Mission to the Unreached: Part 2
Lesson 11, 4th Quarter December 9-15, 2023.
Share this Lesson
Sabbath Afternoon, December 9
Memory Text:
“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” KJV — Matthew 15:28
“The importance of making our way in the great cities is still kept before me. For many years the Lord has been urging upon us this duty, and yet we see but comparatively little accomplished in our great centers of population. If we do not take up this work in a determined manner, Satan will multiply difficulties which will not be easy to surmount. We are far behind in doing the work that should have been done in these long-neglected cities. The work will now be more difficult than it would have been a few years ago. But if we take up the work in the name of the Lord, barriers will be broken down, and decided victories will be ours. MM 301.5
“In this work physicians and gospel ministers are needed. We must press our petitions to the Lord and do our best, pressing forward with all the energy possible to make an opening in the large cities. Had we in the past worked after the Lord's plans, many lights would be shining brightly that are going out.” Letter 148, 1909. MM 302.1
Sunday, December 10
Missions to Regions Beyond
Read Judges 3:1-6, 1 Kings 5:1-12, and 1 Kings 11:1-6. How do these texts help us understand a bit of the background of these cities?
“The believers at Antioch realized that God was willing to work in their lives “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. Living, as they were, in the midst of a people who seemed to care but little for the things of eternal value, they sought to arrest the attention of the honest in heart, and to bear positive testimony concerning Him whom they loved and served. In their humble ministry they learned to depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit to make effective the word of life. And so, in the various walks of life, they daily bore testimony of their faith in Christ. AA 158.1
“The example of the followers of Christ at Antioch should be an inspiration to every believer living in the great cities of the world today. While it is in the order of God that chosen workers of consecration and talent should be stationed in important centers of population to lead out in public efforts, it is also His purpose that the church members living in these cities shall use their God-given talents in working for souls. There are rich blessings in store for those who surrender fully to the call of God. As such workers endeavor to win souls to Jesus, they will find that many who never could have been reached in any other way are ready to respond to intelligent personal effort. AA 158.2
“The cause of God in the earth today is in need of living representatives of Bible truth. The ordained ministers alone are not equal to the task of warning the great cities. God is calling not only upon ministers, but also upon physicians, nurses, colporteurs, Bible workers, and other consecrated laymen of varied talent who have a knowledge of the word of God and who know the power of His grace, to consider the needs of the unwarned cities. Time is rapidly passing, and there is much to be done. Every agency must be set in operation, that present opportunities may be wisely improved.” AA 158.3
Monday, December 11
Seeking the Multitudes
Read Matthew 9:35-38. What does this teach us about mission to the multitudes, wherever we find them?
The mission to save the world cannot be more important than the mission to save the church. Enlarging the church membership under the now prevailing lukewarm Laodicean conditions, could no more advance the Kingdom of Christ than could have been done under the conditions in the Jewish church in the days of His first advent. Understanding the true situation in that church, John the Baptist and Christ Himself and even the apostles at first, engaged them selves to work, not for the world in general, but only in the interest of their brethren in the church.
As the same departure from Christ exists within the church now as it did then (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217), it will take much greater effort to rescue the people from the Laodicean "sad deception" (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 253), than if they were in heathenism. For in Laodicea they are made to believe that they have all the truth there is to be had, that they are rich increased with goods, and in need of nothing--their salvation forever secured as long as they hold membership in the church! Hence there is greater risk of their losing their souls in the church while she is "lukewarm" and about to be spued out, than if they remain in the world until the church awakes from her slumber, and anoints herself with the eyesalve (Truth)--sees right, does right, and leads and feeds the flock aright.
Let every honest member ask the question, If the church herself is not saved (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 253), not following Christ her Leader (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217) and "has become an harlot" (Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 250), how can she save others? The greatest need therefore is first to save those in the church, then those in the world. The "special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people" (The Great Controversy, p. 425), "the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand" (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 266), must come first, then is to follow the sealing of those in the world.
The men and means already devoted to missionary work for the world are so plenteous as entirely to overshadow the meager facilities available for carrying the message to the Laodiceans, although the church is in even greater need than is the world.
After the church awakes and ceases dreaming that she is "rich, and increased with goods," finds out that she is in need of everything rather than of "nothing," puts on her strength by turning to Christ her Leader, clothes herself in the garments of His righteousness, and lets the unclean pass no more through her (Isa. 52:1), then shall her righteousness go forth as brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see her righteousness, and all kings her glory (Isa. 62:1, 2). Then will she really be able to save. Then her "gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto" her "the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve" her "shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." Isa. 60:11, 12.
Tuesday, December 12
In Tyre and Sydon
Read Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:24-30. What difference do you see in how the woman was depicted?
“The Saviour is satisfied. He has tested her faith in Him. By His dealings with her, He has shown that she who has been regarded as an outcast from Israel is no longer an alien, but a child in God's household. As a child it is her privilege to share in the Father's gifts. Christ now grants her request, and finishes the lesson to the disciples. Turning to her with a look of pity and love, He says, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” From that hour her daughter became whole. The demon troubled her no more. The woman departed, acknowledging her Saviour, and happy in the granting of her prayer. DA 401.3
“This was the only miracle that Jesus wrought while on this journey. It was for the performance of this act that He went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He wished to relieve the afflicted woman, and at the same time to leave an example in His work of mercy toward one of a despised people for the benefit of His disciples when He should no longer be with them. He wished to lead them from their Jewish exclusiveness to be interested in working for others besides their own people.” DA 402.1
Under the dispensation of a special message to the church, such as Christ bore to the Jewish church for three and a half years and such as it is our lot to bear to the S.D.A. church today, we are not to understand that it is the work of those, who bear such a message, to carry on at the same time the Gospel program for the world at large.
The Lord has not left us in the dark in regard to what should be our position in this matter. Jesus was "holding forth" to the church members "in the borders of Tyre and Sidon" when the woman who "was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation," "came and fell at His feet," beseeching "Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meat to take the children's bread, and cast it unto the dogs (Gentiles). And she answered and said unto Him, Yes, Lord: but the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter." (Mk. 7:26-29.).
Hence we see that while we are expressly enjoined to feed the children, and not to go in search of the Gentiles, we are at the same time told not to withhold the truth from the latter, when they come voluntarily and in faith seeking crumbs.
Wednesday, December 13
“Send Her Away”
Read Acts 10:9-16, 28, 34, 35. How would you summarize the lesson taught here by the Holy Spirit?
To devote our time to evangelizing the world while neglecting the church would be a criminal act, one of highest treason both to God and to His people. The church must first be saved from her Laodicean condition of being "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." She, not the world, is just about to be spued out. She "is the only object on earth on which He bestows His supreme regard."--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 15.
But in her present deplorable state of blindness and destitution as exposed by the True Witness (Rev. 3:14-18), she is utterly unfit for the task assigned her, and must be rescued from her sad deception before she can become a safe refuge and a saving influence to those who would join her ranks. Should God leave her in the Laodicean condition in which she now languishes, not only would she herself be lost but, in consequence, so also would the whole world along with her. He must therefore rouse her up or else raise up another to do the work which remains to be done.
Think, though, what an eternal joy it would be for Him to fit her up and use her to His glory, rather than to have to forsake her! So before raising up another as a last resort, He is trying to save her, and He will save her, as He promises:
"Satan will work his miracles to deceive, he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out. The chaff is separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouth. The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy....
"The great issue so near at hand will weed out those whom God has not appointed, and He will have a pure, true, sanctified ministry prepared for the latter rain."--B-55-1886.
Were the Lord--Who Himself when upon earth spent all His time in the exclusive endeavor to save His lost church then--to send us to the world rather than to His lost church today, He would not only be bringing in the innocent to perish with the guilty, but would also be completely reversing His own practice and contradicting His own orders to His apostles that they preach present truth to the church first (Matt. 10:5, 6).
In mercy and in consistency with His eternal procedure, therefore, He purposed that "while the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among [His] people upon earth." This is he special work. "Then the church which...at His coming [He] is to receive to Himself will be 'a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.'"--The Great Controversy, p. 425.
"The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth," furthermore says the Spirit of Truth, "because of the church-members who have never been converted, and those who were once converted but who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated members have on new converts? Would they not make of no effect the God-given message which His people are to bear?"--Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 371.
But when the backslidden and the unconverted, the tares, are taken away, "then she will look forth 'as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." --The Great Controversy, p. 425.
Yes, the honest heathen must and will be evangelized, but "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:6) must be sought first. How thankful, therefore, and how cooperative they ought to be, and will be, when they discover that rather than being rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, they are actually "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked"--in need of everything; and that the Lord is waiting for them to wake up to the fact so that He can make them what they ought to be.
For these reasons, God says now to work within the Laodicean congregation rather than without. And what He says, that He means, and we dare not disobey, regardless what men may say or do.
Thursday, December 14
Faith on Earth
Read Matthew 8:10, 13; Matthew 9:2; Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 2:5; Mark 10: 46-52; Luke 18:35-43. In these passages, whom does Jesus describe as having faith?
In contrast to the statement of Luke 18:8 are the words of Isaiah: "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see they righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married....And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." Isa. 62:1-4, 12. "And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought;" Isa. 60:10, 11.
"Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. 'Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,' she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer."--"Prophets and Kings," p. 725.
As these scriptures, along with others, refute the idea that when Christ comes the second time there will be found hardly any faithful ones, the student of the Word can only conclude that such an inference, derived from Luke 18:8, is a false one. Hence the statement, "When the Son of man cometh," in order to harmonize with other passages of Scripture, must be applied to a coming other than that to which it is commonly understood to apply.
Nevertheless, still another baffling question requires an answer: If Christ’s query, “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8), also His statement, “Fear not, little flock” (Luke 12:32), mean that few a are to be saved and found living when He comes for His own, then how can there be an innumerable multitude? – Though at first glance the question propounds a paradox, it is quickly resolved, and the idea that only a few living saints are to meet Him in “the air” is effectively dissipated when account is taken of the facts that “the harvest truly is plenteous” (Matt. 9:37), that it is “the end of the world” (Matt. 13:39), and that the very term “harvest” itself denotes a larger gathering than at any previous “season.”
Furthermore, the query, “Shall He find faith on the earth?” is not questioning the number of saints at this particular coming, but rather faith itself regardless of number. And if at His appearing in the clouds to take home the faithful, He finds no faith in the earth, then what about His waiting church, which is to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, be it small or great?
Obviously, His coming recorded in Luke 18:8 cannot be the one of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, His coming “in the clouds.” But it could be the one of Malachi 3:2, 3, and Matthew 13:30, 47-48, leading to Matthew 25:31-33. His coming to His temple is to separate the sinners from the saints, at the commencement of which Inspiration asks, “Who may abide the day of His coming?”
Friday, December 15
Further Thought
“Jesus longed to unfold the deep mysteries of the truth which had been hid for ages, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews, and “partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6. This truth the disciples were slow to learn, and the divine Teacher gave them lesson upon lesson. In rewarding the faith of the centurion at Capernaum, and preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of Sychar, He had already given evidence that He did not share the intolerance of the Jews. But the Samaritans had some knowledge of God; and the centurion had shown kindness to Israel. Now Jesus brought the disciples in contact with a heathen, whom they regarded as having no reason above any of her people, to expect favor from Him. He would give an example of how such a one should be treated. The disciples had thought that He dispensed too freely the gifts of His grace. He would show that His love was not to be circumscribed to race or nation. DA 402.2
“When He said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” He stated the truth, and in His work for the Canaanite woman He was fulfilling His commission. This woman was one of the lost sheep that Israel should have rescued. It was their appointed work, the work which they had neglected, that Christ was doing.” DA 402.3