Category / Sabbath School Lessons

by In Light Of The Cross

9: The Cosmic Conflict-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, March 1, 2025.

Main Theme:  We will address how the two following questions might be answered according to some crucial biblical passages: (1) Where does Scripture teach that there is a cosmic conflict between God and Satan? (2) According to Scripture, what is the nature of the conflict?

Read in Class: Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43. Ask the class to share the main idea of this parable.

Study: How does the parable help us understand evil in our world?

Apply: What are some of the dangers in seeking to uproot the tares from the wheat now? At the same time, why does this not mean simply ignoring the evil that we encounter?

Share: Your friend asks you where do you see or experience the conflict between good and evil? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15. Ask the class to identify the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these passages describe the one who fell, and the origination of evil?

Apply: How do we understand the fact that Lucifer, who fell, was originally “perfect . . . from the day” he was created “till iniquity was found” in him (Ezek. 28:15)? How could a perfect being fall unless being “perfect” included true moral freedom?

Share: Your friend asks, why didn’t God stop this evil up in heaven before it got out of control? What do you tell your friend? How might the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13 help you explain your answer?

Read in Class: Genesis 3:1-7, 15, and Matthew 4:1-11. Ask the class if they see any similarities in these passages.

Study: How do these passages help us understand the conflict between Christ and Satan, and how sin originated on earth, and its solution?

Apply:  God’s statement in Genesis 3:15 to the serpent that the Seed of the woman, referring to the Messiah, would crush the serpent’s head is often identified as the first gospel (protoevangelium) in Scripture. How does this both reinforce the reality of the conflict and yet provide hope for us in the midst of it?

Share: Your friend asks you how are we as mere mortal human beings supposed to survive the same kind of Satanic attacks Jesus endured? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 8:44-45 and Revelation 12:7-9. Ask the class what similarities they see in these passages.

Study: What do these passages reveal about the character of the devil and his strategy?

Apply: How does putting on the whole armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6:10-19 help you defend yourself against Satan’s strategies?

Share: “Often He [Jesus] met those who had drifted under Satan’s control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.” –Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Pages 91-92.

How might you encourage someone this week who is fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls?

by In Light Of The Cross

Even When we Make Mistakes Jesus Never Leaves or Forsakes us

This coming April I will be celebrating 21 years in Florida. I have a heart full of wonderful memories and experiences here, but it was not exactly a smooth start when I first came here.

I would not trade the last 21 years for anything. However, there were a few bumps in the road when I first got here. For one thing I was not prepared for the  spike in car insurance prices. Also, I first came to Florida as a local hire Bible Worker, which means my pay came from the local church I was hired by and not the conference office. The church made some mistakes in quoting my salary, and in the end the conference had to point out to them that my actual salary was much less than what was quoted in my offer letter.  After such a mistake I wanted to leave right away, but  I was broke and had no money to move back home to Texas.

So, there I was back in 2004 in a strange place with no money, without any close friends yet and a job that was not going to pay enough for me to get by. It looked like I had made a huge mistake. I thought I was so foolish to have made  this move when I ran across this passage that sprang hope into my heart.

Whatever our situation, if we are doers of His word, we have a Guide to direct our way; whatever our perplexity, we have a sure Counselor; whatever our sorrow, bereavement, or loneliness, we have a sympathizing Friend. If in our ignorance we make missteps, the Saviour does not forsake us. We need never feel that we are alone. Angels are our companions. The Comforter that Christ promised to send in His name abides with us. In the way that leads to the City of God there are no difficulties which those who trust in Him may not overcome. There are no dangers which they may not escape. There is not a sorrow, not a grievance, not a human weakness, for which He has not provided a remedy. –Ellen White, Ministry of Healing, Pages 248-249

I found this passage to be so encouraging! Even if I had made missteps and ignorantly ended up in the wrong state with the wrong job Jesus was still with me and was still going to care for me! That passage comforted me with all the assurance I needed to hear. So many times, we comfort each other with promises that God will take care of us when we are making wise choices, but now I was assured Jesus is still with me and cares for me when I make mistakes.

Incidentally during this time I thought I had found a better job here in Florida. The pest control man came to my church one day during the week, and I started talking to him, and asked if he was hiring. He told me he was, and we talked, and he had already basically hired me when he asked how I was going to do my Bible work while working for him. Now keep in mind the pest control man was not a Seventh-day Adventist. I told him I would be quitting my Bible Worker job to work for him. He stepped away from me and waving his hands, he said, “No way! I am not going to hire you. I will not be responsible for taking a man out of the ministry!”

Soon things started turning around, and I got raises, and other miraculous things started falling into place. More importantly I started making some of the best friends I have ever had, and God blessed my ministry with scores of Bible studies and baptisms. My church became very supportive of me and my ministry, and it soon became apparent that I had made no mistake by coming to Florida. I look back now and see how even when I was broke I was never stuck in Florida. I was securely fastened in God’s loving hands. 21 years later I look back now, and think about the pest control man refusing to hire me because he was not going to take me out of the ministry. That was a God thing! God had a plan the entire time.

Still, that passage from Ministry of Healing was so encouraging.

If in our ignorance we make missteps, the Saviour does not forsake us. We need never feel that we are alone.

21 years later, after hundreds of baptisms, and countless Bible studies and precious friendships forged along the way, I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that moving to Florida was no mistake. God knew exactly what He was doing the entire time. However, I do make mistakes. I do make wrong choices sometimes. How good to know that even when I make mistakes, or missteps as Ellen Whtie calls them, Jesus is still with me, loving and caring for me. Friend, I have no idea where you are right now. Maybe you have made missteps or maybe you are exactly where God planned for you to be the whole time, but things may a little rough right now. Either way, your Savior will not forsake you even when you make missteps. You are not alone. Jesus is with you just as much as He was with me. Jesus loves me a lot I know, but I am not His favorite. He loves you just as much, and some wonderful miracles are headed your way too!

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

8: Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, February 22, 2025.

Main Theme: Strong Biblical evidence shows that God does not determine everything that happens. Instead, He grants humans free will, even to the point where they (and angels) can choose to act directly against His will. The history of the Fall, of sin, and of evil is a dramatic and tragic expression of the results of abusing this free will. The plan of salvation was instituted in order to remedy the tragedy caused by the misuse of free will.

Read in Class: Psalm 81:11-14, Isaiah 30:15-18, and Luke 13:34, Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these texts say about the question of whether God’s will is always being done?

Apply: Think through the implications of any theology that attributes everything that happens to God’s direct will. What kind of deep problems, especially in the context of evil, would such a theology create?

Share: Your friend says that she has always heard that God puts into office whoever He wants in that office, and yet Hosea 8:4 says, “They set up kings, but not by me?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelaion 11:17, Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:17-20. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these passages teach about God’s power?

Apply: Scripture also teaches that God wants to save everyone (for example, 1 Tim. 2:4-6, Titus 2:11, 2 Pet. 3:9, Ezek. 33:11), but not everyone will be saved. What does this fact teach about the reality of free will and the limits of God’s power with beings granted free will?

Share: Your friend asks, you if there was ever a time when you knew what the right thing to do was, but you still had a hard time doing it? What did you end up doing and what were the results?

Read in Class: Ephesians 1:9-11. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is this text saying about predestination? Are some people predestined to be saved and others to be lost?

Apply:  What kind of attitude and response to God might people have if one believed in predestination? 

Share: Your friend says that if God knows the end from the beginning then we really have no choice in anything? How is your friend’s thinking faulty? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 16:33. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Even when the consequences of other people’s choices bring us trials and suffering, what hope does this passage give us?

Apply: How often do you think about the fact that God is grieved by suffering as well? 

Share: Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who belong to God. This does not mean that everything that happens is God’s will or even good. What it does mean is that God will overrule everything that happens to bring about good to those who love Him. Can you think of someone this week, who you can encourage by your own testimony on how God has overruled evil in your life? How can you share your testimony with that person this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: The Problem of Evil-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, February 15, 2025.

Main Theme: Many atheists identify the problem of evil as the reason that they are atheists. But as we will see in this week and in coming weeks, the God of the Bible is entirely good, and we can trust Him—even despite the evil that so infects our fallen world.

Read in Class: Job 38:1-12. Have the class identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does God’s answer to Job shed light on the problem of evil? How much do we know and not know about what might be going on behind the scenes?

Apply: Read Job 42:3.  How does Job’s response illuminate what we should recognize about our own position?

Share: Your friend asks why God has allowed others to suffer if He is a God of love? What experiences of your own can you share about prospering from suffering? Or what experiences can you share from your parenting? For example why would a good parent allow their child to receive a painful shot at the doctor’s office?

Read in Class: Psalm 73 and Isaiah 55:8-9. Ask the class what the common thread of these passafges may be.

Study: How does the psalmist approach the evil and injustice around him? What does he see that puts his understanding in a different perspective?

Apply: How can the Adventist understanding of the judgment and the sanctuary doctrine shed light on the problem of evil? Is it helpful to you to know that, while we have many questions now, the details of history and God’s righteous judgments will be revealed in the end?

Share: Your friend asks, how can we have hope when there is so much corruption everywhere? Everyone is so greedy for money and power? There is no integrity anywhere? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 2:16-17. Ask the class what is the main idea of this passage?

Study: How do these verses display the moral freedom granted to Adam and Eve?

Apply: Sony Corporation has created a robot dog, called Aibo. It will not get sick, not get fleas, not bite, not need shots, and not shed fur. Would you trade your flesh and blood dog for an Aibo? If not, how might your choice help you better understand why God created us as He did, with free will—despite the risks?

Share: Your friend asks, how do you encourage someone who keeps reaping the consequences of their continual bad choices?What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Romans 8:18 and Revelation 21:3-4. Have the class define the common thread in these passages.

Study: How can these texts give us confidence to trust in God’s goodness, despite all the evil in our world?

Apply: How does keeping in mind the fact that God grants us free will help protect us from thinking that everything that happens is God’s will?

Share: Romans 2:4 tells us it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Can you think of someone who has been the vicitm of their own sin and suffering? What are some practical things you can do for them this week so they can see God’s goodness and be lead to repentance?

by In Light Of The Cross

6: God’s Love of Justice-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, February 8, 2025.

Main Theme: In stark contrast to the false gods of the ancient world, and even to the modern “gods” of today, as well, Yahweh is deeply concerned about evil, suffering, injustice, and oppression—all of which He constantly and unequivocally condemns. And, most important, He will one day eradicate them all, as well.

Read in Class: Psalm 33:5, Psalm 85:10 and Psalm 89:14. Have the class define the main idea of these passages.

Study: How do these texts shed light on God’s concern for justice?

Apply: What are examples, even now, of perverted human justice? How, then, can we not cry out for God’s perfect justice to come one day?

Share: Your friend tells you when he was in Adventist middle school, the pastor’s son would bully him all the time, but the teachers would never do anything about it. When his parents talked to the teachers and even the pastor himself, they all said he was making it up. Your friend asks you were was God’s mercy and justice in all of that? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 92:15, and Psalm 145:9-17. Have the class define the common thread in these passages.

Study: What do these passages teach about the faithfulness and righteousness of God? What do these verses teach about God?

Apply: How do you trust God’s goodness when other people cheat you and seem to get away with it? How do you trust God when others seem to be getting all the breaks but you never seem to?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why does such a good God allow for so much of the evil that is in this world?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 32:14 and Jeremiah 18:4-10. Have the class idenify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do you make of these descriptions of God’s “relenting”?

Apply: How does God’s repentance and change in judgment relate in any way to restoration? 

Share: Your friend asks, if God never changes then why does He relent or seem to change His mind? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Matthew 5:43-48. Have the class identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does this teach about God’s amazing love? How should we act toward others in light of this teaching of Jesus?

Apply: Isaiah 25:1 proclaims, “O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (NKJV). How can we learn to praise God, even in bad times? In what ways can your life itself be an offering of praise to God in a way that furthers justice in your sphere of influence?

Share: Romans 2:4 says it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Is there anything from this week’s lesson you can share with someone to help them see the goodness of God this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

5: The Wrath of Divine Love-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, February 1, 2025.

Main Theme: God’s anger is always His righteous and loving response against evil and injustice. Divine wrath is righteous indignation motivated by perfect goodness and love, and it seeks the flourishing of all creation. God’s wrath is simply the appropriate response of love to evil and injustice. Accordingly, evil provokes God to passion in favor of the victims of evil and against its perpetrators. Divine wrath, then, is another expression of divine love.

Read in Class: Psalm 78:36-39, Jonah 4:1-11, and Matthew 10:8.. Define the main idea in these passages.

Study: Compare God’s response to man’s rebellion with Jonah’s response. How do these responses differ?

Apply: Have you ever failed to show mercy or grace to someone who has wronged you? How can you best remember what God has done for you so that you become more gracious to others in response to the abundant grace God has shown you? And, how do we do this, show mercy and grace, but without giving license to sin or enabling abuse or oppression?

Share: You friend says, just like with Nineveh, God may get angry, but since He is love He never destroys. What do you tell your friend? See Why I Believe God Kills Because He is Love.

Read in Class: Matthew 21:12-13, and John 2:14-15. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What does Jesus’ reaction to the way the temple was being used tell us about God’s getting angry at evil? What does this tell us about what it might mean to be like Jesus?

Apply: How can we be careful not to seek to justify selfish anger as “righteous indignation”? Why is that so easy to do, and how can we protect ourselves from that subtle but real trap?

Share: Your friend says, People say it is a sin to be angry but the Bible says Jesus got angry. See Mark 3:5. Your friend asks, is it possible to be angry without sinning? What do you tell your friend? See Ephesians 4:26.

Read in Class: Ezra 5:12, Jeremiah 51:24-25, 44, 2 Chronicles 36:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What does this explain about the judgment that came upon Jerusalem via the Babylonians?

Apply: How does the fact that God does not want to bring judgment against anyone affect your understanding of divine anger and wrath? If God is slow to anger, should we not be more patient and longsuffering with those around us? How can we do so while also protecting and caring for the victims of wrongdoing?

Share: Your friend asks, If God allowed wicked Babylon to hurt the Jews in order to eventually save them and bring them back, then could it be that God uses our enemies to humble us? Are all our misfortunes at the hand of an enemy? Or could it actually be God trying to get us to repent? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Proverbs 20:22 and Romans 12:17-21. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: How might these passages help us discern the difference between righteous indignation and human revenge?

Apply: In what way has Christ’s atonement upheld justice while also delivering us from wrath? Recognizing that provision had been made for you, despite your shortcomings, how much more gracious should you be to others?

Share: While wrath may be a desperate measure God in His divine love will use to bring us to repentance, Romans 2:4 says its the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. How can you share the goodness of God with someone this week who needs to be brought to repentance?

by In Light Of The Cross

Godly Passion and Jealousy

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The Bible clearly teaches us not to be envious or jealous. 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.Genesis 20:17

NKJV Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies.... Galatians 5:19-20 NKJV

Then why does the Bible portray God as being jealous?

You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, Exodus 20:4-5  NKJV

For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. Psalm 78:58 NKJV

There are different kinds of jealousy. Paul spoke of a godly jealousy.

For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2 NKJV 

The jealousy that is spoken against in the Bible is when we want something that does not belong to us. If a man lusts after another man’s wife that is wrong because the woman is not his but belongs to another man. However if the husband loses his wife to another man he has godly jealousy because his wife actually belongs to him and not he other man. By the way this still does not justify a husband getting jealous every time his wife speaks cordially to another brother in church etc., but I digress. Carnal jealousy is when we want what does not belong to us. Godly jealousy is when we want what does belong to us but is taken by someone else. 

God is jealous when His own people choose another god. He is both jealous and passionate because not only do we belong to Him and not the world, but He also knows the world will not love and care for us the way He does. This is why God tells us in Exodus 20:3 that we are not to have any other gods. God knows no other God will love and care for us the way He does. His passion for our welfare demands we have no other gods besides Him. Only He can love us the way we were designed to be loved. We do not belong to the world. We belong to God. See Psalm 24:1. God’s jealousy is not a carnal jealousy where we want what does not belong to us so we can use it to satisfy our lustful passions. God’s jealousy is a goldy jealousy where He does not want to lose what is rightfully His, and His passion is a godly passion for our own wellbeing.

God wants us to stay faithful to Him for our own wellbeing and not because of some carnal jealous ego. The reason we are to have no other gods before us is because God is the only God who can give us the love and wellbeing we need. He is jealous for our welfare and not for Himself. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

4: God is Passionate and Compassionate-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class January 25, 2025.

Main Theme: there are beautiful truths to be garnered from the realization that God’s love for us is a deeply emotional love, but always with the caveat that though God’s love (emotional or otherwise) is perfect, it should not be thought of as identical to emotions as humans experience them.

Read in Class: Psalm 103:13, Isaiah 49:15, and Jeremiah 31:20. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What do these depictions convey about the nature and depth of God’s compassion?

Apply: How have you demonstrated God’s love to a son or daughter or other family member, and how has someone in your family demonstrated God’s love to you?

Share: Your friend says that her parents were not loving. How might you be able to help your friend see the compassion of God, even though her parents were unloving?

Read in Class: Hosea 11:1-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does the imagery in these verses bring to life the way God loves and cares for His people?

Apply: Anyone who has ever been a parent knows what the lesson is talking about. No other earthly love begins to compare. How does this help us understand the reality of God’s love for us, and what comfort can, and should, we draw from this understanding?

Share: Your friend says its hard to know when to “shake the dust off our feet” (See Matthew 10:14) when you are compassionately and passionately working with a stubborn and wayward soul. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Matthew 9:36, Matthew 23:37 and Mark 1:41. Have the class identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: How do these verses shed light on the way Christ was moved by the plight of people?

Apply: There is no greater example of God’s great compassionate love for us than Jesus Himself—who gave Himself for us in the ultimate demonstration of love. Yet, Christ is not only the perfect image of God. He is also the perfect model of humanity. How can we model our lives after the life of Christ, focusing on the felt needs of others, and, thus, not merely preaching God’s love but showing it in tangible ways?

Share: Your friend says he has been paying the electric bill for his son’s family because his son keeps wasting his money on other things. Your friend wants to be compassionate towards his grandchildren who he does not want to freeze to death, but does not want to keep enabling the son to waste money. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study:  In what ways does this passage call us to reflect God’s compassionate and amazing love in our relationships with others?

Apply: Why is a death to self and to the selfishness and corruption of our natural hearts the only way to reveal this kind of love? What are the choices that we can make in order to be able to die this death to self?

Share: Your friend points out that while 1 Corinthians 13:4 says love does not envy or get jealous, that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:2 that he has a godly jealousy. Your friend asks how do you reconcile having a godly jealousy with love never being jealous? What do you tell your friend? See Godly Passion and Jealousy.

by In Light Of The Cross

3: To be Pleasing to God-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath , January 18, 2025.

Main Theme: By God’s grace we can be pleasing to God.

Read in Class: Luke 15:11-32. Have the class summarize this story.

Study: What does the parable of the prodigal son reveal about God’s compassion and love? What warning does it provide for those who, like the other son, remained home?

Apply: Interesting is the reaction of the other son. Why was this reaction such a human reaction, based at least in part on fairness, and so understandable, as well? What, however, does his part of the story teach us about how human concepts of fairness don’t capture the depth of the gospel or of God’s love for us?

Share: Your friend says young people will never appreciate being in the church until they have first gone out into the world and experienced sin. After all, people who have stayed in the church all their lives don’t have any amazing conversation stories to share. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Zephaniah 3:17 and Ephesians 5:25-28. Ask the class what the common thread is in these passages.

Study: How does Zephaniah 3:17 shed light on the parable of the prodigal son? What does Ephesians 5:25-28 say about the love we should display as well?

Apply: When you hear that someone who has left the church has returned, what is your first reaction? Rejoicing and celebrating or skepticism? Exactly how should we celebratee when soneone returns to the church? Throw a party like the prodigal son’s father?

Share: Your friend is very upset because her church is having a baby shower for a 15 year-old unwed mother. The 15 year-old girl is sorry and wants to come back God and raise her child in the church, but really? Why should the church reward this girl’s sinful behavior with a shower? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Isaiah 43:4, Psalm 149:4, and Proverbs 15:8-9. Ask the class what these passages are saying?

Study: What do these passages tell us about God taking delight in His people?

Apply: Think about how closely tied heaven and earth must be that God, the Creator of the universe, can be so intimately involved, even emotionally, with us. What hope should this amazing idea give you, especially if you are going through a hard time?

Share: Your friend says he hears people in the church talking bad about the youth and how worldly they dress and act. Everyone seems disappointed in them. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Romans 8:1 and Romans 5:8. Ask the class what the main idea is of these passages.

Study: What do these texts teach about our standing before God?

Apply: Read 1 Peter 2:4-6 and compare it with Hebrews 11:6. What does this tell us about how we can be pleasing to God?

Share: Your friend asks how he can know if he is pleasing God or not? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

How far Will God go to Keep His Promises?

There is a saying, “kids who are loved at home come to school to learn. Kids who are not loved at home come to school to be loved.” Is it any different in Sabbath School? Is it also true that God’s children (ages 0-125) who know they are loved come to Sabbath school to learn, and those who don’t yet know they are loved, come to Sabbath School to be loved?

I can still remember sitting at my desk in my 4th-grade classroom at Tulsa Adventist Academy, listening to my teachers, Miss Fisher and Mrs. Krueger, lecturing us about something. I don’t really remember exactly what it was about, but we must have been struggling with our grades, because all I remember is, both teachers told us, “If you only learn one thing this year learn this. We love you!” Now we were loved at home. We were loved at church and school, but as educated as my teachers were, they knew the most important thing is not money or a degree. It’s love. Without that nothing else matters, and when you know you are loved, nothing can stop you!

For the love of Christ controls and compels us, because we have concluded this, that One died for all, therefore all died (2 Corinthians 5:14 Amplified Bible)

So while humanity tries harder, and reads self-help books and tries 12-step recovery programs, Paul says it is by looking at the cross and knowing we are loved that we get all our power to succeed. I remember John the Baptist telling everyone to “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29. He didn’t tell them to try harder next time. He told them to look at the Lamb. Let His love soak into you.

As legalistic humans we are always wanting to promise to try harder next time. But the answer is not promising to try harder. The answer is letting yourself be loved.

In Jeremiah God mentions how Israel had not kept the promises they had made, so He was going to make a better promise. His promise would be better because He is the the One making the promise instead of them. He is the perfect Promise-maker while we are lousy promise-makers!

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33 NLT)

So God promises to do for us what we could never even promise to do for ourselves, much less even try harder to make happen. God is the One promising, and He is the One who is accountable to make it so. Please notice something very important though. Its in Jeremiah 31:3 NLT, several verses before He promises to write His law on our hearts.

I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Just like my teachers realized all the book knowledge in the world doesn’t mean a thing without love, God feels the same way. Knowing all the laws and having them memorized in your mind and knowing them all by heart doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t know how much God loves you!

Friends, there is no reason for you to promise God you are going to try harder and do better next time. He has already promised you! We don’t need to promise God what He has already promised us! What? I don’t have any work to do myself? Well yes, and I will let Jesus tell you Himself, exactly what your work is.

Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29 NLT

Our work is to believe God’s promise that He loves us with an everlasting love, and He will place the principles of His love (also known as His law) in our hearts!

This is why John never told us to try harder! Just look at the Lamb and let His love soak into your heart till your heart is saturated with His love, which is also His law. You don’t need to promise God anything. Your work is to believe the promises God has made to you!

In 2017, I don’t need too many self-help books. I don’t need to try harder. I just need to look at the Lamb in 2017 and fall in love with Jesus! His love will change me in ways I could never change myself. After all, all the self help books and promises of better performance don’t mean a thing without love!

So just how good is God at keeping His promises to love and save us? For brevity, let me share one example. You can read about it in Joshua 9-10.

The Gibeonites used deceit to trick Israel into letting them in on the covenant God had made with them. Even though Israel was not supposed to make a covenant with anyone living as close as the Gibeonites, they did. Later when the Gibeonites were under attack, they called upon Israel to save them, and even though the Gibeonites had used deceit to secure this covenant, God was so relentless in keeping His promise of love, that He caused the sun to stand still until the Gibeonites were all rescued! God fought for Israel as Israel fought for the mischievous Gibeonites. Let that soak in. The Gibeonites were in no way worthy of any of God’s blessings, but God was still so loving and faithful to His promise that He made the sun stand still until they were all rescued! Talk about a love that moves heaven and earth! And this powerful love was given to the most undeserving people! So, scientifically speaking, the greatest power in the universe is not gravity or the suctioning power of the black hole. God’s love overruled all those powers and made the solar system stand still. Imagine what this love can do in your heart!

God’s powerful promises and love are also for you and me. In Hebrews 13:5 God promises to never leave us or forsake us, but the Amplified Bible is the only English version that even begins to grasp what God is actually promising.

for He has said, “I will never under any circumstances desert you nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless, nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you- assuredly not!” Hebrews 13:5 Amp version.

If we know we are loved we can come to Sabbath School to learn, and we can learn while we are loved, but we can’t learn without love.

If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT

—and the greatest of these is love.1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.