HSS_2019_Q3_EP11

♪ 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 [e-mail].

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) Through 8.

(Billy) Through 8, okay:

(Stephanie) All right. From this parable,

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.

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