♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
We are in the middle of an amazing series
on Themes in the Gospel of John,
today, More Testimonies about Jesus.
And it's my prayer that you'd be blessed,
not only personally, but be blessed
to go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
So welcome to Hope Sabbath School
and welcome to the team.
Take a look at each other and wave.
We're here, and God's in our midst,
and we're glad we can be
part of the program.
We've got some great remote team members
with us again today.
Zandile, great to have you
with us remotely, and, Cory, great
to have you back with us
as we continue our study.
And we're glad you're with us.
You know, we've got
Hope Sabbath School members
across the planet, and we're glad;
wherever you're watching,
we'd love to hear from you.
Why don't you write to us.
Take a note down, sshope@hopetv.org.
You say, "Derek, I already know
the email address," then write to us,
tell us the country where you live
and how God's blessing you
through a study of His Word.
Here are just a few emails we've received.
One from Jacob in Malawi, Jacob writes
and says...now, Travis, I notice
you've been to Malawi
quite a few times, haven't you?
God's blessed your work there.
Jacob writes, "Your commitment
to a deep, interactive study
of the Word of God is truly inspiring.
It's through this dedicated exploration
that we uncover the profound blessings
woven within the Scriptures."
This is a profound thinker here.
"Each session unveils layers of wisdom
guiding us closer to understanding
the divine purpose for our lives."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Thank you for your dedication.
Together may we continue to grow
in wisdom and understanding as we journey
deeper into the Word of God. Blessings."
We say "Blessings" back to you, Jacob.
I hope you're teaching the Word of God.
Here's an individual
who is a deep thinker.
We hope you will take the outline,
download it from our website
and start an interactive class.
You may write back and say, "Derek,
we're already doing that," praise God.
Here's a note from Sitali in Zambia.
We have a lot
of Hope Sabbath School members
in Zambia, don't we?
"Hello, Hope Sabbath School."
(Team) Hello.
(Derek) "I greet you in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I watch Hope Sabbath School every week,
and I download your outline
for use in my Bible class.
I share it on the church WhatsApp group
and many are using the outline to teach!"
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "You're wonderful people.
I feel like shouting..."?
(Team) "Hallelujah!"
(Derek) How did you know?
"May you keep inspiring us
with this good work.
God bless you indeed.
Let us meet in Heaven."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Sitali, thank you for writing
to us from Zambia.
Actually, he's writing here
from a boarding secondary school,
so could be that he's blessing
a lot of people there, young people.
I'd love to hear from you, Sitali.
Write to me and tell me more
about how God's using you.
Here's a handwritten note from a donor
in the state of New York.
Now, folks who don't live
in the United States may think New York
is just a city, and it is,
a very big city, but there's
also the state of New York,
and this person lives
in the state of New York and writes
and says, "I trust that this small drop
helps to fill a bucket
for some thirsty soul."
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) You like that?
(Team) Yes!
(Derek) By the way, that reminds us,
viewer, that people say, "Well, Derek,
I could only help with a little,"
but a little added to others [with whom]
we partner
can fill the bucket.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Hope Sabbath School has
always been a source of comfort to me,
and the testimonies of the team inspire me
to keep holding on.
I'm the only Christian
I have in my family.
Please help me to pray that God will bring
my family to know Him
while there is still time."
Is that a prayer to pray?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) And a contribution of 75 dollars.
God bless you there
actually in the city of Brooklyn,
state of New York, thank you
for being part of this great miracle.
And thank you to each one of you.
We're at that time of the year
you're saying, "Is there something
God wants me to do
coming to the close of the year?"
The answer is yes, lay up some treasure
in Heaven; help the gospel
go to the world; Jesus is coming soon.
You can go to our website,
hopetv.org/hopess,
click on the Donate button.
We smile. Why?
Because we're part
of a great miracle of God.
One last note, from Bismark.
Now Birmark is watching from Brazil.
Sabina, that's your home country, right,
Brazil, but he's from Ghana,
so Bismark's a long way from home.
But he writes, "I really want to thank
the Hope Sabbath School team
for their great interactive discussions
of the Word of God.
I've been watching for many years,
and it has contributed to my life."
(Team) Praise God.
"God bless you all."
Well, thank you, Bismark, for writing.
I don't know if you're still in Brazil
or back home on Ghana,
but we're glad you're part
of our Hope Sabbath School family.
And we'd like to hear from you, too.
Write to us at sshope@hopetv.org,
or when you watch us
on the YouTube channel
(our YouTube channel is
growing every week),
you can leave a comment there,
but don't forget to tell us
the country where you're watching.
We're glad you're part
of our Hope Sabbath School family.
Before we sing our theme song, though,
I want to remind you
about the special gift we have for you
during this series.
I want to thank my wife, Bodil,
for making available a collection
of Trilogy Scripture Songs.
We sing a theme song, you know,
each series, but we've got a collection
of six songs from the words of Jesus,
four from the Gospel of John,
two from the book of Revelation.
Hide God's Word in your heart.
Hide the words of Jesus in your heart.
All you have to do to get
this special gift from Hope Sabbath School
is to go to our website,
hopetv.org/hopess.
I guess you could even just Google
Hope Sabbath School.
You find it, click on the Free Gift [tab],
and you can download a collection
of six Trilogy Scripture Songs
from the words of Jesus.
Share them with your family.
Hide God's Word in your heart.
Right now, we need you to help us sing.
This is also a Scripture song
from the Gospel of John,
but it's not the word of Jesus;
it's the word of a prophet
named John the Baptist.
"Behold!" He says, "The Lamb of God
who," does what?
He "takes away the sin of the world."
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) You know, I was thinking
as we were singing, and of course,
we're not like some famous choir, right?
But we're giving our testimony
even when we say, "I have seen,
and I testify that Jesus
is the Son of God." Amen?
And also, "The Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world,
that's my sin, too."
No wonder we're happy, right?
That's my sin, too, He's taken away.
What a powerful testimony.
I don't think John the Baptist,
when he cried out when Jesus came there
to the Jordan, knew how many lives
would be impacted by his testimony.
But we're going to discover
in our study today,
More Testimonies about Jesus,
that even today on Hope Sabbath School
lives will be impacted
by your testimonies,
whether you're here in the studio,
or Cory and Zandile joining us remotely,
and even you may be impressed
to write to us with your testimony,
sshope@hopetv.org, and let God
use your testimony to impact lives.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
we're praying in the name of Jesus
as we continue this wonderful series,
Themes in the Gospel of John,
that Your Holy Spirit would energize us,
energize our minds, give boldness
to our speech and give us hearing hearts
as we interact together,
that lives would be blessed,
not only here but around the world.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) One of the key witnesses
about Jesus as Messiah, as you know,
was John the Baptist,
fulfillment of prophecies,
of two prophets at least.
Name them for me, the prophet?
Isaiah and the prophet Malachi
speak about this one,
a voice crying in the wilderness, right?
One who makes straight the path
of the Lord to come.
And I want to begin by reviewing something
we studied in a previous study,
and, Sabina, if you could begin our study
in John 1, we could read, starting in 29,
"Behold! The Lamb of God,"
but I'm going to pick up in verse 32
to 34, and I want you to notice
that he has been guided supernaturally
in his testimony.
(Sabina) Okay, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and it says:
(Derek) Now, if it was just verse 32,
Tendi, where he says, "I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove,"
that would be a testimony, right?
And that's not unimportant.
We give our testimony.
But what did you see in verse 33
that says there was something supernatural
there that gave him a boldness in verse 34
to say, "I testify that this is
the Son of God." Tendi?
(Tendi) There was the Spirit
descending upon Him?
(Derek) Right, we saw that,
but then verse 33, Gladys?
(Gladys) It says that he did not know Him
himself, but that he received
a revelation of what to look for,
"The One who sent me to baptize with water
told me, "The One whom the Spirit
comes down on and remains.'"
(Derek) He received
a supernatural revelation, and that's
what gave him boldness
in his declaration. Sabina?
(Sabina) Yeah, so we see from Scripture
that John was a prophet, John the Baptist,
so he seemingly was acquainted
with how to understand and listen
to the voice of God.
So, God, who had already sent him
with the message of repentance
for the coming of the Messiah
that was about to come soon
also helped him recognize that Jesus
was the Messiah he was announcing.
(Derek) So, I have a question for you.
We study the Bible.
It's Hope Sabbath School;
we study the Bible.
Why is divine revelation
or supernatural revelation so important
in order to arrive at truth
with full confidence? Puia?
(Puia) In our previous discussion,
we talked about the chasm
between God and man; it's just so vast
that unless God reveals Himself to us,
we cannot find out
about who He is on our own.
And Travis pointed out before that the god
of this world, Satan, according to Paul,
has blinded us, so we need
that supernatural revelation
so that the veil would be taken away.
(Derek) Alright, Viara?
(Viara) Eastern meditation is very popular
today, but I feel that the problem of it
is that it focuses inward.
We look for the answers within ourselves.
But for me, this is like I'm drowning,
and I'm trying to get myself
out of the water by pulling myself out.
(Derek) Doesn't work.
(Viara) It doesn't work.
(Derek) So, what do we need?
We need something
from outside of ourselves.
Now, Travis, and then I want to ask
what is the clearest revelation
that God gave so that we could know
the truth about Him?
(Travis) One of the things
that sets our Creator God apart
from any other gods is that He knows
the end from the beginning.
And I remember Daniel alluding to that
in chapter 2, and in chapter 14 of John;
it says, "I told you these things
before they happen so when they do
that you would believe."
Prophecies, even small, short prophecies,
maybe a few weeks, a few months,
a few years, these are
supernatural prophecies; nobody else
but God knows this.
And it just gives us confidence
that He is God.
(Derek) Now, can you think
of a Bible verse that reinforces
what we've been saying.
What Viara said, "I need something
outside of myself that can help me
to get clarity regarding the truth
that God wants to reveal to me."
Yes, Jason.
(Jason) I do have a verse,
if we can read it.
It's from 2 Timothy, chapter 3,
verses 16 through 17.
(Derek) Alright, now some people may think
2 Timothy was written
by Timothy, but it wasn't.
There's a 1 Timothy and a 2 Timothy
written to Timothy by...?
(Derek, Team) The Apostle Paul.
(Derek) And you're reading
2 Timothy 3:16,17?
(Jason) Correct, and it is written:
And verse 17 says:
(Derek) So, the Bible.
Isn't there a psalm that says,
"Your Word is a..."?
(Derek, Team) "...lamp to my feet
and a light to my path."
(Derek) Psalm 119, right, verse 105.
So, the Bible is a revelation that can
help us, with confidence, to know truth.
But, Sabina, I saw your hand raised.
(Sabina) Also, if I may share a verse
from Hebrews, chapter 1?
Verses 1 and 2, so it would be...
(Derek) Alright, give us a moment
to find Hebrews, chapter 1.
(Sabina) Verses 1...
(Derek) I think you're going to tell us
where the brightest revelation came from.
Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2?
(Sabina) That's right, so I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2 say:
(Derek) So the clearest revelation,
you're saying, is Jesus,
but now I have a difficult question:
How much would we know about Jesus
if the prophets hadn't
written in the Bible?
How much would we know?
Why, God would have to give us a vision
or have to give us a dream, right?
So, are we thankful for the Bible today?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) We're thankful
for the Bible today.
Well, I'm going to ask Cory if you'd read
for us this same prophet John,
who boldly shared because he
had received divine revelation,
his testimony in John 3, verses 30 to 36,
John 3:30-36, and I want you to listen
and ask yourself the question:
How can we ensure that we're
always pointing people to Jesus
rather than drawing attention
to ourselves? Cory?
(Cory) John 3:30-36, I'm reading
from the New King James:
(Derek) What impresses you
about that testimony?
Thank you, Cory, for reading that.
I mean, this is startling.
I know that John the Baptist
didn't go to the school of Shammai
or the school of Hillel.
I know he didn't study under Gamaliel.
He grew up with elderly parents,
and then, at some point, went
into the desert, right, to detach hmself
from the corruption.
Where did he find such profound wisdom
in his testimony about Jesus as Messiah?
Anybody, where did he find that? Travis?
(Travis) It could only be
from the Spirit of God, it could only be.
(Derek) You know, I think of fishermen
like Peter who end up speaking so boldly
on the Day of Pentecost.
It can only happen
by the Spirit of God, right?
John gives a testimony.
Anything that impresses you, Puia,
about his testimony about Jesus?
(Puia) Right, the Gospel of John
didn't include this part of the story,
but Matthew included that later he was
thrown in prison and then he
at one point struggled to understand
the mission of Jesus Himself.
From the darkness of the prison,
he sent his disciples to Jesus
to ask if He was truly the Messiah.
And yet through it all, he was faithful
until he lost his life,
and that is just so powerful.
(Derek) Thank you for giving us
that extra summary; that's why all
of the Gospels are helpful, aren't they?
We're focusing on John,
who doesn't mention
any of those details, but you're right.
Because John the Baptist rebuked
Herod Antipas for living
with his brother's wife, Herodias,
she schemed to have him beheaded.
A tragic ending, but he remained
faithful, didn't he?
(Team) Right. Amen.
(Derek) The boldness, "He who believes
in the Son of God has eternal life,"
what do you think of that?
What are your thoughts about that,
verse 36?
Zandile, that sounds crystal clear to me,
"He who believes in the Son of God
has everlasting life."
(Zandile) It reminded me of John 3:16
where Jesus Himself says that He is
the life, that, "Whosoever believes in Him
should have eternal life."
So John is kind of quoting
from the words of Jesus Himself,
yet it is the Spirit of God
that inspired Him.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Amazing, could it be -
you're watching Hope Sabbath School today,
we're here - could it be that, filled
with the Holy Spirit - because you
did talk
about the Spirit guiding him, right -
that filled with the Holy Spirit, we
could speak with such clarity and boldness
in our witness about Jesus?
Is that possible?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) It's possible, isn't it?
Well, we're going to continue our study,
and we're going to look
at the feeding of the 5,000.
You say, "Derek, we looked at that
in this series," but we're going to see
what happens afterwards.
So could someone please summarize?
Jesus goes to a secluded place.
In fact, he encourages his disciples
to come and rest a while, but everybody
starts following Him around the lake.
Some of you have been to Israel.
You've been on the Sea of Galilee,
and you know you can see
to the other side; I mean,
it's not like 500 miles across, right?
It may be seven or eight miles,
maybe less up toward the north part
of the lake.
So, they're all running around.
Jesus ends up teaching them all day,
and then He provides a meal for them.
Where did they get the food?
Someone help us; where did they
get the food? Gladys.
(Gladys) There was a little boy
with a basket with five loaves
of bread and two fish.
(Derek) I kind of imagine that story,
this little boy, he's given a lunch
by his mother, right?
He's going to listen to Jesus.
As Jesus starts taking the bread
and the fish, having prayed to God,
right, the Father,
I imagine the little boy kind of looking
under the basket, you know, like,
"Wow, my mama gave me
a big lunch today," you know?
And I imagine Jesus -
I may be wrong - but I imagine Jesus
just smiling at him, you know?
He's just smiling, as He's taking the food
and feeding the multitude;
That's the story, 5,000 men
plus women and children, right?
But I want to pick up what happens
the next day, because we're going to see
another powerful testimony about Jesus.
And it's a testimony from someone
who could have given up.
So, John, chapter 6, Viara, if you
could read for us John, chapter 6,
beginning with verse 22.
Let's pick up the story and see
how the crowd expects things
to happen the next day.
(Viara) I'm reading
from the New Living Translation:
(Derek) Thank you for reading the story
with such enthusiasm,
because what are they wanting?
(Team) Miracles. More bread.
(Derek) More bread.
Miracles is right,
but specifically more fish sandwiches,
right?
"If You could just keep performing
those miracles for us..."
But what is the most important work?
By the way, they say, "Let us
perform works," in other words,
"Give us the ability to..."?
(Jason) Make food.
(Derek) "...perform miracles, too,"
"...to make food, too," right?
And what is the most important work,
Jesus says?
(Team) Believe.
(Derek) To believe in Him, right? Viara?
(Viara) It's so interesting,
why, as humans, if we have
to do something, we are right there;
do we want to perform something
to deserve our salvation?
And what it takes is surrender,
surrender and believe.
Surrender your will to God,
and it seems like this is more difficult
for us than to do something.
(Derek) For sure.
Tendi, can you continue the story.
We could read the whole chapter,
but I'd like to pick up in verse 48
where Jesus expands
on what He said earlier,
that it's not about free fish sandwiches;
it's about bread that comes
down from Heaven, that if they eat that,
they will have life forever.
Pick up for us, if you would, in verse 48
and following to 66, and let's see
how the crowd [reacts] that's come
for more miracles and more food.
(Tendi) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
John 6:48-66, and it reads:
(Derek) I don't know
what the percentage was,
but "many" is many.
We're going to discover even the twelve
think about leaving.
What message was so difficult
for them to hear?
What was so difficult for them
and maybe a little beyond their
comprehension? Sabina?
(Sabina) So it seems like they were
expecting something that they
could immediately see, you know,
as sustenance for them, for instance.
And we know even the Jewish community
was expecting a kingdom to be set up
that would help that oppression
they were suffering to be taken away.
So it seems to me that it was hard
for them, one, to understand it was a gift
that was being extended to them,
because even the question that they had,
how they would perform the same works,
et cetera, Jesus said, "Hey, you just need
to receive what I have here for you;
just believe it."
But then further, it gets
a bit more difficult, not only that it
was a gift, but it seemingly it was
not something they would immediately see
in every avenue of their expectations
of what an abundant life would look like.
So, I think that's part of the reasons why
some of them left because they
just wanted the...
(Derek) There are probably some people
even today who say, "I have
no idea what this means," right?
What does it mean (Puia, I see your hand)
to eat the flesh and drink the blood
of the Son of God?
Jesus has come into humanity;
what does that mean?
(Puia) That's what I was
going to point out.
For people who would be hearing this
for the first time when Jesus said,
"Eat my flesh and drink my blood,"
it's very raw, and they
probably couldn't understand.
And moreover, I believe Jesus claiming
that He came from Heaven
and that He was talking about God
as if God was His Father,
for them to hear this, you know,
it just didn't make sense to them
if they were not open.
(Derek) Now, we have the advantage
of some time passing, because when you
think of, "This is My body broken for you;
this is My blood," we
immediately think of what service?
(Derek, Team) The Communion.
(Derek) The Last Supper
where Jesus takes symbols...
Now, that can't literally have been
His body and blood shed and broken
because this is before His death,
but they symbolize, right?
The bread from the Passover meal,
the juice from the Passover meal,
and when we take them inside of us
what does that mean
even in that service? Anybody?
What does it mean when we accept
those symbols of the broken body
and shed blood of Jesus?
(Gladys) We accept Jesus' sacrifice
and redemption for us,
but the key here is the belief.
We said before that unless the Father
reveals, gives a revelation,
there's no way that you can understand.
(Derek) I don't why He didn't say it
a little more simply.
Maybe He was just wanting
to challenge them because He could have
just said, "If you accept Me," right,
"you will have...," but He said that
earlier, didn't He?
That's the work, to believe, right?
But accepting Jesus is what He's
calling us to do,
rather than just accept free gifts.
Well, this was difficult, many left.
I want to go on and look in verse 67,
and, Zandile, I know you've had
your hand raised very patiently,
so I'm going to ask you
to make your comment, and then read for us
from John 6:[66]-69,
how even the closest disciples
of Jesus reacted.
But feel free to make your comment first.
(Zandile) Okay, I wanted to say that they
were blinded by the past.
They were blinded by the manna,
and they could not link together
when Jesus was saying, "I am the bread."
That was referring to that manna
that He fed to their fathers.
But they failed to see the future,
and they wanted a physical sign,
which Christ did not give at that time.
So, just like us today, sometimes
we have things that are blinding us,
we are holding onto things of the past,
yet God is moving us
in a certain direction.
(Derek) Thank you for sharing.
Read for us, if you would,
from John 6:[66]-69.
(Zandile) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
verse 66 says:
(Derek) What do you think
about Simon Peter's testimony? Cory?
He doesn't say, "I'm not confused;
they're all confused."
What do you think
about his testimony, Cory?
(Cory) It's beautiful and amazing
because he steps out in faith
and just shows that, "You have
the words of eternal life,"
so he hasn't linked, fully, the bread
and words together, but he sees
that Christ is that bread.
And that's an amazing step
of faith on his part.
(Derek) Anyone want
to add to that? Sabina?
(Sabina) I think that is one
of the most beautiful testimonies
that we find in the New Testament
about what Jesus has to offer,
because Jesus offers abundant life.
In so many ways, He blesses us,
but if we forget the most important
and fundamental truth that while He came
primarily to give us eternal life,
restore us from death to life
and that we can have
relationship with God forever,
then all the other things
[don't matter at all], right?
I'm thinking of Paul also when he says
that, "What do we profit if we don't have
the truth of life eternal?"
(Derek) I'm remembering, and then I'll
come to many hands raised,
the scientist who said to me...
He studied with a lot of atheists,
agnostics and evolutionists
and studied advanced genetics.
He said, "I have a lot of questions,
but I'm going to ask them
when I see Jesus."
In other words, he was saying,
"I have come to believe and know
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God," listen now, "and I can
live with some unanswered questions
because I know the most important question
has been answered."
Are you with me?
I don't think Peter understands,
like Cory said, I don't think
he understood it all, but he said,
"Jesus, I know who You are.
I'm going to trust in You." Gladys?
(Gladys) That's what I was going to say,
that he may not have understood
everything, but he said, "Where can I go?
You are the only One
that I want to be close to.
You are the Son of God."
So he may not have understood everything
that Jesus was trying to imply
with His body and the blood,
and drink this and that, but he knew
that he wanted to be with Jesus.
(Derek) There is so much more
we could share; I'm going to let Puia
make a comment, but I want you
to think about this question.
I want you to think, was
there ever a turbulent time in your life
(a lot of people were leaving Jesus),
and you just said, "I'm going
to hold onto Jesus"?
"Even though it may be that all
of my questions aren't answered,
I'm going to hold on."
I see, Cory, your hand raised.
Puia, make your comment,
but maybe someone's watching,
maybe you're watching and saying,
"Derek, you have no idea.
I have family members leaving Jesus.
I have a spouse who says,
'I don't believe anymore.'"
How do we hold on
during that difficult time? Puia?
(Puia) I wanted to pick up on what Gladys
just commented on earlier.
The part that touches me
from Peter's words is, "Lord,
to whom shall we go?"
Like, "What other options do we have?"
As you pointed out, Derek, no worldview
or no system of belief closes all the gaps
or answers all the possible questions
that we may have in this world.
Even when we follow Jesus, we will
still have questions that we can't answer
at all on this end.
But the approach is, if we were
to reject Jesus and choose
a different worldview or choose
a different person to follow, is
there any actual better option than Jesus?
I don't think so.
(Derek) Thank you.
Cory, do you want to share with us?
(Cory) Yeah, and you know part
of this story, Derek.
A few years ago, I lost
my father tragically, suddenly.
I ended up doing CPR on him
for quite a while, so I was pretty mad
at God for a while
and didn't understand why,
much like Peter here doesn't
understand all the why.
But I had a habit of getting up
every morning and reading my Bible.
And in reading my Bible and continuing,
I realized that He is the God of life,
not of death, and it wasn't His plan,
that it was Satan's plan.
And I don't understand all the why,
but I have Jesus,
and that's all that matters.
(Derek) Thanks for your testimony, Cory.
Praise God. That's beautiful.
We're going to move on.
We've looked at the testimony
of John briefly and the testimony
of Peter here, but I want to go
to the testimony of God the Father.
Because if you remember, there were
a few times in the ministry of Jesus
when God the Father spoke.
Zandile, I'm going to ask you
to go to Matthew 3, verse 17.
Do you know that John...
No Gospel writer tells us everything
about the life and ministry
of Jesus, right?
John doesn't mention the baptism.
Now, we know Jesus was baptized,
so it's not like he didn't believe that,
but Matthew, Mark and Luke
give us a little more information.
And, Zandile, could you read for us
how Matthew records the baptism
of Jesus in Matthew 3 and verse 17?
(Zandile) Yes, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version.
Verse 17 of Matthew 3 says:
(Derek) And you know Mark and Luke
also record very similar words,
"This is My beloved Son."
Can you think of another time
when the Father spoke
during the ministry of Jesus?
(Derek, Team) On the Mount
of Transfiguration.
(Derek) Let's look at that.
Jason, could you read for us
in Mark, chapter 9 and verse 7.
It's also in Matthew 17:5.
On the Mount of Transfiguration,
again John didn't record this,
but these are testimonies of the Father.
What do you read there in Mark 9, verse 7?
(Jason) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and the Bible says:
(Derek) Slightly different,
"This is My beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased,"
but now, "This is My beloved Son..."?
(Team) "Hear Him!"
(Derek) "Listen to Him," right?
"Listen to Him."
Now, John does speak
about the testimony of the Father.
I want to look at two verses with you,
First, John 5, verses 36 to 38,
and, Joshua, if you'd be willing to read
for us John 5:36-38 and also John 12,
which is actually one time the Father
speaks that is only recorded by John.
So I'm thankful for all
of the Gospel accounts.
But, Joshua, if you could read for us
John 5, beginning with verse 36
through verse 38?
(Joshua) Alright, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
John 5:36-38:
(Derek) So even if the Father
had never spoken audibly,
the testimony of the Father is seen in...?
(Team) The Son.
(Derek) How?
(Team) His life.
(Derek) By the things He did, right?
"No man can do these things,"
Nicodemus said, "unless God
is with Him," right,
so just the testimony of His life.
But there were times,
we mentioned the baptism, we mentioned
the Mount of Transfiguration.
Let's go to John, chapter 12.
Gladys, could you read for us
beginning in verse 27.
We're getting very close
to the arrest of Jesus now.
This is right at the end of His ministry,
and some people come.
Let's see what happens in John 12,
verses 27 through 30.
(Gladys) John 12, verses 27 to 30:
(Derek) Why did some people
hear it as thunder?
I think there were some people
at the baptism that didn't hear,
"This is my beloved Son."
What do you think, Travis?
Why did they think it was thunder?
Someone else says, "No,
I think an angel was speaking."
(Travis) So, I'm going back to something
we talked about earlier, and that is
in the Corinthians where it talked
about him blinding the eyes of the mind.
(Derek) Satan, the ruler
of this world, right,
blinding our eyes?
(Travis) Yeah.
(Derek) So, that could be why?
(Travis) One place in Scripture,
"Give me ears to hear, " you know, so...
(Derek) "Spiritual things..."
(Derek, Team) "...are
spiritually discerned,"
(Derek) The Apostle Paul says.
So, the Father is speaking,
and the unreceptive heart
or the deaf ears only hear...?
(Team) Thunder.
(Derek) Noise, right?
I think when the Lord, risen Christ,
spoke to Saul of Tarsus, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
that some of his entourage,
some of his bodyguards
didn't hear that, right?
They just saw the light.
So, again we come back to the need
for a receptive heart.
But why are these testimonies,
baptism, transfiguration, right before...
By the way, "I have glorified My name,
and I will glorify it..."?
(Team) "...again."
(Derek) What's that?
When has He already glorified His name?
In the ministry of Jesus, right,
life and ministry.
And when will He glorify it again?
(Travis) Resurrection.
(Derek) On the cross and the resurrection
and the ascension, right,
and the exultation where Jesus
is given a name...?
(Derek, Team) Above all names.
(Derek) Yes, so, "I've glorified it;
I will glorify it again."
Why do you think these overt testimonies
of God the Father are important?
Not only for Jesus, not only for those
who heard with a receptive heart,
but also for us? Anybody?
What do you think? Jason?
(Jason) I think just as John
had confidence, that bold humility,
we, too, can have that
as we read the Scriptures and understand
how God had done a great work
in Jesus' life, and that we can
share in that same work as well.
(Derek) Okay, so that's written down.
We just read it because the Holy Spirit
inspired Matthew (we read from Matthew),
Mark (we read from Mark), John
to write those things down, right,
so we could hear it. Yes, Sabina.
(Sabina) And we just started our lesson
talking about the chasm that is
between God and us
in understanding God, that there is
a need for His self-revelation to us.
And I think that especially distinguishes,
like, recognizing that He was God.
No one else, apart from God the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit
can testify of that, right?
So that's why I think it's so important
that not only people saw the works,
and they recognized there was
something special, but also God Himself
was able to communicate that
in that very special way.
(Derek) In this setting, Jesus says,
"The words were spoken not for Me
but for you," but I think at the baptism,
correct me if I'm wrong, help me, anybody,
Cory, Zandile, team members here,
that the voice spoken at His baptism
was also for His benefit
as well as others like John the Baptist.
The voice on the Mount of Transfiguration
was also for Him to encourage Him.
I don't know, Puia, what do you think?
(Puia) When I try to put myself
in the shoes of the people at that time,
they probably were not used to the idea
of God having a Son,
because they grew up being taught
that God is one, and there is only one.
And for God to have a Son, it was
a strange idea, so the Father testifying
that this was His Son, I believe,
would have broadened their understanding
of the nature of God.
(Derek) "This is My beloved Son."
Zandile, you want to add
to the discussion.
(Zandile) Yeah, I want to add
on what Puia just said.
Back in the Old Testament, He said
in the mouth of two witnesses or three,
it let whatever it was be established.
And now I see God going back to His Word
and establishing the fact that Jesus
was His Son because He testifies of Him
more than two times.
(Derek) Right, well, the testimony
is in the works Jesus is doing
and in the word the Father is speaking.
Well, let's look, the last testimony -
we're talking about More Testimonies
about Jesus - is the testimony
of Jesus Himself.
And we could look at many verses,
but I want to focus in on John 7.
In fact, we talked about this, didn't we,
on the last day,
the great day of the feast.
Cory, if you could read that for us
in John 7:37,38, and let's see
how Jesus testified about Himself.
(Cory) From the New King James Version:
(Derek) I think, Travis, when we were
talking about The Testimony
of the Samaritans, that living water
that Jesus spoke about.
But let's go down to verse 40 now,
Tendi, if you could read in John 7,
let's see how those present responded
to this bold testimony of Jesus
about Himself, verses 40 to 44 of John 7.
(Tendi) And I'll be reading
from the New King James:
(Derek) By the way, "take Him,"
take Him...?
(Travis) To kill Him.
(Derek) To kill Him, right,
take Him by force.
In fact, as we pick up in verse 45
down through 49, we'll see
that the chief priests had already sent
a detachment of soldiers to arrest Him.
And, Joshua, if you could read that for us
in John 7, verses 45 to 49,
they've gone; their mission
is to arrest Jesus, and let's see
their testimony about Jesus.
(Joshua) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) Now, I don't know what happened.
I don't know, they were told, "Go
and arrest Jesus."
So I imagine the soldiers, the officers,
the temple guard, they go.
And the crowd is there, and so as they
are kind of getting closer,
they start hearing Jesus speak.
And what's their reaction?
Well, we know later because they
tell the chief priest.
What's their reaction?
(Team) "No man spoke like this."
(Sabina) Surprise.
(Derek) "The people who sent us
don't talk like this," right?
(Team) Right.
(Derek) Right? They don't speak
with authority from a living connection
with the heavenly Father.
So I don't know; you'll have
to help me on this.
I don't know if they were so impacted
by what they were hearing
that they forgot why they were there!
(Team) Possibly.
(Derek) Has that ever happened to you?
You went somewhere,
and you forgot why you went there?
And say, "I've got to go back."
I don't know whether they went back
saying, "Okay, time for lunch."
I don't know, maybe they knew
exactly why, but they felt
incapacitated by the powerful words
of Jesus.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) What can we learn from this story?
By the way, that was
their testimony, right?
What was their testimony about Jesus?
(Derek, Team) "Nobody..."
(Team) "...spoke like Him."
(Derek) "...spoke like this Man speaks."
We've got just a couple of minutes left.
Take a big look at the picture here.
What lessons can we learn, Viara?
What can we learn from this?
(Viara) I have times when I go to church,
and I only hear, "Blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah..."
(Derek) I don't know
how to translate that.
(Viara) Or I open the Word of God,
and I only hear, like, "Blah..."
I don't get touched.
And then I pray to God,
and I'm like, "God, if You're real,
please talk to me."
And I have to say that the Holy Spirit
is so real and present, even today.
And when I say this prayer, my ears open,
my eyes open, and I hear something
that touches my heart, and I see
the reality and presence of God.
(Derek) Powerful. Now, I just had
an epiphany, an awareness.
I wonder if when Jesus saw
the temple guards coming to arrest Him,
He prayed, "Holy Father, open their ears!
Open their..."
(Derek, Team) "...eyes."
(Derek) The religious leaders
are blind and deaf, but the temple guards
don't come for a revival meeting;
they come because they've been
asked to arrest Him.
Do you think Jesus prayed
even for the temple guards
that God would open their ears
and open their eyes?
Anybody else, closing lesson. Puia.
(Puia) Enough people
have testified about Jesus.
We only have to read the stories
and open our hearts for us to receive
that revelation of God, too.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) I just want to challenge
you today, and we've heard,
read the story, but also pray
that the Holy Spirit would take away
that blinder the enemy
has put in front of us so that we can see
and we can hear the truth about Jesus,
about the immeasurable and unfailing love
of God that He came to reveal
from our heavenly Father.
That is a miracle!
And it can happen for you and for me.
In fact, I think it needs to happen
day by day, because the distractions
of this world are all around us.
And, friend, when that happens,
we've been learning from the testimonies
that have been given, we will be changed,
transformed, and become
living witnesses for Him.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven, we've heard
some powerful testimonies today,
and I just thank You, that even when we
don't have all of the answers
that we can say, "I know who Jesus is,
and I'm going to press close
to Jesus my Savior."
I pray that for each one,
and may lives around us be blessed.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.
We're not done with the journey,
Themes in the Gospel of John,
life-changing messages.
The key to that message:
Press close to Jesus.
And then go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
♪ music ♪