Seeing the Big Picture

By Andrew McChesney, adventistmission.org

A family of five came nearly every day to the Seventh-day Adventist compound in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to ask for food.

Peter Fenoy
Image © Pacific Press

Peter Fenoy, a missionary physician running the small Munuki Seventh-day Adventist Clinic on the compound, found the family’s actions puzzling.

“What is going on with these people?” he asked himself. “Why are they coming every day for food? Can’t they do anything for themselves?”

One day, Peter decided to look for answers, and he went to the family’s nearby home. What he saw shocked him. The father, mother, two daughters, and son were taking turns eating. The father and son would eat one day, and the mother and daughters would eat the next day.

Peter, a native of Argentina, returned to the compound and shared his discovery with his wife, Natasha, who was born in South Ossetia, part of the former Soviet Union.

“We are focusing only on what we are doing – medical work – and forgetting the people around us who need something else”, he told her. “Medical work is a good thing, but the community needs something else: clean water, food, mosquito nets, and containers for carrying water”.

After praying, Peter decided to write a U.S.$150,000 proposal to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency’s world headquarters in the United States. He had never written a project proposal before, but ADRA embraced it and covered its budget. In a short time, the Munuki Seventh-day Adventist Clinic became known as the ADRA Juba Project. It was 2005, months before a peace agreement ended a festering armed conflict.

The small clinic expanded its services to offer food and nonfood items, water sanitation, and emergency assistance. In a single year, the project’s funding skyrocketed from $150,000 to $2 million.

“I was surprised”, Peter said. “I realized that focusing on people and looking to meet their needs can develop projects that help others”.

Peter’s life changed drastically. ADRA sent him to Andrews University in the U.S. state of Michigan to earn a master’s degree in international development. Then he worked for a number of aid agencies, including ADRA, the Danish Refugee Council, World Vision, and UNICEF, in Jordan, Lebanon, Bolivia, South Ossetia, and Russia’s republic of Chechnya.

But everything started with one small thing – a desire to understand why a family was asking for food every day.

“My whole life focused on heath before that. I didn’t realize that there was something beyond the consulting room”, Peter, 39, said in an interview at River Plate Adventist University, his alma mater that sends missionaries like him around the world.

“Don’t just focus on what you have and what you are supposed to do”, said Peter, left. “Seek to understand what people really need – and then you can offer a better and more Christ-like response”.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

All Rights Reserved. No part of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide may be edited, altered, modified, adapted, translated, reproduced, or published by any person or entity without prior written authorization from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

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Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Privilege of Prayer”, pages 93–104, in Steps to Christ.

“The work of restoration and reform carried on by the returned exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, presents a picture of a work of spiritual restoration that is to be wrought in the closing days of this earth’s history. The remnant of Israel were a feeble people, exposed to the ravages of their enemies; but through them God purposed to preserve in the earth a knowledge of Himself and of His law.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

They were the guardians of the true worship, the keepers of the holy oracles. Varied were the experiences that came to them as they rebuilt the temple and the wall of Jerusalem; strong was the opposition that they had to meet. Heavy were the burdens borne by the leaders in this work; but these men moved forward in unwavering confidence, in humility of spirit, and in firm reliance upon God, believing that He would cause His truth to triumph. Like King Hezekiah, Nehemiah ‘clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments. … And the Lord was with him’. 2 Kings 18:6, 7” – Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 677.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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Read Ezra 8:21-23, Ezra 8:31-32. Would you consider Ezra’s decision not to speak to the king as foolish or brave? How did Ezra and the people show humility?

Sometime later, Nehemiah accepted the king’s entourage for protection.

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But in Ezra’s instance, he believed that God could show Himself best if they did not ask anything of the king. Thus, when they reached Judah without harm, it was attributed to their God. Perhaps in certain situations, we may rely too much on other people and not enough on letting God show Himself. Ezra chose to let God do the work in this situation and proved to the king that indeed God was a powerful God.

However, Ezra didn’t act with presumption. He called the people together, and they fasted and prayed over the situation. They didn’t engage in their journey until they had spent serious time with God. They came before God humbly, requesting that His protection become a sign of His power, and God answered.

Read Nehemiah 5:14-19. How did Nehemiah display humility?

True leaders must be willing to humble themselves and be servants. Competent leaders do not require or need a “title” to gain honor. Nehemiah had his doors open and generously gave to the people. He demonstrated his faith in God, and his incredible dedication to God was an example to the people. He had a strong personality and a no-nonsense temperament, but He didn’t put himself above anyone else as superior. He had the highest position in the Jewish nation at that time, and yet he was unstinting. In this way, He reflected the life and teachings of Jesus, who taught us that the best way to lead is to serve others. Jesus did it, and thus we, regardless of our position, are to do the same.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Key Thought: Central to the stories of leaders in Israel is the word of God. It transformed their lives and thinking and resulted in the whole program of revival and reformation.

December 28, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Nehemiah 4:7-23.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. In what ways did Nehemiah show courage? What gave him this courage?
3. Personal Application: How does one show their faith by their works? What kind of works show our faith? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Where do you draw the line between faith and presumption? When do we let go and let God handle things, and when do we move forward in faith believing that God will support and strengthen us?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Nehemiah 2:1-10.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage
2. What do these texts tell us about the focus of the life of Nehemiah?
3. Personal Application: What does this tell us about the importance and effectiveness of prayer? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why did Nehemiah ask for and accept all the extra help the king gave him in helping rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem? How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Ezra 7:8-10.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What did Ezra do that set his aside among all the Israelites in Medo-Persia?
3. Personal Application: How important is it to you to know the Scriptures so you can teach others about them? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “It’s up to the pastors to teach and give Bible studies. Allowing the church members to do it will just result in failure. It has to be done right by trained leaders.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Ezra 8:21-23, 31,32.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Was Ezra’s decision not to speak to the king a brave one or foolish one? How did he and his people exhibit humility?
3. Personal Application: Why must we do all we can to support our leaders? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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What do the following texts teach us about the driving force in the lives of both Ezra and Nehemiah? (Neh. 2:1-10, Ezra 7:8-10).

In all that they did, Ezra and Nehemiah were seeking to see God’s will done in the lives of His people. Yes, the people had messed up; yes, they were punished for it. But God, faithful to His promises of restoration, opened the way for His people to return to the Promised Land and, if faithful, to fulfill the goals that He had set for them.

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And the Lord, in His wisdom, chose two very dedicated men, men somewhat in the likeness of Moses, to play a central role in this restoration, just as He had used Moses generations earlier for a special task, as well.

Great leaders like these two men have a goal. They have a purpose for living that drives their every action. It could be said that both Ezra and Nehemiah had a purpose in life. They had a vision of where they wanted the people of God to be, and then they put everything into accomplishing the goal.

Ezra did this through studying the Scriptures and teaching the people the Word. Nehemiah encouraged the people to do what was right and to stand up boldly for God. Both men wanted to see a restored Jerusalem, but not just a material restoration. They also wanted to see a revival and reformation in the spiritual lives of its inhabitants. That is why they corrected, reproved, and sometimes demanded a certain course of action. Great leaders believe in something greater than the ordinary and the mediocre. Ezra and Nehemiah believed in a loving, powerful God, a God who could do miracles — and they wanted everyone to have a deep connection with Him.

Beginning with the first chapter of Nehemiah, the reader is impressed by Nehemiah’s dedication to God’s cause and also his distress over the plight of his people. In chapter 1, he weeps when he is told of the hardships of the Israelites in Judah. He gets on his knees and pledges to do whatever God calls him to do. Nehemiah appears to be driven by the idea of making a difference in the world. He was a man of action, action for God. It was not by making the highest salary or having the preeminent position that Nehemiah chose to make a difference (although he had both in Persia), but by going to Judah, to a not-so-prosperous nation, with opposition at every step. He stepped out in faith, regardless of the obstacles before him.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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