San Francisco Central SDA Church | September 14, 2024
I cannot say enough good things about Streams of Light. Praise God for the absolutely unparalleled support that this program has been to the evangelistic nightly part of our outreach to San Francisco. Thank you for the invitations you’ve given. Thank you for the distribution of The Great Controversy. In fact, I love the packaging. The way in which you package them together in those beautiful small plastic bags and everything fits so perfectly, nothing was moving around. Something on anxiety and tension and health that will interest you. And then, of course, the invitation was on the other side. And then sandwiched in between those two was The Great Controversy.
The Great Controversy is the book which Ellen White indicated she wished circulated. That’s the word she used. “Circulated” more than any other book she had written. Some people are a little hesitant to give out The Great Controversy… [They say] well, we should give out Steps to Christ first and Desire of Ages. That’s great. I have no problem with that. The problem is, most people distribute a few Steps to Christ and then they forget to distribute the rest. Don’t be afraid of distributing this book anywhere, anytime. It has changed so many lives.
You have been a part of changing lives for the future. The Lord will reward you richly. When you get to Heaven, don’t be surprised when somebody walks up to you and says, “You know what? You don’t know me, but back in 2024, you came by my door. I wasn’t there, but you left the book.” Or, “I was there and you gave it to me. I want to thank you for leading me to Jesus and to the foot of the cross.”
I want to thank all of you for your amazing contribution. And those of you who will be going on to Flint, Michigan, or Liechtenstein, which is sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland. It’s a principality. It has its own head of government and all of that. But it is a lovely little country. I just passed it just a few weeks ago and actually went through it. I’m going to pray as you take those books to every home in Liechtenstein. Then you go on to Stuttgart, then to Birmingham, and then on to Calgary. The Lord has some exciting things in store. And what you’ve experienced here in San Francisco is going to be duplicated in so many other places.
And I want to thank you. This is God’s work. Oleg mentioned something, and I just want to read it to you. It’s from Publishing Ministries.
In a large degree through our publishing is to be accomplished the work of that other angel [of Revelation 18] who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory. —The Publishing Ministry, p. 5
It goes on to say in Publishing Ministries,
“The prophecies in the eighteenth of Revelation will soon be fulfilled. During the proclamation of the third angel’s message, “another angel” is to “come down from heaven, having great power,” and the earth is to be “lighted with his glory.” The Spirit of the Lord will so graciously bless consecrated human instrumentalities that men, women, and children will open their lips in praise and thanksgiving, filling the earth with the knowledge of God, and with His unsurpassed glory, as the waters cover the sea.” —The Publishing Ministry, p. 388
That’s you. You are consecrated human instrumentalities. Those men, women, and children who will open their lips in praise and thanksgiving, filling the earth with the knowledge of God and with his unsurpassed glory as the waters cover the sea. You have been consecrated instrumentalities. Now, as you go out, I just want to charge you and challenge you. Do not get discouraged. This work is not an easy one. And you know the favorite and very familiar text in Romans 8 towards the end. I want this to be the theme for your positive approach to Flint and Liechtenstein and Stuttgart and Birmingham and Calgary and all the rest of them that you’re going to be doing. I just praise God for what Streams of Light is doing.
Don’t let anything discourage you. I charge you in the name of the Lord. Let the Lord lead you every moment so that you don’t get discouraged, because the devil doesn’t want you distributing literature. But God does. Revelation 18, that’s your charge. You know those beautiful verses at the very end of Romans 8. Who is going to separate us from the love of Christ? Who is going to try to discourage you and separate you from your mission to deliver those books to people? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. Paul goes on to say, In all these things we are more than conquerors, not on our own, but through Him who loved us. What you’re doing, when you go to the door and you knock on that door, you smile, you make your presentation, you pray, you get a Bible study, if possible, whatever it is, you’re doing this for the One, and through the power of the One, who loves us. And then Paul goes into this just rhapsodic kind of explanation.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
Nothing can discourage you from distribution of these amazing materials, nothing at all, if you are in Christ Jesus. If you are placing your life in His hands, as you walk the streets, as you knock on doors, in whatever capacity, God will bless you. And those, don’t forget, those who, in the Bible, stayed by the stuff in battle, which means those who guarded things, those who provided the support services, those in the kitchen, those who are helping to organize the books, they get an equal amount of reward as well. All of you are part of a team. Don’t ever forget. No one is more important than another. We are all part of a finely tuned team. Nothing will separate you from the love of God or from His ability for you to accomplish your Heaven-ordained task.
In the spirit of prophecy, actually recorded in the Pacific Union Recorder (which is a good thing because we are in the Pacific Union here), in 1912, Ellen White indicated, at times we shall be in great perplexity and not know just what to do. And I’m sure you’ve had experiences this week, you didn’t know what to do. But at such times, it is our privilege to take our Bibles and read the messages He has given us, and then get down on our knees. I saw a picture, more than one, of you praying. I was able to connect with you for a few minutes just Friday morning when you were having a prayer session from 4 to about 8:20 a.m. or so. Get down on our knees and ask Him to help us. Over and over again, He has given evidence that He is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God. He fulfills His promises in far greater measure than we expect to receive help.
I charge you as you move forward into the future, and I thank you for what you’ve done, don’t ever feel that you are far from the Lord. Get on your knees, go to your Bibles, and God will reward you. And I leave this with you as we finish this short charge here: I’m so proud of you. Your church is proud of you. God is proud of you. God is using you. So here’s the last one that I want to share with you.
It’s from a book called Welfare Ministry. It’s a very fascinating book, a compilation of Ellen White’s writings.
The gospel net must gather in these poor outcasts. Angels of God will cooperate with those who are engaged in this work, who make every effort to save perishing souls, to give them opportunities which many have never had. –Welfare Ministry, p. 249
And it says, “the gospel net must gather in these poor outcasts,” people who are feeling separated from God, people who don’t know how to relate to God, how to relate to life itself.
Angels of God. Now this is for you, this next sentence. “Angels of God will cooperate with those who are engaged in this work.” You are on a mission. And you are headed on these streets with assigned maps and all this kind of thing. And don’t believe for a moment you were by yourselves. You had multiple angels walking with you, going ahead of you, opening doors. Angels will cooperate with those who are engaged in this work, who make every effort to save perishing souls. And that was your ultimate goal here in San Francisco—to save souls through the power of God, to give them opportunities which many have never had. There is no other way of reaching them but in Christ’s way. And here was Christ’s way. It’s amazing.
There are only two things. There are many other citations and, of course, much in Scripture as to how to reach people. But this one really puts it into a beautiful synthesis, into a beautiful final conclusion.
#1 Jesus ever worked to, number one, relieve suffering.
Whenever you see somebody suffering mentally, socially, physically, spiritually, God asks us to help. And number two, you don’t leave it there. This is not a social gospel church. We do help people because Jesus helped physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. But what did Jesus do? He ever worked to relieve suffering, number one, and…
#2 Teach righteousness.
And that’s your work. You have been on a righteous journey to San Francisco. Only thus can sinners be raised from the depths of degradation.
You’ve seen all kinds of things in San Francisco this week. Many of you know San Francisco better than I do. There are good things about San Francisco, bad things about San Francisco. Good things about New York, bad things about New York. Good things about Flint, bad things about Flint. Wherever you go, you’re going to find everything. But those who are looking for Heaven, those who are looking for something better, they’re going to find you as a wonderful missionary who will help to relieve suffering and teach righteousness.
I urge each of you to remember that in your work ahead, there is nothing that will separate you from the love of God and nothing that will separate you from success in your work in Streams of Light as you depend completely on our Lord and Savior through prayer, through Bible study, and then through the Holy Spirit, empowering you to go out and relieve suffering and teach righteousness.
May God bless each of you. All of you who are willing to, in the name of Jesus and through His power, relieve suffering and teach righteousness as you go out in Streams of Light.
Let us pray.
Gracious Father, thank You for these very dedicated missionaries who have come to be part of Streams of Light and of Revelation of Hope, nightly meetings that we have been sharing with the people of San Francisco. No, we haven’t reached millions of people here in the Bay Area, but we’ve reached many people, over 25,000 pieces of literature touching the lives of those in San Francisco, the lives that have been touched who have come to the nightly meetings, lives who have been touched by prayers that these precious missionaries have prayed, sending to Heaven in the presence of these people that they have visited, Bible studies that have been obtained. Lord, we pray that this impact of Streams of Light on San Francisco will produce some of the richest fruit for Heaven. We place these potential people now into Your hands. We ask Your guidance upon everyone who has been contacted. Now, Lord, lastly, I ask Your blessing upon everyone who has participated in this mission trip. Bless them wherever they come from, from many states across the United States to this very secular but important city of San Francisco. Thank You for the good that has been accomplished. Thank You for this wonderful San Francisco Central Historic Church where we have been. Bless every member as they continue to follow up on the interests that have been generated. Thank You now for hearing us. And as these precious missionaries march out of this room, may they march to the drum of Heaven that is helping them to know there is no separation of God’s love towards them and no thing that the devil can throw at them, nothing that will separate them from God’s leading them to be great missionaries for Him. And, Lord, help all of us, wherever we are, to follow Jesus’ example, His way, to relieve suffering and to teach righteousness, Jesus’ righteousness. Thank You for hearing us in this prayer. Bless everyone in the Streams of Light organization, its administration, and those who are supporting it. And, Lord, we just place all of this in Your care in the future trips. And we thank You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Transcription of the final charge shared by Elder Ted Wilson to volunteers of the San Francisco Mission Trip on September 14, 2024.
