SDA Sabbath School Lessons

#10 Sign or Power Gifts

• Sabbath 3/1 - The Holy Ghost Repair Service, INC..
• Sunday 3/2 - Signs And Wonders
• Monday 3/3- The Gift of Prophecy
• Tuesday 3/4- Gifts of Miracles And Healing
• Wednesday 3/5 - Gifts of Spiritual Warfare
• Thursday 3/6- Gifts of Martyrdom, Voluntary Poverty, And Celibacy
• Friday 3/7- Further Study
• Inside Story - Prayers Answered in Mongolia, Part 2

"THE HOLY GHOST REPAIR SERVICE, INC."

That was the title of the tract handed out by a person on the street corner. It claimed that the Holy Spirit was waiting to "repair" people through astounding miracles. Our first reaction to such an approach is usually one of caution. But the Bible recounts that signs and wonders are real.

SIGNS AND WONDERS (Mark 16:15-20).

In the Bible, signs and wonders fall into three categories. First, the phrase is applied repeatedly to the miracles witnessed in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. Second, personal testimonies are related by individuals who had astonishing experiences with God's power. Third, in the early church, signs and wonders provided direct testimony to unbelievers that Christianity is the true religion.

After the New Testament period, signs and wonders became less common. Ellen White tells us they will become common again during the latter rain, though not as prominent as in Christ's day. (See Selected Messages, book 2, chapter 5.)

What does Mark's version of the great commission say about signs and wonders in the experience of the disciples? Mark 16:15-20.

In the Bible, signs and wonders appear particularly at times of crisis or when they have some prophetic significance.

How did Peter connect signs and wonders with the messiahship of Jesus? Acts 2:22.

Signs and wonders are evidence to unbelievers, and to doubting believers, that God is indeed working in a certain circumstance or occasion. The Lord may choose to use them at any time for that purpose.

THE GIFT OF PROPHECY (1 Thess. 5:19-21).

The gift of prophecy may function long-term or short-term. As in the case of Ellen White, a person may receive a lifelong call to prophetic ministry. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit may choose to assign the gift of prophecy temporarily, often to resolve a difficult issue that needs clear intervention by the Lord. Notice two special people at Jesus' dedication. Simeon, a priest who had long prayed to live to see the Messiah, was "moved by the Spirit" and gave a short prophecy about Jesus' life (Luke 2:25-35). Anna, a long-term prophetess, gave no prophecy of the future, but she witnessed diligently to all who would listen (Luke 2:36-38). Simeon, a short-term prophet, gave a predictive message.

How do false prophets figure into the prophetic picture? 1 John 4:1; 1 Thess. 5:19-21.

False prophets bring true prophets into disrepute. Truly spiritually gifted people often fall victim to people who invent their own so called giftedness. On the other hand, we can't be so overly cautious that we neglect the clear indications of the Bible about the validity of the gift of prophecy. (Read again 1 Thess. 5:19-21.)

"The light of prophecy still burns for the guidance of souls, saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it.' It shines on the pathway of the just to commend, and on the way of the unjust to lead to repentance and conversion." - My Life Today, p. 42.

GIFTS OF MIRACLES AND HEALING (1 Cor. 12:9, 10).

How does Satan again try to counterfeit true gifts, especially during the loud cry and the latter rain? Rev. 13:13; 16:13, 14.

GIFTS OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE (Acts 16:16-18).

Spiritual warfare is a modem phrase for an old battle. Adventists usually call it the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Often the battle lines become closely drawn, and the forces of good and evil are embroiled in tangible battle. A classic example is Elijah's experience on Mount Carmel. Other examples are Jesus' confrontation with a legion of demons (Mark 5:1-20) and Paul's confrontation with Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:4-12).

How did Paul react to the declarations of a young girl in Philippi? Why did he react this way? Acts 16:16-18.

The gift of deliverance or exorcism has been abused and misused in such spectacular ways that it is often hard to tell the true from the counterfeit. But in spite of these counterfeits there are times when Christians are called upon to do open battle with the forces of evil.

GIFTS OF MARTYRDOM, VOLUNTARY POVERTY, AND CELIBACY (1 Cor. 13:3).

These three gifts are included with the power or sign gifts because they are readily apparent and highly visible. They are definite signs to non believers that a Christian presence is in their midst.

What do the following verses say about each of these gifts?

For more information on devil possession and the gift of exorcism, read in context Matthew 8:32; 9:33; 15:28; 17:18; Acts 5:16. See, also, the SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 575-578, and The Great Controversy, chapter 31. There have been outbreaks of so-called "deliverance ministries" in the Adventist Church that have gone far beyond the bounds of biblical guidelines. For more information, you can obtain a number of documents from the General Conference Biblical Research Institute on this subject.

For further information on modern-day martyrs, see James and Marti Hefley, By Their Blood: Christian Martyrs of the 20th Century (Milford, Mich.: Mott Media, 1979).

A word of warning: The kinds of confrontation with the forces of evil experienced through signs and wonders are not for everyone. Satan is no one to fool with. Ellen White, writing to Moses Hull, an early Adventist evangelist who later became a spiritist, remarks: "You have parleyed with Satan, and reasoned with him, and tarried upon forbidden ground, and have exercised your mind in things which were too great for you, and by indulging in doubts and unbelief have attracted evil angels around you, and driven from you the pure and holy angels of God.... You went to battle with Satan and his host without an armor, and have been grievously wounded, and are insensible to your wound." - Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 428, 429.

Scott Christiansen

Some bad press had hampered ADRA's work in Mongolia, and cast doubt upon the church, as well. Then some unexpected television news coverage of ADRA assisting the elderly in the retirement home helped repair the image of the church and ADRA in Mongolia.

Meanwhile, ADRA was busy working on several other projects: supplying nutrition supplement bars to children and nursing mothers, providing desperately needed supplies to a region in which the only hospital had collapsed into a pile of bricks and twisted metal, and caring for nomadic mothers who had no clinic in which to give birth. Garden projects were introduced to help poor women provide for their families; and a low-cost, highly insulated housing design was introduced to the country. Several of these projects received media attention. But the government still had doubts about ADRA.

Then ADRA was asked to help provide desperately needed laundry facilities for the country's only infant orphanage. The orphanage housed 130 infants and toddlers but had no adequate laundry facilities. Most laundry was washed by hand in tepid water, then hung over stair railings and steam radiators to dry. But the building often was so cold during Mongolia's bitter winters that the laundry never fully dried. Babies often were dressed in inadequately laundered, damp clothes.

ADRA surveyed the situation and agreed to provide an institutional-size washer, water extractor, and dryer large enough to meet the needs of the orphanage plus take in laundry from hotels that would generate income for other improvements. The facilities required a new laundry room, and ADRA added new linen to the list.

Top government officials were invited to the inauguration ceremony for the new laundry facilities, and as a sign of ADRA's acceptance in the country, they all agreed to attend. The wife of the U.S. ambassador to Mongolia, who had worked as a volunteer at the orphanage for two years, called the laundry equipment a "dream come true." And the wife of the Mongolian president accepted ADRA's donation on behalf of the people of Mongolia. At the end of her speech she said with a smile, "Oh, yes, we know ADRA, and we are happy they are here."

For Current Newsbreak.  Call 1-800-648-5824