands.

Long before, Lot should have sensed the need to leave Sodom, but he had grown accustomed to his surroundings. Maybe he thought he'd been called to reform the Sodomites. In any case. a most gracious God gave him a call to "come out."

Lot was hesitant. It's always difficult to turn away from surroundings we've become accustomed to, even though undesirable. Now God shows his unfathomable mercy.

Lot and his family were, by the mercy of the Lord, forced out of Sodom. This has been the experience of the congregations I'm addressing. Now, what was the next admonition of the Lord?

The instruction is clear. Nothing here about maintaining close ties with Sodom. Nothing about, "Well, we were sorry we had to leave." The command is to run, not walk, in the opposite direction. In fact, God makes it plain he wants us to put a great deal of distance between our past and our present. 

This is not to be a hesitation waltz. God calls for a complete and distinct severance, obvious to all. Not only is it too late for city dwelling, it's even too late for a valley experience. Note the second part of God’s two-fold instruction.

God brought them out of Egypt that he might bring them in to Canaan land. Desert or valley living was never part of his plan. It's not enough for congregations to come out of denominational bondage, it's also mandatory to enter fully into what God is doing today. And what God is doing is Renewal. In the desert the children of Israel received an ample supply of bread, the manna. Since Pentecost we've been offered, in addition, an ample supply of the new wine, the Holy Spirit. To have full communion with God we need to partake freely of both the bread and the wine.

But to a people who've known the Holy Spirit only in theory, the new wine is scary. It was at Pentecost, and to many it still is today. The Holy Spirit, sovereign God, sometimes refuses to behave in a manner matching our expectations. We have our own definition of what is "decent and in order." The move of God certainly looked dangerous to Lot.

How patient our God! But even godly patience has an end. Lot had the temerity to tell a merciful God that his instructions to go to the mountain sounded death dealing. God’s answer couldn't have been more clear.

Since Pentecost we've been living in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Our background has led us to be rather indifferent to, or even fearful of, the move of the Spirit. But at this critical time in earth’s history we can't afford to be either fearful or indifferent. In fact, our eternal life depends on moving with the cloud. To reject the Holy Spirit will be to reject Jesus and his blood sacrifice; the Eternal Three are one. There is no safety anywhere in the valley. When God says to come out, he means just that.

Lot was the priest (pastor) of his family. Because he couldn’t bring himself to be decisive in regards to the Lord’s warning, his wife (congregation) also found it difficult to make a clean break. Lot’s wife didn’t go back to Sodom, she merely looked back. But that look proved fatal because it showed a divided loyalty. In Jesus, the Father gave all that heaven could give. He has a right to expect and to demand our all in return.

Times demand our final decision for the Lord.

Remember Lot’s wife.

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