Friday: Further Thought ~ A Step in Faith
Further Thought:
“Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God’s work. Too often in the past this has not been done. Plans have not been clearly laid and fully carried out whereby the talents of all might be employed in active service.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
There are but few who realize how much has been lost because of this.
The leaders in God’s cause, as wise generals, are to lay plans for advance moves all along the line. In their planning they are to give special study to the work that can be done by the laity for their friends and neighbors. The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.
The salvation of sinners requires earnest, personal labor. We are to bear to them the word of life, not to wait for them to come to us. Oh, that I could speak words to men and women that would arouse them to diligent action! The moments now granted to us are few. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. We have no time to lose. Every moment is golden and altogether too precious to be devoted merely to self-serving. Who will seek God earnestly and from Him draw strength and grace to be His faithful workers in the missionary field?
In every church there is talent, which, with the right kind of labor, might be developed to become a great help in this work. That which is needed now for the upbuilding of our churches is the nice work of wise laborers to discern and develop talent in the church — talent that can be educated for the Master’s use”. — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pages 116, 117.
Discussion Questions:
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In the final lesson for the quarter we need to turn the title of the series into a question: "Are we making friends for God?" For me, there are two challenges. I am a natural introvert and an quite happy with my own company. Secondly, for most of my life I have worked in Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions where my colleagues and students were mainly Adventist.
Being an introvert does not mean that I cannot form friendships. I am just very bad at small talk and feel uncomfortable in the social scene where everyone is talking about nothing. In my classes, seminars and workshops, I often worked on a one-to-one basis with students and while the focus was on the task at hand there were often opportunities to share and encourage spiritual values. Our youth should be a special focus for making friends for God. Not, indoctrinating them, but encouraging them to grow their spiritual values.
Having retired, and living in a town next to the University College where I taught for 30 years, I still find myself in a Seventh-day Adventist community. I spend a lot of time on the local bush tracks photographing birds and wildlife and interestingly interacting with non-Adventist community members ad often with ex-Adventists who use these same tracks. Only this week I walked these tracks with two groups of people who essentially had had little to do with Adventists or indeed any church. Simply being with them and sharing our common interest in wildlife breaks down barriers and I know that I will be seeing and hearing from these people again.
Making friendships is about our attitude to others - changing the flavour - carrying the light - creating a hunger.
I Googled "friends" and found : "The definition of friendship is a relationship between people who like each other and enjoy each other's company."
My question - is this the extent of making friends for Jesus? What about being friendly to people you don't like or who have values completely different to yours or people who have hurt you? Could I say "Father forgive them" while they are killing me?
I believe it is both, showing loving kindness and forgiveness to those we like and even those we don't like, when people see we are trust worthy irrespective of circumstances then they are more likely to accept what we share about the LORD.
What is Webster's definition of a friend?
1: a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another person.
2 : a person who is not an enemy - friend or foe.
Aristotle figured there were three kinds of friendships:
Friendships of utility: exist between you and someone who is useful to you in some way.
Friendships of pleasure: exist between you and those whose company you enjoy.
Friendships of the good: are based on mutual respect and admiration.
Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1
A Step in Faith
What a quarterly!!!! Sound words to those who read and studied. The opening paragraph is simple yet wise. The question is- for many of us who used and still using virtual sabbath school/church, is there anything that changed in conducting our sabbath school/church in a building to a virtual service? For me, it is only the pot luck, fewer programs, and we are not in a building. Everything cont the same, like the same old, old story. When we started a few mths ago to present, we have decreased by half the amount of people who log on every sabbath. One reason is because you keep seeing the same people for more than six months doing the same things over and over again. The church is comprised of so many other new baptized members that can be used but we not using them. That was the same pattern while in the building, now it even got worst. All is not given the opportunity to participate in worship. It is so ironic that people would say all can participate in the service only when there is time to give/return tithe and offering. If not, others will be going to church for years and will never ask to do anything. Is it only when we need money from others we see them as important? Isnt a soul more important than money? The talents of members are not utilized.
Solution- I am an extrovert and I speak several times about this. Things change at times for a short moment then it go back to the same old. We are who we are because we have created systems that does not work for others but only us.
1. My experience is such that the pastor who does this is heroic. It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to be a spiritual oversite pastor. The nature of the congration is to say the pastor needs to do it all. The heroic pastor teaches outreach, sharing, witnessing, and light bearing, then sends us out two by two, instead of doing it all him/her by themselves. How does this impact me? Submit, surrender and let my pastor be an oversight to my churchs outreach. Maybe I could be his/her right hand man, left, or just one of the two by two. Whatever the Lord requires of me. Micah 6:8.
Happy Sabbath
I have enjoyed this lesson. A good transition into Christian education.
Brigitte in your last paragraph your said, 'Our Father keeps His promise to grant Salvation to all who love Him'. According to my understanding, salvation is a free gift given to all whether we love Jesus or not but we/some have accepted the free gift. This gift is all rapped up in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He already saved us from sin and the penalties of sin but we have to accept that it is so.
You also said- 'He can and will provide Salvation WHEN WE LOVE AND TRUST HIM FULLY IN RETURN'. We cant or work for salvation, it is his saving grace which humans does not deserve.
Eph 2:8-9 Saved by grace through faith- its a gift lest any should boast. No one work for a gift, if so, then it is no more a gift but a wage/payment is required.
Lyn – thank you for commenting. Yes, Salvation is God's gift offered to all mankind. Those who accept it do so because they love God more than they love this world; they are willing to pay the price of laying down their old life(dying to 'self-will') so the new, spiritual life can be established in them.
My comments referring to a cross-road as the point in life when those that ‘hear’ the ‘voice’ of God, those who are moved in their heart, knowing that His message of the need of Salvation is true, will make the choice FOR Him or AGAINST Him at that time.
If they reject Him, He might, because of His Grace, continue to knock on the door of their heart; but unless the person accepts Him, God will not impose Himself or Salvation upon the person who rejects Him and eventually, the person will not ‘hear’ His voice any longer; yes, we do not ‘earn’ Salvation, though everyone must accept it as part of mankind’s NEED first in order to be saved and be willing to pay the 'price', rejecting self-will; Jesus died and payed the price so that we can follow his example!
If we accept the Gift(Plan) of Salvation, He is faithful to walk with us to finish the race laid out before us - Heb.12:1-3. Our walk with Him is made so much easier if we keep His first commandment ‘to love him with ALL our heart’. If we do not diligently maintain our love-faith-relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit, the endowment of faith maintained by the Holy Spirit, the talent we received to put to work in our life, is put in danger to be taken away. The person who ‘buries his talent(faith)’ will end up as if he/she did not believe. Matt.25:14-30.
‘Yes, we are saved by grace through faith – it’s a gift lest any should boast’. Paul in Phil.2:12 speaks of ‘working out our salvation with fear and trembling’ - diligently applying our Faith in Jesus’ Gospel message to our practical life. When we love and trust God fully, with all our heart, we are close enough to Him that we can KNOW His assurance of our Salvation.
Yes, Salvation is still by grace through faith as we run the race, diligently maintaining our spiritual relationship with the Father through His Son, and so ending this race victoriously.