Today I had an interesting discussion with my Sabbath School Class based on this weeks lesson "Paul all things to All People". Its is really difficult to really fathom the consequences of our actions sometimes but it is interesting to get a real perspective on the ideas that we sometimes think are harmless. There are a few ideas that where brought up and I will put them as we discussed them and give the insight I have on these issues.
- Firstly I am of the idea that we are not in the business of converting people to the church we go to, no no no..., we are in the business of telling people about God, His love, character, Jesus and the Sacrifice He made for us. This is done in a number of ways i.e interactive study of the scriptures, our life styles, and our characters. Hence we are responsible for our method of delivery.
-Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit and has very little or nothing to do with us. Once conversion takes place we are entrusted with nurturing the converted souls in the way of the Lord helping each other in our walk of faith through fellowship and this is the business of the church as a whole.
Adapting to your audience,
This sounds like something very simple and harmless right, yea..... I have heard this many times and usually from Adventist young people. There are many dangers in this idea. Some how we tend to believe that doing things in the church the way the world does them will some how bring people to the church. Yet there maybe some truth to this argument i would think that it is flawed in a number of ways. It will bring people to the church but not to God.
-The idea of changing our style of worship to attract more people to the church is not an idea that I advocate in the sense that worship is not meant for us ( this we learnt in last quarters lessons). When we go to worship God on a Sabbath it is directed to God and not for us, "......the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" Mark 2 v 27, yes this is very however, worship is meant to be reverent and if we read the Bible on the way God is worshiped in heaven in the book of Revelation chapters 4 & 5 we see to whom worship is meant to concentrate on. It is not about us but about God, and blessings are just a by product of our worship.
-God prescribes reverence in worship and that what we do and say should be understood and must have a bearing in our lives. I likened this with a custom made product that you go and get made to your specific instructions, if the manufacturer makes it in a different way we usual throw a tantrum and threaten all sorts of legal action. God custom made the Sabbath, worship, marriage etc to His specifications and anything that is not according these specs I would deem unacceptable. Why then do we think our way is better than Gods way?,
-We young Adventist people some how want to justify doing the wrong thing as something right so as to increase our numbers in the church. This is not right and is unacceptable. We are a called to be a peculiar people Titus 2 v 14, then why do we want so much to be like the world around us in the way we do thing even in the church.
-Usually this is in the issue of music, what is acceptable and what is not. Hrmmm well I think personally with music that if the beat of the music makes you forget reverence that it is not right. I have heard alot of people defend worldly style of music in the church and it has always bothered me in the sense that why do we want this style so much. Well truth is that it is not really about worship it is about trying to make ourselves the focus of worship. We want what we like, we want things done our way so as to make ourselves comfortable in the church and make it more enjoyable. Dont you think there is something wrong with this way of thinking, .....isn't it flawed in a many ways. Isn't Gods way of doing things good enough, why then do we insist on our way.
-I have also heard the argument that "times have changed so we must change also" God hasn't changed the way He does things has He. The last time I check the bible and all doctrine that I have studied it is still the same. So what is the basis of this change.
-What is acceptable and not acceptable you may ask me, well very simple I would say does what ever it is that you do move the focus off God onto something else other than God, e.g. when a song is sung what do you remember most the words and their meaning or the rythm and beat that goes with it, .... the carisma of the pastor and how powerful he was or the message he preached and what it really meant. Yes this is serious, so I would urge that we young people look at our hearts and our motives before standing up to speak or challenge the elderly on some issues.
When the early church started and grew gradually the did things the way God priscribed and when they started to entertain ideas to make themselves comfortable in the church and make church convinient what happened, it set in mortion events that we feel the effect today. How do you suppose we ended up with so many different religious faiths, it all starts with small compromise and we might not feel the effect now but the future generations will feel the effects deeply.
Well having said all this what does it have to do with this weeks Lesson well very simple if you look at Pauls sermons mentioned in the Lesson this past week, Acts 13 v 13 - 41 and Acts 17 v 16 - 33 we see the same message being preached to two different groups of people.
Acts 13 v 13 - 41 is focus towards the Jews, even the angle that Paul appoachs the people is that of the Jewish historical events and their significance. He slowly brings in the idea of Jesus and why He is the Christ. NB remember here Paul was talking to people who knew scripture and since Paul was well educated under the instruction of the great scholar of that time Garmalial, so Paul knew his stuff. What does that mean for us Adventist young people. Well firstly it means we should study the bible diligently and put all doctrine through its paces to ensure that it is sound. We can not stand up to speak if we do not even know and understand what it is we believe and are speaking about. I am not saying go and study theology no no no, but we are called to such the scripture diligently that we may find God, This also means that when you hear things even on the pulpit go back and check them out. Secondly it means that when you talk to people chances are that they know stuff and your account should be accurate and correct.
The second Sermon is to the people of Athens (mainly Greeks), Acts 17 v 16 - 33, here Paul is talking to non believers ( or Non Jews). This is were most people get things wrong. Paul did not change his style, he took is time to understand the people around him without becoming like them. When he knew what the people where like what they believed in, he took that knowledge and used it to show them the flaw in their way of thinking without condemning them. He told them of the Unknown God that they worshiped and who He really was and what He stood for. This is a common mistake amongst us Adventist, we are quick to point fingers without taking time to understand why other people believe the way they do. Taking time to know people and their faith is very important in the work that we do of sharing our faith. But I must warn you that Paul knew what he believed and would not be swayed by understanding what his audience believed. Hence my warning, if you have not studied diligently and understood what it is that you believe, I would be carefully about trying to understand other people as this might cause you to fall. Hence the significance of true study ( not study because yo want to win an arguement but study because you want to know God and to affirm the faith that you have)
Now the message in the sermons above are essentially the same, Paul didnt change his style just because he was talking to non Jews, no on the contrary he did the exact same thing in both instances he took time to understand the people and based on what he understood and believed he showed the true way to salvation. So it is not about changing our method of worship or our style of music, no once the people see that you are really making the effort to understand why they believe the way they do, they will be more open to allowing you to share what you believe in without you undermining the intergrity of your faith and the way we do things. Remember we are a peculiar people and that is what the people want to see and understand why we are the way we are.
- Firstly I am of the idea that we are not in the business of converting people to the church we go to, no no no..., we are in the business of telling people about God, His love, character, Jesus and the Sacrifice He made for us. This is done in a number of ways i.e interactive study of the scriptures, our life styles, and our characters. Hence we are responsible for our method of delivery.
-Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit and has very little or nothing to do with us. Once conversion takes place we are entrusted with nurturing the converted souls in the way of the Lord helping each other in our walk of faith through fellowship and this is the business of the church as a whole.
Adapting to your audience,
This sounds like something very simple and harmless right, yea..... I have heard this many times and usually from Adventist young people. There are many dangers in this idea. Some how we tend to believe that doing things in the church the way the world does them will some how bring people to the church. Yet there maybe some truth to this argument i would think that it is flawed in a number of ways. It will bring people to the church but not to God.
-The idea of changing our style of worship to attract more people to the church is not an idea that I advocate in the sense that worship is not meant for us ( this we learnt in last quarters lessons). When we go to worship God on a Sabbath it is directed to God and not for us, "......the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" Mark 2 v 27, yes this is very however, worship is meant to be reverent and if we read the Bible on the way God is worshiped in heaven in the book of Revelation chapters 4 & 5 we see to whom worship is meant to concentrate on. It is not about us but about God, and blessings are just a by product of our worship.
-God prescribes reverence in worship and that what we do and say should be understood and must have a bearing in our lives. I likened this with a custom made product that you go and get made to your specific instructions, if the manufacturer makes it in a different way we usual throw a tantrum and threaten all sorts of legal action. God custom made the Sabbath, worship, marriage etc to His specifications and anything that is not according these specs I would deem unacceptable. Why then do we think our way is better than Gods way?,
-We young Adventist people some how want to justify doing the wrong thing as something right so as to increase our numbers in the church. This is not right and is unacceptable. We are a called to be a peculiar people Titus 2 v 14, then why do we want so much to be like the world around us in the way we do thing even in the church.
-Usually this is in the issue of music, what is acceptable and what is not. Hrmmm well I think personally with music that if the beat of the music makes you forget reverence that it is not right. I have heard alot of people defend worldly style of music in the church and it has always bothered me in the sense that why do we want this style so much. Well truth is that it is not really about worship it is about trying to make ourselves the focus of worship. We want what we like, we want things done our way so as to make ourselves comfortable in the church and make it more enjoyable. Dont you think there is something wrong with this way of thinking, .....isn't it flawed in a many ways. Isn't Gods way of doing things good enough, why then do we insist on our way.
-I have also heard the argument that "times have changed so we must change also" God hasn't changed the way He does things has He. The last time I check the bible and all doctrine that I have studied it is still the same. So what is the basis of this change.
-What is acceptable and not acceptable you may ask me, well very simple I would say does what ever it is that you do move the focus off God onto something else other than God, e.g. when a song is sung what do you remember most the words and their meaning or the rythm and beat that goes with it, .... the carisma of the pastor and how powerful he was or the message he preached and what it really meant. Yes this is serious, so I would urge that we young people look at our hearts and our motives before standing up to speak or challenge the elderly on some issues.
When the early church started and grew gradually the did things the way God priscribed and when they started to entertain ideas to make themselves comfortable in the church and make church convinient what happened, it set in mortion events that we feel the effect today. How do you suppose we ended up with so many different religious faiths, it all starts with small compromise and we might not feel the effect now but the future generations will feel the effects deeply.
Well having said all this what does it have to do with this weeks Lesson well very simple if you look at Pauls sermons mentioned in the Lesson this past week, Acts 13 v 13 - 41 and Acts 17 v 16 - 33 we see the same message being preached to two different groups of people.
Acts 13 v 13 - 41 is focus towards the Jews, even the angle that Paul appoachs the people is that of the Jewish historical events and their significance. He slowly brings in the idea of Jesus and why He is the Christ. NB remember here Paul was talking to people who knew scripture and since Paul was well educated under the instruction of the great scholar of that time Garmalial, so Paul knew his stuff. What does that mean for us Adventist young people. Well firstly it means we should study the bible diligently and put all doctrine through its paces to ensure that it is sound. We can not stand up to speak if we do not even know and understand what it is we believe and are speaking about. I am not saying go and study theology no no no, but we are called to such the scripture diligently that we may find God, This also means that when you hear things even on the pulpit go back and check them out. Secondly it means that when you talk to people chances are that they know stuff and your account should be accurate and correct.
The second Sermon is to the people of Athens (mainly Greeks), Acts 17 v 16 - 33, here Paul is talking to non believers ( or Non Jews). This is were most people get things wrong. Paul did not change his style, he took is time to understand the people around him without becoming like them. When he knew what the people where like what they believed in, he took that knowledge and used it to show them the flaw in their way of thinking without condemning them. He told them of the Unknown God that they worshiped and who He really was and what He stood for. This is a common mistake amongst us Adventist, we are quick to point fingers without taking time to understand why other people believe the way they do. Taking time to know people and their faith is very important in the work that we do of sharing our faith. But I must warn you that Paul knew what he believed and would not be swayed by understanding what his audience believed. Hence my warning, if you have not studied diligently and understood what it is that you believe, I would be carefully about trying to understand other people as this might cause you to fall. Hence the significance of true study ( not study because yo want to win an arguement but study because you want to know God and to affirm the faith that you have)
Now the message in the sermons above are essentially the same, Paul didnt change his style just because he was talking to non Jews, no on the contrary he did the exact same thing in both instances he took time to understand the people and based on what he understood and believed he showed the true way to salvation. So it is not about changing our method of worship or our style of music, no once the people see that you are really making the effort to understand why they believe the way they do, they will be more open to allowing you to share what you believe in without you undermining the intergrity of your faith and the way we do things. Remember we are a peculiar people and that is what the people want to see and understand why we are the way we are.
Stay Blessed
