CULTIVATING YOUR HIGHER POWERS

Developing our higher powers involves personal growth, self-discovery, and obtaining a deeper understanding of our personal values and our purpose in life. How can we best achieve this?

We are continuing our look at God’s love for us and his plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him.

 This series explores how God expects us to improve our higher powers.

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Sabbath School Daily by Dr. Brenda Ware Davis

Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:

Holy Father, thank you for entrusting us with the work designed to advance our higher powers. Give us the will, tenacity, and motivation we need to follow through.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 8)

Mission to the Needy

Part 1

“Introduction”

While living on this earth, Jesus helped people who were in need. Luke 5:17-26 provides one of many scenarios of how Jesus helped those in need.

We are considered Christians when we do as Jesus did because Christians are like Christ.

God uses us to help others, and at times, He uses others to help us.  Though helping others can be challenging, God rewards us for our efforts.

Some believe that improving their higher powers is accomplished by meditation and prayer.

However, Mathew 25:40 tells us that when we help others, we are doing the work of God and, in turn, we are developing our higher powers.

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV)

Matthew 7:12, which is often called the golden rule, tells us that

All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12).

Using the principle in Matthew 7:12, the Book My Life Today expresses that the most effective way to improve our higher powers is found in helping others. It says:

The Saviour taught this principle [the golden rule] to make us humans happy, not unhappy, for in no other way can happiness come.

God desires us to live the higher life. He gives us the benefits of life, not to enable us merely to gain wealth but to improve our higher powers by doing the work He has entrusted to us.

He has given us the work of searching out and relieving the necessities of others.

Thus, we should not work for our own selfish interests but for the interest of those around us.

We are to bless others with our influence and kind deeds.

Christ exemplified God’s purpose in his life. Like him, we should seize every opportunity to contribute to the happiness of those around us by sharing our affections with words of kindness, looks of sympathy, and expressions of appreciation.  (My Life Today, p. 165, Adapted)

In other words, when we help those in need, regardless of who they are, we show them Jesus. We are being Christ-like.

Sometimes, we may know who needs our help; at other times, we may be unsure. But if we ask God, He will lead us.

The point is God calls for us to work for him. He desires us to help those in need, regardless of who they are or what they have done.

Thus, the Bible encourages us to be friendly. To be kind, to be compassionate.

Furthermore, being friendly opens the door for us to help others learn about Jesus, the one we represent.

In this series of lessons, our focus is on “Helping those in Need.”

We seek to discover God’s plan for those in need. Their needs may be physical, emotional, financial, or even social in the sense that they may feel lonely. Or perhaps their family or their community may no longer accept them.

Whatever their needs, God expects us to be ready to do what we can to help.

When we help others, it cultivates, that is, improves our higher powers. As a matter of fact, helping others is the central part of what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like.

What Christ was like is illustrated throughout the Bible. For instance, Luke 5:17–26, Matthew 9:1–8, and Mark 2:3–12 provide excellent examples of what it means to be like Christ. Read them and continue Part 2: Faith of Friends

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 8)

Mission to the Needy

Part 2: The Faith of Friends

Luke 5:17–26 is a powerful Bible story that shows what a group of men did to help a paralyzed friend. This same story is told also in Matthew 9:1–8 and Mark 2:3–12.

These men took their friend to Jesus so that he could be healed. This story teaches us an important lesson about faith in action.

Sometimes, we may have to work extra hard to help someone in need. The work of helping others requires faith, patience, and a willingness, if need be, to be unconventional.

The four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus, but when they got there, they were faced with a dilemma, a barrier.  But they did not stop at the barrier. No!

They had taken the responsibility of seeking help for their friend. So, they refused to give up. (Split)

God calls us to do the same as this man’s friends. We must take people to Jesus, the one capable of solving their problems. To help them, we need faith and trust to believe that Jesus can help them.

We must also be patient and willing to do whatever God asks us to do.

The men took their helpless friend to Jesus. But they had a problem: the crowd blocked their way to Jesus.

They could not get him to Jesus by traditional means. But did they give up?  No, they got outside the box. They found an innovative way to bring their friend to Jesus.

These men broke open the roof and lowered their friend down the hole and into the house!

We would expect that they would have been reprimanded for such drastic measures, but Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus didn’t scold them for what they did. As a matter of fact, Luke 5:20 tells us Jesus rewarded them for their faith.

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luke 5:20)

These men, by helping their friend, were cultivating their higher powers. From this incident, they experienced personal growth, self-discovery, and a deeper understanding of their values and life’s purpose.

Jesus wants the same for us. He wants us to bring our helpless friends to Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Great Physician. He desires to forgive and heal those who are suffering.

But sometimes, the crowd is in the way. In cases like these, we must get out of the box. We must become innovative in our approach.

We are challenged in Testimonies for the Church, volume 2, to help the helpless:

It says: “Do not wait to be told your duty. Open your eyes and see who is around you; make yourselves acquainted with the helpless, afflicted, and needy. Hide not yourselves from them, and seek not to shut out their needs.——Testimonies for the Church, volume 2, page 29.

Jesus demonstrated how to help those in need. He calls us to put into practice what he has shown us. What was Jesus’ approach, and how do we put it into practice?

First, we must become their friends.

Then, we must learn about their needs.

And finally, we must lead them to Jesus, the problem solver. He is the only one who can help them.

This is precisely what the four men in the story found in Luke 5:17–26 did.

There are people all around us that need help. How do we get out of the box? What innovative approach can we use to take them to Jesus? To learn more about what Jesus did and what you can do view my next video—–Part 3: Christ’s Method Alone.

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