♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
I'm glad you joined us today; we are enjoying
a very practical series of studies,
Ministering to "the Least of These": People in Need,
and our topic today:
Living the Advent Hope.
What does it mean to live the Gospel
in these last days of Earth's history?
I'm excited about the topic, and I'm excited
because one of our team, Stephanie,
is going to be teaching today, great topic.
We've got a great team here to share,
and you're with us, too.
And we always love to hear interactions from you.
I'm excited when people write and say,
"Here's my response to the question
that Stephanie asked."
You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org.
We're glad you're part
of our international Hope Sabbath School family.
And we want to thank you for writing to us.
Here are just a few notes.
Tomson writes from Zambia and says,
"I watch Hope TV, and I enjoy
Hope Sabbath School.
Thank you, dear brothers
and sisters in Christ.
May the God, the Holy Spirit,
continue to be with us
until the day Jesus comes." Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) You know, we've got
lots of Hope Sabbath School members
there in Zambia, and I want to thank you
for being part of our team.
You know, I had to write to this lady;
her name is Het (H-E-T), Het Jane.
She's from Brazil, and I had to write and say,
"Is that how your name is spelled,
and how do I say it?" and it's Het.
And Het writes and says, "We have
an English Sabbath School class here
at Sao Paulo Adventist University.
Since I have decided to help the class
as one of the teachers,
I started to search
the internet for some material
and comments about Bible study,
and I found Hope Sabbath School!"
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) We're glad, Het,
that you did find Hope Sabbath School.
She says, "It's been quite helpful to me,
and every week I look forward
to watch new episodes,
not only for the task
of leading the class,
but for my own encouragement
and spiritual enrichment.
May God bless you all."
Well, Het, we're just glad that you're
leading an in-depth, interactive class
there at a university
in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
God bless you and those
who study with you.
Here's a hand-written note
from a donor in California,
"Dear Pastor, thank you
for Hope Sabbath School.
It's been a blessing to me.
I found Hope Channel
on DirecTV, channel 368,
when I was hopeless and looking
for someone to study the Bible with me."
(Team) Wow. Amen.
(Derek) "Love you; you are my family.
God bless you all,"
and a donation of 25 dollars.
We are glad, California Donor,
that you're part of our family. Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) We've learned
we've all got one Father and one God
who's the Creator of all.
And we really believe
in a study of the Word of God,
because it points us
to our loving Creator God and Savior.
Marek writes to us from Poland
and says, "I welcome you,
brothers and sisters in Christ.
I've not heard about a school
like Hope Sabbath School before.
I'm inquiring, and the Lord has led me
to know more about the Bible with you."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) "Every quoted verse
brings me closer to revealing
the personality of Christ and God Himself."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Please pray
for the successful completion
of a house of prayer in my city.
I'm praying for a blessing
for the Bible classes
that you are conducting.
And you are welcome to Poland;
it's a beautiful country."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "God bless you, Marek."
Well, Marek, we're just glad you're part
of our Hope Sabbath School family,
and if we're ever in Poland...I know
there are probably 10,000 Mareks there,
but we're glad that you are part
of our Hope Sabbath School family.
Thanks for writing to us.
One last note, from Joe in Kenya,
and Joe writes (we've got
some Kenyans on our team),
"May the Good Lord be with you.
As I write, I'm filled with joy
to share messages of love with you all.
I feel the love of our King Jesus around all of us.
You see, my spiritual journey
has mainly been through the internet."
There are a lot of bad things on the internet,
but we need to have
the Good Word there, too, right?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "I am a living testimony
of how Christ delivers."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "And as I sing along
with every Bible study,
I have joy in my heart.
Praise be to God, for as of now,
even on my spiritual journey,
I've become a deacon in my church."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Last Christmas I shared
a Bible study with my father
and taught him the facts about the Bible.
At first, he saw me as his son
who could not teach him anything,
but through Christ, he was amazed."
(Team) Amen. Wow.
(Derek) You know, I just want to thank you
for writing to us.
These are beautiful testimonies, aren't they?
"My dad still doesn't understand
how it all came about
to happen to me,
but slowly, through Jesus,
I'm going to teach him the Word of God."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) "Shalom, and God bless all of you. Joe."
(Derek) Well, Joe, you are
a miracle in progress,
as are each one of us;
we're all a miracle in progress.
And as we prepare for the soon coming of Jesus,
we want to study today
what it means to live the Advent hope, and I'm excited.
But before Stephanie prays
and leads us in the study,
we're going to sing our theme song.
It's become one of my favorite Scripture songs
from 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 5 and 16,
"Now may the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God."
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) What a beautiful promise,
even as we study today
about Living the Advent Hope.
(Stephanie) All right, let's pray as we study.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank You
so much for the opportunity
to study Your Word and to read
the hope that we have in You.
Teach us today; in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Derek, Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) So our study today
is about the Advent hope.
If you were going to define Advent hope,
how would you define that? Travis.
(Travis) I would define it
as the Second Coming or the hope
of the Second Coming of Jesus.
(Stephanie) The hope of the Second Coming of Jesus.
So let me ask you this:
How would you define hope? Jason.
(Jason) If I could read a Scripture,
would that be okay, to define it?
(Stephanie) Sure, which Scripture were you thinking?
(Jason) Romans, the eighth chapter,
and twenty-fourth verse.
(Stephanie) Romans, chapter 8, verse 24.
Let's see, Romans, chapter 8, verse 24,
and this is going to define what hope is. Okay.
(Jason) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and the Bible says:
(Stephanie) All right, so hope is something
that we haven't seen yet, right?
Because if we've seen it,
it's no longer hope.
All right. Jason.
(Jason) The word that comes to mind
is an expectation,
and in this context particularly,
of something you're looking forward to.
(Stephanie) Something that you're looking forward to.
So I have this question for you, then:
Who needs a hope?
Who needs the Advent hope?
(Team) Everyone. All of us.
(Stephanie) Everyone does, that's right.
So, when you're ministering to someone,
could we say that we could minister to everyone
by giving them the hope of the Advent,
of the Second Coming? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) I think that you
really can't have hope
unless you have a promise.
(Stephanie) Unless you have a promise.
Okay, so unpack that.
(Travis) If someone's promised me something,
I have hope in receiving that.
And the hope that we look for
comes from promises that we're given
from the Scriptures.
(Stephanie) That's right; you're absolutely right.
(Derek) Good point.
(Stephanie) Nicole.
(Nicole) When Travis said that, I thought it's an eager awaiting of something,
because you're eagerly awaiting something,
whether it's a gift,
whether it's the Advent, whatever it is,
it's an "eager awaiting," when I think of the word hope.
(Stephanie) I like that.
And so we're thinking
about this Advent hope,
and we're looking for something
that has been promised to us, right?
And the reason we would hope
in the Second Coming
is because it's a better life, right?
It's not just here and now;
this is not our home, right?
So, why would we want a better life?
And I'm just setting a foundation here.
Why would we want a better life?
Because this world's damaged.
It's very simple; this is not God's plan,
and this is something that is not new.
We know that people
throughout the ages
have looked at the world we live in,
and they all have a common theme.
So I'd like us to look
at three passages as we begin.
The first one is Psalm 94, and we'll
be looking at verses 3 through 7.
Gladys, if you could take that one.
And then, Marcus, if you would be ready
to read Habakkuk 1, verse 2,
and, Evelyn, Revelation 6, verse 10.
We're just going to read
through these verses,
and as we're reading, I'd like you
to think about what the common theme
is throughout. Gladys.
(Gladys) I'm reading
from the New International Version,
Psalm 94, verses 3 to 7:
(Stephanie) Thank you. Marcus.
(Marcus) Okay, Habakkuk 1, verse 2,
and I'll give everyone a moment to get there.
I'll be reading from the King James Version:
(Stephanie) And Evelyn,
Revelation, chapter 6, verse 10.
(Evelyn) Revelation, chapter 6, verse 10,
I'll be reading from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie) What is the common theme
that you're hearing? Treva?
(Treva) There is a crying out
to the Father for justice,
for something to be done
because of some type of persecution.
(Stephanie) Desire for freedom
from persecution. Gladys.
(Gladys) I like that the three verses say, "How long?"
So, just going back to the definition
that we were giving, you know,
it's like expecting something
that has been promised.
(Stephanie) Do these passages
give you the impression that this person
is feeling somewhat hopeless?
(Team) Yes.
(Stephanie) "What do we have?"
"How long are we going
to be in this state?"
Where do people find hope?
Let me put it this way,
where do people search to find hope?
Or to find a future?
Marcus and then Jason.
(Marcus) I would say,
and in this country especially, like politics.
People always hope that the next president
or the next governor
or the next whoever
will be there to deliver them
some type of reward
or restitution for their suffering.
(Stephanie) So, they're looking
for people to give them hope. Jason.
(Jason) I think people
can look for relationships,
whether it's a significant other
or getting into a marriage
or something like that.
They can think that a relationship,
a friendship, just having another person
will give them that hope.
(Stephanie) Puia.
(Puia) I think people also
look for hope in possessions.
It could be money or things, you know.
(Stephanie) Looking for hope
in people, in possessions.
How about positions? Possible? All right. Jason.
(Jason) Sometimes people can
look to themselves for hope,
as far as what they can do.
They become self-absorbed
in what they can do
and try to make different moves
or different ways of them finding hope
into the situation that they may be in.
(Stephanie) All right. Now, I'd like
to go over to Lamentations,
chapter 3, verses 22 through 26,
and, Adison, if you would be prepared
to read that for us.
And let's take a look at what the prophet
has found his hope in.
And this is during some troublesome times, right?
Lamentations, chapter 3,
verses 22 through 26.
(Adison) I'm reading
from the King James Version:
(Stephanie) I don't know about you,
but when I hear those verses,
it just gives me hope, right?
It gives me energy.
Where did the prophet find his hope,
or choose to find hope?
(Derek) Actually, the next verse
says, "'The Lord is my portion,'
says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'"
So that's where he chooses.
And like you said, this is
where Jerusalem has just been ransacked,
the temple is in ruins,
and Jeremiah is lamenting.
That's where the Lamentations book comes from.
He's lamenting, but he says,
"My hope is in God."
(Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) And through all of that turmoil,
that's where he placed his hope.
And, I don't know, it just gives me
such encouragement when I hear,
"'The Lord is my portion,'
saith my soul'...The Lord
is good unto them that wait for Him."
It just buoys up your spirits.
Now, Jesus also speaks
about where to find our hope
or encourages us through a parable
in Luke, chapter 18, and we'll go there,
and, Billy, if you would read that for us,
Luke, chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
And as we're reading through that parable,
I'd like us to think about what is
Jesus saying to us about finding
our hope in God? Billy.
(Billy) Okay, so I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
Is it to verse 5 or 6?
(Stephanie) All right. From this parable,
(Stephanie) Through 8.
(Billy) Through 8, okay:
what do we learn about finding
our hope in God? Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) I think that Jesus
is making an example,
that even in an unjust situation -
this earthly judge or court,
if he was possibly unwilling
to avenge her of her adversary
as she's asking for the first time,
eventually he did just because he was
tired of hearing from her.
And so He's making an example.
If this earthly court
or judge could act this way,
your Heavenly Father, who is not tired
when we call on Him,
not tired when we pray to him,
could never get tired of us,
of course He will bring justice to our situation.
And so Jesus is asking them,
when He says, "Will the Son of Man
find faith on the earth?"
will you still believe that God
will do justice for you,
even though you don't see it right away?
So that's really what He's saying
because sometimes we ask for things, we don't get them right away
or we're still in those situations.
But Jesus is saying, "Do you have faith to continue hoping," knowing
that the promise, as Travis mentioned, is sure.
(Stephanie) Pray without ceasing, right?
Did anyone else have a comment? All right, Marcus.
(Marcus) Just, waiting really is the hardest part.
And when you've been
through situation where you might have
lost somebody close to you,
and it might have happened
under tragic circumstances,
can you still trust and put your faith
and hope in the Lord,
even though it just doesn't look like
the situation is going to get resolved,
or there's so much grief in your heart?
So I think that the relationship
that you have with Christ,
that you have with the Father,
will help sustain you,
but it's not an easy wait.
(Stephanie) It's never easy to wait, is it?
So let me ask you this:
When did you choose
to find your hope in God?
And I want to go a step further:
What has your life been like
since that decision?
How has that changed your course? Nicole.
(Nicole) It's not one decision for me.
I think that I have to every day,
and every time a new situation approaches me,
I have to choose my hope in God.
And so, it makes it challenging,
because when things don't go my way,
I have to wait on what He's going to do,
but I think that for me
it's an ongoing decision daily
to make that decision that I'm
going to hope in God and His return.
(Stephanie) Amen. I appreciate that.
Jason and then Gladys.
(Jason) I have a testimony to share.
I was in the military,
in the navy, specifically,
and I joined without being able to swim.
So, go figure, right?
So, through my time in boot camp, I tried to swim.
I kept on being sent back,
I was not qualified,
maybe three or four times,
but it came to a point
that I had to pray to God,
and I asked the Lord to help me
because I wanted to graduate from boot camp.
It just so happened I was doing my part.
I was doing my little motions or what have you,
praying and hoping
that muscle memory would kick in.
And when I went in the water for my test,
I popped up, and I just remember it kicked in,
and I could just thank
the Lord all the way.
It was an Olympic-sized swimming pool,
so I swam from one end to another,
and I thanked God the whole way.
That's when the hope kicked in,
because I knew it was a miracle.
I knew I didn't do this on my own.
So right then and there,
I was thanking God,
and that's when, from that point
for me, swimming, by God's grace,
it just elevated my faith
in Him even more.
If I could trust Him in this,
I knew I could trust Him
in other things in my life.
(Stephanie) Gladys.
(Gladys) I think that sometimes,
when things are going easy,
we read the words of God and His promises,
and we say "Amen."
But it's not till the moment of trial comes
that that hope is really revealed.
And I have shared with you guys before
what happened with me
a while ago with my surgery,
and it's just like life comes to your face,
and you just say, "Do I really
trust God with my life?"
When it's a situation of life and death,
that's when you really look
at what you believe.
And if you have that hope
that God has you in His hands,
things are just totally different,
and it is not until that moment
that you realize Whom you have believed.
(Stephanie) And Nicole mentioned something
about that hope in the Second Coming,
and I'd like to look at that hope
as we move on in our lesson
in Matthew, chapter 24 and 25.
You know that it talks
about the Second Coming of Christ,
and it's definitely the center
of our hope, right?
It's a pivotal point
of where we place our hope.
I'd like to take a look
at what we should be doing
in the interim between now
and the Second Coming
because I have a feeling
we're not supposed to just be sitting down
and twiddling our thumbs.
There's something for us to do.
So let's look in Matthew 24,
and we'll look at verses 45 to 51,
and, Travis, if you
would read that for us.
(Travis) Matthew, chapter 24,
verses 45 to 51, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie) So, what does
that passage say that we should be doing?
(Gladys) Diligently working.
(Stephanie) Diligently working.
What else do you see there?
Providing for the needs.
"Blessed is the servant
whom the Lord, when He comes,
shall find him so doing."
In verse 45, "When the faithful and wise servant,
whom the Lord hath made
ruler of the household,
to give them meat in due season."
So that means feeding those
that they have responsibility over,
doesn't it? Yes, Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) There's also conflict
that's taking place here.
It talks about one servant
is beating another servant,
or they're beating their fellow servants
and start to eat and drink with drunkards.
And so it's this attitude that,
if you lose your sight of the hope
that the Lord is coming,
the whole purpose, like,
what are we here for,
you start to get involved
in disagreements or petty arguments,
like, "Why are you beating each other?"
And then the eating and drinking,
it's like, to your point,
they're just sitting back.
It's like, we have work to do.
We should be preparing
for the Lord to come.
It's as if the party started already,
and it's the wrong type of party.
And so, they've completely lost sight
of what the focus is,
and I think that's a danger.
They start to fight amongst themselves,
and they start having the party
a bit too early, and the wrong
type of party, in fact.
(Stephanie) And let's move over,
thank you very much, Tricia Lee,
let's move to chapter 25
and look at verses 14 and 15.
And, Jason, if you would be willing
to read that for us.
This also gives us a choice.
It shows us the options that we have.
Let's go ahead and read
verses 14 and 15 of Matthew 25.
(Jason) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Matthew, chapter 25, verses 14 and 15:
(Stephanie) So, what are the options
that these individuals have?
They'd been given talents.
What are the talents?
What does that represent? Gifts? Skills?
(Derek) In that culture,
a talent was 6,000 days wages,
so that's 20 years wages,
even to the smallest portion.
So, a massive amount of resource
was given, according to the Master's plan, to each of them
with no specific instructions,
except maybe their relationship
would determine how they
would use those resources.
(Stephanie) That's right. Travis.
(Travis) Well, the fact
that they're called "servants,"
servants means there is a responsibility
with the resource.
And I like the fact that Derek
used the word "resource,"
because resource can mean many things.
Resource can be information,
resource can be monetary, resource
can be different responsibilities,
but they're servants.
So, when you're a servant,
and the Master gives you a resource,
there's a responsibility
that comes with that resource.
(Stephanie) All right,
so they have options,
either to use that resource wisely
or to choose not to use it wisely.
How do we relate that
to what we should be doing in our day
between now and the Second Coming of Christ? Treva.
(Treva) I think also in the Scripture,
we talked about this before,
where people may feel like,
"Well, what can I offer? What can I do?"
And this Scripture shows us
that God has given us something,
some type of resource,
even if it's your testimony,
which is one of the most powerful things
you can share to bring people closer to Christ.
So, if anything, that's
what we should be doing.
(Stephanie) All right. Tricia Lee,
I see you're ready to say something.
(Tricia Lee) Just a great question that you're asking
because we all have talents.
Even just this week my husband and I were commenting
about a very popular musician,
someone in the music industry, who's in trouble.
And we're thinking to ourselves,
"What if this individual
had used these gifts for the glory of God?
Like, how many lives would he
have impacted with his lyrics and his music.
He's so skilled and talented,
and yet it's like just headline
after headline of negative things.
And so we have a choice
to invest in the Kingdom of God,
which is spiritual, blessing others,
or we have an opportunity to invest
in the things that are passing away.
There's no doubt that this person is talented,
but the things that he spent
his time investing in
have not reaped anything beneficial
to anyone in the long run.
And so we could focus on our job
or education or on things
that might get us big wins in this life,
but are we thinking about how we're
using our skills to bless others,
to bless and build the Kingdom of God.
The option is there for us,
but how do we use our skills
to really build God's Kingdom.
(Stephanie) I like that, and let's move on
and look at some practical ways.
And staying in Matthew, chapter 25,
we'll be looking in verses 31 through 40,
31 through 40, and Puia,
would you read that for us?
We're looking at some practical ways
of how we should be spending our time until Christ comes.
(Puia) Sure, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Matthew 25, verses 31 through 40:
(Stephanie) Wow. So tell me,
what have you learned from this passage
as you've done your own study?
Travis, and then we'll go to Gladys.
(Travis) I remember reading in Matthew 7
about a similar group,
but this group said,
"Look at what we've done,"
and He said, "Depart from Me;
I don't know you."
And this group of people here,
they're like, "When did we do this for You?"
And I remember Billy's story
in a lesson or two ago,
and I can imagine Jesus saying to him,
"You know, I had pizza with you that day."
And he's going to be like,
"When did this happen?"...
(Stephanie) We'll have to go back
and listen to that lesson now, right?
(Travis) But it's just like,
when we're doing things
with compassion for somebody else,
Jesus resonates with each and every person.
And when you're doing something for them,
it's like you're doing it for Jesus.
And you didn't even realize it;
that thought isn't even in your head.
It's just like, "I want to help this person,"
and Jesus says, "You've done it to Me."
(Stephanie) And, Travis, I appreciate
the fact that you brought out that verse
that says, "I never knew you,"
when they showed Him.
So this is not about, "I'm working
my way to Heaven," is it?
(Stephanie, Team) No.
(Stephanie) It's talking about having
that connection that allows
the love to flow out through us. Yes, Gladys.
(Gladys) That is exactly what I was going to say,
that when that connection is strong,
you are just reflecting
the character of God.
The love of God is just flowing through you,
so you don't even realize it.
It just becomes part of who you are.
So it is just second nature
to you to help others.
(Stephanie) Amen. Marcus.
(Marcus) A little bit of context to add
to what Travis was saying
is that basically when those people said,
"We did good things,"
"We did good works as well,"
and the Father and Jesus said,
"Depart, I never knew you,"
it's because their hearts
weren't in the right place.
So, what I'm trying to say is,
a great work that is done
for some type of self-glorification
is not acceptable to God
versus a small work
that is done in self-sacrifice
and with no self included in that work.
So, a small work done for the Master
is better than a large and great work
with just a little bit of self injected in there.
So, it's not the size
of the work that we do,
it is whether we have
surrendered to the Master
and want to give all glory
and honor and praise to Him.
(Stephanie) And that is amazing.
I definitely agree with that.
I do want to say that,
if someone is watching,
and they say, "But that person
did bless me by their acts of kindnesss,
even though they had
selfishness in there,"
can God use that?
Absolutely, He can still use people,
even though their hearts
may not be in the right place.
Anything else that stands out to you
in this passage? Yes, Puia.
(Puia) Not exactly from the verse here,
but I remember an experience that I had
a couple of years ago
when I was serving
as a student volunteer in Hawaii,
and there was a family
that needed help with moving,
as they were moving
from one part of the island to the other part.
And they had so many things to carry,
and they didn't have enough people to help them out,
so they invited me.
So I went there, and a lot
of people were busy,
so they couldn't stay behind.
So they asked me if I could stay
a little longer, and I did.
And I went inside, and I helped
paint the house and all of that.
And I had forgotten all about it.
The end of the year came,
and it was time for me
to leave the island,
and the family invited me over.
As I walked into the house,
they said, "Puia, do you
remember this time?"
like, "Remember this wall?
This was what you painted."
I was like, "Oh, wait a minute.
Yes, this is what I painted!"
You know, it brought joy to them as well as me.
The point is, sometimes
it's not about trying to help people all the time.
I think it's about asking God
to put us in places
where He wants to use us.
And when we place ourselves
in the place where God can use us,
He will bring us to the people
who need our help when the time is right.
(Stephanie) Being connected.
Now, there's another hope
that we want to take a look at,
which is closely connected
with the Second Coming.
And this is an event
that will take place at Jesus' return.
It was a precious truth
that was boldly proclaimed
by the early Christians
found in Acts, chapter 4, verse 33.
And, Tricia Lee, if you
would read that for us.
Let's find out what that truth and promise is.
(Tricia Lee) Certainly, reading
from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie) What did they
give testimony or witness to?
(Stephanie, Team) The resurrection.
(Stephanie) The resurrection. What had they just gone through?
If you think about Acts, chapter 1,
what had they just seen?
The ascension, they had just seen
their crucified, buried, and risen Savior
leave in Acts, chapter 1.
And so they are able to proclaim
with power, "My Savior died,
and He rose again," okay?
Now, here's my question for us:
What is the importance, why is it
so important or pivotal to our hope,
that Jesus rose again?
And I'd like us...Travis, can you
take us to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15?
And we'll take a look
at a few verses, 12 through 19,
and then, Treva, if you would read
verses 20 through 23.
Let's see what the Bible says,
how pivotal this truth
of the resurrection is
to Christians living today.
(Travis) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
1 Corinthians, chapter 15, 12 through 19:
(Stephanie) So if Christ didn't rise,
then what is the natural conclusion?
We're still in our sins.
There's no resurrection.
We're miserable, there's no hope, that's right.
Let's look at verses 20 through 23, Treva?
(Treva) And I'll be reading
from the New King James translation,
1 Corinthians, chapter 15,
starting with verse 20:
(Stephanie) So it's good news
that Christ rose again, right?
Now, does that mean
that death is not a problem?
No, death is an enemy.
That's what the Bible says.
It's an enemy, and it will be destroyed.
But as Christians, Paul says
that we don't sorrow
as those who have no hope.
I'd like us to turn over, and, Nicole,
if you would read this for us,
1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18,
and see why we can have this hope. Nicole?
(Nicole) 1 Thessalonians 4,
verses 13 through 18,
from the New International Version says:
(Stephanie) Amen. Have you
ever been encouraged
by the truth of the resurrection? Puia.
(Puia) I never got to see my grandfather.
He passed away before I was born,
my grandfather from my father's side.
And last year, when I had
the opportunity to go back home
to my country, Myanmar,
I asked my grandmother
if we could visit my grandfather's grave,
you know, the tombstone,
because, to be honest,
I never really remembered
that I'd ever visited
that place, the cemetery.
So we went over there, and we realized
that there were no more markings.
It was just a stone,
and the markings were almost gone.
So I told my grandma, "Grandma,
we have to do something about this.
We need to create a new,
at least a good-looking tombstone,
so that people in the future, you know,
maybe, who knows, in the future
our families would like to come back
and know that this is where
our grandfather is laid at rest."
Now, the thing about my grandfather was
he was once an alcoholic.
I knew at least that much about him.
So in my mind, growing up,
I used to wonder, question, you know,
will I ever get to see
my grandfather again,
because, if he was an alcoholic,
and if he did not really accept Jesus,
then I didn't know
if there could be any hope.
That was the question
that I had growing up
because nobody ever told me
much about his life,
and all I knew was that he was
never really someone who liked
to go to church or read the Bible.
So my grandmother said sure,
so we called our family.
We had a get together, we had a meal,
and we talked about repairing the place
where my grandfather is laid to rest.
And in that process, one of my uncles
stood up and shared
a story about my grandpa.
And one of the things he said was
that just before my grandfather passed away,
he said my grandfather was
going through that moment of repentance.
He said my grandfather was crying,
he said, on his deathbed,
saying, like, "Oh, am I to meet Jesus
without bringing anyone along with me?"
You know, without bringing anyone to Him.
"Am I to meet my Lord?"
With those dying words,
my grandpa passed away.
So, when he said that,
I realized, "Wait a minute.
My grandfather repented of his sin
just before he passed away, and accepted Jesus!
And that gave me so much hope,
knowing that one day,
when Jesus comes again,
I will get to see my grandfather again.
(Stephanie) Amen. I think all of us,
I don't know about you,
but in our minds,
we're thinking about that person
that we're going to meet.
I know that I am, and, you know,
as I think about that,
we have such a hope
in that resurrection morning.
But some people are fearful of death,
and they're fearful of death
because of the judgment.
They know, the Bible speaks
that at the time of judgment,
we will stand before the Judge,
and the question is,
who is going to be with us, and what hope
do we have in this judgment?
So I'd like us to take a look
at John, chapter 5,
and verses 22 through 24,
and see what the Bible says
about the hope that we can have
even in the judgment.
John, chapter 5, verses 22 through 24,
and, Adison, would you read that for us?
(Adison) Sure, and I'm reading
from the King James Version:
(Stephanie) So, where do you
find hope in that passage? Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) I think about the criminal justice system in the U.S.
There is a court, there is a judge,
there is a jury, there are
typically lawyers, prosecution and defense,
and there could be witnesses here or there.
If we read through the whole
Great Controversy themes of the Bible,
we're told that our great adversary,
the devil, is always trying to accuse us.
But here it's as if the system
is rigged in our favor, that the Person
who is advocating for us is Jesus,
the Person who is our greatest sacrifice is Jesus,
the One who is witnessing on our behalf
is still Jesus and the Holy Spirit
who knows the conversion process we've been through.
And now we find out that the judgment
is also being given to Jesus.
It's not as if we should take it lightly,
we can live our lives any way we want,
but we're seeing here that God
is literally doing everything He can
so that the ruling is in our favor.
If we accept His mercy and His sacrifice,
what He's doing for us,
it's like, how can we lose
when judgment is in favor of the saints?
it's in favor of His people.
(Stephanie) Amen. That's beautiful.
And I'd like for you to think
of maybe a Bible verse.
There's someone who may be watching today.
You may be watching us for the first time,
and you're wondering, "How can I
have hope in the time of judgment?"
So, what would you say to someone
who is wondering, "How do I
find hope even in the judgment?" Travis.
(Travis) I think of Romans,
chapter 5, verse 20.
(Stephanie) Romans, chapter 5, verse 20?
Would you like to read that for us?
(Travis) Sure, sure.
(Stephanie) Romans, chapter 5, verse 20,
and we're looking at hope
in the time of judgment.
All right, Romans, chapter 5,
(Travis) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie) So, unpack that a little bit.
What would you say to that person?
(Travis) So somebody who is fearful
of the judgment, has thought,
"I have so many sins in my life.
I have so many things in my life,"
but Jesus says if you confess your sins,
He is faithful to forgive us
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Stephanie) First John 1:9?
(Travis) Yeah, and then I think,
"How could He ever do this?"
And we can go to Romans 5:20 and say,
"Where sin abounds,
grace abounds much more."
He has more grace than you have sin.
(Stephanie) Was there another verse? Yes, Jason.
(Jason) I've got an oldie but a goody.
(Stephanie) What verse would you like to read?
(Jason) It's Psalms,
the eighty-sixth chapter, verse 5.
(Stephanie) Psalm 86 and verse 5,
and we're looking at promises
for hope in the time of judgment.
(Jason) I'm reading
from the New King James Version,
and the Bible says:
So it just shows that God,
He's ready to forgive.
He's sitting there waiting
for us to come unto Him, you know,
to be forgiven of our sins, our trespasses,
so that He can just embrace us
like that picture in the Prodigal Son.
You know, the father, just waiting,
looking for his son to come to him,
so that he can embrace him,
so that's what I get from that.
(Stephanie) Derek.
(Derek) And that Scripture song
that Jason just read
was written by someone
who had committed adultery
and murdered someone and lied,
and damaged his family,
but had the courage to say,
"Create in me a clean heart, O God."
So he confessed his sins,
"Renew a right spirit within me."
And now he can write that testimony
because he's experienced it.
And I think hope comes,
even though we don't see, like you said,
we have seen what God is doing now,
and that gives us confidence in His promise.
(Stephanie) Yes, and that reminds me
of the verse in 1 John 4.
We won't read it, but there's no fear in love.
And when you have this,
when you know that God loves you,
and that Jesus loves you,
that fear at the time of judgment,
because He's standing beside you, it is, it's gone.
We want to move on to our last hope
that we're going to look at,
which is hope realized
in the new heavens and the new Earth.
And I'd like us to take a look.
We know that from 2 Peter
that this new heavens and a new Earth,
this is where righteousness dwells.
When you hear that, what do you think of?
What comes to your mind?
(Derek) My favorite Hebrew word, Hallelujah,
you know, because it doesn't dwell here.
I mean, we seek to let righteousness be revealed
but there's so much darkness
in this present world.
(Stephanie) Right, and we can't even imagine.
I think that we're so blinded
to the reality of what sin
has done to our world
that we can't even imagine
what that would look like,
except Revelation, chapter 21 and 22,
and, you know, I think we're
just going to go ahead
and read verses 1 through 5
in Revelation, chapter 21.
And, Evelyn, if you
would read that for us.
And then we'll read verses 1 through 5
in chapter 22 of this same book in Revelation.
And, Jason, would you
be prepared to read that.
So, Revelation 21, verses 1 through 5.
(Evelyn) I will be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie) True and faithful words.
Jason, would you read for us
Revelation 22, verses 1 through 5?
(Jason) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Revelation, chapter 22,
verses 1 through 5:
(Stephanie) Amen. And, by the way,
in the next verse, it says
that these words are faithful and true.
So, some people think
that this is a fairytale.
Do you believe the Word of God?
(Team) Yes.
(Stephanie) Can you imagine
what that will be like? Wow.
(Derek) And the reason we can believe, Stephanie,
is because He's been so faithful
with the other promises He's given us.
He's given us freedom
from the guilt of sin.
He's given us a new heart.
We've seen the miracles, healings
that he's done in our friends' lives.
This is not just something we're imagining.
It's based on our relationship with Him,
that we trust His promise.
(Stephanie) As you think about it...
And we've looked at the hope
that we have in God. Why?
Because we know that we're
in a broken world.
We have hope in God.
We have hope in the Second Coming of Jesus.
We have hope in the resurrection
because of Jesus.
We have hope at the time of judgment
because Jesus will stand beside us.
And we have hope in eternity with Jesus.
Isn't this something that we want
to share with others?
There are people that need
to hear about Jesus.
The hope that we have in Jesus, this Advent hope,
doesn't it make us want
to just get up and do something?
I hope that that's what we'll
walk away with today,
as we think about that,
that our hope really is in Jesus,
and we need to share that with others.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) And I'm so glad
it's called Hope Sabbath School
because we've been talking about hope today.
And really that's just God's leading
because without hope, people die.
But we have hope in Jesus.
Thank you, Stephanie; thank you, team.
Thank you to you for joining us
for our study today.
And, yes, how can we keep
that hope to ourselves?
We need to share that hope, that Advent hope
with those around us.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
we're so blessed as we come
and believe Your Word.
You've been so faithful
to all of the other promises
that have been already fulfilled in our lives.
Thank You that Your Words
are faithful and true.
And thank You that we can
live the Advent hope
and share that hope with others.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) How can you keep
that hope to yourself
when there are people
who feel hopeless all around us.
Take that Advent hope
and make a difference
in the lives of those around you.
♪ theme music ♪