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ADVENTIST WEDGE ISSUES:

SATAN'S OLD TRICKS STILL WORK
 

 

Politicians Use Wedge Issues To Gain Power

 
The midterm elections (2007) are upon us and it has been a particularly nasty, ugly campaign!  Many people get sick of hearing all the charges and counter charges, that often are dirty, below the belt tactics.  During this contentious political season, politicians are using wedge issues to divide the opposition, motivate their political base and fire up the faithful. Issues like abortion, gay rights, gun control and religion in the public square all work in getting results for the party that uses them.  Howard Dean once said he was sick of elections focused on "Gays, Guns and God."  The theory is that if you stoke the fiery passions of voters they are more likely to come out and vote. Another way of looking at it is the old strategy of divide and conquer.  If you can divide a group among themselves and get them to argue about the issues in a divisive and destructive way, you can split the vote, or discourage them from voting all together.  If they stay home you will have accomplished your goal.  That's why you see so many late breaking scandals just before an election.  Both parties use these "dirty tricks" to dishearten the opposition and fire up supporters.
 
In the spiritual realm, the devil is not unaware of how wedge issues can also split a church.  Divide and conquer the church by using some of the same tactics.  He keeps the church occupied with arguments about "minor" issues, and gets them to ignore the "major" issues like Jesus Christ, His grace, and the blessings of being a Christian.  He does his best to get God's followers to take "stands" on minor issues that will divide the church and keep them from going about their true mission of lifting up Jesus and drawing all men to Him. 

 

Let's look at some of the ways he uses wedge issues in the spiritual realm...


"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1Cor. 2:1, 2)

The apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 2: 1, 2 that he seeks to know nothing among that but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus is the center and focus of Paul's message. He encouraged his converts to avoid divisive issues, focusing instead on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All the devil has to do is divert Adventists from their message; "Righteousness by faith and Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary" to issues that will divide and conquer
them. For instance:

Get them to talk about:

       1.  what they wear - focusing on extremes in dress.
       2.  what they eat - focusing on the extremes in diet.
       3.  perfection rather than him who is perfection.
       4.  the Nature of Christ rather than worshiping Christ.
 

Get them to:

       5.  argue about contemporary Christian music, rather than inspiring contemporary WORSHIP.
       6.  turn off all young generations so the church will soon die when the older members do.  

       7.  think they are upholding the standards by lifting up petty points of  contention while failing to uphold Jesus Christ.
       8.  argue about which sex you have to be to do the work of God, thus failing to DO THE WORK OF GOD.
       9.  exalt in being the true church while arrogantly putting down other Christians deemed inferior.
      10. exalt in an Adventist Elitism that is mean spirited and unloving.

 

These issues have always worked in the past and they are working now! Let's talk about them, not for the purpose of making them our focus, but to show how ridiculous it is to put these issues in place of Jesus Christ.

 1. Get them to talk about what they wear, focusing on extremes in dress. Our motto should be "We don't care what you wear, as long as you're there!"  The Jewish people have always worn jewelry.  Jesus put a ring on the prodigal son's hand.  Sadly, we have too often put down people who even wear a wedding ring, when church policy allows it.  We should teach modesty in dress, and in all our churches, let individuals make their own decision about what they wear. In our city churches, people have always worn an abundance of jewelry.  In our country churches, our youth are subjected to constant criticism. It's unfair, and wrong.  The bible clearly teaches that we should be modest in our dress, and not flaunt our wealth by showing off jewelry, but that is for the person to pray about.  Come just as you are, and Jesus will accept you, and help you to follow him in modesty.  Stop beating up on our girls and women about jewelry!
 

2. Get them to talk about what they eat, focusing on the extremes in diet. Two thirds of Seventh-day Adventists eat meat. Let's stop pretending that we are all vegan vegetarians, and stop acting like people who eat meat are second class citizens.  MOST Adventists eat meat.  To be a vegetarian is a noble ambition, and one we can all aspire to, but you are not a bad person if you are not vegetarian. We don't care what you eat as long as you're sweet! If you're mean as a snake, and always putting people down over food, what good is your religion?  Meat-eaters are welcome in our churches!  Jesus was one, fed meat to women and children, and his disciples!
 

3. Get them to talk about Perfection rather than he who is perfection.  Why do we emphasize more what we have to do for God than what GOD HAS DONE for us? That's legalistic! Teach our children to love PERFECTION, JESUS rather than to be perfect. We cannot attain perfection. The noblest among us is but a faint reflection of Christ's character (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p.49). Only God is Holy. (Revelation. 15:4) Only Jesus is perfect. Our only hope is Christ's perfect character, credited to us. Our kids know WE ARE NOT PERFECT. They also know we are hypocrites for telling them they have to be when we ARE NOT. Teach them to KNOW Jesus, who is perfection instead!
 

4. Get them to talk about the Nature of Christ rather than worshiping the Christ. Christ is the MONO-GENES; the UNIQUE ONE; the ONE OF A KIND.  He had the Spiritual nature of Adam BEFORE the fall, the physical nature of Adam AFTER the fall, and was different than any other human ever born.  You can't be just like him, you are a mole hill and he is Mt. Everest! Worship him, and stop blaspheming him by claiming you can even come close to being like him. Mount of Blessing, p.49 "The divine beauty of the character of Christ, of whom the noblest and most gentle among men are but a faint reflection was a living representation of the character of the law of God."
 

5. Get them to argue about contemporary Christian music, rather than inspiring contemporarily WORSHIP. The Jewish people have always used Toph's (Small hand held drum) in their worship. The worship in the people's courts was spirited and exuberant. Hand drums and joyful beats abounded. Stop criticizing youth for worship God in happy, joyful ways, and allow the youth to praise him in their generation in a way that's different than our hundred year old hymns. They can do it in a proper way, let them! See my sermons on musical instruments in the bible!  Musical Instruments  Biblical Worship-Instrument


 

6. Get them to turn off all young generations so the church will soon die when the older members do. Many Adventist Churches are looking around and suddenly realizing they are dying. No 20, 30, or 40 year olds are in their congregations. They taught them that unless they were perfect, vegetarian, wedding ring-less, and voiceless in the affairs of the church they were not welcome. Many youth voted with their feet admitted they were not perfect, vegetarian, and wanted to wear a symbol of their marriage, so they left.

 

I say to all of you, COME HOME.  We apologize for being narrow minded, legalistic and externally focused.  Come home to our church, where Jesus is lifted up as our only perfection, and we are not concerned with what you eat or wear.  We are concerned with your soul!
 

7. Get them to think they are upholding the standards by lifting up petty points of contention while failing to uphold Jesus Christ.   I have seen young people driven out of the church because they dared to: bring a water bottle into church; wear a ring; had a tattoo; wore an earring; did a puppet show in the church, with puppets the CHURCH BOUGHT FOR HER TO USE!; bring donuts to a vacation bible school; brought meat to a fellowship dinner; and many other things too numerous to mention.

 

To all these people I apologize from the bottom of my heart! Jesus wept, and was very displeased by these people who acted in these ways. 

 

If they do not repent they will be lost. In as much as they have done it unto the least of his children they have done it unto him!

Ignore the judgmental Pharisees of the church and focus on Jesus.

He loves you and wants you to come to church and be part of the solution, not the problem. Pray for them, ignore them, and come home where you belong!
 

Jesus says with people like that you have to "LOVE THEM ANYWAY."
 

8. Get them to argue about which sex you have to be to do the work of God, thus failing to DO THE WORK OF GOD. Having worked in dozens of Adventist churches, it saddens me that Seventh-Day Adventist's still argue about women in leadership. Some of the finest elders I have ever worked with are women, and they should be ordained and allowed to be used in God's work.  See my sermon "Ordained To Serve."

Ordination of Women  Ordained To Serve: The Priesthood of All Believers

 

Women and young women, work for God! Don't let anyone keep you from doing what God called you to do! Do the work, whether the church ordains you or not. Sooner or later, God will help them to see that there is no biblical reason to not allow women to do any office of the church because of their sex. We believe in the priesthood of ALL BELIEVERS!
 

 9. Get them to exalt in being the true church while arrogantly putting down other Christians deemed inferior. Just like the Jews of old, we sometimes have an elitist attitude toward other Christians. Most of the end time Adventist church is in what we call Babylon today. The majority of those who will be translated are in these churches right now. How dare we arrogantly put down other Christians while claiming to be superior? It's God's message, and we are fortunate to be allowed to know and share it.  People of all faiths are welcome to come to our church. We have much to learn from you, and you from us. As we study God's word together, we shall all grow in knowledge of doctrine and faith.
 

10. Get them to exalt in an Adventist Elitism that is mean spirited and unloving.  I have often in my 27 years as an SDA Pastor seen an elitism that helps me to understand why Jesus said he would "vomit you out of his mouth."  Groups of people who think they are superior to others in the church because of what they wear, eat, know, and how they study."  Pastor you know those people don't study like they should." Often claiming to be the 144,000; they reek of pride and self righteousness. Rich increased with goods, yet naked and wretched. Their works are exalted in, they often know the standard operating procedures (SOP) far more than the Bible, and believe anyone who doesn't agree with them to be inferior and proclaim they will never "make it through the time of trouble". Yet their elitism is so repulsive, often it is only the emotionally unbalanced that join their ranks. They're mean disdain for others reveals their contemptuous religion. Jesus says to all such religionists "Repent."
 

You need faith, the white robe, and eye salve. Wretched one, REPENT! JESUS is your ONLY HOPE! To every Seventh-Day Adventist and fellow Christian who reads this I say: Jesus calls you to come unto him just as you are. Come home to Jesus. Don't let Pharisees, elitists, critical, judgmental people keep you from coming home to Jesus. It's your church too! You belong in church, with Jesus! Sinners are welcome! Saints are made so by his righteousness alone!

 

Come home my friend, to a church that loves you just as you are, and to people who recognize that we are all sinners saved by grace alone!. He loves you so much he will accept you just the way you are. He loves you too much to leave you that way! As you come to him by faith, he will make all the changes he wants made, and will miraculously transform you from the inside out into the man or woman He wants you to be.

Don't let old Satan trick you into spending too much time on his divisive wedge issues! Come to Jesus; admit he is your perfection; salvation; sanctification and your everything! Man or woman work for Jesus! Every generation WORSHIP HIM!  Humbly bow before Him and serve him all the days of  your life! 

 

FORGET THE WEDGE ISSUES

 

LET'S TALK ABOUT JESUS! LET'S BE LOVING, KIND, POWERFUL CHRISTIANS!

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS, AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE!

 

AMEN AND AMEN!

 

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Email Pastor Tom:  TomHughes@ProphecyWatch.biz

 

 

 

 

1 Cor. 2: 1, 2

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or
of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. (2)  For I determined
not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1Co
2:1, 2)


The apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 2: 1, 2 that he seeks to know nothing
among that but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus is the center and focus
of Paul's message. He encouraged his converts to avoid divisive issues,
focusing instead on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All the devil has to do is
divert Adventists from their message; "Righteousness by faith and Christ's
Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary" to issues that will divide and conquer
them. For instance:

  1.. Get them to talk about what they wear, focusing on extremes in dress.
  2.. Get them to talk about what they eat, focusing on the extremes in
diet.
  3.. Get them to talk about Perfection rather than him who is perfection.
  4.. Get them to talk about the Nature of Christ rather than worshiping the
Christ.
  5.. Get them to argue about contemporary Christian music, rather than
inspiring contemporarily WORSHIP.
  6.. Get them to turn off all young generations so the church will soon die
when the older members do.
  7.. Get them to think they are upholding the standards by lifting up petty
points of contention while failing to uphold Jesus Christ.
  8.. Get them to argue about which sex you have to be to do the work of
God, thus failing to DO THE WORK OF GOD.
  9.. Get them to exalt in being the true church while arrogantly putting
down other Christians deemed inferior.
  10.. Get them to exalt in an Adventist Elitism that is mean spirited and
unloving.
These issues have always worked in the past and they are working now! Let's
talk about them, not for the purpose of making them our focus, but to show
how ridiculous it is to put these issues in place of Jesus Christ.

  1.. Get them to talk about what they wear, focusing on extremes in dress.
Our motto should be "We don't care what you wear, as long as your there!"
The Jewish people have always worn jewelry. Jesus put a ring on the prodigal
son's hand. Sadly, we have too often put down people who even wear a wedding
ring, when church policy allows it. We should teach modesty in dress, and in
all our churches, let individuals make their own decision about what they
where. In our city churches, people have always worn an abundance of
jewelry. In our country churches, our youth are subjected to constant
criticism. It's unfair, and wrong. The bible clearly teaches that we should
be modest in our dress, and not flaunt our wealth by showing off jewelry,
but that is for the person to pray about. Come just as you are, and Jesus
will accept you, and help you to follow him in modesty. Stop beating up on
our girls and women about jewelry!
  2.. Get them to talk about what they eat, focusing on the extremes in
diet. Two thirds of Seventh-day Adventists eat meat. Let's stop pretending
that we are all vegan vegetarians, and stop acting like people who eat meat
are second class citizens. MOST Adventists eat meat. To be a vegetarian is a
noble ambition, and one we can all aspire to, but you are not a bad person
if you are not vegetarian. We don't care what you eat as long as you're
sweet! If you're mean as a snake, and always putting people down over food,
what good is your religion? Meat eaters are welcome in our churches! Jesus
was one, fed meat to women and children, and his disciples!
  3.. Get them to talk about Perfection rather than he who is perfection.
Why do we emphasize more what we have to do for God than what GOD HAS DONE
for us? That's legalistic! Teach our children to love PERFECTION, JESUS
rather than to be perfect. We cannot attain perfection. The noblest among us
is but a faint reflection of Christ's character (Mount of Blessing, p.49). Only God is Holy.
(Revelation. 15:4) Only Jesus is perfect. Our only hope is Christ's perfect
character, credited to us. Our kids know WE ARE NOT PERFECT. They also know
we are hypocrites for telling them they have to be when we ARE NOT. Teach
them to KNOW Jesus, who is perfection instead!
  4.. Get them to talk about the Nature of Christ rather than worshiping the
Christ. Christ is the MONO-GENES; the UNIQUE ONE; the ONE OF A KIND. He had
the Spiritual nature of Adam BEFORE the fall, the physical nature of Adam
AFTER the fall, and was different than any other human ever born. You can't
be just like him, you are a mole hill and he is Mt. Everest! Worship him,
and stop blaspheming him by claiming you can even come close to being like
him. Mount of Blesing, p.49 "The divine beauty of the character of Christ, of whom the
noblest and most gentle among men are but a faint reflection was a living
representation of the character of the law of God".
  5.. Get them to argue about contemporary Christian music, rather than
inspiring contemporarily WORSHIP. The Jewish people have always used Toph's
(Small hand held drum) in their worship. The worship in the people's courts
was spirited and exuberant. Hand drums and joyful beats abounded. Stop
criticizing youth for worship God in happy, joyful ways, and allow the youth
to praise him in their generation in a way that's different than our hundred
year old hymns. They can do it in a proper way, let them! See my sermon on
musical instruments in the bible!
  6.. Get them to turn off all young generations so the church will soon die
when the older members do. Many Adventist Churches are looking around and
suddenly realizing they are dying. No 20, 30, or 40 year olds are in their
congregations. They taught them that unless they were perfect, vegetarian,
wedding ring-less, and voiceless in the affairs of the church they were not
welcome. Many youth voted with their feet admitted they were not perfect,
vegetarian, and wanted to wear a symbol of their marriage, so they left. I
say to all of you, COME HOME. We apologize for being narrow minded,
legalistic and externally focused. Come home to our church, where Jesus is
lifted up as our only perfection, and we are not concerned with what you eat
or wear. We are concerned with your soul!
  7.. Get them to think they are upholding the standards by lifting up petty
points of contention while failing to uphold Jesus Christ. I have seen young
people driven out of the church because they dared to: bring a water bottle
into church; wear a ring; had a tattoo; wore an earring; did a puppet show
in the church, with puppets the CHURCH BOUGHT FOR HER TO USE!; bring donuts
to a vacation bible school; brought meat to a fellowship dinner; and many
other things too numerous to mention. To all these people I apologize from
the bottom of my heart! Jesus wept, and was very displeased by these people
who acted in these ways. If they do not repent they will be lost. In as much
as they have done it unto the least of his children they have done it unto
him! Ignore the judgmental Pharisees of the church and focus on Jesus. He
loves you and wants you to come to church and be part of the solution, not
the problem. Pray for them, ignore them, and come home where you belong!
Jesus says with people like that you have to "LOVE THEM ANYWAY".
  8.. Get them to argue about which sex you have to be to do the work of
God, thus failing to DO THE WORK OF GOD. Having worked in dozens of
Adventist churches, it saddens me that Sevetnt-Day Adventist's still argue about women in
leadership. Some of the finest elders I have ever worked with are women, and
they should be ordained and allowed to be used in God's work. See my sermon
"Ordained To Serve". Women and young women, work for God! Don't let anyone
keep you from doing what God called you to do! Do the work, whether the
church ordains you or not. Sooner or later, God will help them to see that
there is no biblical reason to not allow women to do any office of the
church because of their sex. We believe in the priesthood of ALL BELIEVERS!
  9.. Get them to exalt in being the true church while arrogantly putting
down other Christians deemed inferior. Just like the Jews of old, we
sometimes have an elitist attitude toward other Christians. Most of the end
time Adventist church is in what we call Babylon today. The majority of
those who will be translated are in these churches right now. How dare we
arrogantly put down other Christians while claiming to be superior? It's
God's message, and we are fortunate to be allowed to know and share it.
People of all faiths are welcome to come to our church. We have much to
learn from you, and you from us. As we study God's word together, we shall
all grow in knowledge of doctrine and faith.
  10.. Get them to exalt in an Adventist Elitism that is mean spirited and
unloving. I have often in my 27 years as an SDA Pastor seen an elitism that
helps me to understand why Jesus said he would "vomit you out of my mouth".
Groups of people who think they are superior to others in the church because
of what they wear, eat, know, and how they study. "Pastor you know those
people don't study like they should". Often claiming to be the 144,000; they
reek of pride and self righteousness. Rich increased with goods, yet naked
and wretched. Their works are exalted in, they often know the standard operating procedures (SOP) far more
than the Bible, and believe anyone who doesn't agree with them to be
inferior and proclaim they will never "make it through the time of trouble".
Yet their elitism is so repulsive, often it is only the emotionally
unbalanced that join their ranks. They're mean disdain for others reveals
their contemptuous religion. Jesus says to all such religionists "Repent".
You need faith, the white robe, and eye salve. Wretched one, REPENT! JESUS
is your ONLY HOPE!
To every Seventh-Day Adventist and fellow Christian who reads this I say:
Jesus calls you to come unto him just as you are. Come home to Jesus. Don't
let Pharisees, elitists, critical, judgmental people keep you from coming
home to Jesus. It's your church too! You belong in church, with Jesus!
Sinners are welcome! Saints are made so by his righteousness alone! Come
home my friend, to a church that loves you just as you are, and to people
who recognize that we are all sinners saved by grace alone!. He loves you so
much he will accept you just the way you are. He loves you too much to leave
you that way! As you come to him by faith, he will make all the changes he
wants made, and will miraculously transform you from the inside out into the
man or woman He wants you to be.


Don't let old Satan trick you into spending too much time on his divisive
wedge issues! Come to Jesus; admit he is your perfection; salvation;
sanctification and your everything! Man or woman work for Jesus! Every
generation WORSHIP HIM! Humbly bow before Him and serve him all the days of
your life! FORGET THE WEDGE ISSUES; LET'S TALK ABOUT JESUS! LET'S BE LOVING,
KIND, POWERFUL CHRISTIANS! IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS, AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE! AMEN
AND AMEN!

 

 

Free Sermon by Pastor Tom Hughes