HSS2304003

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We're in a series called

God's Mission - My Mission.

It's your mission and my mission,

joining God in His mission,

today, God's Call to Mission.

I pray you will be blessed

as we study the Word of God together

in an interactive way.

So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

and welcome to the team,

good to see you.

You look great today,

and what a beautiful set we have here.

We're so thankful for our media team

that helps this to happen.

We've got some remote team members

joining us today.

Let's see, Amy, great to have you back,

glad you're with us today.

And Jamie Jean, always good

to have you on the team.

And Puia, great to see you.

We're looking forward to a great study
together.

And we're also happy

that you're here with us.

You know, people tell me, "I raise my hand

when you ask a question."

And we'd love to hear from you

how studying the Word of God

has blessed your life.

Here's a note from Summer in Jamaica.

Anybody with Jamaican roots here?

Alright, Tricia Lee, give Summer

a wave, will you?

"A pleasant day to you.

My name is Summer; I'm writing

from the beautiful island of Jamaica.

I'm writing this email to thank you all

for the work you've done.

You have made an indelible mark

on my Christian walk." Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Praise God.

"I grew up in the church.

I thought I found faith;

however, due to many circumstances

that have taken place in my life,

my faith slipped, and I was

on the brink of letting go

of my Christian faith

and turning elsewhere.

However, I remembered

the Hope Sabbath School team..."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "...and how they

seemed to be patient and faithful,

and I said to myself, 'I have to hold on

because there are people

with hope on this journey.'"

(Team) Amen.

(Stephanie) Praise God.

(Derek) I'm so encouraged

to keep going on and that there is

a better place for me someday.

God bless you all." Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Summer, you blessed our hearts.

That's why we do what we do!

And thank you that your testimony

will have blessed someone else's heart.

In fact, if you were blessed

by that testimony from Summer,

write to us at [e-mail].

We'll pass that on to Summer,

so that she can know that she was used

to bless your life.

Dorothy writes to us from Canada.

Oh, we've got a Canadian

on our team today, Adison,

great to have you.

This is from the other coast,

"Best regards in the name of Jesus

our soon-coming King.

I'm writing to you from Toronto, Canada,

to express my delight in watching

the interactive Bible study

on Sabbath mornings,"

oh, "when I was home during the pandemic.

However, even though I'm

attending church regularly now,

I'm still watching Hope Sabbath School.

May God continue to bless your ministry

so that many more people can be blessed

and come to accept Jesus.

It's so wonderful how the gospel

is spreading across the globe.

We know Jesus is coming soon,

and that," says Dorothy,

"is very good news."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Dorothy, thanks

for writing to us from Canada.

We're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Here's a note from a donor

in South Carolina

in the United States of America,

and the donor says, "It's been on my mind

and heart to donate to somehow help

the work of God be done.

Anyway, I just can't

put it off any longer.

Please accept our donation
to Hope Channel.

May God bless you all, every single soul,

on the Hope Channel team

and all who help make this possible."

That would be our support team, right,
our media team.

"May we all continue to spread the gospel

and pray to go home very soon,"

from a couple in South Carolina

and a donation of 5,000 dollars to bless

the ministry of Hope Sabbath School.

Thank you, Donor Couple.

You know who you are.

Wave to South Carolina.

But thank you to each one of you,

because we're all part -

remember in a previous program

someone gave 25 dollars? -

we're all part of the miracle, aren't we?

And if you'd like to partner

in the mission and say, "I'd like

to support this donor-supported ministry,"

you can go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess, and if you

don't know how to give online

by clicking on the Donate button,

you can find an address and write to us.

We want to say thank you for your support.

One last note, from the country

of Namibia; can someone tell me

where Namibia is?

Someone says, "It's a long way
from here."

It's former German West Africa,

now called Namibia, not far, Zandile,

from your homeland of South Africa, right?

"I greet you all," Aberham writes,

"I greet you all, brothers and sisters.

We are one family of hope

waiting for the second coming of Jesus."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I am a Hope Sabbath School member

for about seven years now,

and I listen to powerful testimonies here,

which encourage me

in the difficult walk of life.

The Word of God has never guaranteed us

an easy life, but in Jesus we are

comforted in the valley of difficulties.

I pray you remain strong and committed

in spreading the Word of God."

And Aberham concludes with these words,

"Maranatha! Soon Jesus will come. Amen."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, thank you so much

for writing to us.

And we'd love to hear from you!

You say, "Derek, really?" Yes!

Because we want to hear how God

is blessing your life

through a study of His Word.

Write to us at [e-mail],

and we would love to share your testimony

on an upcoming program.

Right now, we'd like to hear you sing.

We've got a theme song for this series,

Psalm 9, verses 1 and 2.

It says, "I will praise You, O Lord,

with my whole heart;

I will tell," that's the mission,

isn't it, "I will tell

of all Your marvelous works."

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) While we were singing,

I was just imagining the Psalmist David,

3,000 years, ago singing that song.

I don't know what the tune was,

but he also wanted to be a witness, right?

He had a mission,

and we do, too, so, beautiful.

We want to talk

of all God's wondrous works

as we share together today.

Let's sing again.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Our topic today

is God's Call to Mission, and we want

to be part of that, so let's pray

the Holy Spirit will guide us.

Our Father in Heaven, we just want

to thank You that You call us

to join You in Your mission,

that You love every person on this planet

with an immeasurable and unfailing love,

and You want to pour Your love

and Your power into our lives

so that we can join You in Your mission.

I pray as we study today

that every Hope Sabbath School member

would be blessed in a supernatural way,

and we thank You.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, we want to talk

about moving outside of our comfort zone.

What does that mean?

Well, the word comfort, we know that.

What does it mean, John,

to move outside of your comfort zone?

(John) That's perhaps going

into uncharted territory, unfamiliar.

(Derek) We're going to start with a story

in [Genesis], chapter 11,

where actually in an act of rebellion

people say, "We're not going to move

out of our comfort zone,

even though God tells us to,"

and see the result of that.

So, let's start; Travis, could you start

our study today in Genesis, chapter 11.

It's a story some may have heard

or referred to as the Tower of Babel,

but it's actually a story

about God saying, "I've got a mission,"

and people making a choice

whether to obey that call or not.

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Now, people say,

"What's wrong with building a city?"

"What's wrong in finding a good location

and all gathering there?"

Well, what had the Lord told Noah

and his family after they had been saved

from the global flood,

do you remember? Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) Yes, to go throughout the world

and populate the world.

(Derek) Okay, so we're, of course,

many millennia later, and He tells us

to go out, right, with a different reason,

not just to populate the earth
but to tell people...?

(Gladys) The good news...

(Derek) The good news of salvation,
that's right.

So, it's an act of rebellion back then

to just all stay in one clump.

Now, is it an act of rebellion today

to all stay in one clump

rather than obeying?

What causes people to do that, Stephanie?

What is it about, "Well, these are

my kind of people"?

Why are we so comfortable staying

with our little group?

(Stephanie) I think it does

take us out of our comfort zone,

but one of the things

that comes to my mind is it

doesn't give me the opportunity

to truly trust God and His ability to do

whatever He wants to do in my life

wherever He takes me.

(Derek) Okay, so stepping

out of my comfort zone, whether back then

or now, requires, really, depending
on God.

Anybody else? Gladys?

(Gladys) We like to have control
of our lives.

We want to plan everything.

We want to know how things

are going to go.

So, when we are called

to go somewhere else, probably we

don't know the language,

we don't know the culture,

we don't know the people.

We feel like, "Ah, I cannot control

anything there; everything is variable."

(Derek) Back then, of course,

they just had one language, so they

didn't have an excuse to obey, right?

I see a couple of hands raised.
Jamie Jean.

(Jamie Jean) Yes, and I also noticed

that they said they wanted

to make a name for themselves,

and I think that can be true for us today.

Like, they didn't want to glorify God;

they wanted to stay where they

were comfortable and glorify themselves.

And, I think that can be true for us;

if we're in an area

where we're very comfortable,

we can sometimes become very self-centered

because we know we can succeed there.

Whereas, God may call us out

so that we can glorify His name

so that we can do His will.

(Derek) Good point, Jamie Jean.

I think we feel comfortable

when we think, "I can do this";

whereas, God's giving us

God-sized assignments.

Puia, why do you think

there's a natural tendency

to just kind of stay

with my own little group?

(Puia) I believe it's more comfortable

to be where we're familiar with things,

especially food, culture, language,

and we belong with people,

we belong more with the people

that we are like,

and stepping out of our comfort zone

would require us to become strangers.

And it's not fun to be a stranger

and feel like you don't really belong

to that new environment.

(Derek) We're going to talk about someone

in just a moment who was asked

to do just that, to become a stranger.

But, let's kind of scan Scripture.

Can you think of some Bible characters

who were willing to say, "Okay, God, You

asked me to step out of my comfort zone,"

Adison, "so I'm going to do it"?

(Adison) I think of Moses.

To step out in faith like that

there at the burning bush,

listen to the call of God to say,

"Be My agent to help bring My people

out of Egypt into the Promised Land,"

that took a tremendous amount of faith.

And in part, Moses struggled with speech.

This was something completely out

of his comfort zone.

(Derek) So, I have a question.

It just came to my mind.

Help me out, someone.

Did he also have a choice?

How old was he when he went

to live with Pharaoh's daughter?

You know, maybe 12 years old.

So, could he have said then
to his mother...

Her name was Jochebed, right,

not the Pharaoh's daughter;

that wasn't his mother.

Could he have said then,

"I don't want to go"?

Or, had his mother said, "God has

a plan here, son; we don't know all

of what it is, but your life was saved."

Stephanie, what do you think?

(Stephanie) I think he could have,

but she was preparing him for that.

(Derek) His whole life.

(Stephanie) That's right.

(Derek) Samuel?

(Samuel) Even after becoming familiar

with the comfortableness of the palace,

he could have not decided to go,

but he still went.

(Derek) Doesn't it say in the book

of Hebrews that he was willing

to walk away from all

of the treasures of Egypt, right?

Anybody else that you think of,

wiling to step out? Zandile?

(Zandile) I'm thinking of Mary,

the mother of Jesus.

(Derek) That was a big step

out of comfort zone, right?

(Zandile) She did step out for God,

even though she was about to be married,

but she took on the shame.

She took on everything of being with child

without her being married

to somebody first.

(Derek) That was very courageous,
wasn't it?

It tells us something

about her character. Stephanie?

(Stephanie) I was thinking of Zacchaeus.

He stepped out of his comfort zone...

(Derek) Climbing the tree, you mean?

(Stephanie) Well, sure.

(Derek) That's kind of out

of the comfort zone, right, a wealthy man

climbing up a tree?

(Stephanie) Yes, but I was

actually thinking of him making

a complete 180 turn from his friends

who believed in a certain way.

He completely turned away from that

when God called.

(Derek) Gave half of what he owned
to the poor...

(Stephanie) Yes.

(Derek) ...and repaid everyone fourfold.

We've got several other hands. Samuel.

(Samuel) I'm thinking of Nicodemus

being a member of the Sanhedrin,

and then at the end he comes and he

stands up for Jesus after Jesus died.

(Derek) When all of the other disciples
have run away?

He and Joseph, right?

That was courageous,

stepping out, right? Gladys?

(Gladys) I was thinking of Ruth.

She was totally not of the Israelites,

so she had all the reasons not to go,

and she chose to go...

(Derek) Chose to go back...

(Gladys) ...with her mother-in-law, yes.

(Derek) "Your people will be..."?
"...And your God..."?

(Gladys) "...my God."

(Derek) "I'm going to leave Marduk

and all the pagan gods

and follow the one true God of heaven"?

(Gladys) Yes.

(Derek) That was courageous, too,
wasn't it?

Well, if the only thing we learn

from our study is that God's call

is probably not to just try to stay

out of trouble until Jesus comes,

but actually to step out

of our comfort zone.

Someone said in a previous program,

"Just being on Hope Sabbath School!"

Remember, Zandile, first time?

How did that feel?

(Zandile) It was not a good feeling.

(Derek) Stepping out a little?

(Zandile) Yes.

(Derek) Maybe when we feel, "Ooh!

This is stepping out of my comfort zone,"

we may be, if we're listening

to the Spirit, on track.

You know, hold your first
evangelistic meetings.

I remember Adison, you're

here today in the studio.

We went to Zambia together.

How did that feel

in terms of comfort zone?

(Adison) Tremendous step of faith.

I mean, you hadn't even heard me sing.

(Derek) I invited Adison

to be my singing evangelist,

and I'd never heard him sing.

You say, "Derek, how in the world?"

Well, Travis said he could sing,

and I trusted Travis.

What did you see God do there?

(Adison) Miracle after miracle.

It was probably one

of the greatest experiences

of my whole life.

I haven't lived very long

on this earth yet, but it was

such a...I don't know how to explain it.

It was, yeah, there are no words,
no words...

(Derek) Is God's call to mission
a call to joy?

(Team) Yes!

(Derek) It may be a call to sacrifice,

be called to step out, right,

of the comfort zone,

but it's a call to joy.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Let's go back

to that one other individual

that we didn't mention yet,

a man named Abram.

We know him more by his new name,

Stephanie, don't we?

But let's pick up the story,

if you'd read for us in Genesis 12:1-3.

We don't know much about him

except he was apparently wealthy,

and he lived in a city.

Well, let's see what we learn.

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) So, how was that, Samuel,

a call to mission?

It wasn't just like, "Let's go

on an adventure."

Where did you hear in those words

a call to mission?

(Samuel) The word blessed

keeps on repeating in these words.

God wants to bless Abraham

so that through Abraham

He can bless the whole world.

And so, I think anytime God calls us

to step out for Him, He's wanting

to bless us, and through us, bless others.

(Derek) So, he's living, we discover,

in a city called Ur

of the Chaldeans, right?

And he's called to leave

without even knowing where he's going.

John, how would that feel for you?

God said, "Okay, pack up your things,

your wife and children, and I want you

to start heading down I-95,"

or "heading north on 81"?

(John) I'll be honest, I would hesitate,

but knowing God, He doesn't

always reveal to us beyond the first step,

and that's what He called Abram to do,
take that step.

(Derek) So, Amy, you've been

in unusual mission settings, I know,

what can you learn about Abram

from the fact that he was willing

to respond to God's call?

(Amy) I think he knew God.

He knew God's voice,

and he didn't question either God's voice

or God's purpose for him

and God's goodness and God's character.

And I think that he trusted

that when God calls him, that God

had a real purpose for that,

not just for him to be a blessing,

but that in it he would also be blessed.

(Derek) You know, I was reading in a book

which talks about the life of Abram,

called Patriarchs and Prophets,

that he was from the line of Seth,

so the line that remained faithful
to God, right?

But, the idol worship had seeped

into his family's system, so it was a call

to leave all of that, right?

So, do a scan; you've read, perhaps,

some of the story.

Puia, maybe you could help us

get started with this.

How well do you think Abram did

in fulfilling God's mission?

(Puia) I believe he

went through many difficult journeys,

and things did not go smoothly.

And one might have expected

that once God gave the call,

the journey would be smooth

and easy sailing, but Abram

went through a lot of trials.

But, I believe the most important point

is that he was faithful until the end.

He followed God, even though along the way

he made a few errors in decisions.

But, he was faithful until the end,

and I think he accomplished

what God called him to do.

(Derek) I want to hold onto that idea,

Puia, because I think there is

some application for us later. Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) I totally appreciate

Puia's comment, and I'm just thinking

that we don't have to be perfect

for God to use us or call us,

that He calls imperfect people

to go do the perfect plan

that He has for us.

And so, I think that's amazing.

You don't have to feel intimidated

like, "I'm too small," "I'm too broken,"

"I'm too sinful."

God uses the process

to make us more perfect,

to make us more like Him.

(Derek) If God didn't use

imperfect people, we'd all

have to go home right now, including me,

and we'd send all

the camera people home, right?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) There was an incident,

wasn't there, in the life of Abram

when he was really tested.

Do you remember that story

in Genesis, chapter 12, right?

He gets to [Egypt] because of a famine.

I don't remember that it says he prayed

and said, "God, what do you

want me to do?"

But, he went down

to the Nile Delta, probably,

where there was some irrigation,

and what happens?

Does anybody remember the story? Gladys?

(Gladys) Yeah, he told his wife,

"You're too beautiful, so why don't you

say that you're my sister."

(Derek) "So that I can protect you."

(Gladys) "...myself."

(Derek) Oh, "So I can

protect myself," okay,

"because Pharaoh might kill me

because you're so good-looking."

And what was the outcome of that?

Was that joining God in His mission?

(Team) No.

(Derek) In fact, who was the person

of integrity in the story,
do you remember?

(Team) Pharaoh.

(Derek) It was Pharaoh!

He's like, "What are you doing,

telling me that she's your sister

when she's your wife!"

And he rebukes him, right?

But, I appreciate what Puia said,

that God can use imperfect people, right?

Now, he did learn, and of course,

the great story, which some of you

have heard many times,

but someone watching

Hope Sabbath School today,

they're hearing it

for the very first time.

And, Tricia Lee, it's in Genesis 22,

and then, Jamie Jean, I'm going

to ask you to read

the second part of the story.

How does this story relate

to God's mission being fulfilled
in the world?

Well, let's pick up the story

in Genesis 22, verses 1 to 7.

(Tricia Lee) Reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Then the first half
of verse 8 for us,

if you could keep reading, Tricia Lee.

(Derek) Oh, my, that is so beautiful.

Where do you see faith

in that stepping out

with the call of God?

He's doing what God's asked him to do.

Where do you see evidences

of faith there? Adison.

(Adison) From the moment he left his tent,

from the very start, but I love, I love

what Tricia Lee just read, verse 8,

"My son, God will provide Himself
a lamb..."

(Derek) Yeah. Jamie Jean.

(Jamie Jean) I think, you know, it

doesn't say anything about this,

he doesn't question it or argue.

Whereas, maybe in his youth,

he would have tried to find

a way around it or something,

given some of the mistakes

he made in his past,

but he just, as you said,

stepped out of his tent.

He doesn't argue; he doesn't question.

This is a man who walked with God

and spoke with God.

They had a relationship.

He could have pushed back,

and it doesn't appear that he did.

(Derek) So, back to the fact earlier

that God uses imperfect people,

we can grow in our faith, right?

But, did you notice that little part

of verse 5, at the end of verse 5?

(Team) "We will come back to you."

(Derek) We, not, "I will come back,"

but, "We will come back."

How did he think that was

going to happen, do you know?

Because, John, he had been asked

to be willing to offer his son.

(John) Abraham had no idea

what God would do, but he knew the promise

that, "Through your descendants,

I will bless the world."

And so, he had to take God at His word.

(Derek) There's an insight, Tricia Lee,

also in Hebrews, isn't there?

Did you go there? Where is it found?

(Tricia Lee) It's Hebrews 11,

and it's verse 19.

(Derek) Hebrews 11.

(Tricia Lee) But we could read

17 [to] 19 for more context.

(Derek) Okay, Hebrews 11,

verses 17 [through] 19.

You know, I love

this interactive Bible study

where someone lights up,

and they think of a Bible text

that helps us to understand

the story, doesn't it.

Read that for us.

(Tricia Lee) New King James Version says:

(Derek) So, what did you notice

in verse 17? What did you notice?

(Gladys) He embraced the promises.

(Derek) He offered his son,

not he planned to - he did.

(Gladys) Yes, in his heart, he did.

(Derek) He did, and like you said, John,

"God, I don't know

how You're going to do this,

but we will come back down

off the mountain; if necessary..."

Where is mission

in that whole story? John?

(John) I think the venturing out

into the realm of the unknown

but knowing that God has commanded

and promised to be with you,

and that He would fulfill His promise.

(Derek) Well, we're going to pick up

a little more of the story.

Jamie Jean's going to read

after her comment. Jamie Jean?

(Jamie Jean) I was also going to say

that in a sense he's

also witnessing to his son,

through which the promised Seed will come.

You know, this is a man who by faith

has walked with God.

He's made his mistakes,

and he's demonstrating to his son

just how strong his faith is,

and that this is not just about Abraham.

It's about his son seeing how God

will keep His promises and fulfill

what He has [promised].

(Derek) Beautiful.

Jamie Jean, stay with us

because I want you to read the second half

of verse 8 down through verse 18,

because, again, some of us say,

"Derek, I know this story,"

but, Jamie Jean, someone

may be hearing this amazing story

for the first time.

And I like what you said,

that he's not just witnessing

in kind of a theoretical sense;

he's witnessing to his own son,

but it's actually a witness

to the whole world!

Let's continue the story,

the second half of verse 8 of Genesis 22.

(Jamie Jean) Alright, the New American
Standard Bible

reads as follows:

(Derek) You know, that expression

"the Angel of the Lord"

doesn't mean a created being angel.

It's a Messenger of the Lord,

and that Messenger, "By Myself

I have sworn," that Messenger

of the Lord is none other

than the Son of God

who will come into humanity.

And what is this whole story about?!

Anybody, what's it about?!

(Samuel) It's foreshadowing
the death of Christ.

(Derek) It is the whole plan of salvation

that the Father will give His only Son,

right, "God will provide a Lamb, My Son."

So, what an amazing story.

So, if we just stopped here,

about stepping out of our comfort zone,

the call of God, just from this narrative

about Abram, later called Abraham,

what's an important lesson?

Let me start with you, Amy.

What's an important lesson?

You've been in many different mission
contexts,

different countries, you've read

this story many times,

but here it is again.

How does God speak to your heart

in this story about God's Call to Mission?

(Amy) That sometimes God calls me

to do hard things, but it's important

to just trust Him in that.

And I think Abraham had learned

through experiences in his life,

step by step, that when God calls,

when God asks him to do something,

that he should do it and that he

will be blessed through that,

and that God will come through.

God can be trusted.

It was a step-by-step journey,

so I think, was this difficult for him?

Absolutely, but I think it was

just the next step in his faith journey

with God as well.

(Derek) Did he have any idea

that this was like a global witness?

(Team) No.

(Derek) You know, It

would be many centuries

before Moses would write this story down,

right, in the book of Genesis.

So, well, anybody else?

An important lesson, Zandile,

you learned from this man

who was, as we pointed out, imperfect.

And then, Tricia Lee, I see your hand.

(Zandile) I learned that it was

very important to listen to God,

to keep hearing God

when He's talking to us,

because if Abraham stopped in verse 2

where God said, "Go offer him,"

and did not listen to God saying,

"Do not do anything to the boy..."

Sometimes we have

to keep listening to God.

(Derek) That's really a powerful point.

Don't only listen when He says, "Go,"

but also listen when He says,

"Don't lay your hand," right?

Don't stop listening.

I've got 17 hands raised, it looks,

but we're going to get Tricia Lee

and then a couple of our remotes.

This is important, isn't it?

Powerful lessons here.

But, thank you for sharing that,

listen here, but don't stop listening.

(Tricia Lee) That's really powerful,
Zandile.

In just thinking about Abraham,

I mean, I think about this story,

and it's like God is not calling

all of us to sacrifice

our firstborn child, our only child.

But, when I look at this, it makes me

think that not everybody

is going to understand some of the things

that God is calling us to do,

and having that faith and trust

and hearing God's voice and understanding

what He's speaking to me,

it doesn't have to make sense

to us reading this story,

like, "I would never offer my child!"

It doesn't have to make sense to Travis

or Adison; it's really about listening

and hearing God's voice.

And in time, it all becomes revealed.

To those people who are watching,
your friends, your family,

they're like "What are you doing?!

That sounds so crazy."

"Why are you leaving your job?"

"Why are you going

to this foreign country?'

We have to hear God's voice

and keep trusting that the plan

that He has, it might not make sense

to anybody else, but it's the path

that He has for us.

Because God knew that Abraham

would be the right person to listen,

both in the beginning and at the end,

to have this beautiful example for us

of the plan of salvation.

(Derek) Jamie Jean.

(Jamie Jean) I also note that he calls

the place The-Lord-Will-Provide.

I think that's a lesson to us as well.

And one of my favorite authors says

in one of her books, I don't remember

which book it is, but the phrase

stuck with me, "The Lord has 1,000 ways

to answer each of our prayers

and each of our needs

beyond anything we can ever comprehend,

anything we can ever understand."

So, when we step out in faith,

we might only know the first step,

and it might not make sense.

It might not make sense to us; it

might not make sense to those around us,

but the Lord has 1,000 ways to get you

where He needs you to go.

And it's beyond anything we

as limited humans can plan out,

conceive of and anticipate.

(Derek) Powerful, thank you for sharing.

Puia, I want to give you

an opportunity to share.

(Puia) I agree with Jamie.

I believe the call of God

does not always include us seeing

all the steps ahead.

And, I'm thinking about my own father

and his journey of following God's call

right around the time I was born.

An Adventist Church elder befriended

my dad and started studying

the Bible with him.

And it took him three years of studying

the Bible for him to finally make

the decision to accept

whatever the Word of God was teaching

and join the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

And my parents started a business,

the school, and it was

a very successful boarding school
in Myanmar.

And in the middle of that success,

my father had been feeling

a strong call from God to join

the mission full time as a pastor.

And so, my parents prayed about it

and decided to sell everything we had

and go to a seminary to continue

his further studies.

And with that, my family

left our homeland, Myanmar,

to go to the Philippines, and my dad

studied at the seminary.

And many times we were worried

about where our future

was going to be at,

and our finance was running low,

and many times we had to pray.

But God provided every step of the way,

and right around the time my father

finished his studies, he received a call

to pastor a Mizo-speaking church
in Maryland.

And with that, my whole family

moved to the United States,

and now I am also serving

in the mission field fulltime as a pastor.

Now, I think back on the first decision

that my dad made to follow

wherever God leads, and it's just amazing

to see that God always provides

when we want to join Him in the mission.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thank you so much for sharing,
amazing.

We could stop right there, but I want

to hyperspace to the New Testament.

Sometimes, listen carefully, sometimes God

may allow a crisis to move us

out of our comfortable place.

Are you with me?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) And it may be

a sickness in the family.

It may be a financial setback.

It may be just this feeling

of, "There's got to be more

to life than this."

I want to look in Acts, chapter 8:1-4,

at a crisis that occurred.

And, John, would you read that for us?

Right before it, a man of God

is stoned to death.

The crisis is, "Is he

going to kill us all?"

But let's see what happens

in Acts 8, verses 1 to 4.

(John) From the New International Version,
it says:

(Derek) And now I want you to read on.

The first few words of verse 5

mention a name; what name is that?

(John) Philip.

(Derek) Now, which Philip is that?

There are several Philips, right?

One Philip was one of the 12, right,

friend of Nathanael,

but there's another Philip.

(John) That's right, this

would have been one

of the seven from chapter 6

who were called.

(Derek) He was called

to be a deacon, which was sharing

in the food distribution and so on.

But read on in the story,

because it appears that Philip's willing

to step out of his comfort zone,
verses 5 to 8.

(John) Sure:

(Derek) Wait a minute.

What was his job description?

(Team) He was a deacon.

(Derek) He was a deacon,

food distribution, and I'm sure

he did that faithfully, right?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) But what is he willing to do

as the Holy Spirit leads him?

(Team) Preach.

(Derek) Preach?

(Team) Heal.

(Derek) Heal?

(Gladys) Cast out demons.

(Derek) Cast out demons?

Now, here's the really interesting part,

and you'll want to study more

about Philip; he's actually becoming one

of my heroes, I guess,

of the New Testament, because once God

sees his willingness to what..?

(Team) Step out.

(Derek) ...step out of his comfort zone,

what other story is recorded?

We're not going to read it,

but someone can tell me the story.

Adison, do you know the story?

(Adison) Yeah, about the Ethiopian eunuch?

(Derek) Yeah, so, an angel

says to him, "Go down the road

leading to Gaza,"

and Luke says, "This is desert."

What would be the human response?

(Gladys) "What is there?"

(Derek) "Why? There's nothing there, God,

nothing between here and Gaza."

But instead, it says he went.

And, Adison, what does he meet on the way?

(Adison) He meets the Ethiopian,

the Ethiopian eunuch, and gets

to share, with him, the gospel.

(Derek) Government....

(Adison) Government official, yes.

(Derek) Now, I looked on Google Maps,

because at some point

during the Bible study, by the way, guided

by the Holy Spirit, the Ethiopian says,

"Well, here is water."

I went on Google Maps, and I don't see

any water between Jerusalem and Gaza.

Didn't the text say it was what?

It was desert, right?

Now, there might be an oasis,

but I didn't see one.

So, is God able to create an oasis

for an Ethiopian official

who wants to be baptized?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Or, is that beyond His ability?

(Team) No.

(Derek) And then he's hyperspaced

after the baptism to a place

called Azotus, which I didn't even know

where it was; I had to look it up.

And from there, he preaches all the way

up the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea.

And when Paul's coming back

on a missionary journey,

he stays at the house of Philip

the evangelist, he's called now,

who was one of the seven it says,

who had four daughters who prophesied.

By the way, people will say,

"Well, were they four prophets,

or were they four preachers
who prophesied?"

Either way, that's

a pretty amazing family, isn't it?

What can we learn

from that New Testament character?

A crisis caused them to scatter,

but he's like, "Okay, God,

whatever You want me to do."

What can we learn?

(Stephanie) If we're willing

to be used however God wants to use us,

then He will direct our path,

and that choice will impact

further decisions in our family

and those around us.

(Derek) And I want to go beyond that,

and Stephanie's absolutely right,

I want to go beyond that a little,

and, Amy, I see your hand raised.

It's not only going to affect

future decisions, but it may affect

something else. Amy?

(Amy) Somebody in a previous lesson

said that God is more interested

in our availability than our capability,

and that just really strikes me,

that it's not about what I'm able to do

or what I'm confident doing

or what I'm comfortable doing

or what I'm skilled to do.

It's about whether I'm willing

to let God use me or not,

and I see that very much

in the story of Philip.

(Derek) But, let's go back to, if he's

not so interested in our capability

as our availability,

why is our capability, Travis,

not that big of an issue for God?

(Travis) Because it's God

who qualifies us for the position.

(Derek) I mean, what's happening

in the story of Philip?

It's supernatural activity.

So, it's not only affecting his decisions,

it is affecting his capacity, right,

to do what God asks him to do. Gladys?

(Gladys) The thing is,

when we orchestrate things,

then we can take the glory.

And we do, yeah, we do safe things,

but when we go beyond

to God's want for us,

then He gets all the glory.

(Derek) So, let's look at Peter now.

Peter, when is Peter - you say,

"Many times," but I'm thinking

of one particularly recorded in Acts 10,

but there may be others -

when is Peter pushed

way out of his comfort zone?

Help me, someone. Samuel?

(Samuel) I think when the Roman centurion

Cornelius sends people, because God,

through a vision, tells Cornelius, "Go,

and find this man Peter."

And God comes to Peter, and He says,

"Peter, go," you know,

He gives him a vision

through which God shows Peter that he

needs to go out of his comfort zone,

and then he's going

to this Gentile nation, which is

very, very unthinkable

for a Jewish mindset, to go

and minister to such people.

(Derek) Not even wanting to go

into a Gentile household, right?

But, he was shown

that you should call no man...

(Team) Unclean.

(Derek) ...common or unclean,

pushes him out of his comfort zone.

Now, if you know anything about Peter,

how easy was that for him?

Amy, do you know how easy?

You say, "I guess it was real easy."

How easy was it for Peter to say, "Okay,

welcome, all the Gentiles.

Why don't you come over to my house?"

(Amy) It was both a personal thing,

because he really truly believed

that the gospel was just for the Jews,

and it wasn't for anybody else.

And so, God was pushing him personally.

But, then when I think about it,

the social impact that that had, too.

What would his friends think?

What would the other church members think

when he starts casting his net

a little bit further,

because it wasn't just his belief,

it was a whole cultural belief,

a whole societal belief.

And so, now he's all of a sudden

standing up and going against the norm.

It's really an awkward place to be.

(Derek) Wasn't there a time

when some religious officials

came from Jerusalem

and, talk about pressure, Amy,

when they came, what did Peter do?

(Gladys) He separated himself

from the Gentiles.

(Derek) And who was quick to rebuke him?

(Team) Paul.

(Derek) Who, by the way,

had had his own struggles, too, hadn't he,

but had realized that God's call

to mission is for everybody, right?

So, in our last section, we need

to talk, what does this mean about us?

What are we learning about being willing

to step out of our comfort zone?

Maybe looking at a crisis differently

and saying, "Okay," not, "God, why are You

allowing this to happen?"

but, "What do You want

to teach me in this?"

What are some things we can learn?

Well, let's read a text first.

Zandile, if you'll read Acts,

chapter 1 for us, verse 8.

We've read it already in this series,

but it's kind of a foundational text

about God's mission and my mission.

What does Jesus say there

in Acts 1 and verse 8?

(Zandile) Sure, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Derek) We know we need power,

but we start where?

Right where we are.

Now, Travis, I'm going

to ask you a question, because I know,

while you grew up, a youngster

in a Christian family, went far away,

came back, [and there are] family members

that you know and love

who don't know the Lord, right?

Some people say sometimes

it's the hardest to witness

to the people closest to you.

Is that true, or is that...

What do you think?

(Travis) I think that it is true.

I think of my brother.

I remember him one time telling me,

"When you first started preaching,

I didn't even want to hear you preach."

(Derek) Because he knew...

(Travis) He knew everything about me.

And it's not that I'm some great guy now,

but now he says, "I look forward

to come hearing you preach now."

So, yeah, it's difficult because people

know, especially those close to you,

they know your imperfections.

They know the life that you lived,

and they're like, "This can't be real."

So, yeah, it's a difficult thing.

(Derek) But it sounds like we

should start in "Jerusalem."

Judea would be like the area around.

Samaria, that was difficult.

"End of the world," then you've got

culture, language, all

of the above, right?

Gladys and then Jamie Jean.

(Gladys) My father was going

through a difficult situation,

and he is a pastor.

And I felt impressed that I needed

to minister to him, that God wanted me

to give him a special message.

(Derek) A little bit out
of the comfort zone.

(Gladys) Yes, and it was so hard,

because, as I said, he's a pastor.

How can I minister to him?

And God just kept impressing me,

"Share this with him. He needs this."

So, I called him up, and I was shaking,

and I said, "Dad, this situation

that you're going through, I want

to share this with you."

And it was the hardest thing

for me to do that, but I realized

that when God tells you to minister

to those that are around you,

it's so you can know that He is the One

that works through you

and not that it's on your own

or because of your skills

or what you know, but it's Him

giving you the grace.

(Derek) Powerful, I hope

your dad's listening.

(Gladys) I hope, too.

(Derek) Yeah, Jamie Jean.

(Jamie Jean) I think, too,

so in both my husband's and my situations,

we are the only people

that have been converted in our families.

And so, I am trying to witness

to my parents, who are non-Christian.

They were very hurt by the church

growing up, so I was raised basically

in an atheist household.

And it's very difficult, because you know

all the hurts, you know the history,

you know all the landmines.

And what I found is sometimes God

sends you help, so in my case,

my husband oftentimes can get further

with my parents and have

those really blessed interactions,

and I can feel the Holy Spirit working.

And then it's the same vice versa

with his family, like, I'm able

to get further with his family, and he's

able to get further with my family,

so we're working as a team.

But, I think there is

also this mental block where you

have to pray, and you have to pray

for the Spirit, because, in the case

of my family's situation, we have

the death of a child.

We have all the people things

that happened to my parents growing up

under the guise of "the church."

And I know all those landmines,

and so I'm held back by them.

And so, in a sense, God has sent me help,

and so my husband and I work in tandem.

And often what I found is

my biggest witness to my parents

is just the way I act

and just how our lives are

and the sense of peace and comfort.

And that goes a long ways.

And sometimes, I think my own children

do a better job than I do

with my own parents, because you have

the innocence of a child,

the innocence of my daughter speaking

to my mother, speaking to my father

about God and Jesus and His love.

And it's really amazing to watch,

and it's really powerful.

(Derek) Amy, stay right there, stay

on the screen, because right behind her

is, "Be strong and courageous;

do not be afraid or discouraged,

for the Lord your God

will be with you wherever you go." Amen?
Joshua 1:9.

Thank you for that testimony.

Whatever God has in store

for each one of us, including you

watching on Hope Sabbath School today,

what is the best way to prepare

for whatever God has

as the next step for us?

Tricia Lee, give me one -

just got a couple of minutes here,

but maybe if you could share -

what would be one important step,

whatever God has in store

in terms of joining Him in His mission?

(Tricia Lee) Be humble.

(Derek) Okay, a spirit of humility.
Stephanie?

(Stephanie) Stay connected to Jesus.

(Derek) Stay connected to Him. Puia?

(Puia) Be willing.

(Derek) Be willing, be available,

as we said earlier. Adison?

(Adison) Patience, being patient.

(Derek) Be patient, okay, for His timing.
Samuel?

(Samuel) Surrender.

(Derek) Surrender, surrender

my agenda, my control?

What else, best preparation?

How about daily asking, "You will

receive power when the..."?

(Team) ...Holy Spirit!

(Derek) Jamie Jean, thank you

for your testimony;

it's so dynamic, isn't it,

when the Holy Spirit's at work, "Okay,

Jamie Jean, I'm going to use you today,

but I'm going to use your child tomorrow,

and I'm going to use your husband

the next day," saying we're humble,

we're available, whatever God wants to do.

Anybody else want to share?

(Gladys) Prayer.

(Derek) Prayer, for sure.

Bible promise, we've just got
a minute left.

What promise just jumps out at you

as we say, "I want to stay availalble

to what God has next in the mission."
Travis?

(Travis) Derek, we've repeated this verse

several times in this study,

and it's Matthew 28, I think,
18 through 20?

(Derek) "All authority"?

(Travis) Because Jesus has been given

all authority, it ends with the promise

that, "I will be with you

to the end of the age."

(Derek) "And I'll be with you..."?

"...always, even to the end of the age."

What a great study.

We're not done, but we're out of time.

You are listening, and you're saying,

"God has got a call on me,
doesn't He?" Yes!

"I may not know all of what it is,

but I want to surrender

with a spirit of humility."

Say, "God, I'm available.

Please guide me by Your Spirit,

and go beyond what I could possibly do

in my own wisdom, my own strength."

And when I see miracles happen?

Favorite Hebrew word...

(Derek, Team) Hallelujah!

Give Him all of the glory,

because we are part

of a great miracle of God,

part of God's mission, preparing all

of His precious children that will accept

for the soon coming of Jesus.

Let's pray together.

Father in Heaven, what a precious study.

And, we thank You for faithful men

and women of God like Abraham and Moses

and Mary, and there are so many

in the Scripture, Dorcus; we think of many

who were willing to just say, "God,

show me, and I'll do it; I'll step out."

And when miracles happened, God,

they gave You glory,

and we want to live like that, too.

And I thank You for hearing our prayer.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

This could turn your life upside down,

but it will be a joy to follow

wherever God leads.

Take what you've learned today, my friend,

go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

♪ theme music ♪