Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023047S
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00:12 [music ends] 00:16 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're glad that you could join us today. 00:21 We are looking at lesson number 8, 00:24 "Mission to the Needy," an exciting lesson, 00:28 and we're gonna learn some exciting things today. 00:30 But before we do, let's begin with prayer. 00:32 Father, we thank You for the opportunity 00:34 that You give us to learn 00:36 how we can better minister to those who are in need. 00:39 We ask that You'll bless us today and give us challenges 00:43 that we can come up to 00:45 so that we can be more effective for You. 00:47 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:49 >>Cliff Shameerudeen: Amen. 00:50 >>Eric: Well, joining us this week and next week 00:53 is Cliff Shameerudeen. 00:54 He is the director for 00:56 the Center for South Asian Religions, 00:58 and we're delighted to have him with us for these two lessons. 01:01 Cliff, thanks for joining us. 01:03 >>Cliff Shameerudeen: Thank you. 01:05 >>Eric: So this is an exciting couple of lessons. 01:07 We're going to be looking at reaching the needy this time, 01:10 and then next time, those who are 01:12 much more well off. 01:14 And you are the director 01:16 for the Center for South Asian Religions. 01:18 I'm guessing that in South Asia, there are some needy 01:21 and there are some very affluent people. 01:23 >>Cliff: That's correct. 01:25 >>Eric: So these two groups, kind of on the outer edges, 01:29 are not where we'll say the majority of folk fall. 01:32 The majority of folk, at least the way we frequently see it, 01:35 are kind of in the middle. 01:36 And yet we have to reach out to these two, 01:39 maybe we call them extremes. 01:40 I don't know if that's the best word to use or not. 01:44 But when we're talking about the mission to the needy, 01:47 reaching the needy, there are some-- 01:50 there's some counsel that we give-- 01:52 that we've been given. 01:53 Of course, Jesus talks about 01:55 the importance of reaching the needy. 01:56 And also in a book called "Testimonies for the Church," 01:59 in volume 2, page 29, 02:01 there's some powerful words about the importance 02:04 of reaching the needy. 02:07 What about the reaching the needy? 02:09 Why is that important, and what counsel do we get? 02:12 >>Cliff: Thank you very much, Eric. 02:14 It's such a blessing to be here with you. 02:17 When we see the world, 02:19 the world is viewed differently, 02:21 depending on who you are, 02:23 but we understand that Jesus says, 02:25 "The needy will be with us forever." 02:28 And I think that's a powerful statement 02:29 because it shows that Jesus really cares. 02:33 Ellen White, who many of us understand her writings 02:37 and the role that she has played in the Adventist church, 02:41 has actually talked about the needy. 02:43 She counseled that we should take time to pay attention 02:47 to those who are in need. 02:49 Now, we understand also 02:52 that when we mention the word "needy," 02:54 the first thing that comes to mind is someone 02:57 who is struggling to pay the bills, you know, 03:00 to get by from one week to the next, 03:03 from one paycheck to the next, 03:04 as we would say in many countries. 03:07 But it's much more than that. 03:10 I think even Jesus knew that, and He taught us that the needy 03:14 are not necessarily those who are struggling to, 03:17 you know, to have food on the table 03:19 but those people who are also in need of support, 03:23 of mental challenges. And the list is long. 03:27 When we start looking at the needy, 03:28 we could expand our definition. 03:30 But I think Ellen White is actually saying to us Adventists 03:36 and Christians at large, 03:38 that we need to actually focus and look 03:41 into those people who are outside of our circle, 03:44 who may look like they may not have any needs, 03:49 but they actually do. 03:50 They're actually in need of something. 03:52 They may need of love. 03:53 >>Eric: So you got a lot of people 03:54 who don't fall into that nice category 03:57 that we might mentally picture. >>Cliff: That's correct. 04:01 >>Eric: But there's a lot of people out there 04:02 who are in need, 04:04 and He calls us--God calls us to reach out to them. 04:09 When you look at people who are in need 04:11 and the broader definition of that, 04:16 what about us reaching them? 04:18 How do we--how can we help them to-- 04:21 do some of them realize they have need? 04:23 Do some of them not realize that they have need? 04:26 If they realize they have need, that's one thing, 04:28 but if they don't realize that they have need 04:30 and they still have need, that's another thing entirely. 04:33 What about reaching these groups of people 04:35 who may or may not understand their need? 04:38 >>Cliff: Eric, I think you touch on a very, very important point, 04:41 especially in the 21st century 04:42 where we have access to education, 04:46 we have access to jobs and other things 04:49 that tends to show that we have some sort of status in society. 04:54 How do we engage people who may say, 04:58 "Well, I don't have any need. I'm doing okay"? 05:02 But as God has given us wisdom and intuition, 05:06 we can see that, 05:07 because we are blessed to have Scripture on our side 05:10 where we could see that people may have a struggle, 05:17 but hard to admit that. 05:19 How do we engage them? 05:21 Well, sometimes, some of the approaches 05:24 we have used actually inoculate people. 05:28 They become more defensive. 05:30 And so Jesus, to show us much more model-- 05:33 His--the model that Ellen White talks about, 05:35 Christ's method, 05:37 it's one example of how we can engage people: 05:40 having compassion, showing friendship-- 05:42 do we use care, as you as a person, 05:45 rather than trying to zero in on what your needs are? 05:50 So I think that's one way to begin, 05:51 is to show that we do care about you. 05:54 >>Eric: So you mentioned Christ's method, 05:55 and that's a quote that we hear with some regularity: 05:58 "Christ's method alone will bring true success 06:00 in reaching the people." 06:02 Could you unpack that for us a little bit? 06:04 You kind of do that in Monday's lesson, 06:06 or you start to do that in Monday's lesson. 06:07 Help us to understand how Jesus reached out to people, 06:11 the model that He gave us, 06:14 and how we might follow that model 06:17 to reach success in these individuals. 06:22 What was His model? What was Christ's method alone, 06:25 and what does that look like practically in our lives? 06:28 >>Cliff: It's with our zeal and energy, 06:32 we tend to focus on the last one of the list that we have, 06:37 and that is to bid people to follow Jesus, 06:39 which is, we ought to do, and we should do it always. 06:43 The question is that when we go into that one first, 06:47 what we have, people who are in need, 06:49 they're gonna gravitate. 06:50 They're gonna come to us because they do have needs, 06:54 and they want to get help. 06:57 I think it's a human intuition to be able to always gravitate 07:01 to someone who can help. 07:03 The problem is that when they come to us, 07:07 the focus is not necessarily Jesus. 07:09 It's to get help, which is--it's not a bad thing. 07:12 >>Eric: It's natural. >>Cliff: It's natural. 07:14 But Jesus taught us there are some others 07:15 that we should focus on first: 07:18 mingle with people, show them, as I said before, 07:20 that we care, understanding, that we can show sympathy, 07:24 we can minister to their needs, 07:27 and then we can actually, you know, serve people. 07:33 It's hard to serve people. I've done this many times, 07:37 where you go into a setting where you'll have-- 07:40 you don't belong, you know, 07:42 even as I travel to many parts of the world, 07:45 and you go into what we call the slum area. 07:48 It's difficult to be there. I mean, we count the minutes: 07:51 "How long should we stay here?" You know? 07:53 But that's what it costs to mingle to people, 07:55 to show that you do care about them. 07:57 And it's, so Jesus challenges us 08:00 to be able to follow these principle first. 08:04 And when people see that, they see that you do care 08:07 beyond trying to give them 08:09 something that they would need only. 08:12 >>Eric: Cliff, I wanna read that quote 08:14 that we've been referring to. 08:15 It comes from "Ministry of Healing," page 143. 08:18 And here's what it says. 08:20 It says, "Christ's method alone will give true success 08:23 "in reaching the people. 08:24 "The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. 08:27 "He showed His sympathy for them, 08:29 "ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. 08:32 Then He bade them, 'Follow me.'" 08:34 And as you mention, 08:36 that's the one that we frequently tend to focus on, 08:38 is the "Follow me" portion. >>Cliff: Yes. 08:40 >>Eric: But the other parts, maybe not so much. 08:44 Or sometimes, we find that individuals do 08:48 a lot of ministering to people and mingling with them. 08:51 Maybe they mingle a lot with people who have need, 08:53 but they never bid them to follow Jesus, 08:58 or maybe they do them good, 09:02 they're taking care of some of their physical needs 09:04 but never bridge to that spiritual part. 09:07 So we miss opportunities 09:09 when we only minister to the physical needs 09:12 or the emotional needs or the mental needs, 09:16 but not the spiritual. 09:18 But we also miss out when we only minster to the spiritual 09:21 but not the physical, mental, and emotional. 09:24 But "Christ's method alone" gives "true success 09:26 in reaching the people" in all of those ways. 09:30 In the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 15, 09:33 there's a very powerful passage that helps us 09:37 to understand how Jesus ministers to us, 09:41 how He connects with us. 09:43 Whether we wanna recognize it or not, we're needy. 09:45 >>Cliff: That's right. >>Eric: We're all needy 09:47 when it comes to Jesus. 09:49 Talk a little bit about Hebrews 4:15 09:52 and how that fits into what we're talking about 09:54 with the "Mission to the Needy." 09:56 >>Cliff: Depending on your translation, 09:58 the words may vary, but the message is still the same. 10:02 And so in the version that I have, 10:04 it says, "We do not have a high priest 10:07 who is unable to empathize with our weakness." 10:11 I love that. 10:13 I mean, God is our high priest, and He understands us 10:17 more than we understand ourselves, 10:19 and to the point that sometimes we afraid to recognize 10:24 we have needs or we're not even aware, 10:25 as you have mentioned earlier. 10:27 A group--how do we reach a group of people 10:29 who may not recognize that they have need? 10:31 But Jesus is saying, "I do understand you. 10:34 "And so I understand the people that I've called you 10:36 "to witness to and their struggle. 10:39 "And also I was tempted 10:40 in every way that you could possibly be tempted." 10:44 That's powerful. 10:45 And so this reminds me of the golden rule. 10:49 I think this is also is embedded in this text, 10:52 that the way you like to be treated, 10:54 treat someone who is in need. 10:57 And so--and this is what Jesus have done 10:59 on His earthly ministry, 11:01 and so He's given us an example that we-- 11:04 a model that we can also implement. 11:10 Eric, I struggle with this one, 11:11 because, as you shared before, people can, 11:14 if we don't give them the package, 11:17 we have the tendency of putting one above the other, 11:20 whether that we focus on the spiritual need-- 11:22 "Make a commitment." 11:24 And we have many world religions today who are defensive 11:30 when they see Christians because they only-- 11:32 they're gonna come with number 5, 11:34 you know, bid--you know, "Come, tell me about Jesus. 11:37 "Get me baptized. I'll become a member of your church." 11:40 And then it's done. Many times, people come into our church, 11:43 we help them so that they would accept Jesus, 11:46 and after they do, we forget they exist. 11:49 Their needs have not gone away, 11:51 because they need much more than that. 11:53 And so we have this challenge today that we face. 11:57 And so, Jesus is saying, no, we should care about people 12:01 more than just mingle, providing their needs. 12:04 Even when they join a church, they'll have to lose a career. 12:07 They may have to give up family in the process. 12:10 Do we really help to replace that? 12:12 We can't replace the family, but we can substitute. 12:15 Do we ever consider that? And these are important step. 12:17 Even before they even get baptized, 12:19 we have to follow these steps. 12:21 >>Eric: So this is a--this requires a commitment, 12:24 not a short-term commitment 12:26 in order to reach a short-term goal, 12:28 but a long-term commitment 12:30 to genuinely care for the needs of individuals 12:35 along this journey that they're on. 12:38 >>Cliff: That's correct. >>Eric: And that's really 12:40 a significant point for us to understand. 12:44 Now we're gonna continue talking about the "Mission to the Needy" 12:47 here in just a moment. 12:48 We're gonna take a break, but before we do, 12:50 I want to encourage you. 12:52 This is lesson number 8 of 13, so we are about halfway there, 12:57 maybe even a little bit more than halfway there, 13:00 on our journey. 13:01 If you haven't yet picked up the companion book 13:03 to this quarter's lesson, you are missing out. 13:07 You wanna pick it up. 13:08 It is called "God's Mission My Mission," 13:11 and you can find that at itiswritten.shop. 13:15 Just go to itiswritten.shop. Look for the companion book 13:18 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, 13:20 "God's Mission My Mission." 13:21 The author is Gary Krause; 13:24 it's actually several authors who have contributed to it. 13:28 But you will be blessed by that. 13:29 It will give you more ideas, more practical ways 13:33 that you can apply what you are learning to this quarter 13:36 and share your faith more effectively with others. 13:40 But I'm gonna come back here in just a moment with Cliff 13:42 as we continue looking at the "Mission to the Needy." 13:45 Don't go away. We'll be right back. 13:47 [music swells and ends] 13:52 >>John Bradshaw: More and more people 13:53 are watching It Is Written TV. 13:56 They're watching their favorite It Is Written programs, 13:59 listening to inspiring sermon series, and much more. 14:03 They're watching them here, here, and even here. 14:07 See for yourself why people are turning to It Is Written TV 14:11 to watch their favorite Christian programs 14:13 live and on demand. 14:15 Watch It Is Written TV for free anytime on Roku, 14:18 Apple TV, and at itiswritten.tv. 14:22 [music] 14:26 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:28 brought to you by It Is Written, 14:30 and we're here with Cliff. 14:31 Cliff, talk with us a little bit about-- 14:34 we're talking about the needy, "Mission to the Needy," 14:36 including the poor, 14:38 but even a little bit more broadly looking. 14:40 What about--what about people like refugees and immigrants? 14:46 They would certainly--there's a lot in the news today 14:49 about refugees and immigrants. 14:50 In fact, there has been for a number of years. 14:52 I wanna read a Bible passage to you and have you respond to it 14:57 and give your thoughts on it. 14:59 This is Matthew 2, verses 13 and 14. 15:02 It says, "Now when they had departed, 15:04 "behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, 15:07 "saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, 15:10 "'flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; 15:14 "for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' 15:17 "When he arose, he took 15:18 "the young Child and His mother by night 15:20 and departed for Egypt." 15:22 This, of course, is talking about 15:23 when Jesus was very young, a baby, 15:26 and Joseph and Mary and He went down into Egypt. 15:31 We're talking about the needy; we're talking about the poor; 15:34 we're talking about refugees; we're talking about immigrants. 15:37 What about these verses? 15:39 >>Cliff: I take comfort in this verse because I'm an immigrant, 15:43 so I understand a little as to what the verse is saying. 15:46 But more than that, I was never a refugee. 15:49 But you know what, Jesus was a refugee. 15:52 He understood that. 15:53 Yes, He was a baby, but I'm quite sure His parents 15:56 would have told Him stories, what was it like to flee 16:01 and to go to Egypt. 16:02 And here we have Jesus, the Son of God, 16:06 is being rescued by a nation 16:10 that we could describe as an un-Christian nation, 16:13 a nation that is pagan 16:15 or a nation that is not subscribing to the Bible 16:19 and the teachings of God as we see it in Scripture. 16:21 And we have a long history with Egypt, 16:24 but they accommodated--they rescued the Son of God. 16:29 What a powerful story in this text 16:32 about Jesus being a refugee. 16:35 >>Eric: So He Himself was a refugee. 16:37 We talk about Him being "in all points tempted like as we are," 16:40 having to go through all the things that we've experienced 16:42 and, in fact, some things that many of us 16:44 have never had to experience. >>Cliff: That's right. 16:46 >>Eric: But He experienced those things and was ministered to, 16:52 to some extent, cared for down there, 16:54 eventually came back, certainly. 16:57 So, if we want to--if we're feeling called, 17:01 feeling impressed to help someone who's in need, 17:05 what are some steps that we might take in identifying 17:09 somebody who needs some ministry 17:13 and how could we minister to them? 17:17 We talked a little bit about Christ's method alone, 17:19 but maybe expand on that just a little bit. 17:21 How do we reach those individuals? 17:23 >>Cliff: I think we need to recognize 17:25 that the same way that we have needs, 17:27 God come and meet us where we are, 17:30 we also need to do the same 17:32 for people who are refugees, immigrants, 17:35 and I would say the first step is to step aside our-- 17:40 put aside our political connections that we have. 17:45 The Bible is very clear on that. 17:46 I have--as a minister of the gospel, 17:49 it pains my heart to see when ministers and church members 17:54 takes a political stand 17:57 when we are called to minister to people, 17:59 regardless of who they are or their location or their-- 18:03 that's not our first priority. 18:07 It's not even our second or third. 18:08 God has called us to share the gospel with all people, 18:13 just like how He have given us an opportunity to be saved. 18:17 We need to do the same. Follow the Golden Rule. 18:19 So I would say that we need to put that aside 18:21 and look at how we can minister to people. 18:26 We have Christ's method. 18:28 We talked about that: mingling, you know, 18:30 showing sympathy, winning confidence, 18:33 ministering to their needs. 18:34 These are steps that we cannot avoid or skip and so forth, 18:41 and of course, bid them to follow Jesus Christ 18:43 so that they can be saved in eternity. 18:47 But beyond that, I think our expectation-- 18:51 or we can use the word "assumption"-- 18:52 we come to help someone, 18:55 and we have assumptions of who they are. 18:57 I think we need to also evaluate those. 19:01 One of the assumption is that if we help them, 19:04 they're gonna always become dependent on us. 19:07 We need to put those aside 19:09 because Jesus cares about them more than we do. 19:12 And so, we helped with the limits-- 19:14 the resources that we have. 19:16 Do you know that Jesus gave us resources? 19:18 Not only to take care of our family 19:21 but to help someone who is in need. 19:23 If that wasn't one of our calling, 19:25 we may not have those resources 19:27 that we think that it belongs to us and no one else, 19:30 is that's one of the reason, one of the steps, 19:33 is to look--we have resources. 19:34 That's why God give us that, so we can help someone in need, 19:38 not only to be able to have a better life but to find Jesus. 19:42 >>Eric: So, all of these steps help us learn different ways 19:46 that we can minister, and the first step, 19:48 as you mentioned, is the Savior mingled with men. 19:51 It may not feel comfortable for us immediately to mingle 19:56 with groups of people 19:58 that we don't feel naturally connected to, 20:02 and yet we have--I'll use the word "obligation" here. 20:07 That sounds kind of weighty and negative, 20:10 if we're not careful, but it's an opportunity, 20:13 it's a privilege, to mingle with people 20:15 who have different worldviews than we have, 20:18 who have different beliefs than we have, 20:20 who have different priorities than we have. 20:24 And when we mingle with them, ultimately, hopefully, 20:27 we'll have a better chance of understanding them, 20:32 of connecting with them because the goal, 20:35 by the grace of God, 20:36 is to take the gospel to all the world. 20:38 And that's what we're talking about: 20:39 God's mission and my mission, they should be the same, 20:43 is to take the message to all the world, 20:44 which includes people other than people who are just like me. 20:48 >>Cliff: Yes. >>Eric: It includes people 20:50 who have different backgrounds, 20:52 different social status, different mental capacities, 20:56 different emotional abilities. 21:00 We've gotta draw close to them first. 21:05 If somebody was not quite sure how to connect with somebody 21:11 who's a little different than they are, 21:14 maybe a lot different than they are, 21:18 what would you tell that person? 21:20 What should they do if they're kind of like, 21:23 "These people look different; they talk different; 21:26 they dress different"-- 21:30 how would you help them to overcome that little-- 21:32 that barrier there to getting to know 21:35 these other people or that other person? 21:38 >>Cliff: Those are legitimate fear. 21:40 When we see someone who may not speak our language 21:44 or have a different, you know, background, 21:48 whether their skin color or they're coming 21:51 from a different part of the world, 21:52 and we become nervous because-- 21:55 not nervous sometimes whether we should talk to them 21:58 but how can we relate to them. 22:00 And sometimes, we best--we just say, 22:02 "You know, we wanna give people space," which is important. 22:05 We give people space. But on the flip side of that, 22:07 when someone is away from their homeland 22:09 and their family, let's use a simple example. 22:13 We have a student coming from a country, and let's say Nepal, 22:20 and they come here, 22:21 and they're studying in the place that we lived 22:24 and at university, and we see them, maybe they're-- 22:27 we could tell that they're--they don't-- 22:28 they weren't born into my community. 22:31 Sometimes we are a little nervous. 22:32 Well, we just wanna leave people alone, 22:34 let them be relaxed, 22:35 and that's important, but at the same time, 22:38 they may not able to approach us because they are a visitor. 22:42 We're the one that has to approach them 22:44 and so, but where do we begin? 22:47 I could tell you of one example that we have done is that 22:50 we notice that there was, in this particular community, 22:53 there was a lot of people who were moving in to build houses, 22:57 and so what we did is we did something for the children. 23:00 We organized a children party, just that. 23:03 Simple, we wanna do something for you. 23:05 We want to give some flyers. 23:07 They may not understand the language, 23:08 it's okay, we just may even get a translator, 23:12 and we did a simple thing because we wanted to show 23:14 the children we care about them. 23:16 They don't know where to go to school, 23:18 they may not even have, you know, 23:21 fill out the right application, they don't know who to talk to 23:24 because they're new, and so simple things like that, 23:28 that you can do to show that you care. 23:30 And once someone finds out that you care, 23:34 you win their confidence. 23:36 And you don't only win their confidence for short-term. 23:39 This is long-term. 23:40 For their entire life, they will always feel appreciative 23:44 of what simple things you have done for that family. 23:48 And because of that, we have-- 23:49 the Adventist church, we become the go-to people 23:54 whenever they have a question and need. 23:56 They may not necessarily need you to solve their problems, 23:58 but they just want counsel, guidance 24:00 because they can trust you. 24:03 >>Eric: So, we'd love to have the opportunity 24:05 to share Jesus with them at some point, 24:07 'cause that's, as Christians, 24:09 that's what we've been called to do is to share Jesus. 24:12 But it seems like an awfully big step if I don't know 24:15 the person's culture, their language, 24:17 to think "How am I gonna share Jesus with them?" 24:19 But we don't have to start there. 24:21 We start with just introducing ourselves. 24:24 We start with just trying to find a way to communicate 24:27 and be a friend to that person. 24:30 In time, God will bring about the opportunity, 24:34 if it's right for you to have that opportunity, 24:37 to share Christ with them. 24:38 But it may be a seed that you plant that someone else waters 24:42 and that someone else harvests. 24:44 What would you--when we're dealing with the uncertainty 24:47 of a commitment from someone who's poor and accepting Jesus 24:56 and so forth, we're not sure what they're gonna do with it, 24:58 how do we work forward? 25:01 How do we walk forward in faith, trusting 25:05 that God's gonna continue helping move that forward? 25:08 >>Cliff: I think this question has a few parts. 25:13 One of the things we have to remind ourself: 25:16 we're not just here to do social service. 25:19 I think that's important, it has its place, 25:22 but it doesn't mean that that's all we do or we should do. 25:26 I think, as a church family, 25:29 whether the entire church or members of the church, 25:33 can evaluate their situation and say, "We wanna do something. 25:37 We wanna show Christ's love to people." 25:39 If we go with the Bible, they may say, 25:42 "No, we're not interested," especially if they are coming 25:44 from certain world religion. 25:47 They say, "We have our own Scripture, 25:48 "we have our own belief system. No thank you." 25:52 But if we go, using Christ's method, 25:53 people will be more open and so forth. 25:56 The question is--we go with uncertainty 25:59 because we're just human beings. 26:02 We don't know what will be the end result. 26:06 But one thing we can count on is that the impact we make 26:09 on a person's life will actually open up more opportunities. 26:14 A few things I wanna share here. 26:15 We need to have faith that God will use us to bless. 26:20 Also we need to take action. We need to do something, 26:24 not just share and tell people truth and words, 26:28 but we need to actually put our action in different steps. 26:33 And also, we need to have patience. 26:35 We need to be patient with people 26:38 because not everyone are the same. 26:40 Some people needs more time; some needs less time. 26:42 I've seen people make commitment to follow Jesus in three weeks. 26:45 I've been involved 26:47 in some of those evangelistic efforts myself. 26:49 But what happens to those who didn't follow that formula? 26:54 Do we just ignore them? 26:56 Do we just said, "Well, you know, 26:59 dust the feet off and just move on"? 27:00 No, we do need to care. 27:02 We do need to also follow up with them, 27:04 and to have a plan to follow up after they may say no 27:09 or they may show a sign 27:10 that they're not interested in starting Bible studies. 27:14 And then, we need to have willingness 27:16 to go beyond our own comfort zone. 27:19 And I think this--these are some of the things 27:21 that we can put in place when we're dealing with people 27:26 who are not ready to make a commitment 27:28 or we're not sure about their commitment. 27:30 If we follow these steps, and we leave the rest to God. 27:33 >>Eric: Fantastic, Cliff, thank you so much for that. 27:36 And thank you for joining us this week. 27:38 We hope and trust and pray 27:39 that you've gained something from this 27:41 that will encourage and inspire you 27:43 to reach out to the needy. 27:45 We look forward to seeing you again next week 27:47 as we continue our study about "God's Mission My Mission," 27:52 and next week we're going to be looking at 27:53 "Reaching the Affluent." 27:55 God bless you and we'll see you then next time 27:57 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 28:00 [music] 28:25 [music ends] 28:27 [Captioning provided by Aberdeen Broadcast Services] |
Revised 2023-11-16