Settling into the Truth

Introduction

Happy Sabbath. I'm Pastor Kyle Baldwin. Today I want to talk about something urgent and simple at the same time: we must settle into the truth. We live in an age of constant change where identity and beliefs are confused, where truth often feels relative and misinformation is common. My aim this morning is to help us fix our hearts and minds on what is sure so we can stand firm as the end approaches.

Church Announcements (Brief)

• Join us for prayer meeting — it's growing and a real blessing.
• Today: our monthly fellowship meal. Please stay and connect.
• Next Sabbath at 7:00 PM: teachers' dedication for Ozark Adventist School and Ozark Adventist Academy; we'll pray in classrooms afterward.
• If you want to join the church officially, membership cards are at the greeter desk.
• We accepted the second reading for the supplement to the nominated positions — names will be posted on the bulletin board so you know who is serving.

A Children's Story: Steering the Truck

I told a little story to the children about a church picnic and a big truck loaded with food that began to stall on a mountain road. Rosie, who wasn't an officer in the church but drove a little red car, led the way and helped steer the truck. Others pitched in to push. The picnic was saved by people who simply came alongside to help.

The lesson is clear: church life needs everyone. Even children can serve — a simple smile at the greeter, helping at workbees, spreading mulch — these small acts matter. My head deacon, Tommy Miller, encouraged us to make the next two years great. I gave each of the children a little car as a reminder that we all steer this work together.

Sacrificial Giving and Global Mission

Our loose offering today supports the local church budget, but sacrificial giving does more than balance a local ledger. It forwards God's mission across the world. I shared an experience from the Philippines: a central church with about 2,500 members where the young people started singing and the congregation filled the building. They had no bulletin because their copier kept breaking, yet they gave faithfully.

Giving is an expression of Christlike love and helps sustain the gospel in places we may never see. When we give, we participate in that global work.

The Need to See: The Blind Man of Bethsaida (Mark 8:22–26)

I read the account of Jesus healing the blind man at Bethsaida. Notice the healing happens in stages: the man first sees “men as trees walking” and only after Jesus touches him again does his sight become clear.

“And when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up, and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” — Mark 8:23–25

Physical sight in Scripture often points to spiritual sight. Some of us need repeated touch from the Savior — repeated awakenings and corrections — in order to see clearly. God may be working on you in stages; be willing to let Him finish the work.

Laodicea: A Church That Thinks It Sees (Revelation 3)

Jesus’ message to Laodicea is a piercing warning. He calls that church lukewarm, self-satisfied, and yet spiritually blind and naked. He counsels them to buy of Him gold tried in the fire, white raiment, and to anoint their eyes so they may see.

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed... and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” — Revelation 3:18

We may be rich in tradition and knowledge, but Jesus asks whether we are truly fixed in the truth intellectually and spiritually. The sealing of God's people, Ellen White warns, is not a visible mark but a settling into truth so they cannot be moved. That settling has already begun.

How Truth Becomes Firm: From Sediment to Living Stone

I used the formation of rock as an analogy for spiritual formation:

1. Deposition — the truths and experiences collect in our lives.
2. Compaction — life presses them together through testing and obedience.
3. Cementation — the Spirit binds those truths into a stable, enduring faith.

The Apostle Peter urges us to be diligent to make our calling and election sure, to be established in the present truth:

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know and be established in the present truth.” — 2 Peter 1:12–13

“Establish” literally means to make stable, firm, and settle. We must allow truth to settle in our hearts until it becomes permanent like letters carved in stone.

Practical Steps to Settle Into the Truth

• Do now what you know to do. Jesus said whoever will do His will shall know the doctrine is of God (John 7:17). Obedience sharpens understanding.
• Trust God with today. Don’t demand the whole map before you take the next step. God provides what you need for each day.
• Let the Spirit remove what blocks your vision. As Tolstoy said, truth is discovered by washing away what is not gold. Confess, repent, and let Christ clear the scales from your eyes.
• Learn and remember the pillars of our faith. Biblical literacy matters. Know the Sabbath, the sanctuary, the prophecies, salvation by grace through faith, and the Spirit of Prophecy as a witness.
• Serve with others. The church works when everyone plays their part — officers, deacons, children, and those who simply smile at a greeter.

Prayer Requests and Pastoral Encouragement

We prayed for members with specific needs: Mrs. Linda Alip, the Robinson family (praising God for George’s report), the McMullen family, and the Summers family (especially Cole). We asked God to heal, strengthen, and comfort. I invited anyone moved to share praises or requests publicly during our garden of prayer.

Closing Encouragement

God has given us a rich heritage and a movement established around the world. But blessings only translate into readiness when they become settled in our lives. Will you allow the Holy Spirit to etch these truths into your heart until they cannot be shaken? Will you do now what you already know to do so that God can guide you further?

“But the God of all grace... after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” — 1 Peter 5:10

The victory line is ahead. Let us be living stones: deposited, compacted, and cemented into a people who call sin by its right name, who love truth, and who stand for Christ though the heavens fall.

Join Us

If this message has stirred you, come to prayer meeting, stay for the fellowship meal, bring your support to the teachers' dedication next Sabbath, and consider registering for membership if you feel led. Together, let us be a church that sees clearly and stands firm.

Message recorded by Gentry SDA Church. — Pastor Kyle Baldwin