1888 Message Study : Spirit-Empowered Witnessing

"SPIRIT-EMPOWERED WITNESSING"

 

 

Memory Text:  Acts 4:31. "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."

The role of the Holy Spirit, in addition to the larger discussion of the "Godhead" has become an important topic in the church, and in the larger Christian world.  This lesson is dealing with the necessity of the Christian witness being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and I believe firmly that one cannot experience the work of the Holy Spirit unless one understands how it works to accomplish God's goals and outcomes.

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Godhead.  His role is to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement, to lead a person into all truth, to show us things to come, and to bring to us the love, the character of God in our minds.  It is involved in the experience of receiving, with meekness, the engrafted word, that is able to bring to us the experience of Christ in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is not merely an "essence", for such a belief borders on pantheism, for which we have been warned.  Many point to statements that the Holy Spirit is the "spirit of Christ" to try to depersonalize the reality of the personhood of the Third Person.  In the Websters Dictionary that was in use at the time of such statements, the word "spirit" can refer to "life", and the point being made is that through the work of the Spirit and the engrafting of God's Word, we receive the life of Christ, His love, His character, and love is the power brought to us through the sanctifying work.  As Paul said, It is Not I, but Christ, Who lives in me.  Christ in me the Hope of Glory.  There are Three Members of the Godhead, not two.  The concerns of the Jehovah's Witnesses of a Three Headed God, etc. are not valid.  The Lord our God is one Lord, and the word "one" in Deuteronomy 6:4 is not referring to the unit of one, but to being united, all in harmony, and the Three Persons of the Godhead are united in character, purpose, and work.  The work is to restore in man the glory of God.  We need to view the personhood and the work of the Holy Spirit rightly to avoid spiritualism, pantheism, and a false experience which craves power, rather than love, for our "spirit-empowered witnessing" is totally involved in the experience of the love of God.

"We need to realize that the Holy Spirit ... is as much a person as God is a person....

The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God."  Evangelism, 616, 617.

The methods of some to use quotes from pioneers in the early history of the church is not valid, for the reality, and argument, is that the position of the church was refined and clarified in the later history of the church, as it truly was.  It was not an apostasy, or a movement towards Rome, but a deeper correct understanding, and a movement away from beliefs from former groups such as the Christian Connection, to more harmony with the totality of the Biblical record.

When Jesus commanded the early believers to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel," (Mark 16:15, NKJV) it must have seemed like an impossible mission.  How could they ever accomplish such a huge challenge?  Their numbers were so small.  Their resources were limited. They were a largely uneducated band of ordinary believers.  But they had an extraordinary God Who would empower them for their extraordinary mission.

But Jesus declared, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NKJV). The empowering of the Holy Spirit would enable the believers to share the message of the Cross with life-changing, world-changing power.  The Holy Spirit made their witness effective.  In a few short decades, the gospel impacted the entire world.  Acts declares that these early believers "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6, NKJV). The apostle Paul adds that the gospel was "preached to every creature under heaven" (Colossians 1:23, NKJV). In this week's lesson, we will especially focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering our witness for Christ.

Jesus was clear in John 15:5 that without Him, we can do nothing.  We must learn to trust the teaching, the leading, the empowering of the Holy Spirit, to do that which we cannot do, and thus to expect miracles.  I would like to share one recent story, that for me shows the work of the Spirit, for the Spirit works through the Word, as faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  I felt very impressed in church one Sabbath to "help the widow."  A widow that week called me to say she wanted to obtain a new trailer to live in and was having difficulty with the cost.  She actually owed me money, from a previous situation, and I realized God wanted me to lay aside that debt, in order to help her, and I did so.  Then I called a manager of a trailer company, and stated that I had felt, as a pastor, very led to help her as a widow, as the Bible calls for.  I will never forget the man's words.  He was a Baptist, and he said, "My father was a pastor, and I was taught, from my youth, to help the widow.  Have her call me, and I will help her too."  He waived $15,000 in expenses, and thus we were both used to help the widow, and I am sure that the reason involves how the Holy Spirit works.

Act 5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, Whom God hath given to them that obey Him.

Jesus and the Promise of the Holy Spirit

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, the "parakletos", to empower and guide us in our witnessing efforts.  He truly does.  I once wanted to return to Indonesia to conduct another meeting there.  Please note 'I' wanted to.  Everything I tried to do failed, and I could not even get the Mission Office to answer my emails.  I felt then impressed to "go to India."  I really did not want to go to India, and so for a short time still tried to make the Indonesia trip happen.  Finally, I surrendered and told God I would go to India.  The very next day I received a check for the entire amount of the trip that I needed.

He brings conviction, brings the words to us to speak, prepares hearts, and convicts hearts of the need for the Gospel.

"When you are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, you will see all that wickedness at Minneapolis as it is, as God looks upon it….You had all the evidence that you needed that the Lord was working through brethren Jones and Waggoner; but you did not receive the light; …you did not feel ready to confess that you had done wrong, that these men had a message from God, and you had made light of both message and messengers."  Letter B-2a, 1892.  The counsel given to us warns us that we need to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit for discernment.

"An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through brethren Waggoner and Jones. By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them….The light that is to lighten the whole earth with His glory was resisted, and by the action of our brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world."  1 SM pp. 234, 235.

"Some felt annoyed at this outpouring and their own natural dispositions were manifested. They said, 'This is only excitement, it is not the Holy Spirit, not showers of the Latter Rain from Heaven.' …On many occasions the Holy Spirit did work; but those who resisted the Spirit of God in Minneapolis were waiting for a chance to travel over the same ground again….They declared in their heart and soul and words that this manifestation of the Holy Spirit was fanaticism and a delusion."  Special Testimonies, Series A , No 6, p. 20.

If we allow the Spirit to work, God will bless us with miracles.  I felt a call to go to Kenya to do meetings, and my mother tried to talk me out of it, saying I would get Ebola.  We lived way up in the jungle, and for six weeks had no electricity, no running water, and no toilet, except an outside outhouse  I conducted two meetings in Western Kenya, and right before the last meeting and the resultant baptism, I was asked to go way up into the jungle and meet an old women there.  She was very hunched over from severe osteoporosis.  I remember her home well, a thatch roofed one room building with a table and a mat on the floor to sleep on.  She seemed to appreciate the visit, and I saw her again the next day, when she came forward in the altar call with about 200 other people.  The elders who had assisted in the meetings were very excited and I asked them why, regarding her, as there were obviously many others who had also made decisions.  We baptized about 2300 people and 700 in a subsequent meeting.  Why her?  They explained they had been studying with her for 20 years, and I rejoiced, and complimented them on their hard and persistent work.  They rebuked me, saying they deserved none of the credit, for it was a miracle of God, and then expressed that it was not the reason why they were so excited.  So, I asked again, why her?  She had been a regional witch doctor for 70 years, and in coming forward, and getting baptized, she witnessed to 30,000 people who were out there that day, which for me will always be an incredible memory.  But you must "go" to experience God's blessings.

I once did a study of the word "go" in the Great Commission in 8 Middle East languages operative in the region.  Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Akkadian, Cuneiform, Latin, and others.  I discovered a breadth of meaning for the word that we all need to grasp fully.  It means GO.

An Empowered Church

The church will only be successful to the extent we are seeking for the indwelling, leading, and moving of the Holy Spirit.  Luke 11 says we should ask for the Holy Spirit.  The Greek language is in the present continuous tense, implying we need to continually be asking for the Holy Spirit, we need to be converted daily, and we need to remember that "He who wins souls is wise."

The Biblical text reveals that ordinary people, empowered with the Holy Spirit, are able to be used and to accomplish mighty things for God.  The church rapidly grew, and part of the reason is that they continually planted new churches and the members themselves were involved in witnessing, meeting human need, and reflecting the love of God.

The Holy Spirit and Witnessing

Throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was powerfully present. He ministered to and through the believers as they witnessed for their Lord in a variety of ways. He strengthened them to face the trials and challenges of witnessing in a hostile culture.  He led them to honest-hearted truth seekers.  He prepared the hearts of people in whole cities before the believers ever came to those cities.  He opened doors of opportunity that they never dreamed of and empowered their words and actions.

He brought the church together in unity at a time when it could easily have split over the issue of circumcision, and He opened up the entire continent of Europe to the preaching of the gospel through the apostle Paul.  The Holy Spirit was active in the New Testament church and is active in the life of the church today.  He longs to empower us, strengthen us, teach us, guide us, unify us, and send us out on the most important mission in the world, which is leading men and women to Jesus and His truth.  The point we must remember is that He is still active and working today, just as He was in the time of the apostles and the early church.

The Holy Spirit and the Word

"The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God.  This word imparts power; it begets life.  Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God."  Ellen G. White, Education, p. 126.

The reason the Bible has such power to transform lives is because the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the Bible in the first place inspires and changes us as we read it.  As we share God's Word with others, the Holy Spirit works to change their lives through the Word He inspired.  God has promised to bless His Word, not our words.  The power is in the Word of God, not human speculation.

The Life-Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit

A careful study of the book of Acts reveals God, through His Spirit, working miracles in human lives.  Acts is a case study on the gospel's triumphing over cultural biases, transforming lifelong, deeply ingrained habits, and teaching all humanity Christ's grace and truth.  The Holy Spirit meets people where they are, but He does not leave them there.  In His presence, they are changed.  Their lives are transformed.

I see victories in my life, and a deep concern for overcoming in the areas I need growth in.  God is in the business of changing lives.  When there are voices claiming we cannot overcome sin, that is a satanic delusion, echoing the lies of the spies who said they could not defeat the giants in the land.  God is so great; He can do anything for us if we truly believe.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the apostle Paul reached even the upper echelon of society.  Crispus (Acts 18:8) was a ruler of the Jewish synagogue.  He was a religious leader steeped in Jewish Old Testament thought, and the Holy Spirit broke through and changed his life.  These case histories reveal that as we witness for Christ and share His Word with others, the Holy Spirit will do remarkable things in the lives of all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures, education, and beliefs.  We cannot and must not make assumptions about who can or cannot be reached.  Our job is to witness to anyone, and everyone brought into our lives.  The Lord will do the rest.

It is vital for us to remember that we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit, in agreement with God.  Amos 3:3.  Holiness is agreement with God.

Share your faith, empowered by the Word of God.  Seventh Day Adventists have everything to share, and most of all, the matchless charms of Jesus, and Christ Our Righteousness.

~Pastor Tom Cusack

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q3/spirit-empowered-witnessing

1888 Message Study : Prayer Power; Interceding For Others

"PRAYER POWER; INTERCEDING FOR OTHERS"

 

 

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16, KJV).

 

This text provides a template for prayer for healing. Many have claimed this promise for themselves and others. Sickness brings a sense of urgency to our prayers. When facing an uncertain prognosis, we long for healing and for the comfort of knowing that others are praying for us.

 

But what if we are sick and we don't know it? What if the doctor says we are sick but we feel fine?

 

OUR TRUE CONDITION

 

In His counsel to Laodicea, the Great Physician renders a startling diagnosis to His last day church: "You are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17). Really? Are you sure? We feel fine, rich, self-satisfied. We don't sense our need.

 

But to Jesus, our garment of sleepy complacency is nauseating (Revelation 3:16).

 

A physician's work isn't always pleasant. They have to deal with the worst of the worst: horrific burns, maggot filled wounds, rotting flesh and more. But there is no sickness, either spiritual or physical, for which Christ has not made provision. To meet the unperceived need of our souls He prescribes gold tried in the fire, white raiment to cover our nakedness, and eye salve to heal our blindness. (Revelation 3:18) He also permits trials to refine and purify.

 

HEAVEN'S NATURAL REMEDY

 

In the years leading up to the signal 1888 Minneapolis conference, our church had become parched and dry, like the hills of Gilboa in the days of Elijah.  {ST February 8, 1892, Art. B, par. 4}

 

We were spiritually dehydrated, in need of the water of life.

 

To meet this spiritual-medical emergency, Christ Himself sent a "natural remedy" from the heavenly pharmacy--gentle showers of the latter rain in the form of the message of Jesus Christ, our righteousness.

 

Those were extraordinary times in the late 1880's and early 1890's, when the message of Christ's righteousness began to shine with brilliance. Hearts were softened. People everywhere were experiencing a spiritual awakening and reconversion. Camp meetings thronged with hearers eager to drink the living water.  One of the most thrilling series of meetings held post-1888 occurred at the 1893 General Conference session where Brother A. T. Jones delivered a powerful series of messages on religious liberty and the righteousness of Christ. Even now, as you read the transcripts from these sermons, you can feel the vibrancy pulsing through the congregation. Here is a sample:

 

"Well, the latter rain is the loud cry of the third angel's message; it is the beginning of that message of glory that lightens the earth. But the latter rain is the teaching of righteousness. When did that message of the righteousness of God, as such, come to us as a people? [Congregation: 'Four years ago.'] Where? [Congregation: 'At Minneapolis.'] Yes. This point was brought up the other night and can be read again in Bulletin No. 7, p. 183. I do not know that we can state it any more clearly than we did that night. {GCB/GCDB 1893, p. 243.9}

 

"Now that message of the righteousness of Christ is the loud cry. It is the latter rain. We have been praying for the latter rain here at this Conference already, haven't we? Have you? [Congregation: "Yes, sir."] What were you looking for when your prayer was answered? Are you ready now to receive the latter rain? We have been praying here for the latter rain. Now there is the connection. The testimonies tell us what it is and Joel tells us what it is. I simply ask now, are you ready to receive the latter rain? That is, are you ready to receive God's message of righteousness, according to righteousness? Let us look at that a little further. Joel says, according to the margin, that it is a teacher of righteousness, that which brings the teaching of righteousness according to righteousness. Whose idea of righteousness? [Congregation: 'God's'] No, mine. [Congregation: 'No.'] Yes, mine will do! [Congregation: 'No.'] Why? If I receive the righteousness of Christ according to my idea, is not that enough? Is not that receiving the latter rain? Is not that receiving the righteousness of Christ? [Congregation: 'No, sir. It is your own righteousness.'] But that is what is the matter with a good many people who have heard this message of the righteousness of Christ. They have received the message of the righteousness of Christ according to their own idea of what His righteousness is, and they have not the righteousness of Christ at all. {GCB/GCDB 1893, p. 243.10}

 

AN AFFIRMATION OF HEAVEN'S REMEDY

 

Scenes of our history from more than a century past display camp meetings, school revivals, and weeks of prayer where people responded to this most precious message of Christ our righteousness with heartfelt appreciation. The gentle latter rain showers were doing their work in causing grass to spring up on the dry hills of Gilboa.

 

This outpouring of God's Spirit on His people was affirmed by the Spirit of Prophecy. "The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth" (RH, Nov. 22, 1892).

 

What thrilling times those must have been, but sadly, the curtain closes on those memorable events.

 

CHARGE IT NOT TO GOD

 

Jesus did not come. The message sent to prepare a people for translation was sidelined. Sister White explains why:

 

"An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth [that the law in Galatians referred especially to the moral law], lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through Brethren [E.J.] Waggoner and [A.T.] Jones. By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world.  {1SM 234.6}

 

Consequently, she said, "We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ's sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action." — Letter 184, 1901. {Ev 696.3}

 

And here we are, 120 plus years later.

 

A SPIRIT OF INTERCESSION

 

This brings us back to our lesson for this week on intercessory prayer. To intercede is to intervene on behalf of another. Our memory text in James 5:16 gives us a formula to follow:

 

1) Confess your faults one to another. God forgive us! We have sinned by rejecting the latter rain message God sent to prepare us for translation more than a century ago. The angels hold back the four winds because God's servants are not sealed. (Revelation 7:3).

 

Daniel interceded (the act of intervening on behalf of another) with God for the Jewish people in captivity. Like Christ, he identified with their sins as his own. He didn't blame or point an accusing finger. "We have sinned against you," (verse 8) he prayed. His prayer is recorded in Daniel nine.

 

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering Canaan. "So, we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19). Similarly, we have failed to enter into the heavenly Canaan. We could have been home long before this.

 

2) Pray for one another, that you may be healed. In vision, Ellen White saw a great reformatory movement among God's people. "A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The world seemed to be lightened with the heavenly influence. Great blessings were received by the true and humble people of God. I heard voices of thanksgiving and praise, and there seemed to be a reformation such as we witnessed in 1844." {CH 580.1}

 

3) A promise: the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. "It is a part of God's plan to grant us, in answer to the prayer of faith, that which He would not bestow did we not thus ask." {GC 525.2}

 

It's interesting to note that prayer for the salvation of others characterizes the final work of God on earth. This love for souls is motivated by Christ's agape love. But when the flame of love for Christ is rekindled in our hearts, our prayers, mingled with the fragrant prayers of the one Righteous Man, will avail much and the sick (spiritually and physically) will be healed.

 

REFLECTIONS

 

We have much to learn about our true condition, the righteousness of Christ, and the role of intercessory prayer for the salvation of others. I can at least say this is painfully true for myself. I marvel at God's patience with us. Even in these last gasps of earth's history when we should be giving the trumpet a certain sound, there is plenty to turn our eyes away from Jesus. How frequently we fail to reflect Him. May God forgive us!

 

A couple of months ago I began meeting with a like-minded friend once each week to pray. Recently, another has joined our prayer circle. Two or three are praying in Jesus' name, and He has promised to be in our midst. Consequently, we are seeing remarkable and daily answers to prayer. Hearts are softening to the gospel and He is opening doors for its proclamation. For this we praise God. Matthew 24:14.

 

~Patti Guthrie

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q3/prayer-powe-interceding-for-others

1888 Message Study : Seeing People Through Jesus' Eyes

"SEEING PEOPLE THROUGH JESUS' EYES"

 

In 1874, Isaac van Horn and his wife Adelia packed up their belongings and traveled west to do evangelism. As a convert to Adventism through Joseph Bates, Isaac picked up the baton of the Gospel to spread the good news of the Third Angels Message. They began tent meetings in Walla Walla, then the largest city in the Washington territory which boasted fifteen hundred residents at the time. After the meetings, Adelia reported six converts to the gospel in her news clip submission to the Review and Herald. One of these converts she described like this:

"The next one that came forward was a soldier from the Garrison (fort). For weeks he has been earnestly seeking the Lord, and a few days hence received bright evidence of sins forgiven. After being buried with Christ he arose exclaiming with upraised hands, 'Dead to the world, and alive to thee, O my God!'" (reference needed)

The name of this young man was Alonzo Trevier Jones, a strapping soldier who was stationed at the Walla Walla Garrison. Taking the message to heart, he went on to be a mighty herald of religious liberty in 1887 and Righteousness by Faith in 1888. As a new follower of Christ, Alonzo fervently worked beside the Van Horns. He thrilled at the joys of sharing Christ's love with the world yet experienced his share of doubt and despair. Only later would we be given insight into what bolstered him during those trying times.

Years after his conversion, Retired Sergeant Jones wrote a sweet inscription to Adelia van Horn in a leather-bound copy of his own book The Two Republics (1891). Now a seasoned author and firm advocate for the Gospel, he takes the time to acknowledge her mentor ship during his fledgling years of service.

To Mrs. Adelia P. Van Horn in grateful remembrance of encouraging words kindly spoken to a dispirited young man fifteen years ago, this volume is now presented by him to whom those welcome words were spoken then. Truly, Alonzo T. Jones Battle Creek Mich 
December 5, 1891 *

 

 

'Encouraging words kindly spoken to a dispirited young man'. How many around us need these words today? What would have become of this soldier had these encouraging words kindly spoken not been uttered by this pastor's wife? Would he have become a beacon of Righteousness by Faith? Would he have written these impactful books or become such a renowned historian? We will not know on this side of eternity for sure, but Adelia's words of faith definitely impacted this young Christian in a powerful way.

Each word, each action is a work for God. Here is faith in God, and faith in men. Christ would never have given His life for the human race if He had not faith in the souls for whom He died. He knew that a large number would respond to the love He had expressed for humanity. It is not every heart that responds, but every heart may and can, if it will, respond to that love that is without a parallel. 12 Letters and Manuscripts, Lt 153a, 1897, par. 17

 "Each word and each action is a work of God." Adelia van Horn had faith in Alonzo T Jones and God directed it to produce this magnificent volume.

Everyone who loves God in sincerity and truth, will love the souls for whom Christ has died. If we wish to do good to souls, our success with these souls will be in proportion to their belief in our belief in, and appreciation of, them. Respect shown to the struggling human soul is the sure means through Christ Jesus of the restoration of the self-respect the man has lost. Our advancing ideas of what he may become is a help we cannot ourselves fully appreciate. Fundamentals of Education 280.1

Seeing as God sees includes this amazing dynamic of believing in what others can be—seeing their potential in Christ. We commonly regard 1 Corinthians 13:1 as the aspiration of every striving Christian, but first we need to view it as the description of this Love that is without parallel. God "beareth all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things", and He invites us into this work towards others. "As the Father has sent Me so send I you."  John 20:21

The cross stands alone, a great center in the world. It does not find friends, but it makes them. It creates its own agencies. Christ proposes that men shall become laborers together with God. He makes human beings His instrumentalities for drawing all men unto Himself. A divine agency is sufficient only through its operation on human hearts with its transforming power, making men co-laborers with God. RH September 29, 1891, par. 4

We become co-laborers with God when we see what He sees and treat others as He treats others. By looking through the lens of His love, we allow His faith to flow through us to touch our community and bolster them in times when they desperately need words and acts of kindness. It is then that the Cross becomes a divine agency and God can work fully in the hearts of men. Is it your desire to become a co-laborer with God? In what way is He calling you to exhibit His faith towards others?

 

For further study:
http://www.scripturefirst.net/FaithGodSermon2005.pdf

 

~Richard Kearns

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q3/seeing-people-through-jesus-eyes

1888 Message Study : Why Witness?

THIRD QUARTER 2020

SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #1

JULY 4, 2020

"WHY WITNESS?"

 

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son." 1 John 5:9-10, NKJV.

 

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 1 John 1:1-2, NKJV.

 

God's love is revealed in the gospel, in His ultimate sacrifice of Himself in Christ, providing salvation for all mankind in Jesus. His love never gives up, therefore there are multiple opportunities for salvation of the individual.

 

To enter in to effective witnessing, we must ourselves have grasped and appreciated not only the magnitude of the love of God for the world, giving eternal life to all the race in Christ, but His love toward us individually. God revealed His love for mankind by indwelling the fallen sinful flesh that Christ took, to redeem it. When we know this love by personal experience, we can then share the ministry of Christ as He lives in us. Love is the highest and sweetest motivation.

 

Said another way, when our very identity is determined by who we are in Christ, then His happiness and joy are ours, and we experience deliverance through Him. We then rejoice with heaven over one sinner who repents, who turns to Him, to experience what we have personally witnessed.

 

The self-sacrifice of Christ, His Faith in humanity, is what drives our faithfulness. We can only be full of faith if we are full of Christ, accepting of His indwelling through the Holy Spirit.

 

As the church grasps and believes the magnitude, the comprehensive reach, the amazing gift that was given to the world in Christ, each member will be better equipped to experience and share this gift with others. This personal sharing will bring massive growth to the church.

 

The very best reason for witnessing is the love of God. The very best witness is the Holy Spirit in the heart.

 

E.G.White:

"Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are. Men may combat and defy our logic; they may resist our appeals; but a life of disinterested love is an argument they cannot gainsay. A consistent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a power in the world." DA 141.5*

E.J. Waggoner:

"Now what books are necessary? Here I can give you exact and definite information. You need a fairly large library, not less than sixty-six books; but they are not very expensive, and I doubt not that you have them already. They are the books of the Old and the New Testament. It is absolutely impossible for you to learn to witness for Christ from any other books than these. I will not disparage commentaries, any more than the good men who have written them; but remember this one thing: You are called to be a witness, and a witness must tell what he knows, and must not repeat what somebody else has already said. You do not want to be a phonograph. Some other man may have given a good testimony, but that testimony is his, not yours. If he has written it down, then everybody can read it for himself, and he can continue to witness after he is dead. It is his own voice. But if you or I repeat that testimony, we are not witnessing, but are merely echoing. God wants fresh testimony from every individual, and not the repetition of what somebody else has said better than we can. If he could speak better than me, then it is folly for us to ape him. God sends us to tell what we have seen, even though it be but little. If we do not know much, then we cannot testify much; but the little that we know, if we do indeed know it, is just as effective as the same amount spoken by the most learned man in the world; and if we speak that which we do not absolutely know for ourselves as the direct revelation from God, then our talk is worse than useless. In such a case we cannot know but that we are leading the people astray." October 4, 1900 EJW, PTUK 628-9}.

 

"'Beloved, now are we the sons of God."' 1 John 3:2. 'As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.' John 1:12. This is an altogether different state from that described in the third verse as 'children.' In that state we were 'a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.' Isaish 30:9. Believing on Jesus, and receiving the adoption of sons, we are described 'as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.' 1 Peter1:14. Christ said, 'I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.' Psalms40:8.

 

Therefore, since He becomes our substitute … literally taking our place, not instead of us, but coming into us, and living our life in us and for us, it necessarily follows that the same law must be within our hearts when we receive the adoption of sons.
 

The Witness of the Spirit

'It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.' 1 John 5:6. 'Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father,' or, Father, Father. Oh, what joy and peace come with the entering of the Spirit into the heart as a permanent resident; not as a guest merely, but as sole proprietor! Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we 'joy in God,' rejoicing even in tribulations, having hope that never disappoints, because 'the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.' Romans 5:1-5. Then we can love even as God does; we have the same love, because we have the Divine nature. 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' 'He that believeth hath the witness in himself.'" 1900 EJW, GTI 170-1.

 

*All emphases supplied.

~Todd Guthrie

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q3/why-witness1