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♪ theme music ♪
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(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
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an in-depth, interactive study
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of the Word of God.
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I'm excited because we are beginning
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a brand new series of studies
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on Ezra and Nehemiah.
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You say, "Derek, what would the writings
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of a priest 2,400 years ago
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and a contemporary government official
in Persia
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have to do with our lives today?"
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Well, that's what's exciting
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about studying the Word of God
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because the Bible says
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all Scripture is given
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by inspiration of God and is profitable,
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so we're going to pray
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that God would bless in amazing ways.
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Today, Making Sense of History:
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(as we look at) Zerubbabel and Ezra.
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And I'm glad you joined us
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for Hope Sabbath School.
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And, team, this is going to be
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an amazing journey.
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(Team) Yes.
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(Derek) And we're going to be excited
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to see how ancient Scripture
comes alive for us today.
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We're glad that you're part
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of our Hope Sabbath School team.
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We're always delighted to hear from you.
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Oh, I needed to tell you one other thing.
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We have an awesome app.
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Here's my phone; I'm going
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to go to Hope Sabbath School
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on the new Hope Channel app here.
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It's an awesome app,
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and it's loading right now.
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People around the world are using
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this app; it's free: Hope Channel.
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You can go to your App Store
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or Google Play, download the app.
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Whether you're 10 years old
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or 100 years old, you can download
the app and use it.
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If you need some help,
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talk to your grandchildren, right?
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They'll figure it out.
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But the Hope Channel app is awesome,
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and it's being used
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in many, many countries around the world
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including Madagascar, which is where
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our first email comes from, from Loubien.
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Loubien is 22 years old.
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In fact, he sent a picture for us.
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He's a university student,
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and he says, "Two years ago we started
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an English-speaking church in our town,
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and now I'm part of that church.
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It's the only Adventist church
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where English is the primary language
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in the South of Madagascar,
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and I often teach the Sabbath School,"
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and guess what he uses as a resource?
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(Team) Hope Sabbath School.
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(Derek) He uses the Hope Sabbath School
resource.
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"I'm very happy to follow this program.
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May God bless us all."
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Well, Loubien, thanks for writing
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to us from Madagascar.
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We're excited that you're part of our...
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not only a participant in the study,
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but a leader in teaching
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an in-depth, interactive study
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of the Word of God.
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Owen and Merline write from Florida
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in the United States.
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Anybody from Florida here?
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Anybody been to Florida?
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Stephanie, you've been...Oh, quite a few
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have been to Florida.
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"Dear Hope Sabbath School,
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we absolutely love the program.
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We look forward to watching it
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every Friday Evening.
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The deep, interactive, inspiring way
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the lessons are presented is just amazing.
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Another thing," listen carefully,
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"we're sure the listening world
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appreciates, as we do,
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the openness and honesty
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of the class members' testimonies.
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The testimonies make known that God
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loves us with an everlasting love."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) That's awesome, isn't it?
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"And we can trust Him no matter what.
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We thank God for Hope Sabbath School
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and pray that God will bless
the entire team."
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Owen and Merline, thanks for writing.
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And, you know, that's our prayer.
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None of that is scripted, is it?
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The Holy Spirit may impress
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Travis, Joshua, Liza to share a testimony,
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and if we did it a second time,
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it might be different.
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But the Spirit of God is leading us.
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Thank you for affirming that,
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and we also love to hear from you
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about your testimony of what God is doing.
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Write to us at sshope@hopetv.org.
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Here's one from Guadeloupe
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in the French West Indies.
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Did I say that right?
Thank you, Gladys.
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"Bonjour," bonjour, "a few weeks ago
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I discovered Hope Sabbath School."
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You notice people are
always finding it, right,
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new viewers all the time.
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"Since then, I've been watching it.
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I'm French; I'm sorry
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that my English isn't that good.
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I live in Guadeloupe
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in the French West Indies.
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I am a Seventh-day Adventist
church member.
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Since I have been watching
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Hope Sabbath School,
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I appreciate the subtitles,"
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closed captioning, "in English
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because it helps me to understand more;
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I can understand better
than just speaking.
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Well, thank you for what you're doing
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with Hope Sabbath School,
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and God bless you all, Paul,"
writes to us.
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Paul, thanks for writing from Guadeloupe,
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and may God use you
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to be a powerful teacher
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of the Word of God.
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Here's a note from a donor
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in Minnesota in the United States.
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Oh, wait! Laurel, are you from Minnesota?
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(Laurel) I am.
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(Derek) I'm not going to give the name,
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but would you like to wave
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to the entire state of Minnesota.
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"I have access only to Sabbath School."
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I think this person is unable
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to get out to go to church,
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"but what a blessing it is!
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May God continue to bless each one
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and Hope Sabbath School
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in the finishing of His work."
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And this donor sends 100 dollars
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to help Hope Sabbath School.
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(Team) Amen!
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(Derek) We just want to say thank you.
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This is a donor-supported ministry,
but it's more than that.
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It's a partnership in mission, isn't it?
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And so, thank you, Minnesota,
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for being part of that.
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Well, from the beautiful island
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of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean,
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someone born in Jamaica, living...
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Joshua, you weren't born
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in Jamaica, were you?
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(Joshua) No.
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(Derek) But don't you have
some Jamaican heritage?
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(Joshua) No, Antiguan.
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(Derek) Oh, you're Antiguan; that's also
the Caribbean area.
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(Joshua) Yes, the Caribbean.
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(Derek) Same part of the world, okay.
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This is Saint Vincent,
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not too far away, right?
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"Greetings, saints of God."
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(Team) Greetings!
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(Derek) This is Denise, by the way,
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"Writing from Saint Vincent,
born in Jamaica,
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I really enjoy the study every week,
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and I especially look forward
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to singing the songs."
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Well, we're going to sing
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a song in just a moment.
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"It's a blessing to look
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forward to and see Brother Jason
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singing the Scripture songs."
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Well, Jason, would you like
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to wave to Denise in Saint Vincent?
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"He's so passionate about the Word of God.
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Let's all be faithful and continue
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to share God's Word through the world.
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God bless you all." Amen?
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Denise, thanks
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for writing to us from Saint Vincent.
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And I'm excited today because we've got
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a new Scripture song we're going to sing.
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And I've asked my wife Bodil,
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who is not only executive producer
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but likes to help compose
the Scripture songs,
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to help sing, so come over, Bodil.
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Let's sing together, "To You, O Lord,
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I lift up my soul.
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O My God, I trust in You."
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Let's sing it together.
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♪ music ♪
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(Derek) Amen?
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(Team) Amen!
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(Derek) Thank you, Bodil.
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I think we'll have you come
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and sing all the time.
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It's great to hide God's Word
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in our hearts, isn't it?
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And some of you know that my wife
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started composing Scripture songs...
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The words are straight
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out of the Bible, right?
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But she started...That was
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from Psalm 25, by the way.
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The words are straight out of the Bible,
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but she said, "I want to hide God's Word
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in my heart and the hearts
of our children."
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She had no idea that it
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would not only transform
her husband's life,
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but our Hope Sabbath School family
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around the world. Amen?
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) That's what we're going to learn
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from Ezra and Nehemiah.
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When we say, "God, I'm available, to You,"
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He's going to do something amazing.
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) And we want to pray for you
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and each one of us as we study
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because the miracle that happened
2400 years ago
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can happen in our lives today.
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Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
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just like the psalmist would say,
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"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
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Let not my enemies triumph over me,"
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we thank You that in the sacred books
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of Ezra and Nehemiah,
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we will learn of a great and awesome God
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and of men and women
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who have the courage to listen
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to God and follow Him.
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And I pray that You would bless
as we study,
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Hope Sabbath School members
around the world,
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may each life and each family
be blessed today.
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In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Well, let's make sense of history.
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This is lesson number one.
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Some people have heard
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about the Jewish people being in exile.
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They speak about the exiles
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and then coming back from the exile.
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Brittany, what's the exile
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they're talking about?
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(Brittany) They're talking
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about when God's people
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were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon,
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and they were in captivity for 70 years.
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(Derek) Okay, so this is when
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Babylonian armies came in,
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not only the city of Jerusalem,
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but all of the territory of Israel, right?
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Now, some people were left, a few people,
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like the prophet Jeremiah,
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for example, right?
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But a lot of people,
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including the young and the gifted,
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you know, the university students,
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because we think of people like
Daniel, Shadrach,...
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(Team) Meshach, and Abednego.
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(Derek) Those were their Babylon names,
actually, right...
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(Derek, Team) Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah.
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(Derek) They kind of took
the cream of the crop,
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and they reprogrammed them,
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except it didn't work
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with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, right?
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They determined in their hearts
to honor God.
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By the way, that's
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a whole other book of the Bible, Daniel.
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That will be awesome;
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we're going to study that
in another series.
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But God is teaching His people
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consequences of disobeying Him.
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He doesn't stop loving us, right,
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but He says, "If you go after pagan gods,
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and you abandon your faith in Me,
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there will be negative consequences."
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And Brittany's right;
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they're taken into exile,
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but it's not forever.
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What many people don't know
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is that the return from exile
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happened in different -
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what would we call it?
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Waves, yes, and in fact,
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some of the exiles never returned,
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either because they died in exile
or because...?
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(Team) They chose...
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(Derek) They chose not to come back.
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That's a whole topic
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we'll discuss here, too.
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How could that be,
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when they're told they can go back
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to the land that God had promised them?
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Some of them say, "We're fine
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living in this pagan country," all right?
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So we're going to make sense of history,
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and we're going to start
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with the prophet Jeremiah.
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And, Harold, if you could begin
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our study in Jeremiah, 25.
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Remember we mentioned
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that when the children of Israel
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were taken captive into Babylon,
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some were left behind,
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and one of the them
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was a prophet named Jeremiah,
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a contemporary of the prophet Daniel
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and the prophet Ezekiel,
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who had been taken into captivity, okay?
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Let's see what Jeremiah tells us
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in Jeremiah 25, verses 11 and 12.
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(Harold) Yes, and I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version:
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(Derek) So the prophet Jeremiah's writing,
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and he's giving a...?
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(Team Member) A prophecy.
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(Derek) ...a prophecy, a prediction
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about something that will happen
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how far in the future?
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(Team) Seventy years.
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(Derek) Now, there are, of course,
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people that say, "That's ridiculous;
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you can't tell what's going...
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You could say, 'Sometime
this might happen,
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but to speak authoritatively
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about the future, that's impossible,'"
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unless, of course, what, Stephanie?
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(Stephanie) Unless God tells you.
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(Derek) Unless God tells you,
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and God, speaking to another prophet,
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says, "I am God who knows
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the end from the beginning," right?
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So He has authority
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even over history, right?
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So there's a prediction.
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Look in Jeremiah 29 and verse 10.
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Gladys, if you have that.
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Again, this is the prophet Jeremiah
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who's still in Jerusalem
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while most of his countrymen
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or what we would call
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prisoners of war, right,
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or exiles, are in Babylon.
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(Gladys) I'll be reading
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from the New International Version,
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Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 10:
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(Derek) So, there is someone in Babylon
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who believes the Word of God.
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Well, actually there's more
than one, right,
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but let's look at how one
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of those people responds
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in Daniel, chapter 9, verses 1 to 3.
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Pedro, if you could read that for us.
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He's been a prisoner of war for how long?
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(Pedro) About 70 years.
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(Derek) Yeah, right, for the whole time,
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taken captive as a teenager in 605.
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Here he's now saying, "Wait,
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I think the time's up."
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Let's see what Daniel records
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in Daniel 9, verses 1 to 3.
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(Pedro) I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version,
and it says:
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(Derek) So, what does this
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tell us about Daniel
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from what you've heard? Jason?
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(Jason) He's clearly in connection
with God,
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and he's paying attention
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to what has been written down previously.
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(Derek) All right, he's paying attention;
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he's connected to God. Gladys?
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(Gladys) He's longing.
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(Derek) He's longing for...
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(Gladys) For his home.
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(Derek) By the way, does Daniel
ever return home?
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(Gladys) No. The fulfillment
of the promise.
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(Derek) All right, but he's
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longing for that fulfillment,
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which raises the question,
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is it possible that some stay,
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not because they don't want to go home
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but because God tells them to stay?
Is that possible?
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(Team) Yes.
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(Derek) Sometimes we judge people,
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"Well, you didn't go home."
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What if God told you to stay, right?
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"You're still living in a city.
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You should be living in the country."
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What if God told you to go to that city
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to tell people about God, right?
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But he believes the prophecy.
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He believes that what God said
to Jeremiah,
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it's going to be fulfilled.
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So I want to ask a broad question
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because there may be some people
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watching Hope Sabbath School today,
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maybe even for the first time
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(remember Loubien from Madagascar
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just started watching),
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who say, "But I've always been told
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that the Bible is just like
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human words about God.
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You're telling me that God
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can actually reveal things,
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even about the future?"
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Why is it important to believe that?
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What does that do for us
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if we believe that God
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is able to show us? Puia?
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(Puia) I believe, by studying
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the prophecies that God has given
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to us through His Word,
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it teaches us how to live our lives today
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in preparation for what is to come.
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In the context of this book,
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because Daniel was studying
the prophecies,
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he knew something was about to happen,
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or at least it was supposed to happen,
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and it gave him a sense of direction
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on how to live his life
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according to God's Word.
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(Derek) I'm thinking,
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in Daniel, chapter 4,
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and, like I said, we'll do
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a whole series on Daniel,
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but where it says that you may know
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that the Most High God rules
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over the affairs of men
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or over history. Travis.
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(Travis) I think it's John;
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I could be wrong, but John,
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chapter 14, verse 29, I think, says,
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"I told you these things beforehand,
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so that when they happen,
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you'll know that I'm the Lord your God."
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(Derek) Okay, and He says that also
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in John, chapter 16, verse 4,
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"I'm telling you now,
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so that when it happens,
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you'll remember what I told you,
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and you'll believe," right?
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By the way, that happened
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with the cleansing of the temple -
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only afterwards they looked back, right?
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So there are all of these prophecies.
Yes, Harold.
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(Harold) I just wanted to add
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that Solomon said in the Proverbs
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that without prophecy, or vision,
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people cast off restraint,
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so the fact that we have prophecy,
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we have that guidance
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that we can look forward to.
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And when it happens, as Travis mentioned,
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it's like, "Oh, we believe.
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Yes, this is true; look,
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God has kept His promise.
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So He is the true God."
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(Derek) So, are there
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any promises in the Scripture,
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either from Jesus or given
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through the prophets,
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that encourage you when you say,
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"Well, I think it's about time.
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How come it's not yet been fulfilled?"
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I mean, what's the greatest prophecy
in the Bible,
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more times than any other prophecy
in the Bible?
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Do you know what it is?
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The Second Coming of Jesus,
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the return of Jesus.
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And people will go, "Well,
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it's not happened yet.
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Maybe it won't ever happen."
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What promises encourage us
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to hold on and believe, like Daniel did,
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that God said it - it's going to happen?
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Stephanie, do you have one?
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(Stephanie) The one that I like
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is Psalm 27, and it's 13 and 14.
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(Derek) All right, give us
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a moment to find that, Psalm 27.
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I immediately recognize the reference
-
because it's a song
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that my wife likes to sing.
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Psalm 27, verses 13 and 14,
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now, you're reading from the King James?
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(Stephanie) I am.
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(Derek) All right, verses 13 and 14.
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(Derek) Beautiful. "I would have fainted,"
-
my Bible, the New King James, says,
"I would have lost heart."
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I don't know if anyone else
has another translation,
-
like, "I would have given up,
-
unless I had believed," right?
-
"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,
-
and He will," do what?
-
(Team) Strengthen your heart.
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(Derek) That's right. Yes, Harold.
-
(Harold) I'd like to read
-
Habakkuk, chapter 2 and verse 3,
on waiting.
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(Derek) Habakkuk, that's a little book;
-
it may be hard for some of us to find,
-
right before the end of the Old Testament.
-
Habakkuk, chapter 2?
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(Harold) And verse 3.
-
(Derek) All right, just give us
-
a moment to find that.
-
(Harold) It is a small book.
-
(Derek) I'm still looking for it;
-
anybody else find it yet?
-
(Team Members) Yes. We did.
-
(Derek) You got it, all right;
I'm almost there.
-
Habakkuk, chapter 2 and verse 3.
-
How does that read in your Bible?
-
(Harold) Okay, so I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version:
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(Derek) Powerful. There's one other verse
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I'd like someone to read.
-
Maybe Liza, you could read
-
from 2 Peter, chapter 3,
-
because that's a beautiful description
-
by the Apostle Peter about sure prophecy,
-
that it will come to pass
-
at the appointed time.
-
Second Peter, chapter 3,
-
if you could read for us
-
verses 9 through 13.
-
(Liza) I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version:
-
(Derek) So, question: What's the promise
-
that God is going to keep,
-
that people are saying, "I don't think
-
He's going to keep that promise"?
-
(Team Member) His return.
-
(Derek) The return of Jesus, right?
-
And Peter's saying, "No,
He's patient," right?
-
But we might change the intonation
-
in verse 10, "But the day of the Lord
-
will come," will come.
-
It's going to happen,
-
and things are going to happen with it.
-
I love, "looking for new heavens
and a new Earth
-
where righteousness dwells,"
that's beautiful.
-
"But the day of the Lord..."
-
(Team) Will come.
-
(Derek) It will come.
-
So that confidence is really important.
-
Well, with that idea,
-
we're looking now at prophecy
-
about to be fulfilled,
-
that the exile will end,
-
and that the Jewish exiles
-
have the opportunity to go back.
-
Let's go to the book of Ezra to chapter 4,
-
and let's look at some history.
-
We're making sense of history
-
in our first study here
-
in Ezra, chapter 4, and, Puia,
-
I'm going to ask if you would be willing
-
to read for us verses 1 through 7
-
of Ezra, chapter 4.
-
(Puia) I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version,
-
Ezra, chapter 4, verses 1 through 7:
-
(Derek) Some of you are glad
-
I asked Puia to read that.
-
There were a lot of difficult names there,
-
actually a listing of kings
-
between about 538 and all the way down
-
to the mid 400s, about 440,
-
the time of Nehemiah,
-
and some of the names
-
you recognize, right?
-
(Team) Yes.
-
(Derek) There are a few,
-
Cyrus II or Cyrus "the Great";
-
that's the one who gives the first decree.
-
And, by the way, who was Zerubbabel?
-
Who was that who led the first return
-
with a priest named Jeshua, or Joshua,
-
but not Joshua who "fit
the battle of Jericho."
-
Who was Zerubbabel, anybody know? Travis?
-
(Travis) He was the grandson
of Jehoiachin.
-
(Derek) That's right; he was a grandson
-
of one of the last kings of Judah.
-
So, why do you think
-
he led the group back?
-
What do you think?
-
(Harold) He was part
-
of the royal family of Judah,
-
so most likely he will be the leader
-
and appointed governor to take back...
-
(Derek) So you think he sensed
-
that it was his responsibility to do that?
-
There are lots of people, Liza,
-
who have responsibility
-
but don't do it, right?
-
So why do you think
-
he took the exiles back?
-
(Liza) I think he was following
God's leading.
-
I mean, after seeing the examples
-
of previous kings and their failure
-
to get Israel on the right track,
-
I think he felt this conviction
-
in his spirit to follow the way
-
God was leading the children of Israel.
-
(Derek) So, he's going back;
-
he's got a priest with him.
-
We're going to talk
-
about some more details,
-
but that's during the time
-
of Cyrus the Great.
-
Then you've got someone
-
who's not mentioned in the text,
Cambyses II.
-
That's just in case
-
you'd like to know that.
-
Then Darius I, mentioned in verse 5,
-
then Xerxes, mentioned in verse 6,
-
who's also called Ahasuerus
-
in the book of Esther.
-
Remember that, Ahasuerus and Vashti,
-
and then Esther becomes queen.
-
And then you've got Artaxerxes
-
who's very important because he's the one
-
that gives the decree
-
during the time of Ezra.
-
Now, I'm glad we're not
-
having a spelling test
-
or I'm not asking you
-
to write that whole list down,
-
but I do have this question for you;
-
it's an important question:
-
Why do you think Ezra includes all
-
of that historical data in the book?
-
Why does he do that?
-
What's the significance?
-
Don't we believe that all Scripture
-
is given by inspiration of God? Alex?
-
(Alex) I think a lot of it, I mean,
-
we see in later books in the Bible,
-
it was used for us
-
referring back to history
-
to check dates and times
-
for future prophecies.
-
(Derek) Okay. That's especially true
-
when we get to the time of Artaxerxes
-
and the 457 decree,
-
which is pretty significant
-
when you're studying
-
the book of Daniel, right?
-
So you're saying that later generations
-
will need to be aware
-
of that historical sequence.
-
Okay, anybody else?
-
It's a lot of history. Liza?
-
(Liza) I think also being displaced people
-
who had lost their heritage and customs,
-
they've lost a lot in this process,
-
it was important for them
-
to document them as they were
-
moving through this transition
-
so that, as you said, later generations
-
who were wanting to know more
-
about their heritage and the journey
that they took,
-
they could go back to that
-
and feel a sense of security.
-
(Derek) We'll find later in the books,
-
both of Ezra and Nehemiah,
-
huge or long lists of names.
-
And I'm not going to ask you
to read them all
-
because you might say, "Well,
-
do I really need to know them?
-
I mean, I like to memorize the Bible,
-
but I don't think I want
-
to memorize all of those names."
-
But they may have significance
for your family
-
if you say, "This is my heritage."
-
But let's look at one verse
-
in 2 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 16,
-
that may shed some light.
-
Do you have that, Jason,
-
2 Peter 1 and verse 16?
-
(Jason) I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version,
-
2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 16:
-
(Derek) So it's like...
-
This isn't just, like, a fairytale, right?
-
"This is history, and we're naming
the people,
-
and we're going to tell you
what happened."
-
And that gives us confidence,
-
but I think Alex has got a point,
-
not just to know that it happened,
-
but there may be some things
-
that we need to know
-
that will help us understand
-
other prophecies of the Bible.
-
Well, let's go on to Ezra,
-
in chapter 7 of Ezra's book,
-
verses 1 through 10,
-
and we'll learn something about Ezra
-
who leads what some might call
the second wave,
-
Zerubbabel, about 538,
-
now we're about 458, 457.
-
And, Brittany, if you could read
-
the first ten verses of Ezra, chapter 7,
-
I'd like you to listen carefully
-
and say, "What do we learn
-
about this priest named Ezra
-
from the account in chapter 7?"
-
(Brittany) And I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version,
-
Ezra, chapter 7, verses 1 through 10:
-
(Derek) Wow, verse 10
-
is just a powerful verse, isn't it?
-
But again, back, Liza,
-
to what you were saying earlier,
-
what's the function...
-
By the way, well read, all those names.
-
What's the purpose
-
of the first five verses,
-
and then verse 6 says, "this Ezra"?
-
(Liza) It's very clear that Ezra
-
came from a very distinguished family.
-
He was a descendant of Aaron
-
who was in some ways Moses' right hand
-
when delivering the children of Israel.
-
And so he comes from this
priestly lineage,
-
and he probably grew up
-
with a lot of knowledge of the law of God.
-
He was probably taught
-
by his father, his father's father.
-
And so, he had a lot of knowledge
-
and understanding of God's law.
-
(Derek) So, it could be, you know,
-
there are a lot of Lizas or Jasons
-
or Joshuas in the world, but, "I'm the one
-
who is a direct descendant
-
of the high priest, Aaron,
-
which means that, of course,
-
he's also in the priestly line, right?
-
So, that's his heritage,
-
but what about him as a person?
-
What did you hear as a person, Liza?
-
(Liza) I think one thing
-
that this verse teaches us
-
is you can't choose your heritage.
-
I mean, you are born
-
in whatever family you are born in,
-
but he made a conscious decision
-
to prepare his heart to seek after God.
-
And that's the part that you can change.
-
He was convicted to do something different
-
and to follow God with his own heart,
-
and that's what qualified him,
-
later on we'll find that he was
-
the fit person to lead the children
of Israel.
-
(Derek) Because not all
-
of the descendants of Aaron
-
followed God, did they, right?
-
So, that's nice; I like
-
the way that you said that:
-
We cannot choose our ancestry,
-
but we can choose who we are
-
by the grace of God.
-
All right, what else did you notice
-
about Ezra as a person? Yes, Puia.
-
(Puia) That he was skilled.
-
(Derek) Okay.
-
(Puia) Verse 6 mentioned
-
that he was a skilled scribe
-
in the Law of Moses.
-
(Derek) So, what does that tell you?
-
(Puia) Probably he was smart...
-
(Derek) How do you get
skilled at something?
-
Education and practice, right?
-
Attitude is one thing, that's good,
-
but skilled is another thing, right?
-
(Puia) Training.
-
(Derek) That involves training,
-
education, practice. Harold?
-
(Harold) The other thing is,
-
at the end of verse 10,
-
it says that he tried to teach
-
the statutes and ordinances in Israel,
-
so he was not just trying to keep
-
this knowledge from the Scriptures,
-
but he was working
-
to spread it and share it,
-
because, again, this is about restoration,
-
trying to lead these people back
-
to the Word of God and to God Himself.
-
(Derek) So, he seeks it, the law of God,
and he...?
-
(Team Member) Teaches it.
-
(Derek) No, there's something in between.
-
He seeks it, he...?
-
(Derek, Team) He does it.
-
(Derek) And he...?
-
(Derek, Team) He shares it.
-
(Derek) You know, to just seek it
-
and share it without doing it
-
is not going to work.
-
It's not credible, is it?
-
(Team) No.
-
(Derek) But here's this man,
-
just emerges out of nowhere,
-
but from a distinguished family,
-
and he purposes in his heart.
-
Does that remind you of someone else?
-
(Team) Daniel.
-
(Derek) Daniel and his
three friends, right,
-
Purposing in their hearts,
-
they made a decision.
-
They wanted to not only know about God
-
but obey God and...?
-
And share that with other people.
Yes, Travis?
-
(Travis) I was just going to say,
-
the first part of verse 10, it says,
-
"Ezra prepared his heart
to seek the Lord."
-
So this wasn't something
that just happened.
-
This is something that...He sought God
-
and was preparing his heart
to be the leader.
-
He didn't know the future,
-
what he was going to do,
-
but he was preparing his heart,
-
and then God called him.
-
(Derek) Jason, I want you to read...
-
We didn't read - there's a long list
-
of names coming up here in chapter 8,
-
which I'm not going to ask you to read.
-
But I do want you to read in chapter 7
-
the entire decree, verses 11 to 26,
-
of King Artaxerxes to restore
-
and rebuild Jerusalem.
-
And then I want to ask
-
the question of the group and of those
-
who are watching around the world,
-
why do you think the Holy Spirit
-
inspires him to write the entire decree
-
of this ancient king?
-
I think there's an answer,
-
and, Alex, you kind of alluded to it
-
earlier in our study.
-
But let's listen to the decree,
-
starting in verse 11 of Ezra, chapter 7.
-
(Jason) I'll be reading here
-
from the New King James Version,
-
Ezra, chapter 7, verses 11 through 26:
-
(Derek) Now, while Jason's reading this,
-
I'm thinking, "This is astonishing."
-
Why would a pagan king make such a...
-
How would you describe this decree?
-
Gracious, generous, God-honoring decree?
-
What's the answer? Liza?
-
(Liza) I think he was God-fearing, too,
-
because in verse 23 it says,
-
"For why should there be wrath
-
against the realm of the king
and his sons?"
-
meaning he felt that,
-
if he didn't do this,
-
there would be consequences
-
of his disobedience.
-
(Derek) Okay, so you think
-
that he's not just a generous person,
-
but he was under conviction
-
of the Spirit of God, too? Pedro?
-
(Pedro) We see that Ezra
-
knew the law of God,
-
and he could see the blessings
-
that God has put upon the people of Israel
-
and also those that are over them.
-
He saw that calamity
-
could come upon himself
-
if he would not obey God,
-
and he had plenty of evidence
-
from the history of the people of Israel
-
inside the captivity there,
-
of what happened to those
-
who have gone against God's people.
-
So he was trying to protect, probably,
-
his kingdom during this time.
-
(Derek) He certainly knew also
-
about Daniel and Shadrach,
-
Meshach, and Abednego.
-
We could take a lot of time here,
-
but we've got to move on.
-
But would you agree
-
that something supernatural
is happening here?
-
(Team) Yes.
-
(Derek) It's not just, "He's
-
a very nice pagan king who's saying
-
wonderful things about the God of Heaven,"
-
and giving all of the resources
that are needed.
-
Let's look in verses 27 and 28,
-
Alex, if you could read for us,
-
how Ezra responded to this, can I call it,
-
a startling decree of a pagan king.
-
(Alex) I'll be reading
-
from the King James Version:
-
(Derek) What did Ezra recognize?
-
God is at work here, right?
-
"God is at work here;
-
God is at work with me;
-
God is at work with the king," right?
-
Something amazing is happening,
-
and so he prepares.
-
Now, we could read
-
verses 1 through 14 of chapter 8;
-
I'm not going to.
-
But does anybody know
-
approximately how many of the exiles
-
decided to go with Ezra?
-
(Team) About 1500 men.
-
(Derek) Someone's done the math
-
and said about 1500.
-
Now, I don't know if that means
-
there were children, too,
and family members,
-
but you say, "Derek, that's, like,
-
a tiny group of people,"
-
after they've seen what?
-
What have we just read?
-
(Team) A miracle.
-
(Derek) A miraculous intervention of God
-
touching the heart of a pagan king.
-
So here's the difficult question:
-
Why do you think so few
-
chose to return back to Judah with Ezra?
-
There may be many reasons,
-
but let's look at a few of them, shall we?
-
Let's start here, Alex?
-
(Alex) I think a lot of them
-
had just become complacent
-
with where they're at
-
and comfortable with where they're at.
-
That actually makes me
-
think about me in situations.
-
It's easy to judge them with that,
-
but it's like we get comfortable
-
with where we're at so often,
and it's like...
-
(Derek) "You really want me
-
to go on a mission trip
-
where I'm going to sleep on the floor
-
and have bugs crawling around
-
when I can stay in my condo," right?
-
I mean, so you're saying one reason,
-
they just felt really comfortable
where they were,
-
and do you think they were right
-
to recognize there would be some hardships
-
if they went home?
-
(Team Member) Absolutely.
-
(Derek) Anybody else,
-
another reason. Pedro?
-
(Pedro) I believe not many had
-
an encounter with God.
-
We see that they were in captivity
-
because they were disobedient,
-
and there were not many changes of heart.
-
We see the king, who had
a change of heart,
-
to give that blessing,
-
We see that God does the same thing
-
with most of the kings
-
in the Old Testament.
-
And we see the Pharaoh.
-
God came in an encounter with the Pharaoh,
-
but he chose not to encounter
-
a relationship with God.
-
(Derek) But Nebuchadnezzar did,
right, eventually.
-
So you're seeing these changes.
-
Is it possible that God wanted some
-
to stay by in exile?
-
(Team) That's possible.
-
(Derek) I like what Pedro said,
-
that maybe for many, it was just
-
they lacked that relationship.
-
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
-
refused to bow down
-
to the golden idol,
-
how many other of the captive
-
children of Israel stood?
-
They bowed down; some say even the king,
-
a descendant, maybe a relative
-
of Zerubbabel was there and bowed down.
-
So, I think there's something to this,
-
comfortable and disconnected from God.
-
Now there may be a few exceptions, right,
-
like Daniel, that God says...
-
Of course, Daniel's gone now,
-
but with the first group
-
with Zerubbabel leaving,
-
God may say, "Stay by, Daniel,
-
I've got some work
-
I want you to do." Travis.
-
(Travis) I think, too, they had houses,
-
land and possessions.
-
So if you can imagine you had a nice house
-
and all these possessions,
-
when you leave, that's gone.
-
It's not like you sell the house
-
and buy something somewhere else.
-
You have to go build a new house,
plant new crops.
-
I mean, this is a life-changing thing.
-
(Derek) Starting again.
-
(Travis) Yes.
-
(Derek) But I like what Alex was saying,
-
I think this has something
-
to do with us today.
-
You know, if we are not connected to God,
-
and we're too comfortable and complacent,
-
God might ask us to do something,
-
and we'll just say, "No." Liza?
-
(Liza) I think also they struggled
-
to believe in God's goodness.
-
I mean, they were there, as Pedro said,
-
as a result of their disobedience,
-
so it is a punishment.
-
And so I think it was hard for them
-
to change their perspective of God
-
and say, "Well, God has forgiven us.
-
God is ready to work with us.
-
God is willing to bless us."
-
I think that was hard for them to accept
-
because they knew what they did wrong.
-
(Derek) So let's, in our last part
of the study,
-
go back to Ezra and look
-
at some of the preparations he made
-
because if he made them,
-
and God said, "Go," and he went,
-
maybe those are preparations
-
that would be helpful for us
-
in the Last Days, yes or no?
-
Absolutely, right?
-
So let's look again in Ezra, chapter 7.
-
Laurel, if you could read
-
verse 6 and verse 10 again.
-
I think you have another translation,
-
so let's see how the translators
-
capture verse 6 and verse 10 of Ezra 7.
-
And the question is,
-
what important preparation had Ezra made
-
that enabled the Lord to use him,
-
and we might also say enabled him to hear
-
when God asked him to act?
-
(Laurel) Okay, I'll be reading
-
from the New American Standard Bible,
Ezra 7:6:
-
(Derek) And then verse 10.
-
(Laurel) Verse 10:
-
(Derek) So, help me, Harold,
what's some preparation
-
men and women might make today,
-
just like Ezra made back then,
-
so when God says, "I've got
-
a work for you to do,"
-
that we'll say, "Here I am,
Lord, send me"?
-
(Harold) We need that alone time with God,
-
that solitude, so that we can pray
-
and meditate on His Word,
-
not just read, but meditate.
-
And, like, really find deeper things
and re-read it
-
because he was skilled,
-
and you become skilled when you repeat
-
and do the same things
over and over again.
-
(Derek) It was not just a casual reading
of the Word.
-
All right. Stephanie?
-
(Stephanie) There's something to say
-
about having that daily commitment
-
because then you're staying in tune
-
with the voice of God,
-
and also you know the Word of God.
-
So, if a call comes to you,
-
you can determine whether or not
-
it is God's voice.
-
(Derek) Now, it's interesting in verse 6
-
it said the king granted his request
-
because he saw the hand of God.
-
How do people see
-
that the hand of God is upon you?
-
How do they see that?
-
(Gladys) Through your actions.
-
(Derek) Through your actions?
-
Is that supernatural, too? Pedro?
-
(Pedro) I see here a very important word;
it says "skilled."
-
(Derek) Skilled.
-
(Pedro) I know when you have a craft,
-
and you know how to work with some craft,
-
like I like to work with cars,
-
for me, not to just watch
-
a video on YouTube or learn a lesson
-
from "How to Change Oil"
-
or to change a head gasket on a car,
-
will give me the ability to do it.
-
But he sought to learn
-
from the law of God,
-
He'd do it, he does, and then
-
he spread to others, he'd teach others.
-
And I think that's very important.
-
He was skilled, not because he
knew about His Word,
-
he practiced on his life,
-
and he told others, and that made him
-
very knowledgeable about it.
-
(Derek) I see Stephanie looking at you
-
saying, "I never knew
-
you were a skilled mechanic."
-
"What is a head gasket?" right?
-
(Stephanie) No, I know what
that is, actually.
-
(Derek) Yeah, you know what
a head gasket is.
-
It's part of the engine, but, you know,
-
you don't just get that
automatically, right?
-
There's preparation; there's discipline.
-
So these are some important
preparations he made.
-
I'm going to take a couple more,
-
and then I want you to think
-
of some other people besides Ezra
-
that you could say, "Well, they made
-
important preparation, too,
-
so that when God
-
gave them an assignment,
-
they were ready. Puia?
-
(Puia) I think the other aspect
-
we can learn from this story
-
is the importance of education.
-
In context of today,
-
I think God can use you more
-
as you learn more about the history
-
and the context of the Scripture
and all of this
-
even in today's context when serving God.
-
(Derek) There's a saying;
-
I believe it's in the book of Ecclesiastes
-
where Solomon said, "When the ax is dull,
-
more effort is required,
-
but wisdom will bring success."
-
What's the wisdom? To sharpen the ax.
-
And that's what education does,
-
and practice - skilled.
-
Thank you for pointing that out.
-
So, "God, if You want me
-
to be powerful in the Word
-
before a council someday,
-
I want to take time
-
with the Word now," right?
-
I want to be skilled.
-
"If You want me to speak
-
in the power of the Holy Spirit
-
before the nations some day,
-
I want to speak for You now to my neighbor
-
in the Holy Spirit." Joshua?
-
(Joshua) I think it's really important
-
for us to embrace the principles
-
of the Bible in our lives
-
and to truly practice them.
-
And what I find to be amazing is that
-
I listen to these great motivational
-
and inspirational speakers of the world,
-
and they'll say things that people will
-
listen to and hold onto and practice,
-
not realizing that that same principle
is in the Bible.
-
And, so, many people
-
have profited off of God's principles
-
that He has given to us for free,
-
but they'll pay hundreds of dollars
-
to go to a seminar and hear
-
the same thing from someone else's mouth.
-
(Derek) A great revelation,
-
but it's still true, right?
-
It's a principle of truth
-
that is also spelled out
-
in the Word of God.
-
Let's talk about some other people.
-
Ezra was not alone.
-
We might say, well, Nehemiah,
-
and we're going to talk
-
about both of them in this series.
-
But let's scan broader in the Scripture
-
and say, "There's a young woman,"
-
or, "There's an older man,"
-
older woman, young, whatever age group,
-
"that their preparation was crucial
-
for the work God called them to do."
-
Anybody have a - just share
-
a story with me that comes
-
to your mind. Anybody?
-
(Alex) I think of Daniel.
-
We talked about it already,
-
but, I mean, look at how he
-
prepared himself with his friends,
-
with eating well, with his diet.
-
(Derek) That's right, Daniel, chapter 1,
-
even taking care of his body
-
was part of his training, right?
-
Good point. Yes?
-
(Puia) I remember Paul
-
who was previously Saul.
-
He was a learned man as well,
educated man,
-
and when God transformed his heart
-
when he met Jesus, he was very useful.
-
And, in fact, most of the New Testament
-
is written by Paul.
-
So I think we see an importance
-
of training as well here.
-
(Derek) And another person,
-
which you may not have thought of,
-
who wrote a major portion
-
of the New Testament
-
if you add the book of the Gospel
-
and the book of Acts together,
-
you've got a major contributor
-
who happened, by profession, to be...?
-
A physician, Dr. Luke,
-
writing to his friend Theophilus, right?
-
So there's another one, preparation.
-
Someone else. Pedro?
-
(Pedro) I think Esther.
-
I was thinking about, she was
-
prepared for that moment
-
to liberate God's people.
-
We don't know, it might not be education;
-
it might not be something
-
that we can go to school for,
-
but I think through her
-
process of learning from her uncle,
-
she would be able to be prepared
-
to confront even the king
in a time of need.
-
(Derek) What about us today?
-
We've got a couple of minutes left.
-
What can we do?
-
I think we've talked about some principles
-
from Ezra and from some
-
of these other great women and men of God.
-
What are some things, Joshua,
-
we can do today, we can do?
-
(Joshua) I think that we can
-
be as effective as Jesus
-
if we do the things that He did
-
in the way that He did it,
-
meaning, every interaction,
-
every experience that He had with someone,
was life-changing.
-
(Derek) And He did it and said,
-
"The Spirit of the Lord is..."?
-
(Team) Upon Me.
-
(Derek) So it's happening
-
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Okay, Liza?
-
(Liza) I think we need
-
to prepare our hearts,
-
and that means going on a journey
-
of soul-seeking, reflecting, praying
-
to God to show what's in our hearts,
-
to bring that to the surface,
-
so that we can resolve
-
whatever things that we're dealing with.
-
I mean, clearly, Ezra
-
was not a perfect person,
-
but he went through that process
-
of being pure-hearted...
-
(Derek) Could I pray, "God,
-
if there's anything holding me back
-
from being the woman of God
-
You want me to be,
-
from being the man of God
-
You want me to be..."?
-
There's that wonderful prayer
-
in Psalm 139, "Search me, O God,
-
and know my heart." Brittany?
-
(Brittany) I was just repeating
the verse with you.
-
(Derek) "Try me, and know
my anxious thoughts."
-
Travis, one last thought.
-
(Travis) I'm just thinking,
-
the Bible says, "Be not only hearers
-
of the Word, but doers."
-
So, if we study the Word of God
-
and say, "God, show me
-
how you want me to live my life,"
-
and put the words that we read
-
from the Bible into action,
-
then we can be a light to the world.
-
(Derek) Two thousand four hundred plus
years ago,
-
the Spirit of God impresses someone
-
from a noble family, really, right,
-
distinguished family, Ezra,
-
to say, "It's not just about where you
came from,
-
it's about who I want you to be today."
-
And he purposed in his heart,
-
and he did the hard work of education.
-
He became skilled, to not only hear
-
but to do and then to share.
-
And God used him to impact his generation.
-
And there's a lesson
-
for each one of us today
-
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
-
as Joshua said, that God
has a work for us.
-
And God has a work for you, too.
-
I don't know what it is, but I'm excited
-
because God has plans for us
-
way beyond what we could ever imagine.
-
And it's not just a matter
-
of saying "God, I'm available."
-
It's saying, "God, what do You
-
want me to do now to prepare,
-
not to earn Your love or favor,
-
but to be a sharp ax in Your hand,
-
a useful tool, a faithful servant?"
-
Let's pray we can be that
-
as we continue this wonderful journey,
-
studying Ezra and Nehemiah.
-
Father in Heaven, thank You
for the inspiration
-
of this man's life, Ezra.
-
Thank You for the inspired testimony.
-
And God, for us today, may we
-
be the women of God, the men of God,
-
who not only hear, but do and share
-
for the honor of Your name.
-
In Jesus' name. Amen.
-
(Team) Amen.
-
(Derek) It's going to be
an exciting journey
-
as we study two ancient books,
-
once clustered together as one single book
-
in the Hebrew Scriptures,
-
Ezra and Nehemiah, lessons
-
for our lives today.
-
Right now I know: Hear it,
-
do it, and share it.
-
Be a blessing to those around you.
-
♪ theme music ♪