♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
We are studying about
two great men of God,
Ezra and Nehemiah, one a priest,
another a government official
and lessons that we
will apply to our lives today.
Our topic today: Facing Opposition.
It wasn't just back then,
but every woman of God,
every man of God, who's willing
to be available to God today
will face opposition.
How do we deal with that
in a way that makes us stronger
and closer to God and even a blessing
in the midst of the opposition?
That's what we'll look at.
We're glad you joined us
for Hope Sabbath School.
What a great series,
and I'm glad that you're with us.
How many of you here
have experienced opposition
at some point in your life?
Yeah, right, but what Jesus says
is when you suffer
for righteousness' sake,
so we're talking about opposition
because we're doing what God
wants us to do
and not because we're
just doing our own thing.
We believe that we are
going to learn some lessons today.
We're glad you're with us.
Oh, I forgot to tell you
about our awesome app.
I should open up my phone here,
go to the Hope Channel app.
You can go right there;
you can choose whatever show.
Here's Hope Sabbath School.
There's one of my favorite participants,
Travis, right there,
and there's Heide right there
on the screen.
Heide, you're right here today.
So, right there you can get
lots of powerful insights.
You can choose different languages,
if you'd like to listen
in other languages.
Lots of other Bible-based programming
besides Hope Sabbath School.
Go to the App Store or to Google Play.
You can download the free
Hope Channel app;
it really is amazing.
We had a simple one
that we built a little while back that was
in 150 countries around the world.
This one is, like, turbo, okay?
It's, like, super-awesome.
So, if you haven't downloaded it,
get our new app.
And talking about reaching
different parts of the world,
this is our first email
from the island of Ukerewe,
which is the largest inland island
on the continent of Africa.
Yes, it's in Lake Victoria.
The country is Tanzania,
and Baraka writes to us.
He says, "I'm 43 years old,
living on the island of Ukerewe,
and I am following
Hope Sabbath School every day."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) By the way, I looked up Ukerewe
because I didn't know anything about it.
It is also a sanctuary for albinos
because in some cultures
they're persecuted
because they're albino,
and that apparently is a refuge,
the island of Ukerewe.
"Be blessed, everyone in the class,
really blessed.
God bless us all. Amen."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, Baraka, thanks for writing.
We really are excited to know -
we're going to go Google
on our phones or computers
and find the island of Ukerewe,
which is your home.
Cynthia writes to us from Michigan
in the United States of America.
Wait, Jason, aren't you from Michigan?
Would you like to wave to Cynthia?
"I am not a Seventh-day Adventist
Christian,
but I enjoy your programs on Hope Channel,
especially Hope Sabbath School."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Your teaching
is directly from the Bible."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) That's it, right?
"Where I previously lived,
I attended a Baptist church.
There are only a few differences,
but I am pleased to see
that we all worship the same God,
and we love Him and Jesus Christ
our Savior."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Actually, I watch
a few Christian programs;
it's very uplifting that the Word of God
is still being broadcast on television."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "We can make good choices
about what we watch," writes Cynthia,
and we would agree, right?
(Team) Amen. Yes.
(Derek) And I'm so glad
that you wrote to us, Cynthia,
from Michigan,
and you're right; we can choose,
and we're glad you're part
of our Hope Sabbath School family.
Here's a note from some donors, a couple.
They say, "We're celebrating
the continued blessings from the Lord."
This is from the state of South Dakota.
"We wish to share a small portion
with you.
You and all of the Hope
Sabbath School team
are a large part of our lives.
We start each Sabbath
watching Hope Sabbath School."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) "Thank you for all you've done
and continue to do.
May we glorify the Lord
until His soon return,"
and a gift of 2,000 dollars
to help the ministry
of Bible-based programming
for the world, right?
And thank you, a donor-supported ministry;
we appreciate each one
who partners with us.
Justina writes a short note
to us from the Bahamas,
and Justina says, "Thank you, team,
for your continuous explanation
and exploration of the Word of God."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "God is using Hope Sabbath School
to bring much light to the viewers."
And we say praise God, right?
One last note...Oh, I was excited
to receive this one
from a pastor in Nebraska
in the United States of America.
Pastor Doyle writes to us;
Doyle is his first name.
"I am a senior pastor,
Bible and Sunday school teacher,
and I look forward to watching
Hope Sabbath School every day."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) "I thoroughly enjoy
the straightforward, interactive,
no-nonsense teaching of the Bible.
I love the perspectives of the team.
I pray the Lord's continued blessings
and success on you.
I live in Omaha; I've been
searching religious programming
for the unadulterated gospel.
I've grown weary of programs.
While searching, though,
I came across Hope Sabbath School,
and the Holy Spirit
quickened my desire to watch."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "I was so impressed
with the clear, concise teachings
and the interactive discussion.
I'm a Baptist pastor, and my joy
is teaching the Word of God.
My preaching style is didactic,
so you know while watching
Hope Sabbath School, I'm in heaven.
I now watch Hope Sabbath School
six days a week, and I'm
looking forward to it.
May God continue to pour out His blessings
on you and the Hope Sabbath School team."
God bless you, Pastor.
Thank you for writing to us from Nebraska.
Isn't it exciting, from an island
in Lake Victoria
to a pastor in Nebraska,
God is touching hearts.
We'd love to hear from you
wherever you live on planet Earth.
I suppose we could get an email
from off the planet, too,
but sshope@hopetv.org.
It really brings us joy, doesn't it?
We're all volunteers; you're donating.
I was a volunteer for seven years,
and then they made me the president
of the global television network.
But we come here together
because we believe in the mission. Amen?
And we're glad you're part of it, too.
Right now we need your help to sing.
We're going to sing our theme song
from Psalm 25.
"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You."
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Three thousand years ago
the psalmist sang that;
it was a different tune,
but I'm sure some day he'll say,
"I know the words to that song,"
written by the Holy Spirit,
and we just found another tune.
But it's beautiful, isn't it?
I think it would have been
a good song for Ezra and Nehemiah,
"Let not my enemies triumph over me,"
because they were facing opposition.
We want to study about that
and what it would mean for us
as women of God/men of God
in the last days of Earth's history,
trying to be faithful
to what God's called us to do,
answering His call or His appeal
and experiencing some opposition.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
lessons for us today from Your Word.
Be our Teacher by Your Holy Spirit.
And we thank You and praise You.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, we're going to start
at Ezra, chapter 4,
as Ezra and the wave...
Is this the first wave
of exiles returning, Ezra?
First wave? Yes or no. No.
First wave was Zerubbabel, right, in 538,
and now we're in 457
or thereabouts, right?
So that's about 80 years or so.
Second wave going back,
and there's been some opposition
in the first wave;
now we're in the second wave,
Ezra going back, chapter 4, verses 1 to 5.
Liza, would you begin our study?
And why do you think the Jewish exiles
who return to Jerusalem
refuse to allow other people
to help them rebuild the temple?
(Liza) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) So Ezra is actually writing
history about something that happened
when Zerubbabel brought the first wave
of exiles back, right?
And when they come back,
apparently some local people
said, "We'll help you."
First thing they wanted to do
was to rebuild the temple.
Later they are going
to rebuild the walls, right
(first the temple).
Why does Zerubbabel, Jeshua, or Joshua,
and those who came back,
why did they refuse help?
You say, "I thought we'd need
all the help we could get." Heide?
(Heide) I was wondering
the same thing when I read it.
I was like, "What? What in the world?"
It sounds like they're saying,
"We worship the same God,
and we want to come and help you."
Why would they reject him?
Reject them, I'm sorry.
So I inquired a little more,
and I found from an author
that she mentioned that they had
already fallen into disobedience
as a result of mixing
with surrounding countries and tribes,
and that had led them
into a state of apostasy and disobedience.
And they were trying to avoid doing that,
that there was actually wisdom in this,
that they saw this as a ploy of the enemy
to lead them away from obedience to God,
which is what got them
into that position to start with,
"and we want to do everything we can
to avoid that."
And then the way that they react
shows that they were right.
(Derek) Ah, that's right.
Even if you didn't know
all of that background,
which is quite interesting;
that's the "rest of the story."
All you need to do is read how they react
in the next few verses, right? Puia?
(Puia) From the description
of their name itself here,
Ezra used "adversaries;"
they can't be friends.
(Derek) But he may not
have known that immediately, right?
It may have taken a little time
to see that,
but you've got here,
as soon as they don't get their way,
they show their true colors.
(Marcus) They discourage, and then they
try to bring trouble to them
as they're building.
(Derek) They hire counselors
against them to frustrate them.
So they're using deception.
They're not coming, saying,
"We're your enemies.
We've gone into apostasy,
and we're trying to hinder your work."
Does that strategy of deception
remind you of anybody else? Stephanie.
(Stephanie) In the Garden of Eden
with Adam and Eve
when Satan came to deceive.
(Derek) And says, "Eat this fruit;
it will kill you, and it will
cause misery to all of your descendants."
That would have been the truth, right?
"But you'll be like God.
You'll be wise like God.
Your eyes will be opened."
Can you think of any other times
that Satan....This is deception,
and the real enemy, again,
is not these people
but Satan and his kingdom behind.
Can you think of other times
when Satan uses deception
to try to lead people astray? Gladys?
(Gladys) I think of Solomon
when he was being king.
God had already promised him
that he will be wise
and that He will be with him.
And yet he married all these women
because he was afraid that these kingdoms
will reunite against him.
He tried to do it his way,
so it was kind of like the devil
trying to influence what God
had already prescribed to be good,
for something evil.
So he aligned himself with these women
that, at the end, just departed his heart
from the plan of God.
(Derek) And maybe the enemy said
to Solomon, "Build some temples
just to keep your wives happy."
He's not saying, "And you can
commit apostasy, too,
and you can worship false gods."
But you're absolutely right,
it did turn his heart away.
That's an example.
Someone else, another example. Pedro?
(Pedro) I would say Jesus
when He was tempted by Satan.
He didn't come, like, "Oh, I'm Satan.
You're in my territory; get out of here."
No, no, "Make some bread
out of this rock."
And we can see this here
that they're trying to trick them
because if they helped,
it would also give them the opportunity
to say, "Well, since we built,
we want to bring our gods
into your temple now."
(Derek) Ah, "We helped build the temple,
so we want a room for our gods."
Okay, Travis?
(Travis) I think of Balaam.
You know, the story where he gets paid
to go and trick or cast a spell for money.
And that's just how Satan works.
He wants to make things look attractive,
but yet their's deception in it.
(Derek) So, how can we avoid
that kind of deception?
We're talking about wanting
to, in this day, be faithful to God.
We're going to experience opposition.
How can we be alert, Jason, when people
seem to be friendly and helpful,
but there's actually deception at work?
(Jason) Thinking of Pedro's reference
to Jesus' temptations,
Jesus responded with, "It is written."
He went right back to Scripture.
So, knowing the Scriptures
and being able quote the Scriptures
is a very powerful tool against deception.
(Derek) Okay. Anybody else? Yes, Gladys?
(Gladys) I wouldn't say just quote
the Scripture,
but having that relationship with God
when the Word is living in you.
Then you will be able
to recognize any counterfeit.
Because somebody who works in a bank,
they don't study every counterfeit money
that comes out.
They just spend time
recognizing and knowing the real money,
so when counterfeit comes,
they recognize it right away.
So should we, when we study
the Word of God,
it becomes part of our daily lives.
So, when something like that comes,
it will be easier to recognize.
(Derek) So let's look at another aspect,
another attempt at deception
in Ezra, chapter 5, with someone
by the name of Tattenai, governor
of the region beyond the Euphrates.
Puia, if you could take us
to Ezra, chapter 5,
let's hear the story
in verses 8 through 17.
Now, this is kind of an official
wanting to use deception
to hinder the work of God.
(Puia) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Ezra, chapter 5, verses 8 through 17:
(Derek) Why is he writing this letter?
He has no connection with the building
of the house of God.
(Stephanie) Stir up trouble.
(Derek) What's he trying to do, Stephanie?
(Stephanie) Stir up trouble.
(Derek) Is he hoping that they
won't be able to find the record,
or check the records and see
if it's actually what they're saying?
(Marcus) Right, yeah, he's trying
to hinder the work as well.
He's a government official,
but he's, like, on the other side
of the river.
And so he's trying to kind of spy
and say, "As an official,
what are you doing here,
and why are you building here?
Who has given you authority
to build here?"
And sometimes when we face opposition,
it's hard to come back and stand and say,
"By the word of our God,
we are here doing His work."
That's not always easy to say,
especially in the face of somebody
who may be in authority over us.
(Derek) So, how do you think
that the people of God responded
to that letter that was sent back
to the king? Panic?
(Travis) Prayer.
(Derek) Prayer, "Okay, Lord,
You guided, You worked miraculously
to convince the king to make the decree.
You need to work miraculously
in this deceptive work that this governor
is trying to accomplish."
Let's see what happens.
Laurel, could you read for us
in chapter 6, verses 11 and 12.
Actually, King Darius sends
a warning back to this governor
in chapter 6 of Ezra, verses 11 and 12.
(Laurel) I'll be reading
from the New American Standard Bible:
(Derek) What's the takeaway lesson?
(Heide) That backfired.
(Derek) For those of you who didn't hear,
Heide said, "That kind of sneaky plot
of Tattenai backfired."
And the king basically said,
"Anyone who opposes what I have ordered,
let a timber be pulled out of his house,
made into a gallows or hanged, mine says.
Yours says "impaled on it,
and his house turned into a heap."
In other words, God is able to use, again,
a, can I call him a pagan monarch?
And yet somehow God's at work
in that man's heart, right,
to hinder the deceptions
and the plotting of the enemy. Puia?
(Puia) I'm reminded of a verse
in Proverbs.
I forgot where, but the principle
is there that says that when you try
to set a trap for someone,
it comes back to you.
(Derek) You can become caught
in your own trap?
(Puia) Yeah, caught in your own trap.
So I think what this person here,
the governor, is trying to do
is set a trap for the people of God,
intentionally tried to set a trap.
And that can backfire, like Heide said.
So we can learn the lesson there
that, even today, if someone
is trying to set a trap,
they better make sure that they are
doing it for the right reason.
(Derek) And we don't rejoice
that he got caught in his own trap,
but we do rejoice that God
delivered His people, right?
(Travis) This reminds me
of the story of Mordecai and Haman;
it really does.
(Derek) Oh, yes.
(Travis) I mean, there's such a direct...
(Derek) And actually that's happening...
(Travis) In the same time, yeah.
(Derek) ...same time period.
(Travis) The same thing happens,
only it turns out really bad for Haman.
(Derek) He really is hanged on the gallows
he prepared to hang
one of God's ambassadors, right,
Mordecai.
So, yeah, there are some powerful lessons.
Well, in the midst of these oppositions,
tricks, traps, scheming,
God sends some prophets
to encourage His people.
So let's look in Ezra, chapter 5,
the first two verses,
and we'll see what message
these prophets bring.
Ezra, chapter 5, Jason, first two verses,
are these prophets, whose names
you recognize?
Let's see what they say.
(Jason) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Ezra, chapter 5, verses 1 and 2:
(Derek) Now, it doesn't tell them,
exactly, here,
what they prophesied,
but what was the response to the prophecy?
"Go to work," "Let's go and build," right?
So the prophecy must have been
somewhat related to, "No weapon
that's fashioned against you
will prosper," right?
"You need to keep doing
what God has asked you to do."
(Travis) It's amazing to me,
as we finish reading in verse 2,
that the prophets of God
were there helping them.
You know, being a messenger
doesn't mean just being a voice.
It means getting your hands dirty as well,
getting in there and being involved
in the work.
(Derek) So, helping them,
not just by prophesying,
but actually construction?
(Travis) Right, laboring.
(Derek) Yes, Marcus.
(Marcus) And also encouragement.
The biggest thing is that they were
raised up at a time when God
knew and saw that His people
were kind of depressed, kind of low,
that outside forces were trying
to stop them from completing the work.
And also, too, they were
kind of a little bit resting
on their laurels.
So God is like, "Come on,
get back to work, get back to work."
That's kind of what they're saying, too.
(Derek) Do you recognize those names,
Haggai and Zechariah?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) So, let's go to the book
that bears Haggai's name, chapter 1,
and we'll read there
a specific message from God
that was delivered to Zerubbabel
by the prophet.
Travis, would you read,
starting in chapter 1,
verses 1 through 11.
What's the message that God
brings to Zerubbabel?
(Travis) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) What's the Lord saying
through the prophet?
In one sentence, yes, Puia.
(Puia) The lack of prosperity
in their land
is because they have been neglecting
to put God's interests first.
(Derek) So, put God first.
"Seek first the Kingdom," Jesus said,
and the other things you need...?
(Team) Shall be added unto you.
(Derek) Will be added to you.
So basically, and that's why we know
they got up and started building,
he was saying, "That's what you need
to be doing."
Well, let's see how they responded,
at least according
to Prophet Haggai's report.
Marcus, could you continue reading
in Haggai, chapter 1,
verses 12 through 15?
(Marcus) Sure, and I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
(Derek) In other words,
when they determined -
this is an important life principle -
when they determined that they would obey
what God asked them to do,
what did God do for them?
He what? He stirred up?
What does that mean,
"stirred up their spirits"?
(Gladys) Encouraged them.
(Derek) He encouraged them, right?
He gave them a...?
(Marcus) Renewed vigor.
(Derek) A renewed vigor, thank you,
to say, "You know what?
With God, we can do this.
We're going to do what God
has asked us to do."
But it was a response
to a word of...I don't know
if "rebuke" is the right word,
but it was like, "Hey, you're
a little bit distracted building
your condominiums here," right,
"while My house is in ruins."
And that's not just saying,
"I want My house before yours."
It's saying, "What's your
top priority in life?"
Can you think of a time in your life
when God sent a Word
to you through a prophet,
and probably it will be a prophet
who has written something down, right -
God could still call a person to give you
a prophetic Word, too, I suppose -
but when God kind of redirected
your course through His Word,
and as you look back
you thank Him for that.
Anybody, can you think
about a time? Billy.
(Billy) So, as you know, it was like
the recent elections that happened
in the United States...
(Derek) We're evergreen here,
so we don't know about recent elections,
but go ahead and share your story.
(Billy) So, my personal story
is that I was struggling
with the person who got elected,
and I felt sometimes a resentment.
And then God sent me a Word in Matthew 5,
talking about loving your enemies.
And that was very radical,
because it was somebody
that I felt like was going
the opposite direction in terms
of encouraging hate,
and now God is asking me
to add that person to my prayer list.
(Derek) So, if a person is watching
from Venezuela or they're watching
from the continent of Africa,
they're going to apply that
to their own situation.
What if a leader comes into power
that I don't like, you know?
I may live in Thailand or I may live,
just, you know, they may have a new king,
or they may have a new president
or prime minister,
and you're saying that the Spirit of God
said to you, "You need to pray
for that person."
(Billy) Especially in Matthew 5,
talking about, you know,
we need to pray for our enemies.
(Derek) "Love your enemies,
bless those who curse you," yeah.
(Billy) Exactly, so...
(Derek) Do good to those
who spitefully use you, right?
So, okay, that was a lesson
that you learned
in that experience. Gladys?
(Gladys) Yes, a while ago
I was called to teach kindergarten,
and I was teaching upper graders,
and I didn't feel like I could do it.
And I cried and fought with God.
I was saying, "I don't want to do it."
But God kept insisting in my heart
that that's where He wanted me to be.
And the words of Jeremiah 33:3
gave me encouragement
where He said, "Call unto Me,
and I will answer, and I will show you
great and mighty things
that you don't know."
And those words just,
like, changed my heart
in a position that now
I wouldn't see myself, you know...
I look back and say, "Wow."
God really made a change,
not only in my life
but the direction that I was going."
(Derek) That's one of my wife's
favorite passages
from Jeremiah, by the way, Jeremiah 33:3.
And for those of you watching the program
or those on the team that couldn't see,
Gladys did not read that; it's inside.
She quoted it, "Call to Me,
and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know."
So, that Word was in her heart.
Now, the question is,
just to help with the story,
did you know that Word
before He brought it to your remembrance?
(Gladys) Of course.
(Derek) Why do you say, "Of course"?
Was that useful that that Word was in her?
(Gladys, Team) Yes.
(Derek) Absolutely, right,
because the Holy Spirit
brought it to her remembrance, Abigail,
you're absolutely right.
If it's not there, He can't
bring it to your remembrance, all right?
So that became a Word to you,
an encouraging Word.
Someone else, where God
brought a Word to you?
You didn't have the live prophet,
Jeremiah, because he sleeps
until the Resurrection Day, right?
But through the written testimony
of Jeremiah,
that Word came to you. Okay, Travis?
(Travis) Through my walk
coming back to God,
you know, sometimes you stumble and fall,
and you make mistakes.
And I would always be reminded,
the Holy Spirit would bring
1 John, chapter 2, verse 1.
"My [brethren], I write
these things to you that you
may not sin."
"My little children," he says,
"that you may not sin,
but if you do, you have an Advocate
with the Father."
(Derek) And that's Jesus Christ
the righteous One, right?
(Travis) Jesus Christ the righteous.
And then it would just remind me
that I need to go back
to the foot of the cross,
and then another verse would come
into my head,
"Thy word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against Thee."
And the Holy Spirit's encouraged me,
"Hide the Word of God in your heart.
Hide the Word of God in your heart,"...
(Derek) And right before 1 John
about, "I pray that you
would not sin, little children,"
right before that, in chapter 1, says,
"If we confess our sins..."
(Team) He is faithful...
(Derek) "He is faithful and just
to forgive us, and to..."?
(Team) Cleanse us.
(Derek) "Cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
So that word comes as an encouragement.
And apparently Zerubbabel
and Joshua the high priest and others
needed a little encouragement,
and God sent the prophets.
The lesson that I'm learning is,
if we listen to the prophets
during the times of ease and calm times,
then when we really need that Word,
the Holy Spirit will bring it back to us.
Well, we're going to hyperspace
to Nehemiah now;
we're around 444 B.C.,
and we're going to go
to chapter 4 of Nehemiah.
All the way through Nehemiah,
he's going to experience opposition,
but I'd like to look specifically
at chapter 4
and see how he responded
to the opposition
while he clearly knew
he was doing the work of God.
Stephanie, could you read
the first three verses for us,
and then I'll have someone else
continue from verse 4.
(Stephanie) All right, and I'm reading
from the King James Version:
(Derek) These enemies,
what are they doing?
(Team) Mocking.
(Derek) They're mocking; is that all?
(Stephanie) Trying to discourage.
(Derek) Yeah, they're trying
to discourage, trying to...?
(Team Member) Undermine.
(Derek) Undermine, intimidate, right?
Let's see, Heide, how Nehemiah responds,
verses 4 and 5 of chapter 4.
(Heide) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and it says:
(Derek) In other words,
to use the language
of our earlier conversation,
let them be...?
(Gladys) Caught in their own trap.
(Derek) Caught in their own trap, right?
"We're doing what You wanted us to do."
But notice again, intimidation, mocking,
and what's Nehemiah's first response?
(Team) Prayer.
(Derek) Right? Call out to God.
Next verse, Travis, could you
read verse 6?
(Travis) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) God gave them encouragement,
and they said, "We're not going to worry
about these people opposing us;
they'll be caught in their own trap.
And they continued to make progress.
Billy, could you read verses 7 and 8?
We're still in Nehemiah, chapter 4,
verses 7 and 8.
(Billy) Sure, I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
(Derek) All right, so, did you notice
that the number of people
in opposition increased again?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Now we've got all kinds
of other people being added to the list.
It was two, then it's three;
how many is it now?
And these represent groups
of people, right?
And verse 9, what did you notice?
What's the first thing
that Nehemiah does?
(Team) Pray!
(Derek) You got it now, right?
The first thing he does -
he prays to God, and...?
(Stephanie) Set a watch.
(Derek) Help me with that, unpack that.
(Heide) I pray, but I can't,
if I have an exam, say, "Lord,
help me to get an A," and not study.
They also did their part.
(Derek) I hope every student in the world
just heard what Heide said.
Is it good to pray
if you're getting ready for an exam?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Is it good to study?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Applying it to Nehemiah.
He's under attack; in fact,
they're actually conspiring to do what?
To attack and create confusion,
my Bible says.
So, good to pray?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Good to set watch-people
on the wall?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Absolutely, as we see
the wisdom of this leader responding.
They also, though, had
some internal opposition.
Look in verse 12; Liza, could you read
chapter 4 of Nehemiah and verse 12?
(Liza) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) What?! What was the little -
what would we call this?
Like a mantra, right, a little -
what's the word?
A little anthem or, you know?
It's like, what do you call that
when you keep flashing the same message?
(Team Member) Repetition.
(Derek) Yeah, it's propaganda;
that's the word I was thinking,
propaganda.
What's the propaganda?
(Marcus) "They're going to come upon you."
(Derek) Yeah, "Whatever place you turn,
they'll be upon us."
"Whatever place you turn,
they'll be upon us."
"Whatever place...," how many times?
(Team) Ten times.
(Derek) "Whatever place you turn..."
These are not the people out there.
These are the people...?
(Gladys) Inside.
(Derek) In here. Lesson? Travis?
(Travis) I was just thinking
of Caleb and Joshua.
When they came back,
there were 10 people that said,
"There are giants in the land;
we'll never be able to go and take it."
"We'll never...," you know?
I'm sure there's no correlation,
but it just seems funny that people
from the inside, their own people...
(Derek) And there were 10.
(Travis) Yeah, 10 discouraging them.
(Derek) That's propaganda, too, right?
It was negative propaganda
over and over again.
It's almost like having,
today we might say you have
like a megaphone,
and you're just shouting
over the workplace, "It's
going to fall down,"
"It's going to fall down,"
"It's going to fall down."
How do you handle
that kind of propaganda,
which is deliberately intended
to hinder what God wants you to do?
What's the word?!
(Team) Pray!
(Derek) Pray and then what?
(Team) Do the work.
(Derek) Do the work?
(Team) Move forward.
(Derek) Get earplugs?
Noise-cancelling headphones?
You do whatever you need to do,
having prayed,
to keep the work going, right?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Does that make sense?
What are you thinking about this situation
from a human perspective, Abigail?
(Abigail) That's it's really...
In some point, it's supposed to be
so discouraging,
but it also tells us the importance
of being in constant communication
with God,
to ask Him to empower us
and give us the zeal to go ahead
and do what He has called us to do.
Because, regardless if we want it or not,
we're going to have opposition
coming from all sorts of directions.
And sometimes the strongest ones
are from within.
So we have to be constantly praying.
(Derek) I guess we should be praying,
and, you know, that somehow,
by the grace of God, that the enemies
either from without or within,
would look and say,
"We just don't understand these people.
They're unstoppable," right?
"They're just so focused
on what God has asked them to do
that nothing we're doing
is slowing them down." Marcus?
(Marcus) But then that would also point
to that there is not just a human element
at work here.
And, of course, we come to that conclusion
later on in the chapter.
They come to that conclusion,
but that God was within the work
and with the work the whole entire time.
(Derek) So, let's keep
going in the chapter.
We're still in chapter 4.
This is ancient history,
but it's also modern lessons for us,
and, Stephanie, could you read
verses 13 through 18 of chapter 4
and see how Nehemiah
responds to the opposition.
As Abigail has mentioned,
it's both external and internal.
Let's see how this leader of God responds.
(Stephanie) The King James Version says:
(Derek) Wow, that's pretty intense, right?
You have a tool in one hand
and a sword in the other hand.
What would that look like today? Liza?
(Liza) I think that's a good lesson
in that, in everything
that God does in our lives,
we have to be on offense and defense,
just to use a sports metaphor.
Like, we're moving forward
to do God's work,
but at all times we're alert,
we're on our toes,
we're not letting the enemy
catch us off guard,
so we're always offense and defense
at all times.
(Derek) All right. Travis?
(Travis) The Bible is the sword, right,
it's our sword,
so we can work diligently
but keep the sword in our hand, right?
The sword of truth.
(Derek) So you would see that this...
You don't want us all to be, like,
having weapons and whatnot.
You think the spiritual weapon...
But they actually did have
spears and swords because they were
saying, "You come to kill
our wives and our children,
and we're going to defend ourselves."
Of course, whether they
would have needed to or not,
God could have done...
He could have had an angel
fly over the enemy.
But they were sending a visual message
that, "We're not coming down," right?
Puia, could you read on
for us verses 19 to 23.
It's actually quite an epic drama,
isn't it,
with all kinds of scheming and traps.
And the people of God are saying,
"No, we're going to keep doing
what God's asked us to do."
Nehemiah, chapter 4, verses 19 to 23.
(Puia) All right, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) No nap times, no personal days.
They only took their clothes off
when they got so dirty
they needed to wash them.
So, you mentioned that earlier, Travis,
about servant leadership.
What do you see here?
(Travis) Something really stood out to me,
"The work is great and extensive,
and we're separated."
The harvest is great,
and the laborers are few.
We've all been called
into this harvest work for souls,
and we need to get back
on the wall, right?
Labor together; we'll face opposition,
but stay focused on our mission,
keep the sword of the Spirit
in our hands
and focus on Jesus,
the promises of Jesus.
(Derek) So, I'm going to give you
a chance to think.
That was 2,400-and-some years ago.
I'd like you think about your own life,
a time when God sent you on a mission,
and you experienced
some intense opposition,
which you may not have particularly liked,
either from external or internal sources.
And yet, as you look back,
you see how God was with you.
Puia, you're smiling.
Do you have a story that you could share?
(Puia) I do. In the previous study
I quickly mentioned about a movement
that I started with some of my friends
here in the United States
for my fellow Mizo young people.
God had put a burden on my heart
to do something, a ministry
or a movement of some kind
for my fellow Mizo young people
because we're all scattered
across the United States,
and we're in different parts
of the conferences
and different parts
of the division itself.
(Derek) So let me just...
because some people...You say "Mizo."
Mizoram is a territory in Northeast India
and Western Myanmar,
And there are Mizo people...
(Puia) Who have immigrated here.
(Derek) ...come here.
And God has put on your heart
a special burden to miinister
to these young people.
(Puia) Yes, because immigrants
face an extra layer of challenge
when it comes to living
and settling here.
And so, I prayed about it,
and I talked to different pastors,
different youth leaders
and different churches.
And we had a meeting
where we talked about plans
to start a federation
so that we can organize events
like a spiritual retreat
where we can bring in our youth
and teach them about the Bible
and train them for mission work
and things like that.
(Derek) Would you have those meetings
in the Mizo language?
(Puia) Mizo language.
(Derek) Okay. Does that sound
like something God might ask
a young leader who speaks Mizo to do?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Okay. Why would anyone
want to oppose something like that,
do you think?
We don't want to be negative
because sometimes people say,
"Well, that's too complicated,"
or, "You'll never build it."
"If you stand on it,
the wall will fall down,"
or, "You might offend someone." Abigail?
(Abigail) I'm thinking, the reason
why someone would oppose that
is because you are doing this
to draw many youth to God
and to uplift the name of God.
And the enemy will put that negativity
in somebody's heart
to stop that from happening.
And they may discourage you
and tell you, "This is never
going to actually be successful."
But if you keep pushing
and you allow God to be your sword,
then you are going to be able to achieve
even greater things for His namesake,
for His glory.
(Derek) I'm going to come to Liza's point
and then back to Puia.
Is it possible someone might oppose it
because they think, "I wish
I'd thought of that,"
"Wish that it was my idea,"
is that possible?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Or, "Well, you're not doing it
for this group of people, for my group,
how come he's doing it for his group?"
There are lots of reasons, right? Liza?
(Liza) I was going to say that,
that it probably is jealousy or envy,
like, "Oh," you know,
"look at that person; they're willing.
I could have done that,
but I probably was not willing
or did not accept God's call in my life."
And so we see that a lot
with these types of oppositions,
especially from within.
It's those people who,
their hearts are hardened,
they didn't follow through
what God had called them to,
and when someone else
picks up that mantle,
it's that jealousy of, "Why them?"
And they try to discourage that.
(Derek) So we don't know
what it is in this situation,
but there may be a lot of things.
I want to give you the end
of Nehemiah's story,
and then we're going to come back
to the end of the Mizo story, okay?
Nehemiah 6, verses 15 and 16,
Gladys, could you read that for us,
Nehemiah 6:15-16?
(Gladys) Nehemiah, I'm reading
from the New International Version,
Nehemiah, chapter 6, verses 15 and 16:
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) My Bible says, "This work
was done by our God,"
and yet someone would say, "Yes,
but He used hands, too,"
including hands of prophets, right?
Fifty-two days to get the work done.
Rest of the Mizo story.
Maybe it's still happening, you see.
(Puia) So, most of the leaders
that I work with in this context,
they all loved the idea,
and we were planning to have a convention
where we brought all
the young people together,
but there came a few oppositions
from a few elders,
citing that I was too young,
inexperienced, without the knowledge
of working with different age groups,
and that in the past they have tried,
and it never worked because the problem
was always...
(Derek) Has anybody ever heard that line?
"We tried it once," you know,
"30 years ago, and it didn't work."
We don't want to be negative,
but these are some of the messages
that could come.
(Puia) Right, but to make
the long story short,
I think the situation brought me
to my knees so many times.
Sometimes I could never sleep...
(Derek) Is that good?
(Puia) Yeah, sometimes I wasn't
able to sleep,
like, I would stay up the whole night
pondering about this
and with the burden on my heart,
thinking that God really put this
on my heart.
But in the end, everything came around,
and people came out.
And the people who did not
support me at first,
they spread lies and rumors.
I mean, it was bad, but in the end,
with the results that the movement
produced in the lives of our young people,
people were able to see,
"Oh, maybe this actually
is a good movement."
And now we're in the next stage
of transferring the leadership
this summer and then...
(Derek) Did you have a group that met?
(Puia) Yes.
(Derek) How many came together?
(Puia) Over 300, yeah.
(Derek) Three hundred young people.
(Puia) And now we're planning
to send back, if possible,
student missionaries back to our country.
So, that's the next stage of our goals.
(Derek) And the wall was built in 52 days!
But not without opposition.
So, what's the lesson for our lives?
The lesson is, God does not
always ask us to do the easy work.
He asks us to do His work.
The harvest is not always easy,
but it is great, and the laborers are few.
And He's calling us to be part
of that harvest work.
And I pray the testimonies
we've heard today
will inspire us to say, "Lord,
if it's what You asked me to do,
You will empower me;
Your hand will be with me
to accomplish the work for Your glory."
Let's pray that can happen
in our circle of influence.
Father in Heaven, thank You so much
for this inspired testimony
that we've heard from Ezra and Nehemiah
and the modern testimonies
we've heard from our group.
Thank You, God, that You guide us
even through opposition
from without and within
to accomplish Your work
for Your glory alone, we thank You.
May we be willing servants
to follow wherever You lead.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.
There may be a special work
God's calling you to do.
It may not be easy, but He'll give you
the power and the wisdom to do it.
And when angels sing,
you be sure to give Him the glory.
And right now, go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
♪ theme music ♪