Sabbath School Lesson for June 27-July 3, 2020
Overview
On Sunday, we will see the ways God has of reaching lost souls.
On Monday, we will see how our witnessing makes God feel.
On Tuesday, we will see what we gain by witnessing.
On Wednesday, we will see how witnessing is being faithful to God’s mission.
On Thursday, we will see how love motivates us to witness.
Introduction
The gods of many religions demand sacrifice, in order for man to obtain favors. Many heathen gods of the ancient world even required human sacrifice, in order to appease the gods they worshiped.
Only the Christian religion portrays God as giving the supreme sacrifice Himself. His own Son having been offered to obtain our freedom from sin and death.
Therefore, witnessing is all about that Son, the Savior of the world. Our emphasis in witnessing should always be on Jesus, what He has done to save us, and how He has changed our lives for the better.
God has offered us opportunities to participate in His saving mission. We have the incredible privilege and joy of witnessing. Let’s do all we can to make the most of those opportunities, as we study His mission and our role in it this quarter.
Key Text: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3, 4 NKJV
It also says in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is not willing that any should perish. His mission clearly is for as many as possible to come to Him and receive eternal life.
We must also look on each person we meet as a possible candidate for heaven and do all we can to take advantage of opportunities to witness to those around us.
Sunday: Providing Opportunities for Salvation
God uses several avenues for reaching people and showing them glimpses of His salvation. He uses…
- the beautiful scenes of nature,
- His Holy Spirit, who gives us a desire for life after death, and
- acts of providence that cause us to feel God’s love in the circumstances of life.
Of course, in this world of sin, there are hindrances to all these avenues…
- There is an ugly side of nature also, with hurricanes, floods, forest fires, and a whole array of natural disasters to contend with.
- Man has taken this desire for eternal life and, with the help of Satan, built many false religions around it.
- Some circumstances of life are powerfully negative and show us what hatred is, rather than love.
Considering all these things, it’s not hard to see why God depends so much on His people, the church, to fulfill His mission of revealing the plan of salvation to people who are starving for something better in their lives.
Bible Verses to Consider:
Luke 19:10 and James 5:19, 20
- How do these verses show us Jesus’ mission and our call to participate?
- Why do you think we are called upon to help Jesus save others?
Romans 10:13-15
- How is preaching a part of spreading the gospel, and what should be its main purpose?
Monday: Making Jesus Glad
We know that our sin has made Jesus sad (He wept over the loss of Jerusalem–John 11:35), and at times the works of Satan made Him angry (He overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple–Matthew 21:12). But are there times when Jesus is known to feel joy?
The parables Jesus told in Luke 15 of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all have very happy endings. It is clear that Jesus is glad and has feelings of joy, along with all of heaven, when people turn to Him and are saved from their condition of being lost in sin. After all, that was His sole purpose in coming to our earth, clothed in humanity.
Even the Old Testament refers to the joy of our Lord, called the Mighty One, or the Messiah. Zephaniah, a minor prophet, expressed this joy, even revealing that it is accompanied with singing! See Zephaniah 3:17.
We understand that the angels sing praises to God, but this verse, Zephaniah 3:17, tells us God joins in when the singing is about our salvation.
Bible Verses to Consider:
Luke 15 (the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost, prodigal son)
- What point was Jesus making in all three of these parables?
Zephaniah 3:17
- What may have been some of the times when Jesus’ joy shone out to others, when He lived here on earth with us? What particular events must have given Him happiness?
Tuesday: Growing by Giving
God is clear in telling us that giving is needed for our spiritual growth. He says…
- Give and it shall be given to you. Luke 6:38
- Out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water. John 7:37, 38
This living water is seen as a stark contrast to the Dead Sea, located near the place of Jesus’ earthly ministry. This sea is stagnant, because no rivers flow into it; and with desert conditions surrounding it, it is a very harsh, natural environment. The name “Dead Sea” is quite descriptive, because no fish or plants can survive the salty, high mineral content of its waters.
The illustration of the Dead Sea, at the earth’s lowest elevation, reminds us of our depleted spiritual state, if we don’t share the gospel of salvation that has been so graciously given to us.
Three kinds of witnessing efforts are noted:
- speaking to others about our redemption
- praying with and for people
- ministering to the needs of our neighbors
All of these activities will result in a richer, more satisfying religious experience. Witnessing will not only benefit the recipient, but we, the givers, are guaranteed a bountiful blessing as well.
Bible Verses to Consider:
John 7:37, 38
- What is the main thing people seem to be thirsting for?
- How and why are both Jesus and His followers to be water for the thirsty?
Luke 6:37, 38
- Why is judging others compared with giving in this passage?
- What is the result of each of these contrasting activities?
Wednesday: Faithfulness to Christ’s Command
A perfectly valid reason to adopt Christ’s mission is because He has given us that directive. Both the Old and New Testament churches were commanded to reflect the Light (the Messiah) to the Gentile world. See Acts 13:47.
The purpose of the church, therefore, should be to to maximize the mission of the Lord, not minimize or neglect it, especially in these last days when Satan tries to undermine God’s will in any way he can.
Let’s not let Satan’s tactics prevent us from being faithful to Jesus. Keeping the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12) must include being faithful to Jesus’ mission, which was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Reaching out to those outside the church is the only way the church will grow, both in numbers, but most importantly in spirituality.
Our witnessing is not an option; it is an imperative. If we chose to follow God, we must serve others, just as He portrayed when He so lovingly washed the disciples’ feet before His last Passover meal with them before His arrest in the Garden.
Bible Verses to Consider:
Acts 13:47 and Isaiah 49:6
- What was and is the purpose of the church?
Matthew 5:14-16 and John 1:6-9
- How can we be a light, when Jesus is the true Light?
Thursday: Motivated by Love
Since Jesus’ mission has always been to save lost souls, we should also adopt that mission, simply because we want to be like our loving Savior. We want to share our experience with others, because we love and appreciate how He has saved us.
The most outstanding results of our witnessing are that…
- we experience joy by working along with God
- our witness opens up greater opportunities for God to save people
- witnessing helps us grow spiritually
As you can see, all involved are benefited or blessed by the activity of witnessing–God, the recipients of our witnessing, and the witnesses themselves. But, it all hinges on love being the motivating factor in the carrying out of this worthy mission.
Being overwhelmed by this love, we feel compelled to share the salvation we’ve been so freely given. For some, this love seems to wane after our initial introduction to God’s salvation. But, God did not intend it to be so. We should be growing into even more effective witnesses for Him, if we continue to grow our relationship with God.
Bible Verses to Consider:
2 Corinthians 5:14, 15
- What does God’s love compel us to do?
2 Corinthians 5:18-20
- How does one become an ambassador for promoting reconciliation to God?
Friday’s Conclusion
God has many ways to reach us with the gospel, but one of His favorite and most effective ways is using His followers to assist Him in the effort. Sharing our personal testimony touches hearts and draws us closer to God ourselves at the same time.
We can’t help but smile, as we consider God’s joy, reaching such a point that He joins in with the angelic choirs in songs of jubilation over lost men and women being saved from Satan’s clutches (Zephaniah 3:17).
When we are motivated by love, our witness accomplishes the most. We grow spiritually by being faithful to Jesus’ command to “go to the world and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19, 20).
Both the Old and the New Testament churches were in danger of being too inwardly focused. We must constantly remind ourselves of the mission of Jesus, which is to actively seek and save lost people, wherever they are.
Keeping our love and relationship with God strong will guarantee our success in fulfilling our mission. We must pray to be sensitive to the opportunities God creates and be willing to walk through the doors that He opens for us.
Next Week’s Lesson: Winsome Witnesses–The Power of Personal Testimony
To read the Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly or see more resources for its study, go to
https://www.absg.adventist.org/
Other Outlook blogposts by Teresa Thompson, are at http://outlookmag.org/author/teresathompson/
Also, Teresa is livestreaming daily about the lesson on her Facebook page
