HSS2404007

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are in an amazing series,

Themes in the Gospel of John.

It has been such a blessing.

If you've missed any, go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess, or Google us,

Hope Sabbath School,

go to our YouTube channel.

You can watch all of the past episodes

in this series, Themes

in the Gospel of John,

today, Blessed Are Those Who Believe.

We are going to look at some characters

in the gospel story, but it's

also a declaration for us

that we are blessed when we believe.

So welcome, we're glad you joined us

for Hope Sabbath School.

Welcome to the team.

Take a look at each other and wave.

We're glad you're all here today.

You notice I'm particularly excited today

because Sabina's going to be teaching,

and we always are blessed

when our team teachers share

the Word of God.

We've got some great team members

joining us, too, remotely.

And we're happy to welcome Zandile,

good to see you with us today.

And, Cory, great to have you back with us

as we study the Word of God.

And we're glad you're with us.

You say, "Derek, I raise my hand sometimes

when I want to make a comment."

Write it down, send it to us,

[e-mail], share with us.

It's an an in-depth, interactive study,

not just here, but around the world.

We're also happy when you write to us,

because it lets us know

that God's working, right?

That's why we do what we do.

So, here is Ndele who writes from Zambia.

Do we have a lot

of Hope Sabbath School members in Zambia?

Ndele writes and says,

"Hope Sabbath School is a winning team..."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "...sharing the message of hope

and salvation all the way."

Well, Ndele, I would remind you

that you're part of the team,

that we're all part of the team, right,

because it's a global family,

not just those of us in the studio.

Many are downloading the outline

and teaching interactive Bible studies

where they live.

We're all part of the team together.

Thanks for writing.

Winston writes to us from Australia.

Winston says, "Hello,

Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Hello.

(Derek) I think they know that we'll wave

if they say that.

"I was home today, wasn't able

to go to church, but I watched online,

and then I started to watch

Hope Sabbath School,

and I really enjoyed the program.

God bless you all."

Well, some people have a sickness

or something happens, they can't get out.

Wherever you are, tell your friends.

Tell people who maybe can't get to church.

Tell them to go to Hope Sabbath School

and study the Word of God with us.

Here's a short, hand-written note

from the state of Kansas

in the United States of America,

and a donor writes, "Please accept

this gift in support

of Hope Sabbath School.

I've been watching since it started."

I think we read one who said, "I've been

watching since last month," right?

One said 10 years; this donor says,

"I've been watching since it started.

In fact, one of your team even came

to my Bible class and told me about it."

Well, it's someone who's not here today.

It's our team member Stephanie.

Some of you know Stephanie

who actually went to this person's church

and told them about Hope Sabbath School.

And a donation of 100 dollars.

(Team) Praise God.

(Derek) Thank you, Donor from Kansas,

for being part of the miracle.

We're all working together.

And thank you to each one of you

for being part of this mission.

You can go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess, click

on that little yellow Donate button.

Or get an address and write to us,

send a gift, say, "Derek, I want

to be part of sharing

the immeasurable, unfailing love of God,"

a message of saving hope as we prepare

for the soon-coming of Jesus.

Thank you for your support.

One last note, from Lil, Lil writes

and says, "Since God

brought me back to Him

after over 25 years away from Him,

one of the first Bible studies I found
was...," you want to guess?

(Team) Hope Sabbath School.

(Derek) "...Hope Sabbath School.

I've been watching every week

and taking notes, transcribing

and using the study guide to facilitate

a Bible class, both for adults

and also for youth and for people

who are new to the faith."

(Team) Wow. Amen.

(Derek) Lil, you have become

an evangelist, right?

Isn't that what Jesus wants

for all of us, right?

Blessed Are Those Who Believe.

"I've gotten so much insight," Lil writes,

"and other perspectives

I didn't think about, and it has enhanced

my love for the Scriptures

and my love for God..."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "...so much more that now

I can share that every week."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) I tell you, I want to meet Lil.

I'm guessing Lil is an abbreviation

for the English name Lillian, Lillian,

but I suppose it could be a nickname.

Write to us and tell us, Lil,

[e-mail].

"Thank you for the dedication

and love for Christ that you share.

God bless you all."

Well, I think we'd say "God bless you,
too, Lil,"

wouldn't you say that?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) She's teaching adults,

youth, new believers.

After 25 years away,

Jesus brought you home.

Well, we're glad that you're all part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

That's why we do what we do,

sharing a message of eternal hope.

And have you downloaded the gift yet,

the six Trilogy Scripture Songs

from the words of Jesus,

four from the Gospel of John,

two from the book of Revelation?

I sing them all the time.

It's a great way to hide the words

of Jesus in your heart.

Just go to our website,

click on the Free Gift tab.

You know our website: hopetv.org/hopess.

Click on the Free Gift tab, and it will

show you how to download

those six Trilogy Scripture Songs.

I want to thank my wife

for making those available to us

as a gift to you so that you can

hide God's Word in your heart.

And when you're there at the website,

you can download our theme song

for this quarter, Behold! The Lamb of God.

Do you like that song?

That's a testimony of John the Baptist.

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) When Jesus comes,

the dead in Christ rise, and the redeemed

are all gathered, caught up

to meet Him in the air, I'm going

to be looking for John

the Baptist, Sabina.

I'm going to thank him for that testimony.

I'm going to start singing,

and he says, "I don't know that song."

And I'll tell him, "Let me

teach you the song,

but thank you for your testimony."

And God bless you as you teach us today.

(Sabina) Amen. Let's behold

a little bit more of the Lamb of God

as we study together.

But let's start with a prayer.

Dear Jesus, our Lord, our Savior,

we are so thankful to be able

to behold these words here.

And as we learn

about the different witnesses
[testimonies]

that were given by all sorts of people

that You touched

during Your ministry on this earth,

we are also moved to grow

into Your likeness.

So, as we join together here,

we ask that Your Holy Spirit,

just like It rested upon You,

It will rest upon us also,

will speak to our hearts

and impress our minds with truth,

with the truth that You

are the Son of God that takes away

the sin from the world.

I pray in a special way for every person

who will be watching this,

that they will also come to witness

about Jesus in their lives.

In Your name we pray. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Sabina) Okay, so as we continue

this series of studies

on the book of John, I love

specifically the first [and second verses]

of the book of John that says,

"In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God."

That gives us the clarity

that Jesus' testimony and His work

had not just started when He was

first seen in Galilee or in Nazareth

or in Jerusalem, but He had been working

since the beginning of the world.

And we are going to start our study

looking at the witness of a person

who has not had the privilege

of seeing Jesus walking

and ministering on this earth,

but who has had a prophetic witness

of the work of Jesus that was happening

and that was about to happen

in the future as well, and that's Abraham.

And so, maybe, Travis, if you'll

start us off in the study

by taking us to John 8:56,

and we are going to see what it was

that Jesus talked about

regarding the witness of Abraham

or the revelation that was given

to Abraham about Him.

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Praise God.

(Sabina) So, what was the testimony

of Jesus regarding the revelation that was

given to Abraham? Anyone. Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) That the Messiah would come.

That revelation was given to Abraham,

and just imagining that, he was glad.

(Sabina) He was glad;

he would rejoice. Yes, Puia.

(Puia) I believe there was also the story

where God asked Abraham

to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Just before he sacrificed Isaac,

the angel stopped him, and God

provided a ram in the place of Isaac.

And I believe God let Abraham understand

at that point in time that in the future

there would come a Savior, the Messiah,

who would be sacrificed on behalf

of the people of this world.

And so Abraham foresaw Jesus' day.

(Sabina) Okay, so we are seeing here

that Jesus made this testimony

about the revelation that Abraham had,

and it seemed like that one of the moments

where Jesus (and God) was

unveiling Himself to Abraham

was, for instance, in this episode

that you are now reading, right?

So we do have some passages here

that we are going to look at today

in the Old Testament, in Genesis,

the very first book of the Bible,

that will give us evidence of the ways

in which Jesus was already revealing

Himself to Abraham,

and not only to Abraham

but all the nations around him

who were to be blessed by this testimony.

Okay, so maybe, Puia, since you

already initiated us with some

of those stories, if you'll take us

to Genesis 12:3.

(Puia) Sure, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Genesis, chapter 12, verse 3:

(Sabina) So we see here especially

that what was happening was

the call of Abraham.

And already in this call of Abraham,

there was a promise, and it was a promise

that was pointing to Jesus.

Maybe, Joshua, can you take us

to Genesis 18, verses 17 and 18.

(Joshua) Of course. I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Sabina) Okay, so, is that revelation

also happening here in this event?

Which event is that?

Do you have any thoughts?

Can you see the revelation of Jesus

occurring here also? Yes, Travis.

(Travis) It is occurring

through his son Isaac, because Jesus

would end up coming

through the lineage of Abraham.

(Sabina) In fact, that is

a very important event

of the revelation of God to Abraham

and to us as well.

I think that's also mentioned

in the New Testament.

We are eventually going to get there,

but there is one more passage

in the Old Testament that we can look at

in chapter 22, verses 13 to 18,

and maybe let's have Cory take us there.

And that's just another passage

where we can see the revelation of Jesus

already in the time

of the Old Testament. Cory.

(Cory) Yes, Genesis 22:13-18,

in the New King James:

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Sabina) So we see here not once,

not twice, but at least three times

in which this promise

of the coming special blessing

through the seed of Abraham was going

to be revealed in Jesus. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I just want to make a point.

In verse 8, Abraham says, "My son,

the Lord will provide

a burnt offering Himself."

Many scholars believe

that there should be a comma,

"The Lord will provide Himself,

a burnt offering," and I agree with that.

I think it was revealed to him that God

would provide Himself,

the Lamb to be slain, as we've been

talking about with John the Baptist.

(Sabina) Those are

very interesting thoughts.

Indeed, we know for sure

that it was His provision of Himself

that granted us to have

this blessing in Christ.

So we are going to be looking now

at a couple of verses in the New Testament

that confirm this truth.

Can we please turn to the book of Matthew,

and I'm going to ask Viara,

Viara, if you'll lead us

to the first chapter of Matthew,

and it's going to be verse 1.

And we are going to be looking here

at a New Testament writing that confirms

the revelation that was given

to Abraham about Jesus.

(Viara) I'm reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Sabina) Okay, and do we

have any thoughts here

about this particular verse? Yes, Puia.

(Puia) For us, I believe we take it

for granted that Matthew started

his account of the story of Jesus

with the genealogy because we just read it

like, "Oh, it's just another story."

But the Jews at that point in time

had been expecting the Messiah to come

from the lineage of Abraham and David.

And so Matthew intentionally starting

the story of Jesus by pointing them

back to Abraham should remind them

of that promise that this Jesus, indeed,

is that promised blessing from Abraham.

(Sabina) That's awesome.

I think it's so beautiful, the ways

in which the Holy Spirit has impressed

the different writers to give the witness

that was important in their context.

Because we see that for Matthew

it was so important to refer to Abraham,

while for John, he decided to even go

back to Genesis, right?

So let's look also at Acts 3:25,26,

and maybe, Jason, if you could

read that text for us.

(Jason) Alright, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Acts, chapter 3, verses 25 and 26:

Verse 26:

(Sabina) Yes, that's awesome.

So we can see that God has preached

the gospel through type and promise.

You know, these prophecies that we see,

even in the time of Abraham

were already giving evidence

of God's love and presence

to them back in that day.

So it's important that we keep in mind

that the witness that is given to Jesus

is not just about the stories that we read

in the New Testament,

but also all throughout eternity.

From eternity to eternity, there are

a lot of witnesses that we are going

to hear about Jesus. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) If I may, I would like to read

from the book of Hebrews,

because it wasn't just the writings

about Abraham that confirmed;

it was his life that confirmed it.

Hebrews, chapter 11, verses 9 and 10,

if I could read that.

Hebrews, chapter 11:9,10, says:

He did not just believe

that the Messiah would come,

he believed His mission

would be successful.

(Sabina) That's wonderful,

thank you so much, Travis.

And it's awesome to also see,

just like as we witnessed

in our previous studies, how God

has this way of revealing Himself.

You know, little by little,

He puts the seed.

He explores an experience of a person.

Altogether, He brings us to see HIs work

all throughout history. Yes, Viara.

(Viara) And I guess His plan was

not to just be a God of the generation

of Abraham by blood, but all

that spiritually would accept Jesus.

And how awesome it will be if one day

it says, "And He was the God of Jacob,

the God of Abraham, the God of Viara."

That's what I want to hear one day.

(Sabina) Yes. Isn't it in Galatians,

I think it's Galatians 3:8,

if I'm not mistaken, but if it's not,

we will find it, that actually the Bible

says that even Abraham was justified

by faith in Christ, right?

So there is no such person

that has existed or that will exist

that would not require the sacrifice

of Jesus as the source of their salvation.

Okay, so, I sometimes hear people

[ask] this question, "What happened

to those that came before Jesus?

Would they be able to benefit

[from] the blessing

of the sacrifice of Jesus?"

And what is the answer?

(Derek) Absolutely.

(Sabina) Of course.

There would be no other way.

There was no plan A and now plan B

or plan Z, so the plan has

always been the same from eternity

through eternity. Amen?

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Sabina) We are going

to be looking now at the witness

of a beautiful, beautiful story here

that was left in the book of John.

It's the witness of Mary.

So we move from the prophetic witness

of Abraham to now learn about the witness

of a person that actually spent time

with Jesus and saw Jesus

right in front of her.

So maybe, Gladys, if you'll take us

to the book of John, and we are going

to start off in chapter 12,

and if you'll read verses 1 to 3.

And I would like us all

to already be considering,

why did Mary anoint the feet of Jesus

with an expensive ointment? Gladys.

(Gladys) And I'm reading

from the New International Version,

John, chapter 12, verses 1 to 3:

(Sabina) So why do you think

that Mary anointed the feet...?
Yes, Jason.

(Jason) We understand that it was

before His burial, you know, that He

would be anointed, but also her devotion.

I mean, this woman had been delivered

from, like, seven demons,

so her love for Jesus,

she was always at His feet, and so this is

an opportunity for her to express that

in such a loving way.

(Sabina) Yes, Derek.

(Derek) So, I can only conclude

that she was led by the Spirit to do that.

This was very intimate, I mean, pouring

and wiping with her hair.

I don't think she

thought that up by herself.

I think the Holy Spirit impressed her.

I'm not sure she even fully realized

she was anointing for His burial.

I think Jason's right; she was thinking,

"Well, I love my Savior;

He's delivered me."

But sometimes I believe the Holy Spirit

impresses us to do things, and later we

may understand the full implications

of what we're doing.

(Sabina) That's right, so she was

surely very devoted.

She had already experienced Jesus

to a point that she would do

such a pouring out of the things

that she had on hand

as an expression of her inner experience

with God. Yes, Puia.

(Puia) Some have noted that she spent

a year's wage on that anointment.

Think about that,

like one whole year's wage;

that's a lot of money.

And for her to be willing to dedicate that

to Jesus shows that she

really loved Jesus, and she was

fully surrendered to Jesus.

(Sabina) That's right.

And you know what I think is

so interesting is that Jesus is known

as the Christ or also the Messiah,

and if there is one time apart

from when we see that Jesus

was anointed in His baptism

by the Holy Spirit,

we would say that the only time

we see in the New Testament when Jesus

is actually being anointed

with oil is this event.

Have you considered that?

So, not only do we see here the testimony

of a woman who had a love for Jesus,

but God was also using her

in a very special way.

Anointings were given to kings

and to people who had a special role

to play, and God used this woman,

of all people, a person that had a heart

to pour, to do this very anointing

that was done only by the high priests

in very specific situations.

Okay, yes, Cory.

(Cory) I was just going to add to it,

and it actually goes along with what you

were saying perfectly.

If you've ever smelled spikenard,

it's very, very strong.

And so, this being done

before His crucifixion, it probably was

very strong on Him still

throughout that whole time.

So, if you think about the people

He interacted with during that time,

smelling the smell of kings,

of the wealthy, and they're crucifying

this Man who had done nothing wrong,

it's another blessing

or another aspect to think about.

(Sabina) That's right, Cory.

And not only that, but if you look

a little further in John, chapter 12,

we are going to see the Triumphal Entry

of Jesus in this last last week,

in the Passion week.

So imagine that Jesus entered Jerusalem

with that smell of a king.

Right, think about this.

So we are going to look a little further

into that story, and maybe, Tendi,

if you will read for us from John,

chapter 12, from verses 4 to 8,

and we are going to see the reactions

of some of those present

to this outpouring of love from her.

What did they say, and how did

Jesus respond to them?

(Tendi) Thank you, Sabina, and I'll

be reading from the New King James:

(Sabina) Oh, wow.

So, what are some of the reactions

you see here, and how did Jesus

respond to them? Yes, Jason.

(Jason) Of course, it looked like
it was a waste of money.

Like, why would you even do that?

It could be better used

for something else, like the "poor."

But we understand that that wasn't
the motive of Judas.

(Sabina) Right, of all people, it would be

Judas who was the one criticizing

her gesture, right? Derek.

(Derek) I like how you emphasized

that that fragrance stayed with Jesus.

And I wonder if Mary looked back and said,

"That was even more significant

than I ever realized."

In fact, when Jesus said, "She anointed me

for my burial," I wonder

if she [looked wide-eyed], right?

We may think, well, no, she understood

all of that; everything was...

I imagine, back to our lives,

when the Holy Spirit guides us

to be a witness of Jesus, who He is,

that God can do miraculous things.

And we'll look back with joy and say,

"God, You're amazing!" Right?

(Sabina) That's beautiful.

And His attitude towards her

was one of acceptance, of affirmation.

It was not like Judas, of trying

to tell her to withhold from serving
Him in love.

But I think it's very important also

for me to highlight here that Judas

was part of the entourage of Jesus.

He had a big responsibility,

the responsibility of carrying the funds

that were to be used in their mission.

And of all people, the one

who had been entrusted with that power,

he was the one who was criticizing

the very person that God was

about to use. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) As I was reading and thinking

about this story, I was most impressed

with how Jesus responded,

and that is, "Let her alone."

(Sabina) Right.

(Travis) He's always concerned

about His people, you know.

John, chapter 10, "I have them

in My hands, and no one can

snatch them out of My hands."

Here He's coming to her aid.

She's serving Him and He says,

"Leave her alone."

I was just impressed by that.

(Sabina) That's quite outstanding, right,

especially in a context where women

were not seen or regarded in society

as having a word or being able

to [spend so much money

on something] of their own volition.

I wonder if someone was wondering,

"Oh, did she get permission from Lazarus?"

She was a sister of Lazarus.

It crosses my mind.

But now she is being defended by Jesus

who not only accepts that

but also makes sure to say,

"Let her alone; she is Mine."

So, let's make sure, when we also see

the outpouring of an expression of love

from people towards God, that we are able

to recognize it and be sensitive.

And how are some of the ways

that we, ourselves, can also express love

to Jesus as our Messiah? Yes, Viara.

(Viara) I talk to more and more people

who say, "Well, I'm saved, so there is

nothing really I can do to deserve

my salvation," or, "I can stay

the way I am, and I don't have

to do anything for God."

But I think Jesus said, "If you love Me,

you will keep My commandments."

And for me, this is like when you

are in a marriage.

You don't have to do anything, but you

do it because you love this person.

And if you never talk about your husband,

and if you never talk to him, about him,

or listen to him, then maybe you don't

have a real relationship with him.

(Sabina) Okay, so [one very important way

we can pour out love] towards God

[is to pour out love] towards people,

because this is the heart of the Law,

love for God and love for people.

We do those things because He loved us,

and so we also are invited to be loving.

Any other thoughts? Yes, Jason.

(Jason) There are a plethora of things

we can do to be able to show that love.

But what I like to do is actually go

to food pantries and help people out

because I know,

especially in this economy

things are hard, so I am able to be there

to be the feet and hands of Jesus

during those times to help people out

with an actual meal.

(Sabina) Okay, so charitable deeds also.

I also saw Zandile; you had your hand up?

(Zandile) Yes, and I wanted to say

that Judas was not of the same nature

as Jesus Christ; he was one of the twelve

when he was thinking

[of things differently]

from the nature of Jesus Christ.

And one of the [ways in which]

we can express our love to other people

is to be of the same mindset

as Jesus Christ and have

the nature of God, the kindness

of God within us, so that it flows

from within us to all those around us.

(Sabina) That's wonderful.

So, there are many things that we can do.

And I'm just going to get

Cory's comment also.

Cory, I want to hear you, and then we are

going to move to the testimony of a person

that didn't have the same type

of heart as Mary. Yes, Cory.

(Cory) I think a lot of these things

that bubble out of us can only come

from a relationship with Christ,

and that is done

by spending time with Him.

And you see couples that, when they

start dating or get married, start

looking alike because they

start acting alike.

That's how we reflect Christ

to those around us,

spend time with Him, know Him,

so that we can reflect Him.

(Sabina) That's wonderful, yeah.

I really love this testimony of Mary.

I think it's so inspiring,

Derek and friends, because we all

are also invited to pour out everything

we have to Jesus.

And I wonder if there is someone

watching us, and they have been

withholding some parts of their life

from God, maybe afraid

of what could happen.

Maybe it's something very precious to you,

right, the salary of your whole year,

or even [something much more] deep

in your heart, in your mind.

But, you know, don't withhold those things

from Jesus, because nothing you bestow,

in true worship, upon Jesus

will ever, ever be wasted.

Just look at what He did

and how He protected this woman,

and how it multiplies, as Derek

was sharing, even to the cross.

There is nothing that you pour upon Jesus

that you are not going to see Him

taking care of and multiplying it further.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Sabina) So, let's look here

at the witness of Pontius Pilate.

So, now we are moving from Mary,

a person that had

this generous heart towards God,

to a person that was more reluctant.

So maybe, Cory, if you will read for us;

we are still going to be reading

from the book of John, chapter 18,

verse 38, and then chapter 19, verse 4.

And then we'll be thinking of what we can

conclude from the testimony

of Pilate regarding Jesus.

(Cory) John 18:38 to start with,

out of the New King James:

And then 19, verse 4:

(Sabina) Thank you.

So, what are your thoughts?

What can we conclude

from the testimony of Pilate

regarding Jesus? Yes, Puia.

(Puia) Pilate stood

before the truth in person.

Jesus is the truth, and Jesus said,

"I came to make known

the truth to the world."

And Pilate asked what we could consider

one of the most important questions

that we could ever ask God,

"What is truth?"

But then the text said he then went away.

He didn't stay to receive

the revelation of God.

So, there is that lesson for us

to stay a little longer and allow God

to reveal Himself to us.

(Sabina) That's right, Puia.

Maybe if Pilate had stayed

a little longer, right, paid

a little more attention

to what he had right in front of his eyes,

the story could have been different,

at least for him and his family.

So, I also find it interesting that he

found no fault in Jesus,

even though he didn't resonate with Jesus.

So, in that staying a little longer,

maybe we are kind of already seeing

something happening, and it may not

always make sense to you,

because it was not making sense to Pilate.

He said, "What is truth?"

Like, it seemed like truth for him

was not something that obvious

or for Jesus it was,

and he should have taken a little longer

to maybe understand that, even if he

couldn't reconcile that,

that it was exactly what was happening.
Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) At this point, Pilate

had already heard about Jesus.

He had heard about His ministry.

He had heard about the miracles.

So, even though he didn't have

the full revelation, even though he

didn't take the time to spend,

he could have at least been

a little bit more conscious towards

the Person that he was dealing with,

but he chose not to.

(Sabina) Right, and we are

going to see further, maybe if Lezlie

would take us to Matthew 27:19,

that there was more revelation

that was given to Pilate about Jesus.

So, let's read there in Matthew 27:19,

and we are going to learn

about this revelation.

(Lezlie) I'm reading

from the New Living Translation,
Matthew 27:19:

(Sabina) Oh, wow.

So, what special revelation

is being given here to him?

He had experienced what he saw

as his own witness, and now...Yes, Derek.

(Derek) And even if we don't know

the content of the dream,

we see the love of God, that God

loves Pilate, that Jesus wants

Pilate to be saved.

But in my favorite book

on the life of Jesus, The Desire of Ages,

it speaks about that dream given

to Pilate's wife, a revelation

of what would happen, including the coming

of Jesus in glory.

And one translation said nightmare,

mine just said a dream,

I don't know; it was troubling to her

because this innocent man

was the King of Glory.

But even if we didn't know the dream,

I see the love of God,

"What else can I do," you know,

"to reach out in a loving rescue, " right,

salvation to this person.

(Sabina) That's right.

So, He not only gave that opportunity

for him to witness for himself,

and he failed to stay a little longer,

as Puia was saying,

but He also then took the time

to communicate with the person

who was the most important person

in his life, I suppose, to see

if maybe he would listen to his wife.

Isn't that powerful, to see the ways

that God is trying to find our hearts.

So, how do you explain, then, the actions

of Pilate in light of his testimony

and special revelation

that was given to him?

How can we explain that he

still wouldn't hear that? Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) Well, we have been talking

about how Satan just blinds us

and makes us deaf.

And obviously in his response

to the revelation he has received

and his response to the dream

that his wife had,

he still did not open his heart

to accept Jesus for whom he was seeing

that He could be.

(Sabina) Yes, Zandile, I see

you have your hand up.

(Zandile) As you were questioning

I thought of the fact that Pilate

and his wife were Romans,

but we find God revealing Himself

to the Romans, the Gentiles at that time,

people who did not have anything

to do with God, people who did not

know Him, but He comes to them.

Even Jesus, He was

about to be a sacrifice for everybody,

but God is saying,

"Hey, listen, have nothing..."

He is revealing Himself to show

that He cares for all humanity,

for everyone, not only the Jews.

But in light of the question

that you just asked, I wanted to say

that God had already said,

"I have given today

in front of you life or death.

It's up to you to, you know, choose life

or you choose death."

(Derek) Wow.

(Sabina) Yes. Puia, I see your hand up.

Would you take us to John 19,

verses 1 and 16.

We are going to see

a little bit more there,

and then maybe you can add...

(Puia) Sure, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

John 19, verse 1:

And verse 16:

What I wanted to comment on, Sabina,

was that Pilate was

pressured by the crowd.

It may be easy, to kind of, blame him,

but I believe there is also danger

for us today that we, too, can

be pressured to go along

with the majority.

It's not fun to be different

from the crowd, so one reason Pilate,

while knowing that Jesus was innocent,

why did He still deliver Jesus

to be crucified?

Well, because he gave in

to the pressure of the crowd.

(Sabina) That's right, he gave in

to the pressure of the crowd.

And he also had a role,

and sometimes the pressure can even be

because of a certain profession
that you have.

Because he had a role to play,

and part of his role to play

was to make sure that all parts

and communities were satisfied and happy.

So one day [he had to satisfy one group]

and another day [another group],

so he had to reconcile his call

as a leader with the witness of Jesus

that was right in front of him.

And it seems like he failed. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I was thinking of a song

that I sang as a kid, Stand up,

Stand up, for Jesus.

Jesus was going to the cross,

whether Pilate flogged Him or not,

because it was His time.

But he could have taken a stand for Jesus,

and he chose, as mentioned,

not to take a stand

because of popular opinion.

And I think there is a lesson

for us to learn, as when we're asked

to take a stand, we

might not change a situation,

but we can stand.

We can stand for Jesus.

(Sabina) Yes. So I see

many hands up, and I would love

to continue talking about that,

but we are going to move

to our next witness.

And, Cory, if you will help us there.

We are going to be looking

at the witness of Thomas,

Thomas who struggled to believe

that Jesus was risen from the dead.

So we already know, we heard

from the story of Mary and her testimony.

We've seen here in the testimony,

also, of Pilate, who was

a completely different person than Mary,

a different background,

a different response.

Now, let's look at Thomas, who was

one of those close followers of Jesus.

So, if you'll read for us from John,

chapter 20, from verses 19 to 24, Cory.

(Cory) I'm reading

from the New King James:

(Sabina) Okay, so, Cory,

just stick with us a little longer here.

I saw you had your hand up,

and you just read this text.

Why do you think that Thomas

was struggling to believe

that Jesus was risen from the dead?

What are your thoughts?

(Cory) I think some people

just need to [feel and] see things

with their own hands and eyes,

and there were so many doubts

because he really believed Jesus

was going to be a king on Earth right now.

And [with] his belief, he doubted

everything that was going on,

so he needed to see it himself.

(Sabina) Okay, thank you so much.

And we are going to look

a little further here.

Maybe, Joshua, if you'll read

for us John 20:25,26, and we are

going to be thinking

[of what more we can learn]

about Thomas from these two verses?

(Joshua) Alright, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
John 20:25-26:

(Sabina) So, what can we learn

about Thomas? Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) I think that he is like what Cory

was saying, that he is somebody

that needs something tangible,

that needs tangible evidence

before they can believe.

But I just love that Jesus, even though He

knew that he didn't believe,

He's so loving, the love of God

is so big, that He reaches

even beyond our unbelief

and reveals Himself to us.

(Derek) I always struggled

with calling him "Thomas the Doubter."

I think he's a skeptic.

I think, like Cory said, he may need

a little more tangible evidence.

But I want us to note that he is there

in the upper room, right,

eight days later; he is there.

So, his heart is open, and I'm so thankful

for what happens next,

because while Jesus says,

"Blessed are those who believe

even though they don't see,"

He doesn't say, "Thomas, you're a loser.

Leave the room."

I see the love of Jesus there.

But I want to affirm Thomas,

even though he was struggling,

he showed up with the people of God.

(Team) Amen.

(Sabina) So, looking to that,

maybe, Jason, if you'll read for us.

We are going to look at the way

that Jesus encourages Thomas

and also how Thomas

finally responds to Jesus,

so verses 27 to 29,

if you'll read that for us.

(Jason) My pleasure, and the Bible says:

(Sabina) Thank you.

So, first of all, how did

Jesus encourage Thomas?

Do you have any thoughts about it?
Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I'm just really impressed, first,

by Thomas' request, and then Jesus giving

him exactly what he needs to believe.

We've been going through this study

of John, and many people were asking

for signs; Jesus didn't give them a sign.

And here now Thomas is saying,

"Unless I see this....," I think it has

to do with the condition of the heart.

I think Derek is right.

He wanted to believe,

but he wanted evidence.

And I've been in this situation

with Thomas before, and God

has revealed Himself to me

in a powerful way.

When your heart is willing and receptive,

God knows what you need, and He

will give it and reveal Himself to you.

(Sabina) Puia. I see so many hands up.

We're always stirred up with that story.
Yes, Puia.

(Puia) I am very encouraged by this story,

because I myself struggle with doubts

quite a lot of the time.

And there could be two types of doubters.

One group would be doubting towards faith,

and one group would be

doubting towards unbelief.

What we see from Thomas is that, yes,

he was struggling with doubts,

but he was doubting towards faith.

So, if we are struggling

with doubts today, there is

a lot of encouragement from this story,

that Jesus doesn't condemn.

Instead, the words of Jesus said,

"Blessed are those who have not

seen Me but believe."

He's talking about us.

(Sabina) Yes, so at the same time, Thomas

was encouraged by Jesus,

so Jesus listens to Thomas, He comes

towards Thomas and his needs

in that moment, but at the same time,

He uses Thomas' story

as an object lesson,

let's put it this way, for all of us.

So we that are here, and we do have

the chance right now to be like, "Oh,

Jesus, can I touch it?"

But He is going to make sure that we know

that we are more blessed than Thomas

if we are able to believe without having

that same experience that he had.

So, Gladys, just to conclude this part

about Thomas, what encouragement

do you find in this story for your life?

(Gladys) Well, I feel like the man

that Jesus asked if he believed,

and he said, "I believe,

but help my unbelief."

You know, sometimes we have this doubt,

but God finds a way to just reveal Himself

in a personal way to [move]

towards belief, like Puia was saying.

You have doubts, but, yes,

[He will] move you closer to Him

towards believing in Him.

(Sabina) Isn't He loving?

Isn't He so caring, that even if we are

in that moment of doubt, of challenges,

He is going to make sure to come

towards you because He loves you.

He is not trying to make it hard,
right, Gladys, for us?

(Gladys) He's not.

(Sabina) He's trying as much as He can

to attract us to Him.

Thank You, Jesus, for that.

And so, maybe, Lezlie, if you'll take us

to the final part of our study, we are

going to be looking at the way

in which John concludes his own witness

because John is also a witness

of all that, and he gives that witness

of many things that he saw

and what he thinks of Jesus.

So, if you'll take us to John,

chapter 20, verses 30 and 31, please.

(Lezlie) Okay, I'm reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Sabina) So, what testimony

is John giving here? Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I'm going to make the argument

that that should be the last verse

of the Bible, because I think

that encapsulates all of Scripture.

I think that's the reason

all of Scripture was written.

But John wanted to be sure

that we knew that that was the reason.

As a matter of fact, now when I study

the book of John, and I

have that understanding, wow,

there's a whole new revelation.

You read the Bible in a different way

when you know that that's why

it was written.

(Sabina) Yeah, it seems like John's desire

was that you and I would believe

those things, you know?

Ultimately, [it was] all he wanted,

and through the Holy Spirit he

was inspired because he knew

that if we have the life of Jesus,

we have eternal life.

If we belong to Jesus,

we have eternal life.

And just to conclude here, do you have

a story of your own,

your testimony about Jesus?

We are going to say that in short;

we don't have much time.

Is there something that you can say here

that you are inspired to share.
Yes, Tendi.

(Tendi) How I came to the church,

it was a trying time for me,

but I held onto the fact that, leaving

my job to honor the Sabbath

and being unemployed for three years,

Jesus will honor my fidelity one day.

I stood firm to the belief that I had

and the conviction I had.

(Team) Amen.

(Sabina) Thank you, Tendi.

I think that each one of us here

(if I start asking, we won't have time)

would have a testimony to share

of the many ways in which Jesus

has been touching our lives.

And that's my invitation also for you

who are watching us.

I'm sure that Jesus has been working

in your life even before you were alive.

He was thinking of you

when He made you and knitted you together

in your mother's womb.

He had a plan for you.

He has a desire for your life,

and that desire is that you would come

to believe in Him and have life.

So just please take this invitation

from Jesus, it's a gift,

and not only receive the witness

that we see in the Bible from Thomas

or from Mary or the prophetic witness

of Abraham or the witness of Tendi,

Puia, Derek, but also see the witness

of what the things are that Jesus

will do in your life.

I look forward to learning of the ways

in which we are witnessing His work

in you for eternity. Amen?

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Derek) What a powerful study.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) And, "Blessed are those

who believe," is not just those back then,

but could we testify, "We are

blessed because we believe"?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) We believe what?

We believe that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God, and that by believing

we have life in His name.

Thank you, Sabina, for sharing with us.

And thank you for joining us.

I just want to appeal to you

as Sabina has; don't let this

just be information.

John said these stories

are not just to entertain you

but so you could be saved

forever in God's Kingdom.

Let's pray together.

Father in Heaven, may the testimonies

of those who believed, that we have

shared today, including present testimony,

remind us that You are not trying

to hide from us, but You want

to find us and save us and use us

to bless others with a word

of hope through You.

Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School - what a journey.

Take what you've learned, my friend,

go out and be a blessing
to those around you.

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