The Pot Sellers' Discovery

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FRIDAY

August 13

Further Study:  

Read Ellen G. White, “Victory Appropriated,” pp. 105, 106, in Messages to Young People; “The True Motive in Service,” pp. 93—95, in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing; “Appeal to the Young,” p. 365, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3; pp. 1074, 1075, in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6. “He [Jesus] did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 123. “At our baptism we pledged ourselves to break all connection with Satan and his agencies, and to put heart and mind and soul into the work of extending the kingdom of God. . . . The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are pledged to cooperate with sanctified human instrumentalities.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1075. “A profession of Christianity without corresponding faith and works will avail nothing. No man can serve two masters. The children of the wicked one are their own master’s servants; to whom they yield themselves servants to obey, his servants they are, and they cannot be the servants of God until they renounce the devil and all his works. It cannot be harmless for servants of the heavenly King to engage in the pleasures and amusements which Satan’s servants engage in, even though they often repeat that such amusements are harmless. God has revealed sacred and holy truths to separate His people from the ungodly and purify them unto Himself. Seventh-day Adventists should live out their faith.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 404.

Discussion Questions:

Though we have all these wonderful promises of victory over sin, the fact is that we all—even as born-again Christians—are aware of just how fallen we are, of just how sinful we are, and of just how corrupt our hearts can be. Is there a contradiction here? Explain your answer.      In class, give a testimony as to what Christ has done in you, to the changes you have experienced, to the new life you have in Him.      However important it is that we always remember that our salvation rests only in what Christ has done for us, what dangers arise if we overemphasize that wonderful truth to the exclusion of the other part of the salvation: that of what Jesus does in us, to transform us into His image? Why do we need to understand and emphasize both these aspects of salvation?

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		I N S I D E Story
		The Pot Sellers' Discovery by BENJAMIN SCHOUN Some Adventist pot sellers traveled from village to village across northern Madagascar selling kitchenware. One Friday afternoon they arrived at a village and asked someone whether there was an Adventist church in the village. "No," the person replied. "Does anyone in this village worship on Saturday?" they asked. "Yes," the villager answered. "They meet in a house just up this road." The pot sellers followed the villager's directions and found a house with a sign that read, "The Seventh-day Keeping Church." The pot sellers knocked on the door and were welcomed into a room crowded with 50 people who had gathered for a worship service. The members squeezed together to make room for their visitors, and the service resumed. Soon the pot sellers realized that the worship service looked and sounded like an Adventist meeting. But who were these people? When the meeting ended, the visitors asked the worshipers where they had learned to worship as they did. "We are Christians," the leader explained. We listen to a radio program that teaches the Bible clearly, and we now keep the Bible Sabbath and prepare for Jesus' soon coming " "What is the name of the radio station you listen to?" the pot sellers asked. The answer came back, Adventist World Radio. The leader explained that the believers knew that the radio station was owned by Seventh-day Adventists, but they hesitated to use that name until they learned what they must do to become Seventh-day Adventist members. The pot sellers told the congregation that they were Seventh-day Adventists and promised to notify the district pastor of this new congregation. When the district pastor learned of the group meeting on the mountainside, he arranged to hold meetings and organize a new company of believers. A woman donated land for a church, and today the believers in Andravinambo worship as Seventh-day Adventists. A lay pastor continues teaching them and encouraging them to share their faith with others in their region. Your mission offerings support Adventist World Radio's ministry around the world. Benjamin Schoun is president of Adventist World Radio. Ramanantsalama Berjoseclin is the district pastor who now cares for this group.
		Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness. email:   info@adventistmission.org  website:  www.adventistmission.org

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