PERSONAL MINISTRIES SABBATH

THE FULFILLMENT OF THE MISSION AND THE CHURCH'S RESPONSIBILITY

Theme Verse: Mark 16:15-16; {Luke 9:1-7; 10:1-6}
I. He said to them, “Go into the entire world and preach the good news to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will .be saved, but whoever does not believe will be
condemned.

THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH

To continue the work of Christ. “It was at the ordination of the Twelve that the first step was
taken in the organization of the church that after Christ’s departure was to carry on His work
on the earth.” {AA 18.1}It was the Savior’s purpose that after He ascended to heaven to
become man’s intercessor, His followers should carry on the work that He had begun. Shall
the human agents show no special interest in giving the light of the gospel message to those
who sit in darkness? There are some who are willing to go to the ends of the earth in order to
carry the light of truth to men, but God demands that every soul who knows the truth shall
seek to win others to the love of the truth. If we are not willing to make special sacrifices in
order to save souls that are ready to perish, how can we be counted worthy to enter into the
city of God? Testimonies for the Church 122.
To communicate to the world the plan of salvation. “The church is God’s appointed agency
for the salvation of men, organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the
world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected
to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He
has called out of darkness into His marvelous light.
The fulfillment of the mission is to show forth His glory. “Acts of the Apostles 9:1“The
Savior has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of ministering to the
suffering, the sorrowful, and the tempted. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated,
and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, in the community, and even in
“the regions beyond,” whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.” Ministry of Healing
106:4. Our work is plainly laid down in the Word of God. Christian is to be united to
Christian, church to church, the human instrumentality co-operating with the divine, every
agency to be subordinated to the Holy Spirit, and all to be combined in giving to the world
the good tidings of the grace of God The General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 28,
1893, p. 421

II.HUMAN AGENTS ARE NEEDED.

God depends on man. “As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels
who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save.
Christ took upon Himself humanity that He might reach humanity. Divinity needed
humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world.
Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between
God and man. “Desire of Ages p.296:6.History and Scripture testify to the fact that when
God needs men for His service, He does not seek them out among the idle class but chooses
those who are industrious and who succeed in their different kinds of manual labor. For
example: Moses was too busy tending his flock in Horeb while Gideon was too busy

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threshing wheat in the press. Saul was too busy looking for his father's lost animals while
Elisha was very busy plowing the land with his twelve oxen. David was too busy looking
after his father's sheep. Nehemiah was too busy holding the King's wine glass while Amos
was too busy following the flock. Peter and Andrew were very busy casting their nets in the
sea. James and John were very busy mending their nets while Mathew was too busy charging
his clients. William Carey was too busy mending and making shoes.

The fulfillment of the mission

We are partners with God. “Divine and human agencies are combined in the work of saving
souls. God has done His part, and Christian activity is needed now. God calls for this. He
expects His people to bear a part in presenting the light of truth to all nations. Who will enter
into this partnership with the Lord Jesus Christ?”—The Review and Herald, March 1, 1887.3
Angels are waiting."In heaven all is activity, and the angels of God are waiting to cooperate
with the human agent who forges plans through which the souls for whom Christ died can
hear the good news of salvation. Every soul exerts an influence for good or evil. If the heart is
consecrated to the service of Christ, the influence exerted will be to join with Christ.
God trusts His church to carry on His work, thus expects those who profess to follow Him to
do their duty as intelligent beings. There is an urgent need for every learned and disciplined
intelligence, and all its faculties, to devote themselves to the work of saving souls. There shall
not be found in the kingdom of heaven any sluggard who neglects the work of the Lord."God
expects His church to discipline and equip its members Let no one think that, because he has
little instruction, he cannot be expected, therefore, to take part in the work for God has a work
for you. He has given each one his work. The plea of the sincere heart that is lifted up with
faith will be heard in heaven.” We must collaborate with God. “We must be laborers together
with God; for God will not complete His work without human agencies.” Christian Service
9.1 We should all be workers together with God. No idlers are acknowledged as His servants.
The Review and Herald, February 15, 1887. {ChS 10.5}.Take note of the following
important items in mission:

a). A blessing for us. “God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid;
but in order for us to develop a character like Christ’s, we must share in His work. In order to
enter into His joy,—the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice,—we must participate
in His labors for their redemption.” {DA 142.2}

b). A personal calling. “Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary.
He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver.
The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and
making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.”{DA 195.2}

c). We are debtors. To save souls should be the life work of everyone who professes Christ.
We are debtors to the world for the grace given us of God, for the light which has shone upon
us, and for the discovered beauty and power of the truth.—Testimonies for the Church 4:53

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d). The way to God. “He committed His work on earth to those who had received the light of
the gospel.... He has provided no other agency for the promulgation of His truth.” Historical
Sketches, 288.

e). The celestial universe is waiting. “The heavenly universe is waiting for the members to
become channels through which the current of life shall flow to the world, that many may be
converted”. The Bible Echo, August 12, 1901

f). Again “Each one.” “Everyone who has received the gospel has been given sacred truth to
impart to the world.” Acts of the Apostles 109:3
Thousands of voices will preach the Word."Servants of God will come with enlightened and
shining faces of holy consecration and will hasten from place to place proclaiming the
heavenly message. Thousands of voices will preach the message all over the earth. Miracles
will be performed; the sick will be healed and signs and wonders will follow the believers.
Satan will also perform his false miracles, to the point of making fire fall from heaven in the
sight of men. This is how the inhabitants of the earth will have to decide for or against the
truth." Evangelism, 393-392

g).The divine mandate is “Go all over the world." Mark 16:15.Christ was standing only a
few steps from the heavenly throne when He gave His commission to His disciples. Including
us as missionaries all who should believe on His name, He said, “Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.” God’s power was to go with them.—Testimonies
for the Church 4:53

h). The mandate to preach includes the lay people. Mathew 28:18-20 “Not upon the
ordained minister only rests the responsibility of going forth to fulfill this commission... It is
fatal mistake to suppose that the work of soul-saving depends alone upon the ministry. ... God
will send forth into His vineyard many who have not been dedicated to the ministry by the
laying on of hands.”AA 110.2 “The dissemination of the truth of God is not confined to a few
ordained ministers.—The truth is to be scattered by all who claim to be disciples of Christ. It
must be sown beside all waters.” The Review and Herald, August 22, 1899.
i). Lay preachers in the early church. Christ appointed the seventy two. (Luke 9:1-7; 10:1-
6; The Desire of Ages, 452-455) "Whom He sent two by two before Himself into every city
and place where He was to come "The lay people "went everywhere preaching the word.”
(Acts 8:1-4)
The same is required from us in these last days.

III. The glad tidings of a risen Savior were carried to the utmost bounds of the known
world.... Hundreds proclaimed the message, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” They could
not be restrained or intimidated by threatening. The Lord spoke through them; and wherever
they went, the sick were healed, and the poor had the gospel preached unto them. So mightily
can God work when men give themselves up to the control of His Spirit.—The Southern
Watchman, August 1, 1905. The Bible Echo, August 12, 1901.

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Stephen and Philip--the two deacons of the early church became powerful preachers. Lay
preachers helped to give the message in the 1844 movement."The circumstance of the
message being preached mostly by the laity was presented as an unfavorable argument. As in
ancient times, they opposed the clear testimony of God's Word with the question: “Has any
of the princes or Pharisees believed in him?” GC, 430 "But since the message from heaven
could find no place but in the hearts of a few of those who called themselves ministers of
Christ, the work was entrusted to many laymen. Some left their fields and others their tents
and stores to proclaim the message; and there was still no lack of liberal professionals who
abandoned the exercise of their profession to join the unpopular work of spreading the
message of the first angel.” TS 1, 200. Some early lay preachers: William Miller and his call
to preach."A whole hearted, upright-hearted farmer, who had come to doubt the divine
authority of the Holy Scriptures, but who sincerely desired to know the truth, was the man
specially chosen by God to begin the proclamation of the second coming of Christ. GC, 363

James White joined the Adventist movement as a lay preacher. He was a school teacher, but
his talents of organization and direction made him a powerful preacher and finally a leader of
the church. Lay preachers will help to finish the work. “In all fields, nigh and afar off, men
will be called from the plow and from the more common commercial business vocations that
largely occupy the mind and will be educated in connection with men of experience. As they
learn to labor effectively they will proclaim the truth with power. Through most wonderful
workings of divine providence, mountains of difficulty will be removed and cast into the
sea.” JT 3,332.
In the future, men in the common walks of life will be impressed by the Spirit of the Lord to
leave their ordinary employment and go forth to proclaim the last message of mercy.
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, The Church entrusted With the Message We are now
living in the closing scenes of this world’s history. Let men tremble with the sense of the
responsibility of knowing the truth. The ends of the world are come. Proper consideration of
these things will lead all to make an entire consecration of all that they have and are to their
God....The weighty obligation of warning a world of its coming doom is upon us. From every
direction, far and near, calls are coming to us for help. The church, devotedly consecrated to
the work, is to carry the message to the world: Come to the gospel feast; the supper is
prepared, come.... Crowns, immortal crowns, are to be won. The kingdom of heaven is to be
gained. A world, perishing in sin, is to be enlightened. The lost sheep is to be brought back in
safety to the fold. Who will join in the search? Who will bear the light to those who are
wandering in the darkness of error?—The Review and Herald, July 23, 1895. All the laity is
hereby called upon to bear this light, thus can each one of us hark the voice and rise to go up
yonder to bring the perishing into the fold.
For evangelism our real work. Evangelistic work, opening the Scriptures to others, warning
men and women of what is coming upon the world, is to occupy more and still more of the
time of God’s servants.—The Review and Herald, August 2, 1906.m.A more accelerated
progress. They must go far and as fast as possible, with a determination to do the very things
that the Lord has said should be done.—They must have push and have an earnest, and
unwavering faith....for the world must hear the warning message. Manuscript 162, 1905.

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AFTERNOON: Mathew 24:14
And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come.

UNIVERSAL ACTION IS WHAT HEAVEN IS LONGING FOR IN THE LAST DAYS

"The message of the Gospel resonates in our churches, calling them to universal action." T 7,
141.The Early Church Long has God waited for the spirit of service to take possession of the
whole church so that everyone shall be working for Him according to his ability. {AA
111.1}Why is the Lord delaying? "Delayed for mercy's sake. The long night of darkness is
distressing, but the morning is postponed for mercy's sake, because if the Lord should come,
He would find that many are not ready. God's desire that His people should not perish has
been the reason for such a long delay."The work might have been finished. If God's people
had carried out the Lord's purpose of giving the world the message of mercy, Christ would
have come to earth and the saints would have been welcomed into God's city."I know that if
God's people had remained in a living relationship with Him, if they had obeyed His Word,
they would be in the heavenly Canaan today.

"Satan has won us by one hand. If every watch tower on the walls of Zion had given the
trumpet a sure sound, time has come that the world would have heard the message of
warning. But the work is years behind. While men slept, Satan has won us by the
hand."Evangelism, 387"God's promises never fail. God's angels in their messages to men
point to time as a very short period.
It is true that time has lasted longer than we expected in the early days of the message. Our
Savior did not come as soon as we expected. But has the word of God failed? Never! It
should be remembered that God's promises and admonitions are of a similar nature."God has
entrusted to His people a work to be done on this earth. The third angel's message was to be
proclaimed, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where
Christ entered to atone for His people. The Sabbath reformation was to be continued. The
violation of the law was to be repaired. The message was to be proclaimed with a loud voice,
to hear the words of admonition. God's people were to purify their souls through sincere

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obedience to the truth and be prepared to stand firm and spotless before His presence on the
occasion of His coming.

"If the Adventists after the great disappointment of 1844 had opened their faith and remained
united to the clear providence of God, accepting the third angel's message and proclaiming it
to the world sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit, they would have been able to see
salvation in God. The Lord would have worked mightily with them in their efforts, and the
work might have been finished, and Christ would have come sooner to gather His people
together and give them their reward. But the period of doubt and uncertainty which followed
the great disappointment caused many of the Adventist believers to abandon their faith...
Thus the work was stopped and the world was left in complete darkness. If the Adventist
community had united fully with the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, how
different our history would have been!"It was not God's will that the second coming of Christ
should delay. It was not the Lord's purpose that His people, Israel, should wander for forty
years in the wilderness. He promised to take them directly to the land of Canaan,

Why God’s promises have failed!

But those to whom this message was first preached did not come to the Promised Land
because of their lack of faith. Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred
and God could not fulfill His promise to them."For forty years unbelief, murmuring, and
rebellion deprived ancient Israel of the land of Canaan. The same sins have today postponed
the entry of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case have God's promises
failed. Unbelief, worldliness, lack of consecration, and rivalry among God's professed people
are the causes that have caused us to remain in this world of sin and sorrow for many years.
Manuscript 4, 1883."Don't blame God. We may have to remain here in this world many more
years because of insubordination, as happened to the children of Israel; but for Christ's sake,
His people must not add sin upon sin by blaming God for the consequences of their own
wrong conduct.
"We can hasten the day. Through the proclamation of the Gospel to the world, it is within
our power to hasten the coming of our Lord."It is the privilege of every Christian not only to
wait, but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If all who profess His name were
bearing fruit to His Glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the
Gospel. Soon the last harvest would be lifted up and Christ would come to gather the
precious grain."When the message is finished, then the lord will take no longer than the time
it takes to present the message to every nation, tongue, and people. Shall we who pretend to
be students of prophecy forget that God's tolerance for the ungodly is a part of the vast and
merciful plan by which He is seeking the salvation of souls?” Evangelism, 387-3882.The
light of truth radiating everywhere."During the loud cry, the church, aided by the providential
interventions of her exalted Lord, will spread the knowledge of Salvation so abundantly that
the light will be communicated to every city and town. The earth will be filled with the
knowledge of salvation. So abundantly will the renewing Spirit of God have crowned the
intensely active agents with success, that the light of the present truth will be radiating
everywhere." Evangelism, 386