The Blessings of the Prophetic Gift

[My apologies:  I sent the following out by email on Tuesday evening but I failed to upload it to the blog until today--Friday afternoon.  The revised quiz and accompanying notes will be uploaded later today.  If you wish to be added to the email list you may do so by sending an email to me. See the sidebar reference "Request To Be Added to Weekly Email List".]


Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope

Full Class Notes:  http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com 

March 21, 2009
Larry R Evans 

Introduction

 When we speak of the blessings of a prophetic gift, what do we mean?  Do we mean that life will be easier, that there will be no more pain?  Do we mean that we will see our bank account grow and that we will never go hungry?  What is the blessing?  I am reminded of the story of the prodigal son when the elder brother became irate at the lavish ceremony given to the wayward son when he returned.  He complained because he did not get such treatment.  It appears that the story rides on one underlying principle:  being in the presence of the father was the blessing that the prodigal had lost while he was.  The elder brother had the blessing all along but did not recognize it.  Could it be, that the “blessing” of the prophetic gift is the privilege of getting to know the Father better, knowing what His will is, learning how to grow ever closer to Him and to be assured of His presence come what may?  The gift, then, is God Himself.        Such a gift must be shared.  In this context the old Irish Poem, “An Irish Blessing,” put it rather well:

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds,
Nor a life on a bed of roses.
Nor, that you might never need regret,
Nor that you should never feel pain.

No, this is not my wish for you. My wish for you is:
That you might be brave in times of trial
When other’s lay crosses upon your shoulders.
When mountains must be climbed and chasms crossed,
When hope scarce shines through.
When every gift God gave you might grow along with you,
And let you give the gift of joy to all who care for you 

Reflective Quiz

1.      The Lord chose Israel to be His special people because they were centrally located and had the resources to proclaim His praises.  True or False?  [Deut. 7:7,8]

 

2.      The mission of the Church is to baptize.  True or False?  [Matt 28:19,20; Isa 49:6; Zech 8:20-23] 

3.      Ellen White encouraged leaders to “think outside the box” when it came to mission work.  True or False? 

4.      Scripture is not for learning.  True or False? 

5.      Spiritual principles are best taught when they are woven into everyday experiences.  True or False?  [Zech 8:23] 

6.      Responsibility is given to each generation to prepare the next to serve God.  True or False?  [Gn 18:19]

 

7.      Prophets should stick to prophesying about last day events and leave lifestyle issues to each individual to work out with their own conscience.  True or False?  [Lev 7:22-26; 11:1-8; 13:46] 

8.      Health counsels from God can be confusing and should therefore be followed after science has confirmed the wisdom of the counsel.  True or False? 

9.      The Bible encourages the placing of graffiti on gates and doors.  True or False?  [Deut 6:1-9] 

10.    The publishing work in the Adventist Church began with a prophetic vision.  True or False? 

11.    Prophets were used by God to correct theological errors.  True or False?  [Gal 2:11-21; 1 Ki 18:16-21] 

12.    Since originality is a test of a prophet’s authenticity, if others are saying the same thing then it is a clear sign that the person is not a true prophet of God.  True or False? [Ex 7:8-10; 8:5,6] 

Conclusion 

[Concluding comments will come later when the full notes are shared – most likely on Friday]

 

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