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(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
Have you been enjoying this series
on Bible Prophecies and Stories
for the Last Days?
It's so relevant.
And we're glad you joined us today
as we're studying
about Understanding Sacrifice.
You say, "Derek, that doesn't
sound very exciting."
Well, you'll discover
it's all about Jesus, and it
will bless your life, so welcome
to Hope Sabbath School.
Welcome to the team,
say, "Hi," to each other.
We're glad you're all here,
looking great today.
And I'm excited because Puia's
going to be leading our study today.
Puia, we always are blessed
when you lead us.
And let's see who's
joining us remotely today.
Rodney, great to have you with us today.
We're glad you're here.
Shaina, always good to have you with us.
And, Alex, great to have you
with us today.
And we're glad that you are here, too,
because you are part
of our interactive study.
I hope you brought your Bible with you,
and we'll have a great study together.
We're always happy to hear from you,
our Hope Sabbath School family
around the world.
You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org,
and I'm blessed when the emails come,
and aren't you, team?
And we get to hear how God is blessing
around the world.
Well, here is a note
from one of our team members.
Do you remember John from India,
one of our team teachers?
Well, John, thank you for writing to us.
He writes, and he says, "It's John.
I'm emailing you
from the country of India.
I hope this email finds you all well.
I've been in India since August of 2024,
and I've been preaching almost every week.
As I'm going around to various churches,
in almost every church, people talk to me about..."?
(Derek, Team) "...Hope Sabbath School."
(Derek) "This goes to show
the global impact of Hope Sabbath School
is felt in my home country
of India." Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Does anybody remember
how many people live in India?
(Joshua) Over a billion.
(Derek) Yes, it's 1.4 billion.
It is the most populated country
on the planet.
And he says, "Thank you
for the opportunity to be part
of Hope Sabbath School's ministry
for Jesus Christ.
God bless you all. Amen."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) John, thanks for writing to us.
We miss you, but we're excited to hear
that God is blessing as you're sharing
the good news about a God who loves
with an immeasurable and unfailing love.
Tiffo writes to us from Ethiopia,
and Tiffo says, "Love and peace,
Hope Sabbath School family."
(Team) Hello.
(Derek) Got the wave.
"I'm blessed following
your teaching every day.
Hopefully, many are blessed
and understand there is only one way
to come to God, and that is through Jesus.
God bless you all."
Well, Tiffo, thanks for writing
to us from Ethiopia.
We're glad that you're blessed as part
of the Hope Sabbath School family.
Here is a handwritten note
from a donor couple in Tennessee
in the United States, and, Donor Couple,
you know, we don't read names,
but you'll recognize your message,
and I want to say thank you to you
and to each of our donors.
"My wife and I have been joining
with Hope Sabbath School
ever since the pandemic.
We appreciate your method of teaching
and the inclusion of all in your group."
I guess that's diversity, right?
"May God bless you all, with love,"
and a gift of a thousand dollars
to bless the global ministry.
I just want to say thank you, Tennessee,
and thank you to each one of our donors.
We are all part of a great miracle.
You say, "Derek, how can I help?"
Go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess,
click on the Donate button,
or get the address and write a note
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And thank you to each one of you.
One last note, this was beautiful,
from Samuel in Canada, and Samuel
writes and says, "Hello,
Hope Sabbath School family."
(Team) Hello.
(Derek) I actually like it when they
do that because then we can wave.
"We get a lot of inspiration
from your teaching of the Word of God.
We love everything
about Hope Sabbath School,
from the songs,
the interactive discussion, the diversity,
and the inclusion
of the worldwide community
through reading our emails.
What a blessing!
Thank you, Hope Sabbath School,
for enabling us to understand
God's Word better."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "May God continue to bless you
and your ministry, Samuel."
Well, Samuel, thanks for taking the time
to write to us; that's an encouragement,
and that's really why we do this,
so people can understand the Word of God
and realize that God loves us so much.
And as Puia leads us in our study today,
we'll discover that.
But, before we sing our theme song,
I want to remind you about that free gift,
because as we study about Bible Prophecies
and Stories for the Last Days,
we'll realize that we
need supernatural protection.
"A time of trouble is coming," Daniel prophesied,
"such as has never been."
But, we don't need to be afraid
if we know that we have a Savior
who is also our strong Deliverer.
So, I've got a resource for you
in this series.
It's called Radical Protection.
You can just go to our website,
hopetv.org/hopess, that's it,
and click on the Free Gift tab,
and you can download a digital copy.
I know you'll be blessed.
You can also download
the theme song and the sheet music.
I hope you've learned it already.
It's from Colossians 3:16, "Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly
in all wisdom, teaching
and admonishing one another."
That's what we're praying today, right?
Let's sing together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Well, I'm looking forward
to our study today, Puia.
Thanks for leading us in prayer.
(Puia) Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, God, we thank You so much
for this opportunity to open Your words
and study them.
We pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance
for each one of us here as well as all
the Hope Sabbath School members
around the world.
Please bless us today
with spiritual insights so we may
see You clearer, so we may understand
Your love better.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
(Derek, Team) Amen.
(Puia) As we begin, I want to come
to our viewers online wherever you
may be joining us from.
Thank you for joining us once again,
and today we're going to be looking
at a very important study
on Understanding Sacrifice.
We're going to look at the Bible
from Genesis, we're going to fly
through to Revelation, and we'll look
at themes of sacrifice, and this theme
will help us understand God better,
specifically His love for us
through the Person of Jesus Christ.
So, stay with us, go get your Bibles,
open the Bible along with us
as we read them; I am sure that you
will be blessed today.
So, thank you for joining us.
Alright, friends, we are now
on lesson number six in this series
as we're looking at Bible Prophecies
and Stories for the Last Days.
Today, this is going to be
a very important study.
For some of us, it may be a lesson
that we may have studied before,
and maybe you say, "Oh, I understand
everything there is to understand about sacrifice."
Oh, wait a minute.
You'll see more, that there is
so much more from the Bible
about sacrifice and how it points
to the love of God.
If we are to take away one lesson
from today, I'm going to say this
ahead of time, there is one simple point
that we need to take away: It's Jesus.
(Team) Amen.
(Puia) Sacrifice, Jesus,
and His love for us.
So, let us go to Leviticus
to begin our study, and I am going
to ask Scott if you can start our lesson
by reading Leviticus,
chapter 1, verses 1 to 4.
(Scott) Alright, Leviticus 1:1-4
in the English Standard Version:
(Puia) So, we see here
the clear instructions from God
through Moses to the children of Israel,
how they are to bring
sacrifice before God, a burnt offering.
But, is this the first place we see
in the Bible about sacrifice?
(Team) No.
(Puia) Anyone want to bring us
to, maybe, the first book
of the Bible? Nicole?
(Nicole) Well, in Genesis,
Abel brought a sacrifice to the Lord...
(Puia) Can you read that for us?
I think it's in Genesis,
chapter 4, verse 4.
Let's go back to the first book
of the Bible and see
where we see this sacrifice.
(Nicole) So, Genesis 4:4
in the New International Version says:
(Puia) Okay, so we find here a sacrifice,
even all the way from Genesis.
In fact, from reading Genesis 4,
we can understand that God
probably already gave them instructions
on how to do sacrifices
all the way back in Genesis,
from Adam and Eve, right?
We also see throughout the Bible, like
Noah sacrificing to God, right?
We also see other examples - Abraham.
Anyone else from Genesis?
(Scott) Job.
(Puia) Job, yes, around that time, too,
the early patriarch. Yes, Shawn.
(Shawn) There may even be a sacrifice
alluded to in Genesis 3.
If we go and look at Genesis 3:21,
it tells us that God made, for Adam and Eve,
skins for them to wear.
The question comes, where did He
get the skins from?
So, already He has promised the Messiah
coming, in Genesis 3:15, and now He
may be alluding to the sacrificial system
of how they're covered
from their sin as well.
(Puia) So, in other words, Shawn,
what you're saying is the purpose
of the sacrifice, all the way
from the beginning of Genesis,
was to cover or to atone
for the sins, right?
Anyone else want to add on that point?
(Derek) Puia, I think that's
a really good point; this isn't something
that people thought up.
If it was, it would have been unfair
of God to say, "I accept Abel's sacrifice,
but I don't accept Cain's fruit offering."
Clearly, God had explained
not only what to do, but as Shawn
pointed out, the significance, right,
that it symbolized what God
was going to do to provide salvation.
(Puia) Right. Back in Leviticus
where we read, Leviticus, chapter 1,
that Scott read for us, there is
a very interesting instruction
that God gave to Moses in verse 4.
God said, "He shall put his hand
on the head of the burnt offering."
What do you think that symbolizes
when you put your hand on the animal
that is about to be sacrificed? Scott.
(Scott) There is a symbolic transference.
The sinner's sin is now transferred
to the sacrifice, just in the same way
that Jesus bore our sins when He offered
His life as a sacrifice.
(Puia) Alright, so you are going ahead
to the ultimate point of this sacrifice,
but thank you for pointing that out.
So, in other words, this animal,
this innocent animal, died
on behalf of the sinner.
And so, as the sinner put his hands
on the animal, symbolically the sin
is transferred to that animal,
and so the animal paid
for the sin of the sinner.
So, there is a deep symbolic transference,
symbolic sacrifice that we see from this.
Now, let's jump all the way to 1 Kings,
chapter 8, and let me request Sophia
to read this for us,
1 Kings, chapter 8, verses 62 to 63,
and let's look at the sacrifice
in which King Solomon led out
as they dedicate the new temple.
(Sophia) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) Wow! How many animals?
Twenty-two thousand bulls,
and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep - that's a lot!
(Joshua) That's a whole lot.
(Puia) Joshua, that's a whole lot
of animals, right, you just said
that's a whole lot.
For someone like me who became
a vegetarian as a result
of watching animals suffering,
this number is a lot.
I remember I was in college,
and one of our professors in college
showed us this documentary
of how much the animal kingdom
is suffering as a result
of human consumption.
And after watching that documentary,
I was moved; I was like, "I have
to become a vegetarian."
So, from college, I decided to stop
eating animal meat.
And as I am reading this,
22,000 bulls, 120,000 sheep,
how do you explain this?
Or, what are your thoughts
about this massive number of animals
being sacrificed? Derek.
(Derek) Puia, I struggle with this,
because I don't see God asking
for such a massive amount of slaughter.
It makes me wonder if there is
a misunderstanding coming, that more
of them would be better.
But, actually it's a symbol,
so wouldn't a symbol
of one be significant?
I don't know; I struggle with that.
It's like saying, "I'll confess my sin,
but maybe if I did it 100 times
over and over again, God would be
more pleased with me."
And that's not the character
of God that we know.
(Puia) We don't see any instruction
from God for that massive number, right? Joshua?
(Joshua) I mean, that's
a ridiculous amount.
And I'm just thinking about it,
because I once went to an event
where there were 50,000 people there
all at the same time, and it was
just an amazing amount of people.
So, I'm just here picturing 22,000 bulls
and 120,000 sheep, and I'm thinking,
how did they clean that up?
And on top of that, I mean, Solomon
was an extremely rich man,
the richest who ever lived,
so perhaps in his material wealth
he wanted to reflect the level
of spiritual sacrifice he could make.
(Puia) I see a few hands.
Let me come to our remote, Rodney,
Alex, then Zandile.
(Rodney) Puia, I appreciate the fact
that we are actually walking
through the Scriptures
on the sacrificial system, and Shawn
brought us to a very important point
from the very inception, which is,
in Genesis 3, verse 15, it speaks
to the fact (I'm just paraphrasing) that there is
a deliberate and intentional connection
between sin and sacrifice
at ultimate delivery.
In other words, Genesis 3:15 brings us
to the point that says we have sinned,
and there is a Messiah who is to come
who is the ultimate sacrifice.
So, here it is now, we are
at, back to Joshua's point, 120,000 sheep
and 22,000 bulls.
I think the intent there is
to really demonstrate the depth
at which sin has taken us away from God.
And so, that chasm cannot be crossed
by 120,00 sheep and 22,000 bulls.
It had to be bridged
by the Son of God Himself.
And so, it brings to the fore
the real gravity of sin and what it takes
God to do for us to save us,
ultimately, from sin.
(Puia) Thank you, Rodney,
for this point. Alex?
(Alex) Yes, and all the comments
are very [good] because God...
That's a horrible sight to see,
all those animals, just slaughtered,
and that's exactly how God wants us
to see this whole process.
The sin issue is not a beautiful sight,
but by the grace of God, He will
deliver us from it.
(Puia) Okay. Zandile?
(Zandile) I'm coming
from a different angle.
When I was going through it,
I saw the willingness
of the people to give.
To me, it spoke to the gratitude
of human beings.
They were fully blessed by God
for them to give such a huge number
of sacrifices, and God accepts
their sacrifices anyway.
So, it was more like, "Are we willing to give God as much as...
(Derek) I stand corrected.
It may be it was exactly what God
wanted to happen, and it does show
the gravity of sin and the appreciation.
I'll have to ask when we
get to Heaven, on that one.
(Puia) This is the beauty
of this discussion, right;
it's in-depth, interactive, because we
may have different perspectives,
and hearing different angles
gives us a bigger picture.
And as I was reading this,
I remembered that in another place,
in 2 Chronicles, chapter 7,
this same story is described,
but in 2 Chronicles we are told
that as Solomon prayed to God
in dedication of the temple,
the new temple that was built,
God filled the whole temple
with His presence, right,
that the priests could not enter
the temple because the presence
of God was so huge.
And so, we saw that God
accepted the sacrifice.
But still, even without that big number,
if you think about it, every day,
sacrificing an animal every day,
think about the number of animals
that were sacrificed on a regular basis.
It still is a huge number,
and what I learned for myself personally
from this was that it was so unfair
for that animal, and it was so unjust
for that animal.
What did that animal do, what did
that lamb do, what did that sheep do,
what did that bull do
to deserve that death? Nothing, right?
Naturally, there was the lesson there,
because it was pointing forward.
God was trying to teach them
that there is going to come a Savior
who is just, who is loving,
who doesn't deserve to die.
And yet, He is going to die
on behalf of sinners.
This was all pointing forward.
So, someone may be watching today
and may be saying, "When I look
at the Old Testament, when I see
all these sacrifices, this is so unfair,
this is so cruel!"
Well, my friend, that may be
the lesson we need to learn,
that the death of Jesus that was
foreshadowed by this death of animals
tells us that the death of Christ
in other words is so cruel,
that this is what sin does.
This is the price for dying
on behalf of the sinner.
Let's continue our study.
Now, this time let's go to Isaiah,
chapter 1, verses 10 to 11, and let me
request Stephanie to read this for us,
Isaiah, chapter 1, verses 10 to 11,
and let's see how God responds
to the peoples' sacrifice by this time.
(Stephanie) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) What can we learn
from this clear Word of God, Scott?
(Scott) This shows that the point
of sacrifices was never the sacrifice.
The point was what was going on behind it.
And so, you can kill all
the cattle you want, but if your heart
is not affected by it, if it doesn't
change your life, then it's done nothing.
Yeah, Jesus died, not just so we can say,
"Oh, yeah, He died," but He died
because He wants to change our lives.
(Puia) Okay, Kylynda.
(Kylynda) I was thinking this is an example
of how it's easy to commodify
salvation and God, you know.
Kind of a modern example, we think,
"Well, if I just give this money,"
"If I just donate this item,"
"If I just purchase this for the church,
well, then I'm in a right space with God."
And we see this throughout history,
and I think for some Israelites, maybe it
had become rote, "Okay, well, here's
this sheep; alright, I'll go
to my temple visit and give up the sheep,
and we're good."
But, God is a God of immeasurable wealth.
Anything that we give is nothing, right?
And so, when we actually give something
like the Israelites were required to,
a sacrifice - which, God
doesn't love bloodshed - and they're
doing it without a change of heart,
that's a dangerous space.
(Puia) Thank you for pointing it out.
I think it's very easy even for us today
to look at our relationship with God
through that lens of religious traditions
and kind of like a checklist...
(Derek) Rituals.
(Puia) Right, rituals,
and just a checklist, "Okay, let me
check this box: I've done this,
I've done that, I've done that"
without trying to understand
what God is trying to teach us internally.
Derek, you mentioned the sacrifice
that God accepted
between Abel and Cain, right?
God accepted the sacrifice of Abel
but rejected Cain, why was that? Nicole.
(Nicole) It's a heart issue
as it's been said before.
I think that the Lord wants
a relationship with us.
He wants to be in our hearts
and not just in our behaviors.
And so, we have to get to the place
where our hearts are with Him
and not just what we're doing
that shows who He is.
(Puia) That's right. Rodney.
And after Rodney's comment,
I want to ask Shawn to get ready
with Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 1 to 4.
Rodney, your comment, please.
(Rodney) Puia, may I read Isaiah,
chapter 1, a little bit further down
in that very same chapter, to indicate
what God was truly interested in,
Isaiah, chapter 1...
(Puia) Okay.
(Rodney) ...verses 16 to 18.
(Puia) Give us some time to find that...
(Rodney) And while we're reading that,
as we said earlier, Israel had gotten
to the point now, when this
just became like a ritual,
it's like what we do day in and day out,
it really lost its meaning
in pointing people towards Jesus
who was going to be
the ultimate Sacrifice
for all of our sins.
And here is what God is now interested in,
Isaiah 1, verses 16 to 18, and I'm reading
from the New King James Version, it says:
Then verse 18, and I love it; it says:
(Puia) Thank you, Rodney,
for pointing that out.
I think this connects very well
with the next verse that Shawn
will be reading for us from Hebrews,
chapter 10, verses 1 to 4.
(Shawn) Yes, I'll be reading
Hebrews 10:1-4 from the English Standard Version.
Hebrews 10, verse 1:
(Puia) Okay, so from that text,
it's very clear that the blood
of the animal itself
cannot take away the sin.
So, what was God trying to teach them?
I think in verse 1 it hinted that, right?
There's that word; I don't know
about your version, but in my version,
the New King James Version, it says,
"a shadow of the good things to come,"
so all the sacrifices were
just a shadow of a greater thing
that was to come.
As we have hinted at before,
it was pointing forward to something
that was real. Scott.
(Scott) One of the major themes
in the book of Hebrews is
how Jesus is better, right?
And so, Jesus is a better sacrifice,
there's a better priesthood,
better all these things.
But in this case, the animal sacrifices
pointed to a better sacrifice,
that of Jesus.
A sacrifice of animals,
that couldn't take away sins,
but Jesus' death on the cross
does have that ability
to take away sins.
(Puia) Right, so if we put ourselves
in the shoes of the people living
before the time of Jesus,
they were looking forward to this event
of the coming of the Messiah, a Savior.
And by participating in that sacrifice,
they were receiving the gift of salvation
and the forgiveness of sin in advance
in symbolic traditions.
It's almost like when you buy
a ticket before traveling.
Let's say you purchase
a plane ticket to travel somewhere,
and you have been given that ticket
through your email
or through your cell phone.
By looking at that ticket,
you are able to see...
The ticket is like a symbol
of the journey to come.
And then once you are on the plane
actually traveling, the plane ticket
had served its purpose, right?
So, all the sacrifices of the animals
were just symbolic representations
of the actual event that was to come.
And when that did come, the sacrifices
would have met their end, right?
They would have served their purpose.
Now, let's go back to Exodus and see
this even clearer about how it was
pointing forward to the coming
of the Messiah.
Let me request Shaina to read
for us Exodus, chapter 12.
If you can read for us verses 1 to 8,
verses 1 to 8 of Exodus 12, please.
(Shaina) Sure, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) Thank you for reading that.
So, we see this symbolic representation
of the coming event once again,
but at this time they were
still in Egypt as slaves, right?
They were still slaves, and God was
just about to bring them
out of their slavery.
So as they sacrificed this animal,
a lamb without blemish,
they were to take the blood
and put it on the doorpost,
and God was saying
something was about to happen.
Let's continue; Shaina, can you
take us to verses 12 and 13?
Let's just conclude this part of the story
in verses 12 and 13 of Exodus 12.
(Shaina) Sure, and I will be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) Okay, so God is saying,
"I will pass over the house
wherever there is blood on the door."
What important insight is God
trying to teach them here? Shawn.
(Shawn) What I love about this passage
is that it just shows how powerful
our salvation really is.
And what strikes me is that,
as God passed through, He did not ask
who was inside, He did not ask
what they did, He did not ask
for a recounting of their wrongs.
All He looked for was if the blood
of the lamb was on the door.
And if the blood of the lamb covered them,
it was enough for Him to pass over.
And that's what Jesus does for us as well.
As Scott was alluding to earlier
with the transfer of the sacrifice,
when we have accepted Jesus,
His life covers ours.
His character is counted as if it
was our own, and God looks at you
as if you have never sinned,
and you experience
that great Passover in your life.
(Puia) That is beautiful.
In fact, if we had time, and I wish
we could read more,
it's a very interesting story.
God even instructed them that they
were to celebrate this every single year
moving forward, right, as a remembrance
of how God delivered them
out of Egypt from slavery.
And so, this was to become
a memorial every year.
And as we fast forward, Rodney,
can I ask you to take us
to Matthew 26, verses 17 to 18,
and let's see what Jesus does
on this Passover celebration
when Jesus was here on Earth,
moving forward to Matthew 26,
verses 17 and 18, please.
(Rodney) And I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) And can you quickly take us also
to verses 26 to 30
of the same chapter, Matthew 26.
(Rodney) Still reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) Okay, so Jesus was here on Earth,
and it was the Passover celebration time
of that year, and Jesus instituted
basically a new institution
but based on the same principle.
What is Jesus trying to teach
His disciples through this institution
of the Lord's Supper
on Passover celebration time?
Anyone? Okay, I see Shaina
and Rodney, yes.
(Shaina) So, ultimately Jesus was trying
to show them that these symbols,
these processes that the Jewish nation
had been practicing for these centuries
at this point,
He was coming to finally fulfill it
and ultimately put an end to this system
because He is the ultimate Lamb.
He is the Passover,
the initial Passover Lamb,
that was sacrificed
whose blood covered households.
Now, His blood would cover
the entire world.
And so, He was demonstrating it.
It's so...I don't know, it's so important
that He did it at the exact time
that that first Passover happened, too.
(Puia) Right, in other words, Jesus
was confirming to everyone that, "Hey,
it's Me, it's about Me.
All the sacrifices,
especially the Passover celebration
was pointing forward to this event
that I am about to go through.
I am the sacrifice," right?
Rodney, you have a comment, please.
(Rodney) I love what Shaina just said.
I really see a pattern happening here
from back in Israel's time
where you had the 400-plus years
of slavery, then you had the sacrifice,
and then a miraculous (we call
it Passover) delivery of God's people.
But, here it is now, we fast forward
many generations later, Jesus is
now saying, back to what you
just said, Puia, "I am
that Passover Lamb; I am the One."
So, we see sin ravaging the world
all the way from Adam,
generations after generations,
all the way to Jesus' time.
Following the sequence,
Jesus now dies as that Passover Lamb,
and then there is going to be
an ultimate deliverance
of God's people to come.
And here we are living in that time
just before the ultimate deliverance.
So, it is clear that Jesus was
really telling the disciples and all of us
that He was fulfilling this Passover Lamb,
and then the deliverance is to come,
which is the Second Coming of Jesus.
(Puia) Thank you, that's amazing.
So, most of us here and maybe our viewers
from home, too, we may say,
"Well, I wasn't there in Exodus.
You know, I wasn't there in Egypt.
I don't feel like I am a part
of that Passover celebration."
But, guess what, by Jesus' institution,
this Lord's Supper, we are
now a part of it!
Jesus is inviting everyone of us
to celebrate the deliverance that God
has provided for us, not from Egypt
but the deliverance from sin, right,
by Jesus dying on the cross
as the sacrificial Lamb,
the Passover Lamb.
In fact, we don't have the time
to read this, but in the New Testament,
Paul, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 5,
verse 7, calls Jesus as "Christ,
our Passover Lamb."
So, by accepting Jesus
as our Passover Lamb, we can proclaim
the deliverance that God has provided
for us from Satan's control, from sin.
From the bondage of sin,
from the slavery of sin,
from the condemnation of sin,
Christ has delivered us.
That's a beautiful concept.
Now, testimony time, this institution
that Jesus instituted
just before He was arrested and crucified,
that Passover time that year,
Jesus taught His disciples,
"Do this in remembrance of Me,"
washing His disciples' feet
and giving them bread
and the grape juice, the wine,
to remember Him.
So, the Christian church tradition
has been to celebrate this every so often.
Testimony time, has anyone
had an experience where the celebration
of the Lord's Supper touched you
in a special way?
Alex, I see your hand.
(Alex) I can remember one, specifically,
or I have been doing this recently
whenever we partake of the bread
and the wine, I picture myself
as if I was a part of the 12
right then and there
and hearing Jesus' words
and even experiencing my feet
being washed by the Savior.
And that always touches me
whenever I just think of Jesus
actually being there with me
doing the service,
and not only just washing my feet
but asking me to allow Him
to wash my heart, too.
(Puia) Thank you for sharing that.
I once read a story where this one church
was celebrating the Lord's Supper,
and as the pastor and the elders prayed
over the bread and the grape juice,
and they started distributing to the members,
there was this young lady who was sitting
in one of the pews.
As the deacon came towards her,
she felt unworthy to participate,
so she told the deacon, "I'm not worthy
to take this; I can't take this.
I'm too sinful."
So, the deacon whispered to her,
"Young lady, take it.
It's for sinners."
It's for you; it's for me!
This is a beautiful symbolic institution
that Jesus has instituted for us
to participate in, for sinners like us
who can be washed clean once again.
Nicole, your comment.
(Nicole) I was going to say that I think
it was very meaningful for me
when I could share it with my daughters.
When they were old enough to understand
the sacrifice that Jesus has made
and what it means to partake
in the supper I think it was very meaningful
to me to be able to wash their feet
and have them wash mine.
That was something that I
can always remember.
(Puia) That's beautiful.
I wish we had the time to stay here
a little longer, but time is running out,
so we have to move
to the next part of our study.
Now, this plan of God's
to save us from sin,
according to the Bible
is not an afterthought.
This was already in place by God,
and we find this in Revelation 13,
verse 8, and let me request Kylynda
to take us there, revelation 13, verse 8.
And let's see how the Lamb
is described here.
(Kylynda) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) "The Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world."
Sophia, can you take us to 1 Peter,
chapter 1, verses 18 to 21,
1 Peter 1, verses 18 to 21.
Let's look at this same principle
of the Lamb that was slain
from the foundation of the world.
How does Peter [describe it]
in chapter 1, verses 18 to 21?
(Sophia) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Team, Puia) Amen.
(Puia) So, can anyone comment
on this idea that the Lamb of God,
the Lamb that was slain
even before the foundation of the world?
In other words, it seems that God
already had this plan in place. Scott?
(Scott) That's just what I
was going to say.
God wasn't caught by surprise.
When God created us, He knew
because He knew the future.
He knew that sin would come.
And so He already had a plan.
When we studied in the beginning
of our study about the sacrificial system,
we're just seeing God's plan
that He was working
to build that teaching, that lesson,
for us, so we come in our day, and we see,
wow, I mean, God knew about that.
And in fact, nothing that happens
in my life is a surprise to God.
God doesn't get taken by surprise.
(Puia) From the very beginning,
or even before God created the world,
Christ had covenanted Himself
to love us even to the point of death.
He loves us so very, very much.
You may be watching today, friend,
and wondering, "Does God
really care about me?"
"Is God really love?"
"Can I really trust that God loves me?"
Or maybe you are doubting
about God's character.
I want to invite you to reflect
on these verses that tell us that God,
in Jesus Christ, had
covenanted Himself to love us.
Even before the foundation of the world,
God knew you.
Even before you were formed
in your mother's womb, He loved you.
So, whenever we have this problem
of trying to understand God's character,
it is always helpful to look at God
through the lens of Jesus.
When we look at Jesus, we see
a God who loves us so much.,
So, don't give up; hold onto Jesus.
Now, let's move on to the next couple
of verses here; let's go
to Isaiah, chapter 53.
And can I ask Stephanie to read for us
Isaiah 53, verses 3 to 7,
and look at the prophecies
that Isaiah gave ahead of time
about the Messiah who was to come,
specifically in the context
of this idea of a sacrifice.
(Stephanie) Alright, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) Wow. Verse 7 specifically,
"He was oppressed and He was afflicted...
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent."
This concept of sacrifice
is clearly seen in this prophecy of the Messiah.
Sophia, you have a comment?
(Sophia) I think it's so powerful
that He deemed us so important
not even to make a sound
with His suffering.
You know, no complaint, nothing.
(Puia) Right, this is a prophecy,
by the way; Isaiah was prophesying
that when the Messiah comes...
In other words, the Messiah is
going to be like a lamb that is
led to be slaughtered for the sins
of all of us, and He is not
going to complain.
He is not going to open His mouth
and say, "Oh, I don't want to do this.
I don't want to be crucified."
He is going to suffer
for the sake of the sins of the world.
Now, probably people in the time
of Isaiah, as we read earlier,
were sacrificing and killing animals,
but many of them probably were
doing that just as a ritual.
Probably some of them had lost
the concept of sacrificial death
that God was trying to teach them.
But now, fast forward to the time
that Jesus actually showed up.
How does John help us connect the dots
of all these prophecies
from the Hebrew Scripture
to this Person of Jesus?
Let's go to John, chapter 1,
verses 29 to 36, and let me ask
Zandile to read for us,
John, chapter 1, verses 29 to 36.
(Zandile) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, 29:
(Puia) Beautiful. There is no doubt
in the mind of John the Baptist.
He said, "I saw the Spirit descending
upon Him, and I am testifying
that this is the Son of God,
and this is the Lamb of God who takes away..."?
(Team) "...the sin of the world."
(Puia) In other words, John is
basically telling all of us
and all of the readers today
that all the prophecies from Genesis,
that all the animal sacrifices,
all the bulls that were sacrificed,
all the lambs that were killed
for sacrificial atonement,
were pointing forward to this one Person,
and His name is Jesus.
And He is pointing to the Person of Jesus
and saying, "Behold!
Here is the Lamb of God
who is going to take away
the sin of the world."
This is beautiful.
In the Person of Jesus,
the entire prophecies are fulfilled.
(Derek) And I think, Puia,
it's really important, that wasn't
just John the Baptist's opinion.
He said, "The Spirit told me,
'When you see this, that's the One,'"
and then he says, "I have seen
and testified that this is,"
not, "I think it is,"
but, "This is the Son of God."
(Puia) Amen. Beautiful.
Let's go to Revelation, towards the end
now, Revelation, chapter 4,
verses 8 to 11, and I want to request
Joshua to read for us,
Revelation 4, verses 8 to 11.
And let's see what the Apostle John
has to say about this Lamb of God.
(Joshua) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version.
The Bible says:
(Puia) Amen. Thank you
for reading that, Joshua.
So, in Revelation, fast forward,
John the Apostle is seeing
this vision of Heaven.
In Heaven, the four living creatures,
the twenty-four elders, and everyone
is bowing before this Lamb!
And He is given the honor and the glory
because He created everything.
Let's read one other verse,
the next chapter, Revelation, chapter 5,
verses 1 to 7; Kylynda, can you
read that for us, please,
Revelation 5:1-7.
(Kylynda) From the New King James Version:
(Puia) Amen. Thank you, Kylynda,
for reading that.
Dear friend, thank you for joining us
today once again.
As we see in this prophecy
that John foresaw about the future,
the heavenly throne, on the throne
of the entire universe is sitting
this Lamb of God, and He is worthy.
You may be weeping; I may be weeping today
because of our struggles
and maybe because of sin,
but according to John, "Don't weep.
There is the Lamb, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world."
And one day the promise is
that this Lamb of God is going
to come again to redeem us,
and you can be a part of it
if you accept the sacrifice
of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
And we will join the heavenly angels,
the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders, and one day
we'll get to worship the Lamb of God
and sing, "Holy, holy, holy."
What a beautiful sight
that will be, Derek.
(Derek) Thank you so much.
What a great study, and, yes,
I've thought about that, too,
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,"
not only the angels, but we can say that
if we've accepted, or to use
the image of Passover, put the blood
over our doorposts, over our lives,
we can rejoice in His salvation.
Let's pray together.
Father in Heaven, we thank You
for helping us to understand that all
of the sacrifices pointed to Jesus,
and all You want from us
is the sacrifice of our hearts,
accepting what Jesus, the Lamb of God,
has done for us.
May we do that today and every day.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thank you for joining us for our study.
We're learning, from Bible prophecies
and stories, lessons that will help us
not only to prepare but to rejoice
in the last days
because of our Savior Jesus.
Don't keep that message to yourself.
Go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
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