(Khotbah Sabat di Jemaat Jisdac)
Our father in heaven,
Thank you for your blessings and guidance to every one of us that come worship you this time.
Teach us always how to do your will in our life.
Now Lord, we invite your Holy spirit, be present with us, so that your word can be understood and bring the blessing for all of us.
For we ask in the name of Jesus.
Brothers & sisters in Jesus Christ,
HAPPY SABBATH !. Once again: Blessed sabbat brethren!. Are we happy this sabbath?. Thank you!.
Thank to God for the time where we can worship together this sabbath. Thank also to Pastor Pardosi Milton, my beloved son who has encouraged me to visit this church today.
I call him my son, because according to the family, his father is my younger brother even his father in age was older than me.
About several weeks ago my office secretary told and remind me: “Pastor Siagian, if you preach in Jisdac church, you must be preached in English. Are you ready?. I answered: “I will try, because I want to visit the Jisdac church although my English not so good.” Therefore, I beg apologize from all of you if my English is poor while I am present this message.
My beloved brethren,
I have chosen “Keeping “the vision” alive for my subject at this time.
1. Since the beginning of the Great Advent Movement, the Publishing Ministry has played a major role in the growth of the church. The prophet’s vision in November of 1848 at Dorchester, Massachusetts, has given the church a mandate, a direction, and a sense of mission.
2. “You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people. Let it be small at first…From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world”. (Life Sketches, p.125;(1915) and Colporteur Ministry, p.1).
3. In response to this divine guidance, James White first published “The Present Truth”, a little eight-page magazine in that same year.
1852 –He bought a small printing press, which eventually, become the forerunner our first publishing house.
4. From 1848 to 1863, before the church was organized, we had but a few pastors, and they were self-supporting workers.
5. The principal outreach of the church was the publishing ministry, which ushered in the birth of a flourishing worldwide church.
Before the church had hospitals, colleges, universities, or other institution, dedicated member carried our books and magazines containing the three angel’s message to the homes of the people.
6. Since those humble beginnings the publishing ministry, as a silent medium, has encircled the world with God’s message.
THE VISION TODAY
7. By God’s providence, this ministry now has 65 publishing houses and publishing centers. At any given time around the circle of the earth our pressed are rolling. They are producing multiplied millions of books, periodicals, booklets and leaflets with which to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.
8. From a single literature Evangelist, James White, who carried his carpet bag containing the first edition of the first magazine published by Seventh-day Adventist, today we have around 40 000 men and women around the globe who carry “the vision “ in their hearts and the books in their hand.
9. Almost everywhere in the world, in any given time zone, a literature evangelist is knocking on doors and meeting people with the gospel in print.
10. During the last quinquennium, these courageous ambassadors of truth have worked approximately: 75 million hours, visited 80 million homes, and circulated 54 million copies of books and magazines valued at 364 million dollars. They also enrolled 1,4 million people in Bible courses, gave 5 million Bible studies, and saw 295.059 of their contacts baptized.
KEEPING THE VISION ALIVE
11. Our Lord is coming soon!,
As we find in Revelation 22:7 “Behold, I am coming soon!. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book”.
Until then, how can we as church members keep “the vision” alive?.
12. First, I humbly invite all our church members in Jakarta Conference to keep “the vision” alive not only in our current memory, but active within our heart and lives.
We can keep “the vision” alive by keeping the church , leaders and members alike, informed and aware of the mission of the publishing ministry and its breakthroughs in evangelism.
In addition to evangelism, our literature also nourishes our members in the faith.
13. In this year the IPH will be plan to print the leaflet entitled keeping “the vision” alive. And the leaflet will be sent to every churches in our conference. Then the office of Pub. Dept. also will be prepared a banner and put the slogan on that banner: ONE PASTOR, ONE L.E.---ONE CHURCH, ONE L.E.
We have it now in the office.
The purpose all of these are as remembrance for all of our members to the work of our Publishing ministry and the vision still alive.
14. We can not allow the vision for this work to wane and yet expect the church to be strong.
We must agree with the view of Dr. Ottist Edwards, former president of the Far Eastern Division, who frequently observed: “Where the publishing work is strong, the church is strong”.
OUR VISION WITHIN “THE VISION”.
15. Ellen G. White counsels that God ordained the power of the press to be combined with the energies ot the living preacher to bring the truth before all nation, kindreds, tongue, and peoples(Life Sketches, p.217 and Colporteur Ministry, p.100).
16. At present the church has around 20 000 pastors and ministers. If we have one full-time literature evangelist to combine his/her effort with one pastor or minister, we will have 20 000.
But then the prophet continues to say that “God calls for workers from every church among us to enter His service as canvasser evangelists”.Colporteur Ministry, p.20.
Yes,..from every church!
17. When this counsel is heeded, we shall have more than 40, 000 full-time and part-time literature evangelists.
And if we maintain the number of our students participating in Literature Evangelism today, our numbers will increase to 55,000 L.E. around the world.
By His grace this is our vision this for quinquennium.
18. It was “the vision” in the hearts of God’s people that propelled the Church until this present time. It will continue to do so until the Lord, who gave us the mandate to serve, will pronounce the glorious conclusion, “Well done, thou good and faitful servant.”
As God’s people for this hour, let us keep the faith and renew our sacred commitment to keeping :the vision” alive. Thank you! Let us prayer.
Closing Prayer :
Dear heavenly Father in whom we live and move and have our being. We thank you for the message that we have learned , and also we thank for the opportunity to have fellowship together on this Sabbath day.
May we can serve you faithfully & deligently. Help this church to grow in faith and all the members can involve to hasten your coming. Bless pastor Pardosi & his family, all the church elders and their family, even all the members so that they can cooperate to sheperd the souls faithfully until Jesus come. We desire Lord, so that you can call anybody from this church to involve also to bring the three angel message through literature.
Teach us to consider not only earthly values. We wish no greater honor that to be called your child. Thank you Father, for hearing our prayer!.
Benediction : Number 6:24
The Lord bless you and keep you.
the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you.
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
2 Cor.13:14.
May the grace of the Lord J.C.
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the H.S.
be with you all.
