The Blessings of the Prophetic Gift
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 gone. 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 His will, 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
I like the poem because it helps provide the context for the blessings of God. The Church is blessed but it does have a mission to fulfill and the blessing of the prophetic gift opens even wider the possibilities of fulfilling that mission. This week’s lesson illustrates how the prophetic gift aided God’s special people in the areas of health, publishing and theology.
Reflective Study
1. The Lord chose Israel to be His special people because they were centrally located and had the resources to proclaim His praises. False [Deut. 7:7,8]
Deut 7:7-8
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (NIV)
Even then, the blessings of God upon Israel were not to be confined to these chosen ones. Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles. (Isa 49:6, 66:19)
2. Prophets often encouraged leaders to “think outside the box,” that is, to think unconventionally when it came to accomplishing “God’s” mission. True
Point number 1: This is God’s mission. It becomes ours by appointment. Therefore, He has already taken the initiative and our task is join Him. He, not we, must become the focal point of all mission endeavors. Nations are attracted because of God’s faithfulness. (Isa 49:7)
Secondly, methods were not the mission but a means to accomplishing the mission. Being unconventional was not the goal although this was often the case. (Disciple making – not the going, the teaching nor baptizing is the goal. Matt 28: 18-20)
Thirdly, God thoughts are not naturally our thoughts but He is willing to transform our thinking and He often does this through the voices of His prophets. (Isa 55:8,9)
Isa 55:8-9
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)
This was one of the major contributions of Ellen White:
“The ideas of our young preachers are not broad enough. Their zeal is too feeble. Were the young men awake and devoted to the Lord, they would be diligent every moment of their time, and would seek to qualify themselves to become laborers in the missionary field. “ Life Sketches, p.204
"It may be that you will not at once see the result of your labor, but this should not discourage you. Take Christ as your example. He had many hearers, but few followers. Noah preached for one hundred and twenty years to the people before the flood; yet out of the multitudes on the earth at that time only eight were saved." {LS 208.5}
“The messenger continued: "You are entertaining too limited ideas of the work for this time. You are trying to plan the work so that you can embrace it in your arms. You must take broader views. Your light must not be put under a bushel or under a bed, but on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house. Your house is the world. . . . {LS 208.6}
The Church listened and J.N. Andrews was sent as our first missionary outside North America! Bigger challenges, broader responsibilities – these are the realities of having a prophetic gift in our midst!
3. Scripture is not for learning. True and False
From day one education has been part of God’s plan. The walk in the Garden of Eden was a classroom experience for Adam and Eve and God was their teacher. Later parents were entrusted with the responsibility of teaching their children about the very character of God.
Deut 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)
Scripture was never “just” for learning. It was to be woven into the very fabric of life itself which is why the prophet’s counsel to parents was for us to tie spiritual principles into every day experiences and to come from hearts that were filled with love for God. Learning was not to be confined to some formal collection of Bible texts about Him! Living examples or mentors has always been part of God’s plan for teaching. Responsibility is given to each generation to prepare the next for serving God out that same spirit and motivation: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Today the Seventh-day Adventist Church operates the world’s largest Protestant parochial school system with more than 6,000 schools, colleges, and universities and more than 1,000,000 students around the world. This came about to a large extent by the influence of the prophetic gift of Ellen White. The visions she received were radical for her time . . . and even for ours. Her visions coincided with that given to the Hebrew prophets. Scriptural principles must be taught in every discipline, in every subject, but we must keep in mind Scripture is not just for learning. Scripture is for living and that is the goal of Seventh-day Adventist education.
4. Prophets should stick to prophesying about last day events and leave lifestyle issues to each individual to work out with their own conscience. False [Lev 7:22-26; 11:1-8; 13:46]
Just ask Ahab if that isn’t true! I think he would have preferred that to Elijah meddling in the king’s life. He called Elijah the “troubler of Israel.” (1 Ki 18:17) Elijah’s response was insightful:
"I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals.” – 1 Ki 18:18 (NIV)
Often prophets were not popular but they were the change agents the times needed. This was true of our own health message when it first began and even today . . . perhaps more so today. We prefer prophetic messages which talk about end time issues rather than life style issues. We would rather talk politics than transformation.
Quoting from the quarterly: “Most Seventh-day Adventists were anything but health reformers. At the 1848 Sabbath Conferences, they most likely sat together eating pork chops for lunch. In a vision in 1848, Ellen G. White was shown that tobacco, tea and coffee are harmful, but it took several years to convince the membership.” (Quarterly, March 17). I’m not sure we’ve convinced the membership yet. I have a question for you: Before we make changes in our lifestyle that come to as counsel from a prophetic message (Ellen White in this instance), should we wait until all the evidence is in from science? The amazing thing about Ellen White is not her originality but rather her selectivity. The faddish and extreme health views of her time were avoided. Note the following statements she made you tell me if they are relevant today:
“Tobacco is a slow, insidious, but most malignant poison.” Counsels for the Church, p. 103
By the use of tea and coffee an appetite is formed for tobacco. {CCh 104.2}
There is no natural appetite for tobacco in nature unless inherited. {CCh 104.1}
The use of tobacco encourages the appetite for liquor.146 {CCh 104.4}
The question remains: What is the blessing of the prophetic gift?
5. While Prophets were not used to initiate new doctrines God did use them to correct theological errors. True [Gal 2:11-21; 1 Ki 18:16-21]
It is true that God used prophets to correct theological errors. For example, consider Paul and Elijah.
Gal 2:11-14
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? (NIV)
1 Kings 18:16-18
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"
In our own day, as with any reform movement, there will always be the challenge of fanaticism or extremism. One must be careful, however, when drawing a line between fanaticism and truth and this is where the prophetic gift has been a blessing to the Adventist Church.
“In the early days of our church she [Ellen White] had to combat fanaticism of various kinds. Some people claimed to be perfect, others stated that no more work should be done, and some kept on setting times for Christ’s return. During the Kellogg crisis at the turn of the century, her counsel saved the church from pantheism. At the same time, . . . she led the church from a semin Arian (abelief that Jesus was not God) to a Trinitarian position. . . . Ellen White also had a strong rolein keeping the church of her day from falling deep into legalism. . .” (Quarterly, March 19)
The question continues: what is the blessing of the prophetic gift today?
Concluding Reflections
The managing editor of Time magazine, Richard Stengel, wrote recently, “I’m not telling you anything you don’t know when I say that our world is changing before our eyes—and that a new world is being created. That’s your daily reality—and ours. What I am telling you is that our mission at Time is to help you navigate this new world—to explain what is changing and why and what you can do about it.” (Time, March 23, 2009)
Without being critical of Time, I’m not sure I will lean too heavily upon Time’s ability to navigate me, my family or my Church through the maze ahead of us. It is true that gradually and sometimes not so gradually our world is changing! This should not surprise us but I don’t think any of us are really aware just how much “change” will actually be impacting us. Life will be different. The one constant right now is “change.” Fortunately for us we do have the benefits of the gift of prophecy! We may not know all the bends and curves in the road but we do know one thing for certain by having the gift of prophecy and that having the assurance that the all knowing God is with us. The change that we are experiencing has not taken Him by surprise nor do we need to rewrite Bible prophecies to accommodate these changes – they were anticipated. We are a people of hope “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured 5) his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Rom 5:5). If there were ever a time to lean on God, to cherish the gift of prophecy given to us, it is now. We are indeed a fortunate people!
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