WEBVTT
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♪ theme music ♪
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(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
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an in-depth, interactive study
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of the Word of God.
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We are in the middle
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of a very important series,
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Bible Prophecies and Stories
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for the Last Days.
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If you've missed any, go to our website,
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hopetv.org/hopess.
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You can watch the past episodes there.
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Or, go to our YouTube channel,
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Hope Sabbath School, and watch them there.
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Today, we're starting to examine
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The Nations as a theme in Bible prophecy,
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and we're glad you joined us.
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Welcome to the team,
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say, "Hi," to each other,
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glad you're all here.
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You're looking great today.
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And we've got some remotes
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joining us, too; let's see who's with us.
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Gleny, great to have you back with us,
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glad you're here.
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Jorge, good to see you with us today.
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And, Leeah, always good
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to have you with us.
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And we're glad that you're with us, too,
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because you're part of the great miracle
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called Hope Sabbath School
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wherever you are, around the world.
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Why don't you write to us today,
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sshope@hopetv.org.
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Or, you can leave a note
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on our YouTube channel,
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but make sure you include the country
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where you call home.
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Here's a note from Jane in Maine
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in the United States of America.
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She says, "Hi to everyone.
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I love you all.
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Thank you, Hope Sabbath School team."
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Well, let's give Jane a wave, shall we?
Thank you.
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"I receive a great blessing watching
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and studying with you every week.
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I love the interactive study of the Bible.
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May God continue to bless
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each and every one who participates
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in this study of the Word of God,"
and we say...?
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(Derek, Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Wherever you are around the world,
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Jane, you're up there in Maine,
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we're glad you're part
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of our Hope Sabbath School family.
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Paulette writes from Jamaica.
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Oh, we've got some Jamaican connections
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on the team, "Greetings
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to Hope Sabbath School," that's Paulette.
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"I'm writing from Jamaica.
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I must say, I enjoy
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your interaction on the team,
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and I learn a lot from the class.
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Keep up the good work always.
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I pray that God will use me
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for His glory!" Amen?
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) You know, that's absolutely true.
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We don't just want people
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to admire something happening.
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We're praying that this can be multiplied
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in our lives and in your life
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around the world.
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Here's an unusual donor note.
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Most of our donors come
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from North America;
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this donor comes from Australia.
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And the donor writes, "Hello,
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Hope Sabbath School team.
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Thank you for continuing
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to share Jesus..."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) "...and sharing His Word
and His love
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in an unconditional, nonjudgmental way.
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May this small gift continue to brighten
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one or two corners of this globe
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until Jesus comes."
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Now, there must be some...
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what do you call it...exchange fees
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for transferring the funds
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from the Australian dollar
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to the U.S. dollar,
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because a generous gift
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of 196 dollars and 78 cents arrived.
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And I want to thank you, Donor
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in Australia (you know who you are)
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for that generous gift
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because we're a donor-supported ministry,
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and thank you for being part
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of the miracle of God,
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and for each one of you.
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Some of you who help once a month,
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some of you help once a year,
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whatever you do, we thank you.
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You can go to our website,
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hopetv.org/hopess, and say, "Lord,
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let me be part of the miracle
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of sharing Your love with the world."
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One last note, from Rosemary in Arkansas
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in the United States of America,
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"Hello, Hope Sabbath School team."
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Do you think they put that
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so we can wave? I think so.
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"I've learned so much
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from watching your show.
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I'm very grateful and blessed.
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I love the Scripture songs
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and often hum or sing them
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throughout the day.
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Thank you so much for everything you do
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to reach the world and spread the gospel
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and the love of Jesus."
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Well, before we sing the song,
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Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You,
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I just want to say, years ago,
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when my wife began to compose
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Scripture songs with a prayer
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that God's Word would be hidden
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in the hearts of our two little boys,
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she had no idea that it would impact
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so many people, but isn't that
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just what God does?
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He just says, "You be faithful to Me
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in your little sphere, and I'm going
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to bless the world through you."
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So, I hope you download those songs
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because there's a free song each quarter,
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a theme song; you can download it free.
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And I hear people saying, "Oh,
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I know all of your songs."
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We were somewhere just last week,
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and the person says,
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"Let the Word of Christ..."
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I said, "Oh, you learned
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some Scripture songs - Praise God."
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But while you're there at the website,
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you can also download the free gift
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for this series, because I was praying,
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"God, is there a special gift?"
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We're talking about Bible Prophecies
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and Stories for the Last Days,
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and I thought of a book
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called Radical Protection.
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I think it was offered years ago,
but there are
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so many new Hope Sabbath School members,
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I said, "We need to offer that again"
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because the prophet Daniel says
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there's coming a time of trouble
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such as never was, and we need
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that supernatural protection
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so we can face the future without fear.
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Because when we face the future
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with Jesus, we're not afraid.
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So, go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess,
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click on the Free Gift tab, and you can
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download a free digital copy
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of that valuable resource
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and share it with your friends.
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But, right now I'd like to hear you sing,
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because we've learned a theme song
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from Colossians 3:16.
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And you say, "Derek, you
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don't sound that good."
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Well, sing with us, will you?
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Let's all sing together and hide
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the Word in our hearts,
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Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You.
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Let's sing it together.
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♪ music ♪
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(Derek) Let's pray together.
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Father in Heaven, we believe this series
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on Bible Prophecies and Stories
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for the Last Days is very relevant
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for our lives today.
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And so, I pray the same Holy Spirit
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who inspired the prophets,
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the same Holy Spirit who protected
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the Scriptures through the generations,
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that same Holy Spirit Jesus promised
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would lead us into all truth,
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that that would happen
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as we study Your Word today, not just here
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but with our Hope Sabbath School family
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around the world.
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We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Well, in this study
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and the one to follow, we're going
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to be studying the theme
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of The Nations and how the nations
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are part of Bible prophecy.
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The first place the nations are mentioned
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is in the book of Genesis,
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and so we'll start there
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in Genesis, chapter 10.
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And actually it's related to chapter 11,
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but let's start by looking in Genesis,
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chapter 10, and, Mighty, I'm going
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to ask you if you'd read for us
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Genesis 10, the first five verses.
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Now, there are some unusual names there,
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but just say them the best you can
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because we don't know
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how to say them either, but Genesis,
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chapter 10, verses 1 through 5.
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(Mighty) I'll be reading
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from the New American Standard Bible,
and it says:
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(Derek) Thank you so much.
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Wow, what a great job
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of reading those names, you know?
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But the last words "into their nations,"
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now, in order to understand -
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and their languages -
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there was actually only one language
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until chapter 11, so really 10 and 11
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are together, and now they're
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forming into nations.
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So, the question is, what happened
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in Genesis, chapter 11, Zaria,
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in verses 1 through 4, if you could read.
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Let's see what happened in Genesis 11:1-4.
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(Zaria) I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version:
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(Derek) So, here they are, and we know
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that the judgment of God comes,
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and languages are confused.
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And now we just read in chapter 10
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that they divide into nations.
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So, was the forming into nations
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an act of obedience
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or an act of rebellion?
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(Team Members) Rebellion.
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(Team Members) No.
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(Derek) Okay, how many said rebellion?
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Two, three, two and a half, okay.
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How many of you think
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it was an act of obedience?
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How many of you don't know?
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How many of you would say
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it could have been one or the other?
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Because they were supposed to go
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to the ends of the earth, right,
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and subdue it; that was the assignment.
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And presumably in that, they would be
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living in harmony with the will of God.
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Unfortunately, as the nations emerge,
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we find a different spirit
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from what God intended,
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and we'll find a clue back in chapter 10.
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Nicole, if you could read for us
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in Genesis, chapter 10,
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verses 8 through 12, and we find
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a character mentioned,
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by the name of Nimrod.
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(Nicole) The New International Version
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of Genesis 10, verses 8 through 12, says:
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(Derek) What do you learn about Nimrod
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from that short description?
00:15:05.803 --> 00:15:10.238
Anybody. Yes, Puia.
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(Puia) Derek, I think what stood out
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for me here is the fact that Nimrod
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is described as a mighty hunter
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before the Lord, and it doesn't sound
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like it is a compliment.
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It sounds like he is
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continuing the rebellion
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against the governments of God.
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(Derek) Anybody else, what impacted
you? Travis?
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(Travis) So, what I'm seeing here
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from the nations (and Nimrod
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is continuing this) is the same spirit
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that was at Babel, "Let us make
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a name for ourselves."
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It continues with Nimrod,
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and it continues to this day
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with all of the nations,
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nation against nation, always trying
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to make a name for themselves,
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be better and usurp the next nation.
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(Derek) Yes, Jenner.
00:15:49.246 --> 00:15:50.504
(Jenner) Important to note
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is also verse 10,
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and from the New American Standard Bible,
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"The beginning of his kingdom
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was Babel," which introduces us
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to the next chapter, so negative language
towards Nimrod the whole time.
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(Derek) And of course, he will
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end up also building Nineveh,
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and we know the reputation that Nineveh
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would have, too, right?
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So, back to where this ambition came from.
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You say it came from wanting to build
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the Tower of Babel, but where is
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the spirit of the nations coming from?
00:16:24.948 --> 00:16:27.632
Well, let's go to a description
00:16:27.632 --> 00:16:31.796
by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 14.
00:16:31.796 --> 00:16:33.158
Now, I realize some of you
00:16:33.158 --> 00:16:34.256
have read this before -
00:16:34.256 --> 00:16:36.116
James, maybe you could read it for us,
00:16:36.116 --> 00:16:37.659
verses 12 to 14 -
00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:39.703
but someone joining us
00:16:39.703 --> 00:16:41.086
for Hope Sabbath School today
00:16:41.086 --> 00:16:43.414
is hearing this for the very first time,
00:16:43.414 --> 00:16:45.950
and it may be quite startling
00:16:45.950 --> 00:16:49.012
because this is the testimony
00:16:49.012 --> 00:16:54.075
of a fallen angel, one who was created,
00:16:54.075 --> 00:16:56.868
Ezekiel says, in perfection,
00:16:56.868 --> 00:16:58.930
but who rebelled against God.
00:16:58.930 --> 00:17:00.948
And let's listen to the spirit
00:17:00.948 --> 00:17:03.408
of this fallen angel as described
00:17:03.408 --> 00:17:05.186
by the prophet Isaiah.
00:17:05.186 --> 00:17:06.483
(James) And I'll be reading
00:17:06.483 --> 00:17:08.222
from the New King James Version:
00:17:45.308 --> 00:17:46.689
(Derek) And, Travis, you said
00:17:46.689 --> 00:17:49.305
that same spirit is manifested today...
00:17:49.305 --> 00:17:50.120
(Travis) Correct.
00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:51.804
(Derek) ...with the nations wanting
00:17:51.804 --> 00:17:59.865
to exercise dominion, to dominate
00:17:59.865 --> 00:18:02.552
powers around them. Yes.
00:18:02.552 --> 00:18:04.374
(Travis) I just want to say something
00:18:04.374 --> 00:18:05.426
as we just read this.
00:18:05.426 --> 00:18:10.326
It says, "you, who weakened the nations,"
00:18:10.326 --> 00:18:13.563
it's associating an exaltation of self
00:18:13.563 --> 00:18:15.633
to the weakening of a nation.
00:18:15.633 --> 00:18:17.318
So, if we would glorify God,
00:18:17.318 --> 00:18:19.135
we would have a powerful nation.
00:18:19.135 --> 00:18:21.521
And if we would exalt ourselves,
00:18:21.521 --> 00:18:22.790
the nation would get weak,
00:18:22.790 --> 00:18:24.417
if I am reading that correctly.
00:18:24.417 --> 00:18:26.417
(Derek) So, let's talk about what God
00:18:26.417 --> 00:18:28.646
wanted to do with Abram.
00:18:28.646 --> 00:18:30.414
That was his name originally, right,
00:18:30.414 --> 00:18:33.000
and later he was called Abraham.
00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.034
But Abram, He wanted to form him
00:18:35.034 --> 00:18:37.971
into a nation, but a nation that was
00:18:37.971 --> 00:18:42.208
very different from "the nations,"
00:18:42.208 --> 00:18:45.142
which come out of Babel, okay?
00:18:45.142 --> 00:18:48.408
So, let's go to Genesis, chapter 12.
00:18:48.408 --> 00:18:49.983
Tendi, if you could read
00:18:49.983 --> 00:18:51.869
the first three verses.
00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:54.605
What do you see immediately
00:18:54.605 --> 00:18:58.235
in this call to Abram to be a nation
00:18:58.235 --> 00:19:00.844
that's so different from the attitude
00:19:00.844 --> 00:19:02.712
that we read earlier
00:19:02.712 --> 00:19:04.300
in the book of Genesis?
00:19:04.300 --> 00:19:05.598
(Tendi) And I'll be reading
00:19:05.598 --> 00:19:08.390
from the New King James Version:
and it reads:
00:19:41.648 --> 00:19:42.904
(Derek) Alright, so what's
00:19:42.904 --> 00:19:43.808
the big difference?
00:19:43.808 --> 00:19:45.506
What jumps out at you? Nicole?
00:19:45.506 --> 00:19:47.124
(Nicole) Well, in this case,
00:19:47.124 --> 00:19:48.927
God is offering the blessing.
00:19:48.927 --> 00:19:51.346
It's not that Abram is taking them.
00:19:51.346 --> 00:19:52.847
It's that He's offering them,
00:19:52.847 --> 00:19:54.371
and He's saying, "Through Me
00:19:54.371 --> 00:19:55.386
you will be blessed,"
00:19:55.386 --> 00:19:57.079
instead of the other one, which is,
00:19:57.079 --> 00:19:58.152
"I will ascend; I will
00:19:58.152 --> 00:19:59.564
be better, I will, I will..."
00:19:59.564 --> 00:20:00.825
(Derek) Okay, so there are
00:20:00.825 --> 00:20:03.325
actually several things going on here.
00:20:03.325 --> 00:20:07.161
One, instead of saying, "I will be great,"
00:20:07.161 --> 00:20:09.313
"I will do this," it is God saying,
00:20:09.313 --> 00:20:10.635
"I will do this for you,"
00:20:10.635 --> 00:20:14.208
"I will do this for you," but also...?
00:20:14.208 --> 00:20:15.233
(Travis) The earth...
00:20:15.233 --> 00:20:16.856
(Derek) "The earth will be blessed
00:20:16.856 --> 00:20:19.201
because of this nation that will
00:20:19.201 --> 00:20:20.552
come forth from you."
00:20:20.552 --> 00:20:22.160
Do you see the big difference
00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:23.350
between that and what we
00:20:23.350 --> 00:20:25.096
read earlier in the chapter?
00:20:25.096 --> 00:20:27.494
Well, the prophet Moses
00:20:27.494 --> 00:20:30.301
understood that as God's ideal.
00:20:30.301 --> 00:20:31.703
Look in Deuteronomy.
00:20:31.703 --> 00:20:33.261
Jenner, if you could read for us
00:20:33.261 --> 00:20:35.772
in Deuteronomy, chapter 4,
00:20:35.772 --> 00:20:37.868
verses 5 through 10.
00:20:37.868 --> 00:20:39.396
(Jenner) Deuteronomy, chapter 4?
00:20:39.396 --> 00:20:41.976
(Derek) Chapter 4, beginning with verse 5.
00:20:41.976 --> 00:20:47.301
Moses understood God's ideal in the nation
00:20:47.301 --> 00:20:49.390
that would be formed from Abram.
00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:50.688
(Jenner) I will be reading
00:20:50.688 --> 00:20:52.523
from the New American Standard Bible,
00:20:52.523 --> 00:20:55.059
Deuteronomy 4, starting with verse 5:
00:22:26.351 --> 00:22:28.146
(Derek) And you know that word "fear"
00:22:28.146 --> 00:22:29.903
can be translated "to be afraid"
00:22:29.903 --> 00:22:33.592
or "reverent," right, "Show reverence
00:22:33.592 --> 00:22:35.233
toward Me," right,
00:22:35.233 --> 00:22:37.433
if the relationship is right.
00:22:37.433 --> 00:22:41.919
So, again, God says, "I'll bless you.
00:22:41.919 --> 00:22:43.605
Others will be blessed through you,
00:22:43.605 --> 00:22:47.576
but even more than that, when others see
00:22:47.576 --> 00:22:51.947
the blessing of God," what? What?
00:22:51.947 --> 00:22:54.374
(Zaria) They're attracted to it and want
to learn...
00:22:54.374 --> 00:22:59.567
(Derek) Make the "it" more specific.
They're attracted to...?
00:22:59.567 --> 00:23:03.844
...to learn more about God, right?!
Jenner?
00:23:03.844 --> 00:23:06.668
(Jenner) Very specifically,
a personal God.
00:23:06.668 --> 00:23:11.543
Verse 7 emphasizes a God that is so near,
00:23:11.543 --> 00:23:12.785
and He always listens
00:23:12.785 --> 00:23:14.446
whenever we call on Him.
00:23:14.446 --> 00:23:15.670
(Derek) I'm going to talk
00:23:15.670 --> 00:23:16.962
to some of our remotes here
00:23:16.962 --> 00:23:20.105
because some reminders needed to go out.
00:23:20.105 --> 00:23:22.695
And we've got three reminders in Isaiah
00:23:22.695 --> 00:23:28.450
I'll give to Gleny and Leeah and Jorge.
00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:31.600
Let's start with Gleny in Isaiah 42:6,
00:23:31.600 --> 00:23:33.573
then we'll look at 49:6
00:23:33.573 --> 00:23:35.326
and then 60, verse 3.
00:23:35.326 --> 00:23:37.488
It sounds like lots of reminders
00:23:37.488 --> 00:23:41.923
had to go out, "Don't forget
00:23:41.923 --> 00:23:44.387
why you are a people."
00:23:44.387 --> 00:23:45.815
Now, we're going to need that
00:23:45.815 --> 00:23:47.335
in the last days as a church,
00:23:47.335 --> 00:23:51.106
"Don't forget why I've called you," right?
00:23:51.106 --> 00:23:53.609
Not so people will say, "I'm so great.
00:23:53.609 --> 00:23:55.545
I have this and this and this,"
00:23:55.545 --> 00:23:56.989
but that people would say,
00:23:56.989 --> 00:23:59.525
"What a great God you serve."
00:23:59.525 --> 00:24:01.149
Gleny, what's the reminder
00:24:01.149 --> 00:24:04.533
in Isaiah 42, verse 6?
00:24:04.533 --> 00:24:05.825
(Gleny) And I'll be reading
00:24:05.825 --> 00:24:08.318
from the New King James Version,
and it says:
00:24:20.981 --> 00:24:22.506
(Derek) So, God's ideal then was
00:24:22.506 --> 00:24:25.660
that they would be what, to the nations
or the Gentiles?
00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:26.830
(Derek, Team) A light.
00:24:26.830 --> 00:24:31.040
(Derek) Let's look in 49, verse 6, Leeah,
00:24:31.040 --> 00:24:34.427
Isaiah 49:6, and see how the prophet
00:24:34.427 --> 00:24:38.792
reminds them of that mission.
00:24:38.792 --> 00:24:41.180
(Leeah) In the English Standard Version,
it reads:
00:24:55.333 --> 00:24:58.307
(Derek) Ah, so it's not just some blessing
00:24:58.307 --> 00:25:01.066
for Abraham and his descendants,
00:25:01.066 --> 00:25:03.993
that is, the nation of Israel, but it is
00:25:03.993 --> 00:25:06.726
to bless the entire world, right?
00:25:06.726 --> 00:25:10.334
One last reference from Isaiah, Jorge,
00:25:10.334 --> 00:25:14.871
in chapter 60 and verse 3.
00:25:14.871 --> 00:25:16.939
(Jorge) Isaiah 60, verse 3,
00:25:16.939 --> 00:25:17.712
I'll be reading
00:25:17.712 --> 00:25:20.616
from the New King James Version, it says:
00:25:26.806 --> 00:25:28.474
(Derek) I want to thank you, Jorge.
00:25:28.474 --> 00:25:30.280
One of the things we have to remember,
00:25:30.280 --> 00:25:33.171
then, is when they "come to your light,"
00:25:33.171 --> 00:25:35.122
what do we need to do?
00:25:35.122 --> 00:25:36.730
(Nicole) Reflect them up.
00:25:36.730 --> 00:25:40.763
(Derek) We need to deflect that praise,
00:25:40.763 --> 00:25:44.281
right, to the Light of the world.
00:25:44.281 --> 00:25:47.687
Gleny, I see your hand.
00:25:47.687 --> 00:25:49.920
(Gleny) And I was just quickly trying
00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.107
to think of what makes this nation
00:25:54.107 --> 00:25:56.138
a light to the world, and I think
00:25:56.138 --> 00:25:59.096
it's the distinct principles it runs on.
00:25:59.096 --> 00:26:00.451
Like, for instance, when you
00:26:00.451 --> 00:26:03.068
look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs,
00:26:03.068 --> 00:26:04.951
you start with food, shelter,
00:26:04.951 --> 00:26:06.620
all of those things.
00:26:06.620 --> 00:26:09.332
But here, the kingdom of God
00:26:09.332 --> 00:26:12.194
focuses on seeking Him first,
00:26:12.194 --> 00:26:14.807
and that's the way you get
00:26:14.807 --> 00:26:16.680
all of your needs met.
00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:19.163
So, I'm imagining all the nations
00:26:19.163 --> 00:26:22.875
seeing this kingdom that follows
00:26:22.875 --> 00:26:26.256
under this principle of a God who says,
00:26:26.256 --> 00:26:28.908
"Look at Me, and you will get
00:26:28.908 --> 00:26:30.989
all of your deepest desires met,"
00:26:30.989 --> 00:26:33.851
rather than the other way around.
00:26:33.851 --> 00:26:35.761
(Derek) Thank you for pointing that out.
00:26:35.761 --> 00:26:38.192
That's deep thought right there.
00:26:38.192 --> 00:26:40.538
And it ties into my question,
00:26:40.538 --> 00:26:43.901
and that is, what's the difference,
00:26:43.901 --> 00:26:45.534
just from our initial study
00:26:45.534 --> 00:26:47.745
between the nations,
00:26:47.745 --> 00:26:49.846
which actually reflect the character
00:26:49.846 --> 00:26:54.250
of the fallen angel once called Lucifer,
00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:56.637
and the nation that God
00:26:56.637 --> 00:26:58.671
calls out of Abraham?
00:26:58.671 --> 00:27:00.725
And certainly we'll find later
00:27:00.725 --> 00:27:03.262
He desires to be manifest in His church.
00:27:03.262 --> 00:27:05.780
What's the big difference? Yes, Zaria?
00:27:05.780 --> 00:27:07.396
(Zaria) I would say the difference
00:27:07.396 --> 00:27:09.033
is the world decided to follow
00:27:09.033 --> 00:27:11.722
after their own will, their own desires,
00:27:11.722 --> 00:27:14.320
worshiping other gods and other idols,
00:27:14.320 --> 00:27:16.423
and that's why they were led astray often,
00:27:16.423 --> 00:27:17.926
doing so many different things.
00:27:17.926 --> 00:27:19.655
They got sick, whereas God's nation,
00:27:19.655 --> 00:27:21.407
we follow His Word and His light
00:27:21.407 --> 00:27:22.780
and His direction.
00:27:22.780 --> 00:27:23.857
(Derek) One following
00:27:23.857 --> 00:27:25.255
their own will and leading
00:27:25.255 --> 00:27:26.485
to the gods of this world
00:27:26.485 --> 00:27:27.737
(Leeah, I see your hand),
00:27:27.737 --> 00:27:28.902
the other following God.
00:27:28.902 --> 00:27:31.114
What difference do you see, Leeah,
00:27:31.114 --> 00:27:33.271
between the nations
00:27:33.271 --> 00:27:37.118
and the special nation God calls out?
00:27:37.118 --> 00:27:38.835
(Leeah) There seems to be an element
00:27:38.835 --> 00:27:41.131
of peace that comes when you surrender
00:27:41.131 --> 00:27:42.983
to God and His will for your life,
00:27:42.983 --> 00:27:44.294
whether that be as a nation
00:27:44.294 --> 00:27:45.886
or as an individual.
00:27:45.886 --> 00:27:47.661
It's so much more difficult
00:27:47.661 --> 00:27:50.424
to live by your own standards
00:27:50.424 --> 00:27:52.460
and try to be your own leader
00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:54.895
or your own god as opposed to surrendering
00:27:54.895 --> 00:27:56.576
to the will of God.
00:27:56.576 --> 00:27:58.183
He provides so much more peace,
00:27:58.183 --> 00:27:59.375
and your life is laid out
00:27:59.375 --> 00:28:01.678
so much, not necessarily easier,
00:28:01.678 --> 00:28:04.321
but there is just so much peace
00:28:04.321 --> 00:28:06.473
when God is in control.
00:28:06.473 --> 00:28:08.275
(Derek) It seems through history
00:28:08.275 --> 00:28:10.945
(thank you, Leeah) that the nations
00:28:10.945 --> 00:28:15.833
are built by violence; that's history.
00:28:15.833 --> 00:28:18.452
The nation that God's calling,
00:28:18.452 --> 00:28:22.579
He desires it to be built by love, right?
00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:25.625
Love for Him and love for the community.
00:28:25.625 --> 00:28:27.426
It's a drastic difference.
00:28:27.426 --> 00:28:29.692
And some skeptics might say,
00:28:29.692 --> 00:28:33.003
"That other nation you're talking about,
00:28:33.003 --> 00:28:35.753
[it] isn't even possible
00:28:35.753 --> 00:28:38.442
to have a nation like that."
00:28:38.442 --> 00:28:40.351
It's only the survival
00:28:40.351 --> 00:28:41.999
of the fittest, right?
00:28:41.999 --> 00:28:43.667
That's the only way it will happen,
00:28:43.667 --> 00:28:44.742
but we'll see that God
00:28:44.742 --> 00:28:46.240
does have a plan. Puia?
00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:47.495
(Puia) Derek, I think it's
00:28:47.495 --> 00:28:48.636
very interesting to note
00:28:48.636 --> 00:28:50.991
that as we contrast and compare
00:28:50.991 --> 00:28:52.623
the nations around the world
00:28:52.623 --> 00:28:53.824
and the nation that God
00:28:53.824 --> 00:28:55.607
was raising up through Abraham,
00:28:55.607 --> 00:28:57.374
I think the key difference is
00:28:57.374 --> 00:29:00.301
how God reveals Himself closely
00:29:00.301 --> 00:29:02.829
with that nation through Abraham.
00:29:02.829 --> 00:29:05.358
Although we see a lot of conquering
00:29:05.358 --> 00:29:07.866
and violence in the other nations,
00:29:07.866 --> 00:29:09.145
I think we have to qualify
00:29:09.145 --> 00:29:10.397
that even in those nations
00:29:10.397 --> 00:29:13.144
there is that battle between the forces
00:29:13.144 --> 00:29:14.733
of good and evil.
00:29:14.733 --> 00:29:16.800
But what sets [apart] the nation
00:29:16.800 --> 00:29:20.214
through Abraham is that God
00:29:20.214 --> 00:29:23.393
had given them that special revelation.
00:29:23.393 --> 00:29:25.818
And I think Jenner pointed out,
00:29:25.818 --> 00:29:28.248
God is very near to them.
00:29:28.248 --> 00:29:30.007
And I want to piggyback
00:29:30.007 --> 00:29:32.643
on what Leeah said earlier, when you have
00:29:32.643 --> 00:29:35.149
that special revelation from God,
00:29:35.149 --> 00:29:37.181
you get to enjoy peace
00:29:37.181 --> 00:29:38.251
that the other nations
00:29:38.251 --> 00:29:39.920
probably did not get to enjoy.
00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:41.681
(Derek) Okay, I've got lots of hands,
00:29:41.681 --> 00:29:44.019
Mighty and Jorge.
00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:46.083
(Mighty) Going off of what Puia is saying,
00:29:46.083 --> 00:29:47.300
he just sparked something
00:29:47.300 --> 00:29:49.218
in my mind there, and I'm also recalling
00:29:49.218 --> 00:29:50.497
that last week's lesson is
00:29:50.497 --> 00:29:51.942
coming into play here as well,
00:29:51.942 --> 00:29:54.369
is that we are in a marriage with Christ.
00:29:54.369 --> 00:29:56.330
We are in a marriage with Jesus.
00:29:56.330 --> 00:29:58.827
And I remember one of the verses we read
00:29:58.827 --> 00:30:01.265
was Revelation, chapter 19, verse 7:
00:30:08.075 --> 00:30:10.023
We are that bride, and how are we
00:30:10.023 --> 00:30:13.247
making ourselves ready for Christ to come?
00:30:13.247 --> 00:30:15.365
So, we have to absorb that light
00:30:15.365 --> 00:30:17.211
that we have from God and that wisdom
00:30:17.211 --> 00:30:18.633
and understanding and display
00:30:18.633 --> 00:30:20.719
that character that Christ is looking for.
00:30:20.719 --> 00:30:22.757
[Make] herself ready
00:30:22.757 --> 00:30:24.371
by displaying that character
00:30:24.371 --> 00:30:25.638
that Jesus is looking for,
00:30:25.638 --> 00:30:27.050
that wisdom and understanding
00:30:27.050 --> 00:30:28.479
of His will, and displaying it
00:30:28.479 --> 00:30:30.286
to the nations, so they can be blessed
00:30:30.286 --> 00:30:32.366
and others can come into our nation
00:30:32.366 --> 00:30:33.571
and make themselves ready
00:30:33.571 --> 00:30:34.565
for Christ to come.
00:30:34.565 --> 00:30:36.132
(Derek) And I think to be fair,
00:30:36.132 --> 00:30:37.917
and, Jorge, I'm coming to your point,
00:30:37.917 --> 00:30:40.461
the way we make ourselves ready
00:30:40.461 --> 00:30:43.176
is to allow God to make us ready.
00:30:43.176 --> 00:30:45.329
In other words, it is God
00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:47.797
who is shaping this nation, right,
00:30:47.797 --> 00:30:50.200
rather than, "We will," "I will,"
00:30:50.200 --> 00:30:52.154
"I will," "I will," right,
00:30:52.154 --> 00:30:53.771
which is very self-focused.
00:30:53.771 --> 00:30:55.827
Now, we have a choice to make,
00:30:55.827 --> 00:30:58.540
but that choice is to draw close to God
00:30:58.540 --> 00:31:00.685
who can make us a new creation.
00:31:00.685 --> 00:31:01.780
It's a different kind
00:31:01.780 --> 00:31:05.045
of nation, for sure. Jorge.
00:31:05.045 --> 00:31:07.387
(Jorge) Yes, I'm reminded of a portion
00:31:07.387 --> 00:31:09.148
as well from last week's lesson
00:31:09.148 --> 00:31:11.982
where Abraham told Eliezer, "No,
00:31:11.982 --> 00:31:13.974
don't go back to where I came from
00:31:13.974 --> 00:31:16.384
to get a wife for my son."
00:31:16.384 --> 00:31:18.638
And it reminds me of how we read earlier
00:31:18.638 --> 00:31:21.484
in the lesson that God asked Abraham
00:31:21.484 --> 00:31:24.181
to come out of his country or his nation
00:31:24.181 --> 00:31:25.532
so that He can establish him
00:31:25.532 --> 00:31:27.058
as a new nation.
00:31:27.058 --> 00:31:28.775
And that dynamic between coming
00:31:28.775 --> 00:31:30.778
out of something so God can teach us
00:31:30.778 --> 00:31:33.059
something new and use that
00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:35.182
for something even greater is a lesson
00:31:35.182 --> 00:31:36.493
we see throughout Scripture
00:31:36.493 --> 00:31:37.936
with Moses coming out of Egypt
00:31:37.936 --> 00:31:39.814
and being taught, John the Baptist
00:31:39.814 --> 00:31:41.195
going out to the wilderness
00:31:41.195 --> 00:31:42.041
and being taught.
00:31:42.041 --> 00:31:43.463
We see these parallels a lot.
00:31:43.463 --> 00:31:46.050
I'm reminded of a situation
00:31:46.050 --> 00:31:47.161
where I was in a cave;
00:31:47.161 --> 00:31:48.559
it was completely dark,
00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:49.878
and the guide that was
00:31:49.878 --> 00:31:51.519
leading us had a lighter.
00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:52.856
He lights the lighter,
00:31:52.856 --> 00:31:55.364
and instinctively everybody
00:31:55.364 --> 00:31:56.874
just kind of got closer to him
00:31:56.874 --> 00:31:58.891
because they could see where the light was
00:31:58.891 --> 00:32:01.061
and without it, it was pitch black.
00:32:01.061 --> 00:32:02.735
And I'm reminded of this verse here
00:32:02.735 --> 00:32:05.430
in Isaiah when it says that everyone
00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:06.763
will come to your light.
00:32:06.763 --> 00:32:08.009
The kings will come
00:32:08.009 --> 00:32:10.617
to the [brightness of your rising].
00:32:10.617 --> 00:32:13.554
And when I think about the difference
00:32:13.554 --> 00:32:15.456
between these nations, God is giving
00:32:15.456 --> 00:32:18.376
a light that no one else has.
00:32:18.376 --> 00:32:20.311
It's a darkness in the other nations,
00:32:20.311 --> 00:32:22.730
and so it is instinctively attractive
00:32:22.730 --> 00:32:23.785
when they come to you,
00:32:23.785 --> 00:32:25.800
and kings and all these other magistrates
00:32:25.800 --> 00:32:27.285
will come to you even as you're
00:32:27.285 --> 00:32:28.483
rising as a kingdom.
00:32:28.483 --> 00:32:29.928
And so, there's an attraction
00:32:29.928 --> 00:32:30.953
that God is using us
00:32:30.953 --> 00:32:33.335
through our light.
00:32:33.335 --> 00:32:34.885
(Derek) So, here's the question,
00:32:34.885 --> 00:32:36.687
how well did Israel do?
00:32:36.687 --> 00:32:39.590
And maybe there's not a simple answer.
00:32:39.590 --> 00:32:42.005
Maybe there were times they did well,
00:32:42.005 --> 00:32:44.644
but what would you say, big picture?
00:32:44.644 --> 00:32:47.047
How did they do as a light
00:32:47.047 --> 00:32:53.183
to the Gentiles, to the world? Anybody?
00:32:53.183 --> 00:32:55.006
(Jenner) They didn't do well.
00:32:55.006 --> 00:32:55.942
(Derek) They didn't
00:32:55.942 --> 00:32:58.392
do well, you would say.
00:32:58.392 --> 00:32:59.989
(James) Rejected the light.
00:32:59.989 --> 00:33:01.764
(Derek) Rejected...I mean, there were
00:33:01.764 --> 00:33:04.587
some good men and women, right?
00:33:04.587 --> 00:33:06.060
But you're saying, overall?
00:33:06.060 --> 00:33:07.153
(Jenner) Overall, it...
00:33:07.153 --> 00:33:08.676
(Derek) You'd say the nation...
00:33:08.676 --> 00:33:11.283
I mean, think of King Josiah; he was
00:33:11.283 --> 00:33:14.118
awesome, but then someone else would...
00:33:14.118 --> 00:33:17.264
Up and down or mainly down? Travis?
00:33:17.264 --> 00:33:18.551
(Travis) It's interesting,
00:33:18.551 --> 00:33:21.214
at the burning bush, God refers
00:33:21.214 --> 00:33:24.434
to the children of Israel as "My son,"
00:33:24.434 --> 00:33:26.486
"My son, the children of Israel."
00:33:26.486 --> 00:33:28.578
Jesus gets baptized, and He said, "This is
00:33:28.578 --> 00:33:30.767
My Son in whom I am well pleased."
00:33:30.767 --> 00:33:32.098
What we are finding out is
00:33:32.098 --> 00:33:33.757
that the children of Israel
00:33:33.757 --> 00:33:34.925
really didn't please Him
00:33:34.925 --> 00:33:37.457
in everything that they did.
00:33:37.457 --> 00:33:41.394
And I praise God because, if we keep going
00:33:41.394 --> 00:33:43.669
as we will through the prophecies,
00:33:43.669 --> 00:33:44.897
or studying these stories
00:33:44.897 --> 00:33:47.351
of the prophecies, we'll find out that God
00:33:47.351 --> 00:33:49.259
does eventually finish the work
00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:51.601
through His people, you know?
00:33:51.601 --> 00:33:52.994
And I think that's something
00:33:52.994 --> 00:33:54.164
to look forward to.
00:33:54.164 --> 00:33:56.250
(Derek) So, I'm going to ask Gleny
00:33:56.250 --> 00:33:58.574
if you'd read for us
00:33:58.574 --> 00:34:02.606
from 1 Samuel 8, verses 4 and 5,
00:34:02.606 --> 00:34:04.469
because you're saying they're not doing
00:34:04.469 --> 00:34:07.053
that well, and in the midst of that,
00:34:07.053 --> 00:34:09.274
certainly, you read the book of Judges,
00:34:09.274 --> 00:34:11.297
and there's a theme over and over,
00:34:11.297 --> 00:34:12.639
"And they did what was right
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:14.385
in their own eyes," "They did
00:34:14.385 --> 00:34:16.052
what was right in their own eyes,"
00:34:16.052 --> 00:34:18.521
rather than in the sight of God.
00:34:18.521 --> 00:34:20.506
And now, Gleny, if you'll read,
00:34:20.506 --> 00:34:23.531
they make another mistake
00:34:23.531 --> 00:34:27.576
in 1 Samuel 8, verses 4 and 5.
00:34:27.576 --> 00:34:28.903
(Gleny) And I'll be reading
00:34:28.903 --> 00:34:31.131
from the New King James Version,
and it says:
00:34:48.148 --> 00:34:50.151
(Derek) Why did they want a king
00:34:50.151 --> 00:34:51.705
like the nations?
00:34:51.705 --> 00:34:52.994
We know the characteristic
00:34:52.994 --> 00:34:55.456
of "the nations," right,
00:34:55.456 --> 00:34:57.655
in terms of what we've been shown
00:34:57.655 --> 00:34:59.578
in the book of Genesis.
00:34:59.578 --> 00:35:04.271
Why did they want a king like the nations?
00:35:04.271 --> 00:35:06.284
Look at one verse in the warning
00:35:06.284 --> 00:35:10.731
that Samuel gives in 1 Samuel 8, verse 15.
00:35:10.731 --> 00:35:11.796
Nicole, could you read
00:35:11.796 --> 00:35:13.607
1 Samuel 8, verse 15?
00:35:13.607 --> 00:35:16.444
(Nicole) Sure, New International Version
says:
00:35:19.574 --> 00:35:20.837
(Derek) Yup, you're right.
00:35:26.670 --> 00:35:29.870
(Derek) Does something there sound
00:35:29.870 --> 00:35:32.630
like a little bit off?
00:35:32.630 --> 00:35:34.897
What does it sound like?
00:35:34.897 --> 00:35:37.217
(Travis) Like the king is stealing
00:35:37.217 --> 00:35:39.417
the tithe that belongs to God.
00:35:39.417 --> 00:35:40.336
(Derek) It sounds
00:35:40.336 --> 00:35:43.586
like, instead of a theocracy
00:35:43.586 --> 00:35:47.358
where God is King, right,
00:35:47.358 --> 00:35:50.717
and honoring God as the source
00:35:50.717 --> 00:35:54.950
of all blessing, they were to return a...?
00:35:54.950 --> 00:35:56.936
(Derek, Team) ...tithe.
00:35:56.936 --> 00:36:01.434
(Derek) Now, they're giving a tithe
00:36:01.434 --> 00:36:04.015
to a human person.
00:36:04.015 --> 00:36:06.028
Now, I'm not saying they didn't continue
00:36:06.028 --> 00:36:06.993
to return a tithe
00:36:06.993 --> 00:36:08.769
to the temple; I don't know.
00:36:08.769 --> 00:36:10.236
But it's kind of interesting
00:36:10.236 --> 00:36:11.813
that it's the same.
00:36:11.813 --> 00:36:16.190
It's almost like a switch, isn't it?
00:36:16.190 --> 00:36:18.910
So again, help me, someone.
00:36:18.910 --> 00:36:21.327
Gleny and Jorge, I see your hands raised.
00:36:21.327 --> 00:36:24.329
Why would they want a king
00:36:24.329 --> 00:36:27.934
if God has called them, and in a sense
00:36:27.934 --> 00:36:29.652
He is their King?
00:36:29.652 --> 00:36:33.246
Zaria, too, okay, let's start with Gleny.
00:36:33.246 --> 00:36:36.142
(Gleny) I think the whole theme
00:36:36.142 --> 00:36:38.655
of where we see humans err
00:36:38.655 --> 00:36:40.641
ever since the Garden of Eden
00:36:40.641 --> 00:36:44.351
is when we lack trust in God
00:36:44.351 --> 00:36:45.645
and His methods and lean
00:36:45.645 --> 00:36:47.672
on our own understanding.
00:36:47.672 --> 00:36:49.574
So, there's this idea of we know better;
00:36:49.574 --> 00:36:51.212
we think we know better,
00:36:51.212 --> 00:36:53.931
and let's go with that.
00:36:53.931 --> 00:36:56.252
(Derek) Alright, let's see who else.
00:36:56.252 --> 00:36:59.654
Jorge, you had your hand raised.
00:36:59.654 --> 00:37:01.489
(Jorge) Yes, in verse 5
00:37:01.489 --> 00:37:04.476
of that same passage that we just read,
00:37:04.476 --> 00:37:06.461
we kind of see a little bit of the answer
00:37:06.461 --> 00:37:08.651
to your question where it says, "Look, you
00:37:08.651 --> 00:37:10.039
are old, and your sons
00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:11.617
don't walk in your ways."
00:37:11.617 --> 00:37:13.701
So, we are seeing that essentially
00:37:13.701 --> 00:37:15.333
the spiritual leadership
00:37:15.333 --> 00:37:16.362
or the spiritual head
00:37:16.362 --> 00:37:19.588
of Israel is lacking, and there is
00:37:19.588 --> 00:37:21.217
no one to turn to, and so they are
00:37:21.217 --> 00:37:22.902
starting to look for somebody else.
00:37:22.902 --> 00:37:24.437
And we see a similar example
00:37:24.437 --> 00:37:25.738
that took place with Moses;
00:37:25.738 --> 00:37:27.784
when He appeared to delay,
00:37:27.784 --> 00:37:29.257
they started looking elsewhere.
00:37:29.257 --> 00:37:31.664
And so, perhaps one of the reasons is
00:37:31.664 --> 00:37:34.390
because the leadership started
00:37:34.390 --> 00:37:38.817
[turning] their view [from] God, and so it
00:37:38.817 --> 00:37:42.849
caused a downstream effect to the people.
00:37:42.849 --> 00:37:44.479
(Derek) That's a powerful insight.
00:37:44.479 --> 00:37:48.488
If the appointed leaders of God
00:37:48.488 --> 00:37:52.797
had been faithful, it might have prevented
00:37:52.797 --> 00:37:54.588
or averted turning
00:37:54.588 --> 00:37:57.025
towards a human king. Tendi?
00:37:57.025 --> 00:37:59.870
(Tendi) So, in 1 Samuel 8, verse 7,
00:37:59.870 --> 00:38:01.625
the Lord tells Samuel
00:38:01.625 --> 00:38:03.226
that they rejected Him,
00:38:03.226 --> 00:38:06.647
that's why they wanted to appoint a king.
00:38:06.647 --> 00:38:08.670
(Derek) Let's look at his warning.
00:38:08.670 --> 00:38:10.778
If someone would read that for us.
00:38:10.778 --> 00:38:13.925
Puia, would you read 1 Samuel 8,
00:38:13.925 --> 00:38:15.633
verses 10 through 18?
00:38:15.633 --> 00:38:17.102
This is the same Samuel
00:38:17.102 --> 00:38:19.904
who, as a little boy, when nobody else
00:38:19.904 --> 00:38:22.595
was listening to God, heard the Lord
00:38:22.595 --> 00:38:25.455
call him, "Samuel, Samuel," right?
00:38:25.455 --> 00:38:27.257
Now, he's an old man.
00:38:27.257 --> 00:38:29.809
He's been a faithful prophet of God
00:38:29.809 --> 00:38:31.771
through the years.
00:38:31.771 --> 00:38:35.512
Let's hear his warning.
00:38:35.512 --> 00:38:37.064
(Puia) Sure, and I'll be reading
00:38:37.064 --> 00:38:38.605
from the New King James Version,
00:38:38.605 --> 00:38:41.100
1 Samuel, chapter 8, verses 10 to 18:
00:40:03.958 --> 00:40:04.775
(Derek) It sounds
00:40:04.775 --> 00:40:07.048
like a fairly serious warning,
00:40:07.048 --> 00:40:09.857
but, James, how do they respond, verses 19
00:40:09.857 --> 00:40:13.692
and 20 of the same chapter of 1 Samuel 8?
00:40:13.692 --> 00:40:15.626
(James) The New King James Version says:
00:40:34.903 --> 00:40:37.400
(Derek) What?! Nicole?
00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:38.963
(Nicole) That's it; they did not
00:40:38.963 --> 00:40:43.393
want to be a separate and special people.
00:40:43.393 --> 00:40:45.165
They wanted to be like everyone else.
00:40:45.165 --> 00:40:46.830
I think we have that problem today,
00:40:46.830 --> 00:40:48.879
that the Lord calls us to be apart
00:40:48.879 --> 00:40:51.499
and separate and to be His chosen people,
00:40:51.499 --> 00:40:53.433
but we choose to be like everyone else
00:40:53.433 --> 00:40:55.425
because we don't want to stand out.
00:40:55.425 --> 00:40:57.471
We don't want anyone to notice us
00:40:57.471 --> 00:40:58.906
to be different than they are,
00:40:58.906 --> 00:41:00.714
and I think that was Israel's problem.
00:41:00.714 --> 00:41:03.914
They wanted to be like everyone else
around them.
00:41:03.914 --> 00:41:05.376
(Derek) I was startled.
00:41:05.376 --> 00:41:07.037
I don't know if you caught this
00:41:07.037 --> 00:41:09.066
(and then I see some hands raised),
00:41:09.066 --> 00:41:10.053
"And [our king] will
00:41:10.053 --> 00:41:11.690
go out...and fight our battles"?
00:41:11.690 --> 00:41:14.346
(Jenner) That's correct, like conquering.
00:41:14.346 --> 00:41:16.110
(Derek) Oh, certainly the conquering,
00:41:16.110 --> 00:41:17.853
but, like, really, they're thinking
00:41:17.853 --> 00:41:19.855
this one person is going
00:41:19.855 --> 00:41:21.682
to go out and fight their battles
00:41:21.682 --> 00:41:23.753
when before, the Lord had said,
00:41:23.753 --> 00:41:27.430
"I will go before you," right?
00:41:27.430 --> 00:41:33.236
Like at Jericho, "I will go before you."
Like when...
00:41:33.236 --> 00:41:34.762
(Jenner) Opening of the Red Sea.
00:41:34.762 --> 00:41:36.106
(Derek) ...He opens the sea,
00:41:36.106 --> 00:41:37.511
"I will go before you,"
00:41:37.511 --> 00:41:41.549
and now you're going to send a person?
00:41:41.549 --> 00:41:42.459
Something is wrong
00:41:42.459 --> 00:41:45.612
with their thinking, right? Travis?
00:41:45.612 --> 00:41:47.554
(Travis) That danger, Derek,
00:41:47.554 --> 00:41:49.110
is still even to this day.
00:41:49.110 --> 00:41:51.325
I have been reading lots
00:41:51.325 --> 00:41:52.743
of books on history,
00:41:52.743 --> 00:41:56.045
and there were many religious groups
00:41:56.045 --> 00:41:59.514
who lobbied to have Hitler put into place.
00:41:59.514 --> 00:42:03.404
He was a vegetarian, he didn't drink,
00:42:03.404 --> 00:42:05.036
and he looked out for the welfare.
00:42:05.036 --> 00:42:07.341
And just a few short years later,
00:42:07.341 --> 00:42:09.945
we see, I mean, just recent history,
00:42:09.945 --> 00:42:11.352
we see what happened.
00:42:11.352 --> 00:42:13.398
And the psalmist said, "Don't
00:42:13.398 --> 00:42:15.367
put your trust in a prince,
00:42:15.367 --> 00:42:16.454
or the son of man,
00:42:16.454 --> 00:42:17.722
where there is no [help].
00:42:17.722 --> 00:42:19.167
Because the very day they die,
00:42:19.167 --> 00:42:21.289
their plans perish."
00:42:21.289 --> 00:42:23.888
But God always fought battles
00:42:23.888 --> 00:42:25.196
for the children of Israel,
00:42:25.196 --> 00:42:26.860
and you're right, for them to want
00:42:26.860 --> 00:42:28.567
a man now to fight their battles
00:42:28.567 --> 00:42:31.583
just seems crazy!
00:42:31.583 --> 00:42:34.185
(Derek) So, here's the question:
00:42:34.185 --> 00:42:39.673
Why did God grant their request?
00:42:39.673 --> 00:42:42.993
Because didn't God tell Samuel
00:42:42.993 --> 00:42:46.480
to anoint someone who is taller
00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:49.876
than anybody else, and handsome?
00:42:49.876 --> 00:42:51.366
The kind of one that, if he was
00:42:51.366 --> 00:42:54.488
in a popularity contest, they would say,
00:42:54.488 --> 00:42:57.981
"Why don't you vote for Saul?"
00:42:57.981 --> 00:43:00.644
And we all know how that turned out.
00:43:00.644 --> 00:43:02.461
Well, maybe we don't, but you can read
00:43:02.461 --> 00:43:04.419
about King Saul, and it's
00:43:04.419 --> 00:43:07.718
a sad, sad story.
00:43:07.718 --> 00:43:13.602
Why did God allow that and even direct
00:43:13.602 --> 00:43:18.583
the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul?
00:43:18.583 --> 00:43:20.981
I think he was son of Kish, wasn't he?
00:43:20.981 --> 00:43:23.467
Why did He direct to have him
00:43:23.467 --> 00:43:24.856
anointed as king?
00:43:24.856 --> 00:43:26.053
Zaria, what do you think?
00:43:26.053 --> 00:43:27.752
(Zaria) I would say it's because He
00:43:27.752 --> 00:43:29.070
wanted us to have our will.
00:43:29.070 --> 00:43:31.687
He's not going to always just allow us
00:43:31.687 --> 00:43:33.130
to do what He wants, right?
00:43:33.130 --> 00:43:35.009
He's going to allow us to have our will
00:43:35.009 --> 00:43:36.440
and what we desire just so we
00:43:36.440 --> 00:43:37.538
can learn from it.
00:43:37.538 --> 00:43:39.116
Even in our own lives right now,
00:43:39.116 --> 00:43:40.378
sometimes my flesh chooses
00:43:40.378 --> 00:43:41.943
something else, and then I learn
00:43:41.943 --> 00:43:42.963
from that experience,
00:43:42.963 --> 00:43:43.995
and I go back to God.
00:43:43.995 --> 00:43:46.057
And we can see this trend throughout time.
00:43:46.057 --> 00:43:47.910
They sin, and then they cry out to God,
00:43:47.910 --> 00:43:49.006
and then He saves them.
00:43:49.006 --> 00:43:50.403
They sin again...it just goes
00:43:50.403 --> 00:43:52.163
in circles over and over again.
00:43:52.163 --> 00:43:53.851
But we learned from now,
00:43:53.851 --> 00:43:55.546
all the prophets, what they wrote,
00:43:55.546 --> 00:43:57.668
that we now need to trust in God.
00:43:57.668 --> 00:43:59.744
So, it's been a lesson for them
and for us.
00:43:59.744 --> 00:44:01.479
(Derek) So, you would say, and I see
00:44:01.479 --> 00:44:03.878
some other hands that are twitching here,
00:44:03.878 --> 00:44:07.125
but you would say that God,
00:44:07.125 --> 00:44:11.362
if we are persistent,
00:44:11.362 --> 00:44:16.137
will grant us what we demand
00:44:16.137 --> 00:44:20.475
even if it is not His will - is that true?
00:44:20.475 --> 00:44:22.243
(Team) Yes.
00:44:22.243 --> 00:44:24.037
(Derek) That God will grant us
00:44:24.037 --> 00:44:30.167
what we demand even if it is not His will?
00:44:30.167 --> 00:44:31.878
Puia, we need your help.
00:44:31.878 --> 00:44:33.163
(Puia) I think that is true
00:44:33.163 --> 00:44:35.270
to a certain degree, because time
00:44:35.270 --> 00:44:37.243
and time again, what we see in the Bible
00:44:37.243 --> 00:44:39.029
is that God does not always get
00:44:39.029 --> 00:44:41.478
what He wants personally
00:44:41.478 --> 00:44:43.948
because He gives us the freedom to choose,
00:44:43.948 --> 00:44:45.433
and love by definition
00:44:45.433 --> 00:44:47.202
cannot be forced, right?
00:44:47.202 --> 00:44:49.588
God cannot force a relationship
00:44:49.588 --> 00:44:51.955
between Him and us.
00:44:51.955 --> 00:44:54.675
And so, it does appear that way,
00:44:54.675 --> 00:44:57.321
that God would grant certain things,
00:44:57.321 --> 00:44:59.852
even if it is not His best plan.
00:44:59.852 --> 00:45:01.242
But the good news, of course,
00:45:01.242 --> 00:45:03.351
is that even when we make those decisions
00:45:03.351 --> 00:45:04.982
that are not in His best plan,
00:45:04.982 --> 00:45:07.105
God always continues to pursue us
00:45:07.105 --> 00:45:09.440
to bring us back through those lessons
00:45:09.440 --> 00:45:11.775
that we learn from those mistakes.
00:45:11.775 --> 00:45:13.810
(Derek) Let's take a look at one example,
00:45:13.810 --> 00:45:15.800
and, Jorge, I'm going to ask you to read
00:45:15.800 --> 00:45:20.324
Romans 1 for us, please, verses 22 to 25,
00:45:20.324 --> 00:45:21.971
which I believe would support
00:45:21.971 --> 00:45:24.405
what Zaria and Puia have just said.
00:45:24.405 --> 00:45:26.241
Now, I don't think God does that
00:45:26.241 --> 00:45:28.676
with any kind of joy in His heart.
00:45:28.676 --> 00:45:30.495
I don't think He does that going,
00:45:30.495 --> 00:45:32.496
"Well, you're going to really mess up,
00:45:32.496 --> 00:45:35.683
and you deserve it," kind of attitude.
00:45:35.683 --> 00:45:42.121
But, if we persist in demanding something,
00:45:42.121 --> 00:45:47.757
God will allow that to happen.
00:45:47.757 --> 00:45:53.478
Let's see, Jorge, Romans 1:22-25.
00:45:53.478 --> 00:45:56.397
(Jorge) Romans 1:22-25, I'll be reading
00:45:56.397 --> 00:45:59.491
from the New King James Version, it says:
00:46:33.624 --> 00:46:37.068
(Derek) What was the expression there,
God did what?
00:46:37.068 --> 00:46:38.112
(Team) Gave them up.
00:46:38.112 --> 00:46:40.315
(Derek) He gave them up.
00:46:40.315 --> 00:46:41.886
Now, please, that's not the same
00:46:41.886 --> 00:46:44.792
as "gave up on them," right,
00:46:44.792 --> 00:46:48.008
because He will pursue us
00:46:48.008 --> 00:46:50.545
with an immeasurable and unfailing love
00:46:50.545 --> 00:46:52.821
until our final breath.
00:46:52.821 --> 00:46:55.733
But giving them up means what?
00:46:55.733 --> 00:46:58.256
(Travis) Let them have their way.
00:46:58.256 --> 00:47:00.448
(Derek) Let them have their way.
00:47:00.448 --> 00:47:03.132
And of course, history tells us
00:47:03.132 --> 00:47:06.471
what happened to the nation.
00:47:06.471 --> 00:47:08.914
Now, in the closing section, we want
00:47:08.914 --> 00:47:12.433
to look at how, just as He desired
00:47:12.433 --> 00:47:16.237
the nation bringing up through Abraham
00:47:16.237 --> 00:47:19.594
to be different, He wants His church
00:47:19.594 --> 00:47:22.109
to be radically different
00:47:22.109 --> 00:47:24.456
from the nations.
00:47:24.456 --> 00:47:26.788
But earlier Nicole said we could fall
00:47:26.788 --> 00:47:29.050
into the same trap.
00:47:29.050 --> 00:47:32.017
But let's look at what Jesus has to say.
00:47:32.017 --> 00:47:34.630
Leeah, if you could take us to Matthew,
00:47:34.630 --> 00:47:38.409
chapter 20, I think this is
00:47:38.409 --> 00:47:40.678
a really important passage,
00:47:40.678 --> 00:47:46.417
Matthew 20, verses 25 through 28,
00:47:46.417 --> 00:47:50.638
because really, if you are of faith,
00:47:50.638 --> 00:47:52.940
Scripture says, you're Abraham's seed.
00:47:52.940 --> 00:47:56.261
So, the people of God
00:47:56.261 --> 00:47:59.881
post the coming of Jesus
00:47:59.881 --> 00:48:02.634
are His church, right?
00:48:02.634 --> 00:48:04.723
And He desires His church,
00:48:04.723 --> 00:48:05.676
would you say then,
00:48:05.676 --> 00:48:07.236
to be a light to the world?
00:48:07.236 --> 00:48:08.216
(Team) Yes.
00:48:08.216 --> 00:48:10.308
(Derek) And He desires His church
00:48:10.308 --> 00:48:13.911
not to have the attitude of the nations.
00:48:13.911 --> 00:48:17.816
Let's see, Leeah, what counsel Jesus gave.
00:48:17.816 --> 00:48:19.043
(Leeah) Alright, Matthew,
00:48:19.043 --> 00:48:23.208
chapter 20, verses 25 to 28,
00:48:23.208 --> 00:48:25.155
the English Standard Version says:
00:48:51.121 --> 00:48:52.773
(Derek) So, we could, in the place
00:48:52.773 --> 00:48:55.936
of "the Gentiles," put "the nations,"
00:48:55.936 --> 00:48:58.968
right, "lord it over each other,
00:48:58.968 --> 00:49:05.258
but it shall not be that way among you.
00:49:05.258 --> 00:49:06.811
But you should be a servant,"
00:49:06.811 --> 00:49:08.504
and, of course, even Jesus,
00:49:08.504 --> 00:49:10.339
the Son of Man, was a servant.
00:49:10.339 --> 00:49:11.928
Look at the history
00:49:11.928 --> 00:49:14.884
of the Christian church.
00:49:14.884 --> 00:49:16.863
Let's start at the very beginning
00:49:16.863 --> 00:49:18.582
in the book of Acts.
00:49:18.582 --> 00:49:22.271
Where do you see
00:49:22.271 --> 00:49:27.220
the character of a loving God revealed
00:49:27.220 --> 00:49:28.416
in the character
00:49:28.416 --> 00:49:30.850
of the early Christian church,
00:49:30.850 --> 00:49:32.911
the new nation?
00:49:32.911 --> 00:49:35.328
Where do you see it manifested?
00:49:35.328 --> 00:49:37.351
From your reading, what do you know?
00:49:37.351 --> 00:49:39.650
(Travis) In Acts, chapter [2], it says
00:49:39.650 --> 00:49:41.768
they shared with one another
00:49:41.768 --> 00:49:44.929
so that none had more than the other.
00:49:44.929 --> 00:49:47.311
(Derek) Yes, Acts 2 and Acts 4 also.
00:49:47.311 --> 00:49:50.147
It says that they held everything
in common. Jenner?
00:49:50.147 --> 00:49:51.505
(Jenner) Yes, "with gladness
00:49:51.505 --> 00:49:53.277
and simplicity of heart."
00:49:53.277 --> 00:49:54.465
(Derek) They ate together
00:49:54.465 --> 00:49:57.447
"with gladness and simplicity of heart."
00:49:57.447 --> 00:49:59.546
And if there was a need,
00:49:59.546 --> 00:50:03.601
people like Barnabas sold a piece of land,
00:50:03.601 --> 00:50:06.193
brought [the money] to the Apostles' feet.
00:50:06.193 --> 00:50:10.564
It's very much, what?
00:50:10.564 --> 00:50:12.700
What is it a reflection of?
00:50:12.700 --> 00:50:15.228
(Derek, Team) The character of God.
00:50:15.228 --> 00:50:19.177
(Derek) Right? That's the picture
00:50:19.177 --> 00:50:20.390
of the early church.
00:50:20.390 --> 00:50:22.778
But if you do a scan
00:50:22.778 --> 00:50:24.528
through church history
00:50:24.528 --> 00:50:27.924
through the centuries, where do you see
00:50:27.924 --> 00:50:30.534
this kingly power start
00:50:30.534 --> 00:50:33.410
to manifest itself?
00:50:33.410 --> 00:50:36.536
Anybody a student of church history? Puia.
00:50:36.536 --> 00:50:37.882
(Puia) So, when we look back
00:50:37.882 --> 00:50:39.363
in church history, we see
00:50:39.363 --> 00:50:42.746
that probably around the fourth century
especially,
00:50:42.746 --> 00:50:46.286
the church began to court
00:50:46.286 --> 00:50:48.288
the power of the state,
00:50:48.288 --> 00:50:50.167
and eventually there was a combination,
00:50:50.167 --> 00:50:52.666
a union, between the church and the state.
00:50:52.666 --> 00:50:54.719
And as a result, the church was
00:50:54.719 --> 00:50:57.161
corrupted with power, a desire
00:50:57.161 --> 00:50:58.929
to act like a king.
00:50:58.929 --> 00:51:03.259
And the church in turn persecuted
00:51:03.259 --> 00:51:05.049
a lot of God's own people.
00:51:05.049 --> 00:51:06.660
And the darkest chapters
00:51:06.660 --> 00:51:08.972
of Christian history is filled
00:51:08.972 --> 00:51:12.646
with the church persecuting God's people
00:51:12.646 --> 00:51:15.012
through the power of the state.
00:51:15.012 --> 00:51:16.870
(Derek) We're going to study about that
00:51:16.870 --> 00:51:19.102
in our next program
00:51:19.102 --> 00:51:22.224
because that is exactly what happens.
00:51:22.224 --> 00:51:25.065
And instead of the light of God
00:51:25.065 --> 00:51:26.805
shining in the people of God,
00:51:26.805 --> 00:51:30.884
drawing others to the church of God,
00:51:30.884 --> 00:51:35.779
they use violence to try
00:51:35.779 --> 00:51:39.426
to force people, which was not
00:51:39.426 --> 00:51:41.339
the character of God at all.
00:51:41.339 --> 00:51:42.777
That's actually the character
00:51:42.777 --> 00:51:46.322
of the fallen angel, right?
00:51:46.322 --> 00:51:51.232
So, how do we avoid falling into the trap
00:51:51.232 --> 00:51:57.815
of using the methods of the nations
00:51:57.815 --> 00:52:01.694
and staying as God wants His church to be,
00:52:01.694 --> 00:52:03.585
a light to the world?
00:52:03.585 --> 00:52:07.766
How do we avoid that trap?
00:52:07.766 --> 00:52:09.011
(Travis) Humble ourselves.
00:52:09.011 --> 00:52:11.176
(Derek) Okay, Travis, talk
to me about that.
00:52:11.176 --> 00:52:12.283
What did you say?
00:52:12.283 --> 00:52:15.324
(Travis) Humble ourselves before God.
00:52:15.324 --> 00:52:16.907
(Derek) Especially if He puts you
00:52:16.907 --> 00:52:19.462
in a position of leadership, right?
00:52:19.462 --> 00:52:22.603
When you stand up to teach the class,
00:52:22.603 --> 00:52:25.072
it's like, "Lord, hide me behind You,"
00:52:25.072 --> 00:52:26.985
right? Yes, James?
00:52:26.985 --> 00:52:29.882
(James) When we recognize that we are
00:52:29.882 --> 00:52:31.366
part of a royal priesthood,
00:52:31.366 --> 00:52:34.847
a chosen nation, in God we know
00:52:34.847 --> 00:52:37.234
that the Great Commission
00:52:37.234 --> 00:52:39.452
of going into all the world is not
00:52:39.452 --> 00:52:41.915
that of Nimrod or of Satan,
00:52:41.915 --> 00:52:44.408
which was meant for conquering,
00:52:44.408 --> 00:52:47.560
but rather to conquer hearts.
00:52:47.560 --> 00:52:50.590
I use that word loosely, to convert hearts
00:52:50.590 --> 00:52:53.351
to Jesus so that we can live
00:52:53.351 --> 00:52:55.738
in harmony and interdependence.
00:52:55.738 --> 00:52:58.038
That's what I see in the book of Acts,
00:52:58.038 --> 00:52:59.640
people living communally
00:52:59.640 --> 00:53:03.128
with interdependence and living for God.
00:53:03.128 --> 00:53:04.846
(Derek) You know, the text that you
00:53:04.846 --> 00:53:06.660
quoted there, "You are
00:53:06.660 --> 00:53:10.367
a chosen generation," 1 Peter 2:9,
00:53:10.367 --> 00:53:13.914
"a royal priesthood, a holy..."?
00:53:13.914 --> 00:53:14.836
(Team) "...nation."
00:53:14.836 --> 00:53:16.684
(Derek) Ah! There's the word.
00:53:16.684 --> 00:53:19.378
You've got the nations, but you are
00:53:19.378 --> 00:53:21.326
a holy nation, but back to something
00:53:21.326 --> 00:53:22.729
Nicole said earlier,
00:53:22.729 --> 00:53:29.443
"His own special people," peculiar.
00:53:29.443 --> 00:53:30.908
(Jenner) God's own possession.
00:53:30.908 --> 00:53:33.290
(Derek) Yeah, God's own possession,
00:53:33.290 --> 00:53:35.496
but hear the last part,
00:53:35.496 --> 00:53:39.151
"That you may proclaim [your praises]."
00:53:39.151 --> 00:53:41.828
(Team) No!
00:53:41.828 --> 00:53:44.118
(Derek) "Is not this great Babylon
00:53:44.118 --> 00:53:45.710
that I have built," no, no,
00:53:45.710 --> 00:53:48.539
Or, "Is not this great church...," or, no.
00:53:48.539 --> 00:53:51.010
"That you may declare the praises of..."?
00:53:51.010 --> 00:53:52.232
(Derek, Team) "...Him..."
00:53:52.232 --> 00:53:54.124
(Derek) "...who called you out of..."?
00:53:54.124 --> 00:53:55.612
(Derek, Team) "...darkness..."
00:53:55.612 --> 00:53:56.580
(Derek) "...into.."?
00:53:56.580 --> 00:53:58.265
(Team) "...His marvelous light."
00:53:58.265 --> 00:53:59.978
(Derek) Oh, man, that's God's ideal.
00:53:59.978 --> 00:54:01.899
Jorge, talk to me about that,
00:54:01.899 --> 00:54:05.288
because that is so different
00:54:05.288 --> 00:54:09.524
from the kingdoms of the world.
00:54:09.524 --> 00:54:11.221
(Jorge) Yes, and I think, to answer
00:54:11.221 --> 00:54:13.164
your question, how can we not fall
00:54:13.164 --> 00:54:15.749
into that same trap, is by remembering
00:54:15.749 --> 00:54:18.902
that He is the vine, we are the branches.
00:54:18.902 --> 00:54:20.742
And we need to stay abiding
00:54:20.742 --> 00:54:22.740
in Him constantly.
00:54:22.740 --> 00:54:25.040
And He will keep us from ourselves
00:54:25.040 --> 00:54:27.433
and going into a place that would cause us
00:54:27.433 --> 00:54:28.668
to deter from where He
00:54:28.668 --> 00:54:30.579
would have us to be.
00:54:30.579 --> 00:54:32.895
(Derek) We are not more loved by God
00:54:32.895 --> 00:54:36.231
than any in the nations; is that right?
00:54:36.231 --> 00:54:38.226
God loves all of His children
00:54:38.226 --> 00:54:40.687
in the same way, but He wants us
00:54:40.687 --> 00:54:45.274
to go out as servants to the nations
00:54:45.274 --> 00:54:47.289
to share the light of God with them.
00:54:47.289 --> 00:54:49.078
So, I want, in the few minutes
00:54:49.078 --> 00:54:52.116
that's closing, remotes, be ready, too,
00:54:52.116 --> 00:54:54.817
to share a time when God
00:54:54.817 --> 00:54:57.303
sent you out to the nations.
00:54:57.303 --> 00:54:59.003
It's one thing to just stay at home
00:54:59.003 --> 00:55:00.790
and try to stay out of trouble,
00:55:00.790 --> 00:55:04.043
but God sends us out to the nations
00:55:04.043 --> 00:55:05.715
to be a witness.
00:55:05.715 --> 00:55:07.513
Anybody have a time you want to share
00:55:07.513 --> 00:55:11.133
when God did that for you? Yes, Puia.
00:55:11.133 --> 00:55:12.692
(Puia) I actually want to answer
00:55:12.692 --> 00:55:14.404
in a slightly different way.
00:55:14.404 --> 00:55:17.823
I'm so thankful for the missionaries
00:55:17.823 --> 00:55:21.527
who came to my land, to my ancestors,
00:55:21.527 --> 00:55:24.580
to Mizoram and Burma,
00:55:24.580 --> 00:55:27.199
to tells us about this light,
00:55:27.199 --> 00:55:29.535
and becoming a light to the Gentiles.
00:55:29.535 --> 00:55:31.420
And as a result of those missionaries,
00:55:31.420 --> 00:55:33.789
we came to learn, I came to learn
00:55:33.789 --> 00:55:35.698
this message about Jesus.
00:55:35.698 --> 00:55:37.926
I'm so thankful for missionaries.
00:55:37.926 --> 00:55:39.275
(Derek) Has God sent you out
00:55:39.275 --> 00:55:41.090
at any time to the nations, too?
00:55:41.090 --> 00:55:42.025
(Puia) Yes, I have.
00:55:42.025 --> 00:55:43.982
I have traveled, and I have preached,
00:55:43.982 --> 00:55:45.194
and it's a result
00:55:45.194 --> 00:55:46.729
of one person stepping out,
00:55:46.729 --> 00:55:50.438
and the ripple effects continue.
00:55:50.438 --> 00:55:51.737
(Derek) Now, Jorge, I know
00:55:51.737 --> 00:55:56.912
you're about to go to the Philippines.
00:55:56.912 --> 00:56:00.111
What motivated you to sacrifice the time
00:56:00.111 --> 00:56:03.138
and the resources to go out
00:56:03.138 --> 00:56:06.505
on that mission to the nations?
00:56:06.505 --> 00:56:11.136
(Jorge) Yes, we had Henry Suluvale,
a gentleman
00:56:11.136 --> 00:56:16.482
who came by and did a vespers, as it were,
00:56:16.482 --> 00:56:19.085
on a mission trip that he did
00:56:19.085 --> 00:56:20.703
in Papua New Guinea.
00:56:20.703 --> 00:56:24.140
And he gave, I guess, a little exposé
00:56:24.140 --> 00:56:26.458
of his experience and the thousands
00:56:26.458 --> 00:56:27.559
and thousands of people
00:56:27.559 --> 00:56:30.230
that were baptized as a result.
00:56:30.230 --> 00:56:33.762
And there was a small group of us there,
00:56:33.762 --> 00:56:35.477
and, well, we were listening
00:56:35.477 --> 00:56:37.754
to his experience and how people
00:56:37.754 --> 00:56:39.270
were moved, the different works
00:56:39.270 --> 00:56:40.085
that were needed,
00:56:40.085 --> 00:56:41.417
the needs that were there,
00:56:41.417 --> 00:56:43.085
and he expressed how they
were going
00:56:43.085 --> 00:56:45.658
to do a mission trip in the Philippines.
00:56:45.658 --> 00:56:47.459
We jumped at the opportunity
00:56:47.459 --> 00:56:49.399
as we understood that God was leading us
00:56:49.399 --> 00:56:52.085
to say, "We have the time, we have
00:56:52.085 --> 00:56:54.670
the health, we have the resources;
00:56:54.670 --> 00:56:56.705
let's give them to the Lord while we can."
00:56:56.705 --> 00:57:00.376
And so, we're heading over there to do it.
00:57:00.376 --> 00:57:01.641
(Derek) And I want to hear
00:57:01.641 --> 00:57:03.686
in an upcoming program, Jorge,
00:57:03.686 --> 00:57:05.617
what happens, okay?
00:57:05.617 --> 00:57:08.784
So, you take some notes.
00:57:08.784 --> 00:57:11.919
We may not all go to Palawan,
00:57:11.919 --> 00:57:13.746
We may not all go to Mizoram
00:57:13.746 --> 00:57:15.746
because we don't speak the Mizo language,
00:57:15.746 --> 00:57:18.657
or we don't speak Burmese,
00:57:18.657 --> 00:57:22.290
but God has a mission for each one of us.
00:57:22.290 --> 00:57:24.283
He wants us not to attract attention
00:57:24.283 --> 00:57:27.253
to ourselves but to let the light of Jesus
00:57:27.253 --> 00:57:29.288
shine through us to the nations
00:57:29.288 --> 00:57:31.239
because He loves all of His children.
00:57:31.239 --> 00:57:32.945
Will you accept that challenge?
00:57:32.945 --> 00:57:34.994
By the way, that's a lesson
00:57:34.994 --> 00:57:38.374
for the last days of this earth's history.
00:57:38.374 --> 00:57:39.466
Let's pray together.
00:57:39.466 --> 00:57:42.851
Father in Heaven, that You would call us
00:57:42.851 --> 00:57:45.104
to bring a life-changing message
00:57:45.104 --> 00:57:47.456
to the nations is quite remarkable.
00:57:47.456 --> 00:57:48.611
But thank You that those
00:57:48.611 --> 00:57:50.509
You call You enable.
00:57:50.509 --> 00:57:53.154
And may Your presence be with us as we go.
00:57:53.154 --> 00:57:55.097
In Jesus' name. Amen.
00:57:55.097 --> 00:57:55.881
(Team) Amen.
00:57:55.881 --> 00:57:57.309
(Derek) Friend, whether you go
00:57:57.309 --> 00:57:59.083
to your neighbor or across the world,
00:57:59.083 --> 00:58:00.526
take the light of Jesus
00:58:00.526 --> 00:58:02.260
to dispel the darkness.
00:58:02.260 --> 00:58:04.160
Be a blessing to those around you.
00:58:04.160 --> 00:58:28.425
♪ theme music ♪