♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I'm glad you joined us
we're in the middle

of a series on "The Gospel in Galatians."

Actually, we just started,

but we're already learning amazing lessons

for our lives today,

The precious Good News,

and how when we try to share it,

sometimes people resist the truth

as it is in Jesus.

Our topic today: Paul's Authority
and Gospel,

and there are amazing lessons for us.

So we're glad you joined us
for Hope Sabbath School.

And hello to the team;
we're back again.

The Gospel in Galatians,

what did we learn

from the first part of our series

about Paul being transformed?

What was the most important
takeaway lesson for you?

Well, we'll share that as we study today.

I hope you were with us.

If you missed the first part
of this series,

you can go to our website:
hopetv.org/hopess.

You can watch part one

of "The Gospel in Galatians."

And we're always happy to hear from you.

You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org.

Here are just a few emails.

You know, we know of 150 countries.

You say, "Derek, how do you know?"

Well, we have one Android app

that's being used in 150 countries,

so there's a lot of people joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

And we've got an Apple app.

By the way, for those of you

who have an iPhone or an iPad,

you can download Hope Sabbath School.

It's free, and you can access the program.

Got an email just a few weeks ago

from someone who in China watched
one program,

went back and watched 100 hours

of interactive Bible studies
in our archives.

So it's there for you.

Here are a few notes.

One from Albert in Namibia,

that's former German West Africa,

you know, just north of South Africa,

and Albert writes, "It's so edifying

to watch and listen

to you explain the Bible so clearly.

My wife and I enjoy

your Bible study every Friday evening

in preparation for the Sabbath.

I am a teacher, and I gain

a lot of knowledge from your classes,

which I apply during my class," good?

That's what we want, download the outline.

"What I want to know is

whether your class is consisting

of all student pastors

because you all seem to know the Bible."

I guess you could tell, Albert, by the way

that everybody laughed

that they're not all student pastors.

"May the Good Lord continue blessing

and giving you spiritual wisdom

as you share the Good News

with the whole world," amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) So what's the takeaway there?

And the answer is,

we can all do something for Jesus, right?

Whether we're teachers or counselors

or physicians or homemakers

or construction workers or pastors, right?
Bible teachers.

We can all do something for Jesus.

Thanks for writing to us, Albert.

Here's a note from Kwasi in Ghana.

Anyone with Ghanaian roots?

Oh, Joshua! Ghanaian roots, all right.

Have a little wave here for Kwasi. Okay.

"I live in Accra," he writes.

"Your Sabbath School discussion

has made me an extraordinary Christian

and has blessed me.

It's built my personal relationship
with Jesus."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "It's made me a Bible student!"

This is all good, isn't it?

"It's helped me organize

some children in my community

to share the Word of God with them."

It gets better and better,
doesn't it, Mario?

"Every Sunday morning we do exercise

with the children also

to strengthen our physical bodies."

It sounds like a pretty holistic approach,
right?

Teach the Word of God,

help them to be healthy.

"It's my desire that the Hope
Sabbath School discussion

will be translated
into different languages

around the world; the program is amazing."

Well, I want to tell you

that it's already happening

in different part of the world,

that Hope Sabbath School

is being broadcast in other languages,

also with closed captioning,

but you pray for us, Kwasi,

because we're praying it could go

to every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people.

Thanks for being part of the miracle.

Here's a note from Ludwig in Peru.

He's written to us before.

Ludwig says, "I'm always instructed

by your Friday evening Bible study.

I thank God for all of you.

This program is so didactic
and instructive."

I think he looked up a few words there
for us.

"Big hug to all of you,
and God bless you all," amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for writing.

I know, Ludwig, you said you've been
learning a lot of English, too,

while you've been watching the broadcast.

Here's a note from Tammy in New Jersey

in the United States of America.

She says, "Thank you so much

for what you do; it's an encouragement.

I love Hope Sabbath School.

I watched the first episode

of Hope Sabbath School in December 2016

during a Sabbath school breakfast

I'd planned for our church.

I'd heard of Hope Channel,

but not having a television,

I'd never seen it before

and never seen Hope Sabbath School.

Well, I loved it, and I was thrilled

when I found out you could get it online."

It's easy; you can get the app,

or you can watch it online,
hopetv.org/hopess.

And she concludes, "May God
continue abundantly

to bless your ministry.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I love being a member

of Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) All right, and by the way,

she's involved in a children's ministry

there in New Jersey,

and so she can do

an interactive Bible study with us

as part of Hope Sabbath School.

One last note, from Trinidad and Tobago.

That's in the beautiful Caribbean.

Just a short note, Leslie Ann writes

and says, "I'm from the island
of Trinidad and Tobago."

I guess that's considered one country,
isn't it?

"I enjoy watching and doing the lesson.

I also enjoy watching Jason

sing the Scripture songs."

Well, Jason, why don't you wave
to Leslie Ann,

and we're going to sing

the Scripture song right now, actually.

We've got a brand new song for this series

from the Gospel in Galatians.

It's taken from Galatians, chapter 2,

which says, "I have been crucified
with Christ,

and I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me," it's a miracle.

If you haven't learned the song,

go to our website, download the song,

the sheet music, so you can sing along.

We're going to sing it right now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) There's so much included

in that one verse from Galatians 2:20,21.

The Son of God loves you

and gave Himself for you;
isn't that awesome?!

I just want to pray

that Jesus would be lifted up today

as we study the gospel in Galatians.

Father in Heaven, thank You.

Thank You that God so loved the world

that You sent Your one and only Son

that whoever believes in Him
should not perish

but have everlasting life.

We see sickness and death all around us.

We know that sin

brings death and destruction,

but I thank You

that You've given us hope in Your Word

even today, hope in Jesus.

And I pray as we study

the Gospel in Galatians,

as we study "Paul's Authority and Gospel,"

that You would work in supernatural ways

in each of our hearts,

Hope Sabbath School members

all around the world.

May lives be blessed today

to bring honor to Your name.

I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Now before we go
into Paul's authority,

I want to go back

to our previous study, Nicole.

How could it be

that God could take a rebel

who was forcing people

to blaspheme and wreaking havoc

(you remember that word?)
in the church

and call him "My chosen servant"

to be an ambassador

for the Gospel message?

How can that happen?

(Nicole) Because God loves each and every
one of us and wants us all to be saved.

So He uses us wherever we are to spread
His Word to those He wants to save.

In terms of this case, He knew he was
a Zealot, even if it was a Zealot

in the time before he was transformed,
and he was doing evil things.

God knew that he was a Zealot
and when he was actually changed,

he'd be a Zealot for Him.

And so God was like, "I know the end
from the beginning, and so, therefore,

this person's going to be the person
I need at this time

to bring my Word to those who need it."

(Derek) Is that encouraging?

That God sees the potential

even in the midst of all our stumblings?

We're going to talk about Paul

as he writes now.

Many think this was

one of the earliest documents

that we have in what we call
the New Testament,

about 49-50 A.D.

And it's written because of a problem
in the church,

but by then, even at that time,

we're going to see

that the Christian church recognized

the Holy Spirit working in this man,

name changed from Saul of Tarsus to...?

(Team) Paul.

(Derek) ...to Paul the Apostle.

So let's start in 2 Peter, chapter 3.

We're going to come back
to Galatians here,

but Jonathan, would you read for us

2 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16.

I want you to listen carefully as Peter,

in some ways a little humorous,

he says, "Paul is not always easy
to understand,"

but there's a testimony

about the authority of his work.

(Jonathan) I'm reading
from the New International Version:

(Derek) So, I've always read that

and thought, "Oh, it's not always easy

to understand Paul," which is true.

Sometimes I read a text, and I go,

"What does that mean?"

Maybe I need to come
to Hope Sabbath School

and get a little help from some sisters
and brothers.

But there were a couple
of little phrases there

that showed that Peter,

one of the church leaders, an apostle,

recognized the work of the Apostle Paul

as being from God.

What did you hear?

Laurel, did you hear something
that caught your attention?

(Laurel) It just was amazing that Peter,

who was part of the original 12
with Jesus,

recognized that Paul was also called,

even though he wasn't with Christ

when He was physically on Earth.

(Derek) That's right; He wasn't
one of the twelve, right?

So he has seen something in his ministry.

Didn't Jesus say, "By their fruit..."

(Derek, Team) "...you'll know them."

So he had seen something
from the fruit of his ministry

that said, "He's an apostle."

What does <i>apostle</i> mean, by the way?
Do you know?

One who's sent out, right?

"He's an apostle of Jesus Christ," okay?

What else, even in the wording
of the passage,

did you see something?

Christine and then Marcus.

(Christine) It says here in verse 15

that God gave Paul the wisdom
and the knowledge...

(Derek) Aha, wisdom, I think the way
Jonathan read it,

wisdom comes from God, all right?

Anywhere else, a little clue, Jason?

(Jason) In verse 16, he talks about those

who twist and distort the meaning,

and he's saying they do it

to their own destruction.

And so, you can deduce from that,

if you understand it correctly,

that's the way to salvation.

He's preaching the message of God.

(Derek) That's an interesting thought,

and actually there's another phrase
attached to there which is important, too.

Did you notice it, Peter?

(Peter) It says, "as the rest
of the Scripture."

(Derek) Okay, so he's including
Paul's testimonies,

not only as a wisdom from God
like Christine said

but as part of Scripture, God breathed.

It's Peter who says all Scripture

is God breathed, right?

No private interpretation,

as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

All right, but that's interesting.

Also, implicitly he's saying,

"If you listen, it's for your salvation,"

that gives it authority.

"If you twist it,

it's for your destruction."

All right, so Paul is recognized

by at least Peter, but I think

we could say by the Christian community.

God's at work in him,

and God is speaking through him.

We're going to look at one of his letters
in this series,

the Gospel to the Galatians.

The standard format of a letter...

did you find this from your study?

What's the standard format of a letter

back in those times, Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) I don't know about back then,
but I do know like when you're

in grammar school, you're taught that you
start with a greeting or some type

of salutation, then you have who it's to
and the subject of the message,

and you kind of end off with some type of,
you know...

(Derek) Farewell or closing remark or?

Is that pretty much, Jason,

the way it looked in these letters

during the New Testament era?

(Jason) Largely yes, and you generally
start with the positive, too.

So you'll say, "Oh, you guys, this is
a nice thing about you,"

whether you're writing a letter now
or these letters of Paul.

They're always saying,

"This is a good thing that you have."

"This is what I like about you."

(Derek) That would probably
still work today, right?

If you've got a problem with someone,
you can say, "Here's some things

I really appreciate about you, but,"
and talk about a problem.

And that's pretty much standard format,

greeting, some word of thanksgiving,

body of the letter,

and then some closing remark,

and typically with Paul

it would include, "the grace of the Lord

be with you," right, something like that.

Let's see how he begins

the letter to the Galatians.

Galatians, chapter 1, verses 1 and 2,

and, Alyssa, if you'd read that for us,

and then we'll compare that.

If someone could find
Ephesians 1, verse 1,

and Colossians 1, verse 1,

let's see if they're similar

or if there are some differences.

By the way, all of those letters

were written by the Apostle Paul.

(Alyssa) In the New International Version
it says:

(Derek) Okay, that's his greeting there.

Keep that in mind.

Does someone have Ephesians?

Joshua, chapter 1 and verse 1.

(Joshua) I'll be reading from the New
King James Version.

The Bible says:

(Derek) All right, so that's to the church
in Ephesus,

then he writes to the church in Colossae,

we call that Colossians, Marcus, verse 1.

(Marcus) I'll be reading from the King
James Version:

(Derek) So what did they have in common,

those three opening salutations?

What did they have in common?

(Harold) He's an apostle.

(Derek) Okay so, Paul, an apostle,
gives his name

like we do even today, right?

Gives the name and says

he's an apostle of Jesus.

What was different, Mario?

What did you see different

in the Galatian intro?

(Mario) He expounds on that.

He says not by the will of man

but of God, you know.

So you can tell

that he needs to clarify something.

(Derek) Why would he have to do that,
anybody?

He didn't do it to Ephesus or to Colossae.

Why would he have to do that for Galatia,
Alyssa?

(Alyssa) This is still early.

Remember, he had to go to all those places

and represent himself anew

to each new church,

so maybe he was still kind of having
to defend

that God did call him.

(Derek) Possibly, of course

we haven't read the letter yet, have we?

That is a possibility, though.

He's like, "You may not know me,"

but actually there's something else

going on here. Nicole?

(Nicole) His letter talks
about false teachings,

so in this case he's saying, "Listen,
I'm from God.

I'm an apostle of God.

I'm bringing you the truth and the Word

that you need to hear,

and I want you all to be careful

of what else is going on around you

that may draw you away from Christ."

(Derek) And implied (stay with me now),

implied is that these people

who are giving these false teachings

are saying what about Paul?

(Team) That he's not from God.

(Derek) He's not a true apostle, right?

Or he's sent by man and not sent by God.
Jonathan?

(Jonathan) It seems like multiple times
throughout this that he's

emphasizing this, that, "My authority
doesn't come

based on other people; it's God."

It's the truth that matters
and not people.

(Derek) Well let's take a look
as we read on in Galatians.

Jason, if you could read

the first six verses,

it will include the initial salutation
that we read,

verses 1 through 6.

He's going to go past

saying thank you about anything,

and he's going to come right to the issue
at hand.

Let's take a look, Galatians 1:1-6.

(Jason) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Galatians, chapter 1, verses 1 through 6:

(Derek) Whoa! So something's up here.

We're going to get right to it,

but he has kind of given us
the gospel message

right in those first few verses.

How would you summarize
the gospel message

from those verses? Peter.

(Peter) The salutation
that he gives there, grace and peace,

is very interesting to me,

and is actually used

almost in every letter,

and Peter uses it,

"Grace and peace to you."

""Grace and peace to you."

And it's almost like, the heart of God,

full of grace, brings something

to our hearts, peace,

and He does that through forgiveness,

and this is given to all men.

(Derek) So even in the greeting
you're seeing a message.

Many Bible scholars would say

grace would be a more typical
New Testament,

and shalom, or peace,

would be more from the Hebrew heritage,

but we're bringing both

in Christ Jesus, right?

What's the message?

What did you hear

in the first six verses, anybody?
Yes, Alyssa?

(Alyssa) Christ died for us,
but in accordance

that God the whole Trinity is
working together also, he mentions that.

And that when we've been transformed
by that message,

we give glory back to Him.

(Derek) Yeah, "He gave Himself
for our sins,"

is the way my Bible translates it,

"that he might deliver us from..."?

(Team) Evil.

(Derek) "...this present evil age,
according to the will

of God our Father, to whom be glory,"
and then he, like, "God is awesome."

You know, he kind of ends
his little statement there.

But he up front says,

"This is God's plan of salvation,
through Jesus," right?

"...to deliver us
from the present evil age.

What is wrong with you?!"
(Thank you, Nicole.)

"Where did you get some other gospel?"

Some other...what does
the word <i>gospel</i> mean, do you know?

(Team) Good News.

(Derek) "Where do you find some other news
that isn't good news at all?"

So he obviously is dealing immediately
with a challenge.

Now before we go into that,

a revelation about the Good News

was not only given to him, right?

Let's go back; in our first study
in this series,

we looked at that amazing
concise statement by Peter.

Do you remember that?

Guided by the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 10, verses 34 to 43.

I want to hear that again.

I'm always amazed, Nicole,

if you could it for us...

I'm always amazed at the brilliance

of this concise statement

about the Gospel message.

And we know it's not because Peter says,

"Well, I'm a great scholar."

No, no, he was a fisherman

who wholly surrendered his life to God,

and by the Spirit he's speaking.

So let's hear his testimony.

(Nicole) I'm reading Acts 10,
verses 34 through 43,

and I'm reading from the New
International Version, and it says:

(Derek) I love that;
it's so powerful, isn't it?

And by the way, when he says,
"as all the prophets,"

he kind of says that it's the testimony

of the whole Scripture.

It reminds me of a Bible study
that Jesus gave.

Do you remember when that was,
Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) When they were
walking to Emmaus.

(Derek) Right, first to Cleopas and the
other disciple on the road to Emmaus,

but then with the disciples

in the Upper Room.

And He said all of these prophecies,

all of the Scriptures, what?

(Team) "Testify about Me."

(Derek) Yeah, they "testify about Me,
and not only about Me

but that I had to suffer." Why?

He suffered for our sins, right?

He bore our sins that He might...?

What was that wonderful word?

(Team Member) Deliver us.

(Derek) Deliver us
from this present evil age.

Wonderful news, but all of that...

You say, "That's a great summary;

I'm going to write it down, Acts 10:34-43.

If anybody non-Christian comes and says,

'Could you give it to me

in like just a couple of minutes?'"

You say, "Well, let me read to you
what the Holy Spirit said through Peter."

But we could get even more concise
than that.

Someone have John 3:16,

would read it for us?

Anybody have John 3:16?

You say, "I'd like to repeat it."

John 3:16, got a volunteer?

Jason, read it for us, please.

(Jason) I'll be reading from the New
King James Version, John 3:16:

(Derek) Well that challenges

the whole idea that it's

just for the Jews, right?

It says "whoever."

God so loved the...?

(Team) World.

(Derek) I mean it's right there

in that very simple statement.

So, I have a question for you, Mario.

Why do people make the Gospel message,

the Good News about what God has done

for us in Jesus,

why do people make it so complicated?

(Mario) Oh, wow, we have something
inside of us

that wants to give out steps or processes
to accomplish things.

I mean, in our jobs and in school,

there's this system that tells us,
you know,

you have to do this and this and this,

and then you can get what you want.

So it's hard for us to conceive

that a God can love us

and give something to us

without us having to do something
to earn it,

but that it is a gift

if we would just submit to His will...

(Derek) Now the New Testament

and especially the writings of Paul

are all about a new creation.

They're all about deliverance

from the present evil age,

but that is the <i>fruit</i>

of accepting the Gospel message.

Somehow we try to make it

more complicated than "whoever believes
in Him."

We've got several hands.

Let's take a moment to reflect on this.

(Harold) One way, and we have
seen this, actually,

throughout the New Testament,

what we studied last time, traditions.

At times we fall into a routine,

as Tricia Lee mentioned
in a previous study,

that at times we are so ingrained...

we get so comfortable that we believe

that that's the way to go to be saved.

(Derek) That's maybe even
what the Bible teaches, right?

Because we've done it for so long,

or what our religious teacher told us.

(Harold) Yes, and Jesus even rebuked
the Pharisees

because, "You come to Me,"

you know, "with your mouth;

you're worshiping with your mouth
and everything,

but yet you come to Me

by the commandments of men."

And this is found in Matthew,
chapter 15.

(Derek) Right, so that could happen

for us, too, right? Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) He's reminding us
that we're in an evil age.

The devil is out there
trying to deceive us.

From the garden he said,
"Did God really say?"

And when we have simple truths
about salvation, that doubt comes

into our minds like, is it really
that easy to be saved through Christ?

You can hang your doubts on anything,
but it's just like, we have to believe

the true Word that God says
and not question this simple path

that God already laid out.

(Derek) I guess there's two approaches
that the devil could bring.

One would be to say

it's not that simple, right?
It's more complicated,

or it's not even true.

This is not true,

but it's not that simple, you know?

(Tricia Lee) Is He really
going to forgive you if you ask Him?

(Derek) Or maybe it's for someone else,

but would it really be for you?

Anybody else, why do we make it
so complicated, Jonathan?

(Jonathan) I think sometimes we really
want it to be...

It's an issue of pride.

I mean like, if I can make all these
so wonderful thoughts and ideas,

then it becomes about me and about what
I'm doing or what I'm thinking

or having the right knowledge, but this is
so simple, like a child can understand.

(Derek) Didn't Jesus say something
about we need to become as little children

if we would enter the Kingdom?

(Jonathan) That's humbling.

(Derek) It requires humility?

(Jonathan) Yeah.

(Derek) Yes, Peter.

(Peter) I was thinking, too,
that sometimes maybe...

can God be that good?

Can it be that good?

(Derek) You mean a distorted picture

of the character of God

could hold me back

from believing that God could be

that good to me.

(Peter) Right, right.

(Derek) Part of the reason

we study the Bible

is to find out the truth about God, right?
Joshua?

(Joshua) I believe it was along the lines

of what Jonathan said.

He mentioned that, you know,

the Gospel is even for little children,

as easy that they can understand it.

And I remember as a child

I always saw the Gospel

as something that was easy to digest,

like Jesus loves me,

He wants to save us from our sins,

we're going to Heaven one day,

and it was that simple.

But then as I got older,

things started to become more and more
and more complicated.

People are like, "Oh! This prophecy,
that prophecy."

"We have to be saved through this."

"If you do this,
this is going to happen to you."

And your mind just has

this, for some people,
a spiritual breakdown.

Like, "Whoa, it takes all of that now?

Every move that I make now,

I have to be worried

if God is going to like me or not like me?

Is He going to strike me from Heaven?"

And I think that we lose touch

of that real essence of who Christ is,

making things complicated,
as we've been discussing.

(Derek) "Whoever believes in Him

should not perish."

But of course we need Scripture

to know how He is.

Otherwise we could
make up some Jesus, right?

The Bible is crucial,

and Jesus, when He said, "Baptize

in the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit,"

He did say, "Teach them

to observe all things I've commanded you."

But all of that is an outgrowth

of my relationship with Him

as my Savior, right?

Well let's go back

to the letter of Galatians,

and, Laurel, could you read

Galatians 1, verses 6 through 9?

Like we noticed in the first part

(we read verse 6 already,
but read it again),

he skips over, "I'm really thankful

for so much about you,"

and comes in - boom!

"We've got a problem here."

Let's read verses 6 through 9
of Galatians 1.

(Alyssa) I'll be reading from the New
King James Version:

(Derek) Now that word <i>accursed</i>,

I've got in my margin there

is the word <i>anathema</i>.

I mean, it's not like,

"That's not a good thing to do."

It's like really strong language.

Why is Paul...and someone could say,

"Well, that's your perspective;

this is my perspective"...

why is he so intense about people...

"You cannot preach some other gospel

other than what was manifested
through Jesus," Marcus?

(Marcus) Because that would portray
a false Christ.

Just like you said earlier as well,

you said that it's not the same Christ

if you pervert the gospel,

and this is the early church.

So, what comes out of this

may affect future churches
in the next generation.

(Derek) So it's not so much

that, "You don't like my teaching,"

as "You're saying something about God
that isn't true!"

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) And...? And what?

What's the implication of that?

Destruction for people!

This is life and death!

It's not just, "Do you like your sermon
or your sermon?"

This is life and death;

we're talking about how people can be

set right with God, right?
Yes, Mario.

(Mario) I just feel like

I need to highlight

the same applies to us today.

This is about the character of Christ

as perceived in someone else's eyes
through our testimony,

and we get hung up on our doctrine

as a means to salvation.

And there are so many things that we try

to hang the hat of salvation on,

but we've got to preach Christ

and Him crucified, as Paul said, you know,

and we have to be careful about that.

(Derek) Now some people might get

a little offended with Paul.

They'd say, "Paul, that's a little,"

(we have an expression in English),

"over the top. Please."

But let's look at a couple of places

where Jesus was fairly (what could I say)
direct

when He felt the same issue,

"You're getting in the way

of people learning the truth about God."

Mark, chapter 9, verse 42,

Harold, do you have that?

Again I do believe that Jesus,

He spoke with love in His heart.

I don't like if He's portrayed

as some kind of angry Savior,

but He spoke strongly here, didn't He?
Mark 5:42?

(Harold) I'll be reading from the New
King James Version:

(Derek) Now, Bible students have discussed

whether the little ones He's talking about

are children or new believers.

What do you think?

(Team) Both.

(Derek) Multiple choice, right?

"All of the above," right?

If you cause a child to stumble

that they can't, as children do,

just say, "Jesus, I trust You,

and I want You to save me,

and I want to be with You forever,"

and the Savior says, "Amen," right?

But also the new believer?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) So, we want the new believers
to learn everything

that Jesus taught, right?

So, how do we do that

without making a stumbling block for them?

What is crucially important

when we're teaching them all those things?

Are you stretching your fingers, Nicole?
Yes, tell me.

(Nicole) I think that it starts with us
praying and asking for the Spirit

to fill us with what we need in order
to reach those that we're dealing with.

And so we don't become a stumbling block
ourselves, we have to have

that connection with Christ to lead us
the right way.

(Derek) Okay, but we want to teach them

to observe all things.

So how do we do that without
(what's the word)

damaging the gospel or mutating the gospel

or proclaiming some other gospel?

How do we do that, Alyssa?

(Alyssa) Well, first, everything
has to come from Scripture.

Don't try to show them anything
that isn't here.

And also, if they're not secure yet
in their salvation,

first things have to come first.

(Derek) So I believe in Bible prophecy,
it's wonderful.

By the way, I've met many people

who believe in the authenticity
of the Bible by Bible prophecy,

but you're saying, "I'm going
to tell them about Jesus

and how to have

a living connection with Him,"

and then we talk about how do we live
as a Christian

rather than, "Here's the list of things

that can maybe earn God's love and favor

or maybe earn your way to Heaven."

(Tricia Lee) It's a great question,
and I think that churches struggle

with how to disciple and how to teach
our new believers.

We should never be afraid of teaching
what the Bible says or what Jesus says,

but there's a big difference between
teaching what Jesus taught and lived

and then now trying to force people
to make those changes and believing

that we somehow now take on the role
of the Holy Spirit in converting people.

I can teach you and show you, and I should
never hide what the Bible says,

but I have to understand my role is
to teach; my role is not to convert.

I cannot force someone to make a change
that it might have taken me many years

to come to myself.

So we have to have patience and humility
and realize that we are only

pointing people to the Bible teachings
and allowing the Holy Spirit to work

that miracle in their life just like
He worked in our lives.

But we shouldn't be afraid to show
somebody what the Bible says

just because it might be too much; maybe
we should hide it from them now - no.

The Bible teaches all these things;
it's okay to teach it, but we should never

feel like we have to force someone to make
the same change just like we have.

(Derek) And would it be okay to say
we always need to remind them

what the foundation of our faith...
where it is?

It's in Jesus, right?
Our Savior.

Saved by His grace through faith?

Let's talk about healthful living,

or let's talk about...

you could name something else...

how Jesus is coming back,

but first I have to talk
about the Gospel message, right?

And the assurance of salvation.

Several hands raised, Peter?

(Peter) I was just going to say when we
talk about, like, we're saying doctrine

or anything, living, Jesus sits
for His portrait, and how we present

the teachings of the Bible.

And what portrait of Jesus
are you painting in your doctrine,

in your lifestyle that you're coaching,

whatever it is, X, Y, Z - fill it in -

what portrait of Jesus are you painting?

(Derek) First I have to know

the truth about Jesus and who He was.
Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was thinking how,
in a musical, you can have the same notes,

even in the same order, but if you change,
like maybe if you start

with a different emphasis, or if you put
it in a different bass note or something,

the music totally changes.

You can be saying the same things,
but if you're emphasizing

without that foundation of who God is,
His love for us, and salvation,

then you're communicating
a different song, a different tone.

(Derek) One other text

where Jesus spoke rather strongly,

in Matthew 23:13,14, He was saying,

"Don't get in the way of people

knowing the truth about Me."

Christine, do you have Matthew 23,
verses 13 and 14?

(Christine) I'll be reading from the New
King James Version,

Matthew, chapter 23, verses 13 and 14;
it says:

(Derek) And what does it say at the end?

"You will receive" what?

(Derek, Team) A greater condemnation.

You know, you will be held accountable.

Isn't that what it's saying?

For getting in the way

of people knowing the truth.

Now I don't know about you,

but we're here, and this is an in-depth,
interactive Bible study;

we've got a lot of people watching this.

That would cause me to be praying,

"Oh, Lord, help us

to tell the truth about You," right?

"To tell the truth about Your gospel,

to tell the truth about the Christian life

in response to the grace

that's been shown to us," and all of that.

We want to go now

and look at where Paul gets his message

because, as someone pointed out

(Laurel, I think you mentioned earlier),

he wasn't one of the 12 Disciples.

So where does he get his message?

Well let's take a look

at his own testimony,

and we're looking in Galatians,

chapter 1, verses 11 through 17,

and then we'll read on in the chapter

and also testimony from his letter
to the Corinthians.

But first, Galatians, chapter 1,

and, Peter, if you could read that for us,

verses 11 through 17.

(Peter) I'm reading Galatians, chapter 1,
verses 11 to 17,

in the New King James Version:

(Derek) What's he saying?

(Harold) He was called
through God's grace.

(Derek) He was called
through God's grace,

but more than that, what's he saying?

This revelation...?

(Nicole) Is not from man.

(Derek) "...is not from man.

I didn't learn it from anyone
except Jesus!"

In that sense he's saying,

"I may not have walked with Him

when He was here on Earth,

but I've walked with Him

since He ascended to Heaven."

That's a startling claim, isn't it?

But that's what he's saying,

"The way I received the message."

Let's keep reading; Mario,
if you could read,

as he continues now,
in verses 18 through 24.

Again, they're saying, "You're not
a real apostle."

"You weren't one of the twelve," right?

"You weren't there; in fact, your history

shows you've been fighting against
the truth."

Because, by the way, these Judaizers

are believers in Jesus.

So they're not just like those

who are opposed to Jesus,

but they're saying, "But there's more,

and you're not telling the whole story."

Paul says, "I got it from Jesus."

Reading on, verses 18, is it?

(Mario) Through 24, reading Galatians,

chapter 1, 18 through 24,

in the New King James Version:

(Derek) That's his testimony,
"I've been changed."

Now let's look at one example

of a revelation given to him,
1 Corinthians 11.

He's talking here about the beginning

of what we call the Lord's Supper

or the Communion service.

Now again, obvious question,

but was he there in the Upper Room?

(Derek, Team) No.

(Derek) So, how is he

going to tell the believers about that?

Well, let's see what he says.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Joshua.

(Joshua) The Bible says:

(Derek) That's very specific, isn't it?

It's not like, "Well, and there was

this little service in the Upper Room

before Jesus was crucified."

It's actually quoting Jesus, what He said,

and explaining what it meant.

So I have a question for you.

He says, "I received it from the Lord."

How did Jesus reveal that to him?

Did He appear to him

like on the Damascus road?

Did He give him a vision?

You know, a vision, he's still awake,

but he receives a message from Heaven.

Or a dream, we think of like,

dreams were given to prophets, too?

How did Jesus reveal that to him,

what happened in the Upper Room?

The answer is?

(Derek, Team) We don't know.

(Derek) Could it have been

any one of those?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Could the Lord Himself have come

like He did on the Damascus road?

Or have given him a vision?

But what is Paul
absolutely convinced about?

(Team) That it's from Christ.

(Derek) That it's a revelation
from Jesus, right?

So, both that little piece

of what happened in the Upper Room,

but actually the entire message
he's proclaiming,

he said, "This doesn't come from me;

it comes from God."

So why is that so important

as he's about to speak to the Galatians

who were listening to false teaching?

Why is it important that he asserts

the source of his message?

Wouldn't it be enough to say,

"I learned it from the apostles"?

Jason, what do you think?

(Jason) Because he's being attacked

as not being connected with Jesus,

as not being part of that origin.

They're saying, "You came in
after the fact,

and you're trying to proclaim to us
this stuff

even though you haven't experienced it
yourself.

In fact, you were even one
of our persecutors,

so how do we know

that you're actually genuine?"

And they're basically challenging him

by bringing this other gospel in.

And he's saying, "Look, this is
from Jesus,

and here's the evidence for it."

(Derek) We're going to study

about the whole Conflict and the message

in the gospel to the Galatians,

but I just want to pause and ask,

does it startle you

that Jesus would call someone

who'd been such a fierce opponent?

Would it be fair to say to almost become
a primary witness?

I mean, how many books

of the New Testament

did - let's choose some of the Apostles -
Peter.

How many books of the New Testament
did Peter write?

Well we've got 1 and 2 Peter, right?

That's the clue, right?

Give me another Apostle.

(Derek, Team) John.

(Derek) Okay, how many books

of the New Testament
did John write?

Five? Okay, you've got

the Gospel of John,

1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and?

(Team) Revelation.

(Derek) He says, the Revelation
of Jesus Christ

through His servant John."

Okay, so you've got five there.

Give me another Apostle
besides Peter and John.

Not Timothy, he was not an Apostle, right?

But Matthew was...Matthew, how many
did he write?

(Team) One.

(Derek) One that bears his name,

an important Gospel, right?

Give me another Apostle.

Philip? How many did he write?

(Derek, Team) None.

(Derek) Give me another one.

James, the brother of John,

that's not the one who wrote

the book of James, right?

So, many of the Apostles

didn't write any books

of the New Testament, right?

And how many did you say again

the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write?

(Team) Thirteen.

(Derek) Doesn't it startle you?

What does that tell you about God?

Not just about Paul.

You say, "He was obviously a changed man."

What does that tell you about God?
Christine.

(Christine) That God can use anyone

to get them to proclaim the message.

(Derek) He can use anyone.

Can we complete that sentence, Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) Even me.

(Derek) Okay, yeah.

God can use anyone, even me.

I still need a little qualifier
in there, Nicole?

(Derek) God can use anyone, even me...?

(Nicole) If you're willing...
if you're willing to be used.

(Derek) If I'm willing.

And how is that willingness revealed?

How is that willingness revealed?

How is it apparent that I am willing

to be used by God, even me,

to proclaim the Good News about Jesus?

(Joshua) By doing the work.

(Derek) I think before I do the work, no?

(Nicole) It's choosing.

(Tricia Lee) Believing.

(Derek) Choosing, believing.

(Team Member) Responding to the call.

(Derek) How do I respond to the call?

I listen?

(Team Member) Repent first.

(Derek) I repent. I...?

(Nicole) Pray?

(Derek) Pray. I surrender.

I humble myself before God.

This message is not about me;
it's about Jesus.

"And God, You're going to have to work
supernaturally

because I don't want to mess that up."

I certainly don't want to proclaim

a false gospel, right?

I humble myself...So, I'm willing,

surrender? Even me?

That Paul could do that?

And God could use him in such
an amazing way? Joshua?

(Joshua) This is helping me to think

because if you think about the most
well-known pastors and evangelists

that you hear about

throughout the Christian church,

many of them were not raised
as Christians.

(Derek) Yeah.

(Joshua) Many of them actually converted
to Christianity,

and through the experience

that they had with Jesus,

they just went full force,

and that goes across the board.

And I think it just goes to show

that when we have that true conversion,

our past is no longer a priority.

Our past is just a shadow of who we were,

and we are now new in Christ.

(Derek) Doesn't Paul say somewhere,

"I consider all of that..."

What was the word he used?

I think a literal translation
is "cow dung,"

but "rubbish" would be a little more...

It's garbage compared to the excellency
of knowing Christ.

Not just knowing about Him, right?

But <i>knowing</i> Him.

It's like he can't keep quiet.

And if we're willing...even me? Even me.

So in the last few minutes we've got,

I want you to give a testimony

of how you have been blessed,

not only to know Jesus

and have that relationship,

but you've been blessed

that God would use you

to share the truth about Jesus

with someone else, okay?

And you may share a specific instance.

You may share something

that's happening to you right now.

So let's talk about that.

We can't share what we don't know, right?

So, coming to know Him and sharing.

Who can share a testimony of being blessed

as a result of that?

We'll start with you, Harold.

(Harold) One day I was going
to Radio Shack

(that's like an electronics store),

and they were closing down.

The thought came, "Well, since it's
closing down,

there's some people who are there,"

and I'm a type that I like
to talk one-on-one.

And usually the store's kind of empty.

There was this lady,

and I had this material,

and I started talking to her,

like saying, "Hey, I have this material
for you,

if you're interested."

(Derek) So this was something
about the Bible?

(Harold) Yeah, all about the Bible.

Actually that lasted like an hour or more,
the conversation.

(Derek) It must have been a quiet day
at the store.

(Harold) No, it was interesting.

There were more customers coming in.

It was so inspiring

that I started even asking,

"Hey, customers, would you be interested?"

I was not afraid; I was really so blessed

because the lady was asking
so many questions,

even asked for material

that I had at home; this was interesting.

I purchased the material

thinking that I would read it,

and then she mentioned to me,

"I remember reading this book

back in the day by this person."

And I'm like, "Wow, interesting!"

I have this book at home,

and I just bought one,

thinking that I would use it,

and I brought it for her.

She was so blessed and was acknowledging

all the truth that was being shared

that I felt blessed.

It was like, wow, somebody received
God's truth today,

even the people who were
around us listening

or even receiving the material.

That made my day,

and I thank God for that.

(Derek) For those of you

in the second row,

you couldn't see he was smiling.

He was blessed to be used

to bless someone else,

and it sounds like God was at work

even in him getting that book

that they wanted to read,

and it was already there.

In some ways you might think,

"Well, that's not as dramatic as
the Damascus road."

But it was dramatic for you, wasn't it?

Anybody else, being blessed? Joshua.

(Joshua) Years ago I was

in Antigua visiting family,

and I was sitting in my Aunt Nola's house,

and I saw Hope Sabbath School

for the first time.

As I watched the people...

(Derek) Was that before you ever became
a participant?

(Joshua) Oh, yeah, this was before that.

I was watching the show, and I said,

"I can't really relate to these people;

they look too holy."

And I said, "You know what?

They're going into all these deep things
about the Bible,"

so I just kept watching it.

I had no idea that God was ever

going to put me on this show

to do this same exact work.

And now I know that we're not all perfect

and that through media God can reach

so many people across the world.

I'm very thankful to be here,

and I met my wife on this show.

(Derek) Oh, you did,

and she's not here,

just in case the viewers are trying

to guess which one it is.

But back to what you said, Tricia Lee,

"Even me," "Even me."
Isn't that amazing?

Surrendered to God, you're watching
the show,

and, you know, our producer Elroy,

when he was in grad school,

he said, "I wish I could...,"

He was watching Hope Sabbath School,

and he was really blessed.

He was saying, "I wish I could

produce a program like that,"

and today he's our producer.

Isn't that awesome!

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) That's the kind of people

we want to be a part of the team, right?

That we believe God is working
in miraculous ways.

One last testimony, yes, Nicole.

(Nicole) I would continue what Joshua said
in saying I'm blessed to be

on this program also, and it's funny
because I met you

at a church here locally, and I hadn't
really heard of Hope Sabbath School,

and you actually talked about it
in church.

I was like, "Let me see what he's
talking about," and I watched

this program a couple of times.

I just think that the Lord really led me
to that church,

led me to meet with you that day, and put
me in this program, and it's just been

a blessing because I'm meeting people
who have seen the programs, and they're

very blessed by the program.

And so it's this great blessing to me
that I can be a part of this ministry.

(Derek) I think that's why the Apostle
Paul was so passionate, because he's like,

"It's not just about me being saved;

it's about sharing that blessing,

the grace of God I've come to know
and experience.

I want to share that with everybody,

even if they try to kill me,"

which, by the way, happened
quite frequently

for the Apostle Paul.

And when people tried to distort

the truth of the Gospel,

he got really upset

because he wanted people to know

the true character of God and God's plan.

I want to share the truth

about Jesus, too, don't you?

Let's pray that he'll work in us
in wonderful ways.

Father in Heaven, thank You

for the beautiful truth of the Gospel.

Forgive us if we've made it complicated

or a stumbling block put in the way
of someone

so they don't hear the truth.

Help us to continue to study Your Word,

to learn the truth of the Gospel

to be able to share it in a way

that will bless many lives,
including ours.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

We have so much to learn, but you know?

God loves us, and He will be withe us

each step of the journey.

Take what you're learning

and be a blessing to those around you.

♪ theme music ♪