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♪ theme music ♪

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(Puia) 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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We're glad you have joined us today

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as we continue a series of studies

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on <i>Ezra and Nehemiah.</i>

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These two books were written

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over 2,000 years ago,

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but we have been learning in this series

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that we have so many lessons to learn

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from these two books

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that have practical implications

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for our lives today.

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I'm glad you have joined us today,

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and welcome to the team.

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What a great study, isn't it?

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We have been learning so much

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from these two books, Ezra and Nehemiah,

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and there are some more practical lessons

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that we will be learning today.

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And, of course, we're always excited

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to receive letters from you all.

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And today, we will be reading some letters

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that we have received.

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If you haven't written to us,

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write to us at sshope@hopetv.org.

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Our first letter today is from Mario

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who is an Indonesian living in China.

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What global Hope Sabbath School members[br]we have, right?

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Mario writes, "Greetings..."

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(Team) Greetings.

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(Puia) "...Hope Sabbath School[br]participants.

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I am Mario from Indonesia

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and currently working in Dali in China."

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He says, "I'm really thankful[br]to all of you

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for the way you interact in the study.

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That gives me an example and encouragement

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to keep learning and sharing

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in my Sabbath School group discussion.

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I watch Hope Sabbath School

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during my lunch break at the office,

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and it's so refreshing, joyful[br]and enlightening.

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May God continue to bless you

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in your ministry to Him."

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What a powerful testimony from Mario,

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listening to Hope Sabbath School

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during lunch break in his work.

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Thank you, Mario.

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Our next letter is from Chimbule

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who is from Zambia; we have

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many Hope Sabbath School members[br]in Zambia.

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Chimbule writes, "Hello,

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Hope Sabbath School team."

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(Team) Hello!

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(Puia) I want to congratulate you

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for the work you're doing.

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I'm enjoying listening

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to Hope Sabbath School.

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The lessons are very powerful.

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They really help me

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to make right decisions."

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Isn't that what Hope Sabbath School[br]is all about,

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guiding us to make right decisions?

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"You're a powerful team," what do we say?

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(Team) Amen! Praise God.

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(Puia) Praise God.

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"May the heavenly Father above in Heaven

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bless you abundantly.

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Chimbule, from Zambia."

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Well, Chimbule, thank you

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for writing to us.

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Our next letter is from John

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who is from Florida in the United States.

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Is there anyone from Florida here[br]on the team?

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Or anyone who has been to Florida?

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(Puia, Several Team Members) Yes.

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(Puia) All right, John writes,

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"I enjoy watching Hope Sabbath School.

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I want that kind of relationship back.

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I once had it, but have

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fallen away from it.

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I do love Jesus; I'm just

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finding it difficult to get back[br]what I lost.

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Please pray for me."

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Well, John, we will be praying for you.

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In fact, the letters that we receive

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are forwarded to all

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the Hope Sabbath School team members here,

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and we do pray for the prayer requests[br]that we receive,

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so we'll be praying for John.

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Our next letter is from a donor couple

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who are from the state of New york

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in the United States.

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They write, "Sir/Madam,

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the services provided by Hope Channel

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are valuable and necessary

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in our present-day circumstances.

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When we think of all the people

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you have helped already

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and the vast number

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of people still in need,

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we are grateful for your courage[br]and vision.

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I hope this donation provides

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at least a small amount of assistance

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toward the continuation of your services."

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Praise God; thank you.

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And they included a gift amount[br]of 75 dollars.

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(Team) Amen.

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(Puia) Thank you for your support

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financially and through prayer

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for this donor-supported ministry,[br]Hope Channel.

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Our next letter is from Cheelo;[br]I don't know

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if I'm pronouncing it correctly.

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Cheelo is a Zambian

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who is living in China.

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Cheelo writes, "Greetings brethren."

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What do we say?

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(Team) Greetings!

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(Puia) "I sincerely thank God[br]for the initiative

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of Hope Sabbath School program[br]in our church.

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As for me, I have never

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attended any class lesson

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such as this one, since my departure

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from my home country, Zambia,

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in the year 2017.

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The city where I am has literally

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no church where I can worship from;

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hence, I always rejoice whenever I receive

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the updated lesson discussion[br]from you guys,

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as it uplifts me to the throne of God."

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(Puia, Team) Amen.

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(Puia) "I sit, following all

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that is being discussed

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as part of my worship routine.

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God bless you and bless the entire

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Seventh-day Adventist Church, too."[br]Praise God.

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I believe that's all for today.

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Thank you for your letters.

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If you haven't written to us,

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once again, you can write to us,

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or, please write to us,

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at sshope@hopetv.org.

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We love to hear from you.

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And also, as always,

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before we begin our study,

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we love to sing a Scripture song.

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And today we'll be singing

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the song from Psalm 25.

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And if you haven't learned the song,

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you can go to our website,

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hopetv.org/hopess,

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and you can find the song there,

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and you can download it.

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And you can learn and join us

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as we sing this Scripture song.

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♪ music ♪

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(Puia) What a powerful song,

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a song taken directly out of Scripture.

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And today, as we continue our study,

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I'm sure that God will bless us.

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But before we begin, let us pray.

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Father God in Heaven, we come to You

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in the name of Jesus,

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and we thank You for this opportunity

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to study Your Word.

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Lord, we pray for the presence

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of the Holy Spirit to be with us.

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We pray, not just for the Hope[br]Sabbath School team members

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here in the studio,

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but we pray for the Hope Sabbath School[br]members around the world.

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Lord, wherever it is

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that they are watching this from,

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please be with them as well.

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And help us all to learn

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something new today,

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what You want us to learn.

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We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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(Team) Amen.

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(Puia) All right, we're now

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on lesson number six of this series,

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and the title of our study today

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is <i>The Reading of the Word of God.</i>

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It's going to be a powerful study,

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I'm sure, because this series

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has been full of practical lessons

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that we can learn and apply

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in our daily lives.

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And up to this point in our study,

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just to summarize and give

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the context of our study,

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we've been looking

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at the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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And we have been following

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the story of what?

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What has been happening?

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(Team) Rebuilding the temple, the walls.

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(Puia) Right, the rebuilding

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of the wall of Jerusalem.

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Just to give us the context

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of where we are now before we study,

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let us read Nehemiah, chapter 6,

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verses 15 to 16, and, Stephanie,

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if you can start off our study[br]by reading that,

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then we will get right into our study.

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(Stephanie) All right, and I'll be reading

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from the King James Version:

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(Puia) What stands out for you there?

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The wall has been finished.

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Did anything come to your mind?[br]Yes, Stephanie.

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(Stephanie) The reason

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the wall was finished

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was because it was God's work,

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and nothing that He

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puts His hand to do will fail.

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(Puia) Powerful. Jason?

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(Jason) And even the enemies noticed it,

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and they were afraid

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because they saw that God had done this.

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(Puia) Right. So, in other words,

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one can tell that the task

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that they had accomplished

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was something extraordinary

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or something that takes a miracle, right?

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They faced many oppositions

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from many different sides.

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Remember in the previous study

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we learned that they had to build the wall

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at the same time as fighting[br]off the enemies.

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So, after the wall was

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finished being built,

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the people were amazed,

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even people who did not

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really support them at first,

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knowing that they are with God,

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and God is with them.

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How powerful is that?

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So, with that understanding,

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the wall had been built.

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Now, the question is, what happens, right?

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What happens after they

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have accomplished the goal

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that they had set for themselves,

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or God has called them to?

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All right, let's look at Nehemiah,

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chapter 7, verse 73;

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let's read until chapter 8 verse 1.

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And, Travis, if you can read that for us,

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Nehemiah, chapter 7, verse 73,

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and on to chapter 8, verse 1.

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And we will look at what happens

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after the wall was finished.

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(Travis) And I'll be reading

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from the New King James Version:

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(Puia) All right, so here in this text,

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we see that it starts off by saying

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that when the seventh month came.

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What's so significant

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about the seventh month

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in the Jewish calendar? Yes, Pedro.

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(Pedro) The seventh month,

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according to the Feast of Tabernacles,[br]is Yom Kippur.

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The Feast of Tabernacles

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is when the people come together

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to worship God for this wonderful event

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that God has put on this timeline

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of history of salvation.

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(Puia) Yes. Yes, Travis.

0:12:26.334,0:12:28.918
(Travis) This was a time of the trumpets,

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and, as Pedro had mentioned,

0:12:30.853,0:12:32.022
the Yom Kippur, which is

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the Day of Atonement

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and also the Feast of Tabernacles.

0:12:35.144,0:12:39.733
And this was a time of reconciliation,

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a time of gathering together,

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a time of coming together

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and getting oneself right with God,

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a Day of Atonement, being at one with God.

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And the Feast of Tabernacles

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pointed forward to a day

0:12:52.397,0:12:55.001
when the tabernacle of God, Jesus,

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would dwell with man on Earth.

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(Puia) Powerful, right?

0:12:58.250,0:12:59.493
So the seventh month

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in the Jewish calendar has so many events,

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or we could say the most important events

0:13:05.211,0:13:07.269
in their whole year calendar.

0:13:07.269,0:13:09.096
So, when the seventh month came,

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what did they request to Ezra?

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What did it say? Nancy.

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(Nancy) That the Book of the Law[br]be brought to them.

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(Puia) That the Book of the Law

0:13:16.876,0:13:17.842
be brought to them.

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All right, so, let's look at what happens

0:13:19.827,0:13:21.737
when the Book of the Law

0:13:21.737,0:13:23.045
was brought to them.

0:13:23.045,0:13:25.525
And we just read chapter 8, verse 1,

0:13:25.525,0:13:27.855
and they requested that, right?

0:13:27.855,0:13:29.775
So the question then is,

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before we get on to that part,

0:13:31.718,0:13:34.350
but the question is why? Yes, Travis.

0:13:34.350,0:13:35.948
(Travis) I wanted to make a point

0:13:35.948,0:13:37.349
before we get into this, too,

0:13:37.349,0:13:38.551
that the Book of the Law,

0:13:38.551,0:13:39.463
sometimes we think,

0:13:39.463,0:13:41.004
"Oh, it's the Ten Commandments,"

0:13:41.004,0:13:42.773
But the Book of the Law is the Torah.

0:13:42.773,0:13:45.563
Often we think that when the law[br]is mentioned

0:13:45.563,0:13:46.657
that it's always maybe

0:13:46.657,0:13:47.671
the Ten Commandments,

0:13:47.671,0:13:49.412
but this is talking about the Torah,

0:13:49.412,0:13:51.085
the first five books of the Bible,

0:13:51.085,0:13:52.420
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

0:13:52.420,0:13:53.612
Numbers and Deuteronomy.

0:13:53.612,0:13:55.059
(Puia) So, the Book of the Law

0:13:55.059,0:13:56.485
can be understood as the book

0:13:56.485,0:13:57.966
that Moses wrote, then, right,

0:13:57.966,0:14:00.213
the first five books of Moses.

0:14:00.213,0:14:01.984
The question then is:

0:14:01.984,0:14:04.853
Why did they request that?

0:14:04.853,0:14:07.143
So, imagine this in that context:

0:14:07.143,0:14:10.286
they just finished building the wall,

0:14:10.286,0:14:13.037
and the enemies have been defeated,

0:14:13.045,0:14:15.468
and the enemies are afraid of them.

0:14:15.468,0:14:17.738
They could be celebrating, right?

0:14:17.738,0:14:20.282
They could be throwing parties,

0:14:20.282,0:14:22.981
but they requested that the Book

0:14:22.981,0:14:24.808
of the Law be brought to them.

0:14:24.808,0:14:26.097
But before we answer that,

0:14:26.097,0:14:28.495
let's read a verse from Deuteronomy,

0:14:28.495,0:14:31.376
chapter 31, verses 9 to 13.

0:14:31.376,0:14:32.933
And, Gary, if you have that,

0:14:32.933,0:14:34.645
please read for us Deuteronomy,

0:14:34.645,0:14:36.819
chapter 31, verses 9 to 13.

0:14:36.819,0:14:38.256
And we'll answer the question,

0:14:38.256,0:14:39.720
why did they request this?

0:14:39.720,0:14:41.072
(Gary) Okay, I'll be reading

0:14:41.072,0:14:42.821
from the New King James Version,

0:14:42.821,0:14:45.782
Deuteronomy 31:9-13:

0:15:52.300,0:15:53.657
(Puia) So, with that verse

0:15:53.657,0:15:56.125
that we just read from Deuteronomy,

0:15:56.125,0:15:57.556
the question now is,

0:15:57.556,0:16:00.794
why did they request that? Yes, Jonathan.

0:16:00.794,0:16:01.989
(Jonathan) It seems like

0:16:01.989,0:16:03.340
they were instructed to.

0:16:03.340,0:16:04.903
I wonder if it wasn't

0:16:04.903,0:16:06.488
actually the Book of Deuteronomy

0:16:06.488,0:16:08.427
that was read, at least in initial part,

0:16:08.427,0:16:09.939
just because, I mean, there are

0:16:09.939,0:16:11.150
a lot of things in here

0:16:11.150,0:16:12.848
that really capture the whole story

0:16:12.848,0:16:14.524
of what they'd been going through,

0:16:14.524,0:16:17.144
especially, like, I think it's near[br]the end of the book,

0:16:17.144,0:16:19.342
it's like this <i>is</i> the story[br]that they've lived.

0:16:19.342,0:16:20.690
And now they're experiencing

0:16:20.690,0:16:22.317
exactly God's promises coming true

0:16:22.317,0:16:24.908
with them coming back to this land[br]that He had promised

0:16:24.908,0:16:26.052
to bring them back to.

0:16:26.052,0:16:27.058
(Puia) Right. Travis.

0:16:27.058,0:16:28.223
(Travis) This is a time

0:16:28.223,0:16:29.922
of reformation and restoration.

0:16:29.922,0:16:32.463
You read a letter from somebody earlier

0:16:32.463,0:16:34.958
who said, "I just want to have it back

0:16:34.958,0:16:36.708
the way that it was before."

0:16:36.708,0:16:38.653
I think the children of Israel here

0:16:38.653,0:16:40.976
are, like, "The wall is built;

0:16:40.976,0:16:42.557
the temple is built;

0:16:42.557,0:16:44.109
we just want to worship our God.

0:16:44.109,0:16:45.823
We want the relationship with God

0:16:45.823,0:16:46.907
that we had before.

0:16:46.907,0:16:49.570
Bring the Torah out; teach us again

0:16:49.570,0:16:51.142
what God has instructed us to do

0:16:51.142,0:16:53.754
that we may be safe in His hands."

0:16:53.754,0:16:55.005
(Puia) Thank you. Pedro.

0:16:55.005,0:16:56.205
(Pedro) Well, we see here

0:16:56.205,0:16:57.872
that they saw that God

0:16:57.872,0:16:59.100
had made a miracle.

0:16:59.100,0:17:00.633
Even the people outside saw that

0:17:00.633,0:17:01.915
there was a miracle of God

0:17:01.915,0:17:03.435
for what had happened.

0:17:03.435,0:17:06.482
And God is moving through them.

0:17:06.482,0:17:07.794
I believe, when God comes,

0:17:07.794,0:17:09.115
comes into our hearts,

0:17:09.115,0:17:10.911
He leads us to His Word.

0:17:10.911,0:17:13.200
And that's what's happening here.

0:17:13.200,0:17:14.780
They were so moved by the Spirit;

0:17:14.780,0:17:16.864
the Spirit always brings us

0:17:16.864,0:17:18.467
to the Word of God.

0:17:18.484,0:17:20.120
(Puia) Powerful. I want to go back

0:17:20.120,0:17:22.048
to what Jonathan pointed out.

0:17:22.048,0:17:24.280
I believe the Book of the Law for them

0:17:24.280,0:17:25.820
at that time was more

0:17:25.820,0:17:28.657
than just the Book of the Law.

0:17:28.657,0:17:30.321
It was their history;

0:17:30.321,0:17:32.818
it was their identity, right?

0:17:32.818,0:17:34.387
By reading the Book of the Law

0:17:34.387,0:17:37.224
on how God has guided them in the past,

0:17:37.224,0:17:38.556
they can have the confidence

0:17:38.556,0:17:40.406
for the future, right?

0:17:40.406,0:17:41.851
Yes, Jonathan, you're smiling.

0:17:41.851,0:17:43.430
(Jonathan) It strikes me, like,

0:17:43.430,0:17:45.358
I wish we had time to read some of it

0:17:45.358,0:17:46.890
because it's just fascinating.

0:17:46.890,0:17:48.302
Near the end of Deuteronomy,

0:17:48.302,0:17:49.473
it goes through and says

0:17:49.473,0:17:51.303
all the things that happened to them,

0:17:51.303,0:17:52.887
that you can see.

0:17:52.887,0:17:54.931
I mean, they're going to have prophets,

0:17:54.931,0:17:56.723
they're going to have these things.

0:17:56.723,0:17:58.136
God's going to do everything,

0:17:58.136,0:17:59.643
but they're going to turn away.

0:17:59.643,0:18:01.476
And so this whole prophecy came true,

0:18:01.476,0:18:03.321
and now they can look back and see

0:18:03.321,0:18:04.775
how faithful God was

0:18:04.775,0:18:06.492
and how now He's brought them back.

0:18:06.492,0:18:08.572
And He's going to continue with them.

0:18:08.572,0:18:10.461
(Puia) Powerful, powerful. Thank you.

0:18:10.461,0:18:14.842
Let's read verse 2 of chapter 8,[br]the same chapter.

0:18:14.842,0:18:17.809
Malaina, if you can please read for us

0:18:17.809,0:18:19.835
chapter 8, verse 2.

0:18:19.835,0:18:21.065
(Malaina) I'll be reading

0:18:21.065,0:18:22.638
from the New King James Version,

0:18:22.638,0:18:24.789
Nehemiah, chapter 8, verse 2:

0:18:36.096,0:18:38.882
(Puia) So, the question now is,

0:18:38.882,0:18:42.672
what is the significance of people,

0:18:42.672,0:18:47.164
all who could understand,[br]gathering together?

0:18:47.164,0:18:50.208
In fact, if we went back, in verse 1,

0:18:50.208,0:18:51.663
from verse 1 we can understand

0:18:51.663,0:18:53.325
that they gathered together

0:18:53.325,0:18:56.403
as one, right, as one man, in fact.

0:18:56.403,0:18:57.655
What was the significance

0:18:57.661,0:18:59.587
of gathering together?

0:18:59.587,0:19:01.162
Yes, Stephanie and then Jason.

0:19:01.162,0:19:02.893
(Stephanie) I think what it shows me

0:19:02.893,0:19:05.393
is that God wants both men and women

0:19:05.393,0:19:07.443
to understand the Word of God

0:19:07.443,0:19:10.250
and to know it for themselves.

0:19:10.250,0:19:13.877
and that's what strikes me there[br]as the significance.

0:19:13.877,0:19:15.557
He's wanting everyone

0:19:15.557,0:19:18.382
to understand His Word.

0:19:18.382,0:19:19.741
(Puia) Thank you. Jason.

0:19:19.741,0:19:22.317
(Jason) For me, I look at the history[br]and context here.

0:19:22.317,0:19:23.743
Leading up to this point,

0:19:23.743,0:19:25.195
Nehemiah has dealt with a lot

0:19:25.195,0:19:26.688
of division and opposition.

0:19:26.688,0:19:28.089
There have been some people

0:19:28.089,0:19:29.098
who are on one side

0:19:29.098,0:19:31.069
and some people who are on another side,

0:19:31.069,0:19:32.551
and there were even situations

0:19:32.551,0:19:34.135
where the leaders of the people

0:19:34.135,0:19:35.845
were taking interest from them.

0:19:35.845,0:19:37.365
And so it's kind of interesting

0:19:37.365,0:19:39.101
that now they've all come together.

0:19:39.101,0:19:41.071
They've all united, and they've united,

0:19:41.071,0:19:43.663
not for a party or celebration[br]as we referenced,

0:19:43.663,0:19:45.350
but they're united to hear

0:19:45.350,0:19:46.303
the Book of the Law.

0:19:46.303,0:19:48.419
So they're finally spiritually starting

0:19:48.419,0:19:51.235
to come together in some type of unity.

0:19:51.235,0:19:53.186
(Puia) Thank you. Travis.

0:19:53.186,0:19:56.084
(Travis) I'd like to include the children.

0:19:56.084,0:19:57.293
We know we have children

0:19:57.293,0:19:58.722
watching Hope Sabbath School,

0:19:58.722,0:20:00.448
and this was for the children, too.

0:20:00.448,0:20:02.204
It said "all who had understanding,"

0:20:02.204,0:20:04.089
so there were probably 8-year-olds,

0:20:04.089,0:20:05.711
or maybe even 6-year-olds;

0:20:05.711,0:20:06.906
they're real smart, too.

0:20:06.906,0:20:08.977
So this was for everybody.

0:20:08.977,0:20:11.270
It was inclusive, as Stephanie had said.

0:20:11.270,0:20:13.598
God loves children, too;[br]they were included.

0:20:13.598,0:20:15.111
(Puia) Right. Powerful.

0:20:15.111,0:20:17.091
Nicole, can you please read for us

0:20:17.091,0:20:19.938
verse 3 of chapter 8, the same chapter,

0:20:19.938,0:20:24.229
and let's see how the story continues.

0:20:24.229,0:20:26.597
(Nicole) The Christian Standard Bible[br]says:

0:20:43.235,0:20:45.364
(Puia) So, Travis already pointed out

0:20:45.364,0:20:46.795
that this Book of the Law

0:20:46.795,0:20:49.691
is not just about the Ten Commandments,

0:20:49.691,0:20:51.975
but how long did they read?

0:20:51.975,0:20:55.262
(Team) Hours.

0:20:55.262,0:20:57.647
(Puia) Yes, from morning until noon.

0:20:57.647,0:20:59.992
And what was the attitude[br]of the listeners?

0:20:59.992,0:21:02.538
(Puia, Team) Attentive.

0:21:02.538,0:21:05.633
(Puia) Can you imagine that setting?

0:21:05.633,0:21:11.088
What about Earth's church today, right?[br]Yes, Pedro.

0:21:11.088,0:21:13.446
(Pedro) That puts them in perspective.

0:21:13.446,0:21:15.831
I was talking to a friend this week.

0:21:15.831,0:21:17.208
They were attentive

0:21:17.208,0:21:19.614
from break of the day to noon,

0:21:19.614,0:21:22.224
and sometimes, you know, we go to church -

0:21:22.224,0:21:25.616
I myself am as guilty of this process -

0:21:25.616,0:21:27.893
and we cannot hold ourselves

0:21:27.893,0:21:30.808
to 45 minutes of preaching

0:21:30.808,0:21:34.578
or even two hours of service.

0:21:34.578,0:21:37.752
When we are drawn by God's Word,

0:21:37.752,0:21:40.670
we are hearers of God's Word.

0:21:40.670,0:21:43.213
(Puia) That's powerful. Yes, Gary.

0:21:43.213,0:21:44.746
(Gary) It reminds me

0:21:44.746,0:21:46.173
of in the New Testament

0:21:46.173,0:21:49.788
when Jesus had His sermons[br]or His meetings;

0:21:49.788,0:21:52.915
they'd last for hours and days even.

0:21:52.915,0:21:55.678
And they would say, "Oh, well, let's see

0:21:55.678,0:21:57.080
what we can do for them

0:21:57.080,0:22:00.519
because it's been so long," right?

0:22:00.519,0:22:02.379
(Puia) Let's continue the story

0:22:02.379,0:22:05.215
and read verses 4 through 6,

0:22:05.215,0:22:07.895
and let's see how the story continues.

0:22:07.895,0:22:09.941
Jason, can you please read for us

0:22:09.941,0:22:12.988
Nehemiah, chapter 8, verses 4 to 6.

0:22:12.988,0:22:14.111
(Jason) I'll be reading

0:22:14.111,0:22:15.909
from the New King James Version,

0:22:15.909,0:22:19.807
Nehemiah, chapter 8, verse 4 through 6:

0:23:19.496,0:23:22.418
(Puia) What a powerful scene.

0:23:22.418,0:23:24.850
Can you imagine yourself in that setting?

0:23:24.850,0:23:28.572
Imagine, they were taken captive[br]to Babylon,

0:23:28.572,0:23:30.763
and they came back,

0:23:30.763,0:23:32.517
and they had finished building

0:23:32.517,0:23:33.750
the wall once again.

0:23:33.750,0:23:35.993
And finally now, they can listen

0:23:35.993,0:23:37.871
to the Word of God once again,

0:23:37.871,0:23:40.942
and they're shouting, "Amen! Amen!"

0:23:40.942,0:23:42.780
What a powerful scene. Pedro.

0:23:42.780,0:23:45.209
(Pedro) When I see this imagery here,

0:23:45.209,0:23:49.216
I cannot help but notice

0:23:49.216,0:23:52.586
that this is a heavenly scene.

0:23:52.586,0:23:55.722
And sometimes we've lost that sense

0:23:55.722,0:23:58.336
of blessing of hearing the Word of God.

0:23:58.336,0:23:59.390
They were celebrating

0:23:59.390,0:24:01.801
because now God is with them.

0:24:01.801,0:24:04.773
They were restored back to what God

0:24:04.773,0:24:06.896
originally had purposed for them there.

0:24:06.896,0:24:09.559
They were hearing from God's Word,

0:24:09.559,0:24:10.944
and they were worshiping Him.

0:24:10.944,0:24:12.736
I'd say this is a celebration moment,

0:24:12.736,0:24:16.054
and I see the words of Revelation,

0:24:16.054,0:24:18.778
when Jesus comes with all glory,

0:24:18.778,0:24:23.198
and every knee shall bow and honor God.

0:24:23.198,0:24:24.817
We'll be celebrating God is here.

0:24:24.817,0:24:27.172
We're going to be able to hear His voice,

0:24:27.172,0:24:29.767
and I believe that we <i>can</i> hear His voice.

0:24:29.767,0:24:31.923
That's what I think Nehemiah[br]is telling here,

0:24:31.923,0:24:33.968
is in the Word of God you can hear today

0:24:33.968,0:24:35.380
so you can have a blessing

0:24:35.380,0:24:38.193
of audibly hearing tomorrow.

0:24:38.193,0:24:39.884
(Puia) Powerful. Yes, Jonathan.

0:24:39.884,0:24:41.321
(Jonathan) I think we can have

0:24:41.321,0:24:43.575
some of that now, before then.

0:24:43.575,0:24:46.076
I mean, we all have gone astray in ways,

0:24:46.076,0:24:49.049
and, you know, maybe not[br]paid attention to God's Law.

0:24:49.049,0:24:51.486
And I think God wants

0:24:51.486,0:24:54.831
to bring about this same type of revival

0:24:54.831,0:24:56.190
where He works on our hearts

0:24:56.190,0:24:57.775
and allows us as a church,

0:24:57.775,0:24:59.830
maybe us as a family or whatever,

0:24:59.830,0:25:02.288
to come together and to have...

0:25:02.288,0:25:03.702
I mean, for how many years

0:25:03.702,0:25:06.605
they had rejected all these prophets,

0:25:06.605,0:25:08.105
and they had gone astray

0:25:08.105,0:25:09.454
in all these different ways.

0:25:09.454,0:25:11.086
And here the people's hearts

0:25:11.086,0:25:12.293
have been prepared,

0:25:12.293,0:25:13.897
and they're ready to fully follow

0:25:13.897,0:25:15.161
and listen to everything,

0:25:15.161,0:25:17.344
and they seem like they're obeying it,

0:25:17.344,0:25:19.500
or they're willing to be rebuked.

0:25:19.500,0:25:21.402
And just, if we could have

0:25:21.402,0:25:23.886
that heart as a church, as a family,

0:25:23.886,0:25:25.079
to fully follow Him,

0:25:25.079,0:25:27.299
that would be a beautiful picture.

0:25:27.299,0:25:29.660
(Puia) Beautiful. You mentioned a point

0:25:29.660,0:25:32.029
about listening attentively, right?

0:25:32.029,0:25:34.439
The question is, why is it so important

0:25:34.439,0:25:36.477
to listen attentively?

0:25:36.477,0:25:41.528
Is there any other way of listening?

0:25:41.528,0:25:46.130
You see, they paid all[br]their 100% of attention

0:25:46.130,0:25:47.677
to the words being read.

0:25:47.677,0:25:50.565
And we heard many names, right?

0:25:50.565,0:25:53.441
I think 13 names that Jason read,

0:25:53.441,0:25:54.703
some of them were

0:25:54.703,0:25:56.149
pretty difficult to pronounce,

0:25:56.149,0:25:57.572
but thank you, Jason.

0:25:57.572,0:25:58.863
So the question is, how did

0:25:58.863,0:26:04.179
those 13 individuals assist Ezra[br]in that process,

0:26:04.179,0:26:06.728
in that whole worship service,

0:26:06.728,0:26:08.713
if we may call it. Yes, Travis.

0:26:08.713,0:26:12.476
(Travis) Well, as the Hebrew people,

0:26:12.476,0:26:15.125
the Israelite people, came back together,

0:26:15.125,0:26:17.914
they had mixed marriages

0:26:17.914,0:26:19.591
and had married within the heathen,

0:26:19.591,0:26:21.412
and now they're brought back together,

0:26:21.412,0:26:23.114
so they're not all speaking Hebrew.

0:26:23.114,0:26:27.406
So these men helped translate

0:26:27.406,0:26:29.222
the Word of God, the Law,

0:26:29.222,0:26:31.565
the Books of Moses that were written,

0:26:31.565,0:26:32.809
they helped translate them

0:26:32.809,0:26:34.820
so that they could all understand.

0:26:34.820,0:26:35.864
(Puia) Yes, Jonathan.

0:26:35.864,0:26:37.170
(Jonathan) I would question

0:26:37.170,0:26:38.372
whether that's this verse

0:26:38.372,0:26:40.133
or the one coming up in a little bit.

0:26:40.133,0:26:41.807
Are these guys saying anything?

0:26:41.807,0:26:43.967
I thought they were just standing there.

0:26:43.967,0:26:46.758
(Puia) Anyone want to clarify that?

0:26:46.758,0:26:48.159
(Heide) Yeah, you're correct;

0:26:48.159,0:26:49.894
it's about to say it.

0:26:49.894,0:26:51.655
(Jonathan) I think a different group.

0:26:51.655,0:26:53.537
I think these were just standing there.

0:26:53.537,0:26:55.780
(Travis) Oh, maybe I...I could[br]stand corrected.

0:26:55.780,0:26:57.044
(Puia) I believe they were

0:26:57.044,0:26:59.472
divided into two groups.

0:26:59.472,0:27:01.694
It seems like the first group

0:27:01.694,0:27:04.073
did help in the reading,

0:27:04.073,0:27:06.087
and we'll go on to the second group,

0:27:06.087,0:27:07.485
which Travis mentioned,

0:27:07.485,0:27:10.612
which helped interpreting, right?[br]Yes, Jason.

0:27:10.612,0:27:12.015
(Jason) Also, is it possible,

0:27:12.015,0:27:13.777
because these are a bunch of scrolls,

0:27:13.777,0:27:15.802
that they could be assisting[br]in the process

0:27:15.802,0:27:17.299
of bringing the physical items,

0:27:17.299,0:27:18.980
and, you know, there's a platform

0:27:18.980,0:27:20.132
that's been prepared.

0:27:20.132,0:27:21.370
And I'm guessing Ezra

0:27:21.370,0:27:22.893
didn't do this all by himself.

0:27:22.893,0:27:24.276
So there's clearly assistance

0:27:24.276,0:27:25.855
in the process, either way,

0:27:25.855,0:27:27.749
with the whole presentation.

0:27:27.749,0:27:29.414
So we know that they're assisting

0:27:29.414,0:27:31.095
in some different levels.

0:27:31.095,0:27:32.456
(Puia) Thank you. Stephanie.

0:27:32.456,0:27:33.572
(Stephanie) I just look

0:27:33.572,0:27:35.510
at this worship service.

0:27:35.510,0:27:38.046
You know, they stand up to read,

0:27:38.046,0:27:39.285
and all the people -

0:27:39.285,0:27:41.750
when the Word of God is read -

0:27:41.750,0:27:43.397
all the people stood up,

0:27:43.397,0:27:45.514
just this reverence for the Word of God

0:27:45.514,0:27:49.133
and their passion that is shown here.

0:27:49.133,0:27:51.094
They lift up their hands, they say,

0:27:51.094,0:27:53.915
"Amen! Amen!" bowing their heads,

0:27:53.915,0:27:55.922
and they worshiped God.

0:27:55.922,0:28:00.793
And I guess what came to my mind is,

0:28:00.793,0:28:03.545
do we have that kind of a worship service

0:28:03.545,0:28:04.934
in the sense of our reverence

0:28:04.934,0:28:06.803
for the Word of God

0:28:06.803,0:28:09.737
and our passion and love for it,

0:28:09.737,0:28:11.085
that we could listen,

0:28:11.085,0:28:13.827
as Pedro says, we have a hard time,

0:28:13.827,0:28:16.433
45 minutes, sometimes two hours,

0:28:16.433,0:28:20.240
but that we could listen and just absorb

0:28:20.240,0:28:24.419
the Word of God with such joy[br]and excitement?

0:28:24.419,0:28:25.487
(Puia) Pedro.

0:28:25.487,0:28:26.688
(Pedro) I think Stephanie

0:28:26.688,0:28:28.642
kind of took a little bit of my thunder

0:28:28.642,0:28:29.929
of what I was going to say,

0:28:29.929,0:28:31.000
but that's what I see,

0:28:31.000,0:28:32.135
is a worship service.

0:28:32.135,0:28:34.384
And it is important that they were

0:28:34.384,0:28:36.152
so eager to hear, I believe,

0:28:36.152,0:28:37.024
because they know

0:28:37.024,0:28:38.440
where they're coming from.

0:28:38.440,0:28:40.132
They know their situation.

0:28:40.132,0:28:43.697
We spoke previously

0:28:43.697,0:28:45.595
of their condition before,

0:28:45.595,0:28:47.422
and they know where God brought them,

0:28:47.422,0:28:49.793
the grace of God that came[br]upon their lives.

0:28:49.793,0:28:51.548
And now they know

0:28:51.548,0:28:54.040
the condition they're in now[br]because of God.

0:28:54.040,0:28:56.755
And I believe, you know, as a team here,

0:28:56.755,0:28:59.651
and those that are seeing us online,[br]we're a family.

0:28:59.651,0:29:02.593
We're here because we love each other.

0:29:02.593,0:29:04.200
We're taking time, we're spending

0:29:04.200,0:29:06.009
a good time studying the Word of God

0:29:06.009,0:29:07.484
because, first, we love God,

0:29:07.484,0:29:08.881
and we want to hear from Him.

0:29:08.881,0:29:10.606
And, second, we enjoy the fellowship

0:29:10.606,0:29:12.502
because we all have been blessed

0:29:12.502,0:29:14.459
through the grace of God.

0:29:14.459,0:29:17.159
(Puia) Powerful. So, is there any verse

0:29:17.159,0:29:18.816
that comes to your mind

0:29:18.816,0:29:20.932
when it comes to the importance

0:29:20.932,0:29:22.486
of listening to the Word of God

0:29:22.486,0:29:25.021
or studying the Word of God?

0:29:25.021,0:29:27.033
Is there any verse that comes to your mind

0:29:27.033,0:29:28.188
that you'd like to share

0:29:28.188,0:29:30.321
with the rest of the group or to the rest

0:29:30.321,0:29:31.984
of the Hope Sabbath School members

0:29:31.984,0:29:32.800
around the world?

0:29:32.800,0:29:38.103
Any verse? Stephanie. Oh, Ranela, yes.

0:29:38.103,0:29:41.730
(Ranela) Psalm chapter 1 is one[br]that I really love.

0:29:41.730,0:29:43.525
Psalm chapter 1, and I'll be reading

0:29:43.525,0:29:45.914
from the New King James Version,

0:29:45.914,0:29:49.775
verses 1 and 2; it says:

0:30:04.507,0:30:06.820
And if I could just say something.

0:30:06.820,0:30:09.673
It kind of goes with a thought[br]I had before

0:30:09.673,0:30:10.893
when we were talking

0:30:10.893,0:30:13.805
about why don't we have that great love

0:30:13.805,0:30:15.009
and that great excitement

0:30:15.009,0:30:16.908
and attentiveness to God's Word?

0:30:16.908,0:30:18.453
And in verse 1 here it says,

0:30:18.453,0:30:20.354
"Blessed is the man who doesn't walk

0:30:20.354,0:30:21.787
in the counsel of the ungodly,

0:30:21.787,0:30:23.605
doesn't stand in the path of sinners,

0:30:23.605,0:30:25.433
nor sits in the seat of the scornful."

0:30:25.433,0:30:26.902
I think for myself personally,

0:30:26.902,0:30:28.072
sometimes I find my love

0:30:28.072,0:30:29.403
for God and His Word waning

0:30:29.403,0:30:30.892
when my thoughts are so focused

0:30:30.892,0:30:33.173
on the world and the things of the world.

0:30:33.173,0:30:35.472
It really is a trap of the enemy

0:30:35.472,0:30:37.509
to pull away your heart

0:30:37.509,0:30:39.452
from the things that really matter.

0:30:39.452,0:30:42.226
And so you have, you know, times

0:30:42.226,0:30:44.838
where the Word seems dry,

0:30:44.838,0:30:46.455
and especially sometimes

0:30:46.455,0:30:48.090
those of us living in America,

0:30:48.090,0:30:49.244
we don't sense our need.

0:30:49.244,0:30:50.377
We're so caught up

0:30:50.377,0:30:51.956
with everything that's happening,

0:30:51.956,0:30:53.177
the busy-ness, everything

0:30:53.177,0:30:54.646
that's happening in the world.

0:30:54.646,0:30:56.676
But these people and their[br]worship service,

0:30:56.676,0:30:57.774
they sense their need.

0:30:57.774,0:30:59.254
And that's always the question,

0:30:59.254,0:31:02.264
"God, how can I sense my need more[br]of Your Word?"

0:31:02.264,0:31:04.113
And I think there's obviously

0:31:04.113,0:31:07.054
a blessing here as we delight[br]in God's Word.

0:31:07.054,0:31:09.276
(Puia) Yes. Pedro.

0:31:09.276,0:31:11.014
(Pedro) I want to read a verse here.

0:31:11.014,0:31:12.498
This verse basically fits

0:31:12.498,0:31:14.565
very well with this context.

0:31:14.565,0:31:17.150
It's Revelation 22:14.

0:31:17.150,0:31:18.106
(Puia) Revelation?

0:31:18.106,0:31:20.207
(Pedro) Yes, 22:14.

0:31:20.212,0:31:22.343
(Puia) Can you give us a minute[br]to find that?

0:31:22.343,0:31:23.053
(Pedro) Yes.

0:31:23.053,0:31:25.399
(Puia) Revelation, chapter 22.

0:31:25.399,0:31:27.131
(Pedro) The book is already giving

0:31:27.131,0:31:29.243
a blessing for those who read and hear

0:31:29.243,0:31:30.949
and keep the words of the books

0:31:30.949,0:31:33.102
of the Bible, the Word of God,

0:31:33.102,0:31:34.985
but here there's a blessing.

0:31:34.985,0:31:36.487
And I think that's the blessing

0:31:36.487,0:31:37.590
that they are receiving

0:31:37.590,0:31:38.624
and also the blessing

0:31:38.624,0:31:39.898
that God wants to give us.

0:31:39.898,0:31:42.132
I'll be reading from the New[br]King James Version,

0:31:42.132,0:31:46.167
Revelation 22, verse 14; it says:

0:31:56.437,0:31:58.279
We see here that they are in the City;

0:31:58.279,0:31:59.776
they're receiving the blessing.

0:31:59.776,0:32:01.369
And we can see that they

0:32:01.369,0:32:03.266
were faithful to God.

0:32:03.266,0:32:07.500
They received the blessing of hearing

0:32:07.500,0:32:09.443
the commandments of God, the Law of God,

0:32:09.443,0:32:11.309
and they were able to take the joy.

0:32:11.309,0:32:13.057
And I think there's a blessing here;

0:32:13.057,0:32:14.502
we can also take this joy

0:32:14.502,0:32:16.713
if we hear the Word of God.

0:32:16.721,0:32:18.178
(Puia) Right. Thank you.

0:32:18.178,0:32:20.232
If I may summarize your two verses.

0:32:20.232,0:32:24.572
It seems like, for people[br]who love the Lord,

0:32:24.572,0:32:26.796
following His commandments is what?

0:32:26.796,0:32:31.528
A delight, right? It's not a burden.

0:32:31.528,0:32:33.739
And you pointed out that verse

0:32:33.739,0:32:36.181
in Revelation about God bringing

0:32:36.181,0:32:39.879
those people who follow His commandments[br]into the city.

0:32:39.879,0:32:42.846
It does seem like there is a connection

0:32:42.847,0:32:46.418
between God's ultimate purpose in eternity

0:32:46.418,0:32:49.309
and His commandments, His Law, right?

0:32:49.309,0:32:51.303
It will be a group of people

0:32:51.303,0:32:53.566
who love the Lord and who don't

0:32:53.566,0:32:58.087
see His Laws as a burden but as a delight.

0:32:58.087,0:33:02.445
And I believe that attitude can only come

0:33:02.445,0:33:08.095
through a personal relationship with God.[br]Yes, Gary.

0:33:08.095,0:33:11.551
(Gary) One such verse

0:33:11.551,0:33:17.243
is in Psalm 19, verses 7 to 10.

0:33:17.243,0:33:19.787
(Puia) Psalm 19? Please give us

0:33:19.787,0:33:24.019
a moment to find that.

0:33:24.019,0:33:27.216
Psalm 19, verses?

0:33:27.216,0:33:29.551
(Gary) 7 to 10, I'll be reading

0:33:29.551,0:33:32.407
from the New King James Version:

0:34:05.741,0:34:07.519
And just back to your point,

0:34:07.519,0:34:09.016
it's a delight, it's a joy,

0:34:09.016,0:34:11.947
it's sweet to our souls

0:34:11.947,0:34:15.289
when we follow and listen to His Word.

0:34:15.289,0:34:16.880
(Puia) And that verse, I believe,

0:34:16.880,0:34:18.053
pointed to the fact that

0:34:18.053,0:34:21.019
the Law of God changes us, right?

0:34:21.019,0:34:22.705
it changes our lives.

0:34:22.705,0:34:24.045
It turns us around.

0:34:24.045,0:34:25.751
So, in this context, in the story,

0:34:25.751,0:34:28.151
we're seeing now that the people

0:34:28.151,0:34:31.188
gather together to listen attentively

0:34:31.188,0:34:33.454
to the Word of God being read to them.

0:34:33.454,0:34:36.625
And they're standing up with reverence,

0:34:36.625,0:34:38.139
and they're saying, "Amen!"

0:34:38.139,0:34:39.412
And they're worshiping God

0:34:39.412,0:34:42.249
with their faces on the ground.

0:34:42.249,0:34:44.501
So, for our context today,

0:34:44.501,0:34:46.175
what are some practical ways

0:34:46.175,0:34:47.927
you have found to listen

0:34:47.927,0:34:50.799
to the Word of God attentively?

0:34:50.799,0:34:52.486
What has helped you

0:34:52.486,0:34:55.084
in your practical journey with God?[br]Yes, Evelyn.

0:34:55.084,0:34:57.140
(Evelyn) Nowadays, with technology,

0:34:57.140,0:34:59.706
it's so easy to access the Word of God.

0:34:59.706,0:35:01.488
I mean, we have applications

0:35:01.488,0:35:02.870
we can download on our phone

0:35:02.870,0:35:05.300
where the Bible is read aloud to us.

0:35:05.300,0:35:06.700
I have an app on my phone

0:35:06.700,0:35:09.051
that I can play when I'm driving,

0:35:09.051,0:35:11.078
and it's a dramatic reading of the Bible,

0:35:11.078,0:35:12.983
so it's like you can hear the voices

0:35:12.983,0:35:14.143
of different characters

0:35:14.143,0:35:15.209
reading certain parts,

0:35:15.209,0:35:17.983
and it's the most practical way,

0:35:17.983,0:35:20.993
I believe, to just hear[br]the Bible whenever.

0:35:20.993,0:35:23.368
(Puia) Amen. Yes, they do help.

0:35:23.368,0:35:24.701
In fact, I believe there's

0:35:24.701,0:35:26.284
a Bible app, right,

0:35:26.284,0:35:28.207
that anyone can download now,

0:35:28.207,0:35:31.079
and they have recorded a dramatic version

0:35:31.079,0:35:32.864
or different versions of the Bible

0:35:32.864,0:35:33.880
that you can listen

0:35:33.880,0:35:35.294
and just play from your phone

0:35:35.294,0:35:36.793
in different languages.

0:35:36.793,0:35:38.979
All right. Nancy, you had a hand up?

0:35:38.979,0:35:41.005
(Nancy) Yes, I was going to say that, too;

0:35:41.005,0:35:42.425
I listen on the way

0:35:42.425,0:35:44.506
as I'm dropping off my children to school.

0:35:44.513,0:35:48.232
But also, what's really helpful to me is

0:35:48.232,0:35:50.635
at work we have a little Bible study group

0:35:50.635,0:35:53.395
that meets, and we just go really deep

0:35:53.395,0:35:55.884
into verses, sometimes verses that we

0:35:55.884,0:35:59.957
don't normally study about in church,

0:35:59.957,0:36:01.872
things that you've kind of read through

0:36:01.872,0:36:03.121
and wondered about.

0:36:03.121,0:36:04.187
But we go deeply,

0:36:04.187,0:36:06.002
and it's been such a blessing to me

0:36:06.002,0:36:09.829
because we can see God's love

0:36:09.829,0:36:14.280
in everything, in every piece[br]of Scripture.

0:36:14.280,0:36:16.477
We've discovered passages

0:36:16.477,0:36:19.222
that have been transformational to me.

0:36:19.222,0:36:21.328
(Puia) Amen. Nicole.

0:36:21.328,0:36:23.659
(Nicole) I was going to tag[br]onto what Nancy said,

0:36:23.659,0:36:26.518
but I think small Bible studies[br]are very helpful

0:36:26.518,0:36:28.239
because you really get to explore

0:36:28.239,0:36:29.491
and talk about God's Word

0:36:29.491,0:36:31.376
in a way that you don't do, like,

0:36:31.376,0:36:33.096
in a large fellowship hall.

0:36:33.096,0:36:34.600
So, I actually agree with that.

0:36:34.600,0:36:36.615
I have a small group also[br]that I meet with,

0:36:36.615,0:36:38.702
and we go over - we pick one word,

0:36:38.702,0:36:40.123
and we talk about that word

0:36:40.123,0:36:42.225
and different texts that relate[br]to that word,

0:36:42.225,0:36:43.297
and it just gives you

0:36:43.297,0:36:44.745
a very different understanding

0:36:44.745,0:36:46.342
of the Word of God and how it all

0:36:46.342,0:36:47.710
just kind of comes together.

0:36:47.710,0:36:50.498
(Puia) Amen. That's a very practical way

0:36:50.498,0:36:52.578
of learning the Word. Yes, Travis.

0:36:52.578,0:36:54.015
(Travis) I think, too, is,

0:36:54.015,0:36:55.114
when we're reading,

0:36:55.114,0:36:57.574
is to be attentive to what we're[br]reading, too.

0:36:57.574,0:36:59.258
We just read that they were

0:36:59.258,0:37:00.458
attentive to listen.

0:37:00.458,0:37:02.257
And so, when we're reading the Bible,

0:37:02.257,0:37:03.940
we need to be attentive and realize

0:37:03.940,0:37:06.443
these are the words of God speaking to us.

0:37:06.451,0:37:07.419
So we can ask God,

0:37:07.419,0:37:09.363
"What are You trying to tell me today?"

0:37:09.363,0:37:10.329
when we're reading,

0:37:10.329,0:37:11.425
and be attentive to it.

0:37:11.425,0:37:13.393
Maybe take a couple verses at a time

0:37:13.393,0:37:14.709
and say, "God, what are You

0:37:14.709,0:37:16.006
really trying to show me?"

0:37:16.006,0:37:17.379
Listen for His voice,

0:37:17.379,0:37:19.659
"What are You trying to tell me, God?"

0:37:19.659,0:37:21.971
(Puia) That's a good question[br]to ask, right?

0:37:21.971,0:37:24.621
Instead of simply just reading it through,

0:37:24.621,0:37:26.570
ask the question, "What are You

0:37:26.570,0:37:27.961
trying to tell me, God?"

0:37:27.961,0:37:29.478
Yes, Stephanie, another way.

0:37:29.478,0:37:30.805
(Stephanie) I know, for me,

0:37:30.805,0:37:32.832
I like to study my Bible now,

0:37:32.832,0:37:34.754
and I say now because there was a time

0:37:34.754,0:37:36.347
in my life that I had no interest

0:37:36.347,0:37:37.418
in studying the Bible.

0:37:37.418,0:37:38.810
It was boring to me.

0:37:38.810,0:37:40.498
And what I discovered was

0:37:40.498,0:37:44.079
one of the reasons was because I was

0:37:44.079,0:37:46.851
using other forms of entertainment

0:37:46.851,0:37:52.841
that took me or fed a different nature[br]in my life,

0:37:52.841,0:37:55.827
and so it was distasteful to me.

0:37:55.827,0:37:57.613
But when I changed the way

0:37:57.613,0:38:02.204
I fed my eyes and my ears,

0:38:02.204,0:38:06.274
what I listen to for music[br]and what I read,

0:38:06.274,0:38:08.163
then the Bible came alive.

0:38:08.163,0:38:09.950
And it was something that I savored.

0:38:09.950,0:38:13.229
So I think even before that,

0:38:13.229,0:38:19.249
we need to start feeding the new man

0:38:19.249,0:38:21.831
that we might be, I think,

0:38:21.831,0:38:22.747
as you were saying,

0:38:22.747,0:38:26.609
that we might have that taste[br]for God's Word.

0:38:26.625,0:38:28.209
(Puia) That's powerful.

0:38:28.209,0:38:30.305
Let's continue our story here

0:38:30.305,0:38:31.942
and read Nehemiah,

0:38:31.942,0:38:34.524
chapter 8, verses 7 and 8,

0:38:34.524,0:38:37.077
and we'll see another group of people

0:38:37.077,0:38:40.273
who helped in this worship service

0:38:40.273,0:38:43.453
that we found in the previous verses.

0:38:43.453,0:38:45.310
Jason, if you can read for us

0:38:45.310,0:38:49.153
Nehemiah, chapter 8, verses 7 and 8.

0:38:49.153,0:38:50.275
(Jason) I'll be reading

0:38:50.275,0:38:52.107
from the New King James Version,

0:38:52.107,0:38:55.687
Nehemiah, chapter 8, verses 7 and 8:

0:39:30.409,0:39:32.259
(Puia) Amen. Travis, you pointed out

0:39:32.259,0:39:34.167
the function of this group earlier.

0:39:34.167,0:39:35.694
Can you repeat that quickly?

0:39:35.694,0:39:37.481
(Travis) Yeah, and I guess the reason

0:39:37.481,0:39:39.522
I thought it was linked to the other group

0:39:39.522,0:39:40.890
was because it said "also."

0:39:40.890,0:39:42.777
So, "also" implies that the other group

0:39:42.777,0:39:45.337
was also sharing with this...

0:39:45.337,0:39:47.567
(Puia) Maybe they were all[br]in the same group.

0:39:47.567,0:39:49.594
(Travis) Yeah, that's what I was thinking;

0:39:49.594,0:39:52.440
they were all in the same group[br]because when it said "also,"

0:39:52.440,0:39:55.284
I thought, well, they're connected[br]with this group sharing.

0:39:55.284,0:39:56.508
But because the languages

0:39:56.508,0:39:57.519
weren't all the same

0:39:57.519,0:39:59.750
because they were marrying, prior to this,

0:39:59.750,0:40:01.206
prior to going into captivity,

0:40:01.206,0:40:02.802
they were marrying with heathens,

0:40:02.802,0:40:04.575
and some of them had been left behind

0:40:04.575,0:40:05.974
and married into, you know,

0:40:05.974,0:40:07.164
maybe with the Ammonites

0:40:07.164,0:40:09.485
or the Perizzites, or, it's hard

0:40:09.485,0:40:11.443
for me to pronounce some of the names.

0:40:11.443,0:40:14.503
But they'd married, and so there were[br]different languages,

0:40:14.503,0:40:16.233
but they still yearned

0:40:16.233,0:40:17.528
to hear the Word of God,

0:40:17.528,0:40:19.751
and it needed to be explained to them.

0:40:19.751,0:40:21.066
(Puia) Thank you. Jonathan.

0:40:21.066,0:40:22.979
(Jonathan) I just want to point out

0:40:22.979,0:40:24.125
that I think it was more

0:40:24.125,0:40:25.171
than just translation.

0:40:25.171,0:40:26.605
I think it was also kind of...

0:40:26.605,0:40:27.976
I mean, when we hear things,

0:40:27.976,0:40:29.039
we have to understand

0:40:29.039,0:40:30.076
what does that mean.

0:40:30.076,0:40:31.892
Like, how does that apply to my life?

0:40:31.892,0:40:34.387
And so it seems like there was[br]some of that going on.

0:40:34.387,0:40:36.416
It was almost like a miniature Bible study

0:40:36.416,0:40:37.891
going on where they're like...

0:40:37.891,0:40:39.640
while the people were standing,

0:40:39.640,0:40:41.010
instructing them in the Law

0:40:41.010,0:40:42.531
that they might understand it.

0:40:42.531,0:40:44.273
So it was kind of this,

0:40:44.273,0:40:45.562
"Do you understand that?"

0:40:45.562,0:40:46.567
"Do you understand?"

0:40:46.567,0:40:48.556
And giving application, "This goes here."

0:40:48.556,0:40:50.922
So it was this in-depth, interactive[br]Bible study

0:40:50.922,0:40:53.065
of the Word of God.

0:40:53.065,0:40:55.117
(Puia) I see what you did there.[br]Yes, Heide.

0:40:55.117,0:40:56.645
(Heide) ... after years of maybe

0:40:56.645,0:40:58.169
not having seen this book at all

0:40:58.169,0:41:00.153
or heard from it at all.

0:41:00.153,0:41:02.100
(Puia) Powerful. So we see

0:41:02.100,0:41:03.172
two groups of people

0:41:03.184,0:41:05.612
assisting in this worship service, right?

0:41:05.612,0:41:08.210
One group was helping with the reading.

0:41:08.210,0:41:10.434
It said, we read that they read

0:41:10.434,0:41:12.798
from morning until noon, right?

0:41:12.798,0:41:14.380
For one person to read

0:41:14.380,0:41:17.438
the whole Books of Moses,

0:41:17.438,0:41:19.453
it might have been a little bit difficult.

0:41:19.453,0:41:21.710
As Jason pointed out, they were scrolls,

0:41:21.710,0:41:23.227
so they probably needed someone

0:41:23.227,0:41:24.524
to help them carry it

0:41:24.524,0:41:25.861
and another group helping

0:41:25.861,0:41:28.427
to explain, translate.

0:41:28.427,0:41:31.164
This is a worship service,

0:41:31.164,0:41:32.998
letting people understand.

0:41:32.998,0:41:35.178
Nancy, you had your hand up.

0:41:35.178,0:41:36.752
(Nancy) It doesn't say this here,

0:41:36.752,0:41:38.253
but I have the sense that they

0:41:38.253,0:41:40.471
broke them up into smaller groups

0:41:40.471,0:41:43.118
and had smaller studies

0:41:43.118,0:41:45.561
so that you could go deeper and explain.

0:41:45.561,0:41:47.335
They had so many teachers.

0:41:47.335,0:41:48.781
And also, I wondered,

0:41:48.781,0:41:51.290
when there's such a huge group of people,

0:41:51.290,0:41:53.650
they didn't have microphones back then,

0:41:53.650,0:41:55.174
so I can't imagine one person

0:41:55.174,0:41:57.227
standing up here to thousands of people

0:41:57.227,0:41:58.358
and being heard

0:41:58.358,0:42:00.441
unless supernaturally they were.

0:42:00.441,0:42:02.001
But I just think that maybe

0:42:02.001,0:42:04.483
they broke into smaller groups.

0:42:04.483,0:42:06.747
(Puia) Maybe, we may never know,

0:42:06.747,0:42:08.799
but I believe it is, indeed, possible.

0:42:08.799,0:42:11.239
Jonathan pointed out that it is important

0:42:11.239,0:42:13.723
for us not to only listen

0:42:13.723,0:42:15.605
but to also understand.

0:42:15.605,0:42:17.289
Pedro, you want to comment on that?

0:42:17.289,0:42:19.285
(Pedro) I want to mention something here.

0:42:19.285,0:42:21.182
It's the understanding; it's important,

0:42:21.182,0:42:22.078
and I think I want

0:42:22.078,0:42:23.417
to make an illustration here

0:42:23.417,0:42:25.436
because if we don't pay attention,

0:42:25.436,0:42:27.229
we might overlook a couple of things.

0:42:27.229,0:42:28.225
I see two names here

0:42:28.225,0:42:29.467
that are very familiar

0:42:29.467,0:42:30.674
that came to my attention

0:42:30.674,0:42:31.816
as I was reading it,

0:42:31.816,0:42:32.861
even though sometimes

0:42:32.861,0:42:34.315
we overlook those names.

0:42:34.315,0:42:37.434
And I see Azariah and also I see Mishael,

0:42:37.434,0:42:39.095
and I was like, oh, the only thing

0:42:39.095,0:42:40.434
that's missing is Hananiah.

0:42:40.434,0:42:41.844
We can come to the assumption

0:42:41.844,0:42:42.898
that it might be them,

0:42:42.898,0:42:44.469
but we know, well, it's too long

0:42:44.469,0:42:45.541
of a timeline for them

0:42:45.541,0:42:46.823
to be living at this time.

0:42:46.823,0:42:47.964
It might be their sons,

0:42:47.964,0:42:49.894
could they not maybe take their names.

0:42:49.894,0:42:51.684
So, when we come to the Word of God,

0:42:51.684,0:42:53.735
it's asking the question and analyzing it

0:42:53.735,0:42:56.499
and seeing that it comes alive

0:42:56.499,0:42:58.530
and becomes a story that you[br]can relate to.

0:42:58.530,0:42:59.835
Well, it might be the sons

0:42:59.835,0:43:03.155
of Azariah and Mishael that were captive.

0:43:03.155,0:43:06.004
Now they're worshiping the God of Heaven.

0:43:06.004,0:43:10.556
And I can be also, one day,

0:43:10.556,0:43:12.943
with my sons and daughters in Heaven

0:43:12.943,0:43:14.658
and my family, worshiping

0:43:14.658,0:43:15.936
the God of Heaven.

0:43:15.936,0:43:18.534
(Puia) Amen. So we see here

0:43:18.534,0:43:21.296
Ezra delegating the roles, right,

0:43:21.296,0:43:22.897
to help him in this ministry.

0:43:22.897,0:43:26.745
So why did Ezra do that?

0:43:26.745,0:43:29.539
He was able to read it by himself, right?

0:43:29.539,0:43:30.845
Did he need the help,

0:43:30.845,0:43:32.757
or why did he delegate

0:43:32.757,0:43:37.588
the roles for that ministry? Ranela?

0:43:37.588,0:43:40.422
(Ranela) I think the same,

0:43:40.422,0:43:42.423
what happened then is true for us today,

0:43:42.423,0:43:43.545
and that is that we are

0:43:43.545,0:43:45.638
in a place of all believers,

0:43:45.638,0:43:48.020
and it's important for every single person

0:43:48.020,0:43:51.559
to be able to understand

0:43:51.559,0:43:53.142
how to teach others as well.

0:43:53.142,0:43:55.162
And so I think, probably when Ezra

0:43:55.162,0:43:56.847
was delegating this responsibility,

0:43:56.847,0:43:59.377
obviously he couldn't do it all[br]on his own.

0:43:59.377,0:44:01.338
I mean, you need that help.

0:44:01.338,0:44:02.718
But it's also for the benefit

0:44:02.718,0:44:04.397
of those that were helping

0:44:04.397,0:44:06.886
and being able to share.

0:44:06.886,0:44:08.975
You know, like you're doing right now,

0:44:08.975,0:44:11.295
and all of us are contributing right now.

0:44:11.295,0:44:13.792
Being a part of sharing God's Word

0:44:13.792,0:44:14.893
is so important

0:44:14.893,0:44:16.813
for our own spiritual growth.

0:44:16.813,0:44:18.820
And it's one of, just, the secrets

0:44:18.820,0:44:21.480
of being able to continue[br]to grow spiritually.

0:44:21.480,0:44:23.266
(Puia) Yes, thank you. Heide?

0:44:23.266,0:44:24.977
(Heide) Just really quickly.

0:44:24.977,0:44:26.330
I learn from this.

0:44:26.330,0:44:28.325
Sometimes in sermons,

0:44:28.325,0:44:31.296
and they vary from one church to another,

0:44:31.296,0:44:33.105
but sometimes it seems like

0:44:33.105,0:44:34.562
they've become almost a way

0:44:34.562,0:44:36.870
to try to entertain people

0:44:36.870,0:44:38.665
or tell them what they want to hear.

0:44:38.665,0:44:39.755
You know what I mean?

0:44:39.755,0:44:42.721
And here I see what God truly intends

0:44:42.721,0:44:44.382
is just the simplicity

0:44:44.382,0:44:46.683
of going into His Word and that's it,

0:44:46.683,0:44:48.313
and understanding it,

0:44:48.313,0:44:52.403
and that's all that the focus should be.

0:44:52.403,0:44:53.393
(Puia) Thank you.

0:44:53.393,0:44:56.278
The next question I want to ask is,

0:44:56.278,0:44:59.519
in your personal study of the Word of God,

0:44:59.521,0:45:02.100
who has helped you to fully understand

0:45:02.100,0:45:03.851
or to better understand

0:45:03.851,0:45:05.578
the Word of God? Jonathan.

0:45:05.578,0:45:07.785
(Jonathan) The person that leads

0:45:07.785,0:45:09.986
the Bible study that Nancy mentioned,

0:45:09.986,0:45:11.737
it's a friend of mine, he's actually

0:45:11.737,0:45:12.683
been on this show,

0:45:12.683,0:45:15.464
but he has studied the Word of God deeply,

0:45:15.464,0:45:16.919
and there are so many things,

0:45:16.919,0:45:18.083
that, because of his

0:45:18.083,0:45:19.962
in-depth personal study,

0:45:19.962,0:45:21.731
he comes back with things

0:45:21.731,0:45:23.119
that he's mined out

0:45:23.119,0:45:24.931
that have greatly transformed my life.

0:45:24.931,0:45:26.618
And so I've very much appreciated

0:45:26.618,0:45:28.616
how much he has invested

0:45:28.616,0:45:30.349
and continues to invest in all of us

0:45:30.349,0:45:31.726
that come to his Bible study

0:45:31.726,0:45:33.057
and in his own personal time

0:45:33.057,0:45:35.866
that you see in his own life.

0:45:35.866,0:45:37.216
But also there are things,

0:45:37.216,0:45:39.863
that when you mine out God's Word,

0:45:39.863,0:45:41.954
that gems come out that can have

0:45:41.954,0:45:44.316
a great transformation on someone else.

0:45:44.316,0:45:46.145
(Puia) Thank you.

0:45:46.145,0:45:48.535
Can somebody share an experience

0:45:48.535,0:45:51.637
when someone explained the Word,

0:45:51.637,0:45:52.947
it could be in that context

0:45:52.947,0:45:54.709
as well as in a Bible study setting

0:45:54.709,0:45:56.798
or another context, when someone

0:45:56.798,0:45:58.531
explained something to you,

0:45:58.531,0:45:59.958
and your understanding

0:45:59.958,0:46:03.633
of the Word of God changed dramatically?

0:46:03.633,0:46:06.085
Has anyone had any experience

0:46:06.085,0:46:09.230
in that kind of way? Yes, Ranela?

0:46:09.230,0:46:12.317
(Ranela) I grew up in the church,

0:46:12.317,0:46:13.778
but when I was around 16

0:46:13.778,0:46:16.104
I joined a program where we were

0:46:16.104,0:46:18.298
sharing God's Word, going door to door.

0:46:18.298,0:46:21.436
And my leader, his name is Taj Pacleb,

0:46:21.436,0:46:22.622
I remember him giving

0:46:22.622,0:46:24.061
Bible studies every morning.

0:46:24.061,0:46:25.977
And even though I grew up in the church,

0:46:25.977,0:46:28.538
my understanding of God's character

0:46:28.538,0:46:29.747
wasn't fully there.

0:46:29.747,0:46:31.960
And so, as he would break down

0:46:31.960,0:46:33.331
different parts of the Bible

0:46:33.331,0:46:35.465
in the Gospels and even in Revelation,

0:46:35.465,0:46:37.569
I remember sitting there just crying

0:46:37.569,0:46:39.477
because my understanding of God

0:46:39.477,0:46:41.610
was just much more opened,

0:46:41.610,0:46:43.910
and God became to me

0:46:43.910,0:46:45.650
a God I could love,

0:46:45.650,0:46:47.788
and Someone that I really understood

0:46:47.788,0:46:49.198
was not out to get me

0:46:49.198,0:46:51.176
and out to just condemn me all the time

0:46:51.176,0:46:52.559
but was on my side.

0:46:52.559,0:46:55.265
And, yeah, that was a beautiful experience

0:46:55.265,0:46:56.544
when I was a teenager.

0:46:56.544,0:46:58.185
(Puia) Thank you for sharing that.

0:46:58.185,0:47:00.176
I think you brought up an important point

0:47:00.176,0:47:01.355
that is, many people,

0:47:01.357,0:47:04.203
even among Christians who read the Bible

0:47:04.203,0:47:07.258
think that God is a God of judgment,

0:47:07.258,0:47:10.182
and that all He cares about is punishing

0:47:10.182,0:47:11.541
people who are not following

0:47:11.541,0:47:13.733
His commandments or laws.

0:47:13.733,0:47:14.775
But you pointed out

0:47:14.775,0:47:17.226
that by understanding the Scripture

0:47:17.226,0:47:19.172
in a correct manner,

0:47:19.172,0:47:20.673
we can understand that God

0:47:20.673,0:47:22.589
is actually a God of love, right?

0:47:22.589,0:47:24.922
And that changes our whole perspective

0:47:24.922,0:47:27.937
of God and the way we live our lives.[br]Yes, Nicole.

0:47:27.937,0:47:29.384
(Nicole) I have a girl friend

0:47:29.384,0:47:31.483
who, actually, when I was[br]in medical school,

0:47:31.483,0:47:32.540
took me under her wing

0:47:32.540,0:47:34.003
and did Bible studies with me,

0:47:34.003,0:47:35.409
and we went over the Gospels.

0:47:35.409,0:47:37.011
And I'll never forget her talking

0:47:37.011,0:47:38.625
about Jesus and the love of Jesus

0:47:38.625,0:47:40.658
and how that comes through in the Gospels,

0:47:40.658,0:47:42.307
and the need to know who He is.

0:47:42.307,0:47:44.276
And so that really just enhanced my life

0:47:44.276,0:47:45.470
and just really helped me

0:47:45.470,0:47:46.856
understand that God loves us.

0:47:46.856,0:47:48.973
He sent Jesus to us for that reason.

0:47:48.973,0:47:50.636
And every day it's like a,

0:47:50.636,0:47:52.742
"Thank You, Jesus, for coming to us,"

0:47:52.742,0:47:54.967
and that's shared in the Gospels.

0:47:54.967,0:47:57.468
(Puia) Amen. Thank you for sharing that.[br]Yes, Travis.

0:47:57.468,0:47:59.064
(Travis) I was just going to say

0:47:59.064,0:48:00.619
that even judgment is good news.

0:48:00.619,0:48:02.812
You know, Satan is the accuser[br]of the brethren,

0:48:02.812,0:48:05.190
and he's accusing people, day and night.

0:48:05.190,0:48:07.327
And Jesus says when He judges,

0:48:07.327,0:48:09.456
He's judging in favor of the saints.

0:48:09.456,0:48:11.643
So judgment is good news as well.

0:48:11.643,0:48:13.961
(Puia) And we don't need[br]to be afraid of judgment

0:48:13.961,0:48:17.902
if we have Jesus on our side. Jason.

0:48:17.902,0:48:19.502
(Jason) At a recent time,

0:48:19.502,0:48:21.813
I had some relationship counseling[br]with a pastor,

0:48:21.813,0:48:23.789
and he was going through Genesis,

0:48:23.789,0:48:25.054
the first part of Genesis,

0:48:25.054,0:48:26.670
and I'd heard the stories before.

0:48:26.670,0:48:29.063
I knew about Adam and Eve[br]and the creation.

0:48:29.063,0:48:31.264
I mean, I pretty much had it memorized.

0:48:31.264,0:48:33.775
But the pastor, because he understood

0:48:33.775,0:48:34.892
the Hebrew context

0:48:34.892,0:48:36.575
and understood what was happening,

0:48:36.575,0:48:39.632
he was able to show me a whole lot more

0:48:39.632,0:48:44.367
what my role is as a man in a relationship

0:48:44.367,0:48:45.878
from Genesis 1 and 2

0:48:45.878,0:48:47.472
and some of these first chapters.

0:48:47.472,0:48:49.310
So it was just fascinating to see

0:48:49.310,0:48:51.043
the Scriptures come alive in a way

0:48:51.043,0:48:52.819
that was so much more practical to me

0:48:52.819,0:48:54.864
and how I live my life

0:48:54.864,0:48:56.843
outside the church, if you will,

0:48:56.843,0:48:58.464
just in daily living.

0:48:58.465,0:48:59.689
(Puia) Thank you.

0:48:59.689,0:49:02.696
So we can say that this is teamwork.

0:49:02.696,0:49:04.935
We help each other better understand

0:49:04.935,0:49:06.929
what the Word of God is telling us.

0:49:06.929,0:49:08.762
Evelyn, can you continue our study

0:49:08.762,0:49:11.984
by reading Nehemiah, chapter 8, verse 9?

0:49:11.984,0:49:14.162
We will see here the response

0:49:14.162,0:49:17.191
from the people, now that they have heard

0:49:17.191,0:49:19.714
the Word of God being read to them.

0:49:19.714,0:49:21.574
So, what is the response

0:49:21.574,0:49:25.132
that they are giving or they are feeling?

0:49:25.132,0:49:27.465
(Evelyn) Nehemiah, chapter 8, verse 9,

0:49:27.465,0:49:28.411
and I'll be reading

0:49:28.411,0:49:30.435
from the New King James Version:

0:49:49.284,0:49:52.820
(Puia) Wow. "All the people wept"?

0:49:52.820,0:49:55.516
Why did that happen?

0:49:55.516,0:49:57.696
Why did the people weep? Yes, Pedro.

0:49:57.696,0:49:58.909
(Pedro) Well, if you open

0:49:58.909,0:50:00.321
the Law of God and the Torah,

0:50:00.321,0:50:02.987
there are curses and blessings

0:50:02.987,0:50:06.865
that Moses proclaimed from God[br]at the mountain.

0:50:06.865,0:50:08.691
And when they saw, you know,

0:50:08.691,0:50:10.715
I believe that when he read the curses,

0:50:10.715,0:50:13.152
they could see, "That's why

0:50:13.152,0:50:14.623
those things happened.

0:50:14.623,0:50:16.591
It was not God trying to punish us,

0:50:16.591,0:50:18.657
it was just what we let

0:50:18.657,0:50:21.318
on our ways, over disobedience."

0:50:21.318,0:50:24.016
And also I believe I could weep

0:50:24.016,0:50:25.920
to see the love of God

0:50:25.920,0:50:27.740
come into my life and see

0:50:27.740,0:50:29.751
how gracious this God is

0:50:29.751,0:50:32.884
that's willing to forgive and forget,

0:50:32.884,0:50:35.144
to continue this relationship with me.

0:50:35.144,0:50:36.888
(Puia) Thank you. Jonathan.

0:50:36.888,0:50:38.408
(Jonathan) On that same point,

0:50:38.408,0:50:40.034
I remember reading

0:50:40.034,0:50:42.161
through Deuteronomy, I think it's 28

0:50:42.161,0:50:45.121
and 29, that section that's just touching

0:50:45.121,0:50:48.113
to hear exactly how clearly

0:50:48.113,0:50:51.046
God is kind of mourning and saying

0:50:51.046,0:50:52.938
that, "My people will turn...,"

0:50:52.938,0:50:55.014
He's not saying they will,[br]"but if you do,"

0:50:55.014,0:50:56.494
but they end up doing exactly.

0:50:56.494,0:50:57.697
So God had warned them

0:50:57.697,0:50:59.076
from the very beginning

0:50:59.076,0:51:00.210
to not go this way,

0:51:00.210,0:51:01.796
and they can see their history.

0:51:01.796,0:51:03.022
They can see all the ways

0:51:03.022,0:51:04.541
that their fathers have done.

0:51:04.541,0:51:05.598
And then they can see,

0:51:05.598,0:51:08.232
there's a text that says, like,

0:51:08.232,0:51:09.809
"When you are in another country,

0:51:09.809,0:51:11.189
you pray to Me, and you turn

0:51:11.189,0:51:12.279
your heart back to Me,

0:51:12.279,0:51:13.854
I will return you to your land,"

0:51:13.854,0:51:14.981
and all these things.

0:51:14.981,0:51:16.856
So, to me, that would be very touching

0:51:16.856,0:51:18.052
to see that as a promise.

0:51:18.052,0:51:19.861
Yeah, I hope that that promise

0:51:19.861,0:51:22.531
still applies today in a similar pattern.

0:51:22.531,0:51:23.841
God can take us back.

0:51:23.846,0:51:26.146
(Puia) I believe so.

0:51:26.146,0:51:28.257
And I also believe that they wept

0:51:28.257,0:51:29.605
because they were convicted

0:51:29.605,0:51:32.592
of their sins, right?

0:51:32.592,0:51:34.948
That's what the Holy Spirit does.

0:51:34.948,0:51:36.446
When we read the Word of God,

0:51:36.446,0:51:37.551
and when we study,

0:51:37.551,0:51:39.535
the Word of God tells us

0:51:39.535,0:51:42.469
of our shortcomings and our sins.

0:51:42.469,0:51:44.173
And the people were weeping

0:51:44.173,0:51:46.196
because they looked back on their history,

0:51:46.196,0:51:48.247
and they realized that they had

0:51:48.247,0:51:50.161
turned away from God so many times.

0:51:50.161,0:51:52.169
And looking at their story,

0:51:52.169,0:51:54.764
they understand that it was their sin,

0:51:54.764,0:51:56.705
and with the conviction.

0:51:56.705,0:51:59.545
And we will see how the leader[br]responded, right?

0:51:59.545,0:52:01.025
Before that, Ranela.

0:52:01.025,0:52:02.356
(Ranela) Oh, no. We're going

0:52:02.356,0:52:03.745
to keep going onto...I think

0:52:03.745,0:52:05.564
I'm getting ahead of myself.

0:52:05.564,0:52:07.918
(Puia) Can you please read[br]for us verse 10?

0:52:07.918,0:52:09.369
(Ranela) Sure, verse 10,

0:52:09.369,0:52:11.153
Nehemiah, chapter 8 and verse 10,

0:52:11.153,0:52:12.149
and I'll be reading

0:52:12.149,0:52:13.710
from the New King James Version:

0:52:27.678,0:52:29.861
(Puia) Wow. So, in this story,

0:52:29.861,0:52:31.216
they're weeping because they

0:52:31.216,0:52:32.786
just heard the Word of God,

0:52:32.786,0:52:34.301
and they felt convicted

0:52:34.301,0:52:35.937
of their sinfulness,

0:52:35.937,0:52:38.031
and they are being sorrowful

0:52:38.031,0:52:40.340
with true repentance

0:52:40.340,0:52:42.289
in what the leader said.

0:52:42.289,0:52:43.925
(Ranela) I just love how he said,

0:52:43.925,0:52:45.418
"This day is holy to the Lord.

0:52:45.418,0:52:46.520
Do not mourn or weep.

0:52:46.520,0:52:48.018
Go out and do good."

0:52:48.018,0:52:49.669
And sometimes when you think

0:52:49.669,0:52:51.046
of that word "holy,"

0:52:51.046,0:52:53.124
we think, "Oh, I need to be

0:52:53.124,0:52:54.830
straight-faced and somber,"

0:52:54.830,0:52:56.812
but God is like, "Don't cry.

0:52:56.812,0:52:58.054
This day is holy to God.

0:52:58.054,0:52:59.771
You're supposed to be celebrating."

0:52:59.771,0:53:02.839
And I love that he's encouraging them

0:53:02.839,0:53:05.388
to celebrate what God is doing[br]in their lives.

0:53:05.388,0:53:07.515
(Puia) Yes. Yes, Pedro.

0:53:07.515,0:53:09.674
(Pedro) I like what Ranela said,

0:53:09.674,0:53:12.503
and I'd like to put it in a picture.

0:53:12.503,0:53:13.964
I don't know if you have seen

0:53:13.964,0:53:15.752
some broken relationships

0:53:15.752,0:53:18.866
where probably friends that stopped

0:53:18.866,0:53:20.594
talking to each other for something

0:53:20.594,0:53:22.059
that was not doing right.

0:53:22.059,0:53:23.749
But when they reconcile,

0:53:23.749,0:53:26.629
they were able to sort things out.

0:53:26.629,0:53:28.641
I see God reconciling to us.

0:53:28.641,0:53:30.038
We have done wrong to Him.

0:53:30.038,0:53:31.678
He says, "I forgive you,"

0:53:31.678,0:53:34.375
and we want to come back to Him,[br]and He reconciles.

0:53:34.375,0:53:36.654
Like the father who embraces his son

0:53:36.654,0:53:39.890
when he comes back from the world

0:53:39.890,0:53:42.263
as the Prodigal Son.

0:53:42.263,0:53:43.830
And I see this word "holy."

0:53:43.830,0:53:45.721
To understand that, you know, sometimes

0:53:45.721,0:53:46.987
we confuse the word "holy"

0:53:46.987,0:53:48.730
with other things that might not be.

0:53:48.730,0:53:51.850
We're to set apart and be separate.

0:53:51.850,0:53:55.722
It's something that is special.

0:53:55.722,0:53:59.164
Like, I would say my wedding day

0:53:59.164,0:54:01.156
is a holy day every year.

0:54:01.156,0:54:02.783
It's a day that I set apart;

0:54:02.783,0:54:03.907
I make it special.

0:54:03.907,0:54:05.345
God said it's His special day,

0:54:05.345,0:54:08.051
"It's a day that we reconnect fully.

0:54:08.051,0:54:11.403
My city is built; the walls are firm."

0:54:11.403,0:54:15.153
"We are recommitting ourselves[br]to You, God,

0:54:15.153,0:54:16.743
because we have heard Your Word,

0:54:16.743,0:54:18.337
and we want to follow."

0:54:18.337,0:54:21.042
(Puia) So, despite their shortcomings,

0:54:21.042,0:54:23.893
despite their sinfulness in the past,

0:54:23.893,0:54:25.962
the lesson that they are being taught here

0:54:25.962,0:54:28.340
is they can rejoice in the fact

0:54:28.340,0:54:31.733
that God has forgiven them of their sins.

0:54:31.733,0:54:33.603
It's a powerful message.

0:54:33.603,0:54:35.739
The Word was being read to them.

0:54:35.739,0:54:37.933
They heard it, they listened attentively,

0:54:37.933,0:54:39.189
and they understood it

0:54:39.189,0:54:41.026
with the help of the explanations

0:54:41.026,0:54:42.486
that they were offered.

0:54:42.486,0:54:44.251
And as a result, they felt

0:54:44.251,0:54:45.787
convicted of their sins,

0:54:45.787,0:54:48.385
and they wept, being sorrowful,

0:54:48.385,0:54:51.091
and that led them to true repentance.

0:54:51.091,0:54:53.601
And they were being told, "Rejoice,

0:54:53.601,0:54:55.861
for the joy," what did it say?

0:54:55.861,0:55:01.401
(Puia, Team) "...of the Lord[br]is your strength."

0:55:01.401,0:55:03.684
(Puia) Can anyone share an experience

0:55:03.684,0:55:06.443
where you experienced the joy in the Lord,

0:55:06.443,0:55:07.944
and it changes the way

0:55:07.944,0:55:09.693
you felt about your life

0:55:09.693,0:55:13.778
or how you lived your life? Anyone?

0:55:13.778,0:55:16.205
Any moment where in your life

0:55:16.205,0:55:20.942
you have experienced the joy of the Lord?[br]Yes, Jason.

0:55:20.942,0:55:22.924
(Jason) Well, for me, the joy of the Lord

0:55:22.924,0:55:24.774
personally comes a lot through music,

0:55:24.774,0:55:26.620
particularly...including

0:55:26.620,0:55:27.782
Scripture songs even,

0:55:27.782,0:55:29.044
because sometimes I can be

0:55:29.044,0:55:30.440
going through difficult times

0:55:30.440,0:55:32.290
or maybe I've gone through a struggle,

0:55:32.290,0:55:33.758
and I think of Scripture songs

0:55:33.758,0:55:35.830
or I think of spiritually uplifting music.

0:55:35.830,0:55:37.906
And whether I listen to that or sing that,

0:55:37.906,0:55:39.511
that just reminds me again

0:55:39.511,0:55:41.146
of God's goodness and His love,

0:55:41.146,0:55:43.065
and I can't help but be joyful

0:55:43.065,0:55:45.062
when I think about those things.

0:55:45.062,0:55:46.028
(Puia) Thank you.

0:55:46.028,0:55:47.089
Have you ever wondered

0:55:47.089,0:55:49.414
how we often pray as Christians?

0:55:49.414,0:55:50.703
Many of our prayers are

0:55:50.703,0:55:52.060
all about asking God.

0:55:52.060,0:55:53.439
Like, "God, give me this,"

0:55:53.439,0:55:55.357
"give me that," "give me this."

0:55:55.357,0:55:56.606
What if, instead of that,

0:55:56.606,0:55:59.186
we focus more on thanking God,

0:55:59.186,0:56:01.382
being joyful for what He already

0:56:01.382,0:56:03.170
blessed us with, right? Nicole.

0:56:03.170,0:56:06.609
(Nicole) It's interesting you said that[br]because just about two weeks ago,

0:56:06.609,0:56:08.508
I had my prayer partner,[br]and she told me

0:56:08.508,0:56:11.532
that I have to promise her that every day[br]I'm going to thank God

0:56:11.532,0:56:13.776
for what He's going to do for me[br]and stop the,

0:56:13.776,0:56:15.751
"Please do X, Y, Z," but just thank Him.

0:56:15.751,0:56:18.280
And that's actually changed[br]my outlook on the day

0:56:18.280,0:56:19.760
because now I'm thanking Him...

0:56:19.760,0:56:21.324
I'm looking forward to whatever

0:56:21.324,0:56:22.517
He's going to do for me,

0:56:22.517,0:56:23.819
and I'm thankful for that.

0:56:23.819,0:56:25.864
And so that's actually changed my outlook.

0:56:25.864,0:56:26.979
(Puia) Wow. Thank you.

0:56:26.979,0:56:28.086
I wish we had more time

0:56:28.086,0:56:29.530
to continue reading the story,

0:56:29.530,0:56:31.508
but in the end, we found that the people

0:56:31.508,0:56:33.032
actually wanted to learn more.

0:56:33.032,0:56:34.595
They came back the next day,

0:56:34.595,0:56:36.145
and they wanted to listen more.

0:56:36.145,0:56:38.110
That's what the Word of God does.

0:56:38.110,0:56:41.025
What a powerful study.

0:56:41.025,0:56:43.221
Thank you for joining us today.

0:56:43.221,0:56:46.570
We have learned that the people of God,

0:56:46.570,0:56:48.564
after coming back from captivity,

0:56:48.564,0:56:50.676
they would listen to the Word of God

0:56:50.676,0:56:51.816
being read to them.

0:56:51.816,0:56:53.289
And as a result, they felt

0:56:53.289,0:56:54.687
convicted of their sins,

0:56:54.687,0:56:57.729
and they repented, and God forgave them.

0:56:57.729,0:56:59.513
What a powerful study.

0:56:59.513,0:57:02.169
Let us pray that God will convict us

0:57:02.169,0:57:03.885
through His Word today once again,

0:57:03.885,0:57:06.012
and let us commit our lives,

0:57:06.012,0:57:07.956
to live our lives according to His will

0:57:07.956,0:57:10.073
in our personal walk with Him.

0:57:10.073,0:57:12.788
Let us pray; Father in Heaven,

0:57:12.788,0:57:15.088
thank You for the time that we had today.

0:57:15.088,0:57:17.185
We studied important practical lessons

0:57:17.185,0:57:18.727
that we can apply in our lives.

0:57:18.727,0:57:21.379
And most of all, Lord, we learned

0:57:21.379,0:57:24.211
that Your Word, the reading of Your Word,

0:57:24.211,0:57:25.435
the hearing of Your Word,

0:57:25.435,0:57:26.913
the understanding of Your Word,

0:57:26.913,0:57:28.309
can transform our lives.

0:57:28.309,0:57:31.271
Please speak to us through Your Word today

0:57:31.271,0:57:33.054
as we read Your Word.

0:57:33.054,0:57:35.265
We thank You; in Jesus' name we pray.

0:57:35.265,0:57:36.755
(Team) Amen.

0:57:36.755,0:57:40.964
(Puia) All right, what a powerful study[br]we had today.

0:57:40.964,0:57:43.474
Let us continue to read the Word of God,

0:57:43.474,0:57:45.704
study every single day,

0:57:45.704,0:57:47.852
and read and read and read.

0:57:47.852,0:57:49.807
And as we read more, we will see

0:57:49.807,0:57:51.486
the character of God more and more.

0:57:51.486,0:57:53.002
And as a result, that will

0:57:53.002,0:57:55.322
convict us of our sins.

0:57:55.322,0:57:58.398
And then it will lead us to repentance.

0:57:58.398,0:58:00.616
It is good news of God's forgiveness.

0:58:00.616,0:58:02.286
Let's not keep this to ourselves,

0:58:02.286,0:58:04.241
but share it with those around us.

0:58:04.241,0:58:29.098
♪ theme music ♪