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JESUS' TEACHINGS AND THE GREAT CONTROVERSY Lesson 7

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JESUS' TEACHINGS AND THE GREAT CONTROVERSYLesson 7

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Key Text:

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’

Matthew 11:28

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When we think of the great controversy theme, we tend to think of it in grand, overarching terms.

That is, it’s a big-pic-ture view. It can be called a “meta-narra-tive,” a story that covers and explains a large portion of reality, as opposed to a local narrative or story that explains something much more limited in scope. For instance, Paul Revere’s famous ride is a local narrative, in contrast to the much grander and larger one of the American Revolution itself.

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And yet, however grand and all-encompassing the great controversy theme is, and however immense the issues, it is played out daily, here on earth, in our own lives, in how we relate to God, to tempta-tion, and to others. Just as people’s daily existence is impacted, sometimes to a great degree by the grander and bigger events of politics and economics, each of us faces the same from the great controversy as well. In this week’s lesson, we will look at some of Jesus’ teachings on very down-to-earth and practical matters as we all struggle to know and do God’s will amid the great controversy.

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JESUS AND REST“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

Jesus has always wanted to give physical and spiritual rest to His people since Creation.

Physical rest. Every week, the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2). Every year, the ritual Sabbaths (Leviticus 16:31). Every 7 years, the Sabbath for the land (Exodus 23:11). Every 50 years, Jubilee. People are let off all debts and

properties are recovered. (Leviticus 25:10). Spiritual rest.

When God is present (Exodus 33:14). When there are no enemies (1 Kings 5:4). When the divine promises are fulfilled

(Joshua 1:13). When we are liberated from sin’s captivity

(Jeremiah 30:10). When we have a stable family (Proverbs 29:17).

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JESUS AND REST“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

The rest Jesus gives us involves spending time in communion with Him (especially on Sabbath), forgiveness of sin and liberation from our burdens.Those enslaved by sin who don’t want to accept Jesus as their Savior cannot enjoy that kind of rest (Lamentations 1:3; Isaiah 57:20).The rest we enjoy depends on the side of the Controversy we are in:

Believers

“You will find rest.” (Matthew

11:29)

Ungodly people

“They have no rest day or

night.” (Revelation

14:11)

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THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ‘Behold, a sower went out to sow.’” (Matthew 13:3)This parable explains some of the stratagems the Devil uses

to counteract the Gospel (the seed) that is being planted in each person’s heart (the ground).

By the wayside• They don’t understand the

Word.

Stony places• They accept the Word

joyfully, but they don’t study it deeply.

Among thorns• They accept the Word and

study it.

Good ground• They accept the Word,

study it and bear good fruit.

The birds devour it• The enemy snatches the seed

away.

The sun burns it• Sorrow or problems makes

them give up.

The thorns chocked it• Eagerness and loving material

things move them away from the truth.

Bearing fruit• No trick from the enemy can

separate them from Jesus.

THE GROUND THE SEED

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“Grace can thrive only in the heart that is being constantly prepared for the precious seeds of truth. The thorns of sin will grow in any soil; they need no cultivation; but grace must be carefully cultivated. The briers and thorns are always ready to spring up, and the work of purification must advance continually. If the heart is not kept under the control of God, if the Holy Spirit does not work unceasingly to refine and ennoble the character, the old habits will reveal themselves in the life. Men may profess to believe the gospel; but unless they are sanctified by the gospel their profession is of no avail. If they do not gain the victory over sin, then sin is gaining the victory over them. The thorns that have been cut off but not uprooted grow apace, until the soul is overspread with them.”

E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, cp. 2, pg. 31)

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THE PARABLE OF THE TWO HOUSES“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”(Matthew 7:24)

Two people hear the Gospel and accept it. They begin building their own house.The first one builds his house on the sands of his own knowledge and experience.

The second person studies the Word deeply to find the foundation of the faith. That way, he builds on the eternal Rock, Jesus Christ.When the torrents of trials and difficulties come, the first house is devastated and its builder loses all faith.But the faith that is built on Jesus will remain forever.

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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (I)“And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a

mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.” (Matthew 5:1)

Jesus explained how we must remain faithful to God during the great controversy:

We are blessed since we are humble, understanding, fair, merciful...(Matthew 5:3-12)

We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14-16)

We are keepers of the Law of God. (Matthew 5:17-19)

We don’t want human praise.(Matthew 5:20)

We have moral clarity and it governs our thoughts.(Matthew 5:21-28)

We are always watching over our actions being right. (Matthew 5:29-30)

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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (II)“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

We must not be judges of others. If we do, we are collaborating with Satan who is the accuser of our brothers and sisters (Revelation 12:10).

Jesus taught us how we should react to other people’s mistakes.

Sometimes we found other people guilty of the same things we are also doing.And sometimes we may judge other people’s small faults instead of realizing our own grave faults (the “speck” and the “plank”, Matthew 7:3-5).We will never be able to see other people like God does, so don’t judge others.

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JESUS WITH US “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of

the age.” (Matthew 28:20)Jesus is with us every day, since His incarnation until his return (see Matthew 1:23).Jesus also promised to be always with people who lived before His first coming: Isaac (Genesis 26:24), Jacob (Genesis 28:15), Joshua (Joshua 1:5), Isaiah (Isaiah 41:10), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:8)…Those living with Jesus now will enjoy His company forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).To the church of Christ at the end of time, these assurances are significant. Jesus' promise of being with us to the very end is in the context of making disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching. So, that is where the focus is-on the joy of rescuing people from ending up on the losing side in the great controversy.

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“Christ did not tell His disciples that their work would be easy. He showed them the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against them. They would have to fight ‘against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ Ephesians 6:12. But they would not be left to fight alone. He assured them that He would be with them; and that if they would go forth in faith, they should move under the shield of Omnipotence.”

E.G.W. (The Acts of the Apostles, cp. 3, pg. 29)

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Further Thought:

Author Leon Wieseltier wrote about what he said was “one of the saddest stories in the world.” He told of an Englishman, named “S.B.,” who had been blind from birth. However, the good news was that, at 52 years old, S.B. had a corneal transplant that gave him sight. For the first time in his life, S.B. was able to see! It must have been incredibly exciting for him to finally see the world that had unfolded all around him his whole life but was, literally, out of sight. However, Wieseltier then quotes the source in which he first read the story. S.B., said the author, “found the world drab, and was upset by flaking paint and blemishes.

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He noted more and more the imperfections in things, and would examine small irregularities and marks in paintwork or wood, which he found upsetting, evidently expecting a more perfect world. He liked bright colours, but became depressed when the light faded. His depression became marked and general. He gradually gave up active living, and three years later he died.”—www.newrepublic.com/article/113312.

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Wow! Though hard to understand on one level, on another it’s not. Our world is a damaged place. The great controversy has been raging here for about six thousand years. A 6,000-year war is going to leave a lot of wreckage in its wake.

And despite all our attempts to make this world better, the trajec-tory doesn’t seem to be heading in the right direction. In fact, it’s going to get only worse. That’s why we need the promise of Redem-ption, which comes to us only from Christ’s victory in the great con-troversy, a victory secured at the cross and offered freely to us all.

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