Christine's Story: Jesus Has the Greater Power

My husband and I were invited by a local doctor and a friend to attend a special seminar being offered at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in our area. Normally, we would not have considered going because we are both born-again Christians and leery of attending a seminar at an Adventist church. The program was Cleansing Stream (a full-gospel program on inner healing and deliverance) which began at Church on the Way in Van Nuys, CA. Because we have respected the pastor who developed the program, Jack Hayford, we felt that it would be safe to go. We called the Adventist church and they assured us that they were actually more of a multi-denominational church and we would be welcome to attend.

We enjoyed the seminar and were encouraged to attend their church. The warmth and love of the people there drew us, though we were unaware of their doctrines. Those in leadership shared that their church did not preach doctrine, but rather, they emphasized GRACE. For a number of years, they had also been seeking a renewal through the Holy Spirit. We attended Cleansing Stream again the following spring and were again drawn by the love of these sincere people. A number of questions arose in our minds regarding their beliefs. When we confronted the subjects where they diverged, the members seemed supportive of biblical views. We decided to attend this church and were warmly welcomed and included. The sermons focused strongly on a message of the forgiving, restoring power of God’s grace.

Though we never became members, we were asked to fill several leadership roles in the church. Our hope was that they were moving closer to a full-gospel expression of their Christian faith. Because we believed in the restoration found through Cleansing Stream, we continued to lead out in that ministry for seven years. Over the years, we developed close relationships with the members and took them into our hearts as family. Adventist doctrine was never preached, so we believed them to be fully a part of the body of Christ. Then, a guest speaker came to visit and preached about the “Secret of Sabbath,” and we were outraged!

We considered it blasphemy to add any requirement in addition to the finished work of Calvary. Because Adventist distinctives were not taught, we were unaware of the Investigative Judgment or any other of their foundational doctrines and beliefs. When we questioned members of the congregation, they told us the speaker was from the traditional old School of Adventism and they didn’t believe those things anymore. They began to claim they weren’t really an Adventist church, but an inter-denominational church. Their evidence for this was that they, themselves, offered a Foursquare seminar and attended seminars at other Charismatic churches.

Since they seemed genuinely earnest in seeking the Holy Spirit and being in line with the gospel of grace, we were puzzled about their persistence in holding church on Saturdays and giving tithe and offerings to the SDA Conference. They kept insisting that they were not “really an Adventist church,” but were multi-denominational instead. When questioned about these issues, their answers were conciliatory and somewhat evasive. Because we were convinced that the Lord had led us to this church, encouraged us to love the people and speak the Truth, we hunkered down and began to pray more fervently.

As prayer team leaders, we gathered a few others and began to pray against the controlling religious spirits of Satan in this church. After six months of warfare prayer, a friend suggested that we listen to a prophecy of warning to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, published by Hershel Hughes.

Herschel Hughes presented the warning he received to a small group of people (including leadership) at the church. Some left the room in tears, others protested, and yet others suggested reviewing each point of this prophecy in light of Scripture. It was agreed that the right thing to do was to examine the scriptures and see how the prophecy “lined-up” with the Word of God. As our small group of intercessors continued to pray, the Lord led one of the members to begin writing biblical responses to each point of the prophecy. Revelation of the true meaning of each point and the deception of the SDA Church began to unravel in the light of God’s Word. The prophetic word had been accurate.

Because of His great love for us, God sends words of warning to correct and redirect those He loves. He then leaves the response to His messages up to us. We can either accept the cry from His heart and change, or suffer the inevitable consequences of ignorance and rebellion. Jesus has come to set us free, but He won’t force us to walk out of our prison cells. Our hearts must decide between His way or ours.

Much to our amazement, the pastor of the Adventist church allowed one of the members to teach classes regarding the doctrines that are unique to Adventism on Saturday afternoons at the church for a year. Many attended. Soon, there was an uproar over the classes as some shouted, “You’re causing division!” The classes were not mandatory, so only those who wanted to attend were there. Truth was being presented and the division came from those who didn’t want the presentations from the Bible to rock their theological world!  Truth unites those who believe it.

Now the religious spirits began to attack with a vengeance as the mask of Seventh-day Adventism was torn away. It would have been so easy for the people to receive the Word, repent, and embrace the Truth. We believed God’s heart was to restore the SDA church as a Christian Church and to move it away from the false doctrines on which it is based. This was an invitation to liberty and freedom in Christ! Would they accept it, or reject it as Jesus had been rejected by the Pharisees?

This was the first time my husband and I had ever heard the full explanation of the Adventist doctrines. No wonder no one at this church had told us of these beliefs. “Let’s all just love Jesus and get along.” We were mortified at the deception and cunning of the enemy to keep these precious people bound by all this religious jargon and error.

We continued attending the church in hopes that through prayer the people would “come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil.” We were wrong. Instead of choosing freedom, they went back to the doctrine at a dead-run and embraced it all openly. No longer did they deny that they were fully Adventist. The grip of their indoctrination lay just below the surface, and its results flowed like blood through the abrasion of truth. The people we loved were rejecting Jesus’ plea, and were, thereby, rejecting us. It hurt us deeply.

At the same time, there were those in the classes who embraced the truth and renounced the false doctrines of Adventism – joining the true body of Christ as born-again believers who trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Some of these new believers even got baptized again as a sign of their commitment to Christ alone.

We continue to meet with some who have come out of Adventism for the purpose of Bible study, prayer, and encouragement. We have discovered that it is a long, hard road to deprogram from a group that has cultic characteristics. It doesn’t happen overnight. It is a bit like AA (Adventists Anonymous, if you will). There is definitely a recovery time that requires transformation of their minds to the unadulterated teachings of Scripture. Former false beliefs have to be recognized and renounced before they can be fully free. The lies they have learned about God must be replaced by a correct interpretation of His Word so that they can come to Him and enjoy the intimacy He desires to have with them. Truly, God Is Love.

During this journey, the Lord gave me the dream that follows:

The Lord came to me and asked me if I would go to a little mountain village and take the people a message from Him. I said, “YES.” 

As I entered the village, I saw a huge waterfall coming down the left side of the mountain.

The townspeople came rushing out to welcome me. The elders came first, followed by the townspeople and finally the children. I observed that everyone in this village had deformed arms that stopped at the elbow so that no one had hands or fingers. I said to the elders, “I don’t mean to be offensive, but you are all handicapped, isn’t there a cure for this?”

They replied, “Oh, Yes, we just need to drink more water.”

“That’s interesting,” I said, “because the Lord sent me here with a message for you that I didn’t understand until now. He said, ‘Tell them to drink more water.’”

“Well, that’s not our habit,” the elders excused.

“But your children wouldn’t have to be deformed if you would only drink more water!” I pleaded with them.

“Yes, but you see, it is not our habit to drink more water.”

My heart was crushed; just then I heard the Lord speak to me saying, “Thank you, your job is done here.”

Soon after this dream, my husband and I left the church. We continue to intercede for revelation to pierce the darkness of deception in the SDA Church. We love these people!

We stand and believe God’s promise that “His arm is not short to save” and that

“He is able to save to the uttermost” with His “Mighty Right Arm of Deliverance.”

JESUS HAS THE GREATER POWER!