Embrace God’s Restoration Mission, Says Adventist Church President Adventist News

October 12, 2022 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Marcos Paseggi | Source : IAD

As the world and society disintegrate, the church is also affected. Amid all of this, God is calling us to engage in ministry for the purpose of restoring His image in the people, said Ted NC Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Ted Wilson’s statement was the focus of his pastoral message presented at Annual Council 2022 on October 6, 2022, at Adventist Church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

More than 340 delegates from around the world have gathered for the church’s annual week-long business meeting where they will hear and vote on reports, plans and bylaws. It is also a deeply spiritual experience, the leaders said, as it includes times of worship, prayer and missionary action.

During his message at the Sabbath worship service, Ted Wilson called on every Adventist leader and member to avoid distractions and focus on proclaiming the three angels’ messages, biblical messages that call people back to the worship of the true God. “Avoid dead-end and unproductive debates and conflicts. Focus on the Lord and his wonderful biblical truth in all its glory,” Wilson said.

A global ministry

As Seventh-day Adventists reflect on how to live just before Christ’s return and what role they have to play, Ted Wilson discussed the importance of the biblical teaching recorded in Isaiah 58. a chapter, he said, that “gives us a key to decipher what our end-time role and ministry will be. »

Pastor Wilson explained that God is calling each of us to “sound the alarm” by adopting a holistic ministry that meets the physical and spiritual needs of people within the church and beyond. It’s a ministry that Adventist Church co-founder Ellen G. White says will “bring life into the churches” and includes, among other things, doing gospel work by feeding the hungry. and helping those who suffer.

What the Ministry Involves

According to God’s message given through the prophet Isaiah, explained Ted Wilson, ministry counteracts our natural selfishness and calls us to open ourselves to meet the needs of others. “God says, ‘Don’t be self-absorbed, self-centered, or self-centered,'” Ted Wilson said. “Take care of those around you who are in need. Help people who are chained to horrible habits. Relieve those who are burdened. Help those who are enslaved to become free through the power of Christ. Eliminate painful circumstances that prevent people from realizing their full potential. You have food, share it. You have a roof over your head, share it. You have clothes, share them. Stop pretending to know [Dieu] – and really show it by doing something for your fellow human beings. »

In doing so, Pastor Wilson said, we will follow the whole ministry of Christ, which “involved teaching eternal truths and putting them into practice, lifting up the people of degradation to see what he desired for them ultimate: eternal life. »

Demonstrate the love of God

It is not about preaching a social gospel but about putting into practice the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14, which are “a practical call to restore the image of God in human beings by the power of the Holy Spirit ,” said Ted Wilson. “The practical application of these profound prophetic messages is seen in the tangible things He does through us in carrying out the ministry of Christ. He explained that: “People yearn to see the love of God demonstrated in practical ways in our lives…When they see the selfless love of God manifested in our lives as a practical testimony, they will ask why we act in this way they will be led to the foot of the Cross, to Christ’s wondrous grace and transforming power. »

Pastor Ted Wilson specifically highlighted medical missionary work, also called “comprehensive health ministry,” which involves reaching out to those in need and ultimately leading them to Christ. This practical application of Christ’s ministry is directly tied to the final proclamation of the third angel’s message, which calls believers to reject error and embrace the full truth of God, he said.

This proactive focus on working for others will help us avoid criticism and gossip, and as a result, we will be strengthened, said Ted Wilson. He explained that the message of Isaiah 58 assures us that if we make the ministry of charity our own, the Lord will guide us and we will prosper. “Because of our connection with [Jésus] as Living Waters, we will bloom like a garden watered by a spring of water that never dries up,” he said.

Breach Repairers

Ted Wilson explained that sin made a breach in the law of God and that in this context, in Isaiah 58, we are called to be “repairers of breaches.” He quoted Ellen White in her book Charitable Ministry, where she wrote: suffering humanity.… Only through selfless service to the needy can we give practical demonstration of gospel truth. (p. 27).

Being breach-repairers involves lifting up the Word of God to restore God’s law “to its rightful place and to point people to the Author of Scripture, our God and Savior,” Wilson said. It also includes restoring Sabbath blessings to their proper place. “Well understood and observed, the Sabbath is the key to man’s happiness here and hereafter,” read Ted Wilson, quoting the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. “The Sabbath is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon mankind by a loving Creator. »

In the last part of his message, Pastor Wilson called on all church leaders and members to embrace this mission of restoration. “As part of the proclamation of the three angels’ messages, be a repairer of breaches. Do something for God in Total Member Involvement! ” he said. “We cannot help people by philosophizing and staying on the sidelines… [Nous devons] use our talents to make a spiritual and practical difference in people’s lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to lead you to those who need help. He will do it. Be a repairer of breaches! God will have us walk on the heights of the earth as we follow his will. »

Translation: Patrick Luciathe

Subscribe to the BIA by Telegram.

Subscribe to the BIA by email. It’s free !

Scan the QR code or follow this link then enter your email address. Then confirm the subscription by e-mail.