Sabbath: Discipling the Nations
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 56:6-8; Matt. 11:20-24; John 12:20-32; Rom. 15:12; Acts 1:7-8.
Memory Text: For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
(Isaiah 56:7, NKJV)
Christ’s message, from its inception, was destined for everyone everywhere. Early on the gospel went worldwide, because it is universally applicable. Doubtless, this concept challenged the disciples’ thinking. Their initial reaction, for instance, to Christ’s conversing with the Samaritan woman illustrates this challenge. They thought that Jesus as the Messiah was merely the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies and hopes. Somehow they had missed or misinterpreted the prophets, especially Isaiah, whose message encompassed all peoples. Jesus, The Desire of Nations, was not to be limited to a single group. Salvation might be of the Jews, but it was for everybody. Christ’s followers would transcend national boundaries, international conflicts, language differences, and other difficulties, because He Himself had established the pattern of cross-cultural evangelism.
As Seventh-day Adventists, we especially see this call in Revelation 14:6—Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth-to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people
(NKJV).
(24)
as Adventists we have a calling of preaching "Jesus " to the world. to my suprise we are busy quarrelling on whether to teach this or that. we have the three angels message to preach. the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are to guide us
the most suprising thing with us adventists is that we just discuss these important issues but we dont do what we preach. Our daily works teach and desciple to the nation more than any. How we conduct ourselves before friends,strangers,parents,seniors at work,techers and to our children
It is easy to make general statements about Seventh-day Adventist hypocrisy Prescious, but have you ever thought of all the loving caring kind Adventists there are too. I have worked for the Seventh-day Adventist Church all my life and I have worked with some of the finest men and women I know. They practise what they preach, even when the going gets tough. No we are not perfect, but our Christian growth starts with the individual. Our church is what we are as individuals.
A lot of tasks are needed of we Adventist to accomplish so far as we have fathom and know the truth.Jesus came for the world as John 3v16 says'for God so loved the world as He gave onto us his only begotten son,so whoever believed in Him shall not perish but have eternal life'.The verse above give us a point that God love is 'universal',meaning God loves averybody on this earth even to the extend of hamlets,cotages,villages,towns,cities,regions,countries,continent and the globe,everybody.By that we ought to do something to appreciate the love of God for us,we need to send His word to the world,to the unbelievers,to those who are digressing from the faith and the truth.Matthew 28v19-20
As Adventist it is our responsibility to teach others, inside the Church and outside the Church but we are to busy fighting amoung ourselves trying to hold on to positions as if they belong to us, we as older Adventist should now be stepping back teaching the young people to move forward with the word.
Praise God we are His ambassadors.He made us in His image thus we should show forth the praises of Him.Though the image is marred by sin...He has brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
We are Heirs according to the promise made unto Abraham who is the 'type' and Jesus the antitype.By faith we received Jesus Christ and in Him we move and have our being.
Let us brighten the corner where we are,we are the light to a darkened world,we are salt to a tasteless life.Let's lift up Jesus.As Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness and those who fixed their eyes upon it were healed so ....When the Sin of God shall be lifted up...,He shall draw all man unto Himself.
Sometimes we lift up self, we put aside Christ and miss the mark. Let it be our prayer that this wretched body sin (Self righteousness) die in the grave as we daily get baptized by the power from on High (God The Holy Spirit).
Men and Women filled by the Holy Spirit will spread the gospel and not gossip to their neighbors.A life of Christ will always be reflected and seen in their life.
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The reasons as to why we have not gone out to evangelize Him are:may be we are not ready,as in, we havent invitred the holy spirit to teach us how to go about it,we dont realise our obligation being achosen nation,we ourselves are not true disciples and therefore it becomes hard to make others what we are not,ignorance as in, we think that its the work of only pastors and the annointed,we lack agood plan from where to begin and where to end as in we have not studied well our area where christ is spoken least either becos of fear of wars,drought,infrastructure and finance,God is watching at your accounts you keep on struggling to look for money of the earth until heaven meets you unaware,thank you.
I think first we need to understand why Isreal was chosen by God. Then from there we see that actually they were chosen just as a tool to reveal Him to all nations. Today every believer has an obligation to evangelize to all nations so as to fulfill God's original purpose.
Brothers and sister if you are fighting for position please fix that as the Bible says. Saying it here won't help at all. Otherwise the devil is taking credit . Let us preach to the dying souls out there with the help of the Holy Spirit . Let every Adventist ask him or her self what work he or she has done . Last week 3 ladies come to my house as missionaries to tell the good news. I am starting with these three because they have mixed message. May the Lord help .
In this lesson, discipling the nation, I find it very important as Clara said, that we Adventist are fond of fighting for position in the church, leaving teaching the gospel in and outside. I see that we SDA Christian are fond leaving our children and relatives homes yet we want to teach the gospel to outside.
What is a type of good leader? Yes Paul teaches us in Timothy that a leader need to have a good family
and children who will descipling the wealth of God. We can't be good leaders if our nearby friends can't follow due to our activities.
Maurice you are right in my book. I believe if you don't have anything good to say don't say it. Yes I have seen so many good Seventh-day-Adventist too. They never complain, they never criticize, they just get in there and get the work done. Paul said, "pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14. We are not only to teach John 3 :16, but to teach that " God did not send His son into this world to condem the world , but the world through Him might be saved" John 3:17. I have seen this truth in so many Seventh-day-Adventist. We believe "he who does the truth comes to light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:21. We hang dearly to our faith for our salvation. " For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world--our faith." 1John 5:4.
Happy Sabbath.
"I believe if you don't have anything good to say don't say it." John, I think that is very good advice as long as we don't apply it in every single case. There are times when things need to be said that are not very comfortable, things that cut across the grain. No one likes to be corrected and no one enjoys negative things being said about organizations they are associated with.
That is how it was with Ahab, "So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla'" (2 Chron. 18:7 NKJV). It happened again only this time when facing Elijah, "Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, 'Is that you, O troubler of Israel?' And he answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals'" (1 Kings. 18:17-18 NKJV).
Jesus also had to say some pretty rough things to the leaders in Jerusalem during the last week of His ministry, those scathing rebukes of truth about those people who were so hardened and far from God that only the harshest of things had any hope of reaching them (Mat 23:13-33). He also said some things even to His disciples that at times hurt such as, "But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men'" (Matt. 16:23 NKJV).
To me the main thing is purpose and when saying negative things it needs to be always with love and as kind as possible but we should never make the mistake of burying truth for the sake of peace which is what the early medieval church did in order to gain converts. That one mistake is the reason we have so much doctrinal error in the Christian Church which the reformation sought to purge. As Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household'" (Matt. 10:34-36 NKJV).
Even though Christ's ministry was unifying adherence to truth always seems to divide.
Your right Tyler,
Soloman said, "There is a time to rend, a time to sew, a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:7.
Good day