The Intensity of His Walk. . . OR. . . "Not My Will But Yours Be Done"

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope
May 24, 2008
Larry R Evans


Class teaching notes will be uploaded later this week.


Quiz for Reflection

1. The childhood of Jesus was not a significant time and therefore not much is recorded. [Lk 2:40, 49-52] True or False?

2. The struggle for Jesus in the wilderness temptation was intense because He was so hungry. [Mt 4:1-3; Jn 4:31-34; Mt 16:21-23] True or False?

3. Christ came to this earth to be an example. [1Pet 2:21; 1 Cor 11:1; Jn 1:29; Gn 22:6-14; Rev 5:12] True or False?

4. If we always live within the atmosphere of prayer we need not set apart specific times for prayer. [Mt 14:23; Lk 6:12; Jn 17] True or False?

5. Jesus was driven to prayer because of His own needs and the needs of others. [Mt 14:9-13, 23, 25-32; Jn 16:29-31, 17:4-5, 26; 18:1-3] True or False?

6. Satan used the intensity Jesus felt for His mission as the grounds for temptation. [Jn 12:12-27; Lk 22:39-51; Mt 16:21-23] True or False?

7. Worries of this life can choke out hope for the life to come. [Mt 13:22; Rom. 5:22; Mt 6:31-34] True or False?

Reflective Review

We can easily miss the point of this week’s lesson if we conclude that we aren’t doing enough for God. More activity for God isn’t the kind of intensity the Bible is talking about. While it may happen, that is not the point. In brief, God wants us to so adjust our lives to Him so that He can do through us what He wants to do! “Understanding what God is about to do where you are is more important than telling God what you want to do for Him. . . . All the way through the Scripture, God takes the initiative. When He comes to a person, He always reveals Himself and His activity. That revelation is always an invitation for the individual to adjust his life to God. None of the people God ever encountered could remain the same after the encounter. They had to make major adjustments in their lives in order to walk obediently with God.” (Henry T Blackaby and Claude V. King in Experiencing God, p.68, 69) Ellen White presents an insightful understanding of how Enoch “walked with God.” “Enoch walked with God three hundred years previous to his translation to heaven, and the state of the world was not then more favorable for the perfection of Christian character than it is today. And how did Enoch walk with God? He educated his mind and heart to ever feel that he was in the presence of God, and when in perplexity his prayers would ascend to God to keep him. He refused to take any course that would offend his God. He kept the Lord continually before him. He would pray, “Teach me Thy way, that I may not err. What is Thy pleasure concerning me? What shall I do to honor Thee, my God?”. . (Ellen White in Christ Triumphant, p.43)

The focus of Jesus was always to do His Father’s will. That was His mission. In order to know what that was Jesus’ needed to be in communion with His Father. Two dominant qualities of Jesus stand out and they are critical for us as well if we are to walk as He did. First we must be moldable and second we must be available. Both are a natural outcome resulting from an abiding and trusting relationship with our Heavenly Father.

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