Elder Ted Wilson’s Sabbath morning sermon at the 2023 Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee.

<p>Elder Ted Wilson’s Sabbath morning sermon at the 2023 Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Ted N.C. Wilson

Chosen for Mission

What a wonderful privilege to see so many of you here together at this 2023 Annual Council where we are focused on mission.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been uniquely chosen for mission by God Himself.

The world, the societies around us, the cultures in this world are disintegrating at a rapid pace.

We've just heard of the tragic developments in the country of Israel with Hamas.

Thank you, Robert, for praying for that and for many other situations.

At our upcoming General Conference session in 2025, our theme is Jesus is coming, I will go.

Because of Christ's saving power and his soon return, Let's say, Lord, thank you for choosing me for your mission to the world.

This message today is not an easy 1 to present to you.

I ask for your patience, your indulgence, and your loving kindness, because we will address various issues that have to do with the sanctity and authenticity and foundational understanding of this word.

The 2 songs, the 2 hymns we're going to be singing, we sang 1 already, have been specially chosen.

Oh brother and sister, be faithful, Soon Jesus will come, for whom we have waited so long.

Oh soon we shall enter our glorious home and join in the conqueror's song.

For why should we prove unfaithful to him who hath shown such deep, such unbounded, and infinite love, who died to redeem us his own.

Seventh-day Adventists have been uniquely chosen for a mission to proclaim the 3 angels' messages of Revelation 14, 6 through 12, and the fourth angel of Revelation 18, verses 1 through 4, with Holy Spirit power.

We are God's Remnant Church, outlined in Revelation 12, 17.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

You see, we are joined with God in this last proclamation to the world.

Revelation 17, 14 indicates those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.

Oh brother, oh sister, be faithful for you are called and chosen.

First Peter chapter 2 verse 9 explains you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Now God tells us in numerous places in this word about being chosen.

John 15 verse 16, you did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit." Isaiah 4310, you are my witnesses says the Lord, my servant whom I have chosen.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose.

No 1 can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, knowing, beloved brethren, your election, you've been chosen by God." What an enormous privilege to be called and chosen by God to deliver the last warning to a perishing world.

And as we are reminded this morning again, everything is perishing.

The spirit of prophecy is very clear on this point.

Testimonies for the Church, Volume 7, page 138.

Seventh-day Adventists have been chosen by God as a peculiar people, separate from the world.

By the great cleaver of truth, he has cut them out from the quarry of the world, like a mine, like a place where rock is collected, and brought them into connection with himself.

He has made them his representatives and has called them to be ambassadors for him in the last work of salvation, the greatest wealth of truth ever entrusted to mortals, the most solemn and fearful warnings ever sent by God to man have been committed to them to be given to the world.

So, brothers and sisters, fellow leaders, and those watching on live streaming wherever you may be, we have been chosen for mission.

Perhaps we should have featured it a little more.

It says chosen for mission, our special theme for this annual Council.

Now in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9, 1 of my favorite quotations, it's been used before in the last few days.

I want to tell you what a blessing it's been to be part of the annual council this year.

The amazing lead up, many of you were not with us, last Sabbath, Sunday, Monday, the general conference and division officers met in this room, in the room upstairs, focusing upon the beautiful, beautiful truths of God's Word.

We focused on some of the truths that are being attacked.

In fact, in the future, we're going to spend more time studying the Word of God as General Conference and Division Officers and praying together to remind ourselves of this amazing biblical truth.

Thank you for the wonderful lead conference, for the amazing mission trip that we took last night, for the Sabbath school this morning.

Brothers and sisters, we have been enriched and we have our annual council continuing tomorrow through Wednesday.

We have packed this annual council with mission because we are chosen for mission.

In a special sense, Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers.

To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world.

On them is shining wonderful light from the Word of God.

They have been given a work of the most solemn import, the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages.

There is no other work of so great importance.

They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.

So my friends, this is why the Seventh-day Adventist Church exists and has been chosen to proclaim the 3 angels' messages on God's mission.

Mission has always been a part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The first missionary to be sent from the church was John Nevins Andrews, 1 of the finest biblical scholars the church has ever produced.

He was also a general conference president.

Today we are celebrating the 160th anniversary of the organizing of the General Conference itself in 1863, and the 150th anniversary next year in 2024 of the formal church mission service by the Andrews family.

You see, we have been chosen for mission.

Since that time, the Church has globally grown exponentially, with missionaries going from everywhere to everywhere, over 22 million members and local missionaries.

God's global work is flourishing because we are chosen for mission.

Isaiah 55 verse 11, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." So when you go on God's mission, proclaiming his word, you will not fail.

Now the devil tries everything to hinder the mission of the church today, including violence – just heard about it it today, hostile environments, persecution, discouragement, confusion, internal bickering, Distractions, false doctrines, attacks against God's people.

Let me tell you, This is a very handy device.

But if you were here this morning, you heard Melody Mason say, we need to surrender these to God because they can be so destructive.

You go online, you can hear all kinds of weird things about church leaders and about me.

Well, I want to tell you, we don't worry about that, because we're chosen for a mission.

So we have internal and external disagreements and denigration of the Word of God.

I'll tell you this morning as we proceed I'm going to be really focusing on that particular area.

The denigration of God's Word, the neutralization of God's Word, and all kinds of other angry assaults, including misinformation and outright false allegations against God's work.

You know, various people or organizations they attack God's church, twisting facts and misrepresenting the very character of God's remnant church.

There seem to be people who just specialize in that.

Now our church members worldwide, your church members, our church members, represented by our 13 world divisions, our 3 attached unions, and our 1 attached field.

That 1 attached field is the Israel field.

But our church members worldwide get confused about societal trends and challenges to God's word.

And these confusing interruptions tend to derail God's mission as entrusted to the Seventh-day Adventist church.

So for the next number of minutes, let's look at some of the confusing interruptions and specific answers that I will give to you to help refocus us back on the full mission of the Church.

Now many of the following items that we're going to be looking at will be further shared through my column in the Adventist world in global view.

We have a monthly presentation every month.

And in this 1, there are 3 of the ones that we're gonna cover.

In the next month, we will cover about 8 more of them.

And I'm giving you a preview today on these items.

That's why it's a little difficult to present them to you, but our people need to know.

Now in the written presentations, there will be more references, backup, etc.

Today I'm just going to share with you specific indications in my sermon.

We're also producing, and will be producing, short videos to help our church members worldwide know Bible truth and where we stand on issues, and that we are focused on God's final commission since we are chosen for mission.

Now please carefully take note of these following confusing interruptions by the devil.

And I want to tell you I am not placing myself before you today as the ultimate answer to all of these items.

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Chosen for Mission

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