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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Sabbath School 4th Quarter 2023: God's Mission My Mission

01 God’s Mission to Us Part 1

02 God’s Mission to Us Part 2

03 God’s Call to Mission

04 Sharing God’s Mission

05 Excuses to Avoid Mission

06 Motivation and Preparation for Mission

07 Mission to My Neighbor

Unlocking the Secrets of Prayer

08 Mission to the Needy

09 Mission to the Powerful

10 Mission to the Unreached Part 1

11 Mission to the Unreached, Part 2

12 Esther and Mordecai

13 The End of God’s Mission


Have the lessons this quarter inspired you to be a more effective witness for Jesus? Mission is God's work and it's our privilege. God is working in your community in ways that you can never see. His Holy Spirit is touching hearts. He's sending angels to bring light and truth to people's minds.

And when we share in Christ's mission, We are participants or we cooperate with him in his work. So winning is not merely our work, it's his. Witnessing is something we do out of love for Christ as ambassadors for Christ. But witnessing is not witnessing to ourself or about ourself. It's sharing the incredible good news about Jesus.

And the basis of all of our witnessing is love. And that's what our lesson number 7 is about. This week, November 11 to 17, mission to my neighbor. In our memory text is Christ's response to the rich young ruler who comes to him and asks him a question. And he answers and says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Now remember, this rich young ruler comes to Jesus. He's actually a lawyer, an attorney. Now, he's not a student of civil law. When the Bible uses the term lawyer, it means he's a master at the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. So he is a master at divine law.

And so this lawyer comes to Christ to test him. Now at times people come to test us. They say, you know, we're not under law, but we're under grace. And what do you say about that? Why do you guys believe in 3 beings in 1 God, the Trinity?

Of course, we don't believe there are 3 beings inside 1 God, but they'll ask you a question about the Trinity. They'll ask you questions about last day events. Do you believe everybody that doesn't keep Sabbath is going to be lost? And what about those texts that say, absent from the body, present with the Lord? Sometimes people come to test us.

Jesus had a rich young ruler who came to test him, but yet Christ treated him kindly, lovingly, and he led this man closer and closer to eternal realities. Notice, This is Luke chapter 10, verse 25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Can you think of any more important question than that? What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

There's no more important question, is there? Even if this guy did come to test Jesus, this lawyer, the question he asked is a vital question. And so Jesus says, what is written in the law? How do you read it? You see what Jesus does?

He takes him back to scripture. He doesn't give his opinion. When people ask questions, whether it's about the state of the dead or the Sabbath or the Trinity, if our minds are saturated with the word of God, we can take them back to scripture and let the Bible answer. I'm reminded of Ellen White's statement where she says, 1 sentence of scripture is worth more than 10, 000 of her own words or arguments. So what's written in the law?

How do you read it? And he answers. Now this is the, Jesus draws out the answer from the rich young ruler. It's not Jesus speaking here, but the rich young ruler. He knows what's written in the law.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, your neighbor as yourself." Now, there are some people that think that this is a new commandment, but actually, this lawyer is quoting from the law of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 6, verse 5 says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. And then in Leviticus, it says love your neighbor as yourself. So he's quoting the Old Testament. Jesus says, you've answered rightly, do this and you will live.

Notice, love is not something that is a sentimental, warm, fuzzy feeling. Jesus says, do this and you shall live. In other words, unless love is put into action, in kind acts toward others, love is not love at all, it's simply sentimentalism. So love is always a verb, it's an action word. We love, we reveal our love by our deeds, by what we do.

The lesson points this out, I think pretty nicely in the lesson that we have on Tuesday. It quotes James chapter 2, verse 17 to 22. James chapter 2, pointing out that love always has an action response. We're looking there at James chapter 2, starting with verse 17. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is what?

Dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe there's 1 God, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" So here, scripture says, faith without works is dead. In other words, faith is always manifest in our actions. Love always reveals itself in how we live, in what we do. And here in the last paragraph on Tuesday's lesson, it says, if we love God, we'll read his word, we'll pray, we'll keep his commandments, and we'll be obedient to his voice with all our heart. If I say I love others, but I don't care about others in church, or if I ignore the needs of others when I can help, what good is my faith?

Christianity is not just a set of distinct beliefs, it's a way of life. And that's so true, isn't it? Christianity is a way of life. Now, Jesus gave a very similar answer to the rich young ruler, to the lawyer, as he did over here in Matthew chapter 22 verse 37, you'll find a very very similar story. The stories have parallel, very much so, And Jesus makes it clear here that true belief always hangs on these 2 commandments.

Matthew chapter 22, it says, Again, when the Pharisees heard, verse 34, that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 1 of them, a lawyer, so same individual, asked him a question, testing him. Teacher, what's the great commandment in the law? So the reason you have all 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and there are stories that are repeated, is because the Holy Spirit impresses each 1 of these authors to give us a little different view. Like if I look into a room from the outside in your house, so suppose I'm outside of your house and I'm looking through a window.

If I look into your dining room, I may look at 1 direction and see you eating at the dining room table. I may look through another direction and see the entertainment center in the room adjoining your dining room in the living room. I may look through another window and see a picture on the wall. So it's the same room, but from different viewpoints. So this is why you have 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, because they look at the same situation from a different viewpoint.

So here, you have the similar, what's the great commandment? Same thing. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself.

Now verse 40 is the key here. On these 2 commandments hang all the law in the prophets. So there are people that say, wait a minute, Jesus gives us a new commandment, he's done away with the 10 Commandment law, that he tells us love God and love your fellow man. Well the thing that they fail to see is that Christ is quoting the Old Testament. We brought that out.

But the next thing they fail to notice is verse 40 here, where it says very clearly, on these 2 hang all the law and the prophets. You can summarize the entire 10 Commandments in 1 word, love. The first 4 commandments have to do with loving God. The last 6 commandments have to do with loving your fellow man. And if you want to see love codified, love expressed, then you look at the 10 Commandments.

So what are the 10 Commandments? They're codified love. They tell us how to love God. If you love God, you're not going to have any other gods before you. If you love God, you're not gonna be worshiping him through images.

If you love God, you're not gonna take his name in vain. And if you love God, you're gonna be keeping the Bible Sabbath. You're gonna rest because you want a loving relationship with your creator. If you love God, you're gonna enjoy worship. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you're gonna honor your parents, aren't you?

You're not gonna wanna kill or get angry with others. You certainly won't want to have sexual fantasies if you love your neighbor and commit adultery, you're certainly not gonna steal from your neighbor if you love him, you're not gonna wanna covet his things if you love him either. And so if you love your neighbor, you're gonna keep the last 6 commandments. On these 2, loving God, loving your neighbor, hang all the law and the prophets. Ellen White in Christ's Object Lessons, page 49 points it out, and it's in your lesson under Wednesday's lesson.

Love is the underlying principle of God's government in heaven and earth. It must be the foundation of Christian character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation. So our love for God translates into love for our neighbor, that translates into witnessing to our neighbor.

Love is the underlying principle. And when we enter into that love experience with God, it's reflected in our life. We find this, for example, in Galatians 5, verse 14. Galatians 5 reveals the fruits of the spirit. And in Galatians 5, verse 14, it says, for the law is fulfilled in 1 word, even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And then you go down to the fruits of the Spirit. And what's the first fruit of the Spirit in verse 22? But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. If we love God, we're gonna love our neighbor. And 1 of the fruits of the spirit is love.

And love is manifest in the attitudes that we have toward others. In Micah, Chapter 6, verses 6 through 8, we read about the love that, and how that love manifests itself. You're looking at Micah chapter 6, and let me look at verse 6 to 8. With What shall I come before you, Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or 10000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul." Now listen, what's he saying in those verses? He's saying, what sacrifice can I make? What can I do with human works to please God? And he says, verse 8, he has shown you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with my God. So love is manifest as I treat others fairly and justly. Love is manifest as I show mercy, kindness, and compassion to others. Love is manifest as I show mercy, kindness, and compassion to others. Love is manifest as I show a humble spirit, not a spirit of combativeness.

And, you know, in 1 John chapter 4, verse 20 and 21, it gives a very straightforward answer to the question, how does love manifest itself? 1 John chapter 4, verse 20 and 21. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he's a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him, he who loves God must love his brother also. So when the rich young ruler comes to Christ, the rich young ruler is wanting to know what's the greatest commandment in the law?

What do I need to do to inherit eternal life? What do I need to do? And Jesus turns that whole thing around. He says, the law says love God and love your fellow man. And how can we do that?

What is the origin of love? First John 4 verse 8 says, God is love. We cannot love of ourselves because our natures are fallen. Jeremiah 17, verse 9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." So where can we get love? We can't manufacture it.

We can't create it. We can't conjure it up and pretend we love. Where do you get genuine love? Genuine love comes from God. And only as I receive love from God can I give love to others?

That's Jesus' point here. We love others only as we receive that love from God because we become conduits of his love. His love is poured out upon us so every day as we come before him in prayer, as we open the word of God and learn more of his grace and his character. The more we fall in love with him, we enlarge our capacity to love and his love flows in our lives and we can touch others with that love. Jesus then tells this masterful story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10.

Jesus often used illustrations to touch other people's lives in Luke chapter 10. Starting there with verse 28, Jesus said, You've answered rightly, love neighbor and yourself. But the man wanting to justify himself said, who's my neighbor? And Jesus tells that masterful story of the Good Samaritan. He says, once upon a time, there was a trader, a man who had been selling his wares up in Jerusalem.

And this man, certain man, he goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho. As he's walking that Jericho road, he's attacked. He's left beaten and bruised and bloody on the road. And there, while he's breathing out in pain and agony, he sees a Pharisee coming down the road. He sees a priest coming down the road and he cries out to him.

But the priest doesn't even look at him. He just walks by on the other side. Then he sees coming down the road a Levite, and he said, that man's gonna help me. The priest, the religious man walked by me. The Levite, he's a religious man, he's going to help me.

And that man walks by. And then a Samaritan comes down. Now, the Jews hated the Samaritans. And when Jesus told this story, I'm sure the Jewish religious aristocracy, the Jewish religious leaders began to see how the Samaritan came down. He kicked him.

He stomped on him. And Jesus said, the Samaritan came, knelt by his side, held him in his arms, bathed his wounds, carried him to the inn of safety. And there, he said to the innkeeper, he stayed with him all night ministering to him, he said to the innkeeper, if he owes anything else, charge it to my account, I'll pay for him. And then Jesus says, who was the neighbor to him? The rich lawyer could hardly speak.

Didn't even want to call him a Samaritan. He said the 1 that did kindness to him. And Jesus said, go and do likewise. Go and do likewise. Who is our neighbor?

Everybody who is in need. Everybody who's bruised and broken and hurt. But there's another aspect to this story, and it's this. We've walked down the road of life. We've been in battles, in struggles.

We've been hurt and bruised. Tears fall from our eyes. A sword has pierced our hearts. We've experienced rejection and loss at times. We've failed.

We've not lived up to our own ideals. And we felt like that man on the side of the road, will anybody help me? And when others seem to pass us by, Jesus is the Good Samaritan. He comes and holds us in his arms. He comes and bathes our wounds.

He comes and puts the oil of his grace to heal up the deep hurt of our hearts. He takes us to the inn of safety. And he says, whatever else you need, I'm there for you. I love that song, Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe.

When sin has left its crimson stain, Jesus washed it white as snow. Reach out in love to others, touch them with God's grace. But as you do that, notice that for you, Jesus paid it all. For you, his blood was poured out on Calvary's cross. For you, his grace is available today.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the Sabbath school lesson this week that reveals your love, your grace, and your goodness. Help us recognize that love is an action word, that we cannot say we love you if we don't desire to bless others. So Lord, bless us, we pray thee, as we Reach out to others with your grace, in Christ's name, Amen. And much more.

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Series

Sabbath School 4th Quarter 2023: God's Mission My Mission

07 Mission to My Neighbor

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 God’s Mission to Us Part 1

19m

02 God’s Mission to Us Part 2

18m

03 God’s Call to Mission

19m

04 Sharing God’s Mission

22m

05 Excuses to Avoid Mission

17m

06 Motivation and Preparation for Mission

25m

07 Mission to My Neighbor

20m

Unlocking the Secrets of Prayer

21m

08 Mission to the Needy

25m

09 Mission to the Powerful

29m

10 Mission to the Unreached Part 1

19m

11 Mission to the Unreached, Part 2

25m

12 Esther and Mordecai

23m

13 The End of God’s Mission

25m

Sound Doctrine