Lesson 2 for April 14, 2012

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) God calls us to have a relationship with Him The love of Christ compels us (2 Cor. 5:14) He drives us to share with people the great things God has done for us: He called us “out of darkness into His marvelous light”

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12 Paul said that every Christian has a ministry that God prepared for him/her. We need to discover which our ministry is and to use it for the glory of God. We were reconciled with God by the sacrifice of Jesus We receive the ministry of reconciliation Christ makes us ambassadors We become servants just as Jesus Forgiveness and justification Sanctification Personal relationship Messengers of His grace and love for the world Personal ministry Being in Christ means to continue His ministry

“... Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life... I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors... So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.” John 4:35-41 Jesus sew the seed of the Gospel in the heart of the Samaritan woman She sew that seed among the people from Sicar The Samaritans went to Jesus and believed in Him The Lord encourages us to ‘harvest’ the field of this world that is continuously ripening for the harvest.

The Holy Scripture teaches us that the Church consists of people who are closely related to each other, just as the parts of a body. What would happen to the body if it lost one of its articulations? Paul said that a Church grows when all the members of it do their part As members of the body of Christ (the Church), we must be united in the areas of evangelism and witnessing

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 We must understand that we need to work together to achieve a divine goal; we must feel that we do that together and with God, Who encourages us, gives us power and provides knowledge

Those who become involved in evangelism today are still colaborers with God for the salvation of others. We must pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to present God’s love and provision in ways that will reach the hearts of those in need of the Savior. We need to be aware that we cannot do anything apart from the Lord and that only by an attitude of faith, submission, humility, and willingness to die to self and to serve others can we be the most effective witnesses in God’s hands. Self must be put aside in order for the Lord to use us as effectively as possible.

Every truly converted soul will be intensely desirous to bring others from the darkness of error into the marvelous light of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with his glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people, that know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God. When we have entire, whole-hearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring of his Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God… …It is not the ministers alone, but the laymen, who are not contributing all that they can to persuade men, by precept and example, to accept the saving grace of Christ. With skill and tact, with wisdom received from above, they should persuade men to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. (E.G.W. - Review and Herald, July 21, 1896)

“Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” Acts 14:27 Reporting to the Church about the witnessing and evangelism activities generates an atmosphere of encouragement and blessing. “On the following day... When he [Paul] had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord...” Acts 21:18-20 By using faithful reports, God is glorified and His Church is strengthened in faith. The first Christians glorified God when they heard Paul’s missionary reports

To every one work has been allotted, and no one else can be a substitute for another. Each one has a mission of wonderful importance, which he cannot neglect or ignore, as the fulfillment of it involves the weal of some soul, and the neglect of it the woe of one for whom Christ died. (Ellen G. White - Review and Herald, December 12, 1893)