Inside Story for Friday 10th of May 2024

By Nelson Cinco Reis Chitaonga

and Calavete Sabonete Ossifo

Few people can say that they have seen an angel. Oyele says he has seen an angel—not just once, but four times.

Oyele slipped away from his childhood faith as he labored for three years away from home, helping construct a 250-mile (400-kilometer) road between the cities of Mocuba and Nampula in Mozambique. It was tough work, and he sought relief in ways that he knew violated God’s law.

One day, several strangers approached Oyele, who was drunk after work, and asked if he was aware that the Bible taught that the Sabbath was on the seventh day of the week. Oyele was convinced that the strangers were wrong. “Prove it to me from the Bible,” he said.

The strangers, who introduced themselves as Seventh-day Adventists, opened the Bible to the fourth commandment and read, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, NKJV). Then they turned to Ezekiel 20:20 and read, “Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God” (NKJV).

Oyele read and reread the verses over the next few days. He wondered if he was reading truth from God. Even though he had gone to church since he was a boy, he had never noticed the verses before.

As he thought and prayed, a shining angel appeared at night over the house where he was staying. “Strength!” the angel said. “You are on the right path.” The next night, he saw the angel again in the same place. “Strength!” the angel said. “You are on the right path.” The same thing happened the third night. Oyele went to an Adventist church the next Sabbath. After that, he worshiped regularly with the Adventists.

When his three-year contract ended, Oyele returned home and was surprised to find that his wife and children had joined the Adventist Church. He had had no contact with them during his extended absence.

“What a coincidence!” his wife said when she learned that Oyele had been going to an Adventist church. “Is this by chance?”

Back home, Oyele went to the Adventist church on Saturdays and his childhood church on Sundays. He wasn’t sure what to do. Then the angel appeared for a fourth time. “What you are studying is true,” the angel said. Oyele decided on the spot to become a Seventh-day Adventist.

There are few Adventists where Oyele lives, but God has blessed his efforts to share the good news that Jesus is coming soon. Oyele has helped start three house churches. “Evangelize anyone, even if they’re drunk,” he said. “God is the one who converts, and there are many people who God has prepared to accept the gospel. They only need to be touched by you.”

Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the gospel in Mozambique and around the world.

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The post Inside Story: One Angel, Four Encounters appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-06-inside-story-one-angel-four-encounters/

Daily Lesson for Friday 10th of May 2024

“When the Bible was proscribed by religious and secular authority; when its testimony was perverted, and every effort made that men and demons could invent to turn the minds of the people from it; when those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells, martyred for their faith, or compelled to flee to mountain fastnesses, and to dens and caves of the earth—then the faithful witnesses prophesied in sackcloth. Yet they continued their testimony throughout the entire period of 1260 years. In the darkest times there were faithful men who loved God’s word and were jealous for His honor. To these loyal servants were given wisdom, power, and authority to declare His truth during the whole of this time.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 267, 268.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“When France publicly rejected God and set aside the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired—a kingdom free from the restraints of the law of God. . . . The restraining Spirit of God, which imposes a check upon the cruel power of Satan, was in a great measure removed, and he whose only delight is the wretchedness of men was permitted to work his will. Those who had chosen the service of rebellion were left to reap its fruits until the land was filled with crimes too horrible for pen to trace. From devastated provinces and ruined cities a terrible cry was heard—a cry of bitterest anguish. France was shaken as if by an earthquake. Religion, law, social order, the family, the state, and the church—all were smitten down by the impious hand that had been lifted against the law of God.”—The Great Controversy, p. 286.

“Unless the church will follow on in His [God’s] opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear.”—The Great Controversy, p. 316.

Discussion Questions

1. How are the principles of the great controversy revealed in the French Revolution?
2. When arguing that there is no God, one person wrote that “we are free to establish our own goals and to venture across any intellectual boundaries without looking for no-trespassing signs.” Why is that phrase “without looking for no-trespassing signs” so instructive to the motives many have for rejecting God? How might such ideas help explain some of what happened in the French Revolution?
3. What is the significance of John’s vision of the sanctuary as it relates to final events?

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The post Friday: Further Thought – The Two Witnesses appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-06-further-thought-the-two-witnesses/