Tuesday: Begin Where You are
Someone has rightly said, “In life the only place to start from is where you are, for there is no other place to begin”. Jesus emphasized this principle in Acts 1:8 (NKJV), where He declared, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”.
Image © Sally Weimer at Goodsalt.com
Jesus’ message to His disciples was too plain to be misunderstood: begin where you are. Witness where God has planted you. Rather than dreaming of better opportunities, start with those around you. See with divine eyes the possibilities closest to you!
You don’t need to be the most educated person in the world, the most eloquent, the most gifted. However helpful some of those gifts could be if rightly used, in the end all you need is your own love of God and your love for souls. If you are willing to witness, God will open the way for you to do so.
Read John 1:40-41, John 6:5-11, and John 12:20-26. What do these passages tell you about both Andrew’s spiritual eyesight and his approach to witnessing?
Andrew’s experience speaks volumes to us. He began in his own family. He first shared Christ with his brother Peter. He developed a cordial relationship with a little boy who then provided Jesus with the material for a miracle, and Andrew knew just what to do with the Greeks. Rather than debate theology, He sensed their need and introduced them to Jesus.
The art of effective soul winning is the art of building positive caring relationships. Think about the people closest to you who may not know Jesus. Do they sense in your life someone who is compassionate and caring? Do they see in you a peace and purpose that they long for? Is your life an advertisement for the gospel? We make friends for God by sharing Jesus. They become Christian friends, and eventually, as we share God’s end-time message of biblical truth, they may become Seventh-day Adventist Christians, as well.
| Why can it be so difficult at times to lead our family members and relatives to Christ? Have you been successful in sharing Jesus with any of your family members or close friends? Share any principles that the class might find helpful. |
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Right now, many of us have restricted movement due to either mandated or self-imposed isolation. It is as good a time as any to ask ourselves the question about how well we communicate the Gospel to those we live with. Patience and forbearance are getting a pretty good workout in our household at the moment.
We have a couple of teenage grandsons who are busy trying out their independence and through the current circumstances, they are often with us during the day. It helps that I have had the experience of bringing up their mother but we still have to face the battle of trying to persuade them to tidy up, make their beds, put their clothes away and all the other things that teenagers try to avoid. The challenge is to do it in a way that is consistent with the Gospel that we embrace.
The Gospel as translated into human interaction in family situations is one of the most difficult translations to be attempted. We argue about the translation of words from Greek into English, but those problems pale into insignificance when you are faced with a defiant teenager insisting that he is being treated unfairly.
It helps to remember my own rebellious episodes when I was a teenager. I remember what I used to do and how I hated my parents for their restrictions. At the end of the day though, I knew that I was loved in spite of it all.
The Gospel begins closest to home and it is our translation of that Gospel into loving action that is the most challenging experience that many of us face. And just to be sure we understand, it is a task, that once it has started, continues for the rest of your life. It is not like a TV reality show - all over in 60 minutes!
Postscript: There are those among us who think we have failed because our adult children have turned their back on God. We need to remind ourselves that we still need to keep loving in spite of their decisions. Love is patient and persistent.
The World is like a very strong magnet. The influences that pull our children and grandchildren away from the Lord are powerful. Yet greater is Christ than the things of the World. The power to convert others to Christ does not come from us, it comes from the Spirit of God.
If I show patience, love and kindness to others while praying without ceasing for them, that is what changes the heart.
Our sharing of Christ has to be one of His love, gentleness and kindness. People are not attracted to doctrines, they are attracted by LOVE.
I especially appreciate your postscript. My two adult daughters have both turned their backs on God. The younger one still lives at home and she is very rebellious against our authority. We have been praying for her to have a change of heart for years and sometimes it feels like we want to kick her out, but we don't really want to come to that. We are definitely learning to practice patience and persistence.
I always believed in 'bloming where one is planted'! "Begin where you are" is great advice for anyone, anywhere at any time - Young, old, saved, unsaved - it has broad application.
The lesson writer uses Acts 1:8 to point to the Holy Spirit as the jump-off point for witnessing, letting us know that we are not working in our 'own' capacity. Being 'Filled with the Holy Ghost" makes 'our' witness be a participation in Jesus' Spirit-empowered-and-sanctioned-commission', which makes us HIS ambassadors; being ever mindful not to go around sharing our 'own' version of the Gospel.
I do not think it to be correct to witness in the capacity of just any 'type' of Christian, but rather to make sure to be the vessel indwelled by Christ which represents Him to the world. He came to tell the world that there is a God in Heaven, that this God judges all according to their 'works' - acts of motive/intent/thought/emotion - and saves souls. Jesus is the way, the Truth, the Light and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except by/through Him.
When we gave up/layed down the government of and by 'Self', we made room for Jesus' identity to dwell in and govern us. If there is anything regarding a 'Christian' identity, it would need to be made clear at the time we serve, to communicate that it is not 'I' that serves, but Jesus in me.
Gal.5:22,23 Against the fruit of the Spirit there is no law! Did you ever encounter anyone argue, or accuse you as having committed a wrong when receiving acts of kindness, joy, patience, love, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or your exercise of self-control?
This Holy-Spirit-fruit is also a good gage to measure oneself by. The old nature will certainly want to be in charge and take credit, but we need to give credit to whom credit is due - Jesus.
The writer says: "all you need is your 'own' love of God and 'your' love for souls". Just to be sure we know 'whose' love is being referred to here - we gave up our 'own' kind of love when we accepted God's Love. His Love expresses itself in the Fruit of the Spirit. Would we want to exchange His Fruit with our self-generated type of fruit of love - or meet needs using our type of love versus His Love?
If I remember correctly, Jesus' commission was not believed/accepted by the members of His own family. I do not recall if some members later joined Him in His Gospel mission, but I am fairly sure that they all loved Him.
They loved Him with the human love that we have been given to be able to accept one another as being part of one human family. Within our own families, we have the bond of family ties to keep our love expressing itself freely between one another - some do this more perfectly than others.
But the Love that transcends even our filial love, is the Love that God the Father has infused our hearts and minds with whiles He makes us into His new creation. Motivated and guided by His Love, we become His vessel to be used toward whomever He calls us to serve - whenever, wherever.
Eph.2:10 - I do not agree that "we make friends for God by sharing Jesus". God does not look for 'friends' - He looks to call His children home. We are Jesus' mind, heart, eyes, arms, feet, hands - His body, enabling Him to reach the lives of many through the acts of His selfless love and kindness - with that, guiding back His lost children to rejoin God's spiritual family.
What is it in home that we must start from it?
What would probably be in the minds of Andrew and Philip when they came to Jesus saying that some Greeks were looking for Him, and Jesus answered "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."(John 12:25)?
Was this answer for the disciples themselves or for the Greeks? Were there among them anyone who could probably be feeling proud of who they were? We do not listen from Jesus what we want, but it is always and exactly what we NEED! Witnessing in family is a real exercise of purpose. In our house we cannot pretend something, we are what we really are. Who are we today? What do we NEED to hear from Jesus today in order to witness His message for ourselves?
Do we need to be prompted to serve the Lord, or is it our greatest desire to work for the salvation of our fellow man? Upon what do we spend our time and means outside of our daily obligations for home and work? What is the burden of our prayers and focus of our planning? If it is our sincere desire to labor for souls, there is no better place to begin than where God has placed us, if we have been asking Him to lead.
We know that Simon shared his brother Andrew's interest, and this news was too good to keep to himself. While Andrew had observed the lads provisions, he doubted that such a small store could satisfy the hunger of the 5000+ people. The request of the Greeks to Phillip was sincere, and upon telling Andrew, they were both quick to tell Jesus, yet we are not told why. They did not at that time believe that salvation was offered to any but the Jews, though they had observed Jesus dealings with the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman.
Whether members of our Immediate family, relatives, close friends, or perfect strangers, every soul must choose each day whom they serve, and no matter the relation to us, our witness must be daily of Christ dwelling in our heart by faith as we abide in Him who offers Life to all. Jesus did warn that a man's enemies would be those of his own family, and this is often the case for many who receive Jesus after being married. Many have realized too late the vital importance of being equally yoked in marriage.
The last question of today's lesson is have I shared with family and friends the love of Christ? The sad answer is that all thou they know I am a Sabbath keeper, a member of the 7th day Adventist church and I will share what I know with them, I don't go out of my way to preach to them and I should. Jesus came and pointed out who was in the wrong and what needed to be done to correct there life with the father, I pray that he will give me a chance to enlarge his territory for the kingdom of God!
James, I would really recommend that you read up on Jesus' methods of reaching people, He very seldom directly told them they were wrong.
Jesus wants people to learn to know Him and how much He loves them, and only when they truly love Him will He start changing their hearts which results in changed behavior.
What do you believe is wrong with your family? What they do or what they believe?
I have discovered the best way to close a persons mind to the truth is to tell them they are wrong.
Start a discussion ask them to tell you what and why they believe without judgment get to understand them and wait for them to ask you questions.
Jesus was mainly hard on the leaders who were leading the people astray but not on those who needed guidance with gentleness
Most of adventist Christians are good at provoking arguments with other Sunday keeping churches while our families are perishing. We have a solemn duty and challenge to preach the gospel starting from our respective homes and families. We are indeed to be an advertisement for the good news (for the soon coming saviour)