Friday: Further Thought – Mission to the Unreached: Part 2
Daily Lesson for Friday 15th of December 2023
“Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than had the teachers in Israel. There were some who hoped for His coming as a deliverer from sin. Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery of the Hebrew economy. But the bigotry of the Jews hindered the spread of the light.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 33.
“The Lord Jesus, the mighty Saviour, has died for these souls. He can arouse them from their indifference, he can awaken their sympathies, he can soften their hearts, he can reveal to their souls the beauty and power of the truth. The Master-worker is God, and not finite man; and yet he calls upon men to be the agents through whom he can impart light to those in darkness. God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world, but in humility and love, present to all the truth as it is in Jesus. Let men see piety and devotion, let them behold Christlikeness of character, and they will be drawn to the truth. . . . They are to lift up Jesus, the world’s Redeemer; they are to hold forth the word of life.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 17, 1893.
Discussion Questions
- What are some of the immediate needs in the areas where you live that could give you and your church the opportunity to reach out to souls who don’t know the truths that we do?
- Look at Ellen G. White’s words above regarding those of other faiths: “God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world.” In other words, how can we show people the error of their ways while at the same time not denigrating the people personally?
- “ ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ” (Luke 18:8, NKJV). What does Jesus mean by this rhetorical question? What is the difference between faith and belief? Why might people who have the correct belief be found void of faith when Christ returns?
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Often, "the unreached" are unreached because we don't make an effort to reach out to them. As I have mentioned before, I live in what has been, until recently, a Seventh-day Adventist enclave. Add to that the fact that we tend to socialise with other Seventh-day Adventists and much of our contact with non-Adventists is typically regarded as proselytizing. We are put in the same stereotype as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
One of my friends, who is a minister is heavily involved in Lifestyle Medicine and attended an academic conference on the area. In the course of the conference, he became good friends with one of the luminaries in the discipline and somehow the topic of religion and faith came up. My friend happened to mention to this person that he was a minister of religion and belonged to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His newfound friend exclaimed, "But Phil, You are so normal!"
And therein lies one of the problems. Our exclusivity puts up a barrier and in the process, people add their own imagery about us and ultimately about Jesus.
And in that context I would just like to tell this little story. When my wife was a primary teacher there was some pressure for the kids in her class to give some gifts at Christmas time for the needy. The idea was that the food and toys should be given to ADRA the church welfare organization for distribution. Somewhere along the line that idea changed and it was decided that the gifts should be given outside the church organization and so it was decided to give them to the Salvation Army in a true spirit of giving to others.
The idea grew legs of its own and the whole school made it a project, They told the Salvation Army about the project and they were happy to send a representative around to receive the gifts on the approriate day. Carmel tells me that the Salvation Army officer arrived in his little car, walked in to the assembly hall, and just gasped. He rang headquarters and said, "Bring the Truck!" Their stocks had run very low and they were desperate. This was an answer to prayer.
The idea has spread to other Seventh-day Adventist Churches in the area. This year my church donated $50,000 worth of Christmas food hampers to be distributed to the needy. This coming Sunday, our Church members will be packing those hampers and giving them to a local welfare agency for distribution.
There used to be a community belief that Seventh-day Adventists were the Christmas Grinches with all our talk about pagan festivals and so on. Now we are known as the church that is warm and generous toward others at this time of the year.
"By this shall all men know ..."
Sir Maurice, thanks a bunch for your contributions. When i don't understand the lesson, i go straight to your comments section and that of few others then have a knowledge of what the lesson is all about. Please how can i share your contributions on other platforms?
Thank you Sarah. You are welcome to use my comments as long as you acknowledge the author.
"And therein lies one of the problems. Our exclusivity puts up a barrier and in the process, people add their own imagery about us and ultimately about Jesus." How that statement resonates! Dr. Maurice l can sooo identify with the messages you have been giving. Many years again as a senior lecturer at one of the universities in London, a colleague who was searching for GOD and l became friends. We spent many happy hours discussing the Bible together and praying together. GOD indeed had come into her life and was leading her. One day it came out in general conversation that l was SDA. She literally stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me as though l had sprouted two heads. "You! You an SDA" She exclaimed repeatedly staring at me with shock. When l affirmed and inquired about her response she replied "urgh but they are weird!!!" Happily that did not end our friendship.
We are first and foremost Christians; followers of Christ. That is the lens. One of my best friends was a person who leads an unsavoury gay lifestyle. We also studied the Word together and prayed with each other, even cried together. Did she change her lifestyle? Not as far as l know but l showed her that although l may not approve of her lifestyle, l loved and accepted her as a child of GOD and as my personal friend. At that time she may not have been my choice for a best friend but it was GOD’s choice and what a learning curve and blessing it was.
To succeed in spreading the Good News, these same Good News must first reach the hearts of those who preach them. If the Love of God does not get my heart first, my life (imagine my speech) will be senseless.
In gist of the Scripture Jesus said, "if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father."
It's written that Jesus met the needs of the people first before preaching.
Sometimes the biggest witness is to show kindness to others.
Where I live there's no Dorcus Society, no SDA community services: the poor or poor in heart have to rely on other denominations for the help they need, or they go to a bottle, or other things to ease their situation.
"Be kind, one to another" we have heard somewhere along the way.
That doesn't just apply to friends and family.
Kindness paves the way to open hearts. Open souls are much more receptive to the message of redemption, even among those we assume are already saved.
Thank you Jesus.
Ellen White ends her quoted comment with the statement: “They are to lift up Jesus, the world’s Redeemer; they are to hold forth the word of life.” I ask myself – ‘to what end’? Maybe the churches’ focus regarding 'lifting Him up' is placed to narrowly on meeting needs through material goods accomodating the here and now, and not enough on also providing the living soul with spiritual food for the thereafter. Mark 8:36.
Jesus came to redeem our world from error established by the adversary of God at the dawn of mankind and its resulting transgressions of heavenly principles and immutable laws. Our Creator God wants to elevate man to join His heavenly family after man leaves this earth behind. This is what I perceive to be the purpose of His Son coming to earth when meeting man in its own abode.
Yes, His teaching became a 'religion' organized by man, but Jesus came to teach all mankind the Truth about their real God, their true heavenly Father, in order to understand their purpose and way in this life. Rev.4:11; Col.1:16.
Therefore, my consideration is that our new life is mission; the two cannot be separated! If all man are created equal in the eyes of God, how can we continue to look at our fellow man with religious or any other prejudice and bias as if not equally accepted by Him.
God is no respecter of 'persons' as man defines 'standing' amongst its peers. By drawing qualifying or disqualifying distinctions, man showes his error in understanding who he is. I consider that it is the 'Pride of life' according to man’s perception which separates man from one another.
“How can we show people the error of their ways”? – by not discriminating against them in any form! Those who have received understanding by the Holy Spirit, ought to consider that pride in ourselves and the ‘life’ we have been granted as believers, is a stumbling block to reaching others for the Faith. All humanity is equally loved by our heavenly Father, waiting to hear the call by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to join His spiritual family here on earth first, and then in heaven.
In regards to the second question in today's lesson, I read the Ellen White quote and I don't see anything that suggests that we show people the error of their ways. She talks about presenting the truth in Jesus. Semantics? I don't think so. Present truth and the errors will be obvious. For example, what if instead of telling people Sunday was the wrong day, we showed them how wonderful Sabbath is and how it really is about grace? What if we showed people that our health principles really make us more able to love rather than just condemning bad ones? Maybe we would actually reach the "jewels" in other places if we had that focus.