Daily Lesson for Wednesday 18th of October 2023

Until this time, the early church was mainly in Jerusalem (or within the Jewish territory and among the Jewish people). When persecution began—in which Saul, a devout Jew and a Pharisee, was actively involved—the church in Jerusalem was then dispersed all over Judea and Samaria.

Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com

Jesus had predicted in Acts 1:8 that “ ‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria’ ” (NIV). This statement was fulfilled, as noted in Acts 8:4, that “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (NIV).

Even after the church began to move out beyond Jerusalem, the believers were still preaching in the regions of the Jews or in the neighborhoods of the Jewish people in other cities. Acts 11:19 indicates that the believers were dispersed all the way to Phoenicia (Lebanon) and Cyprus, but they did not at this stage preach the message to anyone other than the Jews alone. The disciples of Jesus and the early church did not intend to see the Gentiles, but only Jews, come to the Lord. They still had very narrow views on what the mission of the church was to be.

Peter, a disciple of Jesus and one of the leading figures of the early church, was averse to taking the gospel message to the Gentiles, even after Paul had begun to do so. Peter was known as an apostle to the circumcised (meaning the Jews), and Paul an apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:8). Early on, Peter did not even want to be seen with the Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-12). However, God moved Peter out of his comfort zone and changed his heart. He was starting to learn about what the gospel commission really entailed and what Jesus’ death was meant to accomplish for the whole world.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-03-the-early-church-and-comfort-zones/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 17th of October 2023

Following the call of God, Abraham entered the land as God had commanded him. However, right from the start, things didn’t seem to go too well for him. He arrived where God told him to go, but according to the Bible, “the Canaanites were then in the land” (Genesis 12:6, NKJV)—pagans known for their cruelty and violence. No wonder that right after Abraham got there, the Lord appeared to him and said, “ ‘To your descendants I will give this land’ ” (Genesis 12:7, NKJV). No doubt Abraham needed the encouragement.

However, things still didn’t go particularly well for him, at least at first.

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How discouraging it must have been for him: leaving a comfortable and most likely prosperous existence in the homeland, only to go, “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NKJV). And one of the first things he faced was a famine! This famine was so bad that he had to leave the place he had been told by God to settle in and go somewhere else. And then things got even worse after that.

“During his stay in Egypt, Abraham gave evidence that he was not free from human weakness and imperfection. In concealing the fact that Sarah was his wife, he betrayed a distrust of the divine care, a lack of that lofty faith and courage so often and nobly exemplified in his life. . . . Through Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah was placed in great peril. The king of Egypt, being informed of her beauty, caused her to be taken to his palace, intending to make her his wife. But the Lord, in His great mercy, protected Sarah by sending judgments upon the royal household.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 130.

No one has ever said mission work was easy, and by lying, by being deceitful, Abraham only made matters worse. Fortunately, God is a God of patience, and He didn’t cast off His servant for his mistake, which, unfortunately, would not be the only one Abraham would make. How comforting to know that even despite our errors, if we cling to the Lord in faith and submission, as did Abraham, not only can our errors, sins, and faults be forgiven, but the Lord can still use us for mission.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-03-abrahams-call/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this week’s featured guest, Gregory Whitsett, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “God’s Call to Mission.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE9z_bCViZY?si=eNfUQUqDyxl4nJkE]

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/3-gods-call-to-mission-it-is-written-discussion-with-the-author/

You can view an in-depth discussion of God’s Call to Mission in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo9aOfUmnKE?si=x6_p7aUJn_Jo8cFu]

With thanks to

Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/3-gods-call-to-mission-hopess-video-discussion/

Daily Lesson for Monday 16th of October 2023

God asked Abram (whose name He later changed to Abraham) to leave his country and his people and go to another land. It was all part of God’s plan to use Abraham as a vehicle to fulfill His divine purposes in the earth. And Abraham went, according to the Word of the Lord. If God has a plan for you, it may be a call for you to leave your extended family and your people and go to a place that He is opening up for you to serve Him, in order that you can be a blessing to others.

Read the following texts. What does each text tell of God’s covenant, His promise to us?

Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com

From the above texts, it is clear that God was going to accomplish the promise, made in the Garden of Eden, that Someone will come as a solution to the sin problem. This solution, Jesus Christ the Messiah, was to arise from the line of Abraham and Isaac (through Sarah). Hebrews 11:9 states that Isaac and Jacob were heirs to the promise of blessing that God made to Abraham.

We don’t know exactly how much Abraham himself knew or understood of just how the promised Seed would arise through him, but he moved out in faith anyway. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NKJV).

What an example to us!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-03-becoming-a-blessing-to-the-whole-world/