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Matthew 19:16-26 (The Message)
“Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do
to get eternal life?’
“Jesus said, ‘Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is
good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.’
“The man asked, ‘What in particular?’
“Jesus said, ‘Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, honor your
father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.’
“The young man said, ‘I've done all that. What's left?’
“‘If you want to give it all you've got,’ Jesus replied, ‘go sell your possessions; give
everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow
me.’
“That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crest-fallen, he
walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let
go.
“As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, ‘Do you have any idea how difficult
it is for the rich to enter God's kingdom? Let me tell you, it's easier to gallop a
camel through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter God's kingdom.’
“The disciples were staggered. ‘Then who has any chance at all?’
“Jesus looked hard at them and said, ‘No chance at all if you think you can pull it
off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.’”
THE ONE THING In a scene from the movie City Slickers, the cagey old cowboy teaches three
wanna-be cowboys a lesson on the meaning of life. In the evening during a cattle
Sabbath Afternoon | Today’s Reading
Fasting, Purity, and Simplicity | Lesson 7 | November 13, 2010
The One Thing
drive, the dudes—three city slickers—sit around a campfire with their rugged and
antisocial trail guide. They recognize that the survival of the herd and their own
well-being depends on the cowboy’s skill, judgment, and efforts to contend with the
unpredictable elements of the environment.
Billy Crystal, playing one of the city boys, turns to the old wrinkled cowhand. “You
seem to be at peace with yourself and confident that there isn’t anything you can’t
handle. How can I get where you are at?”
The old cowhand thinks for a moment and replies, “It’s just one thing.”
Billy Crystal inquires, “What is that?” referring to the single finger the old cowboy
points in the air.
“That’s the secret!” the old cowboy says, peering into Crystal’s eyes.
Billy Crystal inquires further. “What’s the one thing?”
Still holding up one finger, the cowboy advises, “Well that’s up to you. But to have
a sense of purpose and develop confidence in their capabilities, a person must
pursue—just one thing.”
Our job is to figure out what that “one thing” actually is. For the rich young ruler
who came to Jesus, it was his possessions, or more likely the status that came with
those possessions. But if we are honest with ourselves, we all have one thing that
is really central to our lives that we really could not part with.
The point of the movie is about coming to the place where you know what your life
is about. For Billy Crystal’s character, it turns out to be his love for his family. If
you had to strip your life down to the most important thing, what would be your
“one thing”?
1. What does the movie City Slickers and the story of the rich young ruler have
in common?
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2. What “one thing” gets in your way of making Jesus first?
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3. Is it hopeless? Can we ever learn to let go and make Jesus first? Explain.
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Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 91
“Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the condition pointed out
by the Saviour's words. Let the purpose be sincere and unwavering to discern the
truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will receive divine enlightenment.
Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is at an end. Then the language of
the heart will be that of the apostle Paul: ‘This one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ ‘I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ.’ Philippians 3:13, 14, 8.”
Highlight the sentence that states, “Let the purpose be sincere . . .”
Philippians 3:13, 14 (Contemporary English Version)
“My friends, I don't feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind,
and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize
Sunday | Today’s Reading
of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ
Jesus has done.”
This Day with God, p. 374
“‘One thing I do.’ Paul allowed nothing to divert him from the one great purpose of
his life. . . . In the busy activities of life, he never lost sight of his one great
purpose—to press on toward the prize of his high calling.”
HERE’S WHAT I THINK
Kelly loves to read novels, and she sometimes loses track of time. Many times, it is
a way for her to escape. Her mother noticed that her time with reading was
increasing and commented, “Kelly, you have been reading a lot lately. Why don’t
you try taking a break and doing something different?”
Kelly stiffened and replied, “Maybe later.” But she did think about how much time
she was spending on her hobby and how little time she spent with God. Still, her
books were more enjoyable than “quiet time with God.” That hadn’t been true in
her life before, and she wondered how she might return to a more meaningful
relationship with God.
If she came to you about “getting focused,” how would you encourage her to focus
her life on the “one thing” in a way that was helpful and joyful?
Go to http://guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your answers. Your thoughts and
feelings may seem clearer to you when you write them down, so we’ve provided
space for you here as well. You may also wish to share them with your class later.
Be up-front and honest.
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Today’s Reading is long. It contains stories from several different places in the
Bible. These stories show different ways to fast. When you have finished with
“Today’s Reading” there will be lines for you to make a list of the different ways the
Bible discusses fasting.
Matthew 6:16, 17 (Contemporary English Version)
“‘When you go without eating, don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when
they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward.
Instead, comb your hair and wash your face.’”
Luke 5:32-34 (New King James Version)
“‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’
“Then they said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers,
and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?’
“And He said to them, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the
bridegroom is with them?’”
Isaiah 58: 1-5 (The Message)
“‘Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They're busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, “What's the right thing to do?”
and love having me on their side.
Monday | Today’s Reading
But they also complain,
“Why do we fast and you don't look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?”
“‘Well, here's why:
‘The bottom line on your “fast days” is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?”’”
Daniel 1:11-16 (The Message)
“But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the
palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ‘Try us out
for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the
young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what
you see.’
“The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At
the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who
had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them
from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.”
Daniel 6:17-19 (New King James Version)
“Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it
with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose
concerning Daniel might not be changed.
“Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians
were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very
early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.”
1. How should we fast?
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2. Does fasting always mean that we don’t eat?
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3. What is the purpose of fasting?
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4. What should we be able to accomplish from fasting?
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Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 91, 92 “‘If . . . thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light.’
Matthew 6:22.
“Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the condition pointed out
by the Saviour's words. Let the purpose be sincere and unwavering to discern the
truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will receive divine enlightenment.
Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is at an end. Then the language of
the heart will be that of the apostle Paul: ‘This one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ ‘I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ.’ Philippians 3:13, 14, 8.
“But when the eye is blinded by the love of self, there is only darkness. ‘If thine eye
be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.’ It was this fearful darkness that
Tuesday | Today’s Reading
wrapped the Jews in stubborn unbelief, making it impossible for them to appreciate
the character and mission of Him who came to save them from their sins.
“Yielding to temptation begins in permitting the mind to waver, to be inconstant in
your trust in God. If we do not choose to give ourselves fully to God then we are in
darkness. When we make any reserve we are leaving open a door through which
Satan can enter to lead us astray by his temptations. He knows that if he can
obscure our vision, so that the eye of faith cannot see God, there will be no barrier
against sin.”
Highlight the sentence that begins, “When we make any reserve . . .”
Psalm 27:4 (The Message) “I'm asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I'll contemplate his beauty;
I'll study at his feet.”
SO WHAT? There is a postcard that shows the final exam in a dog-training exercise.
Approximately 15 German shepherds are lined up in a sitting position along an
open walkway. Walking before the line of brave candidates is a black-and-white cat
sauntering along the line of dogs, seemingly unaffected by the dangerous scenario
that could easily shorten its life. Imagine the focus, the discipline, the single-
mindedness of those canines.
Fasting isn’t required for your ticket to heaven. Fasters do not earn more points on
their spiritual scorecard or more jewels in their crown. In truth, fasting is for those
who struggle with staying focused. It is for those who desperately wrestle with
keeping God a priority in their lives. Some people can’t work with clutter; they have
to clean their room or their office in order to be able to work effectively.
Fasting is about clearing the clutter from your spiritual life. Fast from TV if it gets in
the way of your walk with God. Take a day or two away from the Internet if you
spend more time chatting than you do in conversation with the Savior. Take a
break from sports or shopping or junk food. Find something that has a way of
getting in the way—even if it is a good thing—and abstain from it while putting your
focus on Christ. Most of all, fasting is about our hearts being bent on seeking the
“One Thing.”
1. Is being focused a universal problem, or do just a few people struggle with
being focused?
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2. Can you become focused on God all by yourself?
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Match the phrase with the text.
A. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me . . .”
B. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your
thoughts on Jesus . . .”
C. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this . . .”
D. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young . . .”
E. “‘When you fast, do not look somber . . .’”
1. Philippians 4:8, 9 (NIV) _____
2. James 1:27 (NIV) _____
3. Hebrews 3:1 (NIV) _____
4. Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV) _____
5. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) _____
Wednesday | Today’s Reading
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 92
“The same law obtains in the spiritual as in the natural world. He who abides in
darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is shut in by a deeper than
midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noontide can bring no light. He
‘walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes.’ 1 John 2:11. Through persistently cherishing evil, willfully
disregarding the pleadings of divine love, the sinner loses the love for good, the
desire for God, the very capacity to receive the light of heaven. The invitation of
mercy is still full of love, the light is shining as brightly as when it first dawned
upon his soul; but the voice falls on deaf ears, the light on blinded eyes.
Highlight the sentence that states, “The invitation of mercy is still full of love . . .”
Conflict and Courage, p. 304
“The ‘one thing’ that Martha needed was a calm, devotional spirit, a deeper anxiety
for knowledge concerning the future, immortal life, and the graces necessary for
spiritual advancement. She needed less anxiety for the things which pass away,
and more for those things which endure forever. Jesus would teach His children to
seize every opportunity of gaining that knowledge which will make them wise unto
salvation. The cause of Christ needs careful, energetic workers. There is a wide
field for the Marthas, with their zeal in active religious work. But let them first sit
with Mary at the feet of Jesus. Let diligence, promptness, and energy be sanctified
by the grace of Christ; then the life will be an unconquerable power for good.
“The reason why the youth, and even those of mature years, are so easily led into
temptation and sin, is that they do not study the word of God and meditate upon it
as they should. The lack of firm, decided will power, which is manifest in life and
character, results from neglect of the sacred instruction of God's Word. They do not
by earnest effort direct the mind to that which would inspire pure, holy thought and
divert it from that which is impure and untrue. There are few who choose the better
part, who sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, to learn of the divine Teacher. Few
treasure His words in the heart and practice them in the life.”
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME? If you were to think about the “one thing” that Jesus was about, what would that
be? It was always related to trying to shape the perceptions people had about God.
Thursday | Today’s Reading
But sometimes the one thing for Jesus was simply putting an end to someone’s
pain. There are times when Jesus was passionate about fasting, and He did it all
day long. Other times, Jesus had one thing in mind, and that was to get away and
just be alone with the Father.
But of all the “one things” in the heart of Christ, securing eternity for you was the
number one object. Nothing, absolutely nothing, got in the way of His making a
way for you to be with Him eternally. Max Lucado said it well when he noted that
God could bear your sin more easily that He could bear the thought of being
without you for eternity.
Single-minded? Focused? You better believe it! And if Jesus were filling out the
student lesson this week, your name would be listed as the “one thing.” Make no
mistake about what you mean to God. As you do that, Jesus will teach you step by
step what it means to make Him the “one thing” in your life.
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 93
“No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there
is any hope of his salvation. "Man turns from God, not God from him." Our
heavenly Father follows us with appeals and warnings and assurances of
compassion, until further opportunities and privileges would be wholly in vain. The
responsibility rests with the sinner. By resisting the Spirit of God today, he prepares
the way for a second resistance of light when it comes with mightier power. Thus
he passes on from one stage of resistance to another, until at last the light will fail
to impress, and he will cease to respond in any measure to the Spirit of God. Then
even "the light that is in thee" has become darkness. The very truth we do know
has become so perverted as to increase the blindness of the soul.”
Highlight the sentence that states, “No soul is ever finally deserted of God . . .”
Genesis 22 (Contemporary English Version)
“Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him.
“Abraham answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’
“The Lord said, ‘Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to
the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to
me on the fires of an altar.’ So Abraham got up early the next morning and
chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and
Friday | Today’s Reading
two servants for the place where God had told him to go.
“Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. He told his
servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship.
We will come back.’
“Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the
knife. As the two of them walked along, Isaac said, ‘Father, we have the coals and
the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?’
“‘My son,’ Abraham answered, ‘God will provide the lamb.’
“The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told
him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his
son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son.
But the Lord's angel shouted from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’
“‘Here I am!’ he answered.
“‘Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!’ the angel said. ‘Now I know that you
truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.’
“Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took
the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.
“Abraham named that place ‘The Lord Will Provide.’ And even now people say, ‘On
the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ Lord's angel called out from heaven a
second time:
“‘You were willing to offer the Lord your only son, and so he makes you this solemn
promise, “I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your
descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand
along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their
enemies live. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a
blessing to all nations on earth.”’”
1. How much did Abraham surrender to God?
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2. Did God test him? _____________________________________________________________
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3. Does God sometimes test us in order to teach us and bring us closer to Him?
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4. Will God testing us help us learn to focus on Him?
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HOW DOES IT WORK?
Think of three areas of your life in which you could fast this week. For each area,
identify the one thing you want to focus on (prayer life with God, the ability to
serve others, Bible study, quiet communion, self-control, and put it on the line
under the Number 1. This is the “one thing” you want to be about for that period of
time. You will also notice the other spaces around number 1—these are for the
things that get in the way or that you might want to refrain from as you focus on
the “one thing”.
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__________ 1 ________
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__________ 1 ________
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__________ 1 ________
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