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Commentary on "Equipping for Evangelism and Witnessing"
Day 4: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - Learning by Doing
OVERVIEW
Today’s lesson examines “hands-on experience, learning by doing, and (how) without it a person is simply not equipped for the task.”
OBSERVATIONS
The greatest evangelists I know don’t just pull up their bootstraps and head out into the field to get to work. They are first and foremost sensitive to the Holy Spirit—seeking His will and listening for His guidance. They go where they are told to go, and speak what they are told to speak. This is the lesson to be learned in today’s passage of Matthew 10:1-14. God still instructs today. I would argue that many just don’t know and hear His voice. They don’t seek and listen.
It also begs this question—how well do SDAs hear and receive the instructions of Jesus? Do they hold to a pure, unadulterated gospel that Jesus alone saves? We’ve already established that the Adventist gospel is a false gospel rooted in salvation by faith plus works.
In Matthew 10, Jesus instructed His disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel (v. 6). Do SDAs go after lost sheep or do they sometimes steal sheep, (ie: born again believers who attend church on Sunday…see lesson notes on 5/20)?
Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and cleansed the impure both spiritually and physically. “Freely you received, freely give” (Mt. 10:8).
The disciples had freely received the healing and redeeming love of Jesus. Follow me, Jesus told them, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt. 4:19).
Every believer is commissioned to spread the gospel. When we are called we are also equipped (Mt. 28:19; Acts 1:8).
SUMMARY
- Yes, we learn by doing, but more importantly when the Holy Spirit speaks we learn best by listening first and then doing as He guides and leads. That is the example set in Matthew 10. Jesus spoke instructions. He reminded them of what they had seen Him do and what they themselves had received. Now, go and do likewise, He told them, “freely give”.
- It’s hard to be a witness or evangelize when one doesn’t have a personal, life-changing story. Once you do, you can’t be quiet about God’s goodness. Just like we can’t wait to share our experience regarding a new restaurant, or talk about a great book we’ve read; when we have the good news of Jesus in us it will overflow in all we say and do (Acts 1:8).
Copyright 2012 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised May 18, 2012. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Camp Verde, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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Official Adventist Resources
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Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 8
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