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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Steven Conway

Christ’s Legacy to His Church

I want to start by sharing a story with you.

This is a story about a lady by the name of Aunt Hannah.

In the 1920s, a sociology class at Johns Hopkins University made a study of children in deprived neighborhoods in Baltimore.

They identified 200 children who appeared doomed to spend years in prison.

After 25 years, another study was made to discover what had happened to those particular children.

As these men and women were interviewed over and over again, came the name of their teacher, Aunt Hannah.

The sociologists were correct in their predictions.

By all indications, the children would be dregs of society, but there was an intervention.

Aunt Hannah, an elementary school teacher who loved them.

1 school teacher, not in a Christian school, but in a public school, 1 school teacher who made the difference in the lives of almost 200 children.

Their lives were destined to go in 1 direction, but through her influence, through her what?

Through her influence, their lives took a turn for the better.

The reason I wanna share that with you is because we live in a world that is, and I'll share with you why I say this, we live in a world that is desperate, that is desperate for the influence of godly men and women.

And that's why I want to talk to you about this subject, Christ's legacy, Christ's legacy.

I'm sure this is familiar to many of you.

Ellen White writes, Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people.

The Savior mingled with men as 1 who desired their good.

He showed his sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence.

I believe today that we are after nothing other than true success.

And because this is the case, we would be wise to follow the method of Jesus Christ.

Often when we hear about ministering to the needs of the cities and communities we live in, alleviating the suffering of men and women, these things are referred to in a derogatory way as social gospel.

How many of you have ever heard of that term before?

This is a sad mischaracterization of what Jesus himself taught is the responsibility of all Christians.

For 1, Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 25 verses 31 to 46 that ministry to the destitute, hungry, and afflicted is 1 of the characteristics of those preparing for Jesus' return.

Jesus did not teach that these things were to be done in an effort to make a heaven on earth but rather as a means of service worship to him.

While the world needs sympathy, While it needs the prayers and assistance of God's people, it needs to see Christ in the lives of his followers.

The people of God, Who is that referring to?

The people of God are equally in need Wait a minute So just as the world needs all of these things The people of God are equally in need of something.

Listen to what the people of God are in need of.

They are equally in need of opportunities that draw out their sympathies, give efficiency to their prayers, and develop in them a character like that of the divine pattern.

It is to provide these opportunities that God has placed among us, the poor, the unfortunate, the sick, and the suffering.

They are Christ's legacy to his church And they are to be cared for as he would care for them.

In this way, God takes away the dross and purifies the gold, giving us that culture of heart and character which we need.

To draw out our sympathies, to give efficiency to our prayers.

Anybody ever had to stop yourself while you're praying because you are listening to yourself as your prayers sound mechanical and they have lost fervency and zeal because you're praying about the same old stuff in your life, asking God to do more stuff for you?

This would give efficiency to their prayers and develop in them a character like that of the divine pattern.

Friends, after I looked at this statement, I was struck with what may be obvious to some, but definitely was not, at least at first glance, to me.

The adjective poor is only 1 of 4 terms used to describe those that we are obliged to help.

The reason it spoke to me so profoundly is oftentimes when we consider doing things for the needy, We exclusively think of those who are poor and we think about distributing food, giving out clothing and other personal items.

And this is the extent of our vision for this tremendous field of labor.

However, this quote also mentions the unfortunate.

A husband loses his wife to cancer or some terrible disease.

A child is robbed of its parents due to accident or a senseless act of violence.

Friends, these are all unfortunate events.

So ministering to the needy as God sees it is not always ministry as we see it if we're distributing food and clothes that's it we've done our job But what about being there for someone who is grieving?

Not just at the funeral, but even beyond.

The passage also mentions the sick and suffering.

You know, friends, there are ways that we suffer which are not physical.

How about parents who have a child losing a battle with addiction or simply in rebellion?

And I have our youngest child whose name is Angel and she is 5 years old.

So I was reading a book called Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.

I want to be a strong father so I can have strong daughters.

And in This story, the author tells of a gentleman whose daughter all of a sudden just flipped out 1 day.

She decided she was gonna live a different type of lifestyle and so she did.

She dyed her hair and she put on all the paraphernalia that went along with this particular subculture that she had decided to be a part of.

She decided to steal a large sum of money from her parents And she ran out to California.

Now, this father and mother didn't know where their daughter had gone.

The private investigator brings the message back that she is in California, and she is working at a convenience store.

He flies out to California and he says that he comes to the door of this convenience store and just watches as his daughter is dealing with customers who are coming and going.

And you know how you can feel when someone is just gazing at you.

And so his daughter's eyes turn and meet his.

And there, instead of an embrace and a warm greeting, she begins with cursing and swearing to blame her mother and father for everything that has transpired.

He pleads with her for 3 days to come home.

Not only that, he discovers that his 17-year-old daughter is living with a 32-year-old man.

He uses all the eloquence, all the language, strong tears to persuade her to come home and she refuses.

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Christ’s Legacy to His Church

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