HSS_2019_Q3_EP09

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are in the middle

of a very practical, and I would say,

life-changing series of studies:

"The Least of These"

(that's from the words of Jesus):

Ministering to Those in Need,

and our topic today

is Ministering to Others

in the New Testament Church,
great passages.

And I'm excited, as we study together,

because one of our team, Jason,

will be leading our study,

and I know that the stories

that are shared by team members

are going to be such a blessing.

In fact, we'd love to hear from you, too.

If you're impacted as you

study with us today,

send us a note at [e-mail].

We would love to hear from you,

how you are being impacted

by the living Word of God.

We're always happy to hear from you.

Here are just a few emails.

Here is someone who has written to us

on a couple of occasions,

Gatluak from Ethiopia.

Thanks for writing to us again.

He writes and says, "It's such a blessing

to have Hope Channel

with the inspiring words of God.

To be honest, Hope Channel

has really touched my life,

and I always find it a big loss

when I don't have internet connection,"

but sometimes in some parts of the world

that connection can be sporadic.

"May God bless your ministry

as you touch many souls

just as you touched mine."

Well, we would say praise God, right?

And thank you, Gatluak,

for writing to us from Ethiopia.

Here's a note from Kimberly

in the United States of America.

Kimberly didn't put a state,

but we're glad that you're writing to us

from somewhere in the United States.

"I can't tell you how encouraging it is

to study with Hope Sabbath School
every week.

I've studied other forms of Bible study,

and sometimes I find them depressing.

Your messages are always filled with hope

and presented in a positive way,"
and we say?

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) That's our prayer, isn't it,

really, that we would lift up Jesus

and present a positive message.

"We have so many negative things

in this world dragging us down,"
writes Kimberly,

"it's so wonderful to have

a positive message, a bright light

in the midst of the darkness

of this world every week.

Thank you for all you do."

Well, we would just say

thanks so much, Kimberly,
for encouraging us,

because it really is our prayer

that the light of Jesus

would shine through us,

and certainly with this series

on ministering to those in need,
very relevant.

Here's a note from a donor

in California in the United States.

Thank you - you'll know who you are,

but I'm not mentioning a name.

"This year," the donor writes,

"I prayed that God would direct me

where to send financial help

to help finish the mission

and hasten the coming of Jesus."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Is that a good prayer to pray?

And according to the note,

there were several places

that God brought conviction,

including Hope Channel, praise God.

"Please continue to pray

for my sons and their families

and for me for physical strength.

Your sister in Christ,"

and a donation of 300 dollars.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) God bless you, and may God bless

all of those other ministries

that God impressed you to say,

"This year I want to help this ministry

fulfill the mission that God has given."

The Jimilai family writes from Fiji

and says, "Bula," and you say?

(Derek, Team) Bula!

(Derek) That means hello.

"By the grace of God

and through the blood of Jesus,

we are all the family of God."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I really enjoy

watching Hope Sabbath School.

It touches me, every message you share.

I thank God for your lives

and for the Holy Spirit who is guiding

and enlightening us all

with the Good News of Jesus."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) We'd love to go

and visit you in Fiji, right?

The Jimilai family continues,

"I always watch Hope Sabbath School

before going to church on Sabbath.

I'm downloading every series.

I copy it onto a USB memory card or CD,

and I give it to my friends

so that they can also experience

the joy of being with Jesus."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) It sounds like we've got

a missionary there in Suva City, Fiji.

Thanks for sharing this Bible study.

"It's so wonderful, the message

that we share together,

relating it to our personal lives
in everyday living.

It gives us courage to live for Jesus

every single day, no matter what comes.

I thank God for Hope Sabbath School.

Praise the name of Jesus. Amen,"

from the Jimilai family
in Suva City, Fiji.

Thanks so much for writing to us,

and one last note, from Steve

in Hawaii in the United States.

"A great interactive study

of the Word of God this week,"
Steve writes.

"The entire program,

including the emails you read

and the Scripture song

and the singing of the song,
it was all good.

I watched it several times."

Well, Steve, thank you.

Steve is also a supporter

of Hope Sabbath School, and his family.

Thank you for your ministry,

and we're just blessed,

that if the Holy Spirit

impresses us, "Watch it again,"

that means God's talking to our hearts.

And we felt that in this series

on "The Least of These":

Ministering to Those in Need,

praying that God would direct our hearts

into the love of God.

That's our theme song for this series

from 2 Thessalonians,

chapter 3, verses 5 and 16.

I'd like to see you smile

as we sing it together right now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) What a beautiful message that is,

and, Jason, I'm excited as we study today

about Ministering to Others

from the New Testament.

Why don't you lead us in prayer
as we begin.

(Jason) Thank you, Derek.

Please bow your heads as I pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,

today, as we open Your Word,

as we continue attempting to understand

what it means to help the least of these

and identify who the least of these are,
help us to see

from our early church leaders

some practical lessons that we can

then take and apply to ourselves here,

in the twenty-first century today.

Lord, guide our hearts, guide our minds,

give us a special blessing.

We pray all this in the holy name
of Jesus,

the One who gives us the power

to reach out to the least of these. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Jason) Looking through the lesson here,

talking about this idea

of "the least of these,"

we've had different discussions,

what "the least of these" means

or how we can reach out

to the least of these,

and the title of today's lesson

has the word "ministering" in it,

Ministering to Others

in the New Testament Church.

And so, we know the concept

of minister as a noun, you know,

a pastor, a church leader,

but I'd like to ask, before we

actually get directly into the lesson,

when you think of the word "minister,"

like a verb, an action word,

what comes to mind?

What do you think of when you think

of the word "minister"? Kenneth?

(Kenneth) To serve.

(Jason) To serve, okay. Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) Service.

(Jason) Serve, service. Treva?

(Treva) Helping and healing.

(Jason) Helping and healing. Travis.

(Travis) Counseling.

(Jason) Counseling. Adison.

(Adison) Restoring.

(Jason) Restoring. All right, wow,

we've got a lot of different...

We almost have like a thesaurus here,

what it means to minister,

so, counseling, healing,
restoring. Nicole.

(Nicole) They're all action words,

so I think of ministering

as something of action;

it's not just sitting and waiting,
but it's action and doing.

(Jason) All right. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) Fulfilling a need.

(Jason) Fulfilling a need, all right.

So, now, as we look through these stories,

and as we look at this community,

let's think of fulfilling a need,

let's think of these actions,
and let's look

at how these early Christian leaders,

these early Christian believers,

how they engaged in the actions

in their community.

Let's look at why they did this,

and then let's see how we can do this

in a similar manner.

And so, I want us to go

to the book of Acts.

I'm going to ask Simiso

if you could read for us Acts, chapter 2,

verses 42 through 47.

Now, the book of Acts

is a great place to go

because it kind of gives the story

of the early church.

And so we can see here

about the community that forms

and how they engage

with the world around them,
and so, Simiso.

(Simiso) I'm reading

from the New King James Version,

Acts 2, verses 42 to 47:

(Jason) Thank you very much, Simiso.

So we have this story of this community.

Now, before we get into the text,

let's get a little bit of context.

We're here in Acts, chapter 2,

so, what is going on?

What has just happened, Nicole,
here in Acts 2?

(Nicole) There is a crowd,

the Holy Spirit has come,

and we've had Pentecost.

And so, the Holy Spirit has assisted

the disciples in having folks be saved.

So it's kind of a huge celebration
right now,

that the Holy Spirit is coming upon
these individuals and in the church.

(Jason) Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) We also have believers

who are experiencing different types

of persecution or displacement.

It's not popular to believe

in Jesus at this time,

and so people are being ostracized

or pushed out of their communities,

pushed out of their families.

So there are some basic needs
they might have.

(Jason) So there are basic needs

that are needing to be filled,

and so, what happens here, someone?

We have this verse.

What does this group end up doing?
Yes, Travis.

(Travis) They're sharing things
with each other.

They're making sure that the people

within, it's like an outreach group

and saying, "You're lacking.

I have something here; we're handing out."

And then they praise God together

and become this community of people

just witnessing to the world.

It's an amazing event.

(Jason) And what does

this community look like?

What are some of the descriptions
that we have here?

We talked about how ministering

is an action, is a verb word.

So, Kenneth, what are some of these things

we see listed in the text?

(Kenneth) The first one that comes to mind

is they have all things in common.

(Jason) All things in common, all right.

Someone want to unpack that for me.

What does that mean

to have all things in common, Simiso?

(Simiso) I think common goals,
common objective.

They gave such that no one was in need.

So no one was in need

because if someone else had excess,

they would give to someone else.

It's just really mind-blowing.

Like, many times you go to churches,

and there are people in need
but won't say,

and there's so much disparity.

But this is saying no one was in need,

because the members

met each others' needs.

(Jason) Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I think Simiso is spot on

when he mentions disparities.

They're coming from societies

where there are hierarchical structures,

where there are haves and have nots,

and where it's encouraged

that certain people have things

and certain people don't have things.

They're building this new church

where everyone's equal and everything
is common,

and I think that was a special thing

that they were doing.

(Jason) Derek.

(Derek) I was just thinking,

to me it's a beautiful, loving family.

And at the end it says

God was adding daily, and I'm thinking,

well, I'm sure God would do that;

it was such a loving family.

It looks like paradise, you know,

and I know it's not perfect,

but there's this unselfishness.

It's like the love of God

is directing their behavior.

(Jason) Now one thing,

if you look at the verses here,

there are some specific activities,

talking about a family.

They're breaking bread and in prayers;

they're sharing all things in common;

that's just like a family.

They're doing the basic life activities

like a family would do.

And one quick question.

If you read through the verses here,

do you see any organization

or any kind of leaders leading out
in anything?

Or it just kind of seems like

it's coming together here, right?

But yet, now, let's look

a couple chapters over.

I'd like to ask Stephanie

if you could read for us.

We're going to go to Acts,

chapter 4, now, verses 32 through 37.

It's a similar passage of Scripture,

but there may be a few additional details

that we get about this community

as it develops and grows,
and so, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) So we have a similar passage here,

but there are a few additional details.

So, what are some additional details

that stand out from this passage?
Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) They were literally willing

to sell some of their possessions

in order to fund or further,

I guess, the common fund.

So people were willing to sacrifice,
if you would,

or at least share, certainly.

(Jason) Puia.

(Puia) I also believe here in verse 33

where it said the apostles gave witness

to the resurrection of Jesus,

they were firm on their foundation

of why they exist as a family.

(Jason) So the motivation for this.

They're not just trying

to create a community

so they can be good citizens
and help each other.

While that's important,

there's a greater motivation here.

It's because of that relationship
with God,

that vertical connection,

they're recognizing the importance

of the horizontal. Yes, Simiso.

(Simiso) I like the fact

that they laid it at the apostles' feet,

and it wasn't for the apostles' own gain.

The apostles went and distributed

to everyone, such that no one was in need.

(Jason) So we had some organization,

some leadership here that comes in,

and yet these leaders,
it's not that they're

keeping it for themselves.

They're simply distributing it

as a way to help the others. Yes, Charity.

(Charity) I noticed that they

must have been a people in great harmony,

you know, with goal and purpose,

because it just says

that great grace was upon them all,

and it doesn't talk about any contention
between them.

(Jason) Now, Charity's reference

to how there's great grace,

and, you know, it sounds like

things are going perfectly,

and isn't this such a great community,

but we do need to recognize

that there were some imperfect people

in the midst of this community
as there always are;

we live in an imperfect world.

And so, if you look at the next couple
of chapters over,

Acts, chapter 5, and Acts, chapter 6,

we encounter some stories that remind us

that we're still living in a sinful world,

and there still are elements
of humanity there.

So, Nicole, what are some
of these elements

that we might see in Acts 5 and 6?

(Nicole) Well, in Acts 5 we see the story

of Ananias and Sapphira.

They were assuming a part of the church.

They actually sold their property,

and when they came to the apostles,

Ananias came first to the apostles

and gave some money.

And the apostles basically said,

"Is this all that you received?"

And he said, "Yes," and he

basically told a lie to the apostles,

not because he had to

but because he wanted to.

No one told him he had

to sell his property;

no one told him how much

to sell the property for.

He could have said, "No,

I made [twice] this,

but I'm keeping some for myself."

A few minutes later, his wife came in,

and the same thing happened.

She said, "Yes, this is all

we sold the property for."

And the apostle basically told her

that, "Just like your husband

has died and been taken out of this room,
so will you."

And so she was taken out of the room
also in death.

And so, unfortunately, there are those

who, maybe for show,

want to have a certain status,

and they will go as far as lying

to the Spirit and letting the Spirit know

that they are not really following
the direction

but wanting to do it for show.

So that's one story in Acts 5.

(Jason) So, there's pride,

there's deception, there's lying.

Even in this perfect community,

we still have some problems.

And then there's another story,
Acts, chapter 6.

Tricia Lee, what happens there?

(Tricia Lee) They're still distributing

to those that are in need,

but then there is a special distribution
to widows,

so those who are especially in need.

They don't have a husband

to provide for them.

But there becomes, like, this confusion

because there are Hebrews,

and there are Hellenists,

and there are complaints

that there are some groups

that are getting neglected

or favored over others.

And so they go to the leadership

to try to solve this.

Like, "How do we all get
distributions equally?"

And so that was more of a reflection

of what was happening in society,

the differences between the Hellenists

and the Hebrews was now

creeping into the church,

and there were individuals

who were getting overlooked

and others being favored,

just like it was happening
in society at the time.

(Jason) So, ethnic, racial prejudices,

disagreements, inequalities...

(Tricia Lee) Favoritism.

(Jason) Some of that,

possibly, we might have that

even in our church today. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) It seems very clear to me

when I studied this,

that eyes start to come off of Jesus
and onto ourselves.

That's what the evidence...

Because this thing starts out beautifully.

And I've been a part of groups

where everybody is committed
to the mission,

and what a beautiful thing
to be a part of.

But when we start looking at ourselves

and take our eyes off Jesus,

these little things start to creep in.

(Derek) I just want to point out

there are 10,000-plus members here,

so this is a logistical challenge.

Actually, in a commentary on this,

a book called The Acts of the Apostles,

it says that they weren't

deliberately being neglected.

But when you feel like you're
being neglected,

then the feeling that there's

probably some prejudice here,

and, you know, old wounds

of being mistreated in the past,

and of course, the enemy
of our souls, Satan,

is trying to divide this amazing work
that God is doing.

So I think we always need to be watchful

and realize that people aren't the enemy;

Satan and the kingdom of darkness
is the enemy,

and do everything we can

to reflect the character of Jesus

when we relate to people.

(Jason) Now what are some of the aspects

you see in this early Christian community,

either positive or negative,

some of the struggles they faced,

that might be similar to what we see

in the Christian church today?

Anyone see any similarities? Yes, Treva.

(Treva) Whether your church is large

or small, it really doesn't matter,

you know, the struggle is there.

In a smaller church, you know,

you're trying to witness

and go out into the community,

but at the same time, your own church

also has certain needs within the church.

And so there's that juggle

that we see as well.

(Puia) I think today in our churches

I think we also have faced problems

with administration, with logistics,

as our numbers are growing every day.

I think that also is a similiarity

between our church today
and the early church.

(Jason) Administrative issues.
Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) One thing I also see

is that in our modern church,

there are a lot of people

who have skills that can help,

but sometimes they sit down

and look only to the leadership,

when God has given each and every one

the capacity to continue their path

to help the entire church move forward.

(Jason) Yes, Travis.

(Travis) Some of the problems

I've seen in churches

have been focusing on trying

to expand or put numbers in the church

instead of adding numbers to the Kingdom.

Our goal isn't to fill the pews
in our church,

but to fill Heaven with souls.

And if we keep that in mind,

and Jesus wants every person in Heaven,

that really takes away a lot of conflict,
potential conflict.

(Jason) And so, if we think about this

as this idea of caring

about the community,

ministering to the least of these,

it won't have us looking so much
at the numbers

but rather at the souls,

and the people...Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) One more important thing,

they started ministering to the members
of the church

before they started going out,

because it would look very bad

if they are treating each member

in the church very horribly,

and then they act and treat people outside
very good.

So they started from the inside.

(Jason) So this idea of ministering

to the least of these,

if you're asking, "Lord, who do I
help first?"

Your family, the person in front of you,

whoever is closest to you,

whoever God brings in your path.

So let's look now, there's a story

from this community.

We're going to go a couple chapters later.

We're still in the book of Acts,
chapter 9.

I'm going to ask Adison if you

could read for us verses 36 through 42.

We're going to look now,

not just at this community,

but there's a certain member
of this community,

and there's a little story

that comes out of this,

and this story has a lot of principles

and guidance for us

about how we can minister

to the least of these.

(Adison) And I'm reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) Wow, so we have

an amazing miracle story here,

a resurrection from the dead,

which, as we know, is one

of the most amazing miracles

that we see happen through the story

of the New Testament.

It doesn't happen all the time,
but when it happens,

there's always something very significant.

And so let's look now at the identity

of this woman who is raised from the dead.

Someone on the team, tell me a little bit.

Nicole, who is this woman,

and what do we know about her?

(Nicole) We know that she was

a woman who did good.

She cared for and took care
of widows, orphans.

She gave of herself,

and she had a large following

in terms of people who were

drawn to her because she was

displaying the love of Christ.

(Jason) All right, what words

does the Bible use to describe

her character? Yes, Treva.

(Treva) Disciple, that's pretty powerful.

(Jason) A disciple, yes.

So she's a disciple. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) Verse 39, it says people

brought things and showed them,

"This is what she did for me."

I mean, there was hard evidence,

"This is what this woman did."

(Jason) Hard evidence. Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) She was charitable

and did good works.

(Jason) Charitable and did good works.

So this isn't just someone who maybe does

some nice things for people

every once in a while,

like, this is her whole identity.

This is what people think of.

When you're going down the street,

and someone sees you,

they may think of you by your profession

or maybe, praise be to God,

they may know you by your faith,

or they might know you for your smile,

but this woman is known

for her charitable deeds

and her good works.

(Derek) I was just thinking,

don't grieve over the things you can't do,

but do the things you can do.

And apparently Dorcas knew how to sew.

She was a seamstress.

She made tunics, it says, and garments.

I don't know if she was wealthy.

Maybe people brought cloth and said,

"I have cloth, but I don't know
how to sew.

Can you make a coat for this woman

who doesn't have a coat?"

So, she's using the gifts that she has,

and as was pointed out, it's impacting

people's lives in profound ways.

(Jason) Yes. And so Jesus

has a certain teaching.

We don't have to go there,

but if you think about that phrase,

"the least of these,"

there's a certain parable,
passage of Scripture,

that Jesus talks about,

and He lists some things.

What is one of these that Dorcas

seems to take very seriously? Yes, Adison.

(Adison) Well, she made clothes
for people,

and Jesus said that,

"When I was naked, you clothed Me."

And so Dorcas seemed

to really take that to heart,

and she did a lot of good.

If people were cold,

she would give them clothes.

(Jason) Yes. Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I agree with Adison.

I was just going to say the phrase,

"Inasmuch as you've done it
unto the least of these,

you've done it unto Me,"

so, every garment she was sewing,

she might have imagined,

"I'm sewing this for the Master.

If He were here, I would clothe Him

if He were naked."

(Jason) And we see evidence

that this isn't just a little thing.

There's a broad impact.

We talked about how all these widows
are there.

And look at the story itself.

When the resurrection

from the dead happens,

what do we see as an evidence

that this is a wide impact? Yes, Nicole.

(Nicole) Because in the end,

people believed in the Lord,

and so it pointed back

to where it started, which is the Lord.

(Jason) Now this woman,

her name was Tabitha or Dorcas,

and I'd like to ask,

have any of you seen,

either in your church,

your community, or your family,

does anyone know a modern-day Dorcas?

Does anyone have a story

about a modern-day Dorcas?

Puia, I see you smiling.

(Puia) Off the top of my head,

a church elder that I recently worked with

when I went back to Burma this last year

came to my mind.

His name is "Pukoff Moya."

I'm sure the name is different

from normal names here.

But, anyway, the church elder,

he's a pharmacist, and his life

revolves around helping people
in his community.

And everyone in that town

that we did ministry,

everyone loved him; everyone knew him
as a kind person.

Everyone knew that they could call him up

in the middle of the night.

Sometimes he would even drive

as far as 20, 30 miles from his town

just to go and help people in need

with medicine and all of that.

So he just came to my mind

when you asked that question

of a modern-day Dorcas.

(Jason) A modern-day Dorcas. Yes, Simiso.

(Simiso) I think about my aunt.

She's not my real aunt,

but I call her my aunt,

and she's just someone
of charitable deeds,

but one thing that stands out to me

is her gift of praying for others,
intercessory prayer.

So one day I had an interview,

and she asked me what time
my interview was.

I said, "Well, I meet at 9:30,"

and it was a job interview.

And she was like, "Okay, text me

as soon as you're done
with your interview.

I said, "Okay, sure. I can do that."

So the interview lasted a long time.

It was a panel discussion;

it went from interview to interview.

It was about two hours long.

I texted her, and I just found out
from my sister

that she was down on her knees

from 9:30 until the time I texted her.

And I was just so moved by that.

I did get that job, and I just...

She really embodied Dorcas.

(Jason) You had a modern-day Dorcas

praying for you on her knees. Yes, Adison.

(Adison) Every time I read this story,

I think about one person;

I think about my grandma.

She lived 89 years, and she was

the most selfless human being I ever met.

She was incredibly generous.

She would go to...I remember her

sitting with my brother and me,

I have a twin brother,

and we were sitting there.

And she told me that, "I would give

my life for you two,

without even thinking."

She had that unconditional love;

it was such a gift from the Lord
that she had,

and she was so generous

with her time, with her money,

with the people around her.

I remember once how she was

pretty much willing to give

the shirt off her back

to someone in need.

And there are so many examples,

I mean, she had quite a legacy.

And so I look forward to seeing her

one day soon in the Kingdom of Heaven.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Jason) Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) I can think of my mother-in-law,

Mrs. Florence Amponsah.

Like, having read about...

When I met her, that simple,

and having read about her

and having seen it,

she has this NGO called

"It's Nice to be Nice," every time...

She's been retired, but still,

even when she doesn't have it,
she's still giving.

So that is one person I can talk about.

(Jason) Wow, so we've all

been blessed by these modern-day Dorcases

in our lives, in our churches,
in our communities.

And so, when we look at Dorcas,

she really only did this one main thing
that we know of,

which is making the clothes,

sewing, putting them together.

She had this unique skill

that she could use,

and so I'd just like to ask

anyone on the team,

as you've looked at this story

and thought about it for your life,

as you've seen this story,

have you seen how there might be

any unique skills that maybe God's
given you

that you could use?

Maybe you're not going quite be the same

as a modern-day Dorcas,

but maybe you could give a little bit.

You have some skill God has given you,

someone here on the team.

Treva, I see you smiling?

(Treva) I've always had a passion
for teaching.

I used to have my little doll babies,

and I used to pretend to be a teacher.

And so I feel like God has given me

that gift with children.

So what a blessing that I can
be to someone

if they have...because I don't
have children.

So I can just love them and spoil them

and then give them right back
to you again.

So, just the idea of being able

to bless someone, working
with their children.

(Jason) Yes, Adison.

(Adison) I have a sister,

and she can sew amazingly well.

I don't have that gift.

The Lord didn't give me
those kinds of hands,

but one thing He did give me,

and this is a gift that others

have been telling me about over the years.

But when I was 13, I began

to share the Word of God publicly.

And ever since then, I've been praying

to the Lord, asking for opportunities

for Him to give me that ability
to use those gifts.

(Derek) Here you are right now.

(Adison) And I thank Him so much for that.

(Jason) Amen. All right.

So we see that, not only do we have

these modern-day Dorcases in our lives,

but maybe by God's grace,

we could be potentially

a modern-day Dorcas to our friends,

to our communities, just like we see

this early Christian community.

So we need to move on

and look at another way

that we can care for those in need.

I'd like to ask Evelyn

if you could read for us,

still in the book of Acts,

we're in chapter 20, verse 35,

and there's just one verse,

there's a little comment here

that talks about a certain activity

that can be used as ministering
to those in need.

So, Evelyn, please read for us Acts 20:35.

(Evelyn) I will be reading

from the New King James Version,

Acts, chapter 20, verse 35:

(Jason) All right, so apparently

this idea of giving is a way

that we can use of caring
for those in need.

Someone on the team,

when you hear that phrase,

"It's more blessed to give
than to receive,"

what does that mean,

practically and even spiritually?

Simiso, I see you nodding your head;

what does that mean for you?

(Simiso) The thing that comes to mind

is that, firstly, when you give,

you have something to give,

so it's God who gives you

the strength to work.

And so that's the blessing,

to give what God has given you.

So we're just conduits to show

God's love and mercy by what He gives us.

(Jason) It's a blessing to be a conduit,

as Simiso used that word,

to be God's model, God's example

to give to others. Yes, Puia.

(Puia) Jason, research has shown

that the happiest people on Earth

are people who give and who share.

So, to me, this verse speaks volumes

because, as Christ's love
fills our hearts,

it leads us to share

that love with others.

And in return, it's a blessing
for us, even more.

(Jason) We're created in the image of God,

and apparently one of the ways that we can

more reveal God's image is by giving,

and that's going back

to our natural loving state,

the way God created us. Yes, Charity.

(Charity) When you give,

there's almost a double portion

you receive when you see

the recipient of the gift

elated and having joy over the gift.

(Jason) Amen. And now, let's go

to Galatians, chapter 2, verse 10.

I'm going to ask Nicole if you could read

for us here, Galatians 2, verse 10,

another short little verse.

We have these kind of little nuggets,
almost,

in the New Testament

that we're pulling out

to give us principles about what it means

to minister to the least of these.

Nicole, please read for us that verse.

(Nicole) Galatians 2, verse 10,

from the New International Version says:

(Jason) All right, now, it's obvious,

of course we should help the poor,

but why is this church in Galatia

specifically referencing this idea

of helping the poor?

Why is that so significant?

Heide, I see you looked up;

you had some thought

about why helping the poor

might be very significant here?

What do you think of why are

they referencing this?

(Heide) Honestly, I'm not sure.

There may have been

a more affluent community here, perhaps,

and they want to ensure

that they do not overlook

this particular group.

But, definitely, when we

reach out to the poor,

whether it's a financial poverty

or an emotional poverty

or a spiritual poverty,

we are doing the work of the Lord.

(Jason) Yes, Derek.

(Derek) I think if you read

in the New Testament,

there was a famine in Jerusalem,

and so the apostles are saying,

"While God's doing amazing things
among the Gentiles,"

and they became excited

after a little while about that, right,

"don't forget the needs in Jerusalem."

And I think Paul, by collecting

this offering for the poor

back in this famined area,

is saying, "It's not just about us;

it's about caring for the community."

And so that becomes an opportunity, again,

for people that they don't even know,

except they're part of the family of God.

(Jason) Yes, Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I think that we might
individually think

we don't have much to offer,
or you might think,

"The little that I have
might not go so far.

But there's this snowball effect

when we're in a community.

If I give a little, Simiso gives a little,

Evelyn gives a little,

before you know it,

we actually have a lot here,

and you can see fundraising campaigns,

everyone gives a little,

but before you realize it, you have

a large amount that you can do good with.

And so I think that, as a church,

it's important to have

these corporate fundraising efforts,
corporate offerings,

because we can all do much more together

for the community, for each other,
than I could.

I can't support everybody here,

but if we all were to give a little bit,

we could do a lot for all of us

and for others as well.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) I think, too, these are
the church leaders

that were admonishing them.

They had been with Jesus;

they had seen His ministry firsthand.

They had seen how He was to the poor.

They had seen how He was

to those who were without.

And so they're just reaffirming them

and saying, "This is what our mission is.

This is what we're supposed to be doing."

(Jason) Stephanie.

(Stephanie) We often think

that giving and helping is only monetary,

but it could be that someone

needs a towel or a washcloth,

and you may have an extra one,

and you can share that with them.

It could be as simple as that.

Whatever you have, be able to give that,

your time, your talent.

(Jason) Tabitha, Dorcas,

made pieces of clothing.

Stephanie says we can even share something

as simple as a towel or a washcloth.
Yes, Treva.

(Treva) And sometimes the least of these
are also sharing.

You mentioned that domino effect.

So, at the food bank, as a church,

you know, we're all believers,

we see the heart of those
that are receiving.

They also want to give.

They are saying, "Next time

I would like to donate clothes,"

or, "I would like to donate something."

And so it does have that effect on people.

(Jason) So we have some principles

in the New Testament about how to give

and kind of practical guidance on this.

And I'm going to ask Travis

if you could read for us

in the book of 2 Corinthians,

still in the New Testament,

chapter 8, verse 15.

There is a quote; Paul actually quotes

from the Old Testament

a principle related to this idea of giving

and how to give or how to distribute

these resources we have.

So, Travis, please read for us.

(Travis) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) All right, so we have this verse.

Nicole, what are the principles here

that you see there in this verse?

(Nicole) When you share, you share

to the best of your ability to share.

And God takes care of our needs,

whether they're little

or whether they're a lot.

And so in this text I see it

as God will supply whatever we need,

and we, as His conduits,

or as His extension,

will share to those as we are able to.

(Jason) His conduits, His extension.
Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) I think that Paul

was making reference
to when the Israelites

were in the wilderness

and the manna was falling.

God was saying that, in order

to help the entire nation,

take what you need.

So, while they obeyed this,

there was no lacking

in their entire community.

(Derek) And that's a really
important point Kenneth's making,

because if they took more
than they needed,

it would breed worms and stink.

So it was like, there's enough
for everyone,

but don't take more than you need.

And I think that's such

a radical principle in today's culture,

which says, "Take as much as you

can get your hands on."

But this principle is saying,

"Thank God for meeting your needs,

but also thank God that He's meeting

the needs of other people, too."

(Jason) And then in this idea of giving,

we have another verse,

if we go one chapter over.

I'd like to ask Treva

if you could read for us

2 Corinthians, chapter 9, verses 6 and 7,

and let's see, kind of, the motivation

or attitude we should have in giving.

(Treva) I'll be reading

from the New King James translation:

(Jason) Amen. God loves a cheerful giver.

So, what are some principles

that we can get there,

related to this idea of giving?

Adison, what do you see there

in these verses about maybe an attitude

that we should have with giving?

(Adison) Well, I think

about, in the Old Testament, how there

were the different offerings,

and some were, you could say,
mandatory offerings,

but some were more from the heart.

And they were exemplifying

what the Apostle Paul was
talking about here.

And so that comes to mind

and how God delights

in just, when we open up

the doors of our hearts to Him,

and we go just beyond necessarily
the call of duty

and give with our whole hearts.

(Jason) Treva.

(Treva) And it doesn't

have to be this grand production

as we talked about earlier.

God is like, "Just do what you can,
that's all."

It could be a washcloth, like she said.

And so we have to keep that in mind.

I think sometimes we get

so caught up in, "Oh, you know,

I wish I could do..."

No, just do what you can.

(Jason) Kenneth.

(Kenneth) I think Paul,

in one of his travels, was talking

about a church that excelled in giving

and made reference of them

first giving their hearts.

In order to make someone a cheerful giver,

you have to give yourself,

your heart, to God first.

In that case, you realize

that everything else belongs to God,

and you are more than willing
to give cheerfully.

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) I also want to just focus
on the fact

that it's not just giving of things.

You can give your ear to listen to someone

when they have a problem,

and you can actually give encouragement.

So I don't want to think that only
with money can we give.

We can give with just the things
that God has blessed us with

because whenever you listen
to someone else's problems,

it distracts you from your own,
and that's a blessing in and of itself.

So that's something else we can give.

(Jason) Yes, Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I just want to read verse 10
of the same chapter,

2 Corinthians 9, verse 10.

(Jason) All right, we're going

to turn over and find that here.

(Tricia Lee) Yeah, 9, verse 10,

reading from the New King James Version:

So, to Treva's point, we might
give a little,

and it might not seem like
we're doing much,

but little becomes much

in the hands of the Master.

And recall the story of the boy

with his loaves of bread and his fish.

It was not a lot that he had to give,

but he was wiling.

So, we give a little, and God

can multiply it and increase it

so much more than we can see.

(Jason) Amen. And so now let's look

at another way that we can

care for those in need,

the idea of showing love.

I'd like to ask Charity

if you could take us to the Gospel of John

in chapter 13, verses 34 and 35,

Jesus says a pretty powerful statement

related to this idea of love

and caring for other individuals.

(Charity) John 13, verses 34 and 35,
and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) So we talk about this idea
of love, of being kind,

of treating others nicely,

particularly, say, those in our community
or our neighbors,

but we may have individuals
in our community

that we might not get along with,

people who may not be so nice to us.

So now we need to look

at a very radical passage of Scripture.

I'm going to ask Tricia Lee

if you could read for us

one of the most radical passages

that Jesus ever says

in Matthew, chapter 5,

verses 43 through 48,

this idea of showing love,

not just to, you know, the nice people

in your community or your friends,

but maybe to some other individuals.

(Tricia Lee) Certainly, reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) Now, as we read that verse,

that sounds beautiful and that's...

But, if we're being real with ourselves,

I mean, as I read that verse,

that's hard to do. Yes, Nicole.

(Nicole) I was just doing a study

about love and patience recently,

and we talked about this passage

because, if you think about it,

there's nothing that I can do

any worse than what God could do

to someone who's been evil to me.

So, if I love them, I open up the way

for God to be able to do
what He needs to do

to get to that person

because He says vengeance
is His, not mine.

And so this passage just tells me,

love them, because God is going

to take care of all your enemies,

He's going to take care
of His own enemies,

and I just have to show Him

in what I do with them.

(Jason) Now, what does this
look like, though?

How does this look?

Let's get practical and real here
in our lives.

We experience things like this
all the time,

and I can tell you,

if I walk down the street,

and I see someone that I'm
not getting along with,

my first thought is not necessarily

to love that person, if I'm being honest.

I may have many other...yeah, Nicole said,

"I might cross the street,"

and that's our natural human nature.

But what does this look like?

What is Jesus calling us to do here?

Simiso, I see you nodding your head.

(Simiso) I think the biggest part
which comes to me

says, "Be perfect, just as your Father

in heaven is perfect."

And to many it seems like perfection

is something you cannot achieve.

I think in another Gospel

it actually says, "Be merciful,

just as your Father is merciful."

So, that's how we can achieve perfection,

is being merciful to other people,

having a heart to forgive.

(Jason) Perfect mercy, perfect love.
Stephanie.

(Stephanie) I guess, practically speaking,
it's very hard, right?

So I recall a time when there was

someone that I was working with;

it was a very big challenge for me.

And the Lord impressed me

to pray for that person,

not just once in my morning prayers,

but every time the person
passed my desk.

And so it seemed like
I kept praying,

and I wasn't finished praying

when they passed my desk again.

At one point, I looked up, I said,

"Lord, this is pretty amazing."

And I realized by doing that,

that I started to have a passion

for that person's heart,

and it changed me.

I don't know what happened in their heart,

but I know that it changed me.

(Derek) That's powerful.

(Jason) How does this idea connect
back into the idea

of "the least of these"?

Because some of these people

that we may have

negative feelings towards,

they may be quite wealthy or powerful.

They may even be those

who, themselves, have oppressed.

So, how do we show love

to oppressors, Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) I was going to answer
your first question.

(Jason) Go ahead, yes.

(Tricia Lee) With the least of these,
I think that we...

In a previous study we talked
about putting ourselves

in other people's shoes, or recognizing

that, for any number of reasons,

we could become a "least of these,"
as well.

And so, when we realize

that it's really an attitude of humility

to realize that we're really no better
than anyone else.

And according to the Bible,
we're all sinners,

and God is merciful to all of us.

And so how do we ask the Lord

to give us a heart for someone else,

to be be forgiving, like Simiso said.

And I think, if we can
exercise forgiveness

and learn to intercede

on behalf of people,

we can start to have the mind of Christ.

We can start to see them the way
Christ sees them,

not the way the world tells us
to see them, like, my enemy.

I can start to see somebody

who's in need of Jesus

just as much as I am.

And that might be able to help

to change the attitude

from, "You're an enemy," or, "You're
my persecutor,"

to, "You are also a victim of the enemy,
the real enemy, the devil."

(Jason) Puia.

(Puia) When it comes to oppressor,

I think only at the foot of the cross

we can find true forgiveness,

because the question is,

why should we forgive?

You know, as a human
it's like, "Why?"

But when we look at the cross,

we see the Son of God

forgiving people who are torturing Him.

And looking at that picture,

we can find the reason,

"Oh, as His followers, we are called

to a much higher standard
than the world's."

(Jason) Amen. Now, one last place

we have to look in the New Testament.

It's in the book of James.

And I'm going to ask Simiso

if you could read for us here

in the book of James, chapter 1, verse 27.

There is this one verse

that talks about this idea

of the least of these,

ministering to those in need.

I want us to look real quickly

at how this connects

into this whole story.

We just had this powerful discussion

about what is means to love our enemy,

loving the least of these,

and so, Simiso, please read for us

James, chapter 1, verse 27.

(Simiso) James, chapter 1, verse 27,

reading from he New King James Version,
it says:

(Jason) "Pure and undefiled religion,"

what does that mean?

What does that look like?

Someone on the team,

when you hear the phase,

"pure and undefiled religion,"

Adison, what comes to mind

when you hear that phrase?

(Adison) I think of Romans, chapter 12,
verses 1 and 2,

and it talks about how we're

to bring ourselves to God

as a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto Him,

and to be not conformed to this world

but be transformed by the renewing
of the mind.

(Jason) As our mind is transformed,

Charity, what does that look like?

(Charity) It means that,

if I claim to be a Christian

and that I'm a Christ follower,

then I will care for those

who are the least among us,

the widows, the orphans,

those who have any need.

(Jason) Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I think God inspired this
to be written here

because there was going
to be defiled religion,

and because there would be
defiled religion,

we would need to know

what undefiled religion would look like,

and we could make the application

and say, "Wait a second.

My religious life doesn't look like this,"

and we could make that change
in that direction.

(Jason) Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) Very quickly, at the time,

the religious leaders portrayed

pure, undefiled religion to be something
very selfish.

It puffed them up above others.

And He's saying that's not
what it really is.

It's really about giving of yourself

for the least of these, the orphans
and the widows.

(Jason) And I'd like to challenge you.

Maybe you haven't always been sure
how to give.

Maybe you haven't known
what this means,

but as you watch this lesson,

as you pray about it,

ask the Holy Spirit to guide you

if there's a way that you can give.

Maybe it's not giving something physical,

maybe it's giving forgiveness,

as we saw in Matthew 5,

or finding a way to help out someone

who's been your enemy.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you

in how you can help

whoever the least of these is
in your life.

(Derek) Thanks so much.

What a great study.

I just want to pray, "God, apply this
to our hearts,"

because there are lots of ways

that we can all do something for Jesus

that can bless the least of these,

and maybe someone very close to home.

Let's pray the Spirit will guide us.

Father in Heaven, thank You

for this practical study

from Your Word today.

You've spoken by Your Spirit
to our hearts.

Lord, we don't want

to hold that idea just in our minds,

but allow this teaching

to affect every aspect of our lives.

And thank You for the promise

that the Spirit of Truth

will guide us into all truth.

You will direct our steps

for the honor or Your name

and the blessing of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) I want to challenge you,
as Jason has,

to live what you learned today,

to let the love of Jesus flow through you

just as it did in the early church.

Be a blessing to those around you.

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