♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
We are coming to the close
of a very practical series of studies
based on the words of Jesus,
Ministering to "the Least of These": to Those in Need,
our topic today, To Love Mercy,
and that is so aligned
with the heart of our loving God.
I pray you'll be blessed,
and it's good to be together
and study, isn't it?
And I'm excited because one of our team,
Puia, is going to be teaching today.
And it's so exciting,
not only to have some members
of our team who teach,
but to know that thousands
of people around the world
are downloading our outline, and you're
having an in-depth, interactive class where you live.
We would love to hear from you,
what people are learning
about the Word of God,
what you're learning about sharing the Word of God.
You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org,
and we would be happy to hear
what God's doing in you and through you.
Here are just a few emails
we've received recently.
One from Chipo in Zimbabwe,
Chipo writes, "Hi, everybody."
(Team) Hi!
(Derek) "My name's Chipo,
I'm a 17-year-old girl
learning at a high school in Zimbabwe,
the same school where one of your team,
Simiso, went to school."
Wow, we all know Simiso.
He's not with us today, Chipo,
but we're glad that you're studying there.
"I look forward to watching
Hope Sabbath School programs
because they encourage me
to read the Bible more
and to memorize Bible verses,
which I often struggle with when I'm alone.
Thanks to your program,
I enjoy contributing
during my own Sabbath School class
and proving to my classmates
that we shouldn't be embarrassed
when we know more Bible verses
than we do about the latest movie or popular song."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) That's powerful.
"Your testimonies give me
great assurance that I serve
a living and powerful God."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) Well, you just encouraged us
for our study today, Chipo.
Thanks for writing to us from Zimbabwe.
And you're right, the Word of God
is more powerful than modern movies or popular songs.
Kodiah writes from Jamaica.
Anyone from Jamaica here?
All right, Nicole, Jamaican heritage anyway, right?
"My name's Kodiah; I'm writing from Jamaica.
I recently got introduced
to Hope Sabbath School.
I was so amazed and refreshed
that there was a program
that I could watch that would help me
to further understand the Bible."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "With the introduction of this program,
I can now understand better
and make application to my own life.
I'm thrilled to share with my husband
because we do Sabbath School together.
We can now have a more in-depth discussion
and the program will help both of us
to know how to understand the Word of God.
This platform," writes Kodiah, "is remarkable,"
and I'm looking forward
to the ones in the future.
Thank you, and God bless you all."
Well, Kodiah, I'm impressed that you're...
She's already encouraged
her husband to watch, too.
And you know someone,
you're watching today
wherever you are around the world,
you know someone who will be blessed
by a study of God's Word.
The Holy Spirit's the One who changes hearts,
but we can invite people
to be blessed through His Word.
Manuel writes from Angola,
and he says, "I've been watching
this program for seven years.
Now, I'm a member of Hope Sabbath School.
This program has been changing my life.
I understand the Scriptures well
through Hope Sabbath School."
Well, his main language in Angola
is not English, is it?
There are probably some tribal languages
and Portuguese, right, in Angola.
So we're just glad, Manuel, that you're
part of our Hope Sabbath School family.
Let's see, I have another note here.
I think I mixed them all up; that's it?
Oh, no, here are two more in my Bible.
Here's one from a donor in Arizona
in the United States.
Treva, you're from Arizona, aren't you?
Well, say a little wave to a family there.
This person writes, "My faith,"
they mention a mainline church, "of 60 years
has been void for a long time.
I didn't know what was missing,
and one day I found Hope Sabbath School,
and I know now what I was missing.
I was missing the Word of God."
Is it possible to go to church each week
and not hear the Word of God?
"I realized it was God's Word,
reading, studying, savoring;
that's what was lacking in my life.
A couple of years of regular watching
has inspired me to seek out
a personal Bible study group,
which I have now found."
And this donor sent a gift of 25 dollars
to Hope Sabbath School.
And, you know, we're all
part of the miracle,
so thank you for helping
this donor-supported ministry.
One last note, from Randy in Ohio
in the United States,
"Thank you for blessing us
through the weekly Bible study.
It's been a tough year for me.
I was rushed to the hospital
and later diagnosed
with dead bowel syndrome
and had emergency surgery.
I'm still experiencing the effects of that surgery.
Then in November I was
to have cataract surgery on my right eye
because of a retina detachment a year earlier.
It was great; the next day I was able to see.
Then in December it became necessary
to have surgery on the other eye,
and during that surgery
something went terribly wrong.
Instead of a 10- or 15-minute surgery,
it took an hour and a half.
This surgery left me blind
in my left eye, hopefully temporarily.
So far, I've gained only 50 percent
of my vision in my left eye,
haven't been able to drive or go to church,
but I've been able to watch
Hope Sabbath School."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) Well, I want to tell you,
those who wait on the Lord, I believe, will renew their strength.
And we want to be praying
for continued healing for you, Randy.
It's obviously a challenge, isn't it?
But, you know, when we
hide the Word in our hearts,
even if we lose some sight,
we still have the Word within us.
And that's why we sing Scripture songs
as theme songs for this series.
For this series on "The Least of These,"
we've got a beautiful text
from 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 5 and 16,
"Now may the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God."
Let's sing together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Well, I'm excited
as we study together today
that we can direct our hearts
into the love of God
and to love mercy as He does.
Puia, why don't you lead us in prayer
as we begin our study?
(Puia) Shall we pray?
Our dear, loving heavenly Father,
we come to You in the name of Jesus.
Lord, we thank You for this opportunity
that You have given to us today
to study Your Word once again.
Lord, we pray that You will be with us,
that You speak to us
through the Holy Spirit.
Lord, I pray, not only
for the Hope Sabbath School team members
here in the studio,
but I pray also for all
the Hope Sabbath School members around the world,
whenever it is that they're
watching this episode,
or wherever it is that they're watching this from.
Lord, I pray that You will be
with them as well.
We thank You for Your love, and we
pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Derek, Team) Amen.
(Puia) All right, we are
on a series of studies on the topic
of Ministering to Those in Need,
"The Least of These,"
according to the teachings of Jesus,
and today we are on lesson number 12.
And the title of our study is To Love Mercy.
I want to start our study
by reading Micah, chapter 6, verse 8.
Jonathan, can you please read for us
Micah, chapter 6, verse 8,
and here we will find
the call of God for mankind, all right?
In this verse, we will be able to see
what God requires of us as mankind.
(Jonathan) Micah 6, verse 8,
all right, I'll be reading
from the New Living Translation:
(Puia) Amen. So here in this verse,
what is God requiring of us as mankind,
or people, in your version?
Anything that stands...
(Stephanie) To do justly.
(Puia) To do justly.
(Evelyn) Walk humbly with God.
(Puia) Walk humbly with Him, and...?
(Team) Love mercy.
(Puia) Love mercy, which is the title of our study today.
This is what God is asking of mankind,
every one of us, all right?
And, as we have seen in our study,
in this series of studies,
we have seen time and time again,
that the Bible is filled
with descriptions of God's concern
for the poor and the oppressed people.
And also the call is for His people
to stand for those people.
(Derek) That's right.
(Puia) Yet, despite all this attention,
it is not enough; we still live
in a sinful world, right?
We still see sins and evils around us,
and those are most often portrayed -
we can see them through poverty,
difficulties, hardship, sickness, pain, and so many more.
And today we will study what it means
to have mercy, to love mercy,
amidst these troubles in the time that we live in.
So let's continue our study
by reading Matthew, chapter 6,
verses 25 through 33.
Adison, if you can read for us
Matthew, chapter 6,
starting from verse 25
down through verse 33.
(Adison) For sure, and I'm reading
from the King James Version:
(Puia) Amen. So, what is Jesus
telling us here in this verse
that we just read, anything?
(Patricia) He doesn't want us to worry.
I notice that the word "worry"
or "worrying" is here at least four times.
He's saying, instead of worrying,
we should just have faith
that He will provide for us what we need.
(Puia) So we can find assurance that God
is going to take care of us, right? Evelyn?
(Evelyn) I think what the Lord
is trying to tell us is that many times
we prioritize the material things in our lives,
our treasures or how we're
going to prosper in life.
And God is telling us,
"You don't need to worry about that
if you seek Me first,
because I will provide for you,"
that, "I should be your priority."
That's what the Lord is telling us.
(Puia) So how should this assurance
that we have in God
change our priorities in life?
What should we prioritize first,
as you said? Yes, Treva.
(Treva) Our focus should really be
on those who are in need
because we know we have a Master,
and He's going to take care of us.
So, if we have our focus on others,
we won't be concerned about,
"What am I going to wear?"
"How am I going to eat?"
"How am I going to pay my bills?"
because our focus is on helping others.
We put on focus on that, God will bless.
(Puia) Amen. Yes, Travis.
(Travis) I think, too, in the context
of what we're studying
is that it's easy in life today to say,
"Well, I would go do that,
but I need this job,"
or, "I would go do this, but I need to..."
And God is saying, "I'll take care of your needs."
You know, "Go ahead and do these things."
We often use our jobs
and the necessities we need in life
as an excuse not to go and help the poor
or to do that kind of thing.
(Puia) So the next question is,
then why is showing mercy to those in need
important for followers of Jesus?
But before we answer that, I want us
to go to Luke, chapter 6, verse 36.
And, Pedro, if you can read for us
Luke, chapter 6, verse 36.
And, after reading this verse,
we will answer the question,
why is showing mercy to those in need
important for followers of Christ?
(Pedro) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, Luke 6:36:
(Puia) All right, so what should be
the reason why this is important,
showing mercy to those in need? Yes, Jonathan?
(Jonathan) To reflect the beauty
of who Christ is and how He
reflects God's compassion and mercy.
(Puia) Yes, Travis?
(Travis) We can't pay God back
for anything He's done; we can't.
I mean, the bill that He's paid for us,
there's nothing we can do.
There is one thing we can do,
and we can extend the same mercy
that He's extended to us, to others.
That's the one thing
that we can do for God.
(Derek) I honestly believe, Puia,
that that brings joy to the heart of God.
It's not like, "You ought to do that
because I expect it."
I think even as parents,
when we see our children
acting in a beautiful way,
we experience joy.
I think it brings joy to the heart of God
when He sees His mercy
extended through us.
(Puia) So, can we say that, in life,
food, clothes, money, they're important,
but they're not the most important,
or they're not the priorities
that we should have in life?
Can we say that?
(Derek, Team) Sure. Yes.
(Puia) But that means
that God called us to a higher standard
than that of the world,
and that may bring us
into situations sometimes
where our relationship
with those in power,
that may change our relationship
with those people who are oppressing other people, right?
So, how should we respond as Christians,
if we are in situations
where our convictions
from the Word of God
may not be in line with the policies
of the government or people in power?
Let us read Acts, chapter 5, verse 29,
to give us an idea
of how the people of God,
or at least the disciples of Jesus,
dealt with situations like that in the past.
After reading this, we will
answer that question again.
So, Treva, if you can read for us,
Acts, chapter 5, verse 29.
(Treva) Acts, chapter 5, verse 29,
and I'll be reading from the New King James translation:
(Puia) Before talking about that verse,
should we obey the government?
First let's answer that question.
Is government important in our lives? Yes.
(Derek) There are other Bible texts
that tell us we should, right?
(Nicole) And Jesus did; He's our example.
(Evelyn) Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
(Puia) Yes. So then the next question is:
What if the policies of the government
or people in power
come in conflict with the teachings
of God? Yes, Adison.
(Adison) I think of the example of Daniel.
I mean, he had one
of the highest positions in Babylon,
and he did the very best job
he could possibly do.
The only time when he
would go against the decrees
or the laws of the land,
if it was going to conflict
with being obedient to the Law of God
and following his conscience.
And he was even willing
to go to the den of the lions
because he chose rather
to obey God rather than man.
(Puia) Yes. Stephanie, yes.
(Stephanie) When I think about Daniel,
and I think about how Jesus responded,
it wasn't defiantly;
it was with a humble spirit.
And I think we need to keep that in mind,
that, even though there
might be a conflict,
when we deal with that conflict,
we humbly follow God,
and we don't go to the lower plane
and be mean and rough without the Spirit.
(Derek) We may also have the choice,
unlike some prisoners of war
who didn't have the choice to leave.
We may have the choice to say,
"I think I'm going to emigrate
to another country,"
because I'm thinking of friends
who, at certain times,
lived in parts of Europe,
where there was no religious freedom,
and they chose to move to another country
where there was religious freedom
because they wanted their children
to be able to study the Bible and to honor God.
So I don't think we always have
to get into, like, a fierce conflict.
We may say, "That's the way
they're choosing to be here,
but that's not the way
I've chosen to live."
Daniel, especially in his young life,
didn't have that choice;
he was a prisoner of war.
But we may choose, "It would be better
to live in this setting
than to stay there."
(Puia) Yes, looking at Daniel that you mentioned,
looking at his story,
he stood up for people, right?
Isn't that what God calls us to,
standing up for people,
even if the policies or the rules
that the government or people in power
have put in place are to oppress other people? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) I like what everyone is saying
because this brings something to my mind.
When we're faced with this kind of thing,
we can go out and protest
and make all kinds of...
But, you know, Daniel prayed,
so maybe we should "pray-test" instead of protest.
Instead of making a big deal,
we can go to God with this, with the problem.
(Puia) Yes, Pedro.
(Pedro) This is also, I think,
a time of witnessing,
and we're witnessing with a humble heart.
You know, we're not trying
to impose what we believe.
We're trying to share
the light of Christ,
and we do that humbly.
(Puia) Amen. Jonathan?
(Jonathan) I'm thinking,
it's kind of how the Kingdom of God is,
dances in a totally different way
than the kingdoms of this world.
Rather than by force, it's by appealing
to these leaders' hearts
and demonstrating a way of peace.
We're working for them, but we're
also standing up for truth and for the poor.
So it's, yeah, "Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God,"
goes about life in a different way and appeals to people.
(Puia) Amen. Can anyone share
an experience or a time
when God gave you the courage
or the power to honor Him
in a potentially compromising situation? Treva?
(Treva) As a teacher,
I am constantly faced with issues
of having to do things on the Sabbath.
And recently I just received
a special certification,
but at the time I didn't know
the training for that
would take place over the Sabbath.
And I got wise counsel and prayed to God,
"What should I do?
How should I handle this?"
And He did give me the courage and the strength.
And someone said it's a witnessing tool
to share my faith and humble myself.
And it all worked out
because she understood in the end
about faith and honoring that,
and accommodations were made for me.
So, as we mentioned, it doesn't have
to be a protest and be aggressive.
You can humble yourself
and share your faith
and witness at the same time.
And God will bless, and He gave me the courage
because I was pretty nervous.
I thought I would have to pay back
the funding for that training,
but God blessed in the end.
(Derek, Team) Amen.
(Derek) Beautiful.
(Puia) Amen. Let us continue our study
by reading James, chapter 2,
verses 15 and 16, and, Gary,
if you can read for us
James, chapter 2, verses 15 and 16.
And we will answer the question then,
what are we called to do as Christians
in terms of helping those in need?
Is knowing the facts
that people need help,
enough or not? Gary.
(Gary) Okay, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, James 2:15-16:
(Puia) What can we learn from this verse? Yes, Gary.
(Gary) We have to put our actions
where our words are, right?
So, if you see someone with a need,
and you say, "Okay, this is
the way you should go,"
well, do something about it.
(Puia) Yes. Adison?
(Adison) I was just going
to re-echo what he was saying.
As Christians, we have a privilege
to translate those words into actions.
and those powerful words of Jesus,
that counsel He gives us
in His Holy Word, we can
create actions out of those and make a difference.
(Puia) I like what you said about that
by using the word "privilege."
It is an opportunity, right? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) This verse just reminds me, like,
you're a man who doesn't own a car,
and you tell somebody,
"Yeah, just take my car,"
but you just don't have one.
You're promising something
that you don't have; it's, like, empty.
(Puia) All right, so let's get practical now, right?
So, what are the ways
that we can show mercy?
What are the ways that we can
put our words into action?
Let's answer that question
by first reading Leviticus.
Let's go to the Old Testament.
Let's look at some principles
that God gave back in the Old Testament.
Leviticus, chapter 25, verses 35 to 37,
and, Nicole, if you can please read for us
Leviticus, chapter 25, verses 35 to 37.
And we will look at the principles
that God gave to His people
in the Old Testament.
(Nicole) Leviticus 25, verses 35 through 37,
the New International Version says:
(Puia) Wow. So, what stands out for you
from that verse? Yes, Pedro.
(Pedro) There are two things
that stand out for me here.
First of all, taking care of our brethren.
Sometimes in a church environment,
we want to help others
outside of the church, which is important,
but we forgot to check
if our family members in our church
are being cared for.
And one of the things,
and that's the principle
I always took from this here,
we should not take profit
off of each other.
If we can help without expecting anything in return,
without trying to get something from them,
you know, if somebody is struggling.
(Puia) Yes, Gladys?
(Gladys) Yes, what got my attention
was where it says, treat them
as a foreigner or a stranger.
And in a previous lesson
we talked about how to treat
the stranger in our midst,
that if you have a vineyard or a field,
leave out - don't pick up everything,
just leave something for the stranger, and the foreigner.
So that is interesting that it's saying...
It's thinking about the people that come,
that are just part of our family, like Pedro said,
about in our own churches
that may be hungry,
and we may not know.
So, providing for the people in-house as well.
(Puia) Amen, amen. So, what principle
can we take from this verse
that God gave to His people?
What would be one principle
that we can take away in terms of helping
those in need? Yes, Jonathan?
(Jonathan) It reminds of the verse
where Christ says, "What good is it
if you give to those
who give back to you?"
I mean, living this way changes you
from, "How do I calculate
in order to get something for myself," no.
This is about being a blessing
to this person who has no relation to you
and may actually be hurting you in some way,
but your goal is to think about their needs
and to prioritize them.
(Puia) Yes, Derek.
(Derek) It's quite counter-cultural,
because, some people, if there is shortage of food,
they put the price up
so they can make more money.
And the Bible is saying, "Don't do that.
Don't take advantage of someone."
And what I was thinking of
was the simple principle of Jesus, to treat them
the way you would like to be treated.
And if you say, "Well,
if I was in that situation,
I would appreciate some mercy,"
then show mercy to them.
(Puia) Yes. Nancy, can you read for us
1 Timothy, chapter 6, verses 17 to 19?
Let's jump now to the New Testament.
We have looked at the principles
from the Old Testament.
Let's go now to the New Testament
and see what are the principles
that God gave to us,
1 Timothy, chapter 6, verses 17 to 19, 17 to 19.
(Nancy) Okay, and I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) So, what does this verse
tell us about generosity
towards those in need? Anyone?
(Derek) Puia, when it was
talking about storing up,
I thought of the exact opposite,
which is the fellow that kept building a bigger barn
and storing up for himself.
And here it's saying store up by giving away.
Store up what?
Well, you're storing treasure in Heaven
where thieves can't break in and steal
and moth can't eat or rust corrupt, right?
But that's kind of strange
that, by giving to those in need,
we're actually storing up treasure.
(Puia) Amen. Yes, isn't it interesting,
like, as you have mentioned,
that's counter-cultural, once again.
Both in the Old Testament
and in the New Testament
we find principles in the Scripture
of God inviting us to reach out to people.
If you are rich, share your blessings.
So here we can say for this section,
that one way, out of the many ways,
one way to show mercy to those in need,
to put our words into action,
is to be generous. Amen?
So the next question is:
What are some ways to be generous
besides giving money or donating
to a certain cause? Gladys?
(Gladys) Our time, that's
the most precious thing that we have,
and we only have 24 hours a day.
Sometimes we say, "I'm too busy,"
you know, "I cannot do it."
And like Travis said, sometimes
with our jobs, we say,
"I'm too busy with my job,"
or, "I have ten kids," or "five kids to take care of,"
and we put helping others aside.
But giving our time, that is a way
that we can prioritize
doing the work of God.
(Puia) So, besides money, sharing time
is one way of being generous. Yes, Pedro?
(Pedro) Sharing your skills also.
We have many talents.
At my church, I like to help people
with things I do; I like to fix cars;
I like to do handy-work at homes.
And I make myself available
to do those things
because sometimes people
don't know how to do it.
They don't have the money
to be able to fix things
that are very expensive,
which, for people who are skilled, have no cost.
(Puia) So, skills. Yes, Travis.
(Travis) I think prayer.
(Puia) Prayer.
(Travis) You know, prayer is a huge tool.
And, as a matter of fact,
I don't remember where the verse is,
but I remember it saying in a verse
that not to intercede
for somebody in prayer is a sin.
Like, God says, "You need
to pray for them,"
We need to pray for people,
and I think prayer is a huge thing.
(Puia) Prayer. Yes, Treva.
(Treva) Education is very valuable
in terms of, how can you
possibly help any community
unless you know about that community?
One of the first things
we did in my church,
because we wanted to do more
in our little/small community,
is I went to the city
and got a needs assessment.
And in that needs assessment,
oh, the information was so valuable
because then we can pinpoint
what exactly the people need
and what agencies we can
work with to help them.
And so, education about your community is priceless.
(Puia) Amen. So, that is an example
of how God impressed you
to reach out to others and show mercy.
Can anyone share an experience
when someone came to you
and someone showed you mercy
or through a generous spirit?
It could be time or money,
any experience where you felt blessed
by someone else? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) When I was
just starting business, 20 years old,
I had a truck break down,
and I was building my first house.
And he was such a nice man.
He knew my truck broke down,
and he took me down to the auto lot,
and he bought me a truck.
I had to pay for it,
but it would come out of the house.
And I felt embarrassed
because I'm building his house,
but I built him a home.
His name was Rick, and he's passed away now,
and I never got to go back and thank him,
but for years I thought
about how generous he was
to do that for me.
It was my first home,
and it launched my career
as a home builder,
and it was just an amazing thing.
And I still remember to this day.
(Puia) That reminds me of a saying
that goes, "No man is an island," right?
We all need help; we can't survive alone.
We are created to be people of community.
We function best as human beings,
as mankind, when we work together
and help together, right?
So let's conclude this part of our study
by saying that one major way
that we can show mercy,
that we can put our words into action,
is by being generous.
It could be through money
or through time, through skills,
through prayer, through education.
But let's take it to the next level
and find another way how we can
put these words into practice.
Let's read Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9,
and we will find another way
of how we can show mercy to others.
Stephanie, can you read for us
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9?
(Stephanie) Sure, and I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
(Puia) Amen. Before we unpack that,
let's continue reading,
Isaiah, chapter 52, verse 7.
Let's go back to the Old Testament,
and after reading this,
we will unpack those two verses.
Gary, can you kindly read for us
Isaiah, chapter 52, verse 7?
(Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Puia) So let's unpack those two verses.
What word stood out for you
in terms of showing mercy to others? Yes, Jonathan?
(Jonathan) I just think
about how, in our world,
there is so much contention
over different issues in various areas
where people just aren't able
to listen to each other
or are more prone to look at and can
point out the problems of other people.
And I take this as a calling,
to say, as followers of Christ,
it's our responsibility to reach out
and to try to be the voice of the other side
or to listen and seek to understand
and to build bridges of trust,
so that you can say, "Okay, there's
something good about this other person.
They're coming from their own context."
(Puia) Yes. From those two verses,
one word that summarizes what you just said?
(Team) Peace.
(Puia) Peace, right? Peacemaking. Yes, Stephanie.
(Stephanie) I guess what came to my mind
was Romans 5, verse 1,
where it says, well, if we can go there and read that.
(Puia) Yes, you want to read that?
(Stephanie) Sure, Romans, chapter 5...
(Puia) Just give us time to go there.
Romans, chapter 5, verse 1.
(Stephanie) And it also talks about peace.
(Puia) Okay, making peace.
(Stephanie) Yes, and I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
And I took the view that this peacemaking
is bringing people to Jesus
to have that connection
and find that peace with Him.
Just like in Isaiah 52:7,
publishing peace and sharing
the gospel with those.
(Puia) Right. Wasn't the whole ministry of Jesus,
the fact that He came to this earth,
to make peace, right,
to reconcile mankind with God?
So, from these two verses,
I believe we can learn
that if we are children of God,
if we are followers of Christ,
we are called to be peacemakers. Yes, Derek.
(Derek) In the beatitude,
it just caught my attention, Puia,
you would think it would say,
"Blessed is the one that the peacemaker
helps to find peace," but it doesn't.
It says, "Blessed is the peacemaker."
So, what that tells me, Puia,
is that when we join God
in what He's doing, we're blessed.
Now, I believe that,
let's say there's contention,
and you help people to find peace,
or someone is separated from God,
and you help them find peace with God,
I believe they're blessed,
but this is saying you're blessed, as the peacemaker,
when you join the Prince of Peace
in what He's doing.
(Puia) Yes. So, in bringing
that back to the title of our study,
how does your ministry
to others as a peacemaker
demonstrate your love for mercy?
How do the words "mercy"
and "peacemaking" go together? Yes, Nicole.
(Nicole) If you look at the definition of the word "mercy,"
it's compassion and forgiveness
for someone that you could harm.
They're under your authority,
and you could actually harm them.
And so, if you're bringing peace,
you're actually showing mercy
because you are taking away the ability
to be able to harm them
and actually putting them in a place
where they can have life.
So that's how I think the two kind of relate.
(Puia) Yes, so you can't
separate the two, right?
Making peace and having mercy go hand-in-hand.
Can anyone share an experience
where God gave you the opportunity
to be the peacemaker?
And any experience
that you have had of making peace?
It could be between two of your friends,
or it could be between two countries
or two schools or two institutions.
Have you had any experience? Yes, Nancy.
(Nancy) With my children.
I have two sons, and I found
that what's helpful is to listen to them.
People want to be heard,
and when you hear their perspective,
you understand more
where they're coming from.
And then they come to a place
where they can reconcile.
(Puia) Yes, so it starts
with the family. Gladys?
(Gladys) Yes, recently in my school,
there was some situation
with a teacher and another teacher.
One teacher thought that the other teacher
had said something about her,
and she was very defensive.
And it was just like the Lord
just said, "Just ask."
I said, "Have you talked to her?"
It was just a simple, "Have you talked to her?
Ask her exactly...," you know,
because sometimes people
just are afraid to go straight on
and say, "Hey, I heard this; is this true?"
So it was so simple, but at the same time
so profound to me, because the Lord
was just, like, speaking to me as well.
When I have a situation,
do I go first to the person
and say, "Hey, can we work this out?"
So it was just an amazing experience,
not only for her and the other teacher,
but it was also for me,
being able to ask the question
and solve the situation.
(Puia) Amen. God puts us in situations
and places where we
can be peacemakers, right?
And so we have looked at one way
of showing mercy or having mercy
by being generous, right?
And the next that we just looked at
is by being peacemakers.
Now let's go further into our lesson
and study another way
of having mercy or loving mercy.
Let us read Psalm number 146 and verse 9,
and, Jonathan, can you
please read for us Psalm 146, verse 9?
(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading
from the New Living Translation:
(Puia) All right, before we unpack that,
let us read Isaiah, chapter 58,
verses 6 and 7, and, Treva,
if you can read for us
Isaiah 58, verses 6 and 7.
We will look at these two verses
and answer the question,
what other ways can we
show mercy to others?
Isaiah 58, verses 6 and 7.
(Treva) And I'll be reading
from the New King James translation,
starting with verse 6:
(Puia) So, looking at those two verses
that we just read,
what stands out for you?
Travis, I see you smiling.
(Travis) I've studied
this whole chapter a lot,
and there are multiple meanings
in this thing for me...First...
(Puia) But in the context of our study today.
(Travis) In the context of our study today
is there are people in this world
who don't know Jesus,
and when it talks about, that we
should clothe somebody,
many are not clothed
with the righteousness of Christ.
When people are hungry,
Jesus says, "I am the bread of life."
We need to bring them the bread of life.
It's not just physical food,
but we can bring them spiritual food.
And at the end, it says,
"Don't hide yourself from your own flesh."
We, as Christians, need to be open;
we're just sinners, just like everybody else,
and to hide yourself
from who you are to people,
it's basically lying.
(Puia) Yes, thank you. Nicole.
(Nicole) While I agree with what Travis said,
you have to also look at the people who have needs.
There are people who are hungry;
there are people who need shelter.
And just as Jesus did, He met the physical needs
of the individuals He came in contact with,
and then He also blessed them spiritually.
So sometimes we have
to reach people where they are
in order to get their attention,
and then we can bring them Jesus
and let them know, "Listen, because of Jesus,
I was able to help you."
And that may be able to reach someone
in a way that we couldn't reach them any other way.
(Puia) These are people
who need help. Yes, Gladys?
(Gladys) I was thinking
in the same vein as Nicole,
that sometime we just, like,
say to the people, "I'm going to pray for you."
And we have the resources
or know the connections
or have somebody that can help them,
but we just say, "We're going to pray for you,"
and we don't get involved personally.
So I think that the text
is basically telling us,
"Just go out there and do your part,
do what you can do, and God will provide."
(Puia) Yes. Patricia.
(Patricia) I noticed that the first text that we read
says the Lord watches over those people,
but then the second text
is telling us, "You need to do it," I thought...
(Puia) So can we say that God is asking us
to stand up for those people,
to be the voice for the voiceless, right?
To stand up for the unjustice
that we see around us. Yes, Derek.
(Derek) I heard a story, Puia, just this weekend,
and I won't share all of the details,
but it was a family
that saw another family,
that it was in great need.
The family had suffered
some trauma in an accident,
and this other family said,
"You know, our house just happens
to be a handicap-accessible house.
We have ramps; we have wide doors."
Now, that could just be a coincidence,
or it could be that even ahead of time,
God provided, and so then he
brought this family in need,
who would need wide doors and ramps.
You know what I'm saying?
So I think, when we just pray,
"God, I want to be open
to love mercy like You do today,"
that He might say, "I have someone
that needs exactly..." -
back to what Pedro said,
it may be a skill, or it may be a home
that has wide doors and ramps -
"...and I'm going to lead someone
so that you can show My love to them."
(Puia) Yes. God loves everyone,
but He wants to use us as His instrument
and His hands and feet. Yes, Nancy.
(Nancy) I have friends who have
three children of their own,
but then I believe they were
thinking about adopting,
and God actually showed the mom a vision.
She was out in the summertime,
and she saw in the clouds
a formation of the word "joy."
She thought, "Am I seeing things?
It seems to say 'joy.'"
And they went to a service,
and they were singing a song
that had the word joy in it a lot.
And then they just kept running
into situations with the word "joy."
It turns out that the little girl
that they were to adopt,
her name has "joy" in it.
And she's just this little Asian girl
with Down syndrome,
and she's just precious.
Now, you would think that that...
Okay, they adopted one,
but they also adopted two more children.
By the time...They had already adopted one,
and then they adopted this one.
And then the husband had a dream,
and in the dream he dreamt
that he was in a courthouse,
and he and all of his family, a big, big famiiy,
were on one side, and on the other side
was this little boy,
this little Asian boy,
and he was all by himself.
And the judge asked him
if he was willing to adopt him.
And he thought, "I already have
my three children and two others."
And then the Spirit of God spoke to him,
"But this boy has no one."
And they adopted him, too.
And these children, the little boy,
is one of my son's very dear friends.
And I just really admire this family.
They've given so generously.
Exactly, this is what God calls us to be,
to give, to give extravagantly
like He gives to us.
(Puia) Amen. So let's look
at the ministry of Jesus.
Looking at His time
while he was here on earth,
when do we see Jesus
standing up for people
who didn't have a voice
or people, those who need His help?
Is there any story or chapter
or something that you have read
comes to mind of when Jesus
stood up for someone
who didn't have a voice? Yes, Treva.
(Treva) I think is a very subtle example;
I think it's in, maybe, Luke,
I believe, chapter 14,
but the woman that came in,
and she used her tears
to wash Jesus' feet.
She had that expensive oil,
anointed His head.
And Judas was like, "Wait a minute, so wasteful.
She could have used that money for the poor."
And we know, at the time,
Judas was not being sincere
because he was the one
that kept the money bag
and doing some cheating there with the money.
And so Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
She has done a good thing."
So I think that's a very subtle example
where Jesus was like, "Wait a minute.
This woman is doing a good thing.
Do not fault her for doing that."
(Puia) Yes, thank you. Yes, Nicole.
(Nicole) In Luke, same book,
when He raised the widow's son.
You know, the widow, she had no one else.
All she had was her son.
Her son passed away.
She was very, very sad,
and He went and took compassion on her
and did not want her to be alone.
And so He actually raised
her son from the dead.
So that's Him looking out for widows and children.
(Puia) Yes. Yes, Stephanie.
(Stephanie) I was thinking
of when the mothers
brought their children to Jesus
for Him to bless them,
and His disciples were, you know,
"Don't bother the Savior."
And He said, "No, bring them here,"
and He blessed each one of them.
(Puia) Amen. Yes, Pedro.
(Pedro) It's interesting
that, even during the suffering of Christ,
you know, He was on the cross,
He remembered His mother.
And He cared for her and said,
"John, take care of My mother."
He's dying on the cross for our sins,
but He looked down, and He remembered
that His mother was there.
(Puia) Yes. Gary.
(Gary) I can't remember which feeding,
but it was...I believe, the gospel said
that Jesus had compassion on the multitude
that was following Him
for X number of days,
and He fed them all.
(Puia) So throughout the ministry of Jesus,
we find Him standing up for people,
standing up for the oppressed,
standing up for people
who are outcasts, right?
Jesus was always the voice for the voiceless.
And that's why His teachings
were so radical for His time.
Now, let's come our day and age today
in modern times; who comes to your mind
as someone who stands up
and speaks for the voiceless
or people who are oppressed?
It could be from outside of the Bible
outside of the Christian literature.
Anybody come to mind as an example,
who fights for the rights of people? Yes, Derek.
(Derek) I'm just thinking
that we probably wouldn't know their name
because that's not why they're doing it.
So they're in the inner city
closest to where we live,
and they're getting out there,
and they're maybe running the food pantry,
like Treva talked about in your home area,
and they're not being interviewed on national TV,
but they are, indeed,
extending the love of God
in a very tangible way.
Maybe we should ask "the least of these,"
and they would tell us who they are.
They say, "Oh, it's Susan," "It's John,"
"It's that person that comes,"
you know, "late at night."
That story I heard of an elderly lady
who decided she would have a ministry
to women who were on the streets, and would come
and put her arms around them.
Now, you talk about different talents,
that's not a talent that God would ask
Gary or Jonathan to do, you know,
but this mother, this loving, godly woman,
could go out there and put her arms
around these young women
who were in such a dangerous setting.
We may never know their names,
but Jesus knows their names.
(Puia) Amen. So, someone,
let's say a Hope Sabbath School member
from another part of the world
is watching this episode
and is wondering, "Yes, I'm convicted
that I need to show mercy,
that I need to love mercy,
but what can I do now?"
"How can my love for mercy expand?"
What if someone is asking that question,
how would you respond? Yes, Nicole.
(Nicole) I would say the first thing to do is pray
and ask the Spirit to lead you
and guide you in the way that you should go
to be able to show mercy to someone.
Because I think on our own,
we are not capable, really,
of showing true mercy
because that's just not our character.
But with the Holy Spirit
and with Christ in our lives,
I think we then are led
to where we can actually show mercy.
And then we ask the Lord to give us
the strength to be merciful to that person
that we come in contact with.
(Puia) Yes. Yes, Gladys?
(Gladys) Just like Pastor Derek was saying,
just making ourselves available.
It's not just praying
but also making ourselves available.
Like, "God, lead us to the person
or to the people that we need
to be serving every day."
(Puia) Yes. Adison, anything else come to mind?
(Adison) I specifically am from Canada,
and I'm just thinking
about my home church right now,
growing up there, and it's always had
a special place in my heart.
And so I just want to re-echo the things
that have been said here today
to my home church back home in Canada.
I just want you to continue, each of you,
to show mercy to others.
Pray for a willing spirit, and allow God
to use you in a powerful way.
(Puia) Amen. Pedro.
(Pedro) We see that relationship
is key for this to happen
because if we don't know the people,
how can you help them?
So, get to know...In prayer,
ask God to put people in your life
that you will be able to impact.
If we don't have the relationship
to meet with them on a personal level,
you will never know.
(Puia) Amen. Gary?
(Gary) Pray for an understanding
of how God has been merciful to yourself, to you,
because, without a true appreciation
for what God is doing
or what He has done for you,
you can't be spurred on to do anything,
even if people are around you that need it.
But when you ask God to open your eyes
to see how much He has blessed you,
and been a blessing in your life,
you'd want to share that.
(Puia) Those are all good points.
To add my personal point of view,
I think, in my personal experience,
when it comes to having mercy towards others,
what has helped me is education,
you know, reading and exploring,
knowing the facts, being informed
about what is happening around the world,
and also traveling.
You know, traveling really helps.
It's one thing to see someone in need
through a TV screen,
but it's a whole other experience
when you're actually on the ground,
seeing the people in need.
You know, you could visit a refugee center,
or visit a refugee camp somewhere,
or even a refugee resettlement
here in the United States.
We can go to the grounds, and by traveling,
I believe we can really find practical needs
that we can help people with.
Now, let's conclude our study.
So, we have looked at the fact
that God wants us to be merciful,
and we can be merciful
by being generous, right,
being the peacemakers
and standing up for people in need.
(Derek) What a great study.
You know, I'm just reminded
of what Jesus said.
And Jesus says it simply but powerfully,
He says, "Be merciful,
just as your Father
in Heaven is merciful."
Let's pray that that could happen,
and, you're right, Nicole, it is a miracle,
but it can happen by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
we're just so thankful
that You are a merciful God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
that You love mercy
and that You want to show Your mercy
in us and through us.
We just want to be available,
not just to talk about mercy,
but to act mercifully.
May those around us be blessed,
and may joy come to Your heart.
We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) What a challenging study; thank you, Puia.
Thank you for being with us.
Don't just go out and talk mercy,
go out and be merciful.
Be a blessing to those around you.
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