HSS_2019_Q4_EP07

♪ theme music ♪

(Jason) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We're glad you've joined us today,

as we continue another exciting
lesson series here,

from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah

about Our Forgiving God.

Even when we've made mistakes,

even when we've gone our own way,

God is still there, loving us,

ready to forgive us.

And we're very happy we have
the team here.

Hasn't this been a blessed series

that we've experienced?

(Team) Amen!

(Jason) These Old Testament books

are coming alive, and we're finding

practical lessons from them

that maybe we had never seen before.

We're also happy to hear from you,
our [viewers].

If you haven't written to us,

feel free to write to us

at [e-mail].

And right now we have some letters

that we want to share with you.

The first one comes from our friend Kanga
in South Sudan,

one of the newest countries we have
in the world.

Kanga writes and says, "Dear members

of the in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God."

You can tell he's paying attention.

"Greetings to you from Kanga John Matthew

in Wau town, South Sudan.

I am a regular watcher

of Hope Sabbath School; I feel impressed

by your lively lesson discussions

of the book of Revelation."

So, he's been watching

something from Revelation.

"You are doing extraordinarily great jobs

for the Lord in the sight of the viewers.

You are building the families of God,

which are scattered all over the world,"

which, actually, makes me think

of the story of Nehemiah,

where the people had been scattered.

And yet, through Hope Sabbath School,

we can all come together,

no matter what parts

of the world we're in.

And he closes by saying this,

"As His children, let us focus

our eyes all on Him,

and we shall be victorious as He is."

Thank you, Kanga;

that is such a blessed and encouraging
message for all of us.

We also have Joann who writes to us

from the state of Georgia

in the United States.

She says, "I am Joann Dustin,

and I live in Georgia, USA.

I'm an assistant instructor at my church.

I'm very grateful for Hope Sabbath School

for I learn more about God

and gain more knowledge to share

with my new friends

and strengthen my faith to patiently wait

for our wonderful Savior to return.

In the New Jerusalem,

I hope to get answers to all my questions

and finally see my God."

(Team) Amen.

(Jason) Amen, Joann.

We're looking forward to that, too.

While we're here on this earth,

we do have answers in the Bible;

our Hope Sabbath School team,

we do the best we can to answer questions,

but we ultimately know that, in the end,

we will get the full answers

when we are there, with our God.

And so, just as you're

waiting forward to see our God,

we are waiting for that moment as well.

We have Nadene who writes to us.

Now, the interesting thing here, Nadene,

she's from the United Kingdom,
but she's living

in the United Arab Emirates.

We are a global family,

and as you see here,

we come from many different countries.

She says, "Hello, I tune into your show

every week online."

So, she's not necessarily watching us
on a TV,

she's watching online,

which actually reminds me

that we have a Hope Channel app

that you can go ahead and download.

Go to the App Store, go to Google Play;

on that Hope Channel app,

you'll get Hope Sabbath School

and many other amazing Bible programs

that will bless you

and can help change your life.

And so, just as Nadene here

is watching online,

download the app, and you can watch

through online services as well.

So Nadene says that, "I really enjoy

all of the engaging topics

and probing questions."

The topics, the questions,

this isn't just surface-level material.

She says, "I recently got baptized

and moved from my home in England

to the United Arab Emirates.

There have been a few restrictions
here on worship,

but God has been good

and has provided me

with many opportunities

to witness to others.

The church appreciates that I'm a teacher

and recently started to ask me

to do the lesson study

on Saturday morning.

At first, I found it daunting

because I had no idea what to do

or where to start.

But, thank the Lord, I have discovered

I can download your wonderful programs

from Hope Sabbath School.

I have received many blessings

since my move to the UAE,"

(United Arab Emirates),

"and have also been asked

to do Adventist youth program

after the main sermon

as well as a recent request

to preach a sermon to the whole church.

Thank you for your wonderful lessons,
Nadene."

Wow, so, from Hope Sabbath School

to the youth program

to preaching the sermon,

once you start sharing the Word of God,

once you start understanding

the Word of God,

there's no limit to what God
can use you [for]

and how He can use you.

Now we have a couple who write to us

from the state of New York;
they are donors,

and because they're donors,

we don't want to give their names.

This is not about glorifying self.

We are a donor-supported ministry,

and we're thankful that this couple

has partnered with us,

but ultimately this is not about us,

this is about giving glory to God.

Now, this couple writes and says,

"When we think of all

the soul-winning services

that have been conducted,

and we also think

about the condition of the world,

at times we ponder how long-suffering
our God is,

not willing that any should perish

but all should come to repentance.

Thank you for your courage
and your vision.

Keep up the good work.

Your prayers will be appreciated

to make sure that we don't

miss out ourselves by preaching to others

and not being partakers of His Kingdom."

That's a pretty sober message,

and we're thankful that this donor couple

has shared with us.

We need to remember for ourselves

to be in the Word, to be studying,

spending time getting close to God.

And we have our last letter;

it comes to us from the country of Zambia.

Alvin writes to us; Alvin says,

"Hi, Hope Sabbath School team."

(Team) Hi!

(Jason) What do we say back?

We say, "Hi," back.

"I am one of the ardent followers

of the Hope Sabbath School lessons

as they always add

a new scope of understanding

and a new method of approach
to the lesson.

I am a discussion leader

of our Sabbath School class

and am always blessed.

May God continue blessing

your ministry, Alvin."

Praise God, Alvin, that you are

leading the discussion,

that you are being blessed,

and we're happy that we

can be part of that blessing.

Another way we can be part of the blessing

is through singing,

and we have a Scripture song

we're going to sing.

Please feel free to join us and sing it.

It comes from Psalm 25,

a 3,000-year-old Scripture song,

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul."

♪ music ♪

(Jason) Amen. Isn't that such
an exciting song,

praising God, giving Him thanks?

Well, one of the ways we can praise God

is we can praise Him through prayer,

and so I'd like to invite you

to bow your heads as we are

going to ask the Lord

to be with us in this study.

Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, today,

as we look through an Old Testament story,

help us to see something from the lessons

of a couple thousand years ago

that we can apply to today.

Help us to see how Your forgiveness

and Your love is unchanging.

We pray all this

in the holy name of Jesus,

the One who has forgiven us

and given us the power

to live a new life. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Jason) Talking about the idea

of Our Forgiving God

makes me think about why I

very much appreciate His forgiveness.

And so I'd like to ask,

before we get directly into the lesson,

anyone on the team,

or even several of you,

when you think of the forgiveness of God,

what do you think of?

How does that impact you personally?

How do you experience

the forgiveness of God?

Nancy, I see you kind of nodding

your head there a little bit.

When you think of the forgiveness of God,

what comes to your mind?

(Nancy) Well, God will forgive...

He wants us to come to Him with anything,

and He is long-suffering;

He's forgiving, and He forgives me.

(Jason) He forgives you. Amen. Ranela.

(Ranela) I think just great relief

to know that I can come to God.

His mercies are new every morning,

and His faithfulness is great,

and His grace is His power

to live an overcoming life.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think knowing

that God's always going to be forgiving

and is not going to turn His back on us,

I think that gives you a freedom

to actually avoid some of the problems.

Like, if I know that God's not going

to give up on me,

then I'm more able

to choose the right way

because it's not like

I'm hovering under His judgment.

It's like He's going to pursue me
no matter what,

and so I can just turn away

from that stuff and follow Him.

(Jason) So the forgiveness,

while it may give you an emotional peace,

it also allows something practical.

It allow you to make different decisions

and allows you, as you said, freedom,

you used the word, in your life. Travis.

(Travis) I think of the Bible text

where it says, "With lovingkindness

I have drawn you,"

so when we look at forgiveness,

that's what draws us to Jesus

as we know what condition we're in.

And yet, He loves us, and He's forgiving,

not willing that any should perish,

but all should come to repentance.

And that draws us; it's His grace

that teaches us to love Him.

(Jason) Amen. And now let's

get into the Word of God.

I'm going to ask Stephanie

if you could start out for us.

We're in the book of Nehemiah.

I'd like you to read chapter 9

and read verses 1 through 3.

And as she reads, I want us

to think about what's happening here,

what's going on, and how does

this relate to God's forgiveness.

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) Wow, so there's

a lot happening here,

and I'd like someone first

to unpack what's going on.

What is the context?

Is this a celebratory scene

with a lot of music and excitement?

Puia, you're nodding your head.

What do you see happening here?

(Puia) I see a group of people

coming together in repentance

and humbling themselves.

(Jason) Humbling themselves.

(Puia) It says they're wearing sackcloths;

they're putting dust on their heads.

When do people do that?

It's when they humble themselves
before the Lord.

(Jason) They humble themselves, okay.
Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was thinking

that this is coming after they've

been spending some time

looking at the Law of God.

And now they're...It seems like

maybe they're really realizing,

just, their corporate guilt.

I mean, they're kind of saying,

"Wow, Lord, we have so sinned.

We have so gone all these ways.

All these warnings You gave,

we didn't pay attention to.

All these things You've told us to do;

we've done none of them."

So they're really repenting.

(Jason) They're really repenting.
Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) One thing I see here,

the forgiveness is something
that is specific.

You know, they're reading the Word

for the first part of the day,

and then they are confessing

for the other part.

So they're recognizing why they fell

short of the glory of God,

but they're confessing.

And if I say, "God...," you know,

my prayers, I'm coming to God.

I say, "God, forgive my errors
of the day,"

I'm not being specific,

and that might not help me

have a change of heart.

And they were looking

for a change of heart, as I look there.

They were wanting to be at one with God,

and they were seeking from God's Word,

what could have made them go wrong,

and they were asking for forgiveness.

It's specifically on their sins.

(Jason) Pedro's making a reference,

and Jonathan, too;

they've done some wrong things.

And I'd like to ask here on the team,

let's get a little explicit.

What has happened here?

Someone may be watching this

and may not be totally familiar

with all the story.

They may not have seen

all the previous lessons,

so, what have these people done?

What is the problem?

What has gone on? Jonathan.

(Jonathan) For years they

worshiped other gods.

I mean, they were warned

not to marry outside of...
other peoples,

because they would

draw them away to other gods

and all these different things

that God had laid down

for them, boundaries,

these very strong boundaries,
tough boundaries.

And they, one by one,

rejected all of them,

and you can see how all these things

that would have protected them

ended up leading to destruction,

and then God sent all these prophets.

And so it's very clear,

both their guilt but also how much

God has pursued them

and tried to win them back

and cried out to them,

and they didn't accept it for years.

(Jason) Pedro.

(Pedro) One thing we might not realize
in some ways,

even though this is in the middle

of the Old Testament,

this is basically at the end

of the story of what's happening

because the prophets come afterward,

which are basically the prophets

that came before this time

telling them to stop doing
the wrong things,

stop doing the wrong things.

And the prophets are speaking

through the time of the kings,

and we saw that the majority of the kings

were rebellious kings.

And at this time, God,

after the 70 years they were

in captivity in Babylon,

they came back; God blessed them

to rebuild the walls, rebuild the temple.

And they're saying, "We don't

want to fall into the same problem.

We want to get right with God."

And the best way to get right with God

is to know what you're doing wrong.

And the only way you can do it

is through going to the Law of God
and to His Word.

(Jason) Amen. Now verse 2

has this interesting statement.

Stephanie's version said

something about separating themselves
from strangers.

Other versions may even say "foreigners."

What is this all about?

What's going on here?

I mean, there had been a reference

that Jonathan made,

something about, you know,

marrying other people and worship.

What's going on here,

because wouldn't it be fair to say

that shouldn't everyone come
to worship God?

Shouldn't they invite the foreigners,

the strangers, to worship God?

So, why are they separating themselves,
the lineage? Puia.

(Puia) Of course, everyone

is welcome to worship God,

but in this context, it seems like

they have acknowledged the fact

that the reason why they were exiled

was because their nation
turned against God.

And so, in this context, in this verse,

we are seeing that they have

accepted the fact that it was their sin,

not the foreigners' sin.

It was their nation's sin.

And what's interesting here

is that they could have complained

and said, "Well, you know,

the people who sinned were our parents,

our grandparents; it's not us,"

because the people who actually came back

probably were born into captivity.

But yet they were not saying

that it was a sin of someone else,

but they accepted that it was

a corporate sin as the nation.

(Jason) Jonathan, yes.

(Jonathan) I was thinking,

in the book of Deuteronomy;

it actually explains why God

kicked these people out,

I mean, like, some terrible things.

It's sad to look and see, that, okay,

God had to let some whole tribes
and stuff go,

but He very clearly warned them

that, "It was because of these things

that I had to kick them out,

and if you do them,"

which the Israelites ended up doing

many of those same things,

and so that's part of the reason

that now they've been

sent off to Babylon.

(Jason) All right, so we have
some context here,

and in the end of this section,

there was a statement

about a fourth of a day or something,

and a fourth of day.

Someone want to do some math for me

about what's going on

and what happened specifically here?

Pedro, you've got the math.

(Pedro) Well, we sometimes,

we look into the hours

that they looked at.

It was three and three hours,

so, every three hours

is a section of their day.

If you look in the New Testament,

you see a parable that Jesus talks about.

They come early at the sixth hour,

the third hour, you know,
the eleventh hour,

and it's their labor [time],

the point that they start working,

at sunrise all the way to the time
of the sunset.

(Jason) All right. Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Just thinking about,
in verse 2,

and I think those strangers,

they represent more than just people.

We think about people, "Okay,

we have to separate in order to seek God."

And I think they represented

also certain spiritual elements

that prevented them from repenting.

So, that's the way I look at it.

It is not just about separating
from actual people

because God loves everybody.

It is about separating ourselves

from those things that keep us
from repenting.

(Jason) So, it's not so much

about discrimination against others

but rather, putting yourselves in a place

so that we can allow

the Holy Spirit to work with us.

And then, as you see, after this

they have, as now Pedro has informed us,

three hours of a praise service

and three hours of confession and worship.

What do you think about that?

Because I'll just say

that when I first read this,

I was like, "Wow."

In my day, I have a lot

of things I have to do; I need to eat.

If you're a family, you might need

to, you know, take care of your kids.

If you're a student, you might

need to do education.

So, what is this...Is this

a little radical, spending all this time?

Heide, I see you've got a thought on this.

(Heide) It doesn't sound like

this is something that they do every day.

It sounds like they selected
a specific date,

and they were like, "For this day,

we're going to do this," you know?

And I just was so impressed by that,

because I was also like you.

I was, like, "Whoa! That is a long time!"

But I was just thinking how we spend,

not only every day in our lives,

we're in such a fast-paced world,

that everything is constant,

like time, we're always running
against time,

but even on the Sabbath,

I was stopping and reflecting,

sometimes, even for good things,

we're involved in ministries,

and we're so busy -

"I have to go to this meeting,

and then I have to go

and help with this program,"

or help with this - that we don't

have the time to stop and do this.

And I saw how important it is

that God wants me to stop,

and [He] says, "Get into My Word,

removing the factor of time."

And then stop and meditate on that

and say, "God, what do You

want me to learn from this?"

like someone said in a previous lesson,

and how can I apply it?

You know, what things

are hindering me from doing this?

And I'm going to maybe try to do this.

But I just saw that, and I was

so impressed by it.

(Jason) Wow, that's convicting,
right there.

Ranela, you have some thoughts.

(Ranela) I was just thinking of the fact

that they haven't...

This is really good for them to do

because they haven't had this reading

and this understanding

of the Word of God for many years.

And so, it's interesting

because they're kind of coming
out of captivity,

coming out of all the other ideologies

that they've been, you know,

that have surrounded them.

And now God is kind of trying

to wipe the slate clean

and show them what the truth is,
remind them again.

And it just kind of, to make it practical,

I think especially for those
that are watching,

if this is kind of the first time

you're starting to understand the Bible,

it is so important to spend

a lot of time familiarizing yourself,

understanding the whole picture
and everything.

It helps to understand the Bible

as you keep going.

But, yeah, it's interesting;

they didn't have a background
at that point.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Just thinking

about how many hours

they were spending over there in worship.

They didn't have AC;

they were not comfortable.

But we have to think

there are some moments in our lives

where we need those dramatic activities
with God,

dramatic moments with God,

in order to make a dramatic change.

They were in a very pivotal moment.

They were coming back

from their captivity,

and they wanted to make changes.

So, we need to make a special...

to set apart special moments for God

when we want to make important changes.

(Jason) One of the most dramatic things

I saw in here was this idea

of the group coming together

and doing this confession.

There's a phrase, "corporate repentance."

Have you heard of that phrase before?

That seems like that's

what's going on here,

and I'm just curious,

what do you think of this idea

of corporate repentance

that you see here in Nehemiah?

Someone on the team, Pedro,

you have a thought.

(Pedro) Looking at this,

I think this cannot happen

if it doesn't happen personally.

If you're not able to do that

in a point of one-on-one,

you're not going to be able

to come into a group of people
and expose yourself.

And I want to share

a little testimony here.

For many years...You know,

I have five siblings,

and for a season of time

I had a problem with my older brother

because, for the same reason

we see here in the text.

It's interesting that it fits well with me

because he was being a person

that was taking me away from God.

And my wife brought to me,

"You see, the things that you're doing,

it's like the same things
your brother is doing.

He's not uplifting you for God,

but he's taking you away from God."

And I restrained myself from him

for a period of time,

and I did that in a harsh way.

And I said, "Well, I noticed that..."

I didn't want to confront him
at that moment,

but later on I came to him,

and we had a conversation.

And I believe it was not something

I could say, "You know, brother,

we haven't talked for six months,

forgive me, and have a good day."

No, we had to take time to reconcile.

It was a moment of reflection

and a moment of talk.

And since the moment

that I had to explain to him

what was happening, why I had to do

the things that I did.

And he realized, and he thanked me for it.

And it was a good time of reconciliation.

And I believe we can do that

if we are experiencing

those reconciliations on a daily basis.

(Jason) Puia.

(Puia) We're looking

at a corporate repentance happening here,

and I think there is power

in coming together as a group.

See, when we see our friends repenting,

in some way, it influences our thoughts,

and it's like, "Oh, my friend

is repenting to God,"

and that in some way motivates us

or gives us more reason

to also do likewise.

You know, negativity can spread
very quickly,

and in the same way,

positivity can also spread

when we come together as a group.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think there's a time

when decisions are made

at a level where it's the whole body

making the decision.

I mean, it wasn't just the fact

that one person worshiped other gods;

it's the fact that leader after leader

after leader rejected the prophets

and rejected the warnings

and outright called people
to worship Baal.

So when it is a communal decision,

the community should probably also make

a communal saying, "Okay,

it looks like we did not do

what we should have."

(Jason) Now, this idea

of corporate repentance,

we've talked about it now here

in the context of Nehemiah's day,

but for...and I come

from the United States, from the West,

from a Western individualist mindset,

this is kind of foreign

because we have this idea,

"Well, you have your sin; I have my sin.

You go talk with God about your issue,

and I go talk with God about my issue."

But is there something we can learn

from this experience

that could apply for us today? Travis.

(Travis) As I'm listening

to everybody discussing this,

there's a precursor

to corporate repentance

and that's recognizing corporate need.

And so, when we, as a body,

recognize corporately our condition,

the Bible says, "Blessed are

the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."

When we recognize our need,

and we come to Jesus beating our chests

and saying, "Lord, have mercy on me,"

corporately God will pour His blessings

out on the church.

(Jason) Amen. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) I actually see these verses

as revival and reformation

of this group of individuals.

And I think that even our churches,

we need that revival and reformation.

And in order for that to happen, we need

that personal revival in our lives.

but then, when that happens,

we're a safe place to bring others in

and give them the blessings

that we've experienced from our time.

(Jason) Amen. We have to move on,

and we need to read

further on in the story,

and I'd like to ask Nancy

if you would read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verses 5 and 6.

And with verse 5, just read
the second part.

There's a list of all these names,

and there are some statements
that are said,

so just read the part

beyond the names in verse 5,

and then also read verse 6.

(Nancy) Okay, and I'm reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) Wow. Amen.

So, now we continue a little more

into what the content is

of how this worship is going along.

And I'd like to ask someone

here on the team,

did you see any appeals here?

What was the appeal

that the worship leaders made

to the people gathered?

What was the request? Stephanie.

(Stephanie) "Stand up and bless the Lord."

(Jason) "Stand up and bless the Lord."

Now, we say that, but what does that mean?

Do you physically stand up

and just wave your hands,

or is there something more?

What is this idea of, "Stand up
and bless the Lord"? Yes, Puia.

(Puia) I think it's more about the heart,

more than just the physical standing up.

I think it also has to do

with moving out of your comfort zone.

When you're talking about sitting down,
it's comfortable.

"Stand up," like, "Come up," you know,

move out of your comfort zone

and be willing, open your heart.

(Jason) Move out of your comfort zone

and open your heart. Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I'm thinking about the context

from which this all emerges,

and they are coming out of a captivity.

And to bless the Lord for that,

I feel like, to bless,

we have to bless the Lord

even though those external things
are not positive.

I recently lost one of my legs.

I have a prosthetic leg,

and whenever people met me,

they said, "How can you be so smiley

when you have lost a leg?"

Because while I was in the hospital,

one of those who care,

one of the nurses said, "I come here

and I see you smiling always."

And I said, "Because God is with me,
and He's love."

And she said, "How can you

say that God is love?

He just allowed you to lose your leg."

And then I talked to her about God's love,

and I blessed the Lord.

Tears came out from her eyes,

and she said, "You know, I am

now working currently in this room,

but I came here accidentally

because I'm replacing somebody,

and now I found the reason why
I came here.

I was about to give up on God

because I lost one

of my daughters recently in this room,

and I couldn't understand God's love.

I could not praise Him.

And thank you for sharing that."

So I think we have to share God

and bless God even when the circumstances

around are negative.

And these, well, we see, they are

coming out of a very negative experience,

and yet they are called to bless God.

(Jason) Thank you for sharing that,
Jonathan.

So even if we're going

through negative or difficult experiences,

as we come out of them,

even as we're going through them,

as in your case, we can stand up,

we can bless the Lord,

get out of our comfort zone
and praise God.

Now, one big element of praise

is this idea of recognizing God
as the Creator.

So, why is the Creator idea

so important, so connected

to this idea of praise that we see here,

because if you look at this section,

there's a lot about the creator.
Yes, Puia.

(Puia) I think when you know your Creator,

you know your origin.

And when you know your origin,

you know your destiny,

or, somewhat, you know your purpose.

See, nowadays in the public school system

and around the world,

students are being taught

that there's no God, there's no Creator.

So, with that worldview,

if there is no Creator,

my life is just an accident.

So, I think it's important

to understand here that people

are called back to understand

that God is their Creator, to remind them

that they have a purpose,

and they have a reason to live.

And they have a destiny,

and it's based on their Creator
who created them.

(Jason) Amen. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) We also recognize

that the reason we exist

is because of Him,

both physically and spiritually,

because of His forgiveness.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) There is so much

that is beautiful about God's creation.

You go out in nature or someplace,

and there are waterfalls, et cetera,

and you're just overwhelmed.

And I think that is a right representation

of who God is and of His love for us.

(Jason) Now, when it comes to praise,

there is a difference, or, I should ask,

is there a difference

between praising the Lord

and this idea of in spirit, in truth,

and praising the Lord

with emotionalism and exhibitionism?

Because there are a lot of different ways

we can look like we're praising the Lord,

but how can we tell

if we're actually praising the Lord?

Is all apparent praise to the Lord,

is it all the same thing?

Or is there something different?
Yes, Nancy.

(Nancy) It should be based

on an understanding of who He is.

And I think of Job, when He said,

you know, all that Job went through,

and he said, "Though he slay me,

yet will I trust Him."

So he knew whom he had believed in.

That's ultimate trust.

(Jason) Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I just say, I think it will

look different for different people.

(Jason) Okay, it will look different
for different people.

(Jonathan) Sometimes it can be tempting
to try to judge other people,

but, I mean, David was dancing around
and all this stuff,

and his wife was like,
"What are you doing?!"

But he was praising God.

He wasn't worried about other people.

He was just living in the spirit

and praising God for all

that He had done and was doing.

(Jason) Travis, you have some thoughts.

(Travis) To worship in spirit and truth

is different than just on emotions.

Part of that is, when we worship,

we're praising and we're claiming

the promises of God.

When we come to worship God in spirit,

we're coming to worship Him

with an idea that we can trust Him

and that His words

will not return to us void.

When it's emotions,

sometimes it's just based on feelings,

"Well, I feel good today.

The music was loud;

the smoke was great in church today,

and I had a great time."

But when the great time is over with,

if we've not hid the Word of God
in our hearts,

if we've not based it

on the promises of God and truth,
then it's empty.

(Jason) Now, Jonathan made reference

to this idea, some people have a concept

that, if you're worshiping

in spirit and truth,

it means a certain format,

a certain style of song, a certain,

dare I even say, traditional method.

But is it possible that one can worship

in a very apparently reverent way,

very traditional, but yet could that

also be emotionalism or exhibitionism?

Is that also possible, too? Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Jesus was referring...

Okay, those words "in spirit and truth"

are words spoken by Jesus

when He was talking

to the Samaritan woman,

and she was worried because

she said, "Your people say that we

should worship God in the temple,

in the physical temple"; she was focused

on the physical activities,
religious activities.

And I think Jesus was taking her attention

from the physical or external activity

into the inner experience,
the inner worship.

And worship in spirit and truth,

I think, when we talk about truth,

we talk about the Word of God.

John 17:17 says the Word of God is truth,

and Jesus also claims, Himself,
to be the Truth.

So, that inner experience, where we're

just worshiping God in the spirit

should be regulated by the truth,

by the Word of God and example of Jesus.

(Jason) Ranela.

(Ranela) I appreciate what he said,

and what everyone has said.

I think that, when it comes
to emotionalism,

there's nothing wrong with being emotional

when we talk about God,

when we praise God,

when we think of God.

And I appreciate what Jonathan said.

We can't judge someone else, like,
"Oh, are they being..."

like, "Are they being sincere?"

"Are they really doing that
based on the Word of God?"

We don't know, but the difference,

where it gets into a dangerous place,

is when emotion is the reason

that you're doing it.

It should be the expression

and not the reason.

The reason needs to be based

on who God is and on the Word of God.

(Jason) Puia.

(Puia) I also want to make a point

that there is danger, also,

to go to the extreme of emotionalism.

I think the question is,

who is in control?

Is the Spirit of God in control?

Some people in some worship forms,

I know...this is not being
judgmental at all,

but in some worship forms,

people are dragged out of their seats
against their will,

and they are forced to dance.

I've seen them, you know.

There are plenty of places

where they believe that that's
the Holy Spirit.

But I think the Holy Spirit,

it's very clear from the Bible

that the Holy Spirit never forces upon us.

So, if in the process

of our worshiping God,

if some form of force

is taking over our own will and decision,

that's something to be careful of,

and that's not something from God

because God never forces us.

God wants us to worship out of our hearts.

(Jason) Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) It's hard to put

worship into a perspective

because it's something

that we experience ourselves

in relation to God.

But when I look into the boundaries,

I try to look into the history
of marriage.

That's the only entity

that you probably can have

as a different relationship

of experiencing something with someone.

And if you're cut and dried,

you're not having a relationship
with that person.

You can say, "I'm married,"

but you're just on that ceremonial level

where you just do what needs to be done
and that's it.

But also you cannot be too emotional.

You have to have reason.

It's that mix, that balance

of reason and emotions

that brings together

a full experience of relationship.

And I think that's the most important.

Are you experiencing a relationship

with God as you worship?

And are you growing

from this marital church in Christ?

(Jason) So, worship involves both

the emotional and the rational components,
as Pedro said.

We need to move on, and we need

to look further in the story.

Jonathan, I would like

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verses 7 through 15.

And as we read this, let's see,

how do the children of Israel,

this group gathered together,

how do they worship?

What are the statements

that are made here?

(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading

from the New International Version:

(Jason) Wow, so, what is the story here?

What is happening in this prayer?

Jonathan just read a lot of verses,

and what are those verses

all talking about? Stephanie.

(Stephanie) It's recounting

God's faithfulness, each step of the way.

(Jason) Each step, recounting

God's faithfulness. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) It's also talking

about His power, the power of God.

Only God can part the Red Sea.

Prior to this, we talked

about their worship,

worship Him who made the earth

and everything that was in it.

And that was basically leading them

back into Sabbath worship,

to honoring Him as the Creator.

(Jason) Yes, Nicole.

(Nicole) It also talks
about His authority.

"You gave us ordinances.

You gave us structure and rules

that we need as humans."

And so, He's awesome in that way,

that He gives us what's good for us

because He knows what we need
when we need it.

(Jason) All right, so, His authority,

structure, power, His love.

Now, let's look through,

because there's a specific series

of statements that are made

in this retelling of God's goodness

and God's guidance.

And we're kind of going to see

how they play back and forth

between what the people are doing

and what God has done.

And so, I want to start this.

Puia, if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verses 16 and 17.

And you're going to see here,

I'm going to ask you,

what do the people do?

What is God's response?

So, 16 and 17, please, and you can read

all the full verses there.

(Puia) All right, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) Wow. So, what did the people do?

What was their action? Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) Proud, hard,
disobedient, rebellious.

(Jason) Proud, hard, disobedient.
Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) I like the phrase,
"hardened their necks."

If somebody is calling you,

you're just not turning;

you're just rejecting to go.

You know, somebody is calling
on this side,

and I'm turning that way;
I'm not listening.

It's a very offensive way, you know.

You're not recognizing God.

And now they are saying,

"We want to recognize You
and Your praise."

(Jason) So, they're very offensive
towards God,

and what is God's response?

Does He turn His neck back?

Does He say, "All right,

I'm done with you"? Nicole.

(Nicole) He loves them.

He always does.

He loves us no matter what.

And He calls them to come back to Him.

You know, He's gracious,

He's compassionate, He's slow to anger,

and He's abounding in faithful love.

He is faithful to the end.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) Well, I just noticed, it says,

"They appointed a leader

to return to their bondage.

But You are God," so, God
was their leader,

but they chose a different leader

that led them into bondage.

(Jason) And yet God still returns,

and He's gracious to them.

All right, let's look at the next section.

I'd like to ask Evelyn

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verses 18 through 25.

We have another story here,

and then how God responds.

So, please read for us 18 through 25

of Nehemiah, chapter 9.

(Evelyn) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) So, if you heard
most of those verses,

you almost might have missed

the one negative thing they did

because you see so much of God's blessing.

But what was the one problem?

What was the negative thing
they did, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) They worshiped the calf.

(Jason) They worshiped the golden calf.

So they worshiped the golden calf,

and what is God's response here?

How does God...Does He cut them off again?

Yes, Pedro, how does God respond?

(Pedro) He responds with blessings.

He brings them to repentance

and says, "Here, what I have promised."

He kept His promise.

I think, even though they rebelled,

God is faithful in keeping

His promise that He had made.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) Since we're talking
about prophets,

I'd just like to go back there

and kind of go dive into that story
just a little bit

because, during that story,

God was very angry,

and Moses interceded and said,

"Lord, even if You have to take my life,

write their names in the Book of Life."

And so, there was another prophet,

like Ezra, like Nehemiah,

somebody else to intercede for them,

a powerful leader,

a godly servant, [God]-fearing leader,

who interceded for them at the time.

And it just goes to show you

that God uses people also,

godly people, to work

for the will of His people.

(Jason) We have to continue in the story.

Ranela, if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verses 26 and 27,

let's continue on in the story

and let's see how this relationship

goes on between God and His people.

(Ranela) Yes, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) So had the children of Israel
learned their lesson?

Nope. How did they act this time?
Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) I see here that they
rebelled against.

And it's interesting that God

allowed things to take place.

Even though He brings the prophets

to take them back to the Word of God,
they rebel.

But that's when I see here

there's a very important aspect here

on this lesson that I believe in

is that God allowed trials

to come into their lives

so they could know

that they need God to live.

And then when they recognized,

"I'm in trouble," they gave it to God.

(Jason) And now, Heide,

if you could read for us,

we're going to close off this story

with verse 28, Nehemiah,

chapter 9, verse 28.

How does the story kind of end?

Continue, if you will.

(Heide) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Jason) All right, so, what do you

feel about this, Jonathan,

when you read these things?

(Jonathan) The last one, I was thinking,

it kind of shows how much

God will go towards,

the lengths that God will go towards.

I mean, He doesn't want

to bring calamities.

No parent wants to do that for their kids,

but He knows that He's got

to do something to wake them up.

I mean, He has to take responsibility.

Like, when people look on,

they're going to say,

"God's doing what to me?"

But He knows that that's what they needed.

And so I think it's kind of a reminder
we can have,

that God will go to great lengths
to win us back.

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) I was thinking, this is us today.

You know, we have all the knowledge
of the entire Bible,

and yet we still do things

that are shameful and not in God's sight.

But if we cry out to Him,

He is faithful to forgive us.

He's faithful to be there for us
and rescue us.

So I'm just very thankful

that in all of my fallings,

God is there to pick me up

if I just cry out to Him

and ask Him to pick me up.

(Jason) Stephanie, and then
we'll have to move on.

(Stephanie) What I see

throughout all of these verses

is that God allows us to make a choice,

and unfortunately our choices

lead to consequences.

But He is merciful, and those consequences

will still be there,

but the mercy of us being able

to come back to Him

is part of His faithfulness.

(Jason) Malaina, could you read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verse 30?

There is a specific reference

about what God does,

how He tries to reach the people.

Please read for us Nehemiah 9:30.

(Malaina) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Nehemiah, chapter 9, verse 30:

(Jason) All right, so, what did God do?

How did God try to win back His people?
Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) Through the Spirit
of the prophets.

That's what basically we need
to understand

is the role of the prophet

is to bring us back to the Word of God.

(Jason) And let's actually look

at some verses about what a prophet does,

and so, I'd like to ask Nancy

if you could read for us

in the book of Amos, chapter 3, verse 7.

We're going to look at
what a prophet does,

and then after Nancy,

I'm going to ask Puia, right next door,

to read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Pedro introduced us

to this idea of prophets.

Let's look at what the prophets are,

what they do, and how that can be

helpful for us in life.

So, yes, Nancy, from Amos, please.

(Nancy) All right, this is Amos,

chapter 3, verse 7,

in the New King James Version:

(Jason) So the prophets are there

to reveal His secrets, to tell us

what God is doing,

to warn us about God's activities.

Now, Puia, what does

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tell us?

(Puia) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) So, when you hear these verses,

how do these relate

to the idea of prophets

and what they can tell us,

and maybe what the people
there with Nehemiah

should have listened to before?

Yes, Stephanie, I see you
have some thoughts?

(Stephanie) Well, it says

that all Scripture is given
by inspiration of God,

and so, those prophets who wrote that

or gave us that information,

they were inspired by God.

(Jason) They were inspired by God.
Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I was just thinking that,

no matter what age we live in,

as we go through the Scriptures,

the words of the prophets

are as valuable to us today

as they were to them back then.

(Jason) Now, we have

the ultimate revelation

that the Scriptures reveal,

and so, I'd like to ask Pedro,

if you could read for us

John, chapter 5, verses 39 and 40.

We have the greatest revelation

that the Scriptures give to us.

So, what is this greatest revelation,

and how can it help us

in this idea of forgiveness

and turning to God?

(Pedro) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

John, chapter 5, verses 39 to 40:

(Jason) So, what do you think
about these verses?

How does this all connect together?

Nicole, I see you nodding your head.

(Nicole) Jesus, it comes back to Jesus.

It all comes back to Him.

No matter what we do,

what we say, or where we are,

we have to come back to Him,

and the Word points to Jesus,
and that's all we have.

(Jason) The Word points to Jesus.
Yes, Puia.

(Puia) As Jesus said,

the Scripture is about Him.

It's about Him, and when we

have Him in our lives,

that's eternal life.

(Jason) Eternal life. Yes, Heide.

(Heide) And putting that
into perspective then,

the prophets were telling them,

"Come to Him; come to your Creator,"

and they were rejecting that.

And we sometimes are in church

or we've heard the same things
that they have,

and yet we continue to live sinfully.

But His love is just, like, unfailing

is what I see here; it's so beautiful.

(Jason) Amen. Travis.

(Travis) So, as we make an application

to the verses that we've just read,

we see mistake, God's love,

mistake, God's love.

The Scriptures testify of God's

immeasurable, unfailing love.

(Jason) Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) That's basically...
the Bible is saying

God has given the Word

because He wants us to know

that He is willing to forgive us.

(Jason) God is willing to forgive us.

That's such great news,

but that news is not just for us;

it's for the whole world.

Maybe you've gone on your own journey,

like the children of Israel,

maybe you've made mistakes,

maybe you've even been rebellious

against God yourself.

I want to ask you, if maybe you have

done some of these things,

that you join me right now,

and as I pray, you go to God

and you ask Him for forgiveness.

As we see in these stories,
in these lessons,

our God is a forgiving God,
is a loving God,

and time after time He's willing

to take us back and to redeem us.

He redeemed us through His power

and through His blood,

and He wants to take us with Him.

So please bow your heads with me

as we pray and as we thank God

for His forgiveness.

Our dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, we have made mistakes.

Whether individually or corporately,

we have turned from You.

And, Lord, if this is the time right now,

then we ask forgiveness.

We ask for, where we have failed,

that You redeem us,

that You take us back.

Lord, You are so long-suffering.

You are so loving.

We see what You did

with the children of Israel,

and we want You to do the same for us.

Lord, by Your grace, help us

to learn these lessons

so that we can truly appreciate Your love.

We pray all this in the holy name
of Jesus,

our Redeemer, our Savior. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Jason) Go out and be a blessing.

Share this with those around you.

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