Our first work

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).

What I am about to share with you could easily be misunderstood. This is a risk I feel compelled to take, though, in order to convey what I believe to be both an important and positive message. Please try to grasp my concern and join me in doing something about it.

As I review the history of our church over the past several decades, I question whether our emphasis may have been wrongly placed. We wish to see the work of God finished on the earth, and this desire drives us on to do that in which we excel—create new programs and develop new promotional devices. We often introduce a new program as the answer to our needs. We proclaim that if the whole church would only get behind the pro gram and support it, push it, the gospel would be preached throughout the world and the end would come. We must not minimize the fact that we need carefully planned programs to keep our work organized, but my question is Are we lacking the divine unction that would make the programs efficient?

Nearly 100 years ago Adventists were challenged by this same question. In 1893 Ellen White expressed her concern in these words: "There is altogether too little made of the work of the Holy Spirit's influence upon the church. Altogether too much dependence is placed upon the individual human agencies to bring success into the church. Where there is genuine piety in a church there will be a genuine faith in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit's efficiency. It is the depending so largely upon man and his supposed capabilities and his education and his knowledge that eclipses the Lord God. . . . [Man] must rely upon the Word of God with unwavering confidence, and not be continually making the arm of flesh his dependence and his trust."¹

She put her finger right on our problem, didn't she? We still put too much trust in the genius of men and ignore the role of the Holy Spirit. Is it not time for this to change?

Opportunities in a changing world

We are witnessing changes in our world that are leaving us absolutely breathless. How often have we told our selves that the last movements in human history will be rapid ones? News commentators and political analysts admit that the recent developments in Eastern Europe appear to be catapulted along by an unseen power. They even speak in terms of these events being out of human control. Political changes are rushing way ahead of the time schedule anticipated by international peace and powerbrokers. Leaders of the most powerful countries on earth find it virtually impossible to keep up, to say nothing about bringing these events under control.

But the majority of news commentators are totally unaware of the guiding hand of God in human history. A passage from the book Prophets and Kings seems especially relevant to what we see happening: "In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if dependent on the will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the play and counter-play of human interest and power and passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will." ²

Let me share my appraisal of what is happening. God is opening up a window of opportunity for His church. If we move through this window under His power, it is possible for us to see the gospel work completed on earth within a very short period of time. Christians have had opportunities like this before, but have failed to make good these opportunities. If, at those times, the leaders of God's church had courageously followed His leading, the Holy Spirit could have done a mighty work in the world.

Now in our day we see the hand of God adjusting the affairs of nations so the gospel can go forth unhindered to all the earth. News analysts and historians do not understand the implications of what is happening, but we should. Time is not on our side. Satan will endeavor to use this new spirit of democratization as a means of creating a religiopolitical system that will close doors and bring about a restriction of religious liberty. Such events are all part of the final events in the great controversy between Christ and Satan, as foretold in Scripture.

What are we going to do about the window of opportunity that God is opening for us ? Are we going to take ourselves in hand, do the work of spiritual preparation that God calls for, and allow Him to use us to finish His work on earth ? Or are we going to let this golden opportunity slip through our fingers and find our selves and our children here in this sinful world for another 50 or 60 years? A decision will be made by the church and its leaders, either by conscious choice or by default.

Fellow believers, I call upon all, lay persons, pastors, and administrative leaders alike, to consider what is happening in our world, and to take hold of the opportunity that God is giving us. Let us, to a person, arise, confess our sins and mistakes, turn to God in repentance, and seek the power and the efficiency that His Spirit will bring in the latter rain experience. We must not squander this opportunity.

The church gives too little import to the influence of the Holy Spirit. This must change. It is time for the church to admit that it is "not by might, nor by power," but by the Spirit of the Lord (Zech. 4:6).

Our greatest need today

In Seventh-day Adventist history the 1888 General Conference session stands out as a watershed. For approximately 18 months before that meeting in Minneapolis, Ellen White used the pages of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald to plead with church members to prepare themselves for this meeting by going to God, confessing their sins, and seeking the power of the Spirit for the finishing of the work of spreading the gospel to all the world. The urgency she felt for this preparation shouts to us from the pages she wrote: "A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work." ³

This revival of true godliness is still the greatest and most urgent of our needs. I must confess, however, that while we have given lip service to God's appeal, it has not always been a priority item on our agendas. All facets of our church endeavor are important, and each makes a contribution to the whole work of a worldwide church. But no objective or program is more important than seeking the power of God's Spirit in latter rain measure. All else that is done in and by the church is to be secondary.

I am happy to say that some church leaders are giving the work of seeking the latter rain of the Spirit number one priority on their agendas. For example, I have learned that in one conference the emphasis given at workers' meetings has been changed. Previously, approximately 30 minutes had been given to a devotional thought and prayer, and the rest of the meeting was given to conducting conference business. Now they give 30 minutes to conference business and devote the rest of the time to prayer, to the study of God's Word and the counsels we have received through the years, and to sharing ideas with each other on how the instruction can be implemented. Their change of emphasis does not seem to have hurt the work of the conference. For example, although they may have given only 10 minutes to the promotion of the annual Ingathering fund-raising program at a workers' meeting, this conference was second in per capita in the North American Division in Ingathering in 1989. Our pastors and people have done Ingathering before; they know what it is all about, and can educate new members for this work. The leaders of this conference believe that it is much more effective to spend 10 minutes on the promotion of Ingathering and then take an hour or two in prayer and study, seeking to prepare for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Let me draw another illustration from the same conference. The conference president spends one day a month meeting with the pastors in each of the six regions. They spend their time together studying, praying, and discussing how to implement the instruction we have for preparing ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit's outpouring of power. When asked how he can afford to spend six days every month out of the office, the president will tell you, "There is nothing that I do as president of this conference that is more important than seeking to know the will of God and getting down on my knees with my pastors seeking the Holy Spirit to fill our lives."

In the book Acts of the Apostles I read that "the lapse of time has wrought no change in Christ's parting promise to send the Holy Spirit as His representative. It is not because of any restriction on the part of God that the riches of His grace do not flow earthward to men. If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be. If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit. Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit is a matter little thought of, there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. When ever minor matters occupy the attention, the divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in infinite plenitude."⁴

When we seek the Holy Spirit with a sincere heart, growth and spiritual prosperity will result. It is clear that the power of the Holy Spirit is the answer to spiritual stagnation. But to receive this power, we must be willing to follow the instructions God has given to us.

I believe that God wants to pour out His Spirit upon us. The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for it than parents are to give good gifts to their children (Luke 11:13). We must give the work of seeking this outpouring first priority. We must learn to hunger and thirst after the righteousness His Spirit would impart to us. We must talk of it, pray for it, preach concerning it.

As I said in an earlier article, I am making the seeking of the promised gift of the Spirit and a revival of true godliness the subject of intense study in my personal devotions so that I can under stand what God's plan is for me and for His church. The reception of the latter rain has become the major subject of my prayers.

I ask you, my fellow Christians: Is it not time for God's people to seek actively this one gift that will bring all other blessings in its train? I appeal to my fellow leaders to make the subject of the latter rain prominent in your preaching. Let the youth see you as a spiritual leader. Let the church members see that you mean business. Encourage them to follow your example.

This, my dear sisters and brothers, "should be our first work."