Sabbath: Living the Advent Hope
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 18:1-8; Matthew 24:1-25:46; 1 Cor. 15:12-19; Eccles. 8:14; Eccles. 12:13-14; Rev. 21:1-5; Rev. 22:1-5.
Memory Text: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV).
Jesus announced the kingdom of God as a present reality that we can be part of today. He sent His disciples to make the same announcement and to enact His kingdom through preaching the gospel and by serving others; that is, by giving as freely as they had received (see Matt. 10:5-8).
But Jesus was also clear that His kingdom was a different kind of kingdom—“not of this world” (John 18:36, NIV)—and yet to come in full. By His incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection, the kingdom of God was inaugurated, but Jesus also looked forward to a time when His kingdom would fully replace the kingdoms of this world, and God’s reign would be made complete.
By definition, Adventists—those who await this coming and this kingdom—are people of hope. But this hope is not only about a future new world. While hope looks to the future, hope transforms the present now. With such hope, we live in the present as we expect to in the future, and we begin working to make a difference now in ways that fit with how we expect the world will one day be.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 14.
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My father-in-law, in his mid nineties has a pet topic that he always gets around to every time we visit him. He says, that the only time we have is now. And while he uses up a lot of my "now" expanding on this idea, in essence he is right.
As Adventists we have put a lot of time and effort into promoting the idea of a future event, the Second Advent, and while I don't deny the significance of this event, there are a couple of things we need to take on board to ensure we have the right perspective.
1. The Kingdom of Heaven is now, not just in the future.
Jesus was not talking about a future kingdom but a present one to belong to now.
2. Salvation is not just a state of arrival that we get after the second coming, but a way of life now. Listen to what Jesus said:
When we understand these two ideas then we can appreciate the second coming from the perspective of the present rather than some future event.
The parable of the talents emphasises the "now" too:
If you would be a saint in heaven you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. Defects of character must be repented of and overcome through the grace of Christ, and a symmetrical character must be formed while in this probationary state, that we may be fitted for the mansions above.—Letter 18b, 1891 quoted in Last Day Events, 295.
1 King 6:7 7The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
The last day on earth should be our first day in heaven; otherwise, heaven will be the most miserable place.
God is waiting on people who would not sit by the fence to make a decision to follow the Lord all the way.
Kingdom of God is everyone seeking the interest of others.
Bless the Lord. The power of the Holy Ghost. He changes and transforms.
The text for today starts with “therefore”. Therefore means- for that reason, as a consequent of, as a result of, etc. For example, If someone did not rise in the first resurrection it was because they did not have the character of Christ while they were alive before death.
Paul writing to the Corinthians in chapter 15:58 was as a result of the previous verses. Paul was speaking about the 1st resurrection of the righteous dead. As Christians we ought to take note how we live. When anyone dies, at the resurrection you are raised as you die with the same character. The only things that Christ is coming to change are our 1. corruptible and 2. mortal state.
1. Corruption- when anything dies it goes through corruptions, same as decay. Ps 16:10. Jesus body was not to suffer decay. He arose on the 3rd day. Decay happens at the 4th day. Lazarus body suffered corruption. Those who died from Adam- to down through the ages have suffered decay, so Christ is coming to reverse same.
2. Mortal- subject to die. Humans were made to live forever. After sin came death. When Christ comes he will restore this. They righteous will return to the pre sin state.
We ought to be living now like we never lived before. The character of Christ has to fully reproduce in us. Let the Holy Spirit do his perfect work in us.
If I want to be a part of God’s Kingdom in the future, I need to be a part of it right now. I need to live as though I am a part of it right now. To me that means seeing others as God sees them, loving them as God loves them, serving them as God serves them.
I’m not there yet, but that is my goal. 😉
“ The gospel of the grace of God, with its spirit of self-sacrifice, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic.” (Ellen G. White notes, 4th Q, 9/7/2019). We need to strive to have a Christlike spirit and not conform to the world, which, is Satan’s domain.
Jesus is the light of the world.We are His light bearers reflecting His character to the downtrodden and the vulnerable.....He came to witness and save the lost so we must also mingle with those in needy n be ready to reflect the character of Jesus Christ.