COM Newsletter - November 2022
A CHANGE HAS COME OVER ME…
Every year in the fall we look with anticipation of the changing color of the leaves as they turn from their vibrant green to the emergence of scarlets, plums, and saffron colored leaves that forecast the end of the years verdure. The science behind this phenomenon is quite simple. “The fading green allows a leaf’s true colors to emerge…”. So the chlorophyll in each tree starts to be depleted as the temperatures and the daylight start to drop. The leaves always had the reds, plums and yellows, but they were covered completely by the green of the chlorophyll that kept them alive and well satisfied. The food to the tree was supplied by this process of the chlorophyll in the leaf allowing it to survive and grow.
There is an object lesson here in the example of the changing leaves. Each of us are unique and individual. We not only look different, but we also have unique histories and personalities. Even siblings in the same family can have drastically different identities and behaviors within the same home. But as Christians, we have something similar happening like the chlorophyll of the leaves in the trees. When we accept Jesus and what He did for each one of us, there is a change that we undertake also. Each one of us changes. Not only our behaviors but also our hearts, the things that matter to us and how we identify as well. 1 Corinthians 15:51, says that “…we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed.” Ending with verse 57 that says, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.”
How was that victory gained? It was gained in the example of the Sanctuary. Not just the one that was fashioned in Exodus 26-28, but more importantly for what the earthly sanctuary represents in Heaven.
Hebrews 9:11, 12, 14, 15 and 10:11-18
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building…but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us…How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?…that by the means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
So, by these verses, what Jesus did in the heavenly sanctuary, where His blood was shed to “change” all of us, it also shows that the object lesson in the changing leaves also has an application for every person! We will all be changed when we accept Jesus as our Redeemer. We can’t change ourselves, it is the chlorophyll covering that makes us more than what we are. The chlorophyll is the life giving substance that completes us and blends with our own personalities and histories and changes us into something much more than what were on our own. That is why when God looks upon the redeemed, He still sees us, but it is the chlorophyll, the merits of Jesus’ perfect life that the Father sees. The Father looks at us and sees His Son, the chlorophyll covering. On our own, without the chlorophyll we are left for dead after a magnificent display of our own created colors. It may be vibrant, but it shows an early sign of death. Change isn’t a bad thing or something only reserved for those in the LGBTQ+ communities, it is for everyone that accepts the sacrifice that was accomplished for us on the Cross and that has been represented in the Sanctuary in Heaven and demonstrated or exemplified in the earthly sanctuary, through the death and life of Jesus Christ. The shame, at the end of time, is for all those that stand defiant against the gift that was given freely and the refusal of the power that was completed on the Cross and by the sacrifice of the One who loved us most deeply. The man who refused the wedding garment (Matthew 22:11-13) is an example of those at the end of time who refused all the wonderful achievements (represented in the Sanctuary) of a loving Savior that came to rescue us from the decay of our life uncovered; unchanged by the precious blood (chlorophyll) of Jesus Christ.
“In the parable of Matthew 22 the . . . figure of . . . marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. . . . He who is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing work in the sanctuary above.” Great Controversy p. 428
Change is not a bad thing, it is the requirement of all who hope to make it to the kingdom; to the marriage supper. May we all pursue the merit of what Jesus offers to us freely that we may be covered with the precious life-giving substance, the very wedding garment that reflects the Creator and Redeemer!
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Q&A
Question: I have two gay siblings who have decided they can no longer be around my sister and me because, as Christians, we believe homosexuality to be a sin. We’ve loved our siblings for years and have never condemned them and have always embraced them and their partners. Now they will have nothing to do with us. Should we simply stay silent and respect their wishes?
Reply: I’m sorry this is happening to you and your family. But let’s take a look at what is really happening here.
In the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned against God, what did they end up doing? They hid from Him. They were afraid to be around Him. They were riddled with guilt. Sin cannot stand in the presence of a holy God, for He is a consuming fire wherever impurity (sin) exists. God loved Adam and Eve no less after their sin than before their sin. He, knowing what had happened, walked in the garden to be with them. Of course, He had to shield them from His presence in order to protect them now that they were “unclean.” God was grieved at the loss of His intimate relationship with His children. But we see in this story the sober fact that sin separates. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
Like God, you and your sister are now grieved because the sin of homosexuality has come between the two of you and your two gay siblings. Most likely you have done nothing to offend them. They just no longer feel comfortable around “holiness.” I say “holiness,” not to judge you as being perfect, but to make the point that as you are growing in grace day by day as Christians, becoming more and more like Jesus (and I hope this is so for by beholding Him daily we become changed into His likeness), the guilt of your siblings makes it very difficult for them to be around you.
You say that you have never condemned them and have always embraced them and their partners, so the fault is not in yourselves. What you are experiencing is what Jesus is experiencing every moment of every day. People He loves so dearly that He was willing to give His life so they might not receive the wages of their sins (John 3:16), are throwing all that love and sacrifice back into His face, not wanting it, nor caring about it. Oh! How He must continue to suffer because of the sins of His children!
Your question is, “Should we simply stay silent and respect their wishes?”
I’m sorry, but you can only get as close to them as they will let you. Yes, it is the right thing for you to do. Respect their wishes. However, never stop taking every opportunity that they do allow to show them unconditional love and acceptance. And never stop interceding for them in your prayers. Talk to the Lord about their lifestyle of sin, not to them. Commit them daily to His keeping. After all, He loves them more than you do, right?
Try to never miss an opportunity to send them greeting cards: birthdays, holidays, thinking of you notes, and thank you cards, etc. Like with anyone and everyone else you keep in touch with, don’t mention their sins. Mention your love and fond thoughts and interest in their activities and work that are not related to their life of sin. There’s much to mention in these types of greeting cards.
Another thing I believe to be very important is to make sure that they always see Jesus in you, in your life, in your behavior, in your words. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Be consistent in your own lifestyle, so that they have no room to see hypocrisy in you. You may be the only Bible they ever read. So make sure that what they do read in you and see in you is the character of Jesus Christ.
Please don’t be too hard on yourselves. You must stop and realize that even Jesus, even God the Father, cannot save someone against his her will. Look what happened to Lucifer in heaven. However, you can pray that the Lord will do whatever it takes to get their attention—whatever it takes to make them face eternal realities. He cannot force the will, the power of choice, but He can get their attention and bring circumstances around so they have to face eternal realities. This you can pray for, and then rest your minds at ease.
God be with you, dear ones. Be of good courage! Jesus will step in where you reach your limitations.
Victor
Q&A text taken from:
Author: “Victor J. Adamson”
(Ron Woolsey)
TESTIMONY
My first Sabbath in college I had gotten back from a hike and was getting food from the cafeteria. I just made some new friends and was minding my own business at the table when I heard a loud voice say “Hey, you faggot!” I instantly knew that this person was directing this slur at me. I was so angry and upset, but didn’t want to verbally retaliate especially just having made new friends. I didn’t want to scare them. That same day, I was venting to a friend who had gone to the university and quickly suggested for me to join a group independent from the college. This group was comprised of students who attended the university but who also identified as LGBTQ. I thought since I was being insulted and ostracized that it would be best to meet with other people from this group. I spent the next couple years going to the group and experienced acceptance and connection, both of which my heart had longed for. Little by little, I began to embrace my sexuality as an identity and quickly started to adapt to the LGBTQ lifestyle.
At this point, I started taking an interest in dating and dove into going to the nightclub, and smoking weed. My life was starting to take an abrupt turn which caused me to have more questions about the dichotomy between my sexuality and biblically held beliefs. How do I reconcile these opposites? While contemplating this question, I was exploring sin and was becoming allured into worldliness and disregard of God. There were people who also had the same belief system I had who also were trying to reconcile their sexuality. I remember meeting an individual at the LGBTQ-affirming group that tried to offer me an explanation that the scriptures condemning homosexuality were not indeed clear on this topic. Something inside me (I know to be the Holy Spirit) convicted me that the explanation was not true. God came to save sinners after all and that included saving those who struggled with the sin that I struggled with.
Fast forward to the end of my undergraduate education. I ended up dating a guy who I thought had everything that I wanted in a partner. We moved in together in an apartment and were creating a life together. According to the world’s standards we were the perfect couple. During this time, I would get very strong impressions from the Holy Spirit, and I would hear God telling me “Daniel, this is not my plan for you.” I can’t deny that I felt unsettled. This plunged me into smoking more pot and picking up drinking alcohol. Deep inside, I knew that I was not under God’s will for my life and that worried me.
To begin reconciling my lifestyle, I continued to attend church regularly and began reading my bible and praying to God for direction. Let me tell you right now, I was willingly living in sin while trying to have my Jesus. There was one dilemma: I thought I loved my partner. We were creating a life, that according to the world’s standards, was normal and beautiful. I still was not at peace or fulfilled. There was a couple of times God got my attention through situations that reminded me that He was still in my life and had a presence that I could not deny.
Long story short, one day my partner’s sibling came to visit us at our apartment. He was sharing his life difficulties and I ended up giving him wise and godly counsel, but I felt inwardly grieved. I felt like I was being a hypocrite for not living a truly godly life which was a rebuke to me. In that moment, I went straight to my room upstairs and holding back tears got on my knees and prayed sincerely to God. Between tears I asked God to help me live the life which honored Him. I knew that because of how faithful my partner was that he wasn’t going to let me go easily. So, I prayed a specific prayer: I asked God to reveal to me what my life would look like if I remained partnered with a man. I knew that He wouldn’t going to go against His Word and was prepared for His answer. I sensed His graciousness and peace take over my heart and I knew He was going to lead me.
A couple of weeks later, I had to go on a work trip to another city. I was there for 3 days with another colleague and was housed in a hotel for 2 nights. On the last night, I wanted to explore the city and decided to get connected with other LGBTQ people in the local area through a social media app. I ended up chatting with a respectable couple who offered to introduce me to the newest bar. As crazy sounds as it sounds, before I went to the bar I prayed and read a bible verse and asked Jesus to come along with me. Yes, I also thought this was blasphemous and that it didn’t make sense. But I wanted my Savior to lead me.
I took an Uber to my destination and before I walked into the bar, I saw a vehicle that resembled the same make and model that my boyfriend had at the time. I heard the Holy Spirit say, “that is the car of the people that you are going to meet.” I chuckled to myself in amusement and continued inside. The couple were very kind, but I couldn’t help but notice a deep familiarity. One of the couples behaved and looked like me and the other looked and behaved much like my partner. After some casual conversation, one of the partners commented that he smoked weed. I invited myself to partake in that activity at their place. They offered to drive me there and when we walked to the parking lot, I was shaken to see that indeed the vehicle that God said was going to belong to the people I’d meet was the car that they owned. At this point, I knew that this encounter was a divine appointment that God in His mercy orchestrated to reveal to me my future if I’d remain partnered to a man.
To summarize this divine encounter: we arrived at their home and started to converse about life. I remembered my prayer to God about what my life could look like and began to consider how this couple lived. They told me that they were wealthy and were millionaires. They told me that being gay was great because it got them certain connections that offered them to live a lavish life in which they could live as they pleased. As I listened intently, I remembered the verse in 1 Timothy 6:7 “for we brought nothing into the world, we cannot take anything out of the world.” They also shared that even though it was not their initial plan they had an open relationship. I was not in agreement with potentially living this kind of life that was simply lived for self-glorification, wealth and comfort which did not honor God.
During the conversation the younger partner that resembled my partner was called to work and went inside. At this time, the older partner who I thought I was similar to, asked me about my relationship with my boyfriend. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Tell him everything that you’ve been struggling with.” I responded to God “Lord, really, now? Like right now?” and He assured me and said “Yes.” So, I was honest and told him “Well, yeah, I have a partner and he’s everything that I want but I’m unsure about the relationship. I’m a Seventh-day Adventist Christian who believes what the Bible has to say about homosexuality and don’t know if I should stay with him.” Then, to my surprise he responded “Wow, that’s so crazy that you tell me that because when I was exactly your age I was an SDA and was conflicted about whether or not I could live as a practicing homosexual.” He then shared with me that he grew up in the slums of Brazil where Adventist missionaries came to his neighborhood, and he fell in love with Jesus. He would carry his Bible around everywhere he was and that would scare away gang members. However, when he was 21 years old, he told his pastor that he was homosexual and the pastor told him “It’s okay to have same-sex attraction but you must not act on those inclinations.” He then told me that he was so angry that he decided to leave the faith completely.
I was very much in deep thought and was so taken aback by how God answered my prayer miraculously! However, the man started to speak, and I knew the Holy Spirit was speaking through him and he began to say “we have friends who have left the lifestyle and married women and others who have remained single. You have a choice to make. The same way that the devil doesn’t take you by the hand and force to you make bad decisions; God will not take you by the hand and force you to make good decisions.” This statement was a calling to me, and I decided in my heart that I would choose to follow God. It was beginning to get late, and they took me back to my hotel room.
Without a shadow of doubt, God not only used that encounter to reveal to me what my life could look like but also, I felt God sent me there to remind the older partner that God in His mercy could still receive him if he repented from his sin and followed God as His first love! On that day, I decided to surrender to God and trust Him completely. The very next day I told my boyfriend of the encounter and broke up with him. I literally didn’t know where I was going to go but I knew that God would provide. In the middle of October, I found a place that was perfect for a single person, and I am still living there to this day.
Since giving my life over to God, He has revealed to me further healing that He wanted me to experience specifically overcoming an addiction I developed as a child. He has not healed me from one day to the next but has gradually helped me overcome and is teaching me to continually trust in Him daily. I’ve had multiple miraculous encounters with God since that day including praying for miracles for others and seeing God intervene, being saved from a car accident which totaled my car and my insurance paying off my vehicle and giving me money that allowed me to purchase a better vehicle without payments, having divine dreams that were unexplainably accurate to life situations, and more importantly changing my character defects which kept me a slave to addiction. I am still growing in Christ and am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.
I am testifying that God can help anyone who is seeking to be reconciled with Him. He will create in you a desire to love Him and will provide His strength to overcome the strongholds in your life according to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. He does not discriminate against you for the type of temptations you struggle with. In fact, He was tempted in all points as we are according to Hebrews 4:15. Trust and believe that God loves you despite your struggle and is the antidote to your suffering. Praise Him before the healing and do not doubt the power of fervent prayer and simply trust God in faith that He means well for you and promises to help the struggling sinner. I am still a work in progress, but my God can do far exceedingly more than I could have ever asked or thought (Ephesians 3:20). I pray that Ephesians 1:17 would be the reality of many that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”
Daniel Varela
SPECIAL MESSAGE
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