Following Jesus in Everyday Life

Overview of Lesson 10: Following Jesus in Every Day Life

(Following this link will allow you to view the lesson in more detail. For an alternative view you can go to: Sabbath School Org. Lesson 10)

Karakia Timatanga             Opening Prayer

E te Atua                              Lord

He mihi tēnei ki a koe            This is a greeting to you

Mo au painga ki a mātou        For your kindness to us

I tēnei wā                             At this time

Amine                                  Amen

Saturday | Sabbath | Hātarei

Fowler is right in his opening comments about Jesus primary purpose in coming to seek and to save the lost (Lk 19:10). Jesus also came to reveal what God was like (Jn 14:8-9). However, the redeemed community appears to me to be problematic. God's communities whether in the Old Testament or New always have problems. Ever since the New Testament was written churches have been schismatic, argumentative and neglectful of Jesus words in Jn 13:35. As Christians we have been saved by His life and death (Rom 5:10) and yet collectively we fail miserably at practising Paul's teaching in Phil 3:15-16. Some how we either get caught up in doctrinal squabbles or relationship issues. Ghandi is attributed to saying: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” He may not have said this. Ghandi was apparently questioned by the missionary Stanley Jones on why he quoted Christ yet didn't become His follower. Ghandi replied: "Oh, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ." The wording is subtly different but the intent is the same. We Christians (Seventh-day Adventists included) don't model Jesus life and teachings very well.

How are the relationships going in your redeemed community? Would a skeptic or atheist be convinced that your community is different or if they dug just a little would they see no difference from organisations they are already a part of?

Sunday | Rātapu - Flee Pharisaism

The title for today's lesson grabs your attention but it may be a little over the top. We know that Paul was a pharisee (Ac. 23:6) and that one of the prominent pharisees Gamaliel (Acts 5:34) gave wise advice which protected the early Christians. Jesus in a number of his doctrinal teachings was more in line with the Pharisees than the Sadducees who had no belief in the resurrection.

I don't think that Fowler is right that the Pharisees believed in grace. They believed in God and the God of Israel but grace? There certainly was an emphasis on obeying the law but this was more in line with custom. Jesus wasn't against custom for the sake of it either. What Jesus was against, was those things which undermined man's relationship to man, or man's relationship to God. As a group the pharisees had a culture that did get in the road of the priority Jesus held, which was on people's physical and spiritual health and well being. After Jesus death and resurrection many of the pharisees became believers including Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. The warning John gave the pharisees was not to flee pharisaism but to flee from the coming wrath (Lk 3:7).

No one wants to be called a pharisee today, but we need to ask who was this group, why was Jesus so scathing of them, and who today would be this groups equivalent? (We also need to identify those things in our own practises that are pharisaical - easier said than done I suspect.)

Monday | Rāhina - Fear God 

If your an older Adventist it is likely that you know someone, who if they weren't afraid of God because of the judgment, was afraid of what would happen because of Adventist eschatology. Today there is a tendency to tone the fear side of things down in a verse like Revelation 14:7 and talk about respect. Well, although I don't mind the emphasis on the word respect and reverence - the Greek word for fear in this text is the word from which we get phobia. I think Jesus puts it pretty well in Lk 12:4-12. He is telling us that we need to get our priorities straight in terms of eternal destiny. In this regard many of us should be far more concerned than what we are.

Tuesday | Rātū - Be Prepared and Watchful 

Mt. 24:42 reads "Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." This is a big deal for all Christians not just Seventh day Adventists. All Christians since the time of Paul have believed in the imminent return of Christ - it is important because having this belief keeps us from losing sight of those things that God considers to be important while we wait. It is difficult to be precise in what God expects from anyone in particular, but we do know from the parable of the ten virgins (Mt. 25) that those saved need both God's Word and the Holy Spirit. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus rebuked His disciples for not keeping watch with Him (Mt. 26:38). By this he was reminding them that they needed to pray (c.f. Lk 22). Sometimes praying can be pretty tough but it is something that is a help to us all.

Wednesday | Rāapa - Be a fruitful witness

This can be a challenge for many of us when we don't find it easy in a world that by and large doesn't even think there is a God or that the resurrection of Jesus happened. My view on this is that we should, as Christians, be where God wants us to be. He doesn't want people banging people on the head with their Bibles but nor does he want a totally silent witness. What God does need is a consistent witness. What we say, should match up with how we live (Gal. 5:22-23). If your not doing this be quiet. A Christian who is inconsistent, proud, boastful, opinionated or arrogant even if unwittingly, alienates those who don't believe. When God wants you to say something you will know providing you are prepared and keeping watch.

Thursday | Rāpare - Be a Servant Leader

This idea of servant leadership is one that has really developed now into many western organisations. It is a productive way of working, particularly in service organisations. Sadly, from my observations and experience I would say that this idea of servant leadership is least understood by the church and its ministers. Ministers are trained in the Bible but they may not necessarily have the spiritual gifting of leadership and in the majority of cases have not received the type of leadership training that equips them for leading a church organisation in the 21st century. Too many ministers see themselves as 'God's anointed' not in the sense of servant-hood but rather in being in authority and in telling others what should be done. Ministers need to remember they leave a legacy of memory. Church members clearly know when they have been blessed with an effective minister, and when they haven't. There is a real need for ministers to understand leadership and leadership processes. In order to be servant leaders, ministers must know their congregations and listen to them. Church members all have a story, and all need to be heard, not just those who already hold positions of authority, but also the weak, the disenfranchised and the oppositional. If minister's understood the strengths, needs and aspirations of their worshipers they would be so much better equipped to the task that the Lord has given them. If servant leadership really was understood fewer people would leave churches.

A good blog on leadership that also includes servant leadership is Dan Rockwell's Leadership Freak.

Points for Christians to consider and practise

1. How well are we modelling the example of Jesus in our lives?
2. Is there a coming wrath? (Jesus and John the Baptist thought so). What implications are there in this for you?
3. Are you praying, reading the Bible and being filled with God's Spirit?
4. Is your mouth and life consistent?
5. If you are a minister of the gospel - Do you know your church members and are you really listening to the needs of your community?

Closing Prayer - Karakia Whakamutunga

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Kia tau ki a tātou katoa te atawhai o tō tātou Ariki, a Ihu Karaiti me te aroha o te Atua, me te whiwhingatahitanga ki te wairua tapu, ake, ake, ake, amine.

Reference

Fowler, J. (2015). The Book of Luke. Adult Sabbath School Quarterly 2Q. 2015. Silver Spring: MD: Pacific Press.

Overview-Introduction: In My Father's House

I have called the blog 'In My Father's House' as a reminder of Jesus promise in Jn. 14:1-3 (NIV) where He says:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

With an estimated 2.2 billion Christians in the world today this house has to be exceedingly large (Wikipedia, 2015). 

As a child my parents took me to church and we sang the children's song:

I Will Wear A Crown

I will wear a crown in my Father's house,
In my Father's house, in my Father's house.

I will wear a crown in my Father's house.
There'll be joy, joy, joy!

I will wear a robe in my Father's house,
In my Father's house, in my Father's house.
I will wear a robe in my Father's house.
There'll be joy, joy, joy!

I will play a harp in my Father's house,
In my Father's house, in my Father's house.
I will play a harp in my Father's house.
There'll be joy, joy, joy!

Today I'm not so fussed on crowns, robes or harps but I still want to be - in my father's house. C.S. Lewis (1952, p. 11) uses the analogy of the house and says:

It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall, I have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do get into the room you will find that the long wait has done some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling.  ...

He goes on to say:

When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. This is one of the rules common to the whole house. 

From the outset there are some things that I assume that you need to be aware of:

1. There are sufficient grounds for belief that the resurrection of Christ occurred.
2. That Jesus is who He claimed to be and
3. That the Bible is God's Word.
4. I am a Christian that spends time in the room known as Seventh-day Adventist but at present am spending a lot of time in the hall and peeking into other rooms. I am also very conscious of some of the other houses on our block and wonder how we are treating our neighbours.

I have no desire to argue about these issues, and although I may have a view, there are far more Christians in the world who are more qualified to be apologists than I.

I suppose this blog is for people who may be loitering in the hall (or near one of God's wi-fi hotspots). For various reasons they may not be able to join in one of the rooms. 

I am hoping that this blog might meet the needs of a few people well and be a resource that others might dip in to from time to time. This blog will work for some people and for others it will not. 

It is my intention over the next few weeks and months to offer a regular forum of discussion. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get traction or if it gets any traction at all. A lot of good websites already do a great job and perhaps another perspective just adds to the cacophony, and yet I hope not.

While I am expressing my intent you may notice from time to time that I write about some events from a kiwi (New Zealand) perspective so don't be surprised if there is material or cultural aspects you are unfamiliar with. I will use some te reo Māori (Māori language). The two underpinning values of this website will be focusing on are wairuatanga (spirituality: in this case Christian) and whanaungatanga (relationships). Each post after this will begin and end with a prayer.

As a general guide for discussion I will use the Seventh-day Adventist lesson but I in no way intend to be limited to it.

Tell me about your room in the house? or the hall?

References

Lewis, C. (1952). Mere Christianity. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers

Wikipedia. (2013, February). List of religious populations. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations

Bible use: Unless otherwise stated the bible being used will either be the NKJV or the NIV.