♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are studying about
two great men of God,

<i>Ezra and Nehemiah,</i> one a priest,

another a government official

and lessons that we

will apply to our lives today.

Our topic today: <i>Facing Opposition.</i>

It wasn't just back then,

but every woman of God,

every man of God, who's willing

to be available to God today

will face opposition.

How do we deal with that

in a way that makes us stronger

and closer to God and even a blessing

in the midst of the opposition?

That's what we'll look at.

We're glad you joined us

for Hope Sabbath School.

What a great series,

and I'm glad that you're with us.

How many of you here

have experienced opposition

at some point in your life?

Yeah, right, but what Jesus says

is when you suffer
for righteousness' sake,

so we're talking about opposition

because we're doing what God
wants us to do

and not because we're

just doing our own thing.

We believe that we are

going to learn some lessons today.

We're glad you're with us.

Oh, I forgot to tell you

about our awesome app.

I should open up my phone here,

go to the Hope Channel app.

You can go right there;

you can choose whatever show.

Here's Hope Sabbath School.

There's one of my favorite participants,
Travis, right there,

and there's Heide right there
on the screen.

Heide, you're right here today.

So, right there you can get

lots of powerful insights.

You can choose different languages,

if you'd like to listen

in other languages.

Lots of other Bible-based programming

besides Hope Sabbath School.

Go to the App Store or to Google Play.

You can download the free
Hope Channel app;

it really is amazing.

We had a simple one

that we built a little while back that was

in 150 countries around the world.

This one is, like, turbo, okay?

It's, like, super-awesome.

So, if you haven't downloaded it,
get our new app.

And talking about reaching

different parts of the world,

this is our first email

from the island of Ukerewe,

which is the largest inland island

on the continent of Africa.

Yes, it's in Lake Victoria.

The country is Tanzania,

and Baraka writes to us.

He says, "I'm 43 years old,

living on the island of Ukerewe,

and I am following

Hope Sabbath School every day."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) By the way, I looked up Ukerewe

because I didn't know anything about it.

It is also a sanctuary for albinos

because in some cultures
they're persecuted

because they're albino,

and that apparently is a refuge,

the island of Ukerewe.

"Be blessed, everyone in the class,
really blessed.

God bless us all. Amen."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, Baraka, thanks for writing.

We really are excited to know -

we're going to go Google

on our phones or computers

and find the island of Ukerewe,

which is your home.

Cynthia writes to us from Michigan

in the United States of America.

Wait, Jason, aren't you from Michigan?

Would you like to wave to Cynthia?

"I am not a Seventh-day Adventist
Christian,

but I enjoy your programs on Hope Channel,

especially Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Your teaching

is directly from the Bible."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That's it, right?

"Where I previously lived,

I attended a Baptist church.

There are only a few differences,

but I am pleased to see

that we all worship the same God,

and we love Him and Jesus Christ
our Savior."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Actually, I watch

a few Christian programs;

it's very uplifting that the Word of God

is still being broadcast on television."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "We can make good choices

about what we watch," writes Cynthia,

and we would agree, right?

(Team) Amen. Yes.

(Derek) And I'm so glad

that you wrote to us, Cynthia,
from Michigan,

and you're right; we can choose,

and we're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Here's a note from some donors, a couple.

They say, "We're celebrating

the continued blessings from the Lord."

This is from the state of South Dakota.

"We wish to share a small portion
with you.

You and all of the Hope
Sabbath School team

are a large part of our lives.

We start each Sabbath

watching Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "Thank you for all you've done

and continue to do.

May we glorify the Lord

until His soon return,"

and a gift of 2,000 dollars

to help the ministry

of Bible-based programming

for the world, right?

And thank you, a donor-supported ministry;

we appreciate each one

who partners with us.

Justina writes a short note

to us from the Bahamas,

and Justina says, "Thank you, team,

for your continuous explanation

and exploration of the Word of God."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "God is using Hope Sabbath School

to bring much light to the viewers."

And we say praise God, right?

One last note...Oh, I was excited

to receive this one

from a pastor in Nebraska

in the United States of America.

Pastor Doyle writes to us;

Doyle is his first name.

"I am a senior pastor,

Bible and Sunday school teacher,

and I look forward to watching

Hope Sabbath School every day."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "I thoroughly enjoy

the straightforward, interactive,
no-nonsense teaching of the Bible.

I love the perspectives of the team.

I pray the Lord's continued blessings

and success on you.

I live in Omaha; I've been

searching religious programming

for the unadulterated gospel.

I've grown weary of programs.

While searching, though,

I came across Hope Sabbath School,

and the Holy Spirit

quickened my desire to watch."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I was so impressed

with the clear, concise teachings

and the interactive discussion.

I'm a Baptist pastor, and my joy

is teaching the Word of God.

My preaching style is didactic,

so you know while watching

Hope Sabbath School, I'm in heaven.

I now watch Hope Sabbath School

six days a week, and I'm
looking forward to it.

May God continue to pour out His blessings

on you and the Hope Sabbath School team."

God bless you, Pastor.

Thank you for writing to us from Nebraska.

Isn't it exciting, from an island
in Lake Victoria

to a pastor in Nebraska,

God is touching hearts.

We'd love to hear from you

wherever you live on planet Earth.

I suppose we could get an email

from off the planet, too,

but sshope@hopetv.org.

It really brings us joy, doesn't it?

We're all volunteers; you're donating.

I was a volunteer for seven years,

and then they made me the president

of the global television network.

But we come here together

because we believe in the mission. Amen?

And we're glad you're part of it, too.

Right now we need your help to sing.

We're going to sing our theme song
from Psalm 25.

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

O my God, I trust in You."

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Three thousand years ago

the psalmist sang that;

it was a different tune,

but I'm sure some day he'll say,

"I know the words to that song,"

written by the Holy Spirit,

and we just found another tune.

But it's beautiful, isn't it?

I think it would have been

a good song for Ezra and Nehemiah,

"Let not my enemies triumph over me,"

because they were facing opposition.

We want to study about that

and what it would mean for us

as women of God/men of God

in the last days of Earth's history,

trying to be faithful

to what God's called us to do,

answering His call or His appeal

and experiencing some opposition.

Let's pray; Father in Heaven,

lessons for us today from Your Word.

Be our Teacher by Your Holy Spirit.

And we thank You and praise You.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, we're going to start

at Ezra, chapter 4,

as Ezra and the wave...

Is this the first wave

of exiles returning, Ezra?

First wave? Yes or no. No.

First wave was Zerubbabel, right, in 538,

and now we're in 457

or thereabouts, right?

So that's about 80 years or so.

Second wave going back,

and there's been some opposition

in the first wave;

now we're in the second wave,

Ezra going back, chapter 4, verses 1 to 5.

Liza, would you begin our study?

And why do you think the Jewish exiles

who return to Jerusalem

refuse to allow other people

to help them rebuild the temple?

(Liza) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) So Ezra is actually writing

history about something that happened

when Zerubbabel brought the first wave

of exiles back, right?

And when they come back,

apparently some local people

said, "We'll help you."

First thing they wanted to do

was to rebuild the temple.

Later they are going

to rebuild the walls, right
(first the temple).

Why does Zerubbabel, Jeshua, or Joshua,

and those who came back,

why did they refuse help?

You say, "I thought we'd need

all the help we could get." Heide?

(Heide) I was wondering

the same thing when I read it.

I was like, "What? What in the world?"

It sounds like they're saying,

"We worship the same God,

and we want to come and help you."

Why would they reject him?

Reject them, I'm sorry.

So I inquired a little more,

and I found from an author

that she mentioned that they had

already fallen into disobedience

as a result of mixing

with surrounding countries and tribes,

and that had led them

into a state of apostasy and disobedience.

And they were trying to avoid doing that,

that there was actually wisdom in this,

that they saw this as a ploy of the enemy

to lead them away from obedience to God,

which is what got them

into that position to start with,

"and we want to do everything we can
to avoid that."

And then the way that they react

shows that they were right.

(Derek) Ah, that's right.

Even if you didn't know

all of that background,

which is quite interesting;

that's the "rest of the story."

All you need to do is read how they react

in the next few verses, right? Puia?

(Puia) From the description

of their name itself here,

Ezra used "adversaries;"
they can't be friends.

(Derek) But he may not

have known that immediately, right?

It may have taken a little time
to see that,

but you've got here,

as soon as they don't get their way,

they show their true colors.

(Marcus) They discourage, and then they

try to bring trouble to them
as they're building.

(Derek) They hire counselors

against them to frustrate them.

So they're using deception.

They're not coming, saying,

"We're your enemies.

We've gone into apostasy,

and we're trying to hinder your work."

Does that strategy of deception

remind you of anybody else? Stephanie.

(Stephanie) In the Garden of Eden

with Adam and Eve

when Satan came to deceive.

(Derek) And says, "Eat this fruit;

it will kill you, and it will

cause misery to all of your descendants."

That would have been the truth, right?

"But you'll be like God.

You'll be wise like God.

Your eyes will be opened."

Can you think of any other times

that Satan....This is deception,

and the real enemy, again,

is not these people

but Satan and his kingdom behind.

Can you think of other times

when Satan uses deception

to try to lead people astray? Gladys?

(Gladys) I think of Solomon

when he was being king.

God had already promised him

that he will be wise

and that He will be with him.

And yet he married all these women

because he was afraid that these kingdoms

will reunite against him.

He tried to do it his way,

so it was kind of like the devil

trying to influence what God

had already prescribed to be good,
for something evil.

So he aligned himself with these women

that, at the end, just departed his heart

from the plan of God.

(Derek) And maybe the enemy said

to Solomon, "Build some temples

just to keep your wives happy."

He's not saying, "And you can

commit apostasy, too,

and you can worship false gods."

But you're absolutely right,

it did turn his heart away.

That's an example.

Someone else, another example. Pedro?

(Pedro) I would say Jesus

when He was tempted by Satan.

He didn't come, like, "Oh, I'm Satan.

You're in my territory; get out of here."

No, no, "Make some bread
out of this rock."

And we can see this here

that they're trying to trick them

because if they helped,

it would also give them the opportunity

to say, "Well, since we built,

we want to bring our gods
into your temple now."

(Derek) Ah, "We helped build the temple,

so we want a room for our gods."
Okay, Travis?

(Travis) I think of Balaam.

You know, the story where he gets paid

to go and trick or cast a spell for money.

And that's just how Satan works.

He wants to make things look attractive,

but yet their's deception in it.

(Derek) So, how can we avoid

that kind of deception?

We're talking about wanting

to, in this day, be faithful to God.

We're going to experience opposition.

How can we be alert, Jason, when people

seem to be friendly and helpful,

but there's actually deception at work?

(Jason) Thinking of Pedro's reference

to Jesus' temptations,

Jesus responded with, "It is written."

He went right back to Scripture.

So, knowing the Scriptures

and being able quote the Scriptures

is a very powerful tool against deception.

(Derek) Okay. Anybody else? Yes, Gladys?

(Gladys) I wouldn't say just quote
the Scripture,

but having that relationship with God

when the Word is living in you.

Then you will be able

to recognize any counterfeit.

Because somebody who works in a bank,

they don't study every counterfeit money
that comes out.

They just spend time

recognizing and knowing the <i>real</i> money,

so when counterfeit comes,

they recognize it right away.

So should we, when we study
the Word of God,

it becomes part of our daily lives.

So, when something like that comes,

it will be easier to recognize.

(Derek) So let's look at another aspect,

another attempt at deception

in Ezra, chapter 5, with someone

by the name of Tattenai, governor

of the region beyond the Euphrates.

Puia, if you could take us

to Ezra, chapter 5,

let's hear the story

in verses 8 through 17.

Now, this is kind of an official

wanting to use deception

to hinder the work of God.

(Puia) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Ezra, chapter 5, verses 8 through 17:

(Derek) Why is he writing this letter?

He has no connection with the building

of the house of God.

(Stephanie) Stir up trouble.

(Derek) What's he trying to do, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) Stir up trouble.

(Derek) Is he hoping that they

won't be able to find the record,

or check the records and see

if it's actually what they're saying?

(Marcus) Right, yeah, he's trying

to hinder the work as well.

He's a government official,

but he's, like, on the other side
of the river.

And so he's trying to kind of spy

and say, "As an official,

what are you doing here,

and why are you building here?

Who has given you authority
to build here?"

And sometimes when we face opposition,

it's hard to come back and stand and say,

"By the word of our God,

we are here doing His work."

That's not always easy to say,

especially in the face of somebody

who may be in authority over us.

(Derek) So, how do you think

that the people of God responded

to that letter that was sent back
to the king? Panic?

(Travis) Prayer.

(Derek) Prayer, "Okay, Lord,

You guided, You worked miraculously

to convince the king to make the decree.

You need to work miraculously

in this deceptive work that this governor

is trying to accomplish."

Let's see what happens.

Laurel, could you read for us

in chapter 6, verses 11 and 12.

Actually, King Darius sends

a warning back to this governor

in chapter 6 of Ezra, verses 11 and 12.

(Laurel) I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Bible:

(Derek) What's the takeaway lesson?

(Heide) That backfired.

(Derek) For those of you who didn't hear,

Heide said, "That kind of sneaky plot

of Tattenai backfired."

And the king basically said,

"Anyone who opposes what I have ordered,

let a timber be pulled out of his house,

made into a gallows or hanged, mine says.

Yours says "impaled on it,

and his house turned into a heap."

In other words, God is able to use, again,

a, can I call him a pagan monarch?

And yet somehow God's at work

in that man's heart, right,

to hinder the deceptions

and the plotting of the enemy. Puia?

(Puia) I'm reminded of a verse
in Proverbs.

I forgot where, but the principle

is there that says that when you try

to set a trap for someone,

it comes back to you.

(Derek) You can become caught
in your own trap?

(Puia) Yeah, caught in your own trap.

So I think what this person here,
the governor, is trying to do

is set a trap for the people of God,

intentionally tried to set a trap.

And that can backfire, like Heide said.

So we can learn the lesson there

that, even today, if someone

is trying to set a trap,

they better make sure that they are

doing it for the right reason.

(Derek) And we don't rejoice

that he got caught in his own trap,

but we do rejoice that God

delivered His people, right?

(Travis) This reminds me

of the story of Mordecai and Haman;
it really does.

(Derek) Oh, yes.

(Travis) I mean, there's such a direct...

(Derek) And actually that's happening...

(Travis) In the same time, yeah.

(Derek) ...same time period.

(Travis) The same thing happens,

only it turns out really bad for Haman.

(Derek) He really is hanged on the gallows

he prepared to hang

one of God's ambassadors, right,
Mordecai.

So, yeah, there are some powerful lessons.

Well, in the midst of these oppositions,

tricks, traps, scheming,

God sends some prophets

to encourage His people.

So let's look in Ezra, chapter 5,

the first two verses,

and we'll see what message

these prophets bring.

Ezra, chapter 5, Jason, first two verses,

are these prophets, whose names
you recognize?

Let's see what they say.

(Jason) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Ezra, chapter 5, verses 1 and 2:

(Derek) Now, it doesn't tell them,
exactly, here,

what they prophesied,

but what was the response to the prophecy?

"Go to work," "Let's go and build," right?

So the prophecy must have been

somewhat related to, "No weapon

that's fashioned against you
will prosper," right?

"You need to keep doing

what God has asked you to do."

(Travis) It's amazing to me,

as we finish reading in verse 2,

that the prophets of God
were there helping them.

You know, being a messenger

doesn't mean just being a voice.

It means getting your hands dirty as well,

getting in there and being involved
in the work.

(Derek) So, helping them,

not just by prophesying,

but actually construction?

(Travis) Right, laboring.

(Derek) Yes, Marcus.

(Marcus) And also encouragement.

The biggest thing is that they were

raised up at a time when God

knew and saw that His people

were kind of depressed, kind of low,

that outside forces were trying

to stop them from completing the work.

And also, too, they were

kind of a little bit resting
on their laurels.

So God is like, "Come on,

get back to work, get back to work."

That's kind of what they're saying, too.

(Derek) Do you recognize those names,
Haggai and Zechariah?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) So, let's go to the book

that bears Haggai's name, chapter 1,

and we'll read there

a specific message from God

that was delivered to Zerubbabel
by the prophet.

Travis, would you read,

starting in chapter 1,

verses 1 through 11.

What's the message that God

brings to Zerubbabel?

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) What's the Lord saying
through the prophet?

In one sentence, yes, Puia.

(Puia) The lack of prosperity
in their land

is because they have been neglecting

to put God's interests first.

(Derek) So, put God first.

"Seek first the Kingdom," Jesus said,

and the other things you need...?

(Team) Shall be added unto you.

(Derek) Will be added to you.

So basically, and that's why we know

they got up and started building,

he was saying, "That's what you need
to be doing."

Well, let's see how they responded,

at least according

to Prophet Haggai's report.

Marcus, could you continue reading

in Haggai, chapter 1,

verses 12 through 15?

(Marcus) Sure, and I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Derek) In other words,

when they determined -

this is an important life principle -

when they determined that they would obey

what God asked them to do,

what did God do for them?

He what? He stirred up?

What does that mean,

"stirred up their spirits"?

(Gladys) Encouraged them.

(Derek) He encouraged them, right?

He gave them a...?

(Marcus) Renewed vigor.

(Derek) A renewed vigor, thank you,

to say, "You know what?

With God, we can do this.

We're going to do what God

has asked us to do."

But it was a response

to a word of...I don't know

if "rebuke" is the right word,

but it was like, "Hey, you're

a little bit distracted building

your condominiums here," right,

"while My house is in ruins."

And that's not just saying,

"I want My house before yours."

It's saying, "What's your

top priority in life?"

Can you think of a time in your life

when God sent a Word

to you through a prophet,

and probably it will be a prophet

who has written something down, right -

God could still call a person to give you

a prophetic Word, too, I suppose -

but when God kind of redirected

your course through His Word,

and as you look back

you thank Him for that.

Anybody, can you think
about a time? Billy.

(Billy) So, as you know, it was like

the recent elections that happened

in the United States...

(Derek) We're evergreen here,

so we don't know about recent elections,

but go ahead and share your story.

(Billy) So, my personal story

is that I was struggling

with the person who got elected,

and I felt sometimes a resentment.

And then God sent me a Word in Matthew 5,

talking about loving your enemies.

And that was very radical,

because it was somebody

that I felt like was going

the opposite direction in terms

of encouraging hate,

and now God is asking me

to add that person to my prayer list.

(Derek) So, if a person is watching

from Venezuela or they're watching

from the continent of Africa,

they're going to apply that

to their own situation.

What if a leader comes into power

that I don't like, you know?

I may live in Thailand or I may live,

just, you know, they may have a new king,

or they may have a new president
or prime minister,

and you're saying that the Spirit of God

said to you, "You need to pray
for that person."

(Billy) Especially in Matthew 5,

talking about, you know,

we need to pray for our enemies.

(Derek) "Love your enemies,

bless those who curse you," yeah.

(Billy) Exactly, so...

(Derek) Do good to those

who spitefully use you, right?

So, okay, that was a lesson
that you learned

in that experience. Gladys?

(Gladys) Yes, a while ago

I was called to teach kindergarten,

and I was teaching upper graders,

and I didn't feel like I could do it.

And I cried and fought with God.

I was saying, "I don't want to do it."

But God kept insisting in my heart

that that's where He wanted me to be.

And the words of Jeremiah 33:3

gave me encouragement

where He said, "Call unto Me,

and I will answer, and I will show you

great and mighty things

that you don't know."

And those words just,

like, changed my heart

in a position that now

I wouldn't see myself, you know...

I look back and say, "Wow."

God really made a change,

not only in my life

but the direction that I was going."

(Derek) That's one of my wife's
favorite passages

from Jeremiah, by the way, Jeremiah 33:3.

And for those of you watching the program

or those on the team that couldn't see,

Gladys did not read that; it's inside.

She quoted it, "Call to Me,

and I will answer you,

and show you great and mighty things,

which you do not know."

So, that Word was in her heart.

Now, the question is,

just to help with the story,

did you know that Word

before He brought it to your remembrance?

(Gladys) Of course.

(Derek) Why do you say, "Of course"?

Was that useful that that Word was in her?

(Gladys, Team) Yes.

(Derek) Absolutely, right,

because the Holy Spirit

brought it to her remembrance, Abigail,

you're absolutely right.

If it's not there, He can't

bring it to your remembrance, all right?

So that became a Word to you,
an encouraging Word.

Someone else, where God

brought a Word to you?

You didn't have the live prophet,

Jeremiah, because he sleeps

until the Resurrection Day, right?

But through the written testimony
of Jeremiah,

that Word came to you. Okay, Travis?

(Travis) Through my walk

coming back to God,

you know, sometimes you stumble and fall,

and you make mistakes.

And I would always be reminded,

the Holy Spirit would bring

1 John, chapter 2, verse 1.

"My [brethren], I write

these things to you that you
may not sin."

"My little children," he says,

"that you may not sin,

but if you do, you have an Advocate
with the Father."

(Derek) And that's Jesus Christ
the righteous One, right?

(Travis) Jesus Christ the righteous.

And then it would just remind me

that I need to go back

to the foot of the cross,

and then another verse would come
into my head,

"Thy word have I hid in my heart,

that I might not sin against Thee."

And the Holy Spirit's encouraged me,

"Hide the Word of God in your heart.

Hide the Word of God in your heart,"...

(Derek) And right before 1 John

about, "I pray that you

would not sin, little children,"

right before that, in chapter 1, says,

"If we confess our sins..."

(Team) He is faithful...

(Derek) "He is faithful and just
to forgive us, and to..."?

(Team) Cleanse us.

(Derek) "Cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."

So that word comes as an encouragement.

And apparently Zerubbabel

and Joshua the high priest and others

needed a little encouragement,

and God sent the prophets.

The lesson that I'm learning is,

if we listen to the prophets

during the times of ease and calm times,

then when we really need that Word,

the Holy Spirit will bring it back to us.

Well, we're going to hyperspace
to Nehemiah now;

we're around 444 B.C.,

and we're going to go

to chapter 4 of Nehemiah.

All the way through Nehemiah,

he's going to experience opposition,

but I'd like to look specifically
at chapter 4

and see how he responded
to the opposition

while he clearly knew

he was doing the work of God.

Stephanie, could you read

the first three verses for us,

and then I'll have someone else

continue from verse 4.

(Stephanie) All right, and I'm reading

from the King James Version:

(Derek) These enemies,

what are they doing?

(Team) Mocking.

(Derek) They're mocking; is that all?

(Stephanie) Trying to discourage.

(Derek) Yeah, they're trying
to discourage, trying to...?

(Team Member) Undermine.

(Derek) Undermine, intimidate, right?

Let's see, Heide, how Nehemiah responds,

verses 4 and 5 of chapter 4.

(Heide) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Derek) In other words,

to use the language

of our earlier conversation,
let them be...?

(Gladys) Caught in their own trap.

(Derek) Caught in their own trap, right?

"We're doing what You wanted us to do."

But notice again, intimidation, mocking,

and what's Nehemiah's first response?

(Team) Prayer.

(Derek) Right? Call out to God.

Next verse, Travis, could you
read verse 6?

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) God gave them encouragement,

and they said, "We're not going to worry

about these people opposing us;

they'll be caught in their own trap.

And they continued to make progress.

Billy, could you read verses 7 and 8?

We're still in Nehemiah, chapter 4,
verses 7 and 8.

(Billy) Sure, I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Derek) All right, so, did you notice

that the number of people

in opposition increased again?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Now we've got all kinds

of other people being added to the list.

It was two, then it's three;

how many is it now?

And these represent groups
of people, right?

And verse 9, what did you notice?

What's the first thing

that Nehemiah does?

(Team) Pray!

(Derek) You got it now, right?

The first thing he does -

he prays to God, and...?

(Stephanie) Set a watch.

(Derek) Help me with that, unpack that.

(Heide) I pray, but I can't,

if I have an exam, say, "Lord,

help me to get an A," and not study.

They also did their part.

(Derek) I hope every student in the world

just heard what Heide said.

Is it good to pray

if you're getting ready for an exam?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Is it good to study?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Applying it to Nehemiah.

He's under attack; in fact,

they're actually conspiring to do what?

To attack and create confusion,
my Bible says.

So, good to pray?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Good to set watch-people
on the wall?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Absolutely, as we see

the wisdom of this leader responding.

They also, though, had

some internal opposition.

Look in verse 12; Liza, could you read

chapter 4 of Nehemiah and verse 12?

(Liza) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) What?! What was the little -

what would we call this?

Like a mantra, right, a little -
what's the word?

A little anthem or, you know?

It's like, what do you call that

when you keep flashing the same message?

(Team Member) Repetition.

(Derek) Yeah, it's propaganda;

that's the word I was thinking,
propaganda.

What's the propaganda?

(Marcus) "They're going to come upon you."

(Derek) Yeah, "Whatever place you turn,

they'll be upon us."

"Whatever place you turn,

they'll be upon us."

"Whatever place...," how many times?

(Team) Ten times.

(Derek) "Whatever place you turn..."

These are not the people out there.

These are the people...?

(Gladys) Inside.

(Derek) In here. Lesson? Travis?

(Travis) I was just thinking

of Caleb and Joshua.

When they came back,

there were 10 people that said,

"There are giants in the land;

we'll never be able to go and take it."

"We'll never...," you know?

I'm sure there's no correlation,

but it just seems funny that people

from the inside, their own people...

(Derek) And there were 10.

(Travis) Yeah, 10 discouraging them.

(Derek) That's propaganda, too, right?

It was negative propaganda

over and over again.

It's almost like having,

today we might say you have
like a megaphone,

and you're just shouting

over the workplace, "It's
going to fall down,"

"It's going to fall down,"

"It's going to fall down."

How do you handle

that kind of propaganda,

which is deliberately intended

to hinder what God wants you to do?

What's the word?!

(Team) Pray!

(Derek) Pray and then what?

(Team) Do the work.

(Derek) Do the work?

(Team) Move forward.

(Derek) Get earplugs?

Noise-cancelling headphones?

You do whatever you need to do,
having prayed,

to keep the work going, right?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Does that make sense?

What are you thinking about this situation

from a human perspective, Abigail?

(Abigail) That's it's really...

In some point, it's supposed to be
so discouraging,

but it also tells us the importance

of being in constant communication
with God,

to ask Him to empower us

and give us the zeal to go ahead

and do what He has called us to do.

Because, regardless if we want it or not,

we're going to have opposition

coming from all sorts of directions.

And sometimes the strongest ones
are from within.

So we have to be constantly praying.

(Derek) I guess we should be praying,

and, you know, that somehow,

by the grace of God, that the enemies

either from without or within,

would look and say,

"We just don't understand these people.

They're unstoppable," right?

"They're just so focused

on what God has asked them to do

that nothing we're doing

is slowing them down." Marcus?

(Marcus) But then that would also point

to that there is not just a human element
at work here.

And, of course, we come to that conclusion

later on in the chapter.

They come to that conclusion,

but that God was within the work

and with the work the whole entire time.

(Derek) So, let's keep

going in the chapter.

We're still in chapter 4.

This is ancient history,

but it's also modern lessons for us,

and, Stephanie, could you read

verses 13 through 18 of chapter 4

and see how Nehemiah

responds to the opposition.

As Abigail has mentioned,

it's both external and internal.

Let's see how this leader of God responds.

(Stephanie) The King James Version says:

(Derek) Wow, that's pretty intense, right?

You have a tool in one hand

and a sword in the other hand.

What would that look like today? Liza?

(Liza) I think that's a good lesson

in that, in everything

that God does in our lives,

we have to be on offense and defense,

just to use a sports metaphor.

Like, we're moving forward

to do God's work,

but at all times we're alert,

we're on our toes,

we're not letting the enemy

catch us off guard,

so we're always offense and defense
at all times.

(Derek) All right. Travis?

(Travis) The Bible is the sword, right,
it's our sword,

so we can work diligently

but keep the sword in our hand, right?

The sword of truth.

(Derek) So you would see that this...

You don't want us all to be, like,

having weapons and whatnot.

You think the spiritual weapon...

But they actually did have

spears and swords because they were

saying, "You come to kill

our wives and our children,

and we're going to defend ourselves."

Of course, whether they

would have needed to or not,

God could have done...

He could have had an angel

fly over the enemy.

But they were sending a visual message

that, "We're not coming down," right?

Puia, could you read on

for us verses 19 to 23.

It's actually quite an epic drama,
isn't it,

with all kinds of scheming and traps.

And the people of God are saying,

"No, we're going to keep doing

what God's asked us to do."

Nehemiah, chapter 4, verses 19 to 23.

(Puia) All right, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) No nap times, no personal days.

They only took their clothes off

when they got so dirty

they needed to wash them.

So, you mentioned that earlier, Travis,

about servant leadership.

What do you see here?

(Travis) Something really stood out to me,

"The work is great and extensive,

and we're separated."

The harvest is great,

and the laborers are few.

We've all been called

into this harvest work for souls,

and we need to get back
on the wall, right?

Labor together; we'll face opposition,

but stay focused on our mission,

keep the sword of the Spirit
in our hands

and focus on Jesus,

the promises of Jesus.

(Derek) So, I'm going to give you

a chance to think.

That was 2,400-and-some years ago.

I'd like you think about your own life,

a time when God sent you on a mission,

and you experienced

some intense opposition,

which you may not have particularly liked,

either from external or internal sources.

And yet, as you look back,

you see how God was with you.

Puia, you're smiling.

Do you have a story that you could share?

(Puia) I do. In the previous study

I quickly mentioned about a movement

that I started with some of my friends

here in the United States

for my fellow Mizo young people.

God had put a burden on my heart

to do something, a ministry

or a movement of some kind

for my fellow Mizo young people

because we're all scattered

across the United States,

and we're in different parts
of the conferences

and different parts

of the division itself.

(Derek) So let me just...

because some people...You say "Mizo."

Mizoram is a territory in Northeast India

and Western Myanmar,

And there are Mizo people...

(Puia) Who have immigrated here.

(Derek) ...come here.

And God has put on your heart

a special burden to miinister

to these young people.

(Puia) Yes, because immigrants

face an extra layer of challenge

when it comes to living

and settling here.

And so, I prayed about it,

and I talked to different pastors,

different youth leaders

and different churches.

And we had a meeting

where we talked about plans

to start a federation

so that we can organize events

like a spiritual retreat

where we can bring in our youth

and teach them about the Bible

and train them for mission work

and things like that.

(Derek) Would you have those meetings

in the Mizo language?

(Puia) Mizo language.

(Derek) Okay. Does that sound

like something God might ask

a young leader who speaks Mizo to do?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Okay. Why would anyone

want to oppose something like that,
do you think?

We don't want to be negative

because sometimes people say,

"Well, that's too complicated,"

or, "You'll never build it."

"If you stand on it,

the wall will fall down,"

or, "You might offend someone." Abigail?

(Abigail) I'm thinking, the reason

why someone would oppose that

is because you are doing this

to draw many youth to God

and to uplift the name of God.

And the enemy will put that negativity

in somebody's heart

to stop that from happening.

And they may discourage you

and tell you, "This is never

going to actually be successful."

But if you keep pushing

and you allow God to be your sword,

then you are going to be able to achieve

even greater things for His namesake,
for His glory.

(Derek) I'm going to come to Liza's point

and then back to Puia.

Is it possible someone might oppose it

because they think, "I wish

I'd thought of that,"

"Wish that it was my idea,"
is that possible?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Or, "Well, you're not doing it

for this group of people, for my group,

how come he's doing it for his group?"

There are lots of reasons, right? Liza?

(Liza) I was going to say that,

that it probably is jealousy or envy,

like, "Oh," you know,

"look at that person; they're willing.

I could have done that,

but I probably was not willing

or did not accept God's call in my life."

And so we see that a lot

with these types of oppositions,

especially from within.

It's those people who,

their hearts are hardened,

they didn't follow through

what God had called them to,

and when someone else
picks up that mantle,

it's that jealousy of, "Why them?"

And they try to discourage that.

(Derek) So we don't know

what it is in this situation,

but there may be a lot of things.

I want to give you the end

of Nehemiah's story,

and then we're going to come back

to the end of the Mizo story, okay?

Nehemiah 6, verses 15 and 16,

Gladys, could you read that for us,
Nehemiah 6:15-16?

(Gladys) Nehemiah, I'm reading

from the New International Version,

Nehemiah, chapter 6, verses 15 and 16:

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) My Bible says, "This work

was done by our God,"

and yet someone would say, "Yes,

but He used hands, too,"

including hands of prophets, right?

Fifty-two days to get the work done.

Rest of the Mizo story.

Maybe it's still happening, you see.

(Puia) So, most of the leaders

that I work with in this context,

they all loved the idea,

and we were planning to have a convention

where we brought all

the young people together,

but there came a few oppositions

from a few elders,

citing that I was too young,

inexperienced, without the knowledge

of working with different age groups,

and that in the past they have tried,

and it never worked because the problem
was always...

(Derek) Has anybody ever heard that line?

"We tried it once," you know,

"30 years ago, and it didn't work."

We don't want to be negative,

but these are some of the messages
that could come.

(Puia) Right, but to make
the long story short,

I think the situation brought me

to my knees so many times.

Sometimes I could never sleep...

(Derek) Is that good?

(Puia) Yeah, sometimes I wasn't
able to sleep,

like, I would stay up the whole night

pondering about this

and with the burden on my heart,

thinking that God really put this
on my heart.

But in the end, everything came around,

and people came out.

And the people who did not

support me at first,

they spread lies and rumors.

I mean, it was bad, but in the end,

with the results that the movement

produced in the lives of our young people,

people were able to see,

"Oh, maybe this actually
is a good movement."

And now we're in the next stage

of transferring the leadership
this summer and then...

(Derek) Did you have a group that met?

(Puia) Yes.

(Derek) How many came together?

(Puia) Over 300, yeah.

(Derek) Three hundred young people.

(Puia) And now we're planning
to send back, if possible,

student missionaries back to our country.

So, that's the next stage of our goals.

(Derek) And the wall was built in 52 days!

But not without opposition.

So, what's the lesson for our lives?

The lesson is, God does not

always ask us to do the easy work.

He asks us to do His work.

The harvest is not always easy,

but it is great, and the laborers are few.

And He's calling us to be part

of that harvest work.

And I pray the testimonies
we've heard today

will inspire us to say, "Lord,

if it's what You asked me to do,

You will empower me;

Your hand will be with me

to accomplish the work for Your glory."

Let's pray that can happen

in our circle of influence.

Father in Heaven, thank You so much

for this inspired testimony

that we've heard from Ezra and Nehemiah

and the modern testimonies

we've heard from our group.

Thank You, God, that You guide us

even through opposition

from without and within

to accomplish Your work

for Your glory alone, we thank You.

May we be willing servants

to follow wherever You lead.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

There may be a special work

God's calling you to do.

It may not be easy, but He'll give you

the power and the wisdom to do it.

And when angels sing,

you be sure to give Him the glory.

And right now, go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

♪ theme music ♪