Michigan Camp Meeting 2019: As a Witness, Matthew 24:14

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Adult Sabbath School

Adult Sabbath School First Sabbath

Father in heaven, that we may have the visible role of teachers, we're asking for you to fulfill the promise that your spirit would lead us into all truth, and have your spirit be our teacher and guide in Jesus' name.

The memory text comes from Hebrews chapter 12 where it says, therefore let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." That word endure or endurance comes up twice there.

What Christ endured, we also, in light of His endurance and pushing through, we have to endure some things as well.

And the thing specifically that this week's lesson focused on, families enduring, is the onslaught of culture.

And the relationship that the family and the church family has in connection with culture.

Right there in the Sabbath afternoon 1, we find in the middle of that first paragraph, it says, our parents, our children, our homes, our families, even our church, are all impacted by the culture in which they exist, and greatly, too.

Now, as we talked about this in our little pre-meeting, we talked about the connection of family and culture and the relationship of those 2.

What do we see when we look at the church or the local family as it relates to culture?

Is the local church or the local nuclear family immune from culture just because we're in the church or is still culture an issue that we face today?

1 of the things that we discussed was I asked each of us, you know, do you know what your house smells like?

And we don't because we are accustomed to whatever aroma that might be.

And Mark shared that his house may smell like a dog, because they have a dog there.

But I imagine that there's, you know, my house may smell like garlic, I don't know.

But you don't know what your house smells like either.

You need an outsider to come in to tell you, hey, your house smells like Febreze or whatever.

We have a difficult time identifying my own culture, what my culture is, and we can maybe discern with greater ease other people's cultures.

We can discern other people, oh, that belongs to this person or that person, that group, but we are not very good at identifying our own culture.

So, there's kind of an assumption in your statement there that everyone has some cultural background.

It's not like some people are cultured and other people don't have culture.

We all come from, are made a part of something, right?

Absolutely, and even when we think about the word culture, I think all too often we we narrow it down to a specific ethnic group, but I share that me and my husband, we may come from the same cultural background, but we don't have the same culture.

He grew up in a different home than I did.

The way we deal with conflict was different than the way they dealt with conflict.

The way that they dealt with discipline was different than the way that we dealt with discipline.

So culture is a very broad aspect to talk about.

And so oftentimes we'll see, you know, you're right, you think of an ethnic culture, you would think of a nationality, oh, you're from this country or from that country or from this time.

But there's also a church culture versus what we would just deem the world, right?

Now, is it the right place for the church or church families to look at the other world culture and say, like, that is over there, that is bad, and everything we have here is good, or how should we relate to culture?

Well, if you look at a picture, last night I was looking at this as I was studying.

The picture in your lesson, there's a little graphic about Sabbath, And I never noticed that there's a house that is separated from the rest of the houses.

And I think that it goes to illustrate something that may visually try to convey to us the answer of are we affected, are we not?

The house is in the neighborhood but is detached from the other houses.

So for me, that's a visual illustration of a Christian home.

We are in the world, but we are not of the world.

Because we all, when we say we come out of Babylon, I have 2 daughters.

Or will they also have to be born or come out of their Babylon?

Because I appreciated that appeal, you know, how do I know that I'm not in Babylon just because I am here on this day, right?

Because people that came to church on this day also crucified Jesus 2, 000 years ago.

So what is the culture that we're speaking of that we ought not to be and what is the culture that we ought to belong to or aim towards in the direction?

Okay, so culture is not inherently good or inherently bad.

And it's good to have connection in a society that we're a part of, but we need to be careful that we don't just say, oh it's part of my culture and that's good, or it's all part of my culture and that's bad.

We have to be discerning when it comes to matters of culture.

Personal culture does not mean, take your hands off, don't talk to me about that, it's my culture.

I believe that the lesson in the discussion we had is all of us need to take the advice of Jesus in which he said, is there something in your eye?

Don't become such an expert in other people's eyes, but rather become an expert in your own eye because there may be a plank sticking out of yours.

I mean, the brother said, I didn't know I was in darkness.

I grew up in the Adventist church, but it wasn't until I accepted Christ, I was in darkness too.

How can you be in this kind of milieu and still be in darkness?

Just because we are part of this Adventist church physically, this institution, does not mean you and I may not be in darkness.

There's something deeper that has to take place.

And maybe even if we're in the church or even have a relationship with Christ as we're growing, there are still some things in us that need to be removed that we might have come from, from our own home, our own ethnic, our own national, whatever the culture is, our modern technological society that are not compatible with the word of God.

And there still needs to be continued growth to develop a society mindset based on heaven's principles and not earthly principles.

The question was asked in Sunday's lesson, what can we learn here about our need to overcome our own barriers and prejudice when dealing with other cultures?

And we don't have time to read the whole thing, but Mark, can you give us a little summary of what story is contained in Acts chapter 10?

Well, in Acts chapter 10 you have the call of Peter to the house of Cornelius, in essence, to minister to a Gentile family that prior to that point, to him, was just something he shouldn't do, intermingled with the class of people that Cornelius' household represented.

And to put a little context in this, if you recall, the day of Pentecost happened back in Acts chapter 2.

Peter had been reinstituted in the ministry by Jesus himself, you know, with the, if you love me, feed my sheep, the whole thing.

He stood up boldly for the truth in Acts chapter 2.

But even by Acts chapter 10, when the same Jesus said, all right, now go to the household of Cornelius, he said, not solo, Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down.

He had to work out something that culturally he's brought up with, that there was that Jew and Gentile distinction that needed to be maintained in order to continue to be a good Christian in good standing, right?

He couldn't resolve this in his mind a little bit.

It was a challenge, and I think that the beauty of this story, which I personally can identify with, I'm going to throw myself under the bus, okay, that we all have, And in the lesson it talked about barriers and prejudice, right?

And some of those are passed down to us from generation to generation, and some of those we pick up along the way.

But God came face to face, as it were, with Peter, and he confronted him with something that in and of himself was a construct for himself.

I think later on in the story, it talked about how Peter had added to what God had given him, because we are supposed to be a peculiar people, right?

The Jews had added other things onto that story that God had not given them.

And so, therefore, they distorted that and they made it more of a prejudice, which made them go like this to the very people that God had given them the mission to go and share the gospel with.

God has said, you will be a light to the nations and they became a dark wall.

You know, the story of Acts in that series of passages, it finishes with 1 Thessalonians 5, 21 and 22, which is what Sunday's lesson is entitled, Hold Fast to What is Good.

But I read the context of it last night, and the context of it is do not despise prophecies or the prophetic gift.

Study everything, but Hold Fast to What is Good.

Study everything, but hold fast to what is good.

And the context is being guided by a vision that surpasses our vision.

In the Old Testament, the prophets were called seers, and that's a challenge with culture.

Our sister said Babylon is pretty, right?

Adult Sabbath School Second Sabbath

Dear Father, Lord, we thank you for the opportunity we have this morning to study your Word.

Lord, we invite the author, the Holy Spirit, the 1 who inspired the apostles, the prophets of old who wrote these words, to be in our midst and give us understanding.

As written there in our Sabbath afternoon lesson, our memory verse for the week is this.

Comes from 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

That particular passage does a good job of kind of an overview synopsis of where we're headed in this week's study.

That God has called us not just to receive salvation, but to also be transmitters of that great light to others.

A chosen generation for the purpose of calling forth praise from all people.

And sometimes we think about our witness, kind of like we talk about here, global mission and outreach and even personal ministry outside in the world to those we meet.

But the lesson this week asks a more personal question.

It starts with that, what have they seen in your house?

That the elements of sharing our faith and witnessing for the Lord aren't just some pieces and parts on public display or at certain occasions, but really cut to the heart of our own personal, intimate, private lives.

So as we discuss this, what strikes you, even just in this memory verse that comes to mind?

What are some thoughts that start coming from your head?

Well, the thing that first pops into my mind is that the people that care about us the most often get the worst version of ourselves.

When we're at home, we oftentimes let that surface guard down and around our spouse or our children, we can, if we're not careful, allow the flesh to come out.

And who we really are is who we are at home.

Not who we are at church or at work where it's quite easy to do it temporarily.

But if we're going to be genuine, it's gonna come out in the home.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and ultimately that's going to happen in the home.

Okay, so you mentioned a version of yourself.

Is it possible that people have 2 selves?

I think Uncle Arthur addressed that years ago.

I don't know how many of you remember the story.

The ones with grandkids and kids currently, remember the name.

What was the spirit of that illustration?

Yes, where there was a sweet Caroline at school.

Her teacher thought she was such a sweetheart, and She was very naughty and mean at home.

Her mother decided to 1 day invite the teacher over to home without letting Caroline know.

The teacher was hiding away in another room when caroline came home and caroline came in was really speaking very nasty to her mother and was not being nice at all and then she came around and she saw her teacher and oh teacher but of course the teacher could see that there were indeed 2 Carolines.

But in that way, we do have 2 selves, because the flesh and the spirit are always wrestling.

And so the point is that we tend to, when we're in the most comfortable settings, oftentimes be most willing to yield to the flesh, when in reality, we need to guard, especially when we're around those who we are most responsible for and our influence means the most with, we should be especially careful at home.

So, a lot of things to unpack in this lesson this week, and so we're excited about that.

Jaron, why don't you take us to 2 Chronicles and talk to us a little bit about this illustration from King Hezekiah's life.

Yes, in 2 Chronicles chapter 32, the lesson used the example of Hezekiah.

In fact, Prophets and Kings indicates that Hezekiah was 1 of the best kings since King David.

The time was a time of national apostasy, and he restored the Passover.

They had a great Passover, and he was a good king.

Now toward the end of Hezekiah's life, he got deathly sick, and there was a message revealed to him by a prophet of the Lord that He was going to die.

Now that's quite a message to come to anyone, that he was going to die.

The message was, set your house in order.

Hezekiah wasn't ready to die yet, and he pleaded with the Lord to give him More time, more life.

And God answered that prayer in a miraculous way and promised that he would add 15 years to his life.

Now, there was a sign that Hezekiah asked for.

And the sign was that the sundial would go back on the sundial.

Now, the incredible thing was is that people from other nations saw this.

This wasn't just on Hezekiah's sundial, this was all around.

And over in Babylon, they saw this and they heard about the miracle that happened.

And this is where Hezekiah's downfall, where we see it here.

I'm reading from 2 Chronicles 32, verse 24.

In those days, Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he spoke to him and gave him a sign.

And that sign with the sundial that we just read about.

Going down to verse 27, Hezekiah had very great riches and honor and made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and all kinds of desirable items, storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil, and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds, and flocks, and you can read on there.

But then you get to verse 31, and what word begins verse 31?

However, but, and it's like, Oh man, why does it always have to come?

However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land.

So they came to inquire about the sign, about the miracle of his healing.

Well, what he did was, it says here in verse 31, God withdrew from him in order to test him that he might know all that was in his heart.

It's a sad thing that instead of exalting God and giving God the glory, he just showed him all the wonderful stores in his house.

Now, there's a lot in that story, obviously, but let's focus on that end part.

Obviously, the Lord had blessed him greatly, as was evident by all those storehouses, but when the opportunity came to reveal in his own life and by his personal testimony the grandeur of God and the glory of his character, instead of ascribing that glory to the source where it truly belonged, rightfully, he just kind of showed them around the house and it certainly implied that this is, I'm doing pretty good.

And never once did that opportunity manifest in a great testimony, and the Lord said he would drew to test him.

Yeah, I think the idea of testing him is pretty universal.

In other words, the idea of what we speak about in our most comfortable settings will reveal to ourselves where we currently are spiritually oftentimes.

In Steps to Christ on page 58, she actually speaks of this very test.

She says, It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the renewing power of Christ.

The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life.

Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil.

A selfish heart may perform generous actions.

By what means, then, are we to determine whose side we are on?" So again, what's the test?

Who has our warmest affections and our best energies?

If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him and our sweetest thoughts are of Him.

All we have in ours is consecrated to Him.

Series

Adult Sabbath School

Adult Sabbath School Second Sabbath

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

The Greatest Christmas Gift

59m

Prophecy Made Simple

9. September 11 and the Future of America

1h 18m

What Jesus Said

19. Religion and Politics

1h

Gerard Damsteegt: Spring 2013 Week of Prayer

Revival and the Present Truth

37m

Abraham: Father of the End-time Faithful

Father Abraham: Stranger and Pilgrim

42m

The Mount of Blessings

Light of the World

40m

Plenary

The Ancient Etiquette of Foot Washing

1h 38m

The Commandment of Love - Part 3

43m

Why I Love Jesus

42m

Islam and Daniel 11

1h

Plenary

Something Better

56m

In Due Season

40m

Sound Doctrine