♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
We're in the middle of a series,
God's Mission - My Mission,
seeing the heart of God
to bring a revelation of His love
to everyone on planet Earth
and save as many as possible,
as many as will believe
in His grace and mercy.
Our topic today, well, we're looking
at an ancient prophet named Jonah
and Excuses to Avoid Mission.
That's not to give you ideas,
but to see how we can make it
past those excuses.
So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School
and welcome to the team.
Good to be together again.
Take a look at each other there.
You look like the whole world,
and that's what Hope Sabbath School
is about, isn't it, every nation,
kindred, tongue and people coming together
to study the Word of God.
We've got some team members
joining us remotely.
Sabina, great to have you back with us,
glad you're here today.
Leeah, good to see you again.
And Hope, good to see you, Hope.
We're glad you're here
for Hope Sabbath School today.
And we've got emails
from a few people around the world,
and can I ask you to write to us:
sshope@hopetv.org.
Share with us how you're blessed.
You can even send us a digital picture
of your family, maybe a study group
that you're leading.
We want to see how God is blessing you
through a study of His Word.
Here's a note from Virginia
in the United States of America.
Denise writes and says, "I've wanted
to send you a message for a while,
so while watching Hope Sabbath School
this Friday evening,
it seemed like a perfect time.
I've so enjoyed the different teachers
on Hope Sabbath School."
Well, I happen to be teaching today,
but there are quite a few teachers
even in our group today.
"I have to admit, it's taken a while
for me to get used to the new set..."
Well, you're right; we used a set
for about 10 years until it
started falling apart,
and we have an amazing new set.
"...took a while, but I think it was
probably time for an update," said Denise.
I think the people that moved
the old set around would agree with you.
"Hope Channel has
always had beautiful sets
and such professional filming and programming.
I consider it an honor to help
in a small way with electronic giving.
May God continue to lead
and guide you all."
Well, Denise, thanks for writing
to us from Virginia
here in the United States of America.
Well, across the ocean, in Zambia,
Letty writes, and she says,
"Greetings, Hope Sabbath School family,"
we gave Letty the wave; she says,
"and the whole Hope Sabbath School family
around the world
and the entire production team."
So, we want to wave to them, too.
"The study of the Bible
has been a huge blessing in my life.
I put it upon myself to download
the weekly programs and to share them
on many platforms with my friends,
family and the entire church!"
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) What do we call that?
That's joining God in His mission, right?
That's what this series is all about.
"If it will ever be possible,"
writes Letty from Zambia,
"I would love to be part of the team.
May God bless your ministry.
Pray for me as I also pray for you."
Well, I want to tell you, Letty,
and I know the team agrees,
you are part of the team, right?
You're doing, there in Zambia,
what we can't do in this country
for your people.
Thank you for writing to us.
Here's a note from a donor couple
in Jamaica, and they write and say,
"Christian greetings
from the beautiful island of Jamaica.
My husband and I are pensioners,"
that means that they are on retirement,
"but we're thankful to the Lord
for the work He has done
raising up Hope Channel around the world.
We are positive that many souls
are being blessed daily
by the various programs,
especially Hope Sabbath School."
Wow, that's why they wrote to us.
"Thank you for your commitment and dedication.
Enclosed is a contribution
toward the evangelistic outreach,"
that's why we exist, right?
"May the Lord continue to bless
Hope Channel and the leaders
as you continue to allow the Holy Spirit
to use you for God's honor
and glory. Amen."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) And a donation of 100 dollars
to bless the ministry.
Thank you, Jamaica, for being part
of the great miracle,
and thank you to each one of you
who say, "I want to be part."
Maybe you've been thinking about it.
You can go to our website,
hopetv.org/hopess.
Some of you watch the program there.
Click on the Donate button
and say, "Dear Lord, bless
the global evangelistic media ministry
of Hope Sabbath School."
One last note, I don't remember
the last time we got an email from Cuba,
not the first time, I know, but...
"Hello, Hope Sabbath School team,"
writes Adiel from Cuba.
"I've been watching your progam,
and I'm glad God is using you
for the precious work
of sharing His message.
God bless you; Jesus is coming soon."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, Adiel, thanks for writing
to us from Cuba.
Doesn't it encourage you
to hear from all these different parts of the world?
It really is amazing.
We realize that many are listening
in a second language,
which is why, those of you
who are watching from around the world,
we try to speak slowly and clearly
because we want to thank you
for listening to us in maybe a language
that may be your second or third language.
But, the Holy Spirit helps us, doesn't He,
as we study the Word together.
Well, right now we need your help
to sing our theme song.
It's a 3,000-year-old Scripture song.
My wife put a new tune to it;
it's kind of a happy tune,
and it speaks about mission,
because it says in Psalm 9,
verses 1 and 2, "I will praise You,
O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works."
We join God in His mission.
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Well, we're going to study today
about a prophet who didn't want
to tell of all God's marvelous works.
In fact, he wasn't glad and rejoicing
in the Lord either,
but I think there'll be some lessons
that will help us
to join God in His mission.
Let's sing our song together again.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Amen. Let's pray together.
Father in Heaven, what a privilege it is,
not only to praise You
with our whole hearts
for You are worthy of our praise,
but also to tell
of all Your marvelous works,
to join You in Your mission to share
Your immeasurable, unfailing love
with the world.
Today, as we look
at an ancient prophet, Jonah,
and excuses for mission,
I pray that You would help us
to find freedom from those things
that hinder us from being the witnesses
that You've called us to be for You.
I thank You in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, we're considering Jonah,
and we'll learn about him primarily
in the book that bears his name,
the book of Jonah.
It's a small book near the end
of the Hebrew Scriptures.
I was in the city of Joppa just recently,
and several important things
happened in Joppa.
One of them was someone was raised
from the dead by the power of Jesus' name.
Do you remember who that was?
It was Dorcas, raised to life in Joppa.
What else happened?
Well, Peter had a vision in Joppa
that he should not call any person unclean
when a message came
from a centurion, you remember?
But, perhaps Joppa is best known as being
a place where Jonah went
to try to run away from God.
And we're going to consider
the excuses he made and the excuses
some others may make to avoid mission,
but hopefully we can get past them.
We might even identify some excuses
that we have made in the past
or may still make.
So, Jonah, chapter 1, Samuel, if you
could begin our study today in Jonah,
chapter 1, and read for us
the first three verses.
(Samuel) I'm reading
from the English Standard Version, and it reads:
(Derek) Now what do we know
about the Ninevites, the Assyrian Empire?
What did Jonah probably know
about them, too?
Well, if we just had these verses,
what do we know?
The Lord says something; what do we know?
(Team) Wicked.
(Derek) They were wicked, right.
So, even if we didn't have any details,
we would say they were very wicked.
But, Sabina, I'm going to ask you
to find another little book;
it's right there in the Minor Prophets
after the book of Jonah,
Micah, and then Nahum.
Some of these little books
are hard to find, but Nahum,
chapter 1 and verse 1,
and then I'll have you read
chapter 3, verses 1 to 4.
We learn a little more about Nineveh.
(Sabina) Okay, so I'll be reading
from the New International Version
and Nahum, verse 1, says:
And then chapter 3, verses 1 to 4 say:
(Derek) What do you think about this city?
One of the excuses that someone might make
and perhaps one of the motivations
for Jonah to say, "Let me get a boat
anywhere in the other direction,"
is because of...? Fear, right?
I mean, these were a fearful people,
but if Jonah had remembered something
of the Lord's work, it might have
helped him to find freedom from his fears.
Let's go back to 2 Kings, chapter 19,
and, Travis, would you be willing to read
for us 2 Kings 19, verses 32 to 37?
Sometimes when we
are tempted to be afraid,
we need to remember what God has done.
(Travis) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) Some of us are very happy
that you read that text; there were a lot
of difficult names there, thank you.
You can go - and I was
in Israel just recently - and you can see
reliefs in museums of devastation
that the Assyrians brought, even in Israel.
But, the Lord delivered His people
there in Jerusalem.
So, if that memory was there,
why would the prophet Jonah be so fearful?
What do you think?
Leeah, what do you think?
He knew how God had delivered in the past.
(Leeah) The Assyrian Kingdom
continues to resurface, so I think
there was probably the fear
that, "Well, why did they come back?
if God struck them down once,
why do they keep coming back?"
There's a lot of fear that comes
when something kind of "rears
its ugly head," as we say.
(Derek) Okay, good point.
In other words, maybe they're
coming back for revenge.
"God delivered us in the past,
but can we be certain
that He will deliver again?
I'm actually going to them now."
What do you think, Jason?
(Jason) It can be a combination of fear and also feeling like they don't
deserve it because they're so wicked.
(Derek) We're going to come
to the "don't deserve it" in a minute,
but the fear thing would be what?
You've been in the military, right?
You hear about these people.
And you won one battle by the Lord.
(Jason) Yeah, it gets to be overwhelming
because of the things you heard
and feeling like, "I can't do this,"
feeling inadequate, in that sense.
(Derek) Nancy.
(Nancy) I would say there is one of him
against a whole city, but he's forgetting
that he's with God,
and with God on our side...
(Derek) I mean Sabina read
that description in Nahum; it was
pretty overwhelming, wasn't it? Travis?
(Travis) So, I think if we're
going to be hard on Jonah,
we're going to have to be hard on Elijah,
the same who slew all the prophets of Baal
and then runs from a queen.
So, we could be hard on Jonah,
but there are other prophets.
I mean, Elijah, he was
quite a prophet of God,
and he was afraid of Jezebel.
(Derek) So, maybe there are times...
I see your hand raised.
Because that same Elijah
would stretch his body
over a lifeless child,
and he would be raised to life, right?
And yet, he does run from Jezebel.
And yet, later God deals with Jezebel.
I mean, there's nothing
too hard for God, right?
But, you're saying one time
we might feel strong
and other times overwhelmed by fear?
(Stephanie) I think the difference is,
is where I'm placing my eyes -
on evidence that God exists,
and He's led me so far,
or on what I can see presently,
which can change in an instant
when God's in it.
(Derek) I'm remembering a quotation.
Lots of hands raised, this is great.
But, I remember, "We have nothing
to fear for the future
except as we shall forget
the way the Lord has led us
and His teaching in our past history."
So, maybe in that moment -
you talk about focus - we shift our focus
even though the evidence
is still there, right?
Now, a couple more, and then I want
to ask is there...Travis, you said,
let's not be too hard on him.
Can you think of a time when fear
got the best of you
in a challenging mission assignment? John.
(John) Going back to the quote
that you just recited,
Jonah must have forgotten
about the stories of how God
delivered them from the Assyrians.
And also, Jonah must have
thought to himself, I mean God did it,
even if he had remembered
God did it before,
would He do that again?
And at times in our own lives,
we think like that, "Okay, yes, God
gave me that victory back then
in reaching this person,
but would He do that again?
And so, those are some reasons
that could be why Jonah was fearful.
(Derek) We're going to have to give
a testimony time, honest time.
Some of you have been
in difficult places on mission trips
or long-term assignments; Sabina, you're
in a long-term ministry assignment.
Can anybody think of a time
when you felt fear
kind of well up, like, "Whoa!"
Adison, you're nodding and smiling.
(Adison) When I was 13 years old,
so this was way back now,
I remember sharing with a group
of about 50 to 60 people from the public
about the sanctuary message,
about Exodus 25 and that important topic,
and it was one of my first times
I had ever spoken publicly.
And I remember human emotion
taking over in that moment,
and it was like a paralysis.
I was just paralyzed with fear.
And, you know, 13 years old, there is still...
Anyway, I love this story about Jonah; it reminds me of that.
(Derek) And you weren't
in Papua New Guinea, you were...
(Adison) No, I was home.
Yes, I was on Vancouver Island in Canada.
(Derek) Sometimes fear
might come for different reasons,
but you felt that.
Anybody else can think of a time? John?
(John) I'll leave the country unnamed,
but I was in a certain country
going door to door
giving out Christian literature
and praying with them.
And soon there were
some certain other religious extremists
who came, and they took us
to the police station.
And during that time, my friends and I
were quite fearful as to what was
going to happen next.
But, the Lord amazingly delivered
by sending some other people
who came to the rescue.
(Derek) But the fear came?
(John) Yes.
(Derek) Sabina, you think of a time.
(Sabina) Yes, I think that one
of the times where I felt the most fearful
was actually when God invited me
to leave my job, back in the day,
to go into fulltime ministry.
And for me, it was
a very challenging request from God
because I had lots of uncertainties
about my future, you know,
how He would provide for me,
what ministry would look like for me.
And it took me maybe about half a year
to take a step further than He
had already impressed upon my heart,
even though I had, like, a strong sense
of calling since I was a teenager.
It was at 28 only that I sensed that He
was directly indicating my next move.
And for me to respond to this move,
it took me, as I said,
more than half a year.
I asked for some evidence from God,
and I really had a hard time trusting
that He was the One
who was speaking to me.
So, I eventually responded,
but I was quite fearful at the time.
I was quite fearful
of my family's judgment.
I was quite fearful of not having enough
to provide for myself in the future.
I was quite fearful
of where all this would end.
And, you know, I'm thankful;
now 10 years almost have gone by,
and God is good.
(Derek) So, I guess one thing,
and then we're going to move on
to another excuse
after just a moment here.
We ought to be sympathetic, compassionate
toward people who may wrestle
with some fears, because we've
also wrestled with fears, right?
So, we're not judging Jonah
or anyone else, but we're saying
how do we make it past the fear?
And that's my final question for us
before we move to the second excuse.
Fears will come, right?
How do I make it past that fear
if it's clear that God has
given me a mission?
God has asked me to do something. Nancy?
(Nancy) We have to remember
what we're dealing with,
the Great Controversy between good
and evil in the universe is real.
And so, when we remember what it's about
and whose side we're on,
it will give us courage.
I wanted to mention that one situation
in which we may feel fearful
is when we're among peers that have
the same head knowledge about God
but perhaps not the same heart knowledge
and the heart experience.
And so, we may feel like, "Well,
it's not cool," maybe, "to stand out
and be bold for God."
But when we really understand
what's happening and what is at stake
and who's on our side,
then we will be bold.
(Derek) I'm going to ask Hope,
because Hope you're, today,
the youngest member of our team.
I know you've done ministry; you've had
a youth prayer group that you lead,
were there ever times
that you felt fearful,
and if so, how did you make it past that?
(Hope) One time that comes
to my mind for sure is when I was
doing some canvassing, and that is
selling Christian books door to door.
And I was in a neighborhood that was
a little bit lower class, and I remember
feeling so afraid, and I actually called
my leader, and I was just like,
"I can't do this."
And I remember I just had
to hold onto the Bible promises,
and that was the only thing
that could get me through that.
And one verse that actually sticks out
in my mind is Psalm 34:4, and it says,
"I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears."
And, when we seek God in our fear,
not waiting until after we've freaked out
and then coming to Him, but seeking Him
while we're afraid, I think that's
something that's really important,
just keeping that connection with Him,
because He is the only One
who can free us from our fears.
(Derek) Thank you so much.
Wow, that's one
of my wife's Scripture songs,
"I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
and delivered me."
So, how do I find freedom from my fears?
The answer is not by trying harder, right?
God is the One who can deliver us
from all our fears. Samuel?
(Samuel) Here in the Scriptures
that we read, a couple of times
the Bible mentions, "He went away
from the presence of the Lord."
And when we go away
from the presence of the Lord,
that's when fear creeps in.
But, we must continue to stay
in the presence of the Lord
through faith in Him,
that He who has called us
will carry us through. for me.
(Derek) And maybe not
that fear crept in, but fear was
increased, right, exponentially increased.
The fear was there.
Hope is saying when you feel the fear,
run to God rather than away from Him; He is the One.
If we run away, the fear
just increases, right,
and becomes overwhelming.
We've got to move to a second.
I just want us to know then, if someone
says, "Well, I've been asked
to do this, but I'm afraid," that we
would come with compassion, right?
And maybe even a testimony,
like we just heard from Hope.
You know, "Hey, I felt that it was real.
I checked with my leader,
but I also remembered the Word
that God had hidden in my heart
in Psalm 34 and verse 4."
A second excuse that we see or discover
in the story of Jonah is the idea,
an excuse that, "God, You're saying
these people need to hear,
but I don't think those people
deserve to hear that good news,"
whether it's a certain neighborhood
or a certain country
or a certain socioeconomic level.
And by the way, there are people who think
that the homeless don't deserve it,
but there are also people who think
the rich don't deserve it.
We have all of these different ideas.
Let's take a look at Jonah
and see if we can learn something
about his attitude
and actually his faulty view of God.
Jonah, chapter 1, I'd like to go
back to verse 3, Kylynda,
if you would read that.
We heard it at the beginning,
but what faulty view of God
do you hear in this text?
(Kylynda) Verse 3, I'm going to be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) So, help me, someone.
You're smiling, Stephanie.
What faulty view of God
is in that narrative?
(Stephanie) The belief that you
can go away from God; you can run away
and He won't see you.
(Derek) You remember the Psalm of David
where he says, "Where can I..."?
"...go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven...
or farthest parts of the sea..."
So, there is a faulty view
of God there, isn't there?
We've got to move to the next verse.
Leeah, if you would read for us
in the same chapter, 1, verse 12,
let's see another faulty view of God.
Listen carefully, because the faulty view
of God will distort our idea
about whether people
deserve His grace or not.
(Leeah) I'll be reading
from the English Standard Version,
Jonah, chapter 1, verse 12:
(Derek) What's faulty there? Anybody? Jason?
(Jason) That God desires,
like, a sacrifice, like throw himself?
But, we know the Bible says
a contrite heart, a broken heart
is what God wants, not a sacrifice.
(Derek) Right, so there's
this distorted view of God
that somehow, "If you throw me in,
God will somehow be happy."
What would bring joy to God
is to obey the mission assignment, right,
not to throw him into the sea.
Well, let's go on to chapter 3
and verse 4 now, when he finally,
and you know the story.
He's thrown overboard.
God prepares a great fish,
and I don't know how that happened.
You say, "That's not normal."
You're right; that was a miracle.
"Submarine" catches him,
an aqua-submarine, and then vomits him
up on the beach, and God says,
"I haven't changed my mission plan,
which is to show My love
to the people of Nineveh,
and I want you to go."
What do you see in chapter 3 and verse 4?
John, would you read that verse for us?
Jonah 3 and verse 4,
and what's missing there?
(John) Jonah, chapter 3 and verse 4,
from the English Standard Version: it says:
(Derek) What's missing
in this picture, folks? Adison?
(Adison) Grace, redemption.
(Derek) Yeah, "Repent," right,
"for the Kingdom of God," you remember
what John the Baptist said, right?
There's both a word of judgment,
if you will, but also we need
a word of...? Grace.
Why doesn't Jonah say, "If you
don't repent, this will happen in 40 days,
but if you repent, God is
abundant in mercy and kindness
to all those who call upon Him"?
Why, why doesn't he say that? Samuel?
(Samuel) I think the excuse is
he doesn't want them to repent.
He doesn't want them to be saved.
He doesn't want them to have salvation.
(Derek) He has this thought
that maybe God is more generous
and more compassionate than he is, right?
But, you're right, he doesn't
want them to be saved.
So, these distorted pictures.
Well, it gets even worse,
and I'm going to ask Adison
if you'd read Jonah 3, verse 10,
and chapter 4 through verse 4.
It's kind of startling, because this is
from a prophet of God.
Let's see what he says.
(Adison) And I'm reading
from the King James Version, verse 10:
(Derek) This is one
of the most successful evangelistic meetings
in the history of the planet.
It's not a very good sermon, right?
But the Holy Spirit works,
which is how any life is changed,
and a whole city repents!
And Jonah is what?
(Team) Exceedingly angry.
(Derek) Exceedingly angry.
I'm not going to ask you if you were God
how you would treat that prophet,
because fortunately God was
as merciful and gracious as Jonah thought;
otherwise, he could have lost
his life right there. John?
(John) In some ways, I almost think
that, yes, God was trying to reach
the city of Nineveh,
but in bringing Jonah into this mission,
He's also trying to reach Jonah
and to show that mercy and compassion.
(Derek) So, faulty view of God
or certainly a faulty view of salvation,
how could that get in the way for us
in our mission today? Kylynda?
(Kylynda) I think we all have biases,
and it's unavoidable, but sometimes we
want to project these same biases to God.
We want God to agree with us
that some people are better than others,
or we can treat people in some way
and treat other people in a different way.
And we have to learn to say, "God,
how should I look at the world
through Your views?"
whether it's intentional
in the case of Jonah
or even unintentionally, "Please save me
from looking at other people
through biases that I've
built up in my life."
(Derek) Can anybody think
of someone that you met,
Sabina, I see your hand there,
can you think of someone that you met
that your first impression was,
"There is no way that God
could save that person"?
Think about that. Sabina?
(Sabina) There have been people
I've encountered in ministry
and in life in general that I found
very rooted in ideas or ways
that definitely were not pleasing to God,
but I've personally have not thought
that they were unworthy.
But, I have found people
that have thoughts just as you are saying,
like their ideas about salvation
are rooted, not in God's grace,
but in an understanding
that maybe through their works
they are going to achieve salvation,
and that they, because they believe so,
don't think they are worthy
of receiving God's grace.
So, that's also possible, right,
not only what we think about other people,
but what we think about God's salvation
may hinder us from coming to Jesus, right?
(Derek) I remember one time I was
speaking in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro,
and I was speaking in a church.
And there was a young man,
and he was a strong young man.
He looked like a bodybuilder,
and he had tattoos over almost all
of his body that I could see.
And a first impression would be,
"Why is he even here?"
But, as he listened to the Word of God,
he was leaning forward, focusing,
and when an invitation was given,
this young man got up and walked forward!
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) But sometimes, as Kylynda said,
we may have biases.
We say, "Well, that wealthy businesswoman
is not going to be interested."
"That homeless teenager
is not going to be interested."
But the question is, rather,
is God interested in them?! Samuel?
(Samuel) There are two ways that I think
faulty views can hinder us from mission.
One view is that there is this notion
that God doesn't destroy,
and that everyone
will be saved at the end.
So, if everyone is going to be saved,
why do I need to go
and share God's mission?
On the opposite extreme is this view
that God has already chosen some
to be saved and some to be lost.
So, if God has chosen some to be saved,
why do I go bother
and share God's mission?
So, these are some views
that exist in the world, very much so,
faulty views that can hinder from sharing God's mission.
(Derek) The Word of God challenges that
when it says, "Today, if you
hear His voice, don't harden
your heart," right?
There is a choice that we make. Jason?
(Jason) And also, we could tend
to lean into the point
of, "It's not my job to do it;
maybe someone else will come along
and witness to them," you know,
and kind of free yourself up
from trying to do that mission,
even though God has called you to do it.
(Derek) We'll come to that
as another excuse in just a minute.
That's good; you're moving forward.
First excuse is...? "I'm afraid."
And we've all been there,
and let's be compassionate
if someone is struggling.
Second excuse is...?
"They don't deserve it,"
because of my faulty view of God.
Even though in the back of his mind
he knew better, didn't he?
But there is a third excuse that I think
Jonah could definitely have thought about,
and that is, "That is
way too difficult for me."
Someone mentioned, "There's one of me,
and there's that great city,
and You're expecting me to go
into the midst of that city
that Nahum describes as full of blood,
corpses stacked up?
Way too difficult for me."
Think about a mission assignment
God may give to you, a difficult one.
Just imagine it; it may be inner city,
it may be a foreign country,
it may be the other side of the world.
What are some excuses
that you might come up with?
I'm going to ask Hope to start with that,
and God's going to...
I know, Hope, you're thinking
about getting some mission training,
but then God throws you,
let's say He throws you to Mongolia, okay?
Mongolia. What are some things
that might cause you, Hope, to say,
"That's too difficult for me"?
(Hope) I don't know the language.
I don't know the culture.
I don't know anything
about any of the people.
(Derek) Yeah, so I've got two right away.
I don't speak Mongolian, and I
don't understand the culture, alright?
Are those valid concerns?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Is it too difficult?
(Stephanie) Not for God.
(Derek) It depends how I'm looking, right?
I might have to say, and we've had one
of our team members
just recently learn another language.
I don't even know what it looks like,
but someone just learned
the Albanian language, right?
But, I could say, "That's too difficult
for me, a language/culture."
What else might cause me to say,
"Oh, send somebody else"?
You said, "Send someone else," right?
What other...we'd like
to call them reasons, right,
but if God's calling us,
all of His biddings are enabling,
so He's going to do.
But from a human perspective,
what else, John?
(John) It's not safe for me or my family.
(Derek) Yes! I mean, sending Hope
over to Mongolia without bodyguards,
you know, that's not safe.
Or, someone, I remember my wife and I
as a young couple got a call to go
to a part of the world
that they called "the white man's grave."
And I had the fear that I
would bury children there, right?
It may not be safe.
Sabina, you want to respond
to one of those three,
or is there something else
that we might go, "This is too difficult"?
(Sabina) I'm thinking of something else.
It relates to what is shared,
but it's something else,
like material deprivation, I think, is,
depending on where you are going,
how you are going,
really, you may not have
the same facilities or amenities
that you have in your home country, right,
or even you do, but you are going
to spend a life with less
than what you wished.
(Derek) So, I'm going to ask you
to share a testimony.
Travis, you've been
to a lot of different countries, right,
and I'm sure there were times
when some of these...
We'll call them reasons;
they become excuses if we what?
Finish the sentence:
They become excuses if we...? Don't go, right?
But they may still be reasons,
right, is that right?
Don't know the language,
don't know the culture; it's not safe,
so those are reasons,
but we go anyway if we're focusing
on the Lord and how He's led in the past.
Can you think of a time when you go,
"This is difficult, too hard for me"?
(Travis) Well, Derek, it's interesting
you ask the question, because, as we're
going through this study,
I'm struggling internally,
because I've just been asked
to take on an orphanage in Bangladesh.
And I'm like, "Lord, I have
way too much going on
with other orphanages
and different things."
Like, I can't handle it.
(Derek) You shared with us
in a previous study that you
actually helped launch
a new orphanage in Malawi, right?
Started there, putting roofs on churches,
because your background
is in construction.
But your background
wasn't in running orphanages, right?
So, now here this...
What do you know about Bangladesh?
(Travis) I don't know anything
about Bangladesh; I don't know anything.
I started looking up the tickets,
and my wife says, "You have
so much going on!
Can you really handle this?"
And so, now I'm thinking, as we're
going through this study,
you know, I think about Martha
being distracted with much serving.
Is there a balance, because I
certainly would want to help
the orphanage in Bangladesh,
but at the same time,
can you have too much?
And that's what I'm struggling with now.
(Derek) What's the big question?
This is real, right? It's right now.
He's thinking about it during this study.
What is the big question I ask
when someone says, "I'd like you
to come and do this"?
What do you think?
(Kylynda) Has the Holy Spirit
called me to go?"
I think it's very hard,
because as I mentioned
we have internal biases,
but we also have internal thoughts
about what God might be saying.
It's really difficult to wisely discern
the voice of God.
You need prayer, you need Scripture,
and you need conversation
with other people that can help guide you.
(Derek) There's a lot of counsel
right there, isn't there?
Because, sometimes we might even have
like delusions of grandeur,
that I'm like the savior of the world.
And what I'm hearing Kylynda say is,
"Is this something the Holy Spirit
is impressing me to do?
Or, do I join with them in prayer
that God would bring someone
just as he brought someone to Malawi?"
Does that make sense?
Now, is it possible
God's asking Travis to do that?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) But we don't know for sure, do we?
We have to listen.
Sabina, what are you thinking?
(Sabina) I believe that, in just going
with what Travis was sharing,
there needs to be an inner conviction
that comes from God
so that we can move forward.
But then, as we put the story of Jonah
in perspective, one could say,
"Oh, but Jonah was not convicted."
So, I would say there needs
to be an inner conviction based also
on what the Scripture is teaching.
So, if your reasons
for not being convicted are
going against Scripture's wisdom,
then maybe you should follow
Scripture's wisdom and respond to God.
But, maybe if the reasons that you are
not having that inner conviction
are aligned also with God's Word,
just as Travis was saying,
like, "Maybe I have too much on my plate.
Do I have enough resources now?
Am I the right person to do that?"
So, those are all valid questions
that we don't want to ignore as well.
(Derek) We've looked
at three main excuses,
and then Jason added a fourth one,
which I actually wrote down
as another excuse, but, fear.
And fear is real; there can be real things
not just imaginary fear, right, real fear.
"They don't deserve this," but that
really comes from a faulty view of God,
because from God's persepective,
how many people deserve salvation?
(Derek, Team) Everyone.
(Derek) Why are you saying
they don't deserve it?
"It's too difficult," that's real.
I look, I go, "I don't know the language,
the culture; it's not safe."
Another one Jason mentioned,
"Someone else could do it better."
Have you ever felt that way? Samuel?
(Samuel) Another excuse I think of,
particularly here in the story of Jonah,
is that Jonah was a Jew,
and the people of Nineveh were Gentiles.
And so, there is that racial tension,
which can often hinder us
from going into missions.
(Derek) And by the way, those Gentiles,
as you called them, from Assyria,
killed a lot of Jewish people.
They came and slaughtered and destroyed
a lot of cities, but that's
an interesting bias to this
that says, "I don't want them
to be saved," right?
As you've listened to the study,
and I'm going to start
with some of our remotes;
Leeah, I'm going to start
with you if that's okay.
I don't know the answer to the question,
but as you hear this story of Jonah,
we've looked at three or four excuses,
what do you feel in your heart
(and I'll give the rest of the team
time to share) is an excuse
that you might easily grab onto
that you need to just give to God?
Say, "God, I just need
to give that to You, because I do want
to join You in Your mission,
whatever that looks like."
(Leeah) In anything that God
has called me to in my life,
I have felt quite a measurable amount
of fear, and fear mainly for the unknown.
Like, we named so many reasons,
maybe I don't feel like I can afford it,
or I don't understand the culture,
or I don't understand the language.
But, all of these things can be denounced
when we go to God and when we say,
"This is my fear."
God understands that we're
going to have fear, and He
probably expects it, too,
because He knows that we're human.
But, like somebody said earlier,
I think in instances where He knows
we're going to be afraid, or like Jonah,
when He knows that we're going to resist,
maybe that call to mission is more for us
and for our heart change than it is
for the people that we're
actually going to witness to.
(Derek) Alright, so, just letting go of that fear.
By the way, I received some healing
a few years ago where God
directly said to me, "Derek, I want
to deliver you from all your fears."
And I was anointed that day, by the way,
because I grew up with a lot of fears,
and some of them were
from my family of origin, a lot of fears.
So, I can relate to that.
Let's show some kindness to Jonah, right?
Anybody else, as you've looked
at this study, something you just feel...
Kylynda, is it the same or something else?
You just say, "God,
I want to give that to You.
I could easily grab onto that
and make it a reason when actually it
could be an excuse holding me back."
(Kylynda) Well briefly, several years ago,
I had the opportunity to work in a lab
in a different country.
So, I'm a scientist; it's my first day,
and I'm eating lunch
with my new colleagues, and they say,
"Well, what are you doing this weekend?"
And I thought, "Oh, you know,
maybe I shouldn't mention going to church
or Sabbath," because in science
it could be perceived that someone
who embraces faith
is not intelligent
or they're intolerant or bigoted,
or, you know, maybe it's not appropriate
in this culture to discuss religion,
so I said, "Nothing."
And then someone else came to the table,
another scientist, sat down,
not of my faith, and started
to pray for his food.
Everyone at the table went silent
until he finished, and then we all
started talking again.
And I think it was like a personal rebuke
to me because it wasn't
quite the same shade of fear.
I wasn't afraid that they
would hurt me or say things,
but pride and apathy, they play a role
in how people might perceive me.
And I want to ask God's forgiveness
and grace to say, "What do You
want me to do, and can I be open
to do that no matter the circumstance."
(Derek) And, we need to recognize
that there is a time
and place to share more.
Even Jesus said, "There are some things
I would share with you,
but you cannot bear them now."
So, we don't have
to share everything right away,
but you were feeling there,
you used the word rebuke,
or at least a loving reminder
from the Holy Spirit, "When I ask you
to do something, don't be afraid," right,
"Don't let that hold you back." Nancy.
(Nancy) Derek, I'd also like
to mention comfort.
Some of us don't want
to go off somewhere else
because we're comfortable.
We know God, we're happy in our church,
and maybe going off to another country
with our families, and the grandparents
won't get to be with the children,
you know, things like that.
But, Jesus says, if you can remind me
of where in Scripture, that sometimes we are called to leave...
(Derek) Father and mother?
(Nancy) Yes, yes, and, "Great
will be our reward."
And so, yeah, I wanted to mention comfort.
(Derek) Comfort, right, because there
may be bedbugs there or snakes
that I don't like, or people
that I don't like.
There are lots of reasons.
We need to move to Isaiah,
and I'll give you a chance
to share at the end,
because Isaiah finds
his way past all excuses.
And, I think there's a clue,
and, Stephanie, if you could read for us
in the book that bears the prophet's name,
in Isaiah, chapter 6, verses 1 through 7,
I think there's a clue in this passage
as to how he abandons all excuses,
because verse 8 is a verse we'll read
after you've read 1 through 7.
(Stephanie) Alright, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) Now the first half of verse 8.
(Derek) So, there are lots of excuses
because he's going to be given
a difficult assignment,
but the second half of verse 8,
how does he respond?
(Derek) Whew! What was it
in the first seven verses?
There's something there, isn't there?
It makes sense from all the things
we've been studying.
What was it in the first seven verses
that gave him the courage
to abandon all excuses,
call them reasons, and say,
"Here am I, send me"? Adison?
(Adison) He had an experience with God.
He saw the glory of the Lord,
the character of God,
and that changed him
and moved upon his heart to say,
"Here I am, Lord, I want to serve You.
You are beautiful, amazing."
(Derek) That's one thing.
Stay with us now.
He saw the glory of the Lord.
He had a revelation
of the glory of the Lord.
What else? Samuel?
(Samuel) I think the verse
also talks about how your guilt
is taken away, and your sin atoned for.
(Derek) So something was
happening to him spiritually. What else?
(Nancy) Perspective.
(Derek) There was something else
really big that happened there
in those verses.
What was it? Yes, Kylynda?
(Kylynda) He was touched
by the fire from the altar.
(Derek) Something supernatural happens
when we abandon all of our excuses,
and it comes in the context
of that encounter
with the living God, right,
and the freedom from all of the shame
and guilt and sin and all of that.
Something supernatural happens
that enables us to say....Stephanie?
(Stephanie) Yes, he recognized who he was
in the presence of God.
He understood that he was a human being,
and he was in the presence
of the Almighty King.
(Derek) So, someone's watching today,
and you're saying, "I want to be the woman
of God/man of God,
join God in His mission,
but I've been...Honestly I
called them reasons,
but maybe they're excuses.
I need a revelation of the glory of God,
and I need something supernatural
to happen in me."
Is God able to do that?
I hope you're raising your hand
and saying, "Yes," because He is!
And He's done it;
it's recorded in Scripture.
People, I'm sure Mary, when she was told,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,"
she had to wrestle with fear,
"This is too difficult,"
but surrendering and trusting a loving God
to say, "God, here am I, send me."
Is that your prayer today?
I want to pray for you just now.
Father in Heaven, we didn't just come
to study today to rebuke people
for making excuses.
We came so we could see how easy it is
to have reasons not to go.
But, we've learned
that an encounter with You,
that, yes, Your supernatural blessing can
enable us to do whatever You ask us to do.
Today, we just want to say,
whatever that looks like in the mission,
Lord, we're available.
Here we are, please send us.
And when we see miracles,
we will give You all of the praise.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath School.
Go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
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