NEW

YEAR'S

MESSAGE

"Peter, an apostle of Jesús Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galana, Cappadodu, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge ofGod the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the bloodof Jesús Christ:

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied Blessed [be] the God and Father ofour Lord Jesús Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesús Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and thatfadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Who are kept by thepower ofGod through faith unto salvaüon ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptanons:

That the trial ofyour faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might befound unto praise andhonour and glory at the appearing of Jesús Christ:

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and fiillofglory:

Receiving the end ofyour faith, [even] the salvation of[your] souls."

1 Peter 1:1-9.

Dear believers of the International Missionary Society,

I greet you with the statement found in 1 Peter 1:1-9.

The year, 2004, is almost gone. All our work has been recorded in the heavenly court. Our faith was measured in the balance of God. Whatever we did will bring some result, and that will be known to us sometime in the future. If we neglected to do something, we will face the consequences of that negligence. The time past will never come again; it has gone into eternity.

From its very beginning, the church of God, at the time of creation until now, passed through many difficulties, and in our generation, especially from 1914 until now, which is 90 years, this church went through many problems. Nevertheless, we can say with the prophet Samuel: "Hitherto hath the Lord helpedus." 1 Samuel 7:12.

In this last year, we had much work to do; but one, which was the most important work, was to move the office of the General Conference from Germany to the U.S.A. This task was a result of a decision of a General Conference session in 2002. Some people believe that it was not necessary; others say it was even wrong. To be sure of what is right or wrong, we ask our prophet for help. In the following two statements, we will find an explanation in the Spirit of Prophecy in relation to this matter. It is as follows:

In Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 260 and 261, we find an explanation that when the representatives, from all the parts of the world, are assembled in the session of the General Conference, their decision should be respected. In another statement found in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 236 and 237, it has been stated that all members of the church-directly or indirectly-participate in every decision of the General Conference.

"I have often been instructedby the Lord that no man's judgment should be surrendered to the judgment of any other one man. Never should the mind ofone man or the minds ofa few men be regarded as sufficient in wisdom and power to control the work and to say what plans shall be followed. But when, in a General Conference, the judgment of the brethren assembled from all parts of the field is exercised, private independence and private judgment must not be stubbornly maintained, but surrendered. Never should a laborer regard as a virtue the persistent maintenance of his position of independence, contrary to the decision ofthe general body. "At times, when a small group of men entrusted with the general management of the work have, in the name of the General Conference, sought to carry out unwise plans and to restrict God's work, I have said that I could no longer regard the voice of the General Conference, represented by thesefew men, as the voice ofGod. But this is notsaying that the decisions of a General Conference composed of an assembly of duly appointed, representative men from all parts of the field should not be respected. God has ordained that the representatives of His church from all parts of the earth, when assembled in a General Conference, shallhave authority. The error that some are in danger of committing is in giving to the mind and judgment of one man, or of a small group of men, the full measure of authority and influence that God has vestedin His church in the judgment and voice ofthe General Conference assembled to plan for the prosperity and advancement of His work " -Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 260, 261.

"Every member of the church has a voice in choosing officers of the church. The church chooses the officers of the state conferences. Delegates chosen by the state conferences choose the officers of the union conferences, anddelegateschosenbytheunionconferences choose the officers ofthe General Conference. By this arrangement every conference, every institution, every church, and every individual, either directly or through representatives, has a voice in the election of the men who bear the chief responsibilities in the General Conference " -Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 236,237.

One more issue has to be treated here: Some people believe that it was wrong to move the General Conference headquarters to the country which will issue the Sunday law and persecute God's people. To this question I can state here: Should we hide in order not to be persecuted, or should we bravely face any difficulties that threaten the church of God? Again I use an example from the Bible. God always sent His servants to be present and help His cause even in the most dangerous areas. He sent Joseph to the palace of Pharaoh of Egypt to prepare land for His people. He sent Daniel to the palace of the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms. We have the history of Esther and Mordecai, Nehemiah and Ezra. The apostle Paul was chosen by God to give the message not only to the children of Israel but to pagan kings, facing them directly. This is our task in the time that we are approaching-to give our message to those who might be under the guidance of Satan to persecute God's people.

My appeal to all our members and workers is: Let us be united in the faith of Jesus.

Let us work hard and be ready to meet the approaching storm. There is no difficulty, there is no danger which the church of Christ cannot go through if it stays with Him. Jesus passed through all the difficulties that a man might go through. Therefore, we cannot in a good faith try to hide from the problem which we are to be facing very soon.

Let us in the General Conference do our duty according to the will of God and let all other workers around the world, lay members, and local churches do their part in the spreading of the gospel of Jesus. When Jesus ordered His disciples to go and carry His gospel to the uttermost part of the world He also had us in mind in our duty. Until now this church of God, the International Missionary Society Seventh-day Adventist Church Reform Movement, has members in 95 countries. This year until now our workers started to open our church in several new countries, especially in Asia. Therefore we are approaching the number of 100 countries in which there is an established organization of this Reform Movement.

We should not be satisfied with what we did until now but with more earnest desire, and sacrificing all our personal interests, we should unitedly go ahead until the end of time. How much more time is left for us we do not know, nor should we calculate the time. Jesus said to His disciples that they should not have in their agenda the time of His coming, but that they should follow His order in spreading the message of God's mercy. So much I have to tell you in this message for this time. God bestowed to us our duty and He expects to send us His Holy Spirit when we need it, and His blessing if we do what He ordered us to do.

This is my prayer and wishes for all our members around the world. God bless you and greetings to all.

Your brother in Christ,
B. Cholich General Conference President

Look Heavenward

They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them acity. Heb. 11:16.

I wish you a happy new year. The oíd year with its burden of record has passed into eternity. Now let every thought, every feeling be that of remembrance of God's love. Let us gather up one token after another.. . .

The evidence we have of God's care and love for us is expressed in the lessons Christ gave to His disciples upon the things in nature.... The eye is not to be fastened upon deformity, upon the curse, but upon the riches of the grace of Christ that has been provided so abundantly, that we may live in this world, and act our part in the great web of humanity, and yet not be of the world. As pilgrims, as strangers looking for the bright things of God, the joy that is set before us, seeking a city whose builder and maker is God, and by beholding the provisions made for us, the mansions Jesús has gone to prepare for us, talking of the blessed home, we forget the annoyances and the fretting cares of this life. We seem to breathe in the very atmosphere of that better, even the heavenly country. We are soothed, we are comforted; we are more than this, we are joyfiil in God.

We could not know that gracious purposes of God toward us, but for the promises, for it is from them alone we learn what He has prepared for those who love Him. As the flowers in God's wise economy are constantly drawing the properties from earth and air to develop into the puré and beautiful buds and flowers and give forth their fragrance to delight the senses, so shall it be with us.

We draw from God's promises all that peace, that comfort, that hope that will develop in us the fruits of peace, joy, and faith. And by bringing these promises into our own life we bring them always into the lives of others. Then let us appropriate these promises to ourselves. . . . They are like the precious flowers in the garden of God. They are to awaken our hope

and expectation, and lead us to a firm faith and reliance upon God. They are to strengthen us in trouble and teach us precious lessons of trust in God. He in these precious promises draws back from eternity and gives us a glimpse of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Let us then be quiet in God. Let us calmly trust in Him and praise Him that He has shown us such revelations of His will and purposes that we shall not build our hopes in this life but keep the eye upward to the inheritance of light and see and sense the amazing love of Jesús. (Letter 27, Jan. 1,1886, to Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Kellogg)." -The Upward Look, p. 15.

Produced and Published by
The International Missionary Society
of the Seventh Day Adventists Church
Reform Movement
General Conference