Sabbath: The Eyes of the Lord ~ The Biblical Worldview
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Proverbs 15:3; Job 12:7-10; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 20.5-6; John 1:1-14; Mark 12:29-31.
Memory Text: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3, NKJV).
Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz wrote a poem, which began with his writing about imaginary animals: talking rabbits, talking squirrels, and the like. They “have as much in common with real animals,” he wrote, “as our notions of the world have with the real world.” Then, to end the poem, he wrote: “Think of this, and tremble.”
“Tremble” might be too harsh a word, but it is true that indeed, so much of what humans think about the world could be completely wrong. For example, for almost 2,000 years many of the world’s smartest and best-educated people thought the earth sat immobile in the center of the universe. Today, many of the smartest and best-educated people think that humans evolved from what was originally a simple life form.
As human beings, we never look at the world from a neutral position. We see it, always and only, through filters that impact how we interpret and understand the world around us. That filter is called a worldview, and it’s so crucial that we teach our young people, and even older church members, the biblical worldview.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 24.
(29)
I remember a story about bees sitting on a stained glass window viewing the interior of a church. One group of bees were insisting that everything inside the church was red, while another group was adamant that the interior was blue. Neither side would give in and their arguments were both long and elegant, backed up by scientific spectral analysis. Neither group of bees would change their minds from their irrefutable positions.
That is the effect of filters, especially when you are unwilling to admit that you are seeing everything through a filter. This week we should be curious enough to question our filters that have an effect on our beliefs. That's a tough one!
Today, we need God to enlighten us so we can be the eyes of the world. The problem of Laodicea is that they are blind while they think they have 20/20 vision. The worst thing that can happen to us is when we think we are in the light while we are in darkness.
Jesus said that if we walk with Him, we won’t be in darkness. Like the psalmist says in psalms 139: search me o Lord and see if I am on the right path. Lead me in everlasting path. Some Adventists think that they have the truth so they don’t have to listen to anyone. We are a lot to learn and God is using the scripture to enlighten us. Thy word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path(psalms 119:105).
Like Peter said: we have to always be ready to tell people about the hope that we have. What the world needs today is Christians who would teach them what Godly love is. Our doctrine/beliefs bring very few people to Jesus. However, our agape love will lead people to Him. Let us ask God to impart us with His Spirit so we can enlighten the world with His love. Happy Sabbath my sisters and brothers.
The Eyes of the Lord ~ The Biblical Worldview.
Jude you said- 'Our doctrine/beliefs bring very few people to Jesus. However, our agape love will lead people to Him.'
What about if I say- Our agape love will lead people to Jesus, but it is our doctrine/beliefs is what makes them stay with Jesus. You probable heard me gave my testimony about how the church paid for my exams when my parents were so poor they were unable to pay for it, also how I received clothing from the Dorcas/welfare society. It was not the 'hand out' that kept me and others in the church, it was getting to know Jesus through his words, (The doctrine/beliefs) and having a living faith in him. The believer faith must be a living one. When we pray, things happens. Jesus says yes, no or wait a little longer. We learn how to pray in his will.
I don’t believe that our doctrine made them stay. Our doctrine has been evolved for over a century. Our concept of truth is progressive with the leading of the Holy Ghost. In John 13:35, “they know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
What drew people to Jesus? Was it His teaching or His love? I believe it is the latter. Remember that the Pharisees were teaching too but people weren’t attracted to their teachings because they didn’t have love. As a public school teacher in the largest school system in the US, I can tell you that my students are attracted to my teaching because I show them love. With my Haitian accent, they wouldn’t listen but they know I care about them. On the other hand, they are many knowledgeable teachers who can’t reach their students because they don’t show them enough love.
The issue of Laodicea is that they believe they have everything while they are poor (Revelation 3:17). Our attitude is that our doctrine is the best. We need to change that. According to statistics, more than 1/2 of our neophytes leave the church. Why? Because we don’t show them enough love. If a neophyte doesn’t have at least 3 friends from the church the 1st 6 month, he/she will leave the church. Have a great week everyone and stay blessed. Remember that Jesus loves us.
If we are discussing worldviews with secular or spiritual minded people, each worldview should be able to answer the following seven questions, can you, can I answer them?
Hi Shirley - my attempt to answer those questions:
1. Infinity
2. Finity
3. A creature made in the Image of God to live in a time-space-physical world with the capacity to know its Creator as the 4th dimension.
4. Flesh(earth-related, carbon based form) is eliminated and spirit remains.
5. The living soul is given the ability by our Creator to know Him and with this the capacity to know anything He reveals to us.
6. We do not have an innate ability, just the capacity to know what is the Will of God – what is right and wrong,; God reveals Truth to us (unless man preferes to believe the lie). The closer we come to God spiritually, the better we are able to understand His ways.
7. Human History in and of itself does not have meaning. Only when a measure, established by assigning value to it, is applied, will it receive meaning. The value from the Christian perspective differs from that of the worldly perspective, therefore our worldviews differ from each other. One is spiritually based, the other is physically, materially based.
Brigitte- why do some limit God to this 4th dimension as in the scientific world? He can sit high and look low? When he is here, there and everywhere at the same time, the same things can happen. When the same sun rises in the east of each Continent and Island and sets in the west of each Continent and Island, how can man account for that? The Holy Spirit that speaks to the inhabitants/people of each 7 continents and thousands of Island at the same time, is the same Holy Spirit. He knows the number of our hair, he knows the amount of the animals on the hills and the seas. He holds time and space in his hand.
I do believe there is a spiritual world around us where spirits live but will not liken it to the 4th dimension because while God operates as unseen, he is bigger/knowledgeable than the angels.
There is a way which seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov 14:12
Righteousness exalted a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Pro 14:34
Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. Prov 15:21
Shirley- those questions are for philosophers and their followers, but what I am certain about is- 'men perception had become men reality.' Some men lived and died believing that there was/is no God but humans are gods to themselves. In so saying-
I first looked at which philosopher had written something, how he formed his worldview, and was it according to the bible or the natural world. Some philosophers used others work who they 1st agreed with, to formulate their ideas. If you ask some people what is a human being, they will give you several different answers. But why? The way humans think, it is from nature or nurture?
We are in the midst of the marketplace where there are lots voices.Lots of sellers selling different merchandise. They are calling out for buyers and we are the buyers. Which one is the right seller with the right merchandise? Do we really know what we need in order to go to the right seller? How do we know what we need? Are we buying the wrong merchandise?
We are in a time period when people want to hear only that which they want to hear! What “sooths” their hearings regardless of the source and the substance. “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). A time has come when many simply want to hear “all is well” only to feel good and comfortable even at the expense of the truth. The truth will make us feel uncomfortable because we are on the wrong. “Peace, peace . . . when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).
“Itching hears”, peoples’ desires will compel them to believe whatever they want to believe rather than the actual truth itself. When people have “itching ears,” they decide for themselves what is right or wrong, and they seek out others to support their notions. Some of the early followers of Jesus complained about the Lord’s “hard teaching”. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”(John 6:60). They walked away from the truth because it made them uncomfortable. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).
In today’s postmodern church, many are walking away from the saving truth. Jesus did not “sweet talk” his message, but He said it with love and kindness. “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim.4:2). Great patience and love are required when sharing our messages which seem to be disagreeable with others.
Our quest to make people feel comfortable with our message, must never take priority over preaching the truth. The fear of offending people’s sensibilities can never supersede the fear of offending God. “But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor.4:2).
In the times we are, more than ever, we should re-examine the messages we endorse.
Revelation 22:18-20 “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book. He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”. NLT
Omwenga - Thank you for your clear support of the power of God's testimony to the world, to take a stand for the Grace and Mercy of God's work for the redemption of mankind - 2Cor.4:2. Remain strong in the Faith to love God with all your being, facing the many adversities which are sure to come to tempt us in our faith!
Excellent points Omwenga. Thank You!
At Immanuel-Jesus Christ’s birth, the angelic hosts proclaimed: Luke2:10-14 “…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Could we replace the ‘eyes’ of the Lord with the ‘Spirit’ of the Lord - 2Cron.16:8,9? Even in the heavenly places are found spiritual hosts of wickedness which attempt to influence man – Eph.6:12. What then can we do to live in this world to experience peace and good will toward man?
KJV Mark12:29-31 “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, HEAR Israel; The Lord our God is ONE Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is NONE other commandment greater than these.”
Quoting Czeslaw Milosz: “… as much in common … as our notions of the world have with the real world.” “Think of this, and tremble.”
What if we have yet to firmly establish the spiritually discerned Christian ‘worldview’?
What if we have given too little attention to the fact that God in Heaven and we on earth are only able to communicate with each other through the presence of the Holy Spirit?
What if we dont know that we still look at the world as Czeslaw described: “talking rabbits, talking squirrels, and the like” thinking this to be the real world?
Yes, tremble – because we would miss the profound truth that true REALITY, true reality in Life is existent/experienced only in the Spirit of God and not in the physical world.
Do you believe that wickedness in high places can still affect your worldview? I do! We do well to examine through which filters we see ourselves and the world around us. If the Love of God manifested in us governs our lives, we are well on our way to affirm through faith the existence and authority of our heavenly Father; He will make sure to take away every filter which distorts our understanding and establish the correct worldview.
The hoary head is a crown of glory, IF it be found in the way of righteousness. Prov 16:31
The Eyes of the Lord ~ The Biblical Worldview
One worldview I want to look at is- Riches/Wealth/Asset/Finance/Money.
What is the biblical worldview of those mentioned above? What is the secular/worldly worldview of those mentioned above?
Bible says- ......if riches increases not to set your heart on it. Ps 62:10; Ps 13:11; 22:16; 1 Tim 6:10. Prov 23:4. We are shown that riches in the bible is good but how we use it depends on how we view the bible. We were told our riches are promised to each Christian in the earth made new but the Lord still wants us to live comfortable while we are on this earth. One asked not to be rich to turn from God, nor poor to beg one's bread. Prov 30:8-9. We were shown great men and women who had wealth in the bible. For example, Job, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph etc.
The Lord had promised to take care of his people if we allow him to do so. He made a covenant with us in the bible and repeated it several times. Obey and keep his covenant, it is expected that we keep our part that the blessings will be ours. Ex 19:5; Deut 4:20; 7:6; 14:2,21. In the same light he had made provision for the poor. The nation of Israel was supposed to support the poor Israelites. It is biblical.
1 Peter 2:9. We delight in this verse, but to make us chosen, holy, royal and peculiar we must be living in the world but not of this world.
The worldview of riches as a secular person is different. It lies in cheating, stealing, lies and killing each other. A program named American Greed is shown on the TV, people do anything for money. Not Christians, we wait on the Lord in his time.
7 Worldview questions and some answers given, I know what I believe:
1. What is the Nature of Ultimate Reality? The Supernatural
a) There is no God
b) There is a God with a nature decided by man
c) God’s existence, nature & character is revealed by the Bible
See Sunday’s lesson
2. What is the nature of material reality? Natural world
a) Came into existence by chance
b) Started from atoms from an asteroid impact
c) Created by God
See Monday’s lesson
3. What is a human being?
a) A highly evolved biological machine
b) A human body with an immortal spirit
c) An indivisible unity of body, mind & spirit dependent on God for life
See Tuesday’s lesson
4. What happens to a person at death?
a) People cease to exist
b) People enter directly into heaven
c) Sleep in the grave, then resurrected with an immortal body
b&c depend on their relationship with God
See Tuesday’s lesson
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
a) Consciousness and rationality developed through a long process of evolution
b) Knowledge is an illusion
c) Humans are made in the image of God who, himself, has knowledge
See Tuesday’s lesson
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
a) Right and wrong are strictly products of human choice
b) An evolutionary development as a survival mechanism for the species.
c) We are made in the image of God whose character is good and who has revealed what is right.
See Thursday’s lesson
7. What is the meaning of human history?
a) There is no innate meaning to human history. Meaning is what humans make it to be.
b) Meaning involves realizing the purpose of the gods.
c) Meaning results from discovering and fulfilling the purpose of God.
See Wednesday’s lesson
It would be nice to dwell on "thus saith the Lord", without feeling the need to contrast truth with error in order to "sell" it. Do we really need to contemplate the darkness to appreciate the light?
Jesus showed the great importance of opening remarks, so why used the musings of unbelievers? Or am I missing something in all of this?