In this issue:
Life & Death in the Williams family
Europe 2007
As preparations were made for the trip to Europe this year, the plan was that brother Howard Williams should accompany me and we prepared accordingly. Everything was put in place, we obtained the necessary visas, purchased the tickets and prepared to go. The meetings in the various places were planned with this in mind. But four days before our scheduled departure, Howard’s father died. He had been ailing for a long time and it was not really a shock, but coming at this time, it completely threw our plans out. Howard had to change his mind about coming to Europe and it turned out that I made the trip alone. It would have been a blow to lose the money for Howard’s ticket which we had already paid for, but we found out that we would be able to get a refund if we could produce a death certificate for his father.
Germany
The first stop was Germany where it was good to see Erwin and his family again. The campmeeting this year was to be at a place called Neudorf which was only an hour and a half away from Erwin’s home. They had been able to obtain this place at a reasonable rate, but as it turned out, the location was not the best as many people decided not to attend because it was not centrally located and it was too far for them to travel. However, we did have 37 persons attending and most of them were eager to hear more of the message of Christ and His righteousness.
I felt Howard’s absence more keenly than ever because it turned out that he and I had been scheduled as the main speakers at the campmeeting and since there was no one else available to fill his speaking slots at such short notice, I was informed that I would have to preach twice as many sermons as I had originally planned! This kept me very busy, preparing and preaching, but the Lord never left it up to me, He always did the preparation and the presentation and it turned out that the fifteen sermons which I presented were all blessed by Him.
In every place and in every age, there have been those who have risen up against the message and this has been true in Germany as well. Men of influence have set themselves to oppose it and have been busy warning people that the message being preached by Erwin Zoor is a false message. But like somebody once said, “you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” People have grown tired of the same old stale doctrinal discourses which have no power, the theories which leave them empty and without the spirit of God. There are those with hungry hearts who truly desire something better than they have been fed over the years, people who are really looking for an answer to the question, “why has Jesus not yet returned.” These are the people who came to the campmeeting and they drank in the message with open hearts. Their response over the six days was truly a blessing.
Christ was present at the meetings and His spirit presented truth to the people in such a way that no one was left in any doubt that Christ and Christ alone is to be the center of our lives. We did not only come to understand a theory, but we experienced the power of the truth and each one resolved that by God’s grace we would not allow anything to distract us from our single duty of bending all our faculties to the task of beholding Christ.
As I said, I was the main speaker, in fact I was just about the only speaker. However there were a couple of evening presentations by brothers Kay (pronounce Kai) Gurtner, and brother Rolf Meier. I could not understand what they said of course, but from what I was told, they were powerful presentations. Brother Meier in particular speaks of nothing but Christ and His righteousness, and he is filled with a desire to see this message swallow up all others. He is presently working in the north of Germany in every way that he can to see that this message reaches all who are willing to listen.
On Sabbath afternoon we hiked up to a place in the mountains where there is a small lake, in fact, more like a big pond. There we had a baptism of three people who had come to the campmeeting especially to be baptized. They were a man and two old ladies who were Russians. It was a dreadful day for a baptism. It had been drizzling all day, there was mist and fog everywhere and for me, it felt bitterly cold. I have a problem with cold, but many of the others also seemed to be cold and were wrapped in sweaters and windbreakers. I was concerned about baptizing two old ladies in this weather. One of them was 79 years old and the other was 80! But when I mentioned it to Erwin, he said, “they are Russians, they don’t care about the cold.” Thankfully Erwin was the one doing the baptism, so I did not have to face the water.
Later, Erwin told me that the water was colder than in a freezer. It was the kind of cold which instantly freezes the bones. I could well believe it. I was shivering on the bank and I could not seem to get my hands warm. But as they were going into the water he said to one of the little old ladies, “are you cold?” She replied, “oh no my son, but the stones are hurting my feet.” After the baptism, these two old ladies were so happy, I was glad that we had been able to baptize them in spite of the cold. They acted like people who had been truly born again.
This was just about the final event of the campmeeting. The following day we departed for our homes.
Poland
We arrived in Poland two days after the end of the German campmeeting. There were not too many people in attendance, especially on the first day. There were eventually about 27 or so, but maybe about 18 on the first day.
Poland has always been a very interesting place for me. The attitude of the people is very different and there is always some controversy and many determined questioners. One of the unnerving things about being there is the fact that people seem to always say just what they think about other people. They have no reservations about saying critical or uncomplimentary things about other people to their faces. It is probably a well-accepted practice for I have noticed that people do not seem to take personal offence and do not seem to harbour hard feelings even when things like this happen.
Another prominent mark of Poland is that there always seems to be very strong feelings and questions concerning minor questions such as the covering of the head for women. There are always some people who seem to have a difficulty in separating the things which are really important from the things which do not matter too much. I suppose this is true everywhere, but somehow, they always seem to be present at the Poland campmeeting.
When this campmeeting started this year, I did not know how it would turn out. Last year we had presented the message of righteousness in Christ and it had seemed at the end that there was a very positive response to the message. However, there were several new people this year and besides, over the year several issues had arisen which had caused questions in the minds of some. The atmosphere seemed a little stiff with most of those present seeming to be waiting and watching. I suppose they were not quite certain of what to do with the message of Righteousness by faith and were waiting to see what Erwin and I had to say. The first two meetings were greeted with quite a few questions. The subjects on which I preached were, “Is Perfection Good Enough?” and “The Goal of The Law.” After attempting to answer a barrage of questions I discovered that there was a rumor that I was teaching that babies cannot be saved! Whew! Where do stories like that get started? Well, anyway, I made haste to clear that up and things seemed to relax a little bit.
After that I preached four more times and Erwin preached three times. In-between, Jacek also gave a couple of sermons. Slawek translated for me and I was happy to see that we all seemed to be in complete harmony in what we were presenting. I tried to cover the ideas which I thought were important for the people to understand and the topics on which I spoke were:
Life
Life after Death
Amazing Grace
The three gospels.
Erwin spoke on the following topics:
The two Adams
Who Needed a Sacrifice
Faith and Works
God blessed these sermons abundantly. By the time we came to the second to last day, the mood was entirely different. Slowly the reality of the truth dawned on the people that it was really and truly His own life which Christ has given to us as a complete gift, freely and without reservation. Then it was wonderful to see the change which took place. Suddenly it seemed to me that there was a warmth everywhere and everybody was much closer to each other. When I asked about questions, the reply was, “everything is clear. We have no more questions.”
On the last day I spoke on the three gospels. Here I showed the difference between the two concepts which are presently being debated in Adventism and the truth which we are teaching. I showed how one of these “gospels” is based on the belief called “original sin” which basically teaches that we are all charged with guilt by God, on account of Adam’s sin. I also showed how the other “gospel,” the one embraced by most of the “historic” Adventists, teaches that the only thing wrong with man is the choices which he makes. That we are all capable of choosing right from wrong from the moment we become morally aware. I showed why these two concepts were completely wrong and unscriptural. Then I showed what the Bible truth is, and compared it with what we were presenting. Everything became clear to all who were there and any last lingering doubts were cleared up. The campmeeting ended on this high note and I have hopes that when, by God’s grace I go to Poland again, it will be to find a people who are strong in the truth that Christ is all in all.
Hungary
The meetings in Hungary were planned for two different cities. The first set of meetings were in a town named Gyomro and were held in the dining room of a hotel. Here, there was a couple, Peter and Viola who had withdrawn from the SDA Church because of the Trinity issue. They were originally from Romania but had been living in Hungary for 17 years. They had arranged for us to have meetings in this hotel for three evenings and they had invited many people, both from the SDA Church and from the general public. When we arrived, Janos, Zsolt and Daniel were waiting for us at Peter’s home. Later I met Peter and Viola.
On the first evening, there were about 30 people with most of them being Adventists, including the pastor of the local church. There were also a couple of Catholics in the audience as well as a biker with tattoos all over his body. The messages of course were focused on Righteousness in Christ and here, as everywhere else, there was appreciation and acceptance of the message. I was happy to find that the Catholic ladies had several questions at the end and seemed very willing to give serious consideration to the answers which were given. On this first day, the Adventists, including the pastor, were very cautious in their questioning but the pastor in particular seemed anxious to find out what my topics would be for the following meetings. Later I found out that Peter and his wife had created quite a stir on the issue of the Trinity and this was the question which the pastor (and some of the Adventists) were anxious to discuss.
So on the third evening, I spoke about the relationship between the truth about God, and the doctrine of Righteousness in Christ. I made it clear that the holy spirit is the actual life of Christ and not a separate person from Christ, and that this truth is the very foundation of Righteousness, since, when we receive the holy spirit, it is Christ Himself whom we receive who now lives His own righteous life in us.
After this meeting, the questions were very many and lasted for nearly an hour and a half. The pastor in particular had come prepared for this meeting and set out to ask what he obviously thought were hard questions. But they were simply the old questions which have been asked over and over again such as, “why did Jesus tell the disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost if there is no Trinity?” The people were delighted to find them easily answered although some of the Adventists seemed to grow more angry as the questions disappeared. One man stated that the spirit in the meeting was not good, but the rest of us were mystified at the statement.
Up to this point the pastor and I were on very civil and friendly terms and he seemed to me to be a very humble person. I commended him on this and after the meeting closed, we continued our discussion in a friendly spirit. However, at one point he asked me point blank why I thought the doctrine of the Trinity was so bad. So I told him straight out that those who worshipped a Trinity actually worshipped a false god because the Trinity was not the true God of the Bible. Upon this he became very grieved and turned away saying he would speak with me no more and that I had upset him very greatly. I was sorry for this but was happy that I had told him the plain truth. Afterwards he told Peter that he was not angry with me, but that he would not apologize for not shaking my hand.
From Gyomro, we went to Janos’ city, Miskolc, where the brethren had rented a hall in a school for four meetings. One each for Thursday and Friday, and two for Sabbath. Here I met again with the dear brethren whom I had come to know and to love last year. Since I was last here, five of them had been disfellowshipped for not believing in the Trinity and for their views on Righteousness by Faith. Since that time they had been worshipping together as a home church and along with their family members had developed into a little group of about 25 people. Now I found them strong in faith and eager to hear more, particularly about Christ and His Righteousness. However, they had many questions to ask concerning organization.
The main problem which the brethren had was in understanding that they had a right to function as a group of independent Christians and to carry out the duties associated with Christian fellowship. In particular they were at a loss as to what to do about ceremonies such as baptism and the Lord’s supper. It was evident that they could not expect the church from which they had been disfellowshipped to perform these duties for them, but they were understandably reluctant to take up such duties without some kind of authority and guidance. I pointed them to the Scriptures and encouraged them to exercise their liberty in the Lord. I urged them to look among themselves for those who were endowed with gifts for carrying out such tasks and to support them in taking up these responsibilities if they were willing.
The meetings were well supported. There were more than 50 people present at most of the meetings, although Janos and Attila expressed disappointment that there were not more. The room was very nice, but it was very warm, and a bit uncomfortable for the people, even though the first two meetings were held in the evening after work. The response, however, was wonderful. I could see the smile of understanding on many faces as some of the truths came home for the first time. I had a white board available and tried to simplify my points by illustrations and charts as much as possible and found that it was a great help in getting the people to understand.
Sabbath was especially well attended and people came from far away to attend. Included among them were two ministers from the Reformed SDA church who expressed that they had received a blessing, and who asked some sincere questions. One of the things which made me very happy was to see sister Meszaros from Kesthely present at both the meetings in Gyomro, and also at the Sabbath meetings in Miskolc. She traveled a far way by train to get to the meetings on both occasions and this was especially encouraging to me. May the Lord bless her in a special way for the efforts she made to hear and to receive truth.
Sister Meszaros is one of the first persons we knew of in Hungary who was willing to embrace the truth about God. When we first went to Hungary a few years ago the meetings were held in her home and of course, she is the mother of Saci Noyes, who is married to Steve Noyes and now living in Washington State, USA.
On the Sabbath evening after the final meeting, we met with a sister and her husband who are members of the KERAK Adventist church (the same church which disfellowshipped the other brethren) and who had questions to ask concerning the Trinity. They seemed to be honest and sincere people and listened carefully to our answers. At the end, they assured us that they now saw that the issue was an important one and they would be examining it more carefully in the future.
The time in Hungary ended with the first baptism conducted by the little group. There were seven candidates who presented themselves and since none of the brethren felt qualified to undertake such a task, it fell to me to baptize them. I interviewed each candidate separately and was convinced that they all understood what baptism meant and that they had accepted Christ as Lord of their lives and believed that He had taken their sins away. Among them were some who were being prepared by the KERAK group, but who now felt that they no longer wanted to be baptized by them. I explained to them that their baptism would be accepted by no denomination on earth, but only in heaven and in each case, there was a smile and a willingness to accept this.
So on Sunday morning we went down to a lake where we had a lovely baptism. The edge of the lake sloped steeply and it was a bit of a challenge doing the baptism without any of us capsizing, but the Lord preserved us from any mishap and in the end, it was a beautiful service.
After the baptism we returned to the home of Janos’ grandfather where we were staying and where we had held our meetings last year. I was getting set to pack so we could leave, but the brethren were hungry for more truth and asked me to share one more message before we left. So we studied Galatians chapter four together as I endeavoured to show them what it meant that Christians are no longer “under the law.” This message also seemed to be a blessing to these brethren. It was with reluctance that we said goodbye.
One thing which I had noticed in Hungary was that the people were restrained and even to some extent reserved in their behaviour. They have a quaint custom of greeting a person with a kiss on each cheek, but apart from this, they do not seem to be as demonstrative as some of the people I met in Europe. But I must say that on this last day as we said goodbye, the feelings were on display and the hugs and well-wishes were real on both sides as we separated from each other.
Note:
Since we left Hungary there have been some wonderful responses to the meetings. The two emails below, received by Janos, are simply a sampling of how people have responded to the message of Righteousness in Christ. The first one says:
“… So far I’ve been listening for 4 hours to the recordings and my spirit is rejoicing greatly! This is that ancient and single gospel without which people and churches run dry. This is why grace is an issue of life and death. God is with you.”
The other one reads:
“I would also like to share with you my great joy in regard to Galatians which I mentioned to you already, and my feeling about reading Romans again this morning. That is, I GET IT!. What a miracle! After 17 years I finally came to this point, that there is no veil anymore between me and the word. How patient, tender, merciful and everything my Lord was, and is! In my heart, I almost feel like crying out of joy. Well, beloved, none can take this away from us anymore. I rejoice in Him and I rejoice with you.”
Romania
Romania was expected to be the biggest of the campmeetings we would be attending in Europe. Vlad kept telling me, “the people are waiting.” A day or two to rest after Hungary would have been good, but the meetings were scheduled to begin on the Monday after the baptism in Hungary. It was a journey of more than eleven hours and we didn’t get started until close to six o’clock on the Sunday after the baptism. Erwin drove all night. Janos had decided to come with us and he stayed awake most of the night, keeping Erwin company. However, I was scheduled to speak at 8.00 the following morning and I settled down in the back seat to get some sleep.
We arrived at the home of Florin and Mihaela in Slatina, at 5.00 on Monday morning. Erwin and Janos crawled into bed to try to get a bit of sleep while I tried to prepare for the meeting. All too soon we had to get up and head for Criva, a few kilometers away where the meetings were being held. As Vlad had said, the people were waiting. There were about 70 of them present on this first day and it was great to see the familiar faces from last year along with some new ones. I spoke twice on this first day but I was not wholly satisfied with the presentation of the messages and realized that I was a bit tired.
At first, it seemed that things were a bit different from last year. It seemed that there was a bit more reservation on the part of the people, but as the week progressed I realized that it was taking a while for the close bond which we had established last year to be rekindled. By about the third day there was the same warmth and closeness with which we had parted last year. Again I felt that I had come home to family from whom I had been separated for a while.
The only speakers for this campmeeting were Sorin and me, and again it proved to be a hectic schedule. On a couple of days I had to speak three times, on the other days I spoke twice. Vlad was concerned that I should not leave before I had preached all the sermons I had available! Sorin spoke once or twice each day.
There are certain images from this campmeeting which stand out in my mind. The efforts of the people to express their love and appreciation was at times overwhelming. One memory which I have is of Robert. He is a little boy of about 10 years of age, but he seems to be slightly retarded. He seemed to recognize me from the videos of last year and as soon as I arrived he gave me a hug and planted a wet kiss on my cheek. He was constantly coming for a hug and a kiss. He could not understand why I would not speak to him and he kept asking me questions or trying to make conversation. All I could do was make signals to him and say, “Robert, I cannot speak to you.” He would conclude the discussion with a hug and another wet kiss on the cheek.
Another memory which will linger is that of another stout gentleman who would come and rub his bristly face against my cheek as he said the only words he knew in English, “I love you.” It was a bit overwhelming at times, but it was not hard to believe. Those who could not speak English would satisfy themselves with a hug or simply hold on to my hand and try to speak with their eyes.
Last year Costel was always offering me some “pepene” (watermelon). This year the crop was finished before I arrived but he was constantly trying to find some way to do something to express his love.
On the final day of the campmeeting, there was a baptism. The weather which had been warm and sunny changed suddenly on the day before the baptism and there was much rain. The roads which had been dug up in order for pipes to be laid became a morass of ankle-deep mud, but worst of all, the temperature dropped significantly, and suddenly it was quite cold. The baptism was held at the same river where we had it last year. It was a sluggish, slow-moving stream and it was not the cleanest water. On this gloomy, windy and cold day it looked forbidding. But nothing could quench the enthusiasm of the people. Dozens of them turned up for the baptism and sang lustily, ignoring the cold and the wind while they waited for the baptism to get under way.
I was determined to get it over with as quickly as possible for I did not relish the though of staying in the water too long. As I had expected, the water was bitterly cold and by the time I baptized the second person I was shivering and my voice quavered. Nevertheless, I was warm inside and happy to baptize the seven candidates. I had spoken to each of them personally and was persuaded that they were all fully aware of the importance of what they were doing and that each had fully given his or her life to the Lord. When it was over I stepped quickly out of the water shaking like a leaf, but there were dozens of hands ready to help me out and to wrap me in a huge blanket which helped me to thaw out as Costel and Erwin escorted me to the car where I quickly changed.
(On a sad note, since returning home I received news from Gabriela that one of the baptismal candidates, a lady named Mariana, returned home from the campmeeting after the baptism to find her clothes waiting for her at the gate of her home where she lived with her parents. She had been put out, I am not sure for what reason, perhaps for attending the campmeeting. She is now staying with the couple who accommodated us while we were in Romania, Florin and Mihaela. I am sure she would appreciate the prayers of all who love the Lord.)
We left Criva right after the baptism but not without some tearful good-byes. It was hard for us and for the people, but as always, by now, the thought of home was constantly in my mind and it made leaving easier. From Criva we drove for about 5 hours to the home of Vlad where we would spend the night. I was not prepared for what happened when we got there.
Vlad met us in the small town where he lived and then took us to a place where he parked the car. Then he said, “take nothing with you. Just get out and come with me.” I asked, “where are we going?” He replied, “to my home. We must walk for a distance so we cannot take anything heavy.”
I grabbed my toothbrush and sleeping garments and we started off on a path which seemed to be climbing up the side of a mountain. After a while we came out of the trees into open air and there we saw Vlad’s house perched on the side of the hill. It was a very beautiful location with a view which took in wide open spaces and distant mountains. Vlad showed us that his property took in what seemed to me to be half of the mountain. He told us that he had plans to build a road up to the house which I could see was really necessary.
It was a joy to see vlad’s wife Andi again and to meet their new son, David. He is still just a tiny thing, but it is not hard to see that he is the pride and joy of their lives. We also met Andi’s father who is living with them. He is a pleasant man who seemed very happy to see us, although of course, I could do no more than smile at him since he does not speak English. He and Janos had a couple of good conversations.
As soon as we arrived at Vlad’s home, the water for some mysterious reason stopped flowing. Vlad was at his wit’s end and his father in law worked hard to try to solve the problem. They obtained their water from a nearby stream up on the hill and this had never happened before. All their work, however, did not restore the water by morning but we managed to make do with some emergency supplies which were in containers around the house. In spite of this small inconvenience, we enjoyed this time spent in the home of Vlad and Andi and were sorry when we had to say goodbye early the following morning.
Erwin’s home in Germany was eighteen hours away and we drove all day and a half of the night with few stops. At about three o’clock in the evening we parted company with Janos in the city of Budapest. His home was out of our way but he assured us that he would be home by train that evening without any problems. As I watched his small, but dignified figure walking away with his knapsack on his shoulders and his guitar in his hand, I realized that I had come to love and admire this dear young brother from Hungary. In all my travels I have not found too many people whom I would give the label of “gentleman” more readily than I would give it to Janos. He has very high scruples without being offensive and behaves in a way which is a credit to his Lord. In addition to all this, he speaks English with a very, very British accent. It is hard to escape the impression when listening to him that one is in the company of a polished English gentleman! Janos is a genuine person though, and has a heart of gold.
We arrived back home in Germany at close to midnight, very tired and dirty, but extremely thankful to our Lord for taking us back in good time and in good shape. Erwin had projected that we might get back by about three in the morning and we were both surprised at getting back so soon. This, in spite of the fact that there had been very heavy rain which limited visibility for a significant part of the journey as we traveled through Austria and Germany.
Two days later I left Germany bound for Jamaica. For some reason it seemed to be the most tiring trip I ever experienced. From Germany to England then to Jamaica, I was on the road for about 24 hours but it seemed like it would never end. I could not sleep much and I could not seem to get comfortable in the seats, but finally it came to an end and I could rejoice in being with my family and loved ones again.
After this trip, I am filled with a desire to do more in the cause of truth. I see the need for more capable people who understand the truth to be preaching all over the world. Already there are requests for meetings in other places, Spain, Italy, the Ukraine, Russia, Zimbabwe as well as the places which were already visited this year. I cannot help feeling that God is preparing us for an experience which has only been seen on the earth one time before, about 2000 years ago. I feel that this is a wonderful time to be alive and that the truth of Righteousness in Christ, is the most wonderful thing a person could understand and believe. May our Father grant us all the wisdom to understand it and to believe it and to do all in our power to share it with others.
A Brother Reconsiders
After months and months of prayerfully
wrestling with this issue (Righteousness by Faith in the context of the
1888 Message, Overcoming Sin, Character Perfection, Uplifting Christ
before the World, the Loud Cry, The Truth About God, Adventism’s
ministry of Condemnation) and sharing it with most of you, getting your
feedback, etc. I feel totally confident that I know which way the Lord
is leading me and my ministry for Him
He has shown me what is wrong with the way we have attempted to work for
Him in the past. The whole bulk of our ministry has been using the New World Order and the Jesuits ,
etc. to try to wake people up, to try to show them their need of
Christ, and friends we have watched the fruits of this kind of ministry
over the past 4-5 years. Literally there has been no fruit – none among
the souls we have shared this type of message with and none among
ourselves – those whose ministry is based upon this consumed approach of
evangelism. There has not been much fruit! This kind of Ministry is NOT
ordained of Christ and is not following His method of reaching the
lost! This kind of Ministry has NOT helped my family nor has it helped
others make fully surrendered choices for Jesus Christ. This type of
ministry has not helped us overcome sin, prepare Christian characters,
nor has it helped us learn to truly love one another.
The Devil is using these issues (Jesuits, NWO) WHICH ARE TRUE, to lead
Adventists away from the message we have to give which is the
Righteousness of Christ in the context of the Three Angels Messages, the
message the Lord sent us in 1888 through Sister White, A.T. Jones and
E.J. Waggoner. It seems to me that the majority of the so-called
Adventist Independent Ministries have swallowed the Devil’s ploy hook
line and sinker. They are too busy condemning the GC, this church or
that church, everyone and everything under the sun, but that mind set
and that character will not be ready to meet Jesus when He comes.
I have spent many many hours over the past 4-5 years reading and poring
over anti-catholic material and Jesuit Conspiracy books, etc. all in an
attempt to show people, on the basis of history, all these terrible
things that Rome has done. However, not only have I wasted a lot of the
Lord’s money, but I have also wasted a lot of personal preparation time
which should have been spent in allowing the Lord to teach me from His
Word and allowing Him to Perfect my Character and prepare me to meet
Jesus.
Now we have begun to little by little, sell many of these books that we
have collected over the years, and we will be selling most of them.
These are not the kind of books we need to keep in our library to be
feasting upon. We know this evil is in the world and we know what this
evil has done, is doing and will do. Enough information is in the book, the Great Controversy, to
deal with all of that. That is all the information the people need to
know about this. They need to know Jesus Christ, not about the Jesuits,
NWO, Black Pope, etc. They must know of Jesus Christ and His love for
them, the gift of God’s Son! That is what changed my life and that is
the only thing that can change another’s!
What I have seen is that we are a huge group of liars. Yes that is
right. We are not only lying to ourselves but to the world. In many ways
we are the most wretched people on this planet friends – hypocrites .
We are not preparing for the return of Jesus Christ. We do not have the
true godlike love for one-another – not even for our own spouses or
children. Look at how we talk to our wives, how we raise our voices at
our children, etc. This is where the rubber meets the road. We have
forgotten how to minister as Jesus did. He is the pattern for us. His
way is the only true way friends.
How did Jesus Minister?
“The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago—a
revelation of Christ. A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only
through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration, physical,
mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.
Christ’s method ALONE will give true success in
reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired
their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs,
and won their confidence. Then He bade them, “Follow Me.”
There is need of coming CLOSE to the people by personal effort. If less
time were given sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal
ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved,
the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the
ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with
those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the
power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God,
this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.” (MH 143,144)
All the apostate Christian world is following Christ’s method of
ministering. Yes, that is right, Babylon is doing the job Adventists
should be doing, only, they have the wrong gospel! They have the right
method, but the wrong gospel!
This is the work that we are not doing friends….
We have taken statements from Sister White like TM-118: “to expose the
wickedness of the man of sin”, etc, and made that our whole Ministry. We
have deceived ourselves friends. The greatest way to truly fulfill that
statement in its true context is to show the world the true Christ,
just like we read above, then they will see for real the wickedness of
Roman Catholicism and their false Christ!! That statement is in no way
telling us to base our whole Ministry on the Jesuits and the New World
Order as we have done in the past. We are in the middle of a Great
Controversy between Christ and Satan. The TRUE Christ and His
righteousness against the FALSE Christ and the unrighteousness of Roman
Catholicism.
“Every Christian saw in his brother a revelation of divine love and
benevolence. One interest prevailed; one subject of emulation swallowed
up all others. The ambition of the believers was to reveal the likeness
of Christ’s character and to labor for the enlargement of His kingdom.”
{AA 48.1}
“The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel
has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ , the
sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel
whose glory shall fill the whole earth.” RH Nov 22, 1892.
“Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His Church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people , then He will come to claim them as His own.” COL 69.
“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people
through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more
prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the
sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in
the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of
Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of
God.” TM 91,92.
If through the grace of Christ his people will become new bottles, he
will fill them with the new wine. God will give additional light, and
old truths will be recovered, and replaced in the frame-work of truth;
…. One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every
other,—Christ our righteousness. {RH, December 23, 1890 }
One subject, that is all. All truths center in this one subject and are
thus consumed by this one subject …. CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The above statement is what our Ministry will be based upon, and should
have been based upon all along. God sent precious truth to this church
in 1888. It was rejected, and it is being rejected again, just like our
Prophet said it would. It is not going to be rejected by me. I have been
studying the writings of Ellen White in regard to what took place in
1888 and what she had to say about the teachings of elders Waggoner and
Jones regarding their understanding of Christ Our Righteousness. It is
that understanding that will enable God to use us as vessels to be
filled with His Spirit to Give the Loud Cry of the 4 th Angel.
We had better get our houses in order friends. That is my goal and
mission. We cannot give a convicting message such as the second and
fourth angels’ message when we are filled with sin and unrighteousness
ourselves. Our first work is ourseslves, then our family, then the
church and the world.
In Christ,
Brother Shaw Lane.
A Problem of Nature
Human nature is depraved, and is justly condemned by a holy God.
But provision is made for the repenting sinner, so that by faith in the
atonement of the only begotten Son of God, he may receive forgiveness
of sin, find justification, receive adoption into the heavenly family,
and become an inheritor of the kingdom of God. Transformation of
character is wrought through the operation of the Holy Spirit, which
works upon the human agent, implanting in him, according to his desire
and consent to have it done, a new nature. The image of God is restored
to the soul, and day by day he is strengthened and renewed by grace, and
is enabled more and more perfectly to reflect the character of Christ
in righteousness and true holiness. {RH, September 17, 1895 par. 7}
The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature….{COL 411.1}
Nothing less than heart service will be acceptable with God. God
requires the sanctification of the entire man, body, soul, and spirit.
The Holy Spirit implants a new nature, and molds through the grace of
Christ the human character, until the image of Christ is perfected. This
is true holiness. . . . {UL 27.4}
If all could understand the deep trials and discouragements that came
to the human nature of Christ in his mission, verily human hearts would
draw nigh to the human heart of Jesus. The old nature of the disciples
often appeared. Often their natural characteristics strove for the
mastery. But Jesus was ever presenting before them that these must be
given up, emptied from the soul, that he might implant a new nature
therein. {RH, October 5, 1897 par. 13}
Self–the old disobedient nature –must be crucified,
and Christ must take up His abode in the heart. Thus the human agent is
born again, with a new nature. The newborn child of God begins to have
some conception of what God is. To all intents and purposes, truth is
truth to him. He has caught a glimpse of God’s glory. A sense of his
accountability to God quenches the unholy ambition that keeps upon the
soul a galling yoke of guilt. The light in which he enters is softened
and subdued, tempered to suit his condition. By daily beholding Jesus
and striving to practise His virtues, his spiritual perceptions grow
clearer and stronger. {ST, July 26, 1905 par. 6}
God says, “A new heart will I give you.” Every learner may be renewed in knowledge and true holiness. The ransom of an enslaved race
was Christ’s purpose in coming to this earth. Christ alone can make us
free. And those whom He makes free are free indeed. His power breaks the
yoke of bondage that binds man to the great deceiver. But how many
there are who are unwilling to allow Christ to break their shackles. How
many there are who choose to cling to the thraldom of sin. {ST, July
26, 1905 par. 7}
The Gospel of Christ is truly believed only when it is practised.
Faith is justified by works. Self must be hid; Christ must appear as the
Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely. When an
unreserved surrender of the powers of the whole being is made to the
Saviour, self no longer strives for the mastery. What man needs today is
the crucifixion of self and the revelation in his life of Christ, the
hope of glory. Then will be fulfilled the words, “Ye are the light of
the world.” {ST, July 26, 1905 par. 8}
Across the waters of the broad Pacific I cry to you, Look and live.
Look steadily, constantly, earnestly, to the Lamb of God, that taketh
away the sin of the world. The sanctification of the soul is
accomplished through steadfastly beholding Him by faith as the
only-begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth. The power
of truth is to transform heart and character. Its effect is not like a
dash of color here and there upon the canvas; the whole character is to
be transformed; the image of Christ is to be revealed in words and
actions. A new nature is imparted. Man is renewed after the image of
Christ in righteousness and true holiness. {14MR 106.2}
Letters
We are truly rejoicing in the truth and in this new birth
experience. Never before have I ever felt so free. It is a fact. Life
and death are the same to us, salvation in Christ is true. We are living
with Him now, and the future, is sure.
The work here (in England) is massive, but His grace is sufficient and
we are pressing forward. We are aware that the race is for those who
endure to the end, but we are settled in heart that our Father is able
to keep that which we have committed unto Him to the end. He will do it.
He had better do it, for we cannot.
We have stopped trying to serve the Lord. We have surrendered! We (self)
have lost, Christ has won, morning has come, praise the Lord!
Our words cannot express fully our experience but this much we can say, it is true, it is true.
Keep praying for us as we are praying for you and yours. (England)
==========================
My dear brother, as He opens my eyes to more truth I realize that my
whole theology has to change. Sometimes, I am so crushed by new things I
discover (by Bible, listening, meditating, reading articles) that I go
to my knees crying because I can’t stand the darkness that is in the
world and the slavery that I and many others were in for so long. In
fact, the more I know the less I have to say I know. So many times I ask
for the things that are given to us…I ask that they become reality
for me so that I always have them before my mind! Today the Lord has
shown me what was wrong and I am rejoicing again. (Denmark)
===========================
Thank you for the message you send out. I’m very happy for it and agree
with it. Thanks to our Lord that there are some speaking the plain
truth. May the Lord bless and always keep you under His wings.
Is it possible for you to send me cassettes instead of CD?
Christian love. (Norway)
===========================
just finished reading Open Face. How wonderful !!! Again the Spirit of
God has used you in a mighty way. The article about the Final Atonement,
has brought it all into perspective. I had believed it because I could
see it in Scripture but never really understood it. I guess you could
say I understood the mechanics the order of things but it was hard to
understand if I am forgiven, then I am forgiven, what NEED was there.
I have heard people express the fact that they live in fear of the Final
Atonement ie. The Judgement, yet it is something that should be waited
for with glad expectation, when my name comes up for judgement, and
Jesus makes the final atonement, wiping away even the sin-filled
memories and Satan can no longer throw them into my face. HALLALUJAH!
May God continue to bless you. May the hearts and minds of His people be open to truth as it is in Jesus.
Your Sister in Christ (USA)
===========================
Just got started on the latest communication from the
Jamaican press and if it gets any better we must really be close to
heaven. I have an open window this evening of about two hours and will
complete the reading then. Hope all is well with you and yours . May the
Lord continue to bless your ministry. (USA)
===========================
To my brothers and sister:
This world is coming to its end and it wont be long. For years we have
all been seeking after the Lord. On doctrinal points the good Lord has
opened our understanding and these we have embraced wholeheartedly, (the
godhead, the sanctuary etc.) Now the good Lord has
been very kind to us, to reveal to us more of Himself and his extremely
deep love towards us. I strongly believe that you all would agree with me on the following points:
1. God is Faithful
2. God is true
3. God is God
4. God is no respecter of persons
5. God is Love
And the list goes on and on. So what’s my point?
All the above being true, why, on the call of Christ, “go sell all that
you have and follow me,” is there doubt in some hearts? The bridegroom
is near, is your lamp filled with oil? Is the seed sown, about to be
uprooted by the enemy? Is the suggestion of Satan more trustworthy than
the words of Christ?
It was Satan who told Adam and Eve that “you will not surely die.” Can
you not hear him saying again, “you cannot live a pure life purely by
faith in God?”
Note this my brothers and sisters, Adam and Eve were perfect beings and
the moment they gave their will over to Satan, they were changed in that
self-same moment. Is it not more possible for God to change your evil
hearts and minds that very moment you give your hearts to your Creator?
Each moment you delay to make the total surrender to the Lord, you are
saying that God is a liar and He cannot be trusted and that Satan is
true.
God is longing to do for you what He did for Joshua. (Zechariah 3:1-4,7)
I tell you, life for me has never been so free and true. I am very
conscious that this walk is a daily experience, daily surrender, but
beyond those facts is still the greater truth: It is God who will do it,
it is God who will keep you from falling, it is God through Christ who
will give us salvation.
Brothers and sisters, there is nothing in this world worth keeping; the
fact is, there is nothing in this world that you will be able to keep.
Will life be for this world only, when there is a glorious opportunity
to gain even much better life and home?
Wake up! Wake up! And trim your lamps, for the Bridegroom draweth near.
Your brother in Christ, (England)
============================
I have been listening to Restoration Ministry´s messages through David
Clayton about the Godhead and I am so thankful that God sent me this
link through a good friend. I listen to the meetings on my mp3 and write
down notes from the Bible and EGW .
I am very thankful for what I hear. God’s word has been much clearer to
my husband and me, since we got an understanding of, what we now believe
about God our Father and Jesus, His only begotten Son, and how
important it is to know, what believing in the Trinity means.
We cannot keep it only for ourselves, but try very carefully to give it
to others – Scripture by Scripture, because we are filled with it.
I would be very glad, if I could get your quarterly newsletter.
If you want to send it by e-mail it will be ok. I think it will be cheaper and quicker
You speak about a book by Br. Lynnford that tells what the pioneers
believed about the Godhead. I would be very thankful, if you would tell
me the name of the book and the author, and which bookhouse I can get it
from. Then I will ask our Danish Bookhouse to send for it
, or perhaps I can do it myself via internet.
With kind regards and wishes for God’s blessings. (Denmark)
===========================
Thank you! I watched your videos and read and had the first experience
today. I learned that the Lord can make me new and I believe it now
also. It was very refreshing to me. I praise Jesus our Saviour for the
truth and know I can understand and live it. Plus I have a lot of people
I can tell it to now also.
Rightousness by faith! I undertand about being a new creature IN Christ.
Thank you for your wisdom from our Lord and his word. God Bless and
have a wonderful blessed sabbath. (Switzerland)
Life and Death in the Williams Family
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven: (2) A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; (Eccl 3:1-2)
So wrote the wise man Solomon and I suppose this verse never had as much
meaning to Howard and Karleen Williams as it has done over the past
couple of months.
Life
First
there was “a time to be born.” This truth became alive for them when a
baby boy, Howard Williams Jr. was added to their family on July 20,
2007. Those who have known Howard and Karleen for the past ten years
will recognize how much of a blessing this has been to them. Two years
ago they had not yet experienced the joy of having a child in the
family. Brother Howard tells of the strange feeling that came over him
when he first saw his daughter Kay Kay two years ago when she was just
born. The striking resemblance which he saw between himself and her sent
a thrill through his being which he has not forgotten.
But God was not finished blessing them and nobody was as surprised as
they were, when Karleen discovered a few months ago that she was
pregnant for the second time in two years. The end result of that was
the birth of Howard Junior, who arrived weighing a whopping 10½ pounds.
Death
But
there is also a time to die. This time also came for the Williams’ when
Howard’s father, brother Vincent Williams died on August 1, 2007 at the
age of 80. Brother Williams was a notable Christian who was very active
and supportive of the cause of God, first, as a loyal elder in the
Seventh-day Adventist church and later, when he discovered the truth
about God, as a faithful defender and supporter of the truth that God is
not a Trinity.
During the last three years of his life Brother Williams suffered from
the effects of, first a haemmorhage in his brain, and then later from
several strokes. Because of this he was not in full control of his
faculties and had difficulty in recognizing people and remembering
things and it was evident that he was deteriorating quickly. As a result
his death was not a complete surprise, but as everyone who has lost a
loved one knows, this did not diminish the pain when finally he died on
August 1.
We look forward to seeing “brother Vin” again soon, on that wonderful
day when God will call his children back to everlasting life.
Open Face is published bi-monthly and is sent free to all who desire to receive it.
David Clayton: Editor and Publisher
P. O. Box 23 Knockpatrick
Manchester, Jamaica W.I.
Phone: (876) 904-7392
email: david@restorationministry.com
