cdn.hopetv.org.s3.amazonaws.com/.../HSS-2016-Q4-E09_1.mp4

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

Have you ever felt hopeless,

like you were going through a
dark time and couldn't see light

at the end of the tunnel?

Today on Hope Sabbath School,

we're going to be talking
about intimations of hope,

glimmers of hope,
even in a difficult time,

which will change our hearts,
and give us courage.

I'm glad you joined us
in our study of the Book of Job.

And welcome to the team.

What a series this has been!

And we've been looking for hope all along.

We found it in a living
connection with God, right?

And here's Job, who doesn't
even know about Jesus.

We have the advantage
of the full revelation

of the character of God in the
Person of Jesus our Savior,

but there is hope, even
in the challenging times,

and we're so thankful for that, today.

And we're glad you've joined us for our
study wherever you are around the world.

We don't know how many countries are
represented, though the last statistics

I had on our Android app, 150 countries
were using the Android app; 137, I think,

using our iOS app, which is for
Apple devices, so lots of you.

We'd love to hear from you even
if you've written to us before.

Tell us how the Word of God
is blessing your life

and you're sharing that with others.

You can write to us at [e-mail],

or you can put a note
on our Facebook page,

just go to our Hope Sabbath
School Facebook page

and leave a comment.

Here's a note from Zambia.

Chileshe writes from Zambia

and says, "Hi, Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Hi.

(Derek) "Thanks for the amazing
Sabbath School discussions.

They are helping me grow
spiritually every week."

That's our prayer, isn't it?

"May God continue blessing
you as you help us."

Chileshe, and I must confess
I do not know, Chileshe,

if that's a man's name or a lady's name;

you'll have to send me another email,

but Chileshe attends the
University SDA Church in Lusaka.

So we're glad you wrote to us.

Here's a note from Samuel.

Thank you for writing,
Samuel, from Nigeria.

We have a lot of Hope Sabbath
School members in Nigeria.

"I'm from the Gudi Sabbath
School Center in Nigeria.

We're just a family of three, but we enjoy
our Sabbath worship, because on Fridays

we watch Hope Sabbath School.

It helps me to teach the class
in a very interesting way."

And Samuel says, "I'm a
high school teacher,"

so we are teaching teachers
to teach the Word.

Isn't that awesome?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) "God bless the Sabbath
School in-depth teaching.

It's the reason why we
have an interesting class."

(Derek, Team) Amen.

Well, we are excited whenever we hear
from Hope Sabbath School members

who are becoming Hope
Sabbath School teachers.

And you can download the outline that
we write, that semi-structured outline,

interactive outline,
website: hopetv.org/hopess,

and you can click on the outline and
download it and use it in your own class.

Thanks for writing to us, Samuel.

Here's a note from Peter in Kenya,

and I was impressed with what Peter said.

He said, "I'm writing to you
from Chuka University in Kenya.

Hope Sabbath School's been quite a
blessing since I started following

just one month ago.

We usually assemble on Friday
evenings together with my roommate

and other hostel mates."

I guess that's like a dormitory situation.

"It's helped us to understand
the lesson in an amazing way."

Sounds like you've got a mini
Hope Sabbath School there, right?

In Chuka University.

That's wonderful, Peter.

Keep inviting other
classmates to join you.

"We pray for special blessings

as you present God's message

to the souls of the world.

Praise the Lord."

Well, Peter, praise the Lord for you, too.

Thanks for writing to us from
Chuka University in Kenya.

And one last note from Phoenix in
California, thanks for writing.

Now is Phoenix a man's name or a lady's
name or can it be used for both,

does anybody know?

Phoenix.

We'll need another email.

"Good morning, beautiful
servants of the Most High.

Just wanted to say praise the
Lord for Hope Sabbath School.

It is the high point of my day.

I learn so much; it's interesting,

plus it's just a blessing.

Being filled with the
understanding of God's Word,

it's like tasting water in the desert."

(Team) Wow.

(Derek) "Excellent job, team.

Plus now with the app on my phone,

it really rocks."

That sounds American,
doesn't it, Timoetel?

But, you know, you can go to the App Store

or to Google Play; you
can download our app.

We've got an Android
app and an Apple app.

Put it on your phone;
it's free to download.

It says, "Now I can watch Hope Sabbath
School anytime with no excuses.

Just keep up the good work.

God encourage your heart to keep
going forward towards the mark

of the high calling in Christ Jesus."

Now I've not taken a poll, but there
may have been a time when you said,

"Well, I'm supposed to come and
film Hope Sabbath School today,

but I'd rather just relax
and not do something."

When you hear these stories,
what does it do for you?

It's encouraging, isn't it?

To see the miracles that are
happening, and so we want to thank you

for writing to us wherever you are
around the world at [e-mail].

When you send that, we send it
out to our media team as well,

so they can be encouraged.

We want to thank God for what
He is doing in your life.

By the way, if you go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess,

you can download the song,

the outline.

We've got sheet music for the song.

You can start a Hope Sabbath
School group in your area

and sing the Scripture song with them.

In fact, we're going to sing it right now.

It's 3,000 years old -
at least the words are.

My wife wrote a simple tune,
but I love this promise,

"I would have lost heart," it says in
Psalm 27:13,14, "unless I had believed

that I would see the goodness of
the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart."

Let's sing that beautiful
promise together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Let's pray together.

Lord God, we thank You that
we can study Your Word today.

It is a lamp to our feet,
a light to our path.

As we talk about intimations
of hope, glimmers of hope,

we pray that we might not only
see hope but experience hope,

even during the challenges of our lives,
that we would have that living connection

with You that changes everything.

So bless in the study of
Your Word today we pray,

each Hope Sabbath School member
blessed, in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, we're in the
Book of Job, chapter 13,

and I'm always thinking

that people may join us
for Hope Sabbath School,

and they haven't watched the
first parts of this series.

You can watch it all; you can
go to our website at hopetv.org

and watch all of the programs,

but let's just catch up
on the story of Job,

and, Brittany, just a quick summary.

Here's a man,

tell us a little bit about
him and what happens to him.

(Brittany) Sure, Job started out as a
famous and wealthy man of the East,

and God even called him blameless.

He had multiple possessions, ten children,

and, just, was very blessed.

But then there was a heavenly
council where the Devil accused God

of blessing him and that Job was only
serving God because of the blessings.

So God says, "Well, I'll
allow you to test him,"

and then everything that Job owned
was taken away, even his children.

All ten of them died in one day.

And after that experience,
then Job was covered in boils

from his head to his toes

and was in pain and anguish and wondering,
"Why is all this happening to me?"

(Derek) So he's going through
a terrible experience,

and then three friends show up,

meaning well, Nathan, right?

And do they help the situation at all?

(Nathan) I think at first they
helped by their presence.

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) Seven days sitting
in silence, mourning with Job,

empathizing with him.

But then when they begin to speak,
it's quite clear that their wisdom

is not heavenly wisdom.

(Derek) What did they basically say?

(Nathan) They were basically
saying, "Job, whatever you did

has brought this upon you.

You have done something wrong.

No one else knows about it because
you look good on the outside,

but God's punishing you
for what you've done."

(Derek) And remember that
startling comment of Zophar?

What did he say?

(Nathan) "You deserve worse than this."

(Derek) "You deserve worse than
this, if the truth were known."

And that's speaking to a man that
the Lord Himself called what?

(Team) Blameless and upright.

(Derek) Blameless and upright!

So Job is confused; he doesn't understand.

We're going to Job chapter 13 now,

and Puia, if you'd begin our study
today with the first four verses.

I'd like you to tell us after he speaks,
before we talk about his comments,

what do you think he's
experiencing on the inside now?

He's kind of going through a
very difficult time, Job 13:1-4.

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

(Derek) Okay.

Well, at first he said the Lord
gives, the Lord takes away;

blessed be the name of the Lord.

Someone said in our study, he's holding
on to the promise, though he may be

a little bit in denial about everything
that's really happened to him.

Nathan, where do you see him here?

Whew, that's pretty strong
language here, isn't it?

(Nathan) Yeah, and I
was just thinking that

we can't miss what he said in verse two.

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) When he says, "What you know,
I also know; I am not inferior to you."

Sometimes, meaning well, we
can speak down to people,

make them feel inferior or like, "I
really have greater spiritual insight

than you do; let me help
you straighten out here."

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) That's really not helpful.

And we have to be careful that
we don't condescend to people.

(Derek) Condescending, like we're
looking down, treating them as inferior.

They had good intentions, right?

We know that from the beginning; they
sat for a whole week with him, right?

But there's something there that's wrong.

How would you describe what's
happening on the inside?

Anybody?

What emotions are going
on there, do you think?

Jason?

(Jason) He sounds angry.

(Derek) He sounds angry about their
attitude; in fact, doesn't he call them

worthless physicians?

"Forgers of lies."

He's angry.

(Nathan) He also seem to be helpless.

He wants to speak to God; he
wants to reason with God.

He's like, "Here I am; I'm a helpless
victim, and I can't even speak my case."

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) Or "present my case."

(Derek) Is he just angry?

Is there anything else going
on here, do you think?

Defensive a little bit, like
wanting to present his case.

He certainly wants to speak to God.

(Joshua) But he's depressed as well.

(Derek) You think he's depressed as well.

He's not in denial about
what's happened, right?

So, the good news is that God loves him!

But he's struggling with why these
things are happening to him.

So let me ask a question.

Sometimes when people are hurting,

especially if we're not that helpful,

but even if we are helpful,
they can kind of lash out at us,

because they're hurting so much, you know?

"Let me help you with that bandage,"
you know, and they're like, "Aah!"

Does that make sense to you?

Have you ever met people like that?

The're hurting so much they don't
want you to get near to them.

So how do we show God's love to
someone who's at that level of pain?

What do you think?

What can we do for them?

Jonathan?

(Jonathan) I think it's helpful
to try to take time to understand

where someone's reactions
are coming from.

From personal experience, I've been in
situations where I haven't been able

to act in quite the way that I wanted to,

and some people are able
to understand that,

and give me grace, and others
don't quite understand that.

(Derek) So kind of thinking, you
know, there's a saying in America

about walking in someone
else's shoes, right?

In other words, take some time,
probably before I open my mouth, right?

Anybody else?

Someone's really hurting.

He's pretty angry here.

How would you approach someone
with that level of anger, Puia?

(Puia) I think it's important for us,
first of all, to ask God to give us

heavenly wisdom in how to approach them.

I think that would be the first step.

(Derek) What would be my human reaction,
if I didn't pray and think about it,

when someone was kind of
lashing out like that?

(Nathan) You'd take it personally
and think they're angry at you.

(Derek) Okay, I could take it personally.

What else might I do?

(Team Member) You'd want to stay away.

(Derek) Stay away, that's right, "I'm
just going to leave you," you know?

"You can take care of it by yourself."

(Nathan) Or even worse,
you might strike back.

(Derek) Or you might try to strike
back, and none of those is helpful.

Withdrawing, just to protect
myself is not helpful.

Striking back is not helpful.

So I've got to pray, "Lord, show me here.

"But let me understand," like Jonathan
said, "what the person's going through,

so I don't come to kind
of careless conclusions."

Stephanie.

(Stephanie) And if you're the one that has
caused them to be somewhat defensive,

maybe that's where you
could be quiet, you know?

"Lord, I've said something; help
me to be more understanding

of where they're coming from."

(Derek) Okay, so let's keep reading in
Job chapter 13, verses 5 through 12,

and Timoetel, if you'd keep
reading for us in Job 13:5-12,

and let's see what part of his
comments makes sense to you.

Job's struggling, too, so I'm
not saying everything's perfect,

but what about his response
to his friends makes sense?

(Timoetel) Job 13, verses 5 to 12,

and I'll be reading from
the New King James Version:

(Derek) Was he speaking any truth there?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) If you read the end
of the book, what happens?

(Timoetel) God rebukes them.

(Derek) God rebukes them; He says,
"You have not said what is right

about my servant Job."

So, that part, that
makes sense, doesn't it?

In fact go back to verse
5, better to do what?

(Derek, Team) Be quiet.

(Derek) And if they're saying,
"Why is this happening?"

It would be better to say, "I don't know.

I don't have an answer."
Nathan.

(Nathan) This is an indication,
too, of the unity of Scripture.

Job is speaking under inspiration, or
this is recorded under inspiration here

where he says, "It would be better to be
silent, and that would be your wisdom."

And in Proverbs 17:28, it basically
says that even a fool seems wise

when they keep their mouth shut.

(Derek) Right, and back to the
comment you made earlier, in Job 2

where the friends come and they're
simply silent and grieving,

that probably was some comfort

until they started speaking.

So they brought three friends together,
apparently from different territories.

They were very earnest
in wanting to help him.

But again, how do I respond
to someone who's defensive?

Let's try to understand
them, walk in their shoes.

Can you share a time
when you realized that?

Maybe a friend was hurting, and
you realized the best thing was

just to be silent and
present with her or him?

Or a time when you were hurting,

and you really appreciated, someone
just kind of came to be with you,

without trying to give you a bunch of -
what do we call those - kind of, canned

or platitudes, canned answers.

Anybody have an experience
where that happened for you?

Joshua?

(Joshua) Yeah, there was a time when
I experienced a death in the family,

and someone came by my home
and gave me a box of pizza.

And, you know, I just ate
that delicious box of pizza.

They didn't want to ask me
a ton of questions

about what's going on in my life,

and I preferred that because I
didn't want to talk about it,

but them just bringing the food to me
helped me a lot; I really appreciated it.

(Derek) Does that remind you of a story in
Scripture, that wasn't pizza by the way,

but does it remind you of
a story in the Scripture

where a person was going through a
very hard time, and someone just said,

"Here's some food"?

Anybody remember that story?

"Here's some food..."

(Team Member) I remember Elijah.

(Derek) Elijah, that's right, Elijah.

And it was actually an angel, it
wasn't a pizza delivery person, right?

An angel brought the food,

but no big description of what
you should be feeling,

but just knowing you're going to need
some food and some rest,

"Here's something to eat."

All right, anybody else? Puia?

(Puia) Well, in my culture,
in the Mizo culture,

we have a very strong community support
whenever people lose their family members,

so what we would do as a community
is visit that family's house

and just hang out with them, just
comfort them without really needing

to say everything about the person
that they just lost, but just being there,

just being there and being a support.

It's such an important part of healing.

(Derek) Someone's probably going
to write an email and say,

"Where is the Mizo culture?"
and that's north...

(Puia) It's on the border
of India and Burma.

(Derek) India and Burma, okay.

And there, there's part of the culture
of just coming and being present

in order to bring some comfort.

Thanks for sharing that.

Well, having kind of vented...

You know what the word "vent"
means, to kind of let it out, right?

You know, "I'm not really happy
with the counsel you're giving,

and I'm not really understanding
everything about God,"

but he speaks some words of hope now.

These are glimpses of hope, right?

Naiara, if you could read for
us Job 13, verses 15 and 16.

(Naiara) Sure, I'll be reading
from the King James Version,

Job 13, verses 15 to 16:

(Derek) He's saying what?

"I believe I know my heart,
and my heart is..."?

Yeah, "My heart is sincere."

Now he's confessed his
sins; we'll talk about that.

He believes that because of the mercy
of God, he's standing, how, before God?

Blameless, and by the way, was he right?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Yeah, God called
him blameless, right?

So he's saying, "I'm going to
trust my relationship with God."

How does his relationship with God

say, "I know the character of God,

and I'm going to keep holding on
even though I don't understand." ?

Because he still doesn't
understand what's happening.

How does his awareness of the character
of God plus his connection with God

give him courage to hold on, even
though he doesn't understand?

Anybody?

(Tricia Lee) We can imagine he must be
so, just, worn out and physically tired,

emotionally tired, and he has three of
his friends telling him all these things.

In all of that, instead of just saying,
"You guys must be right; if three people

are telling me the same thing, it's true."

(Derek) Three against one.

(Tricia Lee) Three against one,
he's literally getting beaten up.

His wife is not even in his corner
necessarily, giving him the right advice,

either, and he can still, through
that all, say, "You are lying!"

That knowledge of who God is was just so
strong he could say, "Here are my friends,

and you're all agreeing
with each other, but no!

Those are lies; you're forgers of lies;
you're not really helping me right now."

I think that's powerful because when
you're at your wits' end, you're looking

for an answer; he was looking for answers,
and sometimes we can say, "These people

came to me; maybe God sent
them to me to tell me this."

But he knew enough about God to know,
"God would not send you to me to tell me

these untrue things.

I just want to talk to Him and understand
from Him why this is happening."

(Derek) There's a text of Scripture, I'm
going to have us read, and I want us

to continue, that speaks about
not what we see giving us hope,

but our connection with
God giving us hope.

And it's a Scripture song my wife
wrote to help me remember it,

from Lamentations 3.

You might say, "Can any good
thing come out of Lamentations?"

What does the word "lamentations" mean?

To grieve, right, to lament,

and it's after the
destruction of Jerusalem,

and the prophet Jeremiah.

Brittany, if you'd read that for us in
Lamentations 3, verses 22 through 26.

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

Lamentations 3:22-26:

(Derek) Wait quietly, that
reminds us of our song,

which was written, what,
400 and some years earlier

by the psalmist, "Wait on the
Lord; be of good courage."

He's writing this lamentation;

what's going on around Jeremiah?

When he says, "Through the Lord's
mercies we are not consumed;

His compassions fail not."

What's going on around him, Jonathan?

(Jonathan) The whole city is being
destroyed or is about to be or...

(Derek) Well, "Lamentations,"
I think it's over;

it's been destroyed.

Captivity has happened...I mean,
everything is falling apart.

And what could he be saying?

What could he be saying?

"My hope is lost,"

"Where are you, God?"

Or, "What did they do?"

And instead what's he choosing to do?

(Team Member) Wait on the Lord.

(Derek) Yeah, he's choosing to wait
on the Lord, to trust in the Lord,

to look to the Lord.

Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I think what's interesting
is that these three friends show up

at this particular time in his life,
when Job has been walking with God

for many years, I would imagine, before
that, and he has an established

relationship with God that won't
be wavered by these friends coming

and telling him things.

And that's probably contributing
to why he's so upset.

it's just like, "You don't
even know my walk with God.

Where were you, coming to visit me when
I was praying for forgiveness every

morning for my sons and daughters?

You show up at this particular time, and
granted, I'm happy you came, but you're

not really saying anything
that's helpful to me right now."

And I think that when we hear these
encouraging words from Jeremiah

and from Job, it's just that they have
established a walk and a relationship

with God that cannot be swayed by what
they see or what they hear from their

so-called comforters...

(Derek) Or what's happening to them.

(Tricia Lee) Or what's happening to them.

(Derek) Naiara.

(Naiara) It just amazes me that also
he knew himself, because he was so low

to a point that anything that somebody
can tell you, you may be just like, "Okay,

yes, you're right; it's my fault," but,
yes, he knew God, he acquainted himself

with God, if we go read in Proverbs
22, but also he knew himself.

He knew himself so much,
he said, "Wait a minute.

I know who I am; I know what I have
been doing, so you are wrong."

(Derek) I want to unpack the
"acquaint yourself with God",

because it seems to me, when you're
going through difficult times,

a clear picture of the character
of God is crucially important.

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) In fact, we need to
acquaint ourselves with God

before those hard times come,
because then we need to be holding on

through the dark valley, right?

So how do we get a true picture
of the character of God?

How do we get to know Him in
a living connection, Marianela?

(Marianela) I think through those hard
moments, and even if they're small trials,

and you let God lead you
and ask for the Holy Spirit,

He will guide you through that.

And in those small moments when a
big trial comes, you realize that,

"Wow, God is different.

My relationship with Him was
different in these small moments,

and now He's going to provide," and
I see how Job was able to defend God

to his friends.

(Derek) Defend the character...

(Marianela) Defend the character of God.

(Derek) Now you said something really
important, which I want to just restate,

and that is that we trust
Him in the little challenges

so that in the big challenges,
you know, we've learned.

We've learned He's dependable.

When else, how else, Nathan, do we
learn about the real character of God

so that when we don't understand we say,
"Well, I may not see the path, but I trust

the God I've chosen to know and love"?

(Nathan) I was going to share something
else, but I think the clearest picture

of the character of God is
revealed in the life of Jesus.

We look there, and we see Jesus saying,
"If you've seen Me, you've seen

the Father," and I say, "Wow, I want to
be in a connection with that kind of a God

because look at how awesome Jesus is."

Look at the constant love and
acceptance that He showed to everyone.

But I was going to point out that in verse
15 when Job said, "Though He slay me,

yet will I trust Him," that
Job sets an example for me.

When I've been in really difficult times,
and I've had my share, and there's times

when things have happened unfairly or
whatever, you know, it's very easy to say,

"God, I'm mad at You," or "Why did You
allow this?" and I've been there, too,

but Job makes a decision.

By an act of his will, he
says, "I will trust Him.

I don't understand it; it doesn't
make sense, even if He slays me."

"I'm at the point of death,"
is kind of how he's feeling.

"I'm suffering from the top of
my head to the soles of my feet,

and I've lost everything.

I'm suffering emotionally; I'm suffering
mentally; I'm suffering physically.

I'm hurting spiritually because I'm
all messed up in trying to understand

what God's doing," and yet he
says, "I'm going to trust Him."

So I see, in that, the power of a
decision and the power of our words

and our self-talk.

And so, what I've taken from that, in
my experience, there have been times

when I say, "Okay, God, I don't
get it, but I know You love me.

I know that Jesus died
for me; He's my Savior.

I know You want to spend eternity
with me, so I'm trusting You."

And it's the hardest thing to do when
everything seems like, "He's not even

blessing you; He doesn't love
me," but I say, "I know You do."

So I think for me an act of faith is
speaking the words that we know are true

even when it doesn't
seem to be true for us.

(Derek) Speaking the words
that we know are true,

that have come out of that
relationship with God, right?

What we know.

Puia?

(Puia) Yes, I think it's important for us
to look back on the past and see where

God has led us, you know?

Or what we like to call "mountaintop
experiences" where God has shown us...

(Derek) Maybe even valley
experiences, right?

(Puia) ...and see how God
has led us through them.

I think by looking back over how God has
guided us, that can really give us hope

that God will still bring us through
this current situation that we are in.

I believe that's what
Job is doing, you know?

Holding onto God and reminding
himself what God has done for him.

(Derek) So we're talking about how
we can experience hope in the midst

of difficult times and how our
understanding of the character of God

is really important.

Did anyone grow up with that kind of
false notion that the three friends

are sharing, "Well, if
something's happening to you,

God obviously is judging you"?

Did anybody grow up with that?

That's really kind of a stumbling block.

Anybody?

(Nathan) I did.

(Derek) Yes, Nathan?

That was just your picture
of God, growing up.

(Nathan) Yeah, good people are
blessed, and bad people are cursed.

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) A common understanding
that I grew up with, that God is,

kind of, looking over you and watching,
and you're going to get what you deserve.

(Derek) You know, I think a lot
of us grew up with the idea

that God is more interested in
catching you misbehaving than He is

in rescuing you from hurting yourself.

A different picture of the
character of God. Tricia Lee?

(Tricia Lee) The opposite
is also equally as damaging,

the idea that if you're blessed
that you must be right with God,

and so if things are going well in my life

I don't need Him; I'm
probably being favored.

So you start to slip and let go of
God because you think, you know,

instead of thinking about the
responsibility you have, you think, "Oh,

I must be okay, so I don't have to do
as much to maintain that relationship

with Him," so both ends
are very dangerous.

(Derek) I think it was the psalmist Asaph
who said, "I don't understand why these

wicked people seem to be doing so well,
but then I looked and saw the end,"

so you're saying that
can be confusing, too.

The righteous are suffering,

and sometimes it seems like the wicked
are doing well, right?

There was another hand raised. Missy.

Do you remember what...?

(Missy) It was just a personal
experience, and I was going to let it go,

but since you just... let me share...

For a long time, through highs and
lows, I've had a connection with God

where I've really - I'm not trying
to pat myself on the back -

it's just I have this relationship
with God, and thank God I've had it,

because there have been times that we
have been tried, and tried very hard,

and in those moments I remember calling
out to God saying, "I don't think I have

the kind of faith You want me to have.

I'm just not Abraham, I'm not these
big heroes of faith," you know,

"I'm not who You want me to be."

And I go to my Bible, reading it on
my app, and this passage pops up,

Lamentations 3:22-26.

(Derek) The one that we just read.

(Missy) Yes, I mean, just randomly,

and I just felt God speaking to
me in those moments, you know.

Give God the opportunity.

Don't let go for any reason whatsoever,
and He will come to your rescue,

and I have felt rescued by God through
His Word or through words of friends,

time and again.

(Derek) And that's a great illustration,
a sequel to where I'd like us to go, now,

and that is some other texts
of Scripture that give you hope

in the midst of a difficult journey
and also some stories of Scripture

that illustrate hope.

So let's start with some texts
of Scripture that give you hope,

even on a difficult journey.

Marianela, did you have one, or a story?

(Marianela) I have a story.

(Derek) Okay,

(Marianela) It's Moses when he was with
God and, I can't remember which mountain

it was, but the people of Israel were
just not following God's commands;

they were being rebellious, and God
says, "You know, I regret what I did.

I'm going to destroy them all," and
Moses goes up to Him and says, "No,

You can't do that; You promised that the
seed of Abraham was going to be blessed

from generation to generation."

And he cried out to God and said,
"You can't do that because Your Word,

You promised in Your Word."

I see that story as so powerful because
sometimes we have to come to God

and say, "You promised, and You said
in Your Word that You would bless

or You would take care of me; You would
provide for me," even in those times

where we're feeling like
we can't continue anymore.

(Derek) And by the way, he didn't
change the heart of God, did he?

(Team) No.

(Derek) Because when God reveals
Himself, He's abundant in mercy

and lovingkindness, right?

It's almost like a reverse psychology
where the Lord says,

"Well, what do you think?"

And, "Well, I think you should do this,"
as if He hadn't already known in His heart

how He wanted to treat His people.

But that illustration of God, we see
God again with Abraham over Sodom

and Gomorrah, right?

Wanting to show compassion.

A text of Scripture or an insight?

(Tricia Lee) I have another story.

In another lesson, Stephanie was sharing
that God can work all things for good.

I think about Joseph who, I mean, was
betrayed by his own brothers, you know,

sold into slavery; he was a prisoner.

He seemed to have these rises and falls,
but through it all God allowed that

situation of his life to be a
blessing, not only for his own family

but even for the entire nation of Egypt
he was able to be in the right place

at the right time to give wisdom and
counsel to save them all from a famine.

And how many times are we in a place
where we feel like we've been betrayed,

or we feel like we're in some sort of
prison of life, and we see no good coming

from it, but the end, God can still
use us and bless us and take us

out of that prison, from
the pit to the palace.

(Derek) So that gives you hope.

You know, I'm thinking about
Joseph just for a minute.

You might say, "Well, he brought some
of the sibling rivalry upon himself,"

and that's kind of why he
got thrown in the pit.

Maybe he deserved that a little bit.

Some people could argue that, but
when you to Potiphar's wife, where he's

determining to honor God even though
Potiphar's wife is trying to seduce him,

I mean, there is no way - this
is unjust treatment, you know?

We'd file a lawsuit today,
wouldn't we, for sexual harassment?

So whether sometimes we contribute to
the problem or other times we're just

totally innocent, we need
hope in the midst of that.

And the hope you see there was...?

(Tricia Lee) That God can use that
tribulation and bring a blessing

in your life and in others around you.

(Derek) All right.

Another text or a story, Joshua.

(Joshua) I think about
Daniel and the Hebrew boys,

but more so the story of Daniel,
and here's the reason why.

Daniel took a stand for God, and
although he was being persecuted

because of his stand, he didn't have
anyone else supporting him concerning

the story of him being in the lion's den.

(Derek) You're in Daniel chapter
6 where he's basically commanded

that he cannot pray to
anyone except the king?

(Joshua) Yes, and the reason why I
appreciate the story so much is that,

in my life, it seems that every
time I'm taking a stand for God,

there's no one by my side
taking a stand with me.

So I always feel alone in the matter.

When I look at Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, they had each other.

They could stand there and say, you know,
"We're brothers; we serve the Lord,"

but I constantly find myself in situations
where it's just me, and I'm by myself.

So I think about Daniel just being
in that lion's den, and, I mean, wow!

There's nobody else he's looking to around
him like, "Okay, you run from that lion;

I'll run from this one."

I just think about it, and I say how much
more strength he had coming from God

because he had no one else to look to.

(Derek) I think he knew there were some
other people there in the lion's den

because the Lord sent His angel, he said,
and shut the lion's mouth, but, yeah.

By the way, let's talk about that,
too, because that's a great story.

Should we intentionally seek to surround
ourselves with other people of faith,

Nathan, that could be a support to
us when we're feeling discouraged?

(Nathan) I was thinking, as Joshua
was sharing, that Daniel's friends

must have been praying for him, at least,
and even in the opening chapter of Daniel,

we see that they're united together, and
then in chapter 2 where Daniel is seeking

time from the king to answer his concern,
Daniel goes to his friends; he says,

"Pray with me," you know?

So we do need to surround ourselves with
friends who can pray for us and lift us up

and have the same faith.

(Derek) We're talking here from Job's
experience about choosing to find hope.

You said, "I choose to trust God," right?

Choosing to find hope

because I know the character of God
and have a relationship with Him

in the midst of suffering
that I may not understand.

Jason.

(Jason) I think of the story of Esther,
where her life and the lives of her people

were on the line, and she
had to go before the king.

But before she went before the king,
she had all the people praying for her.

She had good counsel from her
cousin Mordecai, and so she was

preparing ahead of time, sort of
in a way like Daniel may have been.

(Derek) Okay, and of course there,
when she actually is about to go in,

what does she ask her friends to do?

(Team) Fast and pray.

(Derek) Fast and pray, right?

We've been hearing that
over and over again,

before I open my mouth in a troubled
situation - with her she's speaking

to the king - but wherever we are,
let's pray and maybe ask some of our

godly friends to pray for us, too, right?

Yes, Puia.

(Puia) I appreciate Tricia Lee bringing
up Joseph, because I believe, you know,

Joseph's story is such a huge inspiration
for, especially, young people today,

I would say.

All generations but especially today we're
bombarded with media every single day,

and Joseph's story reminds us of how
important it is to stay faithful to God,

to stay pure, you know?

The enemy wants us to think
that we are missing out

once we choose to be faithful for
God, but the truth is the opposite.

When we choose to be faithful for God,
Joseph's story reminds us once again

that we're not missing out on anything.

We're not missing out at all; the end,
the reward, is much, much greater.

(Derek) Stephanie, I'm going to
come to you next, but how do we...

We have these stories popping up, and it's
interesting; I asked you text or stories,

and you're all giving me stories,
which tells me that stories are easy

to remember, right?

So there's a lot of people, they don't
know any of the stories of the Bible,

how do we get to know these stories,
that then the Holy Spirit can bring them

to our remembrance?

Think about that after
Stephanie's comment.

(Stephanie) Actually I have two verses.

(Derek) Oh, you do? Okay!

Well hold the verses just a second, then.

How do we get to know the stories?
What's the answer?

(Team) Read them.

(Derek) You know, someone told me one
time, "I think I need to get a children's

Bible story book and just read these Bible
stories and get to know them, so that

when I'm reading in the Bible and Joseph -
Oh, I know the story of Joseph in Egypt."

That's not a bad idea

to just get to know the
great stories of the Bible.

Yes, you want to respond to that, and
then I want to go to the Bible texts.

(Nathan) I was going to say, I came
into the faith late, and I felt like,

"Boy, little kids know the stories
that I don't know in the Bible."

So not only know the stories but then
to contemplate and think about them

because we can read them, but
every time I hear the stories...

Sometimes when I'm driving, I just
immerse myself in God's Word by playing

an audio Bible, and new
insights come every time.

I'm asking God, "Show me," and even as
you were talking about Joseph, I was

thinking, Joshua was making the point
there are times when we're all alone,

Joseph really was alone; he had nobody.

I was thinking, even his family, his
father thought he was dead, so it wasn't

like his father was praying, but then I
thought, you know, maybe his brothers -

they were living with that lie, and they
knew he was alive, but they thought he was

sold into slavery -

I wonder if any of them ever prayed for
him because they were feeling God's burden

on their heart, and they were praying,
"Lord, wherever Joseph is, I hope that

you're blessing him."

Maybe he wasn't completely alone
in that regard, but we know that

God was with him, and we read those
very words, "God was with him."

I'm thinking of Puia's comment that the
mountaintops can help us get through,

and you mentioned and the valleys, too.

There is a quote by Billy Graham
that's meaningful to me, and he said,

"Mountaintops are for views and
inspiration, but the fruit is grown

in the valley," and that's in those
deep, dark times in our lives when God is

growing fruit in our lives,
I believe, spiritual fruit.

(Derek) Because we know Him,
and we refuse to let go.

But again, lest we think, "Oh, wow,
this is really important; I think I'm

going to...," underneath us are the arms
of a loving God because, like you said,

Missy, in another discussion,
we've made the choice, right?

Confess our sins, ask Him to
cleanse us, accept His salvation.

We're going to hold on, and that's going
to take us to some texts, Stephanie.

I know you know the Bible well; which
ones come to your mind that give us hope

sometimes when we don't understand, but
we're trusting the character of God?

(Stephanie) Two verses, they're short
verses, but I like to couple them

together, and the first
one is in Luke 1:37.

(Derek) Let's go there first then.

(Stephanie) And then the
second one is Job 26, verse 7.

(Derek) Okay, let's find
Luke 1; did you say Luke 1?

(Stephanie) Luke 1:37 and then Job 26:7.

(Derek) You'll have to remind us of
the second one when we get there.

Let's go to Luke 1:37 first.

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

(Derek) Context?

Who's speaking and to whom
is the person speaking?

Answer, anybody?

Who's speaking?

(Team) An angel.

(Derek) An angel, right.

And speaking to?

(Team) Mary.

(Derek) Yup, "For with God..."?

(Derek, Team) "Nothing
will be impossible."

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) It was the angel Gabriel.

(Derek) All right, that's the
leading, archangel, right?

Gabriel.

He's speaking the truth.

By the way, if what we've studied
in Scripture is true, at one point,

Satan, once called Lucifer,
was a covering angel.

So one's speaking lies
and now in rebellion,

and one is sent by God
to speak the truth. Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) But "with God nothing will
be impossible," and the other verse?

(Stephanie) The second
one is in Job 26, verse 7.

(Derek) Job 26.

(Stephanie) Verse 7, and this is
Job talking about God at creation.

(Derek) Okay, just give
us a moment to find that.

Job 26...?

(Stephanie) Verse 7.

(Derek) And verse 7.

(Stephanie) And it says in
the New King James Version:

And I feel like this is backing
up that God can do anything.

He can take something out of absolutely
nothing and then hang it on nothing.

So when I read the verse that nothing
is impossible with God, I believe it,

because He can do anything.

And even if I can't see the good that's
going to come out of it, I have to trust

that if He can do that, He can take
care of my little issue in life.

(Derek) Yeah, "I know my
Redeemer lives", right?

Another Bible text, anyone,
that can give us hope,

and, you know, maybe one the Holy Spirit
just brings to your remembrance now.

Yes, Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I like 1 Corinthians
chapter 10 and verse 13.

(Derek) Okay, someone's watching
Hope Sabbath School today,

and this verse is going to become an
anchor for her, an anchor for him,

as we talk about choosing to trust
a God we've come to know and love,

even when we don't understand
because things are hard.

1 Corinthians 10:13?

(Tricia Lee) I'm reading from
the New King James Version:

(Derek) Now we have an
advantage that Job did not have.

What is our advantage?

(Team) Scripture.

(Derek) That's right, we have
these texts that we're reading,

given, according to Peter,
under inspiration of God, right?

This one given by the apostle Paul.

So we have the advantage
that we can go to that.

What did Job have?

What did he have, anybody?

He had his experience with God.

What else did he have?

(Marianela) He chose to make a
commitment with God.

(Derek) Yeah, he has made a commitment,
but in terms of knowing about God,

what else did he have?

(Nathan) Passed-on knowledge.

(Derek) He had passed-on knowledge that
was passed down through the patriarchs.

(Nathan) The promise of the Redeemer.

(Derek) The promise of a Redeemer coming,
because he speaks about the Redeemer,

but what else did he have?

(Puia) General revelation through nature.

(Derek) That's right; he had the
general revelation through nature,

where he speaks about, "I think God
can hang something on nothing," right?

"He can speak worlds into
existence", so he has nature.

In other words, he's taking everything
that's available to him, and he's saying,

"I choose to trust that God."

(Tricia Lee) I wanted to make a
comment about that Scripture I read.

I think what's most encouraging about
it is not the fact that, yes, it's

encouraging that God can make a way of
escape, but I love where it says that God

is faithful, and it's like even if we
have our questions or doubts, or we're

struggling, and we don't know what the
answers are, even if we are doubting

and we are struggling with our own faith,
God is faithful, and He is those arms

that are carrying us.

That gives me encouragement that, even
if I'm failing miserably, I can trust

in a God who's faithful and can
carry me through something.

It doesn't depend upon how
strong I am in the moment.

I could be the weakest Christian ever,
but because of God's faithfulness,

he can take me through it.

(Derek) That's back to
knowing the character of God.

Isn't there somewhere it says, "Even when
we're unfaithful, He is faithful for He

cannot deny Himself"?

I love that.

All right, we've got 17 hands raised,
so I'm going to work my way down.

Joshua.

(Joshua) Something I want to mention,
going back to a comment that Nathan made.

Nathan, you mentioned that when you
were older you were looking and saying,

"Oh, you know, these little children
know stories that I'm only now learning."

And for any parents that may be out
there, I want them to understand that

it's very important to teach your child
how to really study the Word of God

for themselves and to build a
relationship with God through them,

because growing up, what I saw is that
we knew a lot of different Bible stories

simply because we were watching
Bible cartoons, or simply because we

were watching a Bible movie or something,
but it was not that we were studying

on our own and really trying to
get to know God for ourselves.

(Derek) That relationship or connection.

(Joshua) Yes, those are two
completely different things.

And when I became an adult, I saw that the
adults that came to Jesus at an older age

were seeking Him because of
the true essence of who He was,

not simply based on their
culture that they grew up in.

Do you see what I mean?

And so I think we should all strive
to really know God for ourselves,

and we should teach our
children to do the same.

(Derek) Going to come to the
next sentence, so it's not

just about information,

it's about relationship, right?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) So when I hear the story of Daniel
in the Lion's Den, I don't just know that

for a Bible quiz, but I say, "I want that
relationship with God that Daniel had.

I want to trust Him even in the
lion's den, even in difficult times."

Marianela.

(Marianela) I admire Job so much after
all this study because I see, like in,

if we go to chapter 31...

(Derek) You want to get ahead
to the end of the story?

(Marianela) Yeah.

(Derek) You can do that, Job 31.

(Marianela) I just have such an admiration
for what he says in these four verses.

Job 31, verses 1 through 4.

(Derek) It reminds me of a story
where a little boy was so distressed,

and then a little later he was
really happy, and his daddy said,

"What happened?"

He said, "I read the end of the
book; it's going to be okay."

Sometimes we like to hear the end
of the story, but you're in Job...?

(Marianela) 31.

(Derek) 31.

(Marianela) Verses 1 through 4.

(Derek) Verses 1 through 4.

(Marianela) I just want to admire him.

He didn't have all the verses
that we have today to...

(Derek) To give us hope.

(Marianela) ...to give us hope, to
let us know that God can do anything.

Anything is not impossible for God, you
know, but he chose to make this covenant

with the Lord, and his commitment in
his heart to fear Him, not out of just

fear or to be afraid of Him but to
stand up boldly for God's promises

and God's commandments.

(Derek) Okay, read for us
Job 31, verses 1 through 4.

(Marianela) It says:

And it makes me think of just how
faithful he was even with his eyes,

with the purity inside of him, you know,

that, the admiration, what a great
character to follow, you know?

(Derek) It's kind of like, I guess
there is comfort and hope in this,

"God, even when everyone else is
misunderstanding me, You know my heart."

(Team) Yes, amen.

(Derek) Right?

"You know my heart, God," and you
say, "Well, what if he had sinned?"

Well, "God, I confess my sin;
I ask You to cleanse me.

You know my heart."

That's a beautiful thing.

"You count my steps; You know
all things, but You know me."

We've got time for one more.

We've got several hands
that are raised here.

Let me start with Nathan and go back to
Puia, either a Bible text or a reflection.

The key lesson I'm learning in this
study is that that relationship with God,

knowing Him and His character and having
a connection with Him, will give me hope

even when I don't understand
everything that's going on around me.

Nathan.

(Nathan) I love Paul's encouragement
to the Philippian believers

in Philippians 1:6.

(Derek) Okay.

(Nathan) He writes his letter to the
Philippian church, and he reminds them

of something that I need to remember, too.

I need to be reminded,
you know, that God...

(Derek) Read it for us, if you would.

(Nathan) Philippians 1:6 from
the New King James Version:

(Derek) So that reminds us of what Puia
said, remembering how God has worked

in our lives to this point, and I'm going
to choose to trust Him and hold on.

Puia.

(Puia) Yes, I would
like to read this verse

from 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 18.

(Derek) Okay, 2 Corinthians.

(Puia) 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 18.

(Derek) Chapter 4 and verse 18.

(Puia) Yes.

(Derek) Give us just a moment to find it.

This is giving you hope even when
we're passing through a difficult time.

We're going to hold onto God.

How does it read in your Bible?

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

(Team) Amen.

(Puia) So when my faith is being tested,
I hold onto the faith, that even though

I cannot see, I cannot
understand everything right now,

I hold onto that faith that something
is out there - God is out there.

I cannot see Him, but I know.

(Derek) So when is the best time?

We've talked about, Marianela, you
said even in little trials I can learn

God is trustworthy so that when bigger
trials come, I'm going to keep holding on

even when I don't understand, but when is
the best time to develop that relationship

with God, knowing who He is, that
gives us hope no matter what we face?

When's the best time, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) Preferably
before the trials come,

but the trials sometimes are
where people learn to trust God.

(Derek) All right, preferably before.

Anybody else, when's the best time?

(Team) Right now!

(Derek) Now, okay, right now.

I was hoping for one word
rather than a long discussion.

The best time to get to know God, not
just know about Him but know Him, is now.

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) And that's what
we've learned in our study.

We'll trust Him and His character of love.

We're going to hold onto Him
even through the dark valley.

That's a lesson that will guide our lives,
but it's more than for us, isn't it?

Because there's so many people, "I don't
understand; I don't know where to go,"

and there's a whisper, "Just
curse God and give up."

No, no.

We know the God of hope can comfort us.

He is with us always, even
to the end of the age.

We'll choose to hold onto Him.

Get to know Him today, know
His character, trust Him today,

accept His salvation today,

accept His Spirit in your life today,

and know that whatever we
face, that we are not alone.

Let's pray.

Father in Heaven,

thank You for Your Word; it's so rich with
illustrations to remind us of the truth

that You can be trusted, that nothing is
impossible for You, that You will never

leave us or forsake us, that
You are the God of all hope.

And I just pray that we trust You with all
of our hearts today and that You would

give us a peace that the world cannot
give, as we find our rest in You.

We pray it in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Well, thanks for joining us for
Hope Sabbath School today.

What a journey through the Book of Job!

I hope you'll stay with us because these
lessons will not only bless our lives,

but there are people all around
you, think about them just now,

who need to find hope for
this life and for eternity.

So take what you've learned today,

go out and make a difference in
the lives of those around you.

♪ theme music ♪