Friday, July 24, 2015

Lesson 5 Exiles as Missionaries July 25 -31 2015

Lesson 5July 25—31

Exiles as Missionaries


Sabbath Afternoon
Memory Text: He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:14 NIV).
As a people of prophecy, Seventh-day Adventists believe in the soon coming of Jesus Christ. His coming will end this world as we know it and ultimately will usher in God’s everlasting kingdom, depicted in the book of Daniel this way: The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him (Dan. 7:27, NKJV). This kingdom is the culmination of our faith; it is what the book of Hebrews (Heb. 11:16) called the better country, the one that all God’s people through the ages have trusted will come, the one whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10).
But the book of Daniel is also a kind of handbook for missionary activity. From it we can draw lessons on how the Lord was able to use some of His people to witness to those who were steeped in spiritual and theological ignorance. Through their faithfulness and diligence and unwavering faith, these believers revealed the reality of the living God to those who knew only false ones and gave these pagans a chance at a place in this everlasting kingdom, as well.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 1.
SundayJuly 26

The Exile

Read Isaiah 39:5-7 and Daniel 1:1-2. How are these verses related?

Daniel, whose name means God is my judge, was force-marched from a defeated Jerusalem into the Babylonian capital. The book of Daniel gives glimpses of his life in the courts of Babylon and Persia. After three years of education in Babylon, Daniel was employed as a civil servant and royal advisor. Through the power of God, he rose above normal captive status to become a highly placed missionary to two superpowers.
The book of Daniel is more than a treasure of prophetic literature. The reader encounters some of the challenges facing Hebrews living in an alien culture that provided no apparent support for their loyalty to the God of Israel and, at times, was openly hostile. It also paints a beautiful picture of men who learned to live out their commitment to truth in the absence of the temple, the priesthood, and sacrifices.
Read Daniel 1:8-13; 5:12; 6:4; 9:3-19. What do these texts tell us about Daniel’s character that made him the great missionary he was?

Every institution that bears the name of Seventh-day Adventist is to be to the world as was Joseph in Egypt, and as were Daniel and his fellows in Babylon. In the providence of God these men were taken captive, that they might carry to heathen nations the knowledge of the true God. They were to be representatives of God in our world. They were to make no compromise with the idolatrous nations with which they were brought in contact, but were to stand loyal to their faith, bearing as a special honor the name of worshipers of the God who created the heavens and the earth.—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 153.
Think how easy it would have been for Daniel to have compromised, especially given his circumstances. What does his example teach us about how lame our excuses for compromise often really are?
MondayJuly 27

Witnesses (Daniel 2-5)

In Daniel 2, Daniel had an opportunity, born out of necessity, to witness to the power of the true God, as opposed to the false ones of Babylon. After singing a hymn of praise with his Jewish compatriots and thanking God for answering their prayers (Dan. 2:20-23), he interpreted the king’s dream and testified to God’s greatness and dominion over all earthly kingdoms.
What does the king say that shows he learned something about the true God? Sx.

In Daniel 2, Daniel didn’t have a choice: either give the king what he wanted or face death. In contrast, in chapter 3 his three friends could have spared themselves the fiery furnace if they simply had obeyed the king’s command. Instead, by their faithful witness, they were able to testify to the power of the true God.
How did Nebuchadnezzar know that the form of the fourth was like the Son of God? He had heard of the Son of God from the Hebrew captives that were in his kingdom. They had brought the knowledge of the living God who ruleth all things.—Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 3, 1892.
In Daniel4, what confession did King Nebuchadnezzar again make regarding the true God, all thanks to the witness of Daniel? Sx.

In Daniel 5, we have Daniel’s last appearance at the Babylonian court, where he is called upon to explain the extraordinary writing upon the wall of Belshazzar’s palace, foretelling the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire at the hands of the Medes and Persians. Though no doubt Belshazzar had been impressed by what Daniel did, it was too late: the king’s fate was all but sealed. The sad thing is that according to the Bible (sx), Belshazzar had had opportunity to learn truth and to be humbled by it. As we know, he didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.
How important that we look at our own lives and ask ourselves: What kind of witness does my life represent to the world? What does your answer tell you?
TuesdayJuly 28

Daniel in Persia

And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? (Dan. 6:20). The king called Daniel the servant of the living God. What is implied in those words?

In Daniel 6, with the change of empire and king, Daniel still kept his position and was even promoted, becoming one of three presidents to whom 120 satraps were to report. King Darius even considered appointing him vizier over his whole kingdom, arousing the antipathy of the other presidents and satraps. They induced the king to make an empire-wide decree that really was aimed at Daniel alone. He was thrown into a den of lions, but God dramatically intervened in a situation that even the sympathetic king could not reverse. Daniel’s deliverance so pleased the king that he issued an empire-wide royal decree exalting the God of Daniel.
Then King Darius wrote to all nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions (Dan. 6:25-27 NIV).
Read Daniel 6. What in the chapter indicates that Daniel had already been a great witness to the king? Also, what in the king’s decree indicates that he knew more about Daniel’s God than he could have learned merely from the dramatic rescue? What does this tell us about Daniel’s witness to him?

WednesdayJuly 29

Daniel and God’s Eternal Kingdom

Daniel was not merely an interpreter of other men’s dreams, significant as that was in this context. In Daniel 7-12, he had his own visions, which revealed the future of great world superpowers. Daniel’s visions especially emphasized that, despite earthly rulers and their plans and machinations, God retains final control of nations. In the end, He and His final kingdom will triumph, and that triumph will be complete (see Dan. 2:44).
Read Daniel 7:13-14. What is being described in these texts, and how does it relate to the idea of Christians taking the gospel to the world?

Whatever else those verses are talking about, the central issue is the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom, which doesn’t come until after the return of Jesus. And what factor did Jesus Himself say was important in regard to His return?
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (Matt. 24:14-16 NIV).
Jesus’ prophecies of the end of the world in Matthew 24 are linked to Daniel’s prophecies. The abomination of desolation predicted by Daniel (Dan. 11:31; Dan. 12:11) was further explained and applied by Jesus to His own day and beyond. The point is that Jesus closely linked the book of Daniel to the end times, which, of course, isn’t surprising, because Daniel in many places does indeed point to the end times (Dan. 8:17,19; Dan 11:35; Dan. 12:4,13). And, according to Jesus, the end doesn’t come until this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world (Matt.24:14, NKJV).
The gospel is to be preached unto all the world, and only then will Jesus return. And we are the ones called to preach it. Some then argue that Jesus can’t return until we do our work. How are we to understand our role in the timing of Jesus’ return? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
ThursdayJuly 30

More Exiles as Missionaries

Daniel was an Israelite in involuntary banishment from Israel, as were Joseph and Moses in Egypt, Nehemiah in Babylon, and Esther in Persia. Their lives reveal that it is possible to live faithfully to God in spiritually and culturally unsupportive environments. With God’s direction it was even possible to attain prominent administrative positions in these alien settings. Each lived a creative and rich life, skillfully negotiating complex religious, social, political, and economic dynamics far different from those of their home culture. They not only were loyal members of exiled Hebrew communities—they were also in their own ways effective missionaries for the God of Israel.
Witness while in exile included both passive presence and active proclamation.
EstherDaniel
1. Did not identify as a Hebrew until called to reveal it1. Identified as a Hebrew
2. Kept her religion to herself until called to reveal it2. Made known his religious convictions
3. God protected her and her family3. God protected him and his friends
4. Witnessed in high places to save her life along with her people’s4. Witnessed in high places to save his life along with other people’s
5. Helped establish religious freedom and the right to self-defense of a religious minority5. Indirectly influenced King Cyrus to allow exiled Hebrews to rebuild the Jerusalem temple
Read through Genesis 41. In what ways was Joseph able to witness to the Egyptians? How does his story parallel that of Daniel and his companions in Babylon?

In what situations in which you find yourself can you witness for your faith? Are you giving a passive or active witness, or both? What are things you can either say or do that would make a more powerful impression on others about the goodness and love of our God?
FridayJuly 31
Further Study: Multitudes will be called to a wider ministry. The whole world is opening to the gospel. . . . From every quarter of this world of ours comes the cry of sin-stricken hearts for a knowledge of the God of love. . . . It rests with us who have received the knowledge, with our children to whom we may impart it, to answer their cry. To every household and every school, to every parent, teacher, and child upon whom has shone the light of the gospel, comes at this crisis the question put to Esther the queen at that momentous crisis in Israel’s history, Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, pp. 484, 485.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the prophecies in the book of Daniel, especially Daniel 2,7, and 8. In what ways are these such a powerful testimony, not only to the prophetic reliability of the Bible but to God’s foreknowledge of the future? For instance, notice how, between Daniel 2,7, and 8, three of the four main kingdoms are named for us. How should this help us learn to trust in the Word of God and His promises to us?
  2. In these accounts in the book of Daniel and some of the other stories (such as Joseph), there were some miracles that, of course, greatly added to the credibility of their witness to the pagans around them. At the same time, too, what aspects of their character lend even more credibility to their witness? That is, in what way can character and faithfulness, even more than signs and wonders, be a more powerful witness to others about the reality of God and what He can do in our lives?
  3. As we saw in Wednesday’s study, Matthew 24:14 says that the gospel needs to go to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come. Does this mean that Jesus will not come back until we do the work that He has called us to do? Discuss.
Inside Story ~  Bangladesh ~ By Doneshor Tripura

A Gift from the River—Part 1

Doneshor was glad to be home, watching his father’s water buffalo. He had been away at school and had just completed his high school graduation exams. The day grew hotter, and Doneshor decided to go for a swim in the nearby river while the buffalo grazed nearby. He waded into the cool water, looking for a place that was deep enough to swim. It was the dry season, and the river was much shallower than usual.
Doneshor stood in the waist-deep water and looked upstream. He saw something floating in the water. It wasn’t unusual to find debris in the river, so he wasn’t sure why this object caught his eye. He waited as it bobbed closer to him, then he reached down and picked it out of the water. It was a Bible. He had never seen a Bible before, but instinctively he knew that this was a holy book. He waded ashore and carefully laid the wet book in the sun to dry. As a few pages dried, he turned to a wet page and allowed the sun’s hot rays to dry them.
Doneshor came from a religious family. Every day they worshiped their gods, laying gifts of rice and incense on the altar in their home. Doneshor’s parents had taught him to respect all things holy, and that included the book he had found in the river.
The book wasn’t yet dry when evening came, so Doneshor took it home. The next morning he carried it back to the field and laid it open in the sun. After three days the Bible was dry enough for him to read it. Curious, he turned to the first pages and began reading,In the beginning God created. . . .
Doneshor was fascinated by the account of Creation and the first man and woman. He remembered reading about the first humans in the Gita, the Hindu holy book. An idea struck him, and he began comparing the Gita with the Bible.
One day he read the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, and contrasted that to his own prayers. I have done nothing but ask and ask, wanting something for myself or my family. Now I understand that Christians pray for others.
As Doneshor continued reading, he discovered a God who searches out and invites people to accept his gift of salvation. This God is patient, and He loves to forgive. Doneshor thought how his entire lifetime had been an effort to earn the favor of the gods by giving them expensive gifts and by making long and tiring pilgrimages to appease them.
To be continued

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Lesson 4 The Jonah Saga July 18-24 2015

Lesson 4July 18-24

The Jonah Saga


Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1-4, 2 Kings 14:25Isa. 56:7Isa. 44:8Matt. 12:40,Rev. 14:6-12.
Memory Text: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right (Acts 10:34-35 NIV).
The Jonah saga is the account of a Hebrew prophet working well beyond his comfort zone. Alive during the reign of Jeroboam II, about 750 B.C. (2 Kings 14:25), Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet whom we know of who was directly called to be a missionary in another country. The truth that the Creator of all races did not intend to limit salvation only to His chosen people is stated repeatedly in the Old Testament, especially in Isaiah and the Psalms, even though popular Israelite theology at the time of Jonah did not accept that the Gentiles were also in God’s plan to partake in salvation. Even in New Testament times it was a hard lesson for the Jewish believers to learn.
In the four chapters of Jonah, we read an honest record of Jonah’s reluctant pioneering experience as a foreign missionary, both the positive and the negative. Here a person’s inner, and very human reaction to the call of God is preserved, along with a powerful appeal for the need of foreign missions. A few guidelines for foreign missionaries and cross-cultural witnesses emerge from the book, which also points to solutions for some of the issues and problems modern missionaries face.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 25.
SundayJuly 19

The Flawed Prophet

Read 2 Kings 14:25. What does this tell us about Jonah? In what kind of light is he presented?

Outside the book of Jonah, the prophet is mentioned in one other Old Testament passage, 2 Kings 14:25. Here he is honored as a prophet that predicted Israel’s recapture of territory taken by Syria.
Jonah was born in Gath Hepher (Hebrew for winepress at the water hole), a town in Zebulun in northern Israel, only a few miles from Nazareth. This means that both Jesus and Jonah were Galilean prophets, separated by about 750 years.
Read Jonah 1:1-3,9,122:1-93:3-10. What kind of picture do these verses present about him, both the good and the bad?

Jonah emerges from his book a strange mixture of strength and weakness: self-willed and rebellious but also teachable and obedient. He was loyal to God, courageous, and a believer in prayer, but he was also narrow-minded, selfish, and vindictive. While Jonah was described as a servant of the Lord in 2 Kings 14:25, he cut a somewhat sad and tragic figure in the book bearing his name. It is a mark of the integrity and reliability of the Bible that he was described in such a candid manner. The natural, human tendency of a writer would be to obscure and hide less-acceptable aspects of biblical heroes. But under the Spirit’s inspiration, the Bible’s authors present the valiant along with the petty in the lives of people to illustrate the truth that, no matter how weak and unpleasant these characters may be, God is able to work through them if they are willing.
What other Bible characters did God use despite their personality flaws? What hope can we draw for ourselves from the fact that God uses flawed and damaged people to work for Him in reaching out to others?
MondayJuly 20

An Early Missionary

Go to Nineveh! was God’s command to Jonah. In the Old Testament the usual appeal to the nations was come to Zion. God’s original plan was for Israel to live their religion, making the nation so attractive that other nations would come to them for guidance(Isa. 56:7).
Jonah, as a forerunner of the disciples in the New Testament (Matt. 28:18-20), is told to go to Nineveh, which to him seemed an unclean center of idolatry, brutality, and totalitarianism. Jonah made detailed preparations to go west by sea even though God had directed him to go east by land. Jonah, the unwilling prophet, fled in the opposite direction.
Read Jonah 1:3-17. What lessons can we gain from this amazing narrative?

God’s response to Jonah’s flight came in the form of a mighty storm. The winds obey their Creator, even though His prophet does not(Mark 4:41). Jonah slept during the storm while the Gentile crew prayed (Jon. 1:5). In honesty Jonah confessed that he caused the calamity, and he testified to the true God and Creator. Notice that his reply, I am Hebrew, referred both to his religion and his nationality. In their alarm at the ferocity of the storm, the Gentile sailors tried to save themselves and the passengers, and they showed compassion to Jonah in their reluctance to comply with his instructions to throw him overboard. (The reluctant prophet was willing to sacrifice himself to save others.) When they finally complied, the storm ceased and the sea calmed (Jon. 1:15). The amazed sailors became Jonah’s first converts to his God, who could work through Jonah even while he fled from his call.
The salvation of Jonah was just as miraculous as was the salvation of the ship. God prepared a great fish. The original Hebrew doesn’t specify what sort of fish saved Jonah by swallowing him. Jonah in the belly of the fish is certainly the best-known episode of the story; however, it should not overshadow the book’s deeper message that God loves, cares for, and wills the salvation of all people.
In the end, there is only one God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth (see Isa. 44:845:5-6). Anything else anyone worships is idolatry and error. Any other god they pray to is imaginary, a lie.
Why is this truth so important for us to realize and internalize for ourselves, especially in the context of mission?
TuesdayJuly 21

In the Belly of the Big Fish

The three-day experience in the belly of the big fish became a type of the death and resurrection of Christ (Jon. 1:17-2:10Matt. 12:40). God provided and directed the great fish. Although there are accounts of people who survived at sea after having been swallowed by a whale, we must remember that God provided this particular great fish, as well as the miraculous power that sustained His servant while inside. That is, in the end, this was a miraculous event that could have occurred only through the supernatural intervention of the Lord, who is revealed all through the Bible as a personal God who does indeed intervene miraculously in people’s lives.
There is evidence that the phrase three days and three nights was an ancient figure of speech expressing the time needed for the imaginary journey to Sheol, the Hebrew name for the realm of the dead. Considering what happened to him, Jonah indeed should have been as good as dead.
In the belly of the fish, Jonah began to pray. The captain had directed Jonah in vain to call on your God (Jon. 1:6, NKJV). Now in a hopeless situation, Jonah starts to pray, and seriously, too. It took something this desperate to get him finally to do what he should have been doing all along. A summary of Jonah’s prayer has been preserved in the form of a psalm of thanksgiving. Such psalms typically include five parts:
  1. introduction;
  2. description of the distress;
  3. cry to God for help;
  4. report of God’s action; and
  5. promise to keep any vow made and to testify to God’s saving action.
That is, Lord, if You get me out of this, I promise to do such and such. Who hasn’t prayed like that before? The question is, Did you do what you covenanted to do?
Read Matthew 12:40. How does Jesus take the story of Jonah and apply it to Himself? See also John 2:19-22.

The chapter ends with the words: And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land (Jon. 2:10 NIV). God’s command to the great fish brought about what well-meaning sailors failed to do for Jonah. In the same way, Christ commanded the disciples after His resurrection to go into all the world, so Jonah after his underwater adventure went to the Gentiles and became the most successful missionary in the Old Testament. Jonah’s rescue witnessed to God’s saving mercy. His seaweed-draped arrival on the beach testified to God’s determination to save even sinful Assyrians from death.
WednesdayJuly 22

The Nineveh Generation

Read Jonah 3. What great message is found here in the context of outreach and evangelism?

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you(Jon. 3:1-2 NIV). Two verbs are important in the text. First, this is the second time God says Go! God does not give up. He grants failing humans a second chance. Here again we have the New Testament mission concept, which is the idea of going to the nations, as opposed to expecting the nations to come to you.
The other important verb is proclaim. Proclamation has always been important in the Bible. It is still the most effective way of spreading the gospel message. God emphasized to Jonah that it should be the message I give you. That is, the message we proclaim must be God’s, not our own, or even a tweaked, modified, or bowdlerized version of it.
God’s message is generally threat and promise, judgment and gospel. His stark proclamation was Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown (Jon. 3:4 NIV)That was the judgment. Yet, there was also the promise of hope, of deliverance, of salvation (there must have been because the people heeded the message and were saved).
Even with the everlasting gospel at the heart of it, Revelation 14:6-12 also warns about judgment. Gospel and judgment go hand-in-hand: the gospel offers us God’s way to avoid the condemnation that judgment would justly bring upon us all.
No preaching of the gospel is fully effective unless judgment is taught. Political correctness, which leads to a watering down of these stark elements and downplaying differences between religions or even between different Christian traditions, is risky. Though in mission we need to adapt our presentation for the people we are trying to reach (contextualization), we must never do so at the expense of the message God has given us to proclaim.
In Jonah 3:5-10, what happens? The Ninevites believed, acted on their beliefs, exercised their faith, and were saved.
God has given us some wonderful promises, and stern warnings, too. What should this story teach us about the conditionality of these promises and warnings?
ThursdayJuly 23

Jonah’s Lament

Jonah 4:1-11 confirms that the greatest obstacle for God to get His prophet involved in world mission was not distance, wind, sailors, fish, or Ninevites. It was the prophet himself. Ninevite faith contrasted with Jonah’s unbelief and vindictive spirit. Jonah is the only person in the Scriptures who accuses God of being gracious, compassionate, and slow to anger, abounding in love and who relents from sending calamity. One would think most people would view these aspects of God with thankfulness.
When Jonah learned of God’s purpose to spare the city that, notwithstanding its wickedness, had been led to repent in sackcloth and ashes, he should have been the first to rejoice because of God’s amazing grace; but instead he allowed his mind to dwell upon the possibility of his being regarded as a false prophet. Jealous of his reputation, he lost sight of the infinitely greater value of the souls in that wretched city. The compassion shown by God toward the repentant Ninevites displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 271.
Read Jonah 4:10-11. What do these texts teach us about the character of God in contrast to sinful human nature? Why should we be glad God, not fellow human beings, is our ultimate judge?

Jonah showed his anger twice in Jonah 4. He was angry because God changed His mind and saved Nineveh’s more than one hundred twenty thousand inhabitants. He was also angry because the vine withered. In his selfishness, the prophet needed to get his priorities right.
God instructed Jonah to recognize human brotherhood based on the fatherhood of God. The prophet should accept his common humanity with these foreigners, although they were wayward. Were not 120,000 people more important than a vine?
Read again the Lord’s rebuke to Jonah. In what ways might the Lord be able to say something similar to us? That is, how often do we find ourselves more concerned over our own personal issues, many of which at times can really be trivial, than over the lost souls whom Christ shed His blood to save?
FridayJuly 24
Further Study: The book of Jonah is so significant for understanding the biblical basis of mission, because it treats God’s mandate to His people regarding the Gentile peoples and thus serves as the preparatory step to the missionary mandate of the New Testament. But it is also important for catching a glimpse of the deep resistance this mandate encounters from the very servant Yahweh has chosen to discharge His worldwide work.—Johannes Verkuyl, Contemporary Missiology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1978), p. 96.

Discussion Questions:

  1. In the history of Nineveh there is a lesson which you should study carefully. . . . You must know your duty to your fellow beings who are ignorant and defiled and who need your help.Ellen G. White, The Southern Work, p. 80. What is our duty to these fellow beings?
  2. Assyria was one of the superpowers dominating the ancient near east from about 885 to 625 B.C. Israel and Judah suffered repeatedly under her harsh rule. Israel’s King Jehu was forced to pay tribute to the dominating Assyrian ruler, Shalmaneser III. Israel finally fell to Assyrian forces about 722 B.C. No wonder Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh, one of the four chief cities of Assyria, and the center for the worship of Ishtar, goddess of love and war. God had called him to visit the very spiritual heartland of enemy territory to call on the warlike Assyrians to repent. What lessons are here for us in regard to missions?
  3. How can the remnant church avoid the assumption that the counsels and blessings of the Lord in areas such as the Sabbath, health, and education are given to them for their own benefit, rather than for the benefit of the nations? Read Rev. 3:17-18.
  4. In what ways do the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12 reflect the message that Jonah had for the Ninevites?
  5. Some people automatically reject the Jonah story, particularly the part where he is in the belly of the fish. What presuppositions would cause them to reject it out of hand? What presuppositions do you need in order to believe it?
Inside Story ~  The Philippines ~ By Nathalie Villanueva

Twice Victorious—Part 2

The Villanueva teens joined the Pathfinder Club. The club scheduled an outing to Mount Kitanglad, hoping to earn their mountain-climbing honor.
James Villanueva, 16, eagerly started the six-hour trek up the mountain with his sisters and 12 other Pathfinders. Soon he found himself ahead of the rest and decided to wait. He stepped onto a tree stump to get a better view. Three wires, similar to those strung along the trail to guide hikers, hung above his head. He reached up and grabbed one of the wires for balance. When he saw his sister approaching he turned to swing off the stump. As his feet left the stump, a sharp pain flashed through his hand, and he crumpled to the ground.
James’ sister Nathalie saw him jump. She saw sparks shoot out from his hands as he fell. She raced to where he lay motionless. His hands and arms were so badly burned that the skin was peeling off.
Someone get help! she shouted. James has been electrocuted!
While someone ran for help, Nathalie tore off her shirt to make bandages for her brother’s arms. Toto, the Pathfinder leader, raced up the slippery mountainside. He ordered some Pathfinders to climb to the summit and call for help. He sent the rest down the mountain to summon an ambulance. Toto and Nathalie remained with James, praying that help would come in time.
Three men who worked at the summit came upon the accident scene.. The men rigged a stretcher from a sleeping bag and began the dangerous trip down the slippery mountain.
It was dark when they reached the bottom. They placed James in an oxcart to carry him the two and a half miles to where an ambulance waited. James arrived at the hospital 12 hours after the accident.
Nathalie stayed with her brother until their parents arrived. The doctors wanted permission to amputate both of James’s arms, but Nathalie refused. When her parents arrived, she begged them to have James airlifted to Manila, where he could receive better care. But even there the doctors said that James’s left arm was too badly burned to be saved.
Through the difficult months following the accident, the family could have lost their faith. But prayers and support of the church members helped to hold their faith intact.
James is already planning to go back and conquer Mount Kitanglad to earn his mountain-climbing honor. But in the eyes of many, he has already conquered more than a mountain.
Nathalie Villanueva is the daughter of Napoleon and Lolita Villanueva and sister of James.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org

Ellen G.White Named Among 100 Most Significant Americans.

Ellen G. White Named Among 100 Most Significant Americans

A White scholar welcomes the decision by the Smithsonian magazine to acknowledge White’s influence on religion.


Aleading scholar on Ellen G. White welcomed a decision by Smithsonian magazine to name the cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as one of the 100 most significant Americans of all times.
The magazine places White in a group that includes the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Helen Keller in its Spring 2015 issue. The individuals were chosen with the use of an algorithm that measures data taken from Wikipedia pages and Google book scans.
“It is good to see an institution of Smithsonian’s caliber giving proper acknowledgement to Ellen White,” said William Fagal, associate director of the Ellen G. White Estate, a depository of White's writings.
The cover of the Spring 2015 issue of the Smithsonian magazine that profiles its list of the 100 most significant Amercians of all time.
The cover of the Spring 2015 issue of the Smithsonian magazine that profiles its list of the 100 most significant Amercians of all time.

The Smithsonian, the main publication of the Smithsonian Institute, the world's largest museum and research complex, does not rank the 100 people. Instead, it divides them into 10 categories of 10 people each, and White appears in the category “Religious Figures.” But the magazine did give White the distinction of being the most interesting religious figure in U.S. history by, as it explained in a preface to the list, providing her with more space than the other 10 choices—a full-page article illustrated with a full-page drawing.
The non-bylined article focuses largely on the some 2,000 visions and dreams that White said she experienced from the age of 17 in 1844 until she died 70 years later. It offers a detailed description from White and eyewitnesses about the visions, and it notes that skeptics later hypothesized that the visions might have been caused by epilepsy or mercury poisoning. The article also suggests that White herself connected the visions with a serious childhood head injury that she suffered when she was struck with a stone.
White, however, only said in her lifetime that the injury caused her to seek Jesus, not that it caused the visions themselves.
“The article downplays the supernatural basis for her contribution—not surprising for a publication of this type—but we welcome its recognition of her significance to religion, not just in America, but throughout the world,” Fagal said Sunday.
The article leaves the origin of the visions up in the air.
“Whatever the cause,” the article says, “she would have as many as 2,000 seemingly divine experiences over the next few decades and they, along with her prolific writings (more than 100,000 pages by the time of her death), would help shape Seventh-day Adventism as it became an organized denomination in the 1860s.”
The article also mentions the Adventist belief that Jesus began the process of end-time judgment of people in 1844 and gives a nod to the movement’s emphasis on healthy living.
It incorrectly says the Adventist Church has “some 14 million followers.” Church membership currently stands at 18.1 million, according to figures presented at the church’s Annual Council business meeting this fall.
Seventh-day Adventists view White as a gifted writer and a special messenger appointed by God to draw the world's attention to the Bible and help prepare people for Jesus’ second coming, according to a biography on the White Estate’s website.
White also is the most translated woman author in the history of literature, writing more than 5,000 journal articles and 40 books on religion, education, nutrition, and Christian living, among other topics.
Among the other religious figures named on the Smithsonian list are two Mormon leaders, Joseph Smith Jr. and Brigham Young; Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard; Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy; and 16th- to 18th-century figures William Penn, Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, Jonathan Edwards, and Cotton Mather. An honorary editor’s mention is given to evangelist Billy Graham.
The formula used by the Smithsonian to compile its list was constructed by Steven Skiena, a professor of computer science at Stony Brook University, and Charles B. Ward, an engineer at Google. The duo came up with an algorithm that uses Wikipedia’s 840,000 pages about individuals and data from 15 million books that Google has scanned to measure people’s accomplishments and how well they are remembered for them.
Using this method, the top five figures in world history are, in order of importance: Jesus, Napoleon, Muhammad, William Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln.

Related links

Smithsonian magazine, Spring 2015: “Meet the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time” (only preface is 

Friday, July 10, 2015

Lesson 3 The Unlikely Missionary July 11-17 2015

Sabbath School Lesson Begins
Biblical Missionaries
Lesson 3July 11-17

The Unlikely Missionary


Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Kings 5; Mark 1:40-452 Kings 2:1-15John 15:5Rom. 6:4-11Rom. 6:1.
Memory Text: And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed-only Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:27 NIV).
The books of Kings, covering the history of the kingdoms of Israel from about 970 to 560 B.C., record exciting and dramatic events and far-reaching political upheavals touching God’s people. Woven in these accounts are the stories of Elijah and Elisha, daring prophets of God whose adventures have gripped the imaginations of children and adults in every age.
Also interesting are the similarities between the ministry of Elisha and the ministry of Jesus. In the ministries of both, dead persons were raised, lepers cleansed, and hungry people fed from small amounts of food.
This week’s lesson deals with one of these miracles: the healing of Naaman, a wealthy, powerful, and very proud idolater who, in his great need, came to experience the power of the living God and first did so through the witness of a very unlikely missionary.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 18.
SundayJuly 12

He Had It All . . . But

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1 NIV).
This verse contains no fewer than four descriptions or titles that put Naaman in the top echelon of Syrian, or Aramean, society. He exerted major influence on the king of Aram, was held in high esteem, and was the ing’s right-hand man in religious, as well as military matters (2 Kings 5:18). He was also extremely wealthy (2 Kings 5:5).
However, 2 Kings 5:1 has a major but. All Naaman’s power, honor, and bravery paled in light of the most feared disease in those days, leprosy. And that is exactly what this poor man had, the major but that cast a dark shadow over all else he had achieved. This ailment, however, brought him into contact with God’s prophet, and through that contact he became a believer in the true God.
Read Mark 1:40-45Luke 8:41-56, and Mark 2:1-12. Despite the obvious fact that Jesus did miraculous healings here, what is the common denominator in these accounts? What is it that brought all these people to Jesus?

Personal life disruptions, tragedies, and transitions can make people more open to spiritual truth and set them on a search for God. Physical, psychological, political, or other disasters can open people up to the reality of the divine. Personal loss, national catastrophes, and wars are major motivators that cause people to seek a power greater than themselves. The church has long been aware that increased soul-winning results tend to come in areas in which people are struck by personal or societal suffering.
On one level Naaman appeared to have it all; on another he was a broken man without much hope. In what ways are we all like that, having good things and bad things in our life? How can we learn to allow both to keep us connected to the Lord?
MondayJuly 13

An Unlikely Witness

Read 2 Kings 5:1-7. What is going on here? Why would the Syrians even have listened to what a captive slave girl had to say? What might be the hidden implications of what transpired?

The Bible gives us no real details of how this young girl acted in the home, but it’s clear that there was something about her that caught the family’s attention. Think about it: on the word of a captive female child in his household, a wealthy and powerful military leader goes to his king, tells him what she said, and then gets permission from the king to go. Even more so, he loads up on gifts to bring to the prophet. Obviously, more was going on than what is explicitly stated in the texts. Nevertheless, God’s agent to plant the knowledge of Him in the ruling circles of Syria was an unnamed little Hebrew slave girl, cruelly snatched from her home by a Syrian raiding party. Instead of dwelling on the cruelty and meaninglessness of that act, and of her life of servitude, she shared her unshaken faith in the life-changing power of God, who was working through Elisha in Samaria (vs. 3). Thus, like Daniel and his companions in Babylon, she was able to turn her own adversity into a way to glorify God, and thus, God turned her captivity into an opportunity to share her faith. According to Ellen G. White, The conduct of the captive maid, the way that she bore herself in that heathen home, is a strong witness to the power of early home training.-Prophets and Kings, p. 245.
What should this tell us about how our faith, lifestyle, and actions can draw others to us and to the truths that we have been entrusted with?

What’s fascinating, too, in this story is the reaction of the king of Israel upon getting the letter. Am I God? Can I heal leprosy? His words reveal just how dreaded the disease was and why only a miracle could bring about a cure. For whatever reason, the letter implied the expectation that the king was to bring the cure. He knew that he couldn’t do that, and so he thought it was all a trick to instigate trouble.
TuesdayJuly 14

Elisha, the Prophet

The ministry of the prophet Elisha in the ninth century B.C. comes to us in a series of 18 episodes, extending over more than fifty years. His ministry was conducted mostly as the head of the school of the prophets and was largely public. It included displays of signs and wonders at both the personal as well as the national level. Elisha was a prophet whose counsel and help were sought by both kings and commoners.
Read 2 Kings 2:1-15. What does this tell us about the calling and ministry of Elisha?

No question that Elisha was called of God; he had some incredible experiences that must have confirmed his calling in his own mind. More important, his request for a double portion of the Spirit showed his awareness that for him to do what he was called to do, he would need divine power, because in and of himself he would be helpless. Thus, even back then, this man of God understood what Jesus said many centuries later: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5, NKJV). It’s a lesson that no matter our position in the Lord’s work, we all need to recognize.
Obviously, as we can see from the story of Elisha’s calling, this power had, indeed, been granted to him. Thus, Elisha revealed that he had a healthy and honest understanding of his own role and calling when he declared to the king: let Naaman know that there is a prophet in Israel(2 Kings 5:8).
Also interesting must have been the scene when this military commander and his retinue showed up in all their glory at the door of Elisha’s house, probably something relatively small and modest in contrast to the luxury that Naaman enjoyed. Elisha, however, didn’t seem all that intimidated by Naaman and his troops. In fact, Elisha did not so much as step outside to meet his powerful caller; instead he sent a messenger, who gave the military commander a command! The only reward for his long trip from Damascus was the blunt directive to go to the Jordan and bathe! But it was accompanied by a promise: you will be cleansed, (2 Kings 5:10 NIV).
No doubt the pride of this important man was hurt. Perhaps, though, that was the point.
WednesdayJuly 15

The Healing of Naaman

Read 2 Kings 5:11-14. What does this account teach us about Naaman and some of the lessons he had to learn? What can we take from this for ourselves as well?

Had the prophet Elisha personally met his prominent guest Naaman and employed exorcising gestures accompanied by magic formulas and other rituals so common in pagan religions, Naaman might not have hesitated. But two aspects of his reception insulted him. Not only did the prophet not personally come out of his house to meet Naaman, but he also directed him to the Jordan River as the place to get his leprosy cured.
From the viewpoint of protocol, Naaman was right. Elisha should have left his house to greet him. And the rivers in Damascus were undoubtedly better, since their water was clearer than the muddy Jordan’s. However, through Elisha, God directed Naaman to the Jordan, a river in Israel. The entire cure process was designed to demonstrate, first, that there was a prophet of the true God in Israel and, second, that God rewarded believing compliance.
Naaman’s retinue convinced him to submit to his new, divine commander and at least give it a try. Their argument, that if the suggested cure had been complicated he would have endured it, persuaded him. It must have been hard for Naaman to swallow his pride at having to listen to a slave girl, a foreign prophet who showed him little deference, and, finally, to his own servants. He was, though, desperate for healing.
So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy (2 Kings 5:14 NIV).
The initial requirements for Naaman’s healing were belief and compliance. As soon as he conquered his pride and complied with God’s expressed will by bathing seven times in the muddy Jordan, he was cured.
Read Romans 6:4-11. How does the story of Naaman reflect some of the principles taught in these verses? In what ways have you experienced the reality of a new life in Christ?
ThursdayJuly 16

A New Believer

Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant (2 Kings 5:15NIV). In what way do these words help reveal the experience of salvation? See Rev. 14:121 John 5:2-3Rom. 6:1.

It would have been easy for Naaman to return directly from Jordan to Damascus after his healing. However, as a gesture of thankfulness, he and his attendants returned to the prophet’s place. This time they met Elisha in person. The confession that the God of Israel is sovereign in the world is the main theme of the Bible. These words coming from a pagan constitute one of the high points in Old Testament revelation. Naaman’s conversion made clear that his new experience had to be tied to the God of Israel. The prophet was Israelite, the river was the most important in Israel, and the number seven was a clear connection to the God of creation.
What we see with Naaman is an example of how true faith works: Naaman received something that He could never have earned on his own. The fact that Elisha refused the gifts (2 Kings 5:16) was a way of showing how salvation cannot be earned or bought, but is wholly of God’s grace. At the same time, however, Naaman’s willingness to give something to Elisha for what he had done for him shows the response of faith, a response out of gratefulness for what had been given him. Elisha refused the gift. Here he followed the example of Abraham when he helped the pagan kings but refused rewards with the words that no one should be able to say, I made Abram rich(Gen. 14:23 NIV). Elisha knew that acceptance of a gift would have spoiled the lesson Naaman should learn. The healing was the work of God and an act of sheer grace.
Let this point be fully settled in every mind: If we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King and are obedient to His commandments. Thus we evidence our allegiance to God. We have then the genuine ring in our faith, for it is a working faith. It works by love.-Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 16.
If others were to look at your life, what would they see in it that reveals your love for God because of what He has done for you in Christ?
FridayJuly 17
Further Study: Centuries after Naaman returned to his Syrian home, healed in body and converted in spirit, his wonderful faith was referred to and commended by the Saviour as an object lesson for all who claim to serve God. Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet, the Saviour declared; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. Luke 4:27. God passed over the many lepers in Israel because their unbelief closed the door of good to them. A heathen nobleman who had been true to his convictions of right, and who felt his need of help, was in the sight of God more worthy of His blessing than were the afflicted in Israel, who had slighted and despised their God-given privileges. God works for those who appreciate His favors and respond to the light given them from heaven.-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 252, 253.

Discussion Questions:

    li>Over the years a great deal of discussion has ensued over what happened after the healing of Naaman. In 2 Kings 5:17-19, Naaman makes a powerful confession of faith, saying, for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD, (2 Kings 5:17, NKJV). However, right after, he says,when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon-when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing, (2 Kings 5:18, NKJV). What are the implications of Elisha’s reply? To what extent do Christian missionaries have to exercise patience and understanding to new converts, especially when they come to us from a different religious and cultural background?
  1. How rapidly should enculturation of new converts take place? The widow of Sarepta and Naaman the Syrian had lived up to all the light they had; hence they were accounted more righteous than God’s chosen people who had backslidden from Him and had sacrificed principle to convenience and worldly honor.-Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 416.
  2. Healing and salvation came to Naaman by a faith revealed in his actions. Discuss more the whole question of the relationship between faith and works. Why is it so important to understand the crucial yet distinct roles both have in the Christian life and witness?
Inside Story ~  The Philippines ~ By Nathalie Villanueva

Twice Victorious—Part 1

The Villanueva family were devoted to one another and their church. Napoleon, the father, often worked far from home. After a while, a pattern of late-night socializing with co-workers began. He began spending more of his paycheck and sending less money home.
Lolita, his wife, grew concerned by the dwindling checks. She knew something was wrong and went to see her husband. When she learned of his activities she tried to reason with him, but eventually returned home, frustrated and hurt.
Lolita found a Bible and began searching for guidance and comfort. One day as she read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, the fourth commandment stopped her. Remember the Sabbath day, it said. She had always worshiped on Sunday. But if Christ died on Friday, rested on the Sabbath, and rose from the dead on the first day, Sunday, then the Sabbath day must be Saturday. She decided that if God had commanded His children to keep the Sabbath day holy, she would obey.
But she found it more difficult to obey the first and second commandments. All her life she had prayed while looking at statues of Christ or a saint. Lord, she prayed, I’m sorry, but I can’t pray without looking at You or a saint! Please give me a sign that I mustn’t pray to these statues!
During the night Lolita was awakened by the sound of breaking glass, followed by beating wings. She thought that the neighbor's rooster had gotten into her house. But before she could investigate, she fell back to sleep. When she got up the next morning she found that her statues of saints had fallen and were lying on the floor, broken into hundreds of tiny pieces. She fell to her knees and asked God to forgive her for doubting His Word.
Lolita found an Adventist church and decided to attend. She arrived long before services began and knelt quietly to pray. During the worship service she wept. Afterwards, a woman invited her to study the Bible. Lolita eagerly accepted, and was soon ready for baptism.
Lolita invited her five teenage children to attend church, but they were busy. However, when they were free, they went with her. They found the church service long, but enjoyed the afternoon youth meetings.
Napoleon returned home and learned that Lolita planned to be baptized. Out of respect the family members attended church with her when they could. One by one Lolita’s husband and children were baptized.
To be continued

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