SAYING NO

Saying no to things that are pleasurable but also harmful is often difficult. How can we practice saying no to what appears highly pleasurable yet harmful to ourselves and others?

We are continuing our look at God’s love for us and his plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him. His mission is to bring us back into a loving relationship with him. He wants us to become His disciples and members of his family.

Thus, He calls for us to respond to His love. But our relationship with Him does not end with His call, for a call without action from the one being called has no value. What are we called to do? (Split)

In this series, we looked at what it means to love God, love ourselves, and love others.

Review our past and present videos at SabbathSchoolDaily.com or visit my YouTube Channel, Sabbath School by Dr. Brenda Ware Davis

You also may obtain the study guide for this series at Sabbath.School or ssnet.org

Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:

Holy Father, help us resist what harms us and others and give us the power to submit to Your Spirit, not our selfish flesh. In Jesus Name, Amen.

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 7)

Mission to My Neighbor

Part 5

Loving Others as We Love Ourselves

Saying no to what is harmful to us and others occurs only when we have God’s love in our hearts.

Notice what it is says in the Book Christ Object Lessons

“Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 49. 9Split)

This is the point Jesus made in his encounter with the young lawyer in Matthew 22:37–40.

Luke 10:27, 28 expounds, saying that if a person does these two things, they will have eternal life. Luke 10:27, 28,

27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:27-28)

This same principle is expressed in the following scriptures:

Galatians 5:14

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

Micah 6:6-8

6 With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8)

I John 4:20-21

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (I John 4:20-21) 

Highlighting this point, Paul in Galatians 5:14 says,

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14, NKJV).

Paul’s point is that people can see we love God when we show our love for the people around us. Faith and genuine love are not things that we put in our pockets or hide so that no one can see.

Paul, Micah, and John explain that our actions and behavior demonstrate the faith that is in our hearts.

To understand what real love is, read 1 Corinthians 13. In it, Paul explains how love is expressed.

You see, people may have great knowledge. They may do great things and even perform great miracles. They may give up their lives for their faith. But, if they do not have love, then they are like “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1, NKJV).

It says in the book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing:

 Without a living faith in Christ as a personal Saviour it is impossible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. We cannot give to others that which we do not ourselves possess. It is in proportion to our own devotion and consecration to Christ that we exert an influence for the blessing and uplifting of mankind. If there is no actual service, no genuine love, no reality of experience, there is no power to help, no connection with heaven, no savor of Christ in the life. . . .

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 , A.R.V. 

When love fills the heart, it will flow out to others, not because of favors received from them, but because love is the principle of action. Love modifies the character, governs the impulses, subdues enmity, and ennobles the affections. This love is as broad as the universe, and is in harmony with that of the angel workers. Cherished in the heart, it sweetens the entire life and sheds its blessing upon all around.—Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pp. 37, 38.

The point made here is that only in love can we remain steadfast and resist the urge to say yes when our answer should be no and resist the urge to say no when our answer should be yes.

Of course, Jesus’s command to love does not mean that we are saved by what we do. Instead, what we do shows our love and faith in Jesus.

How do we demonstrate our faith and love? Read Luke 10:30-37 then continue to the next segment of this video ——Part 6: The Good Samaritan Story Today

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 7)

Motivation and Preparation for Mission

Part 6 The Good Samaritan Story Today

After the young lawyer gave the correct answer, Jesus’s response is, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).

When Jesus said this, he touched what was really in the man’s heart. The lawyer knew all the correct answers. For the lawyer, giving all the right answers was easy, but his real problem was living what he knew was correct.

 Now, if doing the right thing was a problem for this man 2,000 years ago, how hard is it for us today to say no to that which is harmful and yes to that which is good for us and others?

You see, the lawyer wanted to trap Jesus and show off his knowledge in front of everyone. The lawyer wanted people to see that he was intelligent. So, he asked Jesus another question: “ ‘Who is my neighbor?’ ” (Luke 10:29).

Luke 10:30–37 tells us how Jesus responded.

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:30-37) 

Who is your neighbor?

Now, let me ask. Are there people around you who have been treated unjustly or in need? They are your neighbors. How can you help them?

Sadly, pastors, church leaders, and church members sometimes don’t help the people who need help the most.

Sometimes, nonbelievers are kinder toward people in the community than those who profess to be believers. But when we love, then our faith is demonstrated in our actions.  

Thus, Jesus ended the story about the good Samaritan with a question. Who among the three men was the real neighbor to the person who needed help?

It says in Desire of Ages:

“Thus the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ is forever answered. Christ has shown that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 503. (Split)

With this in mind, here is your challenge.

Challenge #1: Pray every day for someone different from you. Or pray for someone who you may not really care for. Ask God to change your attitude about them and help you love them.

For those up for a greater challenge

Challenge #2: List three people who do not believe as you do. Ask God to help you demonstrate your love to them in a practical way. 

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Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church

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