Sabbath: Motivation and Preparation for Mission
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 4th of November 2023
Read for This Week’s Study
Luke 24:1-12; Luke 24:36-49; Acts 1:12-26; Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:1-41; 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Memory Text:
“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).
Wrote Paul to the Philippians: “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:15-18, NKJV).
Powerful words! Whether in “pretense or in truth,” Christ is preached—and that is what mattered to Paul. Ideally, though, our motives for preaching Christ, for mission, for reaching others with the good news, should be out of love, and out of truth—and not from selfish ambition, envy, or strife.
What, then, are some of the motivations for preaching Christ, and what are some of the ways that we can prepare for doing this?
This week we will look at some events in the early church that can give us guidance on these crucial parts of mission.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 11.
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I have seen all sorts of preaching in my lifetime; enthusiastic, teutonic, academic, ignorant, long, short, boring, engaging, and so on. The fact of the matter is that I have forgotten most of those sermons now. That may be attributable to my age but interestingly I do remember a lot of preachers for reasons other than their sermons. I remember the pastor who gave me an enthusiasm for photography. I remember the pastor who listened to my story when I had a crisis. And I remember the pastor who never spoke to me but told members of the congregation that the old bloke on visuals didn't have a clue about what he was doing. These folk made a profound difference in my life. Even the last one that I mentioned because it took me out of my comfort zone and gave me a new purpose in life.
My point is that ultimately the success of our involvement in mission is not in what we say, but how we interact with others. We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to prepare us for mission. What do we expect to happen? Will we all become preachers and Bible-workers. Or will we do good works that will cause others to give God the glory?
I give God thanks for Jesus our Saviour.
In Him we all have hope.
Motivation as defined by a Google search:
"A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way."
The "particular way" "for acting or behaving" as required by King Jesus is defined by His words in Matthew 11:29 KJV: "...meek and lowly in heart..."
The preposition in is key as we have to be authentically humble through the workings of The Holy Spirit after having received Him through a process of repentance (King Jesus' words in Matthew 4:17 KJV).
The reason(s) are encapsulated in one word love for He is love (1John 4:8 KJV) and the benchmark for the level of love is defined by King Jesus in Matthew 5:44 KJV: "Love your enemies ...".
All praise and thanks goes to our King Jesus 🙏
We love You, for You alone have shown us The Way of love based in authentic humility provided to us through Your Holy Spirit.
Think of a rescue mission in the news. I’m thinking of the Thailand cave rescue of the soccer team in 2018. This mission brought together rescuers from 17 countries – around 10,000 volunteers, including over 100 divers.
It was an all-hands-on-deck team mentality, I’m sure. “Local military, police, and the Thai Navy SEALs worked alongside thousands of local and international volunteers, divers, doctors, and experts to aid in the urgent plan to extract the boys, which required diligence and care.” Were any of the helpers envious of any limelight and recognition each other was getting? Or were they so focused and aware that every job was necessary on this time-sensitive mission that pride and envy were pushed aside for a common goal? “Let’s get these guys out of danger and darkness, and into the light, and safety!”
If everyone does what God has called them to do, I don’t need to envy you. We’re on an urgent joint mission, co-laboring with God and with each other, to be a part of God’s saving plan. It’s not a ho-hum, TGIF, “this is a drag and grind” kind of work. And it’s not staying super busy just to be a workaholic kind of work. Or work for our identity and to keep up with the Jones’s (or Mother Theresa’s).
It’s plugging in to the motivation that whatever we’re doing, changing mufflers or changing diapers, our 9-5 jobs and our hobbies and all our works can be infused with God, to showcase His Heart. Johann Sabastian Bach, at the bottom of every piece of music he composed, wrote the letters “SDG”, from the Latin, “soli deo gloria: To God alone be the glory”.
Hi Esther,
I can so relate to your message today as we had this exact experience in our church yesterday when one of our members collapsed & wasn't breathing. All hands on deck by the members brought her back and kept her safe until EMS got there and she is alive and well today. SDG!
Wow, praise God your friend alive and well!, thanks for sharing, Tammy. SDG indeed!
Peter counted about 120 disciples assembled in the Upper Room awaiting the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit with him. Outside assembled a large crowd composed of Jews from “every nation under heaven” to find out about this strange sound and asked “whatever could this mean?”
After Peter’s explanation to help them understand what was happening in their presence, they realized that their silence and unresponsiveness to Jesus' teaching had contributed to the crucifixion of the Son of God who had come to them in the flesh to preach the Word of God to all who would believe.
With contrite hearts they asked “what can we do’?, and Peter replied to “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And “about 3 thousand souls where added to them.”
Touched by the Holy Spirit they felt guilt and shame about what they had unknowingly participated in. What is the explanation today’s listener might have should he/she accept or refuse to join the family of believers after hearing the Gospel account and its message?
Asking the Holy Spirit to help us understand and guide our conversations related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will aways be answered.
I wonder what Christ meant by all things must be fulfilled of Me that were written in the law of Moses? I have a grasp of the fulfillment of the Prophets and the Psalms. Was He talking only about the ten commandments, or was He also talking about the laws of Moses that pointed towards Him coming as Saviour of the world to fulfill the plan of Salvation from the foundation of the world? I believe the latter. And I do believe he was also talking about not only supporting the ten Commandments, but also fulfilling what the ceremonial laws of Moses were pointing to, which was Him, as the plan of salvation. Unfortunately they lost the illustration as they came to believe that their dragging of their Lamb to the altar was their doing, to take away their sin, forgetting that the ceremony was to point them to the cross of Christ their only hope of salvation.
Now, when He said, I am come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, He was talking about the Ten Commandments. Hebrews 7:27 does not say he destroyed the ten commandments. Rather it says that there was no need for the ceremonial law (sacrifices) after Christ death. A good illustration was Isaac saying, Father, where is the Lamb? Abraham, as you remember, replied, God will provide. Absolutely, He did with Christ dying on the cross.
Matthew 5:17.
1Peter 1:17-21.
Now where does this fit into God's mission Our mission as to our motivation. I am sure we will find out this week. Some direction as to our motivation to letting us know the best methods of which I do not believe there is only one approach. Yes Peter's preaching is a good example. And rescuing the body but not the soul is a start by showing the love of Christ towards our fellow men. And being successful in our interactions is a start also. We, though, must also be motivated to study the Scriptures to be ready to give an account of our belief.
1 Peter 3:15-17.
Let it not be said of any, John 5:39, or if it is, God is waiting for our request of forgiveness, to give us forgiveness, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9.
I believe we can say also this week, God's motivation, our motivation.
Praise God Brendan for your miracle of Hindu to King Jesus. We enjoy your words and Scripture contributing to the Sabbath School Net blog. Thank-you for being a part of us, continue with us.
Dearest John Herscher 🤗
Blessed are you for you shall see God. (King Jesus' words in Matthew 5:8 KJV refers)
I give thanks to our King Jesus for you 🙏
The Old Testament was primarily about the attempts to destroy Jesus before he was born and how God thwarted them. Jesus Christ defeated Satan when he rose from the dead. Satan has been allowed a short time to make his case, so he works and makes war on us to make it. Jesus responds by giving us the Holy Spirit and staying with us. It's up to us to choose a side.
Jesus must not have been including in "The Law of Moses," here the 10 commandments because there is nothing in any of the 10 Commandments that specifically mention Jesus at all. But definitely, The Ceremonial Law of Moses does mention Jesus and while here not specifically either, Jesus is definitely mentioned "Metaphorically," in the Tabernacle Services with the priests and the animal sacrifices and the Feasts, especially the ones that included animal sacrifices.