Sabbath school lesson 3, 3rd quarter 2021

1. Lesson 3 for July 17, 2021
Adapted from www.fustero.es
www.gmahktanjungpinang.org
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there will be disorder and every vile practice”
(James 3:16, ESV).

2. - Outer restlessness
- Inner restlessness
Egoism
Ambition
Hypocrisy
- Getting rid of restlessness
Restlessness appears when we do not get what we want. In those moments,
we feel anxious and peaceless.
Restlessness is often rooted in our sinful nature. Other times, our decision to
be faithful motivates other people to make it hard for us.
Can we find peace when restlessness surrounds us?

3. OUTER
RESTLESSNESS
“For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law.’” (Matthew 10:35)
Jesus preached and practiced love,
peace, and harmony, so that
statement may sound weird. He
taught us to love even our
enemies, so we should also love
our family and friends!
However, Jesus meant that we are not worthy if we love them more
than we love Him. Jesus is worthy because He gave everything for us
(Rev. 5:9). We are worthy if we choose to follow Him above everything.
There may be conflict between our close ones and us if they do not
make the same decision and try to separate us from Jesus. Then, “a
man’s enemies are the men of his own household.” (Micah 7:6)

4. “The peace of Christ is not to banish division, but it
is to remain amid strife and division […]
Families must be divided in order that all who call
upon the name of the Lord may be saved. All who
refuse His infinite love will find Christianity a sword,
a disturber of their peace.” E. G. W. (Our High Calling, November 18)

5. EGOISM “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15)
I, me, mine. We learn those words too
quickly and use them too often.
Jesus refused to mediate the distribution of
an inheritance. He instead delved into the
root of restlessness in that case: egoism (Lk.
12:13-15).
He introduced a hypothetical case of a man
who only had eyes for himself. That man
forgot about God and his neighbors, and lost
everything (Lk. 12:16-21).
Which is the biblical antidote for egoism?
To be humble like Christ, to serve others, and to put them before
ourselves (Ph. 2:5-8; Gal. 5:13; Ro. 12:10).

6. AMBITION “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of
them should be considered the greatest.” (Luke 22:24)
Jesus had just told His disciples that He would be betrayed and killed,
shedding His blood to forgive our sins (Lk. 22:20-21; Mt. 26:28).
However, they could not understand it because they
were blinded by ambition. They aspired to have a
prominent position in the earthly kingdom of the
Messiah.
Jesus placed a child at the center of
the group. Then He taught them that
they should not covet great things in
this life (Mt. 18:1-3).
We must trust God and depend on Him like a child, and
let Him take control of our lives. Jesus has great plans for
us. He will help us to abandon our wrong ambitions and to
be led by Him.

7. HYPOCRISY
You shut up the
kingdom of heaven.
You neither enter nor
allow others to
You ruin the widows,
but pray long prayers
You make your
proselytes more
fanatical than
yourselves
You pay tithe of the
smallest things, but
forget about love,
justice, and faith
You clean the
outside, but keep the
inside full of theft
and injustice
You are like
whitewashed tombs.
You look pretty but
are filled with filth
You honor the dead
prophets, but despise
the living ones
Jesus used the expression
“hypocrites” 14 times in the
book of Matthew. He said nothing
nice in any of them.
“Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites”
(Matthew 23:13, 14, 15, 23,
25, 27, 29)

8. HYPOCRISY
“Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites!”
(Matthew 23:13, 14, 15, 23,
25, 27, 29)
Why was Jesus against the hypocrites?
In the classical Greek culture, a hypocrite was an actor who
played a role. Nowadays, a hypocrite is someone who does not
appear the way they really are, or does not act in line with
their words.
Hypocrisy is extremely dangerous: “to him who knows to do
good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
(James 4:17)
Therefore, Jesus encourages us and
gives us the strength we need to live
in tune with our faith. This way we
will help others to trust Jesus and
accept Him.

9. “The religion of Christ is
sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s
glory is the motive implanted
by the Holy Spirit; and only
the effectual working of the
Spirit can implant this
motive. Only the power of
God can banish self-seeking
and hypocrisy.”
E. G. W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 44, p. 409)

10. GETTING RID OF
RESTLESSNESS
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and
trust also in me.” (John 14:1 NLT)
We have learned that restlessness may be caused by
our sinful nature. Also, our faithfulness may lead us
to distressing situations. How to find peace in
moments of distress?
Trust is key. Jesus promised to give us full life (Jn.
10:10). Let us trust Jesus whenever we are wounded,
tired, exhausted, sick, or disheartened. He is the Life
(Jn. 14:6).
On the other hand, Jesus is preparing a place for us.
Once we get there, pain, anxiety, and suffering will
no longer be a problem (Jn. 14:2-3; Rev. 21:4).
The difficulties of this life fade away when we think of
that beautiful promise. We can have hope amidst
restlessness.

11. “Before you are two ways—the broad road of self-
indulgence and the narrow path of self-sacrifice. Into
the broad road you can take selfishness, pride, love of
the world; but those who walk in the narrow way must
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset. Which road have you chosen—the road which
leads to everlasting death, or the road which leads to
glory and immortality?”
E. G. W. (Our High Calling, January 2)