HomeBeliefs About the Body of ChristRemnant and Its Mission - Fundamental Belief 13EvangelismMaking Friends for Eternity    

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Making Friends for Eternity — 14 Comments

  1. Thank you William for this. Sadly, it is true about our church. We are not kind, but critical of others. It has happened to me. The only difference was that I was more mature in my relationship with Christ and did not let it affect me.

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  2. It was absolutely wonderful reading this testimony.

    On my side, having been a Hindu for ~36 years of my life & since receiving the Holy Spirit on the 10th of May 2013, I have visited 53 churches of various denominations over the last 10 years. With this small set of church visits, I have noticed that there very few true Christians like yourself. I give praise to Him for you. 🙏 🙂

    "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.", King Jesus the Christ of Nazareth in Matthew 7:14

    Even Judas was called "friend" by King Jesus the Christ of Nazareth in Matthew 26:50. So, we ought to obey Him when He says "Love your Enemies"(Matthew 5:44) & not merely superficially.

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  3. This is worth sharing. William, you just reminded me of one incident when I was talking a young single mother and a time came that she was ready to join the faith. Because I come a distant away from where she stays, I tried looking for members coming from her area to at least befriend her. I found none. Everyone gave a "valid excuse" for not being around for her and with her. At work we are great friends. But it all ends at work. Whether she be or not be a Christian, as you said, friend for Eternity is the target

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  4. Nothing will separate us with a true God, a living God ,the God of eternity i feel proud of speaking these words this is because i will not lose anything by Worshipping him

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  5. I agree that having good relations, oftentimes, is more important that sound theology. My worst experience, when I joined the faith, about 23 years ago, was when a preacher would be so 'powerful' in the pulpit, but so cold away from it.

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    • Hi Lloyd,

      I'm so sorry you had such a negative experience! But let me tell you a secret that truly surprised me when I discovered it: Dynamic public speakers are often intensely shy one-on-one. I first heard this when a speaker at a retreat at Glacier View Ranch in Colorado confessed after one of his talks that he was shy and felt awkward speaking to individuals. I found that difficult to believe .... But at a women's retreat in the same conference, I saw the main speaker looking a little unsure in the cafeteria at lunch time, and I invited her to sit at our table. She was more grateful than I expected and confessed that she was extremely shy one-on-one. After that I noticed the same quality in more speakers.

      So it is possible that the pastor who was "powerful in the pulpit" was such an individual. (I know for a fact that one of our famous Adventist speakers who has impacted thousands was absolutely no good relating on a personal level! The good news is that one of his sons embodies the same relational message that he preaches.)

      So it seems we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some are petrified of speaking in public but are warm and caring on an individual level. Others are petrified speaking to individuals but are powerful speakers in public. (Who would have thought?!)

      Now, ideally, a powerful public speaker would embody his message in personal relationships. But few of us have reached our ideal potential. In fact, I'm guessing that only Christ reached the ideal human potential. So the rest of us have a lot of growing to do, and while we struggle to allow God to change us to "be the message," we can practice compassion for those who do not meet our expectations.

      A Happy Sabbath to you!

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      • Dear Inge & Lloyd 🙂

        Thank you for sharing both your testimonies.

        So, my take is this: being shy is one thing, but being cold is another.

        There are children of God and children of Satan (Matthew 13:38,39). The children of Satan far outnumber the children of God (Matthew 7:13,14).

        A child of God can be shy in a public or one-on-one setting (Matthew 5:3) and still be warm to all (Matthew 5:44).

        Whereas Satan's children generally like the pomp & show, but on an individual level they fail to connect with the children of God (Matthew 7:15-20) as they lack the capacity to do this (They did not receive The Holy Spirit, nor ever will).

        A loveful Sabbath to the both of you 🙏🤗

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        • Thank you Brendan, I am sure I had not given it due consideration, that some good presenters can naturally be introverts. Immediately reminded me of this account on Elder Uriah Smith, excerpted from Heartwarming Stories of the Pioneers Book 1:

          Uriah Smith’s new artificial leg was so successful that his limp was hardly noticeable. Those who knew nothing of his background did not dream he had only one flesh, blood, and bone leg, and that caused at least one misunderstanding.

          As Uriah walked to and from work at the Review office, he often was preoccupied with outlining articles in his head. One day he passed Sands Lane, a young minister who also had one leg missing. Not being well acquainted with Smith, the younger man resented what seemed rudeness when Brother Uriah failed to return his greeting. Lane mentioned his hurt feelings to someone, who in turn told Uriah that he had offended Brother Lane. Elder Smith couldn’t have been more surprised. He’d been so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t even seen the young man.

          The next Sabbath was communion day, and Elder Smith asked Mr. Lane if he could serve him at the foot-washing service. As they washed each other’s remaining foot, tears rolled down the face of young Lane as he realized how mistaken he’d been in judging this godly man. Together they spoke longingly of that wonderful day when neither of them would have a disability but would “leap as an hart” (Isa. 35:6). Brotherly love took on a new meaning at that foot-washing service.

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          • Lovely testimony Lloyd of the power of King Jesus 🙏 🙂

            King Jesus said that "...if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." (Matthew 18:15)

            So, I have to remind myself when someone offends me that instead of telling someone else (like what Brother Lane did), I should first approach the (hopefully unintentional) offender before even considering to talk to someone else. (Matthew 18:15-17).

            Thank you once again Lloyd. Enjoy the week, wherever you are on God's beautiful planet.

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        • What you say is all true Brendan. The problem is that we are poor judges of the heart. Someone we judge as "cold" may just be introverted or pre-occupied, as Lloyd's anecdote illustrates.

          I know, for instance, that in my younger days I was judged to be *stuck-up" or proud/cold while I was actually very insecure and didn't know how to connect. What helped me a lot was to look out for others that seemed to be left out of popular circles and make a positive difference to them.

          I also now realize that many apparently well-to-do and confident people may nevertheless be insecure and in need of friendship.

          Thus the best attitude for us to cultivate is to assume the very best of others and allow Jesus to love them through us. For those of us who are not naturally outgoing, that's a tall order, but by God's grace we can change.

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          • Thank you for this conversation thread. I can totally really relate.
            Please pray for some of us, who can easily speak at the pulpit but become very nervous and virtually paralyzed when it comes to reaching out to new people, visitors at church or doing follow ups.

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