EGW Notes - Lesson 10- Mission to the Unreached: Part 1

Sabbath Afternoon, December 2
The Lord Jesus is looking upon every soul with intense
interest. He has declared that the spiritual character of
His church is to be carefully maintained. The church is in
the world, and is to do a work for the world. . . .
Today the truth is to be proclaimed to all nations and
kindreds and tongues and peoples. Christ desires us to
labor in a way that will not arouse prejudice, for when
prejudice is aroused, some are cut off from hearing the
truth.
We are still in this world, where these barriers exist,
and we must work in a way that will enable us to reach
all classes. Let not the present obstructions worry you
and destroy your faith and confidence in God.—This Day
With God, p. 269.
The apostle [Paul] was not deceived by that which he
saw in this center of learning [Athens]. His spiritual
nature was so alive to the attraction of heavenly things
that the joy and glory of the riches which will never
perish made valueless in his eyes the pomp and
splendor with which he was surrounded. As he saw the
magnificence of Athens he realized its seductive power
over lovers of art and science, and his mind was deeply
impressed with the importance of the work before him. .
. .
He “disputed . . . in the synagogue with the Jews, and
with the devout persons, and in the market daily with
them that met with him.” But his principal work in
Athens was to bear the tidings of salvation to those who
had no intelligent conception of God and of His purpose
in behalf of the fallen race. The apostle was soon to meet
paganism in its most subtle, alluring form.—The Acts of
the Apostles, p. 234.
Unless the members of God’s church today have a
living connection with the Source of all spiritual growth,
they will not be ready for the time of reaping. Unless
they keep their lamps trimmed and burning, they will
fail of receiving added grace in times of special need.
Those only who are constantly receiving fresh supplies
of grace, will have power proportionate to their daily
need and their ability to use that power. Instead of
looking forward to some future time when, through a
special endowment of spiritual power, they will receive
a miraculous fitting up for soul winning, they are
yielding themselves daily to God, that He may make
them vessels meet for His use. Daily they are improving
the opportunities for service that lie within their reach.
Daily they are witnessing for the Master wherever they
may be, whether in some humble sphere of labor in the
home, or in a public field of usefulness.—The Acts of the
Apostles, p. 55.
Sunday, December 3
A Hebrew in Athens
The unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica, filled with
jealousy and hatred of the apostles, and not content with
having driven them from their own city, followed them
to Berea and aroused against them the excitable
passions of the lower class. Fearing that violence would
be done to Paul if he remained there, the brethren sent
him to Athens, accompanied by some of the Bereans who
had newly accepted the faith.
Thus persecution followed the teachers of truth from
city to city. The enemies of Christ could not prevent the
advancement of the gospel, but they succeeded in
making the work of the apostles exceedingly hard. Yet in
the face of opposition and conflict, Paul pressed steadily
forward, determined to carry out the purpose of God as
revealed to him in the vision at Jerusalem: “I will send
thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” Acts 22:21.—The Acts
of the Apostles, pp. 232, 233.
The city of Athens was the metropolis of heathendom.
Here Paul did not meet with an ignorant, credulous
populace, as at Lystra, but with a people famous for their
intelligence and culture. Everywhere statues of their
gods and of the deified heroes of history and poetry met
the eye, while magnificent architecture and paintings
represented the national glory and the popular worship
of heathen deities. The senses of the people were
entranced by the beauty and splendor of art. On every
hand sanctuaries and temples, involving untold expense,
reared their massive forms. Victories of arms and deeds
of celebrated men were commemorated by sculpture,
shrines, and tablets. All these made Athens a vast gallery
of art.
As Paul looked upon the beauty and grandeur
surrounding him, and saw the city wholly given to
idolatry, his spirit was stirred with jealousy for God,
whom he saw dishonored on every side, and his heart
was drawn out in pity for the people of Athens, who,
notwithstanding their intellectual culture, were ignorant
of the true God.—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 233, 234.
A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every
other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an
infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer
chooses Christ as first, and last, and best in everything.
But this union costs us something. It is a relation of utter
dependence to be entered into by a proud being. All who
form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood
of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must
submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a
struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There
must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work
of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness—
sin in all its forms—must be overcome, if we would
enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many
find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are
so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to
Christ without detaching themselves from these
cherished idols.—Ellen G. White Comments, in The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1143.
Monday, December 4
Paul in the Areopagus
The great men of Athens were not long in learning of
the presence in their city of a singular teacher who was
setting before the people doctrines new and strange.
Some of these men sought Paul out and entered into
conversation with him. Soon a crowd of listeners
gathered about them. Some were prepared to ridicule
the apostle as one who was far beneath them both
socially and intellectually, and these said jeeringly
among themselves, “What will this babbler say?” Others,
“because he preached unto them Jesus, and the
resurrection,” said, “He seemeth to be a setter forth of
strange gods.”
Among those who encountered Paul in the market
place were “certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and
of the Stoics;” but they, and all others who came in
contact with him, soon saw that he had a store of
knowledge even greater than their own. His intellectual
power commanded the respect of the learned; while his
earnest, logical reasoning and the power of his oratory
held the attention of all in the audience. His hearers
recognized the fact that he was no novice, but was able
to meet all classes with convincing arguments in support
of the doctrines he taught. Thus the apostle stood
undaunted, meeting his opposers on their own ground,
matching logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy,
eloquence with eloquence.—The Acts of the Apostles, p.
235.
As Paul searched the Scriptures, he learned that
throughout the ages “not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty; and
base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in
His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. And so, viewing
the wisdom of the world in the light of the cross, Paul
“determined not to know anything, . . . save Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2.
Throughout his later ministry, Paul never lost sight of
the Source of his wisdom and strength. Hear him, years
afterward, still declaring, “For to me to live is Christ.”
Philippians 1:21. And again: “I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, . . .
that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the
power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings.” Philippians 3:8-10.—The Acts of the Apostles,
pp. 127, 128.
Do we expect to dwell with Christ in the eternal
world? Then we must dwell with him here, that he may
help us in every time of trial and temptation, and make
us ready for his coming in the clouds of heaven. . . . We
cannot keep Christ so apart from our lives as we do, and
yet be fitted for his companionship in heaven. He is to be
the all in all of heaven, and must be our all in all upon
earth.—Review and Herald, May 5, 1891.
Tuesday, December 5
Paul and the Unknown God
See Paul at Athens before the council of the Areopagus.
. . . Mark how, with the tact born of divine love, he points
to Jehovah as the “Unknown God,” whom his hearers
have ignorantly worshiped; and in words quoted from a
poet of their own, he pictures Him as a Father whose
children they are. Hear him, in that age of caste, when
the rights of man as man were wholly unrecognized, as
he sets forth the great truth of human brotherhood,
declaring that God “hath made of one blood all nations of
men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” Then he
shows how, through all the dealings of God with man,
run like a thread of gold His purposes of grace and
mercy.—The Story of Redemption, p. 312.
Standing in the midst of Mars’ Hill, Paul presented
before the people of Athens the majesty of the living God
in contrast with their idolatrous worship.
“Ye men of Athens,” he said, “I perceive that in all
things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and
beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore
ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that
made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is
Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made
with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as
though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life,
and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood
all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the
Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we
live, and move, and have our beings; as certain also of
your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver,
or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Acts 17:22-
29).—Selected Messages, book 1, p. 292.
God looks for fruit in His church—fruit that responds
to the lessons of Christ, worthy of the truth we profess to
believe, and revealing the wisdom and mercy of Christ.
The Lord calls for a converted ministry, a ministry that
will meet the people where they are, that will agree with
them wherever they can, but that will not deny the truth.
We are not to keep ourselves shut within four walls, so
that our light cannot come to others. There is common
ground where we may meet those not of our faith, where
we may agree in principles and in regard to the lesson of
Christ. Few will become combative over these holy
principles.—Manuscript 104, 1898.
Wednesday, December 6
Introducing a New God
In words of matchless beauty and tenderness, the
apostle Paul set before the sages of Athens the divine
purpose in the creation and distribution of races and
nations. “God that made the world and all things
therein,” declared the apostle, “hath made of one blood
all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the
Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him.”
Acts 17:24-27.
God has made plain that whosoever will, may come
“into the bond of the covenant.” Ezekiel 20:37. In the
creation it was His purpose that the earth should be
inhabited by beings whose existence would be a blessing
to themselves and to one another, and an honor to their
Creator. All who will may identify themselves with this
purpose. Of them it is spoken, “This people have I
formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise.”
Isaiah 43:21.—Prophets and Kings, p. 500.
True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His
infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. With
this sense of the Unseen, every heart should be deeply
impressed. The hour and place of prayer are sacred,
because God is there. And as reverence is manifested in
attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be
deepened. “Holy and reverend is His name,” the psalmist
declares. Psalm 111:9. Angels, when they speak that
name, veil their faces. With what reverence, then, should
we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!—
Prophets and Kings, p. 48.
Paul was deeply anxious that the humiliation of Christ
should be seen and realized. He was convinced that if
men could be led to consider the amazing sacrifice made
by the Majesty of heaven, selfishness would be banished
from their hearts. The apostle lingers over point after
point, that we may in some measure comprehend the
wonderful condescension of the Saviour in behalf of
sinners. He directs the mind first to the position which
Christ occupied in heaven in the bosom of His Father; he
reveals Him afterward as laying aside His glory,
voluntarily subjecting Himself to the humbling
conditions of man’s life, assuming the responsibilities of
a servant, and becoming obedient unto death, and that
the most ignominious and revolting, the most
agonizing—the death of the cross. Can we contemplate
this wonderful manifestation of the love of God without
gratitude and love, and a deep sense of the fact that we
are not our own? Such a Master should not be served
from grudging, selfish motives.—The Ministry of Healing,
p. 501.
The love of Christ is a golden chain that binds finite,
human beings who believe in Jesus Christ to the Infinite
God. The love that the Lord has for His children passeth
knowledge. No science can define or explain it. No
human wisdom can fathom it. The more we feel the
influence of this love, the more meek and humble shall
we be.—Ellen G. White Comments, in The Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1141.
Thursday, December 7
Crossing a Line
[Paul] was in a position where he might easily have
said that which would have irritated his proud listeners
and brought himself into difficulty. Had his oration been
a direct attack upon their gods and the great men of the
city, he would have been in danger of meeting the fate of
Socrates. But with a tact born of divine love, he carefully
drew their minds away from heathen deities, by
revealing to them the true God, who was to them
unknown.—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 241.
With words borrowed from a poet of their own [Paul]
pictured the infinite God as a Father, whose children
they were. “In Him we live, and move, and have our
being,” he declared; “as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also His offspring. Forasmuch then
as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven
by art and man’s device. . . .
As Paul spoke of the resurrection from the dead, “some
mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this
matter.” . . .
Among those who listened to the words of Paul were
some to whose minds the truths presented brought
conviction, but they would not humble themselves to
acknowledge God and to accept the plan of salvation. No
eloquence of words, no force of argument, can convert
the sinner. The power of God alone can apply the truth
to the heart. He who persistently turns from this power
cannot be reached. The Greeks sought after wisdom, yet
the message of the cross was to them foolishness
because they valued their own wisdom more highly than
the wisdom that comes from above.—The Acts of the
Apostles, pp. 238, 239.
God’s promise is, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when
ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah
29:13.
The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change
can never be wrought in us by which we are to be
restored to His likeness. By nature we are alienated from
God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such
words as these: “Dead in trespasses and sins;” “the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;” “no
soundness in it.” We are held fast in the snare of Satan,
“taken captive by him at his will.” Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah
1:5, 6; 2 Timothy 2:26. God desires to heal us, to set us
free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a
renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves
wholly to Him.—Steps to Christ, p. 43.
Every man is free to choose what power he will have
to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so
vile, but that they may find deliverance in Christ. The
demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words
of Satan; yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No
cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in
words, will be unheeded. Those who consent to enter
into covenant with God are not left to the power of Satan
or to the infirmity of their own nature.—The Ministry of
Healing, p. 93.
Friday, December 8
For Further Reading
Selected Messages, “A Heaven to Win,” book 1, pp. 96,
97;
Patriarchs and Prophets, “Satan’s Enmity Against the
Law,” pp. 331–342.