Christian Hjortland

Empower Missions

Will the Adventist Church Fall?

Father in heaven, I thank you that we can once again gather around your word and I just pray lord that you may Give us make things clear regarding this topic an important 1 and give me the right words and help us all to be blessed by it.

Okay so the title of this presentation is Will God's remnant church fall?

I don't know about you, but I'm seeing in the church, both sides of the church, you see people that are skeptical of the church organization, People want to be free from it.

And also some groups that are both within the church and that have been part of the church and that are now out, that is believing the church has fallen or will fall.

Some say the church is Babylon, others say no, no, no, it's not Babylon, but it's still fallen.

So there are people leaving our church or don't care if they get kicked out for some reason because they don't see the importance of church organization and so on.

So now I want to go through some Bible texts, some quite many also quotes from Spirit of Prophecy.

I have, If you're interested in more, I'm going to put up a resource for you, a study, a longer study on this, on the same address here as earlier, and you will find that.

So first of all, let us see how the church was established.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 4 says, there is 1 body.

And then Colossians chapter 1 verse 18 says and he that is Christ is the head of the body the church so the Bible says there is only 1 true body and 1 head which is Christ he's the head of the church And it's interesting how the Bible is likening the church of a body.

And it goes even into details, and there are different parts of the body and so also the church went to sustain 1 another so it's quite clear that this is talking about talking about an organized church and that's also what the early church was they were organized and they took the message to the world.

Ephesians chapter 20 verse 21, sorry Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20 and 21.

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.

So, and for the sake of the time, I mean, I could have read more of these passages in the context and so on and giving you more but I just want to give you an idea now and if you're more interested as I said you can study this more and find more information.

So Christ is the cornerstone it says here and the Spirit of Prophecy tells us in Acts of the Apostles, page 595, that upon the foundation that Christ himself had laid, the Apostles built the Church of God.

And we saw in our study about the Revelation 12 that the church through history and then we saw there was a remnant left and this remnant is going to be of the same fabric as the church is coming from the church coming out as a result of 1260 years of persecution, then it becomes visible.

So the remnant, we could also expect the remnant to have the same characteristics and also be organized as the Church of God was.

So as we saw, God's remnant church cannot be identified or was not organized before 1798, as this 1260 years are pointing to, toward the end of this time.

Well, I definitely believe God was leading the church all until this very point, and those who were, they were more scattered than during this persecution in the wilderness, but some of them was even more organized but we know that the church had fallen and then as a result this came and then the Reformation came and so as we saw now and the Bible says there is 1 body and there's 1 head of it and yes there are I would say there are true believers in in almost all churches today I'm sure that are doing that are worshipping God as they know this is why there's a message of a calling out from Babylon and Christ is calling people out through us, he's using us.

So I'll say that yes, there are many churches who have right in several areas but when it comes to defining Galsbury Remnant Church which is the last church that the Revelation is talking about, the last part of it that was founded earlier, This is why it cannot be organized before because it came, it's the ration 12 talks about how then after the 1260 years you see the remnant coming up and then it gives the characteristics, keeping God's commandments, having the testament of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy.

And then we, so we have all the 3 characteristics of the here, so it could not be organized earlier as it was hidden for 1260 years it was in the wilderness and the first time it talks about the remnant is in verse 17 and it is after the description of these 1260 years.

Then you see that the devil is taking another and it says then the devil's wrath with a woman and made war with the remnant of her seed.

So you see this new component this being described then as after these 1260 years.

And as I said, so that which remains is what was the, I mean, how was it before?

So we can go back to, okay, what was the belief of the church established?

The Christ established, where he himself was the cornerstone.

Then it will help us also understand, okay, who is God's last church?

Because as you have a fabric and a remnant of this fabric is left, it's still the same fabric.

And so those who remain from this persecution were called now the remnant that the devil now went after.

And it has certain characteristics that we cannot find in other bodies, in other organized bodies.

In Councils of the Church, page 245, I don't have all the quotes here but I think most of them will be.

The organization of the Church at Jerusalem was to serve as a model for the organization of churches in every other place where messengers of truth should win converse to the gospel.

As an important factor in the spiritual growth of the new converse, the apostles were careful to surround them with the safeguards of gospel order.

So here she mentions a term called gospel order and she says, you know, the fact that this is organized, the model here is gonna serve as a model.

Churches were duly organized in all places of Lusonia and Pisidia where there were believers.

Officers were appointed in each church and proper order and system were established of the conduct of all affairs pertaining to the spiritual welfare of the believers.

This was in harmony with the gospel plan of uniting in 1 body of believers, all believers in Christ.

So you see that the gospel plan involves organization of all believers in 1 body.

Is that clear to you from this quote and from the verses?

So if that is true, if this is true, if this is according to gospel order, according to the plan of salvation, will it be necessary for having this in the end, an organized body?

That's important to understand, because if you understand that, then we understand it has to be an organized body in the end.

Because if God, I mean, the gospel is good news and this is his plan of salvation and this includes gospel order.

So, this would be even more important in end time if 1 day the church is going to stand perfect as Paul is talking about also and how this will be a witness if we're gonna be witness for the world in the very end I will say it's even more important in the end than than ever before because we are to reveal the mystery of God.

And God is God of order, so we could expect him also to do this with the church as we have also seen him doing.

Acts chapter 2 verse 47 says, the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

So the Lord, he was, I mean He was in perfect harmony with his own system of order where Christ was the cornerstone.

And if you see this in context, he's talking about the visible church and the structure.

And if this was true in apostolic times, where this was supposed to be the model, then this will be vitally important in the end.

So if you think about a building, you have cornerstones.

Are they going to be important to keep the house together?

And you can also see them with a structure like a big port like this, and you have the cornerstone often like more on top.

That is a support for others, but this may be easier explained when you have cornerstones that are upholding the house, the building.

So, and we also have, it's described as a body or human body.

I mean, for instance, I could not, I mean, no 1 of us could live without the brain, without the head, crisis the head, I mean, we cannot live without it.

Now it's also hard for the body to properly function if I only have 1 leg or 1 arm or no legs or no arms.

I could still live but it would not be optimal.

And if I don't have a liver, that's also going to be a problem.

If I don't have any kidneys, that's going to be a big problem.

So all the parts are important to uphold the body as it was created for.

So the parts of the church is supporting 1 another.

It's important to have this organized system.

If you look at the body, when I studied anathema in physiology during my nursing studies, man, I was blown away by how marvelous our body is created.

I mean, you just see, And then you have the professor saying, yeah, we don't know exactly how this is functioning, we just know that it's functioning.

I mean, there are so many miracles in the body, chemical reactions and how things are just working together.

So God raised up a church, he founded a church, and there was gonna be a remnant, a rest, those remaining ones from this church in the end that would obviously also be organized just as the first church was.

So God established his church on Christ and he is surely leading it.

Okay and now I'm going to read some statements.

You have them here and for the sake of time I will not wait for you to look up all of them but if you have time feel free to do that they're good ones.

So Nehemiah chapter 1 verse 9 it says but if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them though they were of you cast out of the uttermost part of the heaven, yet I will gather them from thence and bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." So God says I'm going to gather my people and put my name there where I have chosen.

Now maybe I should, before I read the other ones about how God is, there are many texts in the Bible how God's going to gather a remnant, let me make it clear.

When Ellen White, when she talks about the church, in most cases she talks about the organized church.

And there are sometimes when she would refer to the church as more the invisible church, and including, you know, the believers, the true believers that are not in the system, in the organization yet.

Joakim Hjortland

The Paradoxical Prescription to Happiness

Dear Holy Father, we thank you for this beautiful day, beautiful Sabbath you have given us.

And I was reminded this morning of when they built the temple and then they have this inauguration of the temple, how you answer the prayers and you fill it with your presence Lord, and when they built this building in accordance with your will.

And Lord we believe that we are here to celebrate this day that you have sanctified.

And I want to pray that you similarly will be present with us in a special way as we come together in your house to worship you, to learn about you, that you may give us your spirit as you have promised, that you may lead my words, that you may speak on our hearts.

Lord, you know what, I ask pray that you may tailor make this message.

You know what each and every 1 of us can take with us from this message.

And I ask pray that you may, though I might not even say it with my, with the words I will say up here front.

Lord, I just pray that you may impress the things you have in store for us today through your spirit.

Thank you, Lord, that you will draw us closer to you.

And Lord, I pray, I'm reminded of this beautiful verse in the book of Psalms that I delight to do your will, oh my God.

Lord, that's really the joyful experience you want us to have as followers of you.

And I just pray, Lord, that that may be our experience every year and every day.

Thank you Lord that you will lead us, you will speak to us through this message.

The message this morning is entitled, The Paradoxical Prescription to Happiness.

How many of you, how many of you want to be happy?

So in other words, This is a message that is relevant for all of us.

Some time ago, I was reading this interesting article in a, you know, Swedish newspaper.

Basically the title of the article is, you know, Million Wage, you know, Luxury Cars, luxury houses, the recipe of joy?

It s basically the question that s asked here.

And the article is talking about this British study that had been conducted with 3, 000 people, basically asking them What are the necessary ingredients for the perfect life, for perfect happiness?

What do you need to really have happiness in your life, to really have the best life you can live?

And these are the following answers that were given in this survey.

They said, you know, you needed a yearly wage of over 120, 000 euro.

You needed a house with a value of 206, 000 euro.

In addition to that, you needed a summer house, you know, this nice Aston Martin car, yeah.

And, you know, other things people would mention as a necessary ingredient would be, would be things like, you know, academic success, you know, being on the top academically or, you know, being, or fame some would say, you know, or some would say being on the top of your sport or having maybe the perfect spouse, others would add there.

These are the type of things that they answer and that people would answer if you ask them what do you need to have perfect happiness, to really be happy, to really have the best life you could live.

I read another interesting article about actually a British girl as well, 16 years old, Callie Rogers.

She won approximately 2 million British pounds, approximately 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 euro at the time, or when I calculated this, on the lottery.

She got what she maybe would have dared to hope for when she bought that lottery ticket.

She got what many, many thousands of people all over the world are dreaming for or hoping to get 1 day.

And this made it possible for her as a young girl to do pretty much anything she could dream about or would like to do.

For instance, she used 730, 000 euros for luxury houses.

She used approximately 360, 000 euros for sports cars, you know, 280, 000 euros for exotic vacations.

The next 1 is the hardest 1 to understand, I think.

Now, do you think all of these things that she was dreaming about, do you think this gave her a better life?

Do you think this, now she reached it, she came there, perfect happiness, best life, do you think, do you think this, this really gave her a better life?

Listen to, you know, just a few years after when I read about this, she lived in the home of her mother and she had 3 cleaning jobs just to make ends meet, just to get enough to survive.

And listen to what she says, very interesting.

She says the following, I honestly wish I had not won.

If I knew what I know now, I would have given the money back right away.

She says she won, you know, she got what millions of people are hoping to get someday.

And when she gets it, she says, I wish if I knew what I know now, I would have just given it back.

Now, let me tell you about my friend David.

When he was, you know, since he was a little boy, you know, he loved skateboarding.

He was going out, you know, skating and skating and, you know, he became pretty good, you know.

And when he was 18, you know, he wanted, he basically, his dream was fulfilled.

He moved to California and he was able basically to live there as a professional skateboarder.

So he was there skating with some of the best, you know, skateboarders in the world.

And he had a promising career as a skateboarder, only 18 years old, you know, living his dream.

But after 1 year there, he realized that this didn't give the happiness and the fulfillment that he thought it would, that he hoped it would.

And therefore, after only 1 year living his dream, he said, no, this is not it.

And so he basically, he decides to go away from there and move, you know.

Now what he does instead, he turns to music and with some of his friends, you know, they start this band together, this music band.

And eventually, they're getting pretty good, you know.

They're playing more and more, you know, more and more requests to play different places and they are actually recording 2 albums, you know, and they are playing with, traveling around the US together with some of the most known bands in that time and doing very well, you know, having success and gives them some happiness, but he realizes also here, this doesn't really give the satisfaction, this doesn't give the happiness that He thought it would.

And again, so he's disappointed, but he decides to basically quit in the band.

So what he does instead is, now he turns to academics.

And so he's studying medicine, and he's doing very well.

But again, he realizes, hey, this doesn't give what he thought it would.

There's still, he still has some empty space in his heart.

And he's looking around him, he's looking, observing people and trying to figure out what can really give happiness and true happiness and joy and meaning in life, what can really do it, what is the recipe, what are the ingredients that is needed, you know.

And 1 observation he makes is, it seems like those who are the most happy, the people he sees around him, that are the people that are in a relationship with someone.

So he thinks, yeah, maybe I need to think more about that part.

And so basically he pursues a relationship and he gets this girlfriend eventually and they're really in love, they're really having a good time and he thinks, yeah, this is it, he thinks.

But eventually he realizes that this doesn't work out as he thought either.

End Time Lessons in Daniel 1-6

We're going to take a look at end time lessons in Daniel chapters 1 to 6.

And we are going to see maybe specifically how the experiences in Daniel, how things in Daniel that is written there is, what can we say, a symbol illustration of what will take place in the end times, which the Revelation talks about.

So I'm excited about this topic and I know you have been taking a look at Daniel already, I think with Max.

And so it's also good with some repetition.

We will not go into depth, but we will be mostly in Daniel chapter 3.

So let us start with another word of prayer.

Father, we thank you so much that we have this opportunity to get into your Word.

And I pray that you please be a Christian as he teaches us, give us, give him the guidance of your Holy Spirit and help us to have understanding in these things.

I don't know if, do you know that there is a chiastic structure of Daniel chapter 1, verse 7?

Let me just give you a few words on chiasm.

In Bible you find something, what can I say, Hebrew way of writing?

It's, we can think about it as, let us do it like this.

Okay, let's say you have, you have a thought here, A, B, and then we can have another B and then A.

So here we have thought A, and then the passage goes on with the thought B.

And then the thought B again, and then finally thought A.

That will like, you have bread, and then maybe you have tomato and tofu, and then you have bread again.

So basically, it can also be like a step ladder like this.

You know, you have step here, step, step, and it goes toward a climax.

Usually, and the reason why it was written like this is because the writer would like to make a point.

I mean, They couldn't make the text bold or underline.

I mean, they didn't do these things as we would do today if we want to focus on something and underline something, underline a thought.

Usually, the main thought would be in the center, but not always the thing they wanted to focus on.

And you have many different versions on how this could be.

And usually you find it, you can find it a lot in Psalms, for instance, this way of thinking or writing.

And in Daniel, in the chapters in Daniel, chapters 1 to 7, you find a big chiasm.

For instance, so let us, oh sorry, it's chapter 2 of course, chapter 2 to 7.

Like, I mean, what's the rough outline of chapter, what is it, what are we seeing in chapter 2?

Okay, yeah, so we can say, can we say rise and fall of kingdoms?

That could be the main thought, the rise and fall of kingdoms.

And then down in chapter 3, there we find what is happening there?

Is the general 3 friends, they're experiencing what?

Then down in chapter 4, what do we find there?

So the rise and fall, or the fall and rise of a king.

And then Daniel chapter 5, what do we find there?

There was the judgment on Babylon, right?

And when Mediapheria came and it was Belshazzar.

And then Daniel chapter 6, what do we find there?

Yeah, persecution again of Daniel, right?

And then Daniel chapter 7, again, rise and fall of kingdoms.

So you see, so if you put them like this, 1234560 sorry, 234567.

Then you have the same thought in chapter 2 and chapter 7.

And then chapter 3 and chapter 6, quite the same thought, the same thing that is happening.

And then you find chapter 4 and 5, quite the same thoughts.

So what you find is rise and fall of kingdoms, right?

Rise and fall of kings, persecution of the saints by the state.

Are these things that is happening in the end time.

Well, it has been taking place in history.

It is taking place in the end time as well.

But we know that God is in control, just like we see the prophecies that are fulfilled in the past.

And praise God for that, we don't need to worry for the future.

And we have a few Bible texts here now I want to take a look at what has happened.

We have in Hosea chapter 12, Hosea 12 verse 10.

Hosea 12 verse 10 it says I have also spoken by the prophets and I have multiplied visions and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.

God says He has used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.

And I believe if you see this in light with for instance Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 9 to 10, there it says, Ecclesiastes 9 and 10, the thing that has been is it is what that we shall be And that which is done is that which shall be done.

Is there anything where it may be said, see, this is new.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

Will the Adventist Church Fall?

1h 20m

The Paradoxical Prescription to Happiness

1h

End Time Lessons in Daniel 1-6

1h 20m

Enochs in This Our Day

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Members Resolutions

53m

Hope In a Lion’s Den

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A True Story

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Q&A Session

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The Bible and Geological Time

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Is Creation Important to SDA Doctrine

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6. The Glory of Redemptive Grace

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