"God says to us, 'Be a force for good!' You know what is good! Ignorance is not the problem for God's people; obedience sometimes is. Well, use your energy to pursue that which is good," Pastor Jan Paulsen said in a spiritual message at the opening of the
“God says to us, ‘Be a force for good!’ You know what is good! Ignorance is not the problem for God’s people; obedience sometimes is. Well, use your energy to pursue that which is good,” Pastor Jan Paulsen said in a spiritual message at the opening of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Annual Council Oct. 9, at a centennial Sabbath celebration at the Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Maryland, United States.
Paulsen, world church president, spoke to a congregation of more than 1,000 people, including an estimated 300 global Seventh-day Adventist world church leaders, and said the Takoma Park congregation “is part of the history of the General Conference. We met in council in this hall for many, many years.”
The sermon, “Living in Anticipation,” drew on the New Testament letter from the Apostle Paul to Titus, chapter 2 and verses 11-14, which speaks of the believer’s anticipation of “the blessed hope,” of Christ’s return, and its motivation to lead reverent lives.
“Christ is and will be the Victor, and His cause will be vindicated. The age-old battle between Christ and Satan is moving rapidly towards an inevitable and certain conclusion,” Paulsen said.
“We know it is coming,” he added, “but we don’t know ‘when,’ and we probably should not ask. The more important question for me to ask is: How does the certainty of this scenario affect me and how do I prepare for it? And that is a very personal question, but it is also a corporate one,” as a faith community.
In examining how believers should personally prepare for Christ’s return, Paulsen quoted scriptures urging Christians to “Hate what is evil, cling to what is good,” as Paul wrote in Romans 12:9, adding, “Basically, what God says to us is: ‘Be a force for good!’ You know what is good! Ignorance is not the problem for God’s people; obedience sometimes is. Well, use your energy to pursue that which is good.”
Saying that the return of Christ is “a royal visit,” where “things are to be set in order,” he emphasized to the congregation that there is more to a Christian life than seeking out a list of prohibitions.
“Living in anticipation of Christ’s return is not a negative lifestyle,” he said. “It is a positive, constructive and creative life, full of energy, which reaches out to do good for others and for yourself. A lifestyle which is essentially an exercise in saying ‘no’ to a range of issues is not only a drab, dull and dark form of living, but is ultimately also unsuccessful. God wants out lives, I believe, to be proactive in search of the good, rather than to live negative lives focused on denials.”
The world church president also urged his hearers to avoid criticizing and slandering others, noting that “to judge another person is to take unto ourselves a right to do that which God alone has the right to do; and he is a reckless man who deliberately infringes on the prerogatives of God.”
He added, “We have a Christian duty to encourage each other. The going ahead of us is tough. Let us help each other. And when you do that, please, remember your leaders. Life on the podium of leadership can get lonely and chilly.”
In a third view of living in anticipation of “the blessed hope,” Paulsen said believers should live in a way that shows neighbors their own peace of mind, as well as “live in peace with the people you meet and associate with.”
He said, “I would so much want that the ones who do not know Christ will know us as kind, caring, and good people.”
The sermon followed several expressions of commendation and greeting to the century-old congregation, which was organized in Takoma Park shortly after the arrival of the church’s headquarters, which moved to the then-suburban Washington, D.C., community from Battle Creek, Michigan.
In a letter read by the congregation’s senior pastor, Alan DeSilva, George W. Bush, President of United States, wrote, “This milestone is a tribute to your dedication and service. ... By sharing His promises with others, you help change lives, one heart and one soul at a time. I applaud your compassion and your commitment to your faith.”
U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen—who, as the son of a U.S. diplomat, was born at Karachi Adventist Hospital in Pakistan—praised the church as “a great beacon of light for faith,” and presented a citation from the House of Representatives noting the anniversary. A similar citation was also received from U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland; her counterpart, Senator Paul Sarbanes, wrote that the Takoma Park congregation “has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the betterment of the surrounding community.”
Elisha B. Pulivarti, Executive Director of the Office of Asian-Pacific American Affairs for the State of Maryland, also an Adventist church member, brought a citation from Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., who also praised the church for “encouraging hope and spirituality throughout the community.”
In what has become a tradition of Annual Council meetings, a Sabbath afternoon program, televised via satellite on the church’s Hope Channel, reported on activities of the church’s mission and coordinated by the Global Mission office of the world church.