♪ 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,

<i>Ministering to "the Least of These":
to Those in Need,</i>

our topic today, <i>To Love Mercy,</i>

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 <i>"The Least of These,"</i>

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 <i>Ministering to Those in Need,</i>

<i>"The Least of These,"</i>

according to the teachings of Jesus,

and today we are on lesson number 12.

And the title of our study
is <i>To Love Mercy.</i>

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 <i>them</i>.

(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 <i>you're</i> 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.

♪ theme music ♪