September 11, 2019—Itú, Brazil
Brother W. Lukic of Canada took the morning worship presenting the topic “Fruit Bearing.” He spoke about the seed and its powerful qualities of being able to decay and perish but bring forth a new plant. This special regenerating process is inbuilt in every plant we see. So it must be with the Christian. We must die spiritually and a new person be raised up. If this truly happens, then Christ lives in us and we will be guided by His renewing power. When the plant grows and is in the right environment, inevitably it will bring much fruit. So it is with the Christian. We must have confidence that after we have done the will of God, we will receive the promise of God.
We cannot regenerate ourselves. As the Bible says, “The Just Shall Live by Faith.” By faith, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. The new creature that is raised up, no longer resembles the old one. It is perfect as Christ was perfect. Brother Lukic spoke of Nicodemus who came to Christ in the night. Christ told him that he needed to be born again. The key to bearing fruit is to die to self and be renewed in Christ. A new creature! Brother Lukic closed the morning worship with the following Bible verse: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24.
The business of the day started with a message by Brother P. Lausevic, the temporary chairman of the session. He took the following Bible verse and analyzed it: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
How many sins is God able to cleanse us from? Christ is able to cleanse us from all unrighteousness which means all sins. Sometimes we consider only major sins, sin. However, if we get angry, for example, that is also a sin. If we have Christ in our heart, we cannot get angry. Therefore, if we get angry, God needs to cleanse us from this sin also.
When Jesus entered the temple and turned the tables of the money changers upside down and sent the sellers away, this action was not considered anger. It was righteous indignation. Jesus never lost control. He was continually connected to His father. So when dealing with difficult questions, we must also remember if we lose control we have lost connection with Heaven.
Brother Lausevic then quoted 2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” How do we get faith? Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
In the United States, everything needs an audit. Why is it so? It is because of the weakness of human nature. We cannot be trusted implicitly. Brother Lausevic explained: when we are partakers of the divine nature, we do not need someone to audit us whether we are true to what we believe. If we are partakers of the divine nature we will live what we profess every moment of our life. Christians who rely on their human nature to give them guidance will need an auditor, and even then, when the auditor is not watching they may be tempted and may fall. But if we die to self and allow God to live in us, if we are partakers of the divine nature whether we have an auditor or not, our life will reflect the truth as it is found in the Word of God.
After the spiritual encouragement, the session Secretary presented the minutes of the previous day which was accepted by all the delegates.
Partial Reports Presented
Temporary Finance Committee
Due to the current financial situation of the GC Treasury, a reduction of staff was suggested by the Committee. This resolution was tabled for discussion.
Temporary Bylaws Committee
Several small amendments (e.g. qualifications of departmental offices and department members, etc.) and resolutions were presented and tabled for discussion.
The resolution on the terms in office for the GC President is to remain limited to two terms, and for departmental leaders and regional secretaries to also be limited from 3 to 2 terms in office was presented and voted upon, but was NOT carried.
Nominating Committee
Three names were brought for the office of GC Treasurer
- Geoffrey Castro
- Rudolfo Gessner
- Nelson Ruiz
The delegates voted on these three names and the result was that Brother Rudolfo Gessner was re-elected to the office of General Conference Treasurer. May God bless his work for the worldwide church.
Three names were brought for the office of Second Vice President
- Romulo Borges
- Eduardo Lainez
- Petru Mangul
Brother Petru Mangul was elected by the delegates as the Second Vice President of the General Conference. Brother P. Mangul addressed the session shortly expressing his need for help from above. Like the other newly elected brethren, Brother Mangul also asked for help as he feels that the office he was elected to serve is too difficult and that he does not understand why God chose him to serve in this capacity. But he promised that by God’s grace he will serve, as God has allowed him to be chosen.
Temporary Doctrinal Committee
The Temporary Doctrinal Committee brought an amended resolution on the subject of the Communion cup. Preliminary votes were taken; however, a motion for further discussion is on the table, and the Session was adjourned for the day without finalizing this point.
We concluded the day with the study presented by Brother William. The presentation was on the topic of “Spiritual Development Through Service.” God has called all of us to serve Him, but our spiritual development depends on the willing service we render to Him. Those who give their lives to Christ-like ministry know the meaning of true happiness. They become more and more identified with Christ in all His plans. Heavenly intelligences are waiting to cooperate with human instrumentalities. The Lord desires that His church show forth to the world the beauty of holiness. Let us be part of this work.
