Mission to the Unreached: Part 1
FOURTH QUARTER 2023
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #10
DECEMBER 9, 2023
“MISSION TO THE UNREACHED: PART 1”
Before we can reach the unreached, we must be sure we ourselves have been reached by the Holy Spirit and surrendered to God.
As the people in Athens had many gods, there are many gods today. As we evaluate if we have any other “gods” before Jesus, the following paragraphs from “Steps to Christ” get to the heart of the matter.
“It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the renewing power of Christ. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions. By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on?
“Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things.” —Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 58.
When we realize our warmest affections, best energies, and sweetest thoughts are not connected with Jesus, we face a problem. And the problem gets bigger when we discover we can’t switch off one set of thoughts and switch on another set. If we have anything that stands between us and God, the Holy Spirit will have a difficult time using us to lead others to surrender their lives to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
An experience from my own life can illustrate how common activities can come between us and our relationship with God.
In my family growing up, I was the youngest of four boys. We enjoyed many kinds of recreational activities. We loved playing basketball, football, softball, tennis, ping pong, and volleyball. We also enjoyed family outings of water skiing in the summer and snow skiing in the winter. We often watched professional football on television. Occasionally we went to see a professional basketball or baseball game.
While our family was very active in our local church, sports and recreation were definitely the activities we looked forward to. During my freshman year in a Christian high school, I was excited to be playing football, basketball, softball, or whatever sport was in season.
When I was 15, my family moved to Texas. There I attended a smaller Christian high school. The spiritual atmosphere on campus was very positive. But what impressed me the most was that the sports leaders on campus were also the spiritual leaders. Their influence, along with several of the faculty members, led me to seek and find a living relationship with Jesus for myself. No longer was it just my parents’ religion. Jesus was becoming my Savior.
At this boarding school, the opportunity to watch professional sports was limited, for there were always things to do: work, study, and activities that were planned. For the next 16 years, I watched very little.
After I lived in Wisconsin for a while, I began to hear a lot about the Green Bay Packers. As they became a winning football team in the 90’s, the excitement began to build. I read about the upcoming games and learned about the challenges and stakes involved. Then I would watch some of the games when I had the chance.
As time passed I began to experience a growing conviction that sports could easily get out of hand. For many people it seemed more like a religion than a game.
Every season the excitement would build. I began to recognize the need to keep it under control. I would tell myself that as long as I only watched part of a game, I wouldn’t be wasting too much time.
When we moved to Indiana, I didn’t hear much about the Green Bay Packers. Then I was given tickets to an Indiana Pacers basketball game. In preparation for attending, I wanted to read up on the game so I could know better what was happening and what to look for.
The Indiana Pacers basketball team and the Indianapolis Colts football team were doing very well. I found myself getting caught up in the same excitement that I had experienced in Wisconsin. I enjoyed watching or listening to the games but would try to keep it under control. I didn’t want to waste too much time.
The Conviction
Then the Holy Spirit brought a conviction that cut to the heart. “The passion for sports is stealing from the passion that belongs to God.” “Ouch! That hurt,” I thought to myself. “I guess I need to be more careful.”
The conviction was clear. I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking. I realized I had to make a choice. I didn’t want to make a choice, for I enjoyed watching football games when I had the opportunity.
However, there was a deeper reason I didn’t want to make a choice. I was afraid of failure, for I had already been wrestling with this for a while. I thought I was keeping it under control. I knew a lot of Christians who watched a lot more football than I did. Compared to them, I was doing really good.
My rationalizations seemed reasonable. But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let up. “It isn’t about the time. It’s about the passion of the heart. It is stealing from the passion that belongs to God. It is poison to your soul!”
The still small voice spoke gently. There was no condemnation. It was simply a call for a decision. I then remembered the paragraphs from “Steps to Christ” that I shared at the beginning of this devotional. I knew I need to surrender to God and ask for His help.
A Prayer And A Plan
“Dear God,” I prayed. “I don’t want anything to come in between You and me. I’m sorry that I have allowed the passion for sports to steal from the passion that belongs to You. I choose You. But I am going to need You to save me from this, for I enjoy watching the games. I will make a choice to surrender to your will because I know it is what is needed, not because I feel like it. I am going to need help with this. I am not going to be able to change on my own. What should I do?”
Then a thought came to me. “Cancel the newspaper.” The idea made sense. Reading the sports page is what fueled the passion to watch or listen to the next game.
I had tried previously to tell myself and others, “I am not going to watch any more games.” But those promises and resolutions would melt away as I rationalized that I would be careful to only watch a part of a game, maybe the last half or quarter or even just the final minutes.
Colossians 2:20-23 fit me perfectly. “If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations -- Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle?... These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
Just making rules and promises wasn’t going to work. How much time I was or was not spending was not the issue. The passion of the heart was what needed to change. I needed a Savior to restore the passion for God on the inside. Colossians 3:1, 2 affirmed the idea that canceling the newspaper was a good idea. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
That day I canceled the newspaper. Without access to the sports page, the interest in sports began to fade away little by little. I knew I could have gone to the internet to read the sports news. However, I was not in the habit of doing that and I did not want to create a new habit that would open the door to more temptations. I made a deliberate choice to avoid going to those pages. Instead of making rules and promises, I simply chose to seek God and be careful what I fed my mind.
“Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Little by little the passion for God began to be restored.
Living With Joy!
I share this story as an illustration of how the Holy Spirit will continue to bring truth and conviction to our hearts. We will never be able to say, “I have arrived! I don’t need to learn or grow anymore.”
I am thankful the Holy Spirit brought the conviction to my heart. God’s plan for my life is so much better. I have joy and a purpose that is lasting and meaningful. As a result of the gospel foundation, I am able to experience an inner security and peace.
Instead of being motivated by guilt, fear, or a desire to get to heaven, I have a passion to live for God’s glory. As I maintain a sensitive conscience and a surrendered heart, the Lord is helping me to experience healing in life as I grow into maturity. God has a plan for each of us. And that plan is centered on a living relationship with Him.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
A Word Of Caution!
Each person is unique. Each of us has our own journey and relationship with God. What may be a problem for one person may not be for another. I do not condemn others for watching sports. It is not my place to condemn anyone for anything. If anyone had the right to condemn us, it was Jesus. He came to save us, not to condemn us (John 3:17).
The issue is not a specific activity. The questions we need to ask are:
- On who or what is the passion of my heart focused on?
- Is there any activity, person, or possession that has become more important to me than God?
If something has become more important to us than God, then we need to acknowledge the truth, surrender our hearts to God, and give Him permission to restore the passion that belongs to Him. Even religious activities can become more important to us than having a loving relationship with God. Jesus pointed this out to some Jewish leaders.
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39,40).
They thought studying the Bible earned them merit before God. The Scriptures pointed them to Jesus who wanted to give them the abundant life their hearts longed for. However, they refused to come to Him.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of the law was, He focused on the passion of our lives, not a specific activity. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39).
We are not able to create this kind of love and passion in our own lives. Jesus invites us to come just as we are and give him permission to do this for us (Romans 12:1, 2; Matthew 11:28-30; Revelation 3:19, 20).
Read Psalm 139:23, 24 and then ask God to reveal to you any areas of your life that are stealing from the passion that belongs to Him and are keeping you from experiencing His love and freely loving others. If God brings something to your mind, would you be willing to surrender it to Him and ask Him to restore the passion for Him?
~Pastor Clinton Meharry