Central Theme: We need not place our hopes in earthly systems of government, which regularly disappoint us. As Christians, we are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. And with that, citizenship comes privileges, wonderful privileges. And responsibilities, too.
Read in Class:Philippians 3:17-19. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How are good and bad role models described in this passage? What keys are given to distinguish between them?
Apply: Though, of course, Jesus is the only perfect pattern, there are others who, at least in certain areas, could be good role models. At the same time, what kind of role model do you present to others?
Share: Your friend asks, “How are we supposed to work, pay the bills, and take care of our home without thinking about earthly things?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Philippians 3:20-21. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Paul vividly describe what Christian “citizenship” looks like?
Apply: How does our everyday lifestyle, how we dress, what we eat, and what we do for entertainment reflect where our citizenship is? How do you spot a tourist in your community? How do people in your community know your citizenship is in heaven?
Share: Your friend asks why it is so important to know we have the promise of eternal life in order to live like citizens of heaven. What do you tell your friend? See 1 John 5:13.
Read in Class: Philippians 4:4-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How are we to experience “the peace of God”? What specific actions are urged?
Apply: What practical steps do you use to keep your mind contemplating pure, noble, and redeeming themes? Especially in a world with so much evil and impurity?
Share: Your friend asks you what it means to experience the peace of God. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Philippains 4:10-13, 19. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What keys does Paul reveal for a contented, happy life?
Apply: How do you deal with the things that you have prayed for that have not yet come, or perhaps might never come?
Share: Your friend asks whether you have ever had an answer to prayer that you knew was a genuine miracle, not just a stroke of luck. What do you tell your friend?
Mission: Do you know someone who needs to accept the plan of salvation, so they can have peace of mind and a hope beyond this earth? Can you share it with them this week?
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17 NLT
A few years ago I had baptismal studies with an elderly man named Oscar. He had just come to the United States from Guam but was actually already a U.S. citizen before ever stepping on American soil. Guam has its own government, but it is an unincorporated United States territory. This gave Oscar the opportunity to become a U.S. citizen before even setting foot on U.S. soil.
I had never heard of someone being a citizen of a country they had never been to before, but then it occurred to me that all Christians are citizens of a land they have never been to before. This world is not our home. The fact that the world is not our home could account for why we do not always fit in. It could explain why the world cheers at things that break our hearts and why we sometimes cheer and the world does not cheer with us.
When people move from other countries to the United States, I notice they like to keep a lot of their cultural traditions, especially foods. I watched a documentary a while back on the History Channel, talking about how food companies in America expected immigrants back in the day to start buying traditional American foods,. The documentary went on to say that never happened! So the American food companies had to start catering to the diet of the immigrants.
As citizens of heaven we find some cultural traditions in our communities pose no threat to our Bible standards, but many do. It is then that we need to remember to cling to our heavenly culture while living in another land. We need to remember we are the visiting team. Have you ever followed your favorite sports team to a road game? It is a totally different atmosphere than when you are watching them play at their home stadium. When you are on the road, you stand up and cheer when your team scores, but you cheer alone, because everyone else is for the home team. And when something happens to make the home crowd cheer, you just sit there. Everything seems backwards when your team is playing on the road. I have been to several Tampa Bay Rays baseball games over the years, and I notice how fans of the visiting team dress and behave. First of all you can tell they are not fans of the home team when you see them wearing shirts and ball caps with the visiting team’s logos. Funny that so many Christians try to blend in with the world by the way they dress, but sports fans visiting another team’s ballpark never try to blend in with the home crowd by the way they dress. They are proud of the team they represent; so they are proud to stand out from the rest of the crowd. As Christian, are we proud to stand out from the culture and crowd we are around? Fans of the visiting team don’t cheer when the home crowd cheers. They don’t try to blend in with the home crowd by the way they act either. As Christians we are the visiting team here on earth. Do we behave as we would back home in heaven, or do we try to behave like the world, hoping to blend in?
Now to stay balanced – the visiting team fans do follow general home field rules and cultural traditions. They all stand for the national anthem. They all stand for the 7th-inning stretch, and they all politely wait in line at the concession stands and wait their turn at the ticket counter. They don’t act differently just for the sake of being different. They only act differently when team loyalty is called into question. Likewise Christians should not be standing out just to look strange or weird. It does not help the cause of Christ when Christians act strange for no good reason. We should only act differently to make our loyalty to God clear.
As I am writing this, I am thinking of the many times a city or community has weathered a rough storm either literally or metaphorically, and they looked to their local sports team to lift their spirits and help put pride back in their community. Today with the COVID-19 affecting our communities, I could not help but think that we don’t even have sports now as a lighthearted way to lift our spirits. While some simple and even innocent pleasures of the world are now fading away as 1 John 2:17 describes, we now more than ever should be proud to belong to a God who always lifts our spirits. With ballparks and even church buildings that give us a sense of fellowship and lift our spirits are closed now, we still belong to a God who alone can lift our spirits and give us hope.
Do we dress and act here on this earth, the same way we would dress and act in God’s kingdom, where we belong?
As Christians, let’s let the world know that earth is not our home. While being as polite and pleasant to be around as possible, let it be known that our home is in heaven, not here. We do not blend in with the world because we are not a part of this world. Let’s not be afraid to look different and act different. Lets be as proud of the kingdom we belong to as visiting team fans are proud of the teams they belong to. Actually even more proud.
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You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; Philippians 3:8-9 NKJV.
As I read this passage while studying this week’s Sabbath School lesson, I could not help but think about Jesus’ counsel to the church of Laodicea. While Laodicea had good works that were hot, their motives were cold. Righteousness is hot. Self is cold. So their self-righteousness left them lukewarm.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Revelation 3:17.
How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the Word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. The fervor of the love of God is wanting in their hearts.
Many are Laodiceans, living in a spiritual self-deception. They clothe themselves in the garments of their own righteousness, imagining themselves to be rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, when they need daily to learn of Jesus, His meekness and lowliness.
What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness, of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness…. They may be crying, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we,” while their hearts are filled with unholy traffic and unrighteous barter. The courts of the soul temple may be the haunt of envy, pride, passion, evil surmising, bitterness, and hollow formalism. Christ looks mournfully upon His professed people who feel rich and increased in the knowledge of the truth, and who are yet destitute of the truth in life and character.
Jesus says, “I, your Redeemer, know your works. I am familiar with the motives that prompt you to declare boastingly in regard to your spiritual condition, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ Thou ‘knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.’” …
What a position to be in! They stand in their own light. But notwithstanding their willful ignorance, they are not left by the Lord without added warning and counsel. – Ellen White, Our High Calling, Page 349
Jesus continues his counsel to Laodicea,
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. Revelation 3:18 NKJV
Salvation is free, so why is Jesus telling us to buy gold refined in the fire and white garments? I believe Jesus wants us to use the bartering system. He wants us to trade in our self-righteousness. The refining fire removes self-confidence as we trade in our self-reliant righteousness and accept Jesus’ robe of righteousness. Like Paul in Philippians 3, we need to let go of our self-righteousness and take on Christ’s righteousness as our own. This has been an ongoing struggle with humanity throughout history. In Numbers 13, the children of Israel could have put their faith in God’s love and taken the promised land, but instead they looked at themselves and thought it could not be done. Because of their lack of faith, God tells them in Numbers 14 that they will not be able to enter the promised land, but their children will in 40 years. But at the end of Numbers 14, Israel decides to go ahead and take the land by themselves, and they ended up getting defeated. They failed to learn in Numbers 13 that with God’s grace, they can do all things, and in Numbers 14 they failed to learn that without that same grace they can do nothing.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV.
I believe that our work is to get ourselves out of the way so that God can do His work in us.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:19-21 NKJV.
Jesus is rebuking us of our self-righteous pride, because He loves us. When self is dead, Jesus sees us as overcomers just like Him! What is impossible to do in our own strength, we can do in God’s strength and grace. Self-righteousness is only a pretended righteousness, while the righteousness of Christ, which is by faith, makes righteousness a reality.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. Hebrews 11:8 NKJV.
Abraham disobeyed God when he put faith in himself. This is why Abraham had to be circumcised. Self-confidence in the flesh had to be removed. When Abraham wholly relied on God, and put His faith in God instead of relying on self he obeyed. This is why today our hearts need to be circumcised. The heart is deceitful and leads us to trust ourselves. Once the self is dead, God’s grace gives us genuine obedience.
Jesus rebukes us because he sees potential in us. Once while working at UPS, I did something that made my supervisor very upset. He chewed me out to the point where I thought I was about to be fired. But then he turned around and said, “You may think I am getting too upset about this, but when you become a supervisor, you will understand.” So he rebuked me and then talked about me becoming a supervisor one day, which I did!
Likewise, Jesus rebukes us because He sees us as overcomers, as He overcame, once we repent of our self-reliant righteousness and accept the righteousness of Christ as our righteousness.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Central Theme: Christ is everything to us, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). If our priorities are in the right place, we will live with the assurance of God’s love and enjoy the promise, even now, of salvation, all while placing “no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).
Read in Class: Philippians 3:1-6. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What positive and negative notes does Paul sound here, and how are they related? How does he describe believers? How would you describe the “good” in your own life (past and present)?
Apply: Life can be very difficult for us all, no matter how well things might be going at the moment. But even if they are not going well now, what things can you and should you rejoice about? What is stopping you from doing it?
Share: Your friend tells you that Galatians 2:16 says, “knowing that a man is not ustified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Your friend asks whether this was true before the cross as well as after the cross. Your friend asks why we can’t be justified by the works of the law? Why is our faith in Jesus the only way to be justified? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Philippians 3:8-9. Ask the class to summarize this passage.
Study: What two things does Paul contrast, and why is this contrast important to always remember?
Apply: How can we make sure we are trusting in Christ’s righteousness and not our own? Are there any warning signs or red flags that alert us when we trust in our own righteousness?
Share: Your friend reminds you of the words in the beloved hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross,” where it says, “till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross.” Your friend asks you what trophies we need to lay down, so we can cling to the old rugged cross? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Philippians 3:10-16. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What are some of the main points Paul makes in this passage?
Apply: Why, in your walk with the Lord, is it so important to not keep looking back, at least back at your sins and failures, but instead to look ahead to what you have been promised right now in Christ?
Share: Your friend asks, “Is it only the bad things we are not supposed to look back on or the good, too?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Revelation 3:14-21. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: The things that made Paul proud of himself blinded him to his need for Christ. What is it that blinds Laodicea? What is Jesus’ solution for Laodicea’s pride and blindness?
Apply: What are some things (even good things) that could be blinding us from our need for Jesus today? How do we keep from being blind?
Share: Your friend asks whether our church might be relying on its own wealth and resources instead of on Christ. If so, where could the church be doing that? What do you tell your friend?
Mission: Can you think of someone who been struggling with an addiction? Can you show them how to put their confidence in Jesus so they can overcome this addiction?
I grew up in a relatively large Sabbath School class at the First Tulsa Seventh-day Adventist Church in the late 60s and 70s. It was a large church with attendance back in the 70s reaching well over 300. Some of my older friends tell me it was almost 400 some Sabbaths. The church also had a bustling school with around 100 students, give or take a few. So childhood peers were not scarce for me growing up in the church and Sabbath School.
I remember in Cradle Roll singing the song “I Have Two Dollies, and you Have None,” where a little girl would be given two dolls, and then share with another girl who did not have one, and then for the boys, it would be the same song but with a toy truck instead of a doll. I remember one time we were horrified when a little girl visiting our class was given the two dolls, but then refused to share!
I remember in Kindergarten Sabbath School class, the other kids singing Happy Birthday to their friend who was having a birthday that week, and the little plastic cake we would put our birthday thank offering into.
In Primary class, we had “Our Primary Treasure” magazine, with the Sabbath school lessons that my parents studied with my sister and me each night during family worship. My parents were my teachers when I reached the Junior room, and they were very active, not only in Sabbath school class, but also in socials and activities that brought us all together. To this day, I am still friends with several kids from my Sabbath School classes when I was growing up.
I have friends today who did not grow up in the large Sabbath School classes as I did. My girlfriend Becky grew up in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. She tells me that her church was so small that she and her brothers were the only kids, and so sometimes her own parents taught the class, or sometimes they just joined the adults. Later, the church grew with just a few more kids, where they would have a class with all ages, and then divide by age for the lesson study. Another friend told me that she was often the only child in her class, but it made her feel special that there was a whole class just for her.
Children’s Sabbath school classes have always been a challenge, especially in rural areas where there are not many children. Back in the day, families lived on farms and raised several children who would fill the church. Today, younger families are having fewer children and are more prone to live in the cities than in rural areas.
I remember being a Bible Worker and an elder in a small church on the outskirts of Tulsa, a good-sized city. We had an extremely small children’s Sabbath school class. While more young families with children lived in the area, most traveled to Tulsa for the larger Sabbath School class. These families told me they did not want to go to the smaller church in their area because there were not enough kids for their kids to be with. I assured these families that if they all came to the smaller church, it would not be so small. It was hard for me to watch, because the few children who did remain in the smaller church would have loved to have had more friends, and they could have had more friends if the other families in that rural area had supported their neighborhood church instead of insisting on driving 30 or more minutes into the city.
What was your Sabbath School childhood like? I hope you will comment below and share your experiences of what you loved about Sabbath School as a child and what you would have liked to be different. I hope we can all learn from each other’s experiences to build better Sabbath School classes in both rural and urban communities that will help disciple our children.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School Lesson here.
Central Theme: The light and power of heaven is available to all of us who have surrendered our lives to Jesus. But too often either we expect God to do it all or our own ideas and plans get in the way. That’s why Paul’s words to the Philippians are so relevant today.
Read in Class:Philippians 2:12-16. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does Paul mean by saying, “Work out your own salvation”? How would you describe the relation between faith and works? How does Paul describe what we, as children of God, are to be and to do?
Share: Your friend says that we work out our own salvation by deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong, rather than listening to the church. What do you tell your friend?
Apply: Reflect on what it would mean for your life to be a “living sacrifice.” How much do you sacrifice for the kingdom of God, and what does your answer tell you about yourself?
Share: Your friend says that some people are way too fanatical and give up way too much to become Christians. They think they are holier than thou just because of their fanatical sacrifices and lifestyle. What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Matthew 26:6-13.
Study: Why do you think Paul speaks so positively and at such length about Timothy? What are some of the things Paul says about Timothy?
Apply: Think about the provocations, hardships, and annoyances you have faced recently. Have these been “meekly borne” and “well endured”? What can you do to enable these experiences to help make you more disciplined?
Share: Your friend says he thought we were not supposed to be praising other people, so why is Paul going on about how good Timothy is? What do you tell your friend? Is there a difference between praising someone and affirming them? If so, what is the difference?
Read in Class: Philippians 2:25-30. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Paul describe Epaphroditus? What specific attitudes and actions of this Christian worker reveal his character?
Apply: How do we make sure that we shine as lights in the world without our good deeds and accomplishments giving us pride? See Matthew 5:16.
Share: Your friend says that while Epaphroditus almost worked himself to death, Ellen White says her husband James did work himself to death. Are we supposed to work ourselves to death for the sake of the Gospel? What do you tell your friend?
Mission: Can you think of someone who works hard for the church out of love and is a bright light for Jesus in a world of darkness? Can you commend them this week?
Jesus taught humility while upholding human dignity.
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11 NKJV
Here, Jesus teaches us how to be humble and how to protect ourselves from humiliation. By assuming the lowest place, we avoid being humiliated by being asked to step down. While the gospel destroys human pride, Jesus protects human dignity. After all, in John 2:1-10, Jesus turns water into wine and performs His first miracle to save a host from embarrassment. In John 8:1-11, Jesus protects the dignity of a woman tricked into adultery, while also protecting the dignity of the accomplices by writing in the sand instead of publicly calling them out. We don’t know exactly what Jesus wrote in the sand, and it makes me wonder whether Jesus told John not to tell anyone what he read that day, to protect the dignity of those He was striving to convert. If so, Revelation 10:4 would be the second time John was told not to write what he heard or read. But I digress.
Jesus taught us how to be humble without being humiliated. To me, the difference between humility and humiliation comes down to control. We humans love to be in control of ourselves, and that is not all bad. After all, according to Galatians 5:22-23, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. So, self-control is a good thing, and Jesus teaches us how to be humble while still being in control of ourselves.
When I was 11, several family members were at my grandmother’s house for a funeral. Everyone was receiving their sleeping arrangements, and after my grandmother checked to make sure everyone was okay with their bedding, she turned to me and said, “The only place left for you is the sofa in the living room.” While I was happy to sleep on the sofa, or floor for that matter, I was insulted and humiliated that I was told instead of asked. Especially since everyone else, including other children, were asked. I wanted the dignity of being in control and volunteering to sleep on the sofa instead of being forced.
Looking back at the situation with adult eyes now, I understand the people, including children, who were asked where they wanted to sleep were more directly related to the dearly departed than I was. Also, my grandmother was grieving the loss of her sister, so I could have been more understanding. I could also have spoken up earlier and said I would just sleep on the sofa or anywhere. But hey, I was just a kid. The point is, I understand what Jesus was talking about when He taught us to exercise self-control and take the lowest place before it is assigned to us, and we lose control. I hope I have also learned how to protect the dignity of younger people while teaching them humility. Humility should not be humiliating. Desiring that type of control is not a sin. Remember, the Holy Spirit gives us self-control.
A friend told me that when she was new to a company, and on a business flight, she did not realize she had taken the vice president’s seat. It was later pointed out to her by a seasoned associate towards the end of the flight. However, when the vice president saw a new intern sitting in his seat, he said nothing and went to the back of the plane, taking the last seat left. He did not want to embarrass a new employee, and besides, he not only had self-control but also the self-confidence to realize that the vice president’s seat was whatever seat he was sitting in.
In the Book of Esther, Haman could have learned a lesson from this vice president and saved his neck instead of getting all bent out of shape when Mordecai did not bow to him. On the other hand, Daniel exercised self-control when he was insulted by the king in Daniel 5:13. Daniel had enough self-confidence that he could let that insult roll right off his back.
Remember, when weak people are disrespected, they seek revenge. When people who are strong in the Lord are disrespected, they forgive. When brilliant people are disrespected, they ignore the disrespect.
Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. Proverbs 12:16 NIV
The gospel destroys human pride while protecting human dignity. Using self-control to be humble is not humiliating. Failing to use self-control to be humble is humiliating.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Central Theme: This week, we’ll look at the biblical basis for unity in the church, focusing especially on the amazing condescension of Jesus, the lessons we can gain from beholding Him, and how we can grow to be more like Him.
Read in Class:Philippians 2:1-4. Ask the class to summarize this passage.
Study: What factors seem to have led to disunity within the church? What practical steps does Paul urge to have unity in the church?
Apply: What kind of death to self would lead us to where we, indeed, esteem others better than ourselves? How can we learn to do that? How different would our relationships be if we all lived like that?
Share: Your friend asks you if you have ever known anyone who was so humble that it reminded you of Jesus? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What do you think it means to have the “mind” of Christ?
Apply: Why is it so important that we follow what Paul tells us here: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8, NKJV)?
Share: Your friend says that we are all human, so there is no way we can really have the mind of Christ. What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Romans 12:1-21.
Read in Class:Philippians2:5-8. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What is Paul saying to us here? What are the implications of these words? Most importantly, how do we apply the principle expressed here to our own lives?
Apply: How should we respond to what Christ has done for us, as depicted in Philippians 2:5-8? What response could possibly be “adequate” or worthy of what Christ has done for us, perhaps other than to fall on our knees and worship? Why is it so wrong to think that our works can add to what Christ has already done for us?
Share: Your friend says he thinks the reason so many people have trouble being humble is that they think it is humiliating to be humble. Is there a difference between being humble and being humiliated? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What characterized Jesus’ condescension and His taking of human nature?
Apply: How can, and should, focusing on what Jesus did for us at the cross–seeing the cross as our example of surrender and humility–make us more humble, as well as more submissive to God?
Share: Your friend says, 1 Corinthians 8:2 says, “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” Your friend asks what that is saying. Does it mean we are not supposed to act like we know anything? What do you tell your friend?
Mission: Ask yourself what specific changes you can make to show more humility at your work, school, church, and family. Share these specific changes with God and ask for His help.
Paul felt the destiny of his life was to share the Gospel, even if it meant facing constant persecution and even death.
And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:22-24 NLT
Thankfully Paul’s life was preserved until he accomplished everything Jesus wanted him to accomplish.
Likewise, even if our lives are cut short, we can be certain Jesus will not let that happen until He has accomplished His purpose for our lives. Here is a remarkable account of Ellen Harmon, a young girl, no more than eighteen years old. She is on a steamboat leaving Portland Maine that has just run into a very dangerous storm. While many were fearful for their lives, this young girl, when asked by an older woman why she was not afraid like everyone else, could answer with assurance:
“I told her I had made Christ my refuge, and if my work was done, I might as well lie in the bottom of the ocean as in any other place; but if my work was not done, all the waters of the ocean could not drown me. My trust was in God, that he would bring us safe to land if it was for his glory.” Ellen White, Life Sketches, p. 241
God did indeed have a work for Ellen to do. Ellen later married James White, an Adventist pioneer, and the rest is history. God also has a purpose for each of us. Our goal in this world should not necessarily be to live a long life, but to live a faithful life. As long as we have the assurance young Ellen had, that we are in God’s care and doing God’s work, the longevity of our life is not consequential, and we shall be prepared to walk away from this world either by death or the Second Coming at any time, satisfied we have accomplished our purpose and destiny as followers of Christ.
Each has his own experience, peculiar in its character and circumstances, to accomplish a certain work. God has a work, a purpose, in the life of each of us. Every act, however small, has its place in our life experience. – Ellen White, God’s Amazing Grace, Page 311
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study: What seems to be Paul’s expectation as to the outcome of his trial? What does he consider even more important than being acquitted? What did Paul want to see accomplished in the people he won to Christ?
Apply: Look at how you live and how you treat people, especially people who don’t treat you nicely. What kind of witness for Jesus do you present?
Share: Your friend says, “Isn’t making sure we have eternal life the whole purpose of accepting Jesus as our savior? So why would Paul not care if he lived or died so long as Christ is magnified? Is there more to the cross and salvation other than just making sure we get eternal life?”
Study: What is the basis of the spiritual war we wage, and what are our weapons? How do we understand Paul’s point, especially in the context of the great controversy?
Apply: In what ways, right now, are you experiencing the reality of the great controversy? How can you draw comfort and strength from knowing that Christ has won the victory for us already?
Share: Your friend asks, “What does it mean, ‘To me to live is Christ and to die is gain?” What do you tell your friend?
Study: What does Paul mean when he says that “to depart, and be with Christ” is “far better”?
Apply: Knowing that our days in the flesh here on earth are numbered, how can we make the best use of our time to share the Gospel, especially those of us who are working full-time jobs or are in school full-time?
Share: Your friend says that Philippians 1:23-24 proves that we go straight to heaven the moment we die. What do you tell your friend? For a hint, see what Paul says later in Philippians 3:10-11.
Study: What do both Jesus and Paul say is indispensable for unity in the church? How does our unity and “striving together for the faith of the gospel” relate to fearlessness?
Apply: What hope, what comfort, should we, as Christians, have amid our suffering?
Share: Your friend says she has noticed that people in the church who work together to spread the Gospel don’t seem to bicker, complain, or gossip as much as those who aren’t working in the church to spread the Gospel. Do you agree with your friend? How do you respond to your friend?
Mission: Can you think of someone who works a full-time job or goes to school full-time, and still makes good use of their time sharing the Gospel? Can you reach out to them this week and encourage and affirm their ministry? Maybe even pray with them that God will continue blessing their ministry?
In Light of The Cross 