SABBATH SCHOOL BIBLE LESSON 4 || The Jonah Saga || Qrt 3 - 2015

Description

This week, the MelVee Sabbath School panel is hosted by Shaun Ryan with Elder Nixon Kadiramwando and Elder Wellington Mpofu. They discuss an old, self-titled story from the Book of Johah, the missionary to a foreign nation. The key message is that as missionaries, we must not segregate nations or tribes and prefer others above and ahead of the rest. The book of Acts 10:34-35 Peter confesses and says, “‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.’” Under the sensational and scandalous title of, "The Jonah Saga" this lesson gives an account of a Hebrew prophet working well beyond his comfort zone. Alive during the reign of Jeroboam II, about 750 B.C. (2 Kings 14:25), Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet whom we know of who was directly called to be a missionary in another country. The truth that the Creator of all races did not intend to limit salvation only to His chosen people is stated repeatedly in the Old Testament, especially in Isaiah and the Psalms, even though popular Israelite theology at the time of Jonah did not accept that the Gentiles were also in God’s plan to partake in salvation. Even in New Testament times it was a hard lesson for the Jewish believers to learn. This week, we read an honest record of Jonah’s reluctant pioneering experience as a foreign missionary, both the positive and the negative. Elder Nixon Kadiramwando gives a brilliant opening overview of the four chapters of the Book of Jonah. He outlines that as missionaries we can never outsmart or outrun God's hand and presence in our lives and lines of work. He outlines that in Chapter 1, Jonah was runs from God, in Chapter 2 Johan runs to God for help; in Chapter 3 Jonah runs with God as he accomplishes his mission trip in Nineveh in record time; and in chapter 4, Jonah runs ahead of God and takes things into his own hands. This study really brings out Jonah's inner personal emotions and perceptions and react to the call of God, especially those calls to foreign missions. A few lessons and guidelines for foreign missionaries and cross-cultural witnesses emerge from the book, which also points to solutions for some of the issues and problems modern missionaries face in the 21st Century. The video was recorded and produced by MelVee Video Productions, "A Divine Voice Out of Africa." (July 2015). FIND US AND FOLLOW US OR SUBSCRIBE AT: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MelVee.Video.Productions YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/MelveeProductions. Twitter: @MelVeeVideoPro. Website: www.melveeproductions.com (coming soon)