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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023044S
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00:12 (music ends) 00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:18 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:20 We're glad to have you with us again this week 00:22 as we are taking a look at lesson number five. 00:25 This is looking at some of the excuses 00:27 that we often give in order to 00:29 try to remove ourselves from mission. 00:32 They're not very good ones, though, 00:33 and we're gonna dive into them this week. 00:35 Let's begin with prayer. 00:37 Father, we wanna thank You for giving us 00:38 an opportunity to learn more 00:40 about how we can be more effective witnesses for You, 00:44 how we can share Your love with others. 00:46 And we ask that today You would help us 00:48 to bypass the many excuses that often present themselves 00:52 so that we can be effective tools for You. 00:54 We thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:57 Well, we're delighted to have back with us again this week 01:00 Amy Whitsett. She's an associate director 01:02 of the Institute of World Mission. 01:04 You've served, you and your husband have both served 01:06 as missionaries for many, many years, 01:08 and you're bringing that wealth of experience 01:10 and knowledge to us through 01:13 this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. We're very grateful. 01:15 Welcome. >>Thank you. 01:16 >>So this week we're taking a look at 01:18 "Excuses to Avoid Mission." 01:22 Somebody might be wondering, what is an excuse? (Amy laughs) 01:25 It's--we can start making excuses 01:28 by not even knowing what an excuse is. 01:30 So what is an excuse? Give us a definition for an excuse. 01:34 >>I looked in several dictionaries 01:36 to kind of get an idea of, you know, 01:38 how would they phrase it, 01:39 and basically what it comes down to is justification 01:42 for not doing what we should be doing 01:44 or for doing what we should not be doing. 01:46 So it's just justifying our actions. 01:48 >>And excuses are--they come very easily, 01:51 they come unfortunately rather naturally, 01:54 and we find a number of people in the Bible 01:56 who made excuses for one reason or another. 01:58 Moses springs to my mind. 02:01 But we wanna take some time this week 02:03 and look at the story of Jonah. 02:05 Help us to understand this story. 02:07 Give us a little bit of context 02:08 and why this is such a vivid example, 02:11 a clear example of what not to do. 02:14 >>Yeah. So Jonah, as we know, was called by God 02:18 to go to Nineveh. 02:20 And what everybody knows is he didn't go to Nineveh, 02:25 he ended up on the ship, 02:26 ended up in the stomach of the whale, you know, 02:28 and...but there's a lot more to it than that. 02:33 If you really delve into it, 02:35 if you look into some of the archaeology 02:37 and some of the records of history, 02:39 there's actually some pretty significant reasons 02:41 why Jonah didn't want to go. 02:43 He had some pretty legitimate excuses. 02:45 He had some not legitimate excuses as well, 02:48 but the Ninevites, Nineveh actually was not on the coast. 02:52 Nineveh was 560 miles inland 02:57 in the opposite direction. And so when he went to Joppa 03:02 and he took the ship, he went the opposite direction 03:04 to what is now southern Spain, 03:07 complete opposite direction. 03:08 And in my research, I found it would've taken 03:11 about a month for him to get to Nineveh, 03:13 and it would've taken him about a month to get to Tarshish, 03:18 you know, so, one month (laughing) opposite directions. 03:21 So he was escaping; the question is, why was he escaping? 03:23 Why was he not wanting to go? 03:27 In some of the historical records, 03:29 Sennacherib or his scribes actually record 03:32 some of the invasions and cities that they conquered 03:35 and the stories of those invasions. And the Ninevites-- 03:40 Nineveh, first of all, was the capital of Assyria. 03:43 And the Assyrians were known for their brutality. 03:46 They were ruthless people. And there are, you know, carvings 03:51 and things that depict people impaled on spikes 03:55 and beheaded, and, I mean, just all, 03:57 all manner of brutality and torture. 03:59 And so for Jonah to be called 04:03 to take this weird message, this scary message, 04:07 that "God's gonna destroy you," I wouldn't wanna be Jonah-- 04:10 I'll be honest with you--not to go face those Ninevites, 04:13 'cause I know it's coming, right? 04:14 So he was legitimately afraid 04:17 of what the possibilities could be 04:20 and what they could possibly do to him. 04:22 >>You know, the Bible calls him a prophet. 04:25 We have this picture in our minds, 04:27 I think, of prophets as these courageous individuals, 04:31 no matter what they're called to do, off they go, and 04:34 "I'm a mouthpiece for God, and you need to listen to me." 04:37 Jonah doesn't come across with that vibe, as it were. 04:41 He's...a little more hesitant. 04:44 Ultimately, we know God was still able to use him. 04:47 What does that tell us a little bit about us? 04:50 >>Prophets are real people. 04:52 You know, we do have a picture of them almost 04:55 with, you know, the prophet cape on them, the Superman cape, 04:58 but they were real, actual people like you and I, 05:01 and they had the same fears, they had the same insecurities, 05:04 they had the same needs that we do, 05:06 and so to recognize that they're just people that God used, 05:11 if you flip that around and say, 05:13 "I'm just a person like the prophets; 05:15 God could use me, too"-- 05:17 not that I want to be written in a Bible, (laughs) 05:21 not that I want my story told, 05:23 but I certainly wanna be used by God. 05:26 >>So this story of Jonah 05:27 begins by introducing us to Jonah 05:31 and what God is calling Jonah to do. 05:33 As you mentioned, Jonah knew a few things 05:35 about the Ninevites. He was not unfamiliar with them 05:38 and some of the things that they had done, 05:40 and it was much more real to him back in his day 05:42 than it is to us 05:44 many years later-- >>Right. 05:45 >>...looking at carvings and so forth. 05:49 He didn't want to go. 05:51 You might say he was a little prejudiced 05:54 against the Ninevites. 05:57 Do we face something similar to that? 05:59 Can we face something similar to that today? 06:02 >>Absolutely. Absolutely. 06:04 You know, not only were the Ninevites brutal people, 06:09 the Assyrians, brutal people--at least their warriors-- 06:14 they were also the enemy of Israel. You know, how many times 06:18 had the Assyrians attacked Israel and God's people? 06:21 And so there was this natural feeling 06:24 that this was the enemy. It was a cultural thing-- 06:27 "Their culture's against our culture; 06:29 their people are against our people." 06:30 And when you have that kind of a situation, 06:32 it does build natural prejudice 06:35 that, "We don't like those people. 06:36 "They're the other, they're not part of us, 06:38 "they're not one of us, 06:40 they're over there, and we're gonna keep them over there." 06:41 And that, we run into danger with that 06:43 because God is a God of all people, right? 06:47 And so if we allow our prejudices, 06:49 which we don't always recognize, 06:51 if we allow our prejudice to block us 06:54 from being involved in mission, we're limiting God. 06:58 We're--I shouldn't say we're limiting God. 07:01 God isn't limited by humans, 07:03 but we're limiting ourselves to be used by God, right? 07:07 We're not always clear 07:08 that we're prejudiced against somebody. 07:10 >>Is there anything that we could do to help ourselves 07:13 see that more clearly, 07:14 to be a little more honest with ourselves? 07:18 Any ideas of how we might overcome some of that prejudice 07:21 that exists? We may not even recognize it. 07:25 >>Yeah. 07:27 My boss, Oscar Osindo, great guy, 07:31 one of his favorite phrases is, "Withhold judgment." 07:34 Withhold judgment. You know, don't judge people's actions. 07:38 Don't label people's actions 07:39 as good or bad or right or wrong. 07:42 Instead label it as different and seek to understand. 07:46 So we need to listen. We need to ask questions. 07:49 We need to try to understand 07:50 why people are doing what they're doing, 07:52 why they're acting the way that they're acting, 07:54 why they are who they are before we cast judgment on them. 07:58 And that does a big thing to eliminate our prejudice 08:04 and to help us to recognize that we have it. 08:05 >>We can begin to understand that it exists. 08:09 Withholding judgment, I suppose prayer probably 08:13 plays some role in this as well. 08:14 Prayer should play a role in everything. 08:17 >>Absolutely. >>And this is not 08:18 the exception to that. 08:20 Talk about the role of prayer here for a little bit. 08:22 >>So we can pray that God will open our eyes 08:25 to the prejudice. But then it also goes back 08:27 to last week's story with Abraham 08:30 and asking God to give us a heart of compassion, 08:33 that God will help us to see people as people, 08:36 and help us to recognize that as long as somebody 08:39 is living and breathing, there's hope, there's opportunity, 08:44 there's possibility that the Holy Spirit can reach them. 08:47 And if we can see people as people, see people as human, 08:52 then that will help to dissipate the prejudice as well. 08:55 Because often our prejudice isn't against individual people, 08:58 it's against our conception of a society, 09:01 our perception of a society or a culture 09:04 or a group of people. But if we can start to hear stories, 09:07 it breaks down prejudice. 09:09 When we were in Asia, there were a number of 09:13 asylum seekers that came to Bangkok. 09:16 And there was quite a bit of prejudice between 09:20 not just the local people and these refugees, 09:24 asylum seekers, but among the asylum seekers themselves 09:27 because there were Christians, 09:28 and there was a minority Muslim group 09:31 and huge tension and conflict between them. 09:35 And as we helped people to sit down and listen to each other 09:38 and to listen to people's stories, 09:40 and there's something about suffering 09:42 that makes people human. And it awakens in us compassion. 09:46 And then we treat people differently. 09:48 We see people differently 09:49 when we can have that compassionate spirit 09:51 and those compassionate eyes towards people. 09:54 >>So stories that help us to connect with people 09:57 in ways that we wouldn't otherwise. 09:59 You know, if we run into somebody 10:02 that's a different culture, a different race, 10:04 a different faith, a different worldview, 10:08 we tend to focus on the differences. 10:10 >>Right. >>It's natural for us 10:11 to focus on the differences. 10:13 But when we can learn a little something about them, 10:16 we find out that they are men, they are women, 10:19 they're mothers, they're fathers, they're children, 10:22 they're struggling with this subject in school 10:25 or that subject in school, or they're trying to figure out 10:28 how to express themselves in one way or another, 10:31 fit into a culture that's maybe different than ours. 10:34 And you're right; they become more human. 10:36 They become more like us. >>Yeah. 10:39 >>And that can be very, very powerful. 10:41 >>And it's not just across culture, either. 10:43 We can do that in our own culture; 10:45 you know, the bum on the street, 10:47 the beggar on the street, you know, 10:49 we often look down on them. Why? 10:52 We assume that they're uneducated. 10:54 We assume that they can't manage their money well; 10:56 we assume that they have addictions 10:57 or habits that they can't control, right? 10:59 So we make these assumptions, 11:01 but if we were to sit down and to listen to their story, 11:03 I bet our story would change, 11:05 our attitude would change towards them. 11:07 >>Yeah, one of the things that my family and I enjoy doing 11:09 is on a variety of times throughout the year, 11:11 but especially around the Christmas season, 11:14 is there's a Christmas banquet that's held 11:17 for a lot of the homeless, 11:19 the unsheltered people in our area. 11:21 And so our children and we get to go, 11:23 and we get to feed them; 11:24 we get to sit at the table and talk with them 11:26 and hear their stories and what they're going through 11:29 and what their life was like before 11:31 and what they've experienced. And now it's no longer 11:35 just that person that you see out there. 11:37 It's a real person that you have connected with 11:41 in a very meaningful way. >>Mm-hmm. 11:43 >>But that does take some intentionality. 11:45 >>It does. It really does--and time. 11:48 And that runs into another one of the excuses 11:50 that we have is that it's inconvenient. 11:52 Mission is not convenient. 11:54 You know, it costs us sometimes financially, 11:58 sometimes it costs us our time, it costs us our energy, 12:02 especially our emotional energy. 12:06 But that's the cost, that's the price we have to pay, right? 12:09 That's the price of being a disciple of God, 12:11 and discipling others is being willing to put our resources 12:16 to use in those areas. 12:19 >>If you stop and take a step back 12:21 and look at the big picture here, 12:24 it cost Jesus a little bit of time 12:25 and a little bit of effort to come down here and help us out 12:29 and to connect with us 12:32 on this human level. >>Mm-hmm. 12:34 >>Talk about taking a step down. 12:36 It's one thing from being sheltered to unsheltered, 12:38 but it's a whole 'nother thing to come from heaven 12:41 down to this sin-cursed earth and take the time 12:44 and the effort and the ridicule 12:46 that He took in order to reach us. 12:48 And this is just a small glimpse that Jesus is giving us 12:53 of what He went through to reach us. 12:56 And if we can catch a hold of that, I think maybe we can 12:59 reach people a little more effectively, too. 13:01 >>Absolutely. Yeah. >>Yeah. 13:02 We're gonna keep looking here at the story of Jonah, 13:04 but if you are enjoying this quarter's lesson 13:07 and want to get even more out of it, 13:10 you're going to hear me continue 13:12 to recommend this book to you. 13:13 And I would highly encourage you to pick it up. 13:15 It is "God's Mission My Mission," 13:18 and this is the companion book to this quarter's lesson. 13:22 And you will get so much out of this book. 13:25 You will be glad that you have it. 13:27 It comes in very handy 13:28 if you are teaching Sabbath school classes, 13:30 if you are participating in Sabbath school classes, 13:32 or if you just want to figure out 13:35 how you can be more effective in mission for God. 13:38 It's a fantastic resource. 13:40 You can find it at itiswritten.shop. 13:43 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 13:45 I'm going to be back in just a moment with Amy 13:48 as we continue looking at excuses for mission. 13:51 We'll be right back. 13:52 (uplifting theme music swells and ends) 13:57 >>[John Bradshaw] He could be one of the most 13:58 perplexing characters in the entire Bible. 14:02 Called by God, commissioned by God, directed by God, 14:07 but instead of following God's leading, 14:10 he ran away from God and went in the opposite direction 14:15 to where God called him. 14:17 While fleeing from God, he was apprehended by God, 14:21 swallowed by a giant sea creature, 14:24 and given another opportunity 14:26 to allow God's will to be done in his life. 14:29 Don't miss "Great Characters of the Bible: Jonah." 14:34 We'll meet the reluctant prophet 14:35 who fled from the presence of God and didn't want 14:39 to see a city full of people saved. 14:41 What does the story of Jonah teach us about Jonah, 14:45 about God, and about you and me? 14:48 Don't miss "Great Characters of the Bible," 14:51 the story of Jonah. 14:52 Watch now on It Is Written TV. 14:56 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written exists 14:59 because of the kindness of people just like you. 15:02 To support this international life-changing ministry. 15:05 Please call us now at 800-253-3000. 15:09 You can send your tax-deductible gift 15:11 to the address on your screen, 15:12 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 15:16 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 15:19 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 15:23 or you could visit us online at itiswritten.com. 15:27 (uplifting theme music) 15:31 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:33 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:35 We're looking at "Excuses to Avoid Mission." 15:38 And, Amy, there are lots of different excuses 15:41 that we can offer for why we don't need to do 15:44 what we realize we're actually being called to do. 15:48 One of those is fear. 15:50 Share with me a little bit more about fear. 15:52 >>You know, we mentioned with the story of Jonah 15:54 that he understood who the Ninevites were. 15:58 He understood the Assyrians and how brutal they could be. 16:00 And so there was a real fear of physical danger, right? 16:05 And we can experience that sometimes, 16:08 depending on who we're going to witness to, 16:11 who we're going to talk to, minister to. 16:13 But there's other fears as well. 16:15 Ellen White has this great quote in the book 16:18 "Prophets and Kings." Page 271, 16:20 she says, "When Jonah learned of God's purpose 16:23 "to spare the city that, notwithstanding its wickedness, 16:27 "had been led to repent in sackcloth and ashes, 16:29 "he should have been the first to rejoice 16:31 "because of God's amazing grace; 16:33 "but instead he allowed his mind 16:36 "to dwell upon the possibility of his being regarded 16:39 "as a false prophet. Jealous of his reputation, 16:43 "he lost sight of the infinitely greater value 16:46 of the souls in that wretched city." 16:49 Because of why? 16:50 His fear of damaging his reputation. 16:54 When we were in Asia, I experienced this, 16:58 but in a slightly different way. 17:01 I'm a nurse by training. 17:03 And so I would offer nursing care, medical care 17:06 for people in the community, people in the church. 17:09 And...I remember the struggle 17:14 to pray for people, to pray for healing, 17:18 because what if God doesn't answer that? 17:20 What are people gonna think about me? 17:23 You know, are people going to come to me 17:24 for more medical care in the future? 17:26 My prayer isn't answered. Probably not. 17:29 Okay, so that's a hit to me personally. 17:31 But then beyond that, what if God doesn't come through? 17:34 What does that do to God's reputation? 17:37 And it hindered me for a little while until I realized 17:40 that's not for me to decide; 17:44 that's for Him to decide, right? 17:46 If I'm called to pray for somebody, 17:47 if I'm called to care for somebody 17:49 or do something for somebody, 17:51 I need to just do it and let the outcome be 17:53 what the outcome will be regardless of my reputation, 17:55 regardless of God's reputation. Let Him deal with that. 17:58 I just need to do. I'm the gloves on His hand, right? 18:02 And the gloves don't need to--they don't need anything; 18:05 they don't need any recognition. 18:08 You know, back to that verse in Matthew 18:09 from the last lesson: Do your good works 18:12 that people will glorify your Father in heaven, right? 18:15 It's not about us; it's not about our reputation; 18:17 it's about God, and it's about people seeing 18:19 His loving character, His true character, 18:21 'cause so many people have a misconception of who God is, 18:24 and they need to understand that He is a deeply loving, 18:28 caring God who has a deep heart of compassion for them. 18:31 >>So it sounds like in this excuse, 18:34 'cause that's what we're talking about, 18:36 fear of what might happen to my reputation 18:39 or God's reputation, to some extent that might, 18:42 that might smack ever so slightly of pride, 18:46 just a little bit. >>Yeah. 18:47 >>And that of course is something 18:49 that we are called to avoid-- 18:51 >>That's right. >>...and to lay aside. 18:53 >>Yeah. 18:54 >>You know, some of the excuses that Jonah had 18:56 for not wanting to go to Nineveh, some of 'em were, 18:59 we might call them good, 19:00 but they're all excuses-- >>They're legitimate. 19:02 >>They're legitimate excuses. >>Understandable. 19:03 >>Sure, we wouldn't fault him maybe for those, 19:06 some of them maybe a little more of a stretch, not so good. 19:10 But as we look at these excuses that he had, 19:13 all of them, I think, to a greater or lesser extent, 19:17 whether good or not, are familiar; 19:20 they sound like maybe some excuses 19:22 perhaps that we have made, 19:24 maybe some excuses that we are making right now 19:27 as God has called us to do something 19:29 or go somewhere or speak to someone 19:30 or minister to someone or invite someone. 19:34 And we kind of, for one reason or another, we hesitate. 19:38 Why do these sound so familiar? 19:39 >>(laughs) We're quick to point the finger at Jonah. 19:42 And I think because two reasons-- 19:44 one, we know the end of this well, 19:46 we don't know the end of the story, 19:47 but we know what happens later in the story, right? 19:49 This is one of those-- 19:51 it's a story that's unfinished in the Bible 19:54 and a lot of debate on why that is. 19:56 But we kind of know what's coming. We know what's happening. 19:59 We know that the Ninevites are going to turn; 20:02 we know that God is gonna get through to them 20:04 and change their hearts, right? 20:06 Jonah didn't know that. 20:08 So we're quick to point a finger, I think, 20:10 because we know that part of the story. 20:12 But we're also quick to point the finger 20:14 because he was a prophet, right? 20:16 I'm not a prophet; he was the prophet. 20:18 And to be a prophet, you have to be really, 20:20 you know, the superhero person who's willing to do 20:23 anything bold and brave for God. 20:25 And we forget that, again, that prophet 20:28 is calling people back to a loving relationship with God. 20:33 And that's what we're called to do, isn't it? 20:35 So I think we have to be careful not to go 20:38 around calling ourselves prophets, 20:40 but that's the role that we're also called to play, 20:42 especially as a church; as an end-time church, 20:45 we do have a prophetic word for this world, 20:48 that God is a God of love, and He's seeking after you. 20:50 He's pursuing you--stop and listen, right? 20:55 So we need to stop pointing the finger, 20:57 and we need to maybe hold up a mirror instead 21:00 and say, "God, you know, where am I giving excuses? 21:03 "What excuses am I using not to be involved? 21:06 "What excuses am I giving for You 21:08 not to use me in the way that You'd like to use me?" 21:12 And to be honest with you, I don't know why we do that. 21:15 Because when God uses us, I know when I've had experiences 21:18 that it's clear that God has used me, I am blown away, whoa. 21:23 That it becomes a spiritual mountaintop experience, right? 21:26 And why don't we wanna live on the mountaintops? 21:31 I don't know. (laughs) 21:33 I mean, pick any of these excuses as a reason why. 21:36 You know, it's gonna cost me something. 21:38 It's gonna take my time. It's gonna be just really difficult 21:40 and emotionally draining. 21:43 You know, maybe God's gonna ask me to do something 21:45 that I'm afraid is gonna...hurt my reputation. 21:49 You know, so many excuses that we have, 21:53 but part of it, too, is that we misunderstand 21:55 our role and God's role. 21:58 You know, God's role is to heal; 22:01 our role is to pray for people. 22:03 Our role is to bring people to the foot of the cross 22:06 and allow God to do the healing. 22:09 Allow God to do the fixing and the changing 22:12 and the correcting and the caring 22:14 and whatever it is He needs 22:16 to do the transformation in them. 22:18 And we're just there to bring them 22:19 and to support them through that. 22:22 >>So maybe if we start to think 22:25 that some of those things are our job, 22:29 that maybe we'll end up looking bad 22:32 or like maybe we'll feel we've failed 22:35 if they're not healed, if they don't make that decision 22:39 to accept Christ, if they don't surrender their lives, 22:42 if they don't choose to be baptized, if they don't choose, 22:45 that it feels to us like a shortcoming on our part. 22:49 But that's really not, that's not our part. 22:52 I, for one, I'm glad I'm not the Holy Spirit. 22:54 >>Oh, amen. (chuckles) 22:55 >>He's got a whole lot more on His plate 22:57 than I have on mine. And He's much more capable 23:01 of doing what He does than I would ever be. 23:04 But I get the opportunity to see Him work. 23:07 I get the opportunity to watch people's lives be changed 23:11 as a result of what He is doing. 23:14 And if I can take that focus off of myself for a moment 23:18 and put the focus back on Him where it should be, 23:21 then some of these fears 23:23 and apprehensions should dissipate. 23:26 And I just get to watch God do what God does best. 23:30 >>Yeah. 23:31 >>And that's really, really powerful. 23:32 >>Yeah, one of the best ways I've found 23:35 to be able to do that is to keep a gratitude journal. 23:39 To start recognizing where God is working in my life, 23:42 in the small things, in the personal things. 23:46 And I think that we can thank God 23:47 for anything good that happens, right? 23:50 You know, oh, I saw an amazing sunset tonight. 23:52 Oh, thank You, God, for the sunset. 23:54 You know, that was a small miracle 23:56 or that was a gift from God. 23:57 You know, so if we can start recognizing 24:00 where God is in our life, even in the mundane, 24:05 I think we're going to be 24:07 much more willing to be used. 24:11 We're gonna be much less quick to give an excuse, 24:15 I would hope. (chuckles) 24:16 >>I hope so. >>I know for me it's true. 24:17 >>Yeah. >>I know for me it's true. 24:19 As I see God working, it builds faith 24:21 that God is going to do the right thing 24:23 and that God is going to come through, 24:25 and that God is, you know, God's gonna be there. 24:27 God's got this, you know? 24:29 So yeah, keeping our eyes open 24:32 to what He's doing and thanking Him for it 24:34 and being open to it, which brings up something else, 24:36 and that's the power of testimony. 24:38 You know, a lot of times we forget 24:41 that God's the one that transforms hearts. 24:44 Our job is to share a testimony. 24:46 And a lot of times we think that our testimony 24:48 was, "You know, 30 years ago when I was baptized, 24:51 and I had a reconversion experience"--or whatever, 24:54 but really we need to have testimonies every day 24:56 of how God is changing me, how God is helping me, 24:59 how God is strengthening me, how God is loving me. 25:04 Because that's what people relate to. 25:06 That's what people understand. 25:07 You know, maybe you have an issue with anger, 25:10 and you're praying, and God is helping you 25:11 to overcome your anger. 25:13 That's a testimony. That's a testimony 25:15 that, you know, "I was in a conversation, 25:18 "somebody said something, normally I would just-- 25:19 (imitates explosion) but this time I kept my calm." 25:22 That, praise God, 25:23 that's the testimony, how God is using us day by day. 25:26 It's not just about the big wins; 25:28 it's about the small things that God is doing 25:30 and how He's changing us as well. 25:33 >>And this story of Jonah helps us to see some of that. 25:37 Give us one or two takeaways 25:40 that we can take from this story, 25:43 concrete things that we can apply to our lives 25:46 today to help us overcome some of these excuses. 25:50 >>Mm-hmm. First of all, if God tells you to do it, do it. 25:54 (laughs) And as we said before, it takes courage. 25:57 So pray for the courage. The Bible says if you, 26:00 if you lack anything, ask for it: 26:02 "God, I don't have the courage to do what You just, 26:05 "what I think You're telling me to do. 26:06 Give me the courage to do it." 26:08 And then do it; make that decision to do it. 26:11 One author says to actually write it down; 26:13 you know, pray and ask God, "What do You want me to do?" 26:15 When you feel the impression, write it down. 26:17 Because in the act of writing it down, 26:19 all of a sudden it makes it real. 26:21 And then you have to make the decision 26:22 of, what am I gonna do about this? 26:24 What am I gonna do about this thing that I just wrote down? 26:26 Is it gonna stay there on paper, 26:27 or am I actually gonna put feet on that? 26:29 So choose to do what God is calling you to do. 26:32 And then we have to also choose to trust 26:36 that God's gonna come through. 26:38 >>And that's exactly what He did in the story of Jonah. 26:41 Despite Jonah's hesitance, 26:43 despite his..."malfunctioning compass," 26:47 God was still able to do what needed to be done 26:50 when Jonah chose to be used. 26:53 >>And if He can do that for the Ninevites, 26:55 He'll come through for us. 26:56 >>I think He can handle that. >>Absolutely. 26:58 >>Amy, thank you for joining us this week, 27:00 and thank you for joining us this week 27:02 again on "Sabbath School." 27:03 We are taking an incredible journey together, 27:07 looking at "God's Mission My Mission." 27:10 That involves you, that involves me, 27:12 and week by week we are looking at 27:15 ways that we can be involved in that mission, 27:18 and each week, some practical challenges 27:21 on Thursday's lesson. 27:23 So don't skip those practical challenges, 27:26 grab them, apply them to your life, 27:29 and let God use you in powerful, powerful ways. 27:33 We look forward to seeing you again next week 27:36 here on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 27:39 (uplifting theme music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-10-25