Sermon by Mark Finley – Most SDA members will fall away

Sermon by Pastor Mark Finley – 4 Categories of Apostates

In a sermon delivered on August 23, 2025, Pastor Mark Finley offered a grim foresight into developments within the last Church of God. “Why Most Church Members Won’t Make It Through the Shaking” (Source). He didn’t speak of a few, numerous, or many, but of “most” church members who will not survive the coming shaking of the church and will be shaken out.

To this end, Mark Finley identified four categories of apostasy, which are also biblically verifiable, or against which the Word of God strongly warns:

1. The Worldly
2. The Superficial
3. The Proud
4. The Compromising

The essential questions include:
So the question is: Where is your heart?
The question is: Who has your affection?
The question is: Do you love the things of eternity?

Pastor Mark Finley said:

First: The Worldly

Romans 12:1-2:

We can only be faithful by the mercies of God. We can only be faithful by the grace of God. We can only be faithful through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the mercies of God.
The transformation of the mind. Who has your mind? Who has your thoughts?

The mind counts

Remember Isaac Watts, a great hymn writer in England. I read a story once about Isaac Watts. And you know, he was a kind of short man and he wrote these powerful hymns. There was a parade in his honor in England. And as he was riding in this carriage down the cobblestone streets of England, people were sitting on their balconies looking down.

And by this time, Isaac Watts was an older man, hunched over, barely 52, 53. As one lady looked down, she couldn’t believe this is the man all shriveled up that wrote those powerful hymns. And she said, “What? You are Isaac Watts?” And he stood up, held out his hands. He said, “Madam, could I in fancy grasp the poles or hold creation in my hand? I’d still be measured by my mind.”

The mind is the measure of a man. And it is. The great controversy between good and evil in the last days is not a great controversy in the Middle East. Although the Middle East is exploding. But it’s a great controversy for our mind.

Spiritual warfare

The devil is battling for our minds. And that’s why in 1 John, chapter 2, verses 15-17, we read:

Those that love the things of the world more than they love the things of eternity. Those who love the pleasures of this world more than they love the Master of this world, Jesus Christ.

In the world, but not of the world

We can’t avoid this world. We see the billboards as we drive down the streets. We work in work enviroments in this world. All arround us, our children got to various schools. I hope most of them going to Christian godly Adventist schools or being homeschooled by godly parents. But look, you cannot avoid all the influences of the world on the internet, on TV. You may try to magazine, but the issue is this. Who has your affections? Who has your heart? Who has your mind?

Who is going to be shaken out? Volume five of the “Testimonies of the Church”, page 81:

So, if indeed at the end the gold is going to be separate from the draws, where does some of the draws remain today in the Church?
Now the critics make great capital that there’s a apostasy in the Church. Not the Church is not in apostasy, but there’s a apostasy in the Church. There is worldliness in the Church. We do not deny that. But we recognize that there’s going to become a great shaking. God’s going to purify his Church and the worldly loving hearts will be shaken out.

Second: The Superficial

Mark Finley introduces this category with John 17:14-19:

How does God capture our minds and sanctify our souls? How does God do that? God does that through His word. As we saturate our minds with his word, God transforms our minds. Our minds are renewed through the very living word of God.

Now notice what Ellen White says in Testimonies, vol. 5, page 463:

Who are the superficial?

The superficial are those that do not have a deep experience with God in prayer. They do not have a deep experience with God through His word. The superficial are those who are callous regarding the things of eternity. They may superficially accept the doctrines of the Church. They may believe half-heartedly in the second coming of Christ. They may attend Church on Sabbath. They may pay tithe when it’s convenient or return tithe when it’s convenient. You know, so they have this superficiality about their spiritual experience. They’re certainly not involved in witness very much. They’re certainly not involved in the mission of the Church.

What does it mean the superficial conservative class?

If you look at this reference carefully, it’s not talking about people that are theologically conservative. Not at all. Because it says the superficial conservative class whose influence has steadily the progress of the work or renounce their faith. So they how are they conservative? They’re conservative in their own personal Christian experience. They don’t go all out for God.

They’re not totally committed to God. They’re conservative when it comes to giving their time. They don’t give their time for mission. They’re conservative when it comes to giving their funds. They don’t give very much. So they are self preservationists. They have enough spirit, enough religion to give the impression that they are godly. But when it comes to anything deep, they are not with us at all.

Only those, what’s only mean? It means only! Only those, it says, only those who’ve been diligent students of the scriptures! Fill your mind with the word of God! The word of God is an anchor. The word of God will keep us steady. When the winds of doctrine blow, the word of God will keep us faithful. As we come to Bible with an open heart and open mind, the Spirit of God will transform our lives.

Third: The Proud

For the third category, 1 Corinthians 10:12 gives a good description:

The ones that think they stand. Some time ago, a friend of mine told me about visiting an orange orchard down in Florida. Many of those orange orchards, of course, are being plowed up and used for housing developments today. There’s such a housing shortage there. But in one of these great orange orchards, my friend told me the story that about watching the orange trucks that go out. The orange trucks go out and the oranges are picked and they’re put by tons in these trucks. The trucks come into the packing house and put these oranges on a conveyor belt.

And as the oranges go along, some are quite small, some are medium, some are large. And as they go along, they’re bouncing along, you know, on this conveyor belt and they come to a series of holes. The holes are large enough to let the small oranges through, but they are not large enough not to let the mediumsize through. So, first all the small ones go through. Then the belt goes a little further and then the mediums ones have holes for them. They go through. If I were a large orange, I’d think I’m never going through. I’m staying on here forever. But then there’s holes for the larger ones, too.

The devil sets traps everywhere

You see, the devil has some trap for you. The devil has some trap for me. The devil may not trip you up on alcohol or tobacco, but may he may trip you up on dishonesty or telling halftruths. He may not trip you on alcohol, tobacco, or dishonesty. He may trip you up on lust. He may trip you up on the love of fashion. He may trip you up in the area of your diet. So the devil studies our background, our genetic predispositions. He studies the weaknesses in our character. He studies the place is where we’ve fallen before and the grooves that we’ve put into our mind. And you say, ‘If the devil is that wise, how can I stand?’

We can stand in Jesus! We cannot stand in ourselves. But Jesus has met every temptation that the devil has ever thrown at us. And Jesus will enable us to be victorious.

Any individual who puts confidence in his own ability to stand firm rather than in Jesus is like the man in Jesus’ parable who built his house on shifting sand rather than on the rock. And when the storm came, the house crumbled. We can build our house upon the solid rock Jesus Christ. Jesus said, ‘I have built my church upon this solid rock and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.’ You and I can stand firm in Christ, by Christ, because of Christ, trough Christ.

Fourth: Those willing to compromise

Mark Finley introduces the fourth category with an excerpt from Ellen White’s letter:

How important it is for us to learn total dependence on God. We to need to kneel each morning and admit, dear Lord, I know myself. I’m unable to cope with Satan’s temptations. I know, Lord, that I need your grace. I know, Lord, that I need your strength. I know, Lord, that I need your power in my life today. Jesus wants to lead you and me to be less confident in ourselves and more confident in him.

So that righteousness by faith, you see, in practical experience means that every day I choose to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling me to cope with the temptations of Satan that are to come. Each day, I deliberately place my trust in Jesus.

A gradual, creeping process

Compromise does not take place all at once. First there’s that little compromise. Then there’s a little larger compromise. Then a larger compromise. Once you begin going down the road of compromise. What is compromise? Compromise occurs when you violate the convictions of the Holy Spirit to your conscience. Compromise occurs when you violate the principles of the scripture. Compromise occurs when you take the spirit of prophecy, the divine council that God has sacredly given to this Church, and you take it lightly and pick and choose what you want. Once we go down the road of compromise rather than the road of commitment, we are on the road to disaster.

The causes of the large apostasy

Pastor Mark Finley identifies several reasons for the great apostasy within the last church of God:

Now, there are four agencies that are going to cause this shaking. We’ve seen the fact that the shaking will take place. We’ve seen the fact that God will use the shaking to purify His Church. We’ve seen four classes that’ll be shaken out.

The worldly, the proud, the arrogant, the compromising will be shaken out. We’ve seen this classes that will be shaken out. The superficial. We’ve looked at them. But what are the agencies? What’s going to come against the Church to shake these things out?

There are four things, four agencies in the shaking.
First, there are false theories. Then, there are false miracles. Then, there is persecution. Then, there’s what the Bible calls the straight testimony. So, let’s look at these.

First: False Theories

That’s why it’s important to have your mind anchored in the word of God. 1 Timothy 4:1-2. We’re going to look at this idea of false theories coming in, error and apostasy coming into the Church.

Where were they before they departed? They were in the faith, right? But what happens? The spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons. So they were once in the faith, they depart, they’re shaken out. Why? Because they now accept the doctrines of demons. You remember in Ephesians, chapter 4, the Bible puts it this way about some of those that will be shaken out. It says (Ephesians 4:14-15):

The demands of Jesus Christ

So Jesus wants us to do what? Grow up in all things. Now, in “Testimonies to Ministers”, page 112, I read:

Haven’t we read about that in the Bible? 1 Timothy 4:1 in the last days Satan will attempt to deceive by false doctrine. Didn’t we read about that in Ephesians, chapter 4, that we are grow up in our knowledge of God’s word, loving Christ, loving His word, loving His people, loving His mission. Didn’t we read in Ephesians 4 about every wind of doctrine? Look:

Be prepared for confusion

Then we read in volume five of the Testimonies:

Anchor your mind in God’s word because the false theories are coming and the track of truth and the track of error are going to lie so close that unless our minds are saturated with the word of God unless we are informed, instructed, guided by the Holy Spirit, we can easily fall for the deceptions of Satan.

Second: Deception – False Miracles

Great deception of Satan are what I call false miracles. We find this in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2:7-11. Now, I hope one of the things that you are seeing today is that each of these principles that I’m sharing are found in the word of God. The writings of Ellen White do not originate these principles, but they amplify them. The writings of Ellen White amplify that is what is in scripture. So God has given the gift of prophecy not to replace the scripture. It is the lesser light to lead to the greater light but to amplify, to expand, to enlarge upon. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2:7-11:

At the end time, the Holy Spirit holds back

Mystery of lawlessness. Satan, who’s undermined God’s law. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Who’s the one who restrains the mystery of lawlessness? That’s the Holy Spirit. Until He’s taken away. When the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the earth, then Satan will work with all power. But he’s limited now. So, what is God’s antidote to the false miracle? On the one side, you have these false miracles. People that want signs and wonders, and people who long for the instant, are going to be deceived.

People that want a superficial quick fix to character development will be deceived. People that long for the sensational miracles, they’re going to be deceived because the devil will have false miracles. And why? They did not love the truth. They did not love the solid teaching of the word of God. Now notice, you say, ‘Well, how could 7th Day Adventists ever be deceived by these false miracles? We know the truth.’ Well, don’t be surprised. “Selected Messages”, vol.2, pages 380, 53):

Deception wherever you look

So, what will bring many Adventists to the test? They have been superficial readers of the word of God. Some of them have been compromising the truths of the word of God. Satan will work false miracles. There’ll be an apparent religious revival that offers you little in the area of commitment, much in the area of compromise, that offers you little in the area of sacrifice, much in the area of the self-indulgent. It will be a surface religion, and the devil will come in to affirm these errors and pretend that they’re truth. He will do that by false miracles and many, many will be deceived.

So how the people are going to be deceived? Well, they’ll be deceived by false doctrine. They’ll be deceived by false miracles. They will be shaken out by false doctrine. Shaken out by false miracles. They’ll also be shaken out when persecution comes.

Third: Persecution

Some people who are superficial will not be willing to stand. And rather than stand in persecution, they will compromise their faith. But also, some will be shaken out because they do not receive the straight testimony. I want to talk to you a little bit about what is the straight testimony. Because I think a lot of people misunderstand it. But first, let me read a statement from “Early Writings”, page 270.

Ellen White sees people leaving God’s Church. She sees two armies approaching one another, and one army lays their banners down and leaves the ranks of the remnant. The other army leaves their banners of the worldliness down and joins the remnant in the latter rain. The loud cry experience. And so there’s this great shaking she sees in vision.

Opening doors and one’s own will

So, what does this straight testimony do? This will have an effect on the heart of the receiver. Many people want to give what they call the straight testimony and they want to condemn everybody else. But according to this reference, the straight testimony, has its effect on the heart of the receiver. So the straight testimony is applied to me. It’s applied to you. It is the transformation of life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s the testimony of Jesus to our own lives. The straight testimony breaks our hearts as we open ourselves to the Gospel. We recognize our folly, our weakness, our sinfulness. We recognize that Jesus is our only hope.

Laodicea emphasized as the last church

Now, where do we find that straight testimony to the Laodiceans? We find that in Revelation, chapter 3. The Church of Laodicea is the last Church. So there is no movement that is called out of Laodicea. Laodicea is not a movement that God calls men and women out of. It’s a movement that He shakes the worldly out of, the superficial out of, the proud out of. It is a movement He shakes out of those who are not totally committed to Him. Revelation 3:14:

These things says the Amen. These things say who the Amen. When do you put Amen? At the end of a prayer. So, God says after seven Churches, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardes, Philadelphia… you see, He goes through those seven Churches and He goes down to Philadelphia, comes down to Philadelphia, comes down to Laodicea and after Laodicea He says Amen. So if God says Amen, it’s Amen. He is not calling out a remnant out of Laodicea.

Jesus also the faithful witness

Jesus is the faithful witness of the father’s love and grace and goodness. Jesus is the faithful witness of the truths of His word. So, if we accept the counsel of the true witness we accept the love of the true witness. Jesus said, if you’ve seen in me, Philip, you’ve seen the Father. We have a new glimpse of God through Jesus. We see Jesus’ love. We see Jesus’ grace. Our hearts are broken of that. His righteousness fills our lives.

Laodicea has become a complacent without a deep sense of mission or commitment. That’s the condition of Laodicea. (Info).